Sources for Mythology

What is Mythology?

The word has several meanings. In the most general sense, it refers to any invented story. In the sense most often used on alt.mythology, it refers to a traditional story, usually very old, which has or once had significant spiritual, moral, or social significance.

Professionals distinguish between mythology, legend, and folktale. Very briefly, myths are considered true by the people who tell them; they are usually set near the beginning of time and often concern the origins of things. Legends are also regarded as true, but are set later in history when the world was much as it is today. Folklore is considered false by the people telling it, and its setting in time and space is usually irrelevant. Myths are considered sacred, legends are more often secular, and folktales aren't taken seriously, at least not literally. Although this classification is useful, there is plenty of overlap, and stories range over too much territory to fit nicely in any simple classification.

It is probably a misnomer to use the phrase "primary literature" to describe any mythology. Most, perhaps all, myths had a long oral tradition, during which the stories were constantly modified in little ways, before they were written down. The sources below, however, all refer to ancient writings which give some of the earliest records we have of certain myths and from which later sources draw for their information.

Greek and Latin

Myth and Legend from Oral Tradition

Not all mythology was written down in the distant past. The following are good sources of folklore and mythology transcribed from oral tradition.

• South of the Clouds by Miller, Lucien (ed.) [University of Washington Press, Seattle & London, 1994] - Mythology and folklore of the minority cultures of Yunnan, China.
• A Treasury of African Folklore by Courlander, Harold [Marlowe & Co, New York, 1996].
• African Myths and Tales by Feldmann, Susan [Dell Publishing, New York, 1963].
• The Speaking Land by Berndt, Ronald M. and Berndt, Catherine H. [Inner Traditions International, Rochester, Vermont, 1994] - tales from aboriginal Australia.
• Northern Tales, Traditional Stories of Eskimo and Indian Peoples by Norman, Howard [Pantheon Books, New York, 1990].
• American Indian Myths and Legends by Erdoes, Richard and Ortiz, Alfonso [Pantheon Books, New York, 1984].
• Wisconsin Chippewa Myths & Tales by Barnouw, Victor [University of Wisconsin Press, 1977].
• By Cheyenne Campfires by Grinnell, George Bird [Yale University Press, 1926, 1962].
• Watunna, An Orinoco Creation Cycle, by de Civrieux, Marc, transl. by David M. Guss [North Point Press, 1980] - a creation cycle from tropical South America.

Primary Literature for Legends and Folktales

Here are some additional classic works, in no particular order.

Other Influential Works

The works below can't be called primary sources for the myths they include. However, they have added a lot in the retelling and have gone a long way towards influencing people's understanding of the stories today.

• Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus.
• Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone by Sophocles - three plays giving the history of Oedipus.
• Theseus and Romulus by Plutarch.
• The Inferno by Dante Alighieri - gives a version of what Hell is like.
• The Ring of the Nibelung by Wagner, Richard - four operas based on Scandinavian myth: "The Rhinegold", "The Valkyrie", "Siegfried", and "Gotterdammerung".

Other Good Collections of Myth and Legend

Works in this category are too numerous to list all of them. I list only works that are particularly notable.

General Mythology

• Bulfinch's Mythology - A classic, containing synopses of the major myths from many regions.
• Mythologies of the Ancient World by Kramer, Samuel Noah (ed.) [Anchor Books, Garden City, NY. 1961].

Mythology of a Limited Region

• Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, Louis - seven volumes of Jewish myth, folklore, and legend [1956].
• The Norse Myths by Crossley-Howland, Kevin [Pantheon Books, A. Deutsch].
• Celtic Mythology by MacCana, Proinsias [Peter Bedrick Books, New York, 1991].
• Celtic Myths and Legends by Rolleston, T.W. [Dover] - covers Celtic, Irish, and a little Welsh mythology.
• Egyptian Mythology by Ions, Veronica [Hamlyn Publishing]
• The Flayed God by Markman, Roberta H. & Markman, Peter T. [HarperCollins, 1992.] - contains translations of diverse Mesoamerican works, many photographs, and extensive commentary.
• The Mythology of South America by Bierhorst, John. [William Morrow, New York, 1988].

Explorations of a Single Theme

• The Golden Bough by Frazer, James.
• Hero of a Thousand Faces by Campbell, Joseph - an exploration of the hero motif.
• The Flood Myth by Dundes, Alan (ed.) [University of California Press, Berkeley and London, 1988] - flood myths examined from more perspectives than you probably thought possible.
• Primal Myths by Sproul, Barbara C. [HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1979] - creation myths from every part of the world.
• Sun Stories by Edwards, Carolyn McVickar - a collection of sun-based myths and stories.
• The History of Hell by Turner, Alice K. [Harcourt Brace, San Diego, 1993]
• Symbolic and Mythological Animals by Cooper, J.C.
• The Bestiaray: a Book of Beasts by White, T. H. [Dover] - a translation of a medieval bestiary.
• Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature by L. Sprague de Camp.
• Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament by Gaster, Theodor H. [Harper & Row, New York, 1969] - a collection of myths (and customs and legends) parallel to those related in the Old Testament.

Dictionaries

• Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Zimmerman, J.E. Useful and cheap ($5.99).
• Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons by Manfred Lurker. [Routledge, London and New York, 1987] It includes lists of gods associated with various aspects such as agriculture, creation, and lightning.
• The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Walker, Barbara G. [Harper, San Francisco, 1983] - It has a feminist slant, but it is wide-ranging and well-referenced.
• A Short Guide to Classical Mythology by Kirkwood
• Oxford Classical Dictionary

For Children

• D'Aulaires' Greek Mythology by Ingri D'Aulaire and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire.
• Myths of the Norsemen by Green, Roger Lancelyn [Puffin, Middlesex, 1970].
• The Tale of Troy by Green, Roger Lancelyn.
• Tales of Ancient Egypt by Green, Roger Lancelyn.
• Tales of Greek Heroes by Green, Roger Lancelyn.

Magazines

Online Resources

There are many myth-related resources on the web, too many for me to keep up with. Instead, I give here a couple links to pages that do have plenty of other links.