Mythography: The Study of Myths and Rituals

Presenting a concise treatment of the various contemporary ways of interpreting myths and rituals, this book is organized in terms of the most important schools of interpretation and discusses many of the recent approaches that have had widespread influence as well as older approaches that are still viable. While the primary focus is reflective and critical - how the various mythographic approaches have come about, and how they may be characterized and used - the framework of the book also provides a series of questions for contemporary study of particular myths and rituals. Myths and rituals remain important conveyors of cultural values, and the book argues that they form storehouses of significance that must not be omitted as our scientific establishments tend toward more abstract analysis of supposedly objective data. This work represents a wide synoptic view of research not usually considered within a single perspective, or treated as having on-going influences. The book has a unified critical perspective upon a mass of materials and approaches and is designed to function both as a reference work for the historical developments of mythography and as a stimulus to individual studies of specific myths and rituals.