"Myth and Knowing" is a rich resource of myths and mythology through the ages, in which scholarly and literary materials combine to provide a seamless portrait of this multicultural topic. Balanced and nuanced discussions explore the ways in which myths have portrayed both men and women. In addition, art and maps contextualize selected myths, providing insights into the cultures and religious traditions from which they originated.
Author(s): Scott A. Leonard; Michael McClure
Edition: 1
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
Year: 2003
Language: English
Commentary: uploader note: this is a copy of a pdf that has been scanned and slighlty modified with highlights and some handwritting digitally but it does not effect readability. It is the only copy I can find. this book is overpirced!
Pages: 432
Tags: Mythology, Folklore, Mythology Studies, Literature, History, college text books
1 Purposes and Definitions 1
The Study of Mythology 1
What Is Myth Historically? 2
The Rise of Mythology 6
Mythology During the Enlightenment 7
Mythology in the 20th Century 13
Mythology Today 23
Reading Mythology 25
Works Cited and Suggestions for
Further Reading 28
2 Creation Myths 32
The Birth of Order 32
Classifying Cosmogonic Myths 32
Types of Creation Myth 34
Reading Creation Myths 45
Amma and Nummo Prepare the World 46
Dogon (Nigeria)
The Creation, from The Eddas 58
Norse (Iceland)
From Chaos to King Zeus, from Hesiod’s
Theogony 63
Greek
Contents Xi
Out of the Blue 68
Iroquois: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga,
Seneca, and Tuscarora (Northeastern United States
and Southeastern Canada)
The Creation of Ulligara and Zalgarra 75
Sumerian (Iraq)
Creation Myth from the Vishnu Purana 79
Hindu (India)
Genesis: The Creation Account 84
Hebrew (Israel/Middle East)
The Popul Vu 90
Maya (Guatemala/The Yucatan)
Works Cited and Suggestions for
Further Reading 99
3 The Female Divine 102
The Great Goddess 102
Archetypal Psychology 110
Goddesses as Literary Character Types 113
Reading the Female Divine 121
The Fire Goddess 122
Hawaiian
White Buffalo Calf Woman 132
Brulé Sioux (Great Plains, North America)
The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi 137
Sumerian (Iraq)
A Taste of Earth 144
Vietnamese (Vietnam)
Kali Beheaded 154
Hindu (India)
Callisto and Arcas, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses 161
Roman (Italy)
On the Origin of the World 168
Gnostic/Coptic (Egypt)
Works Cited and Suggestions for
Further Reading 181
xii Contents
4 The Male Divine 185
The Prehistory of God 185
The “Sorcerer” of Trois Freres 185
The “Shaman” of Trois Freres 188
Images of the Masculine 188
Reading the Male Divine 208
Bhagavad Gita 208
Hindu (India)
Enki and Ninhursanga 220
Sumerian (iraq)
Orunmila Gives the Orishas Their Powers and His
Friendship with Eshu 227
Yoruba (Nigeria)
Thor’s Duel with Hrungnir 232
Norse (Iceland)
Quetzalcoatl Rescues the Precious Bones
and Discovers Corn 239
Aztec (Mexico)
Works Cited and Suggestions for
Further Reading 243
5 Trickster Myths 247
The Embodiment of Ambiguities 247
Reading Trickster Myths 253
Why We Tell Stories about Spider 253
Ga (Ghana and West Africa)
Ajapa, Aja the Dog, and the Yams 257
Yoruba (Nigeria and Benin)
How Coyote Placed the Stars 265
Wasco (The Dalles, Oregon)
Coyote Man and Saucy Duckfeather 268
Peter Blue Cloud (Modern Account, Iroquois)
Northeastern United States
The Trouble with Rose Hips 272
Lipan Apache (American Southwest)
Contents Xiii
Old Man Coyote Meets Coyote Woman 274
Blackfoot (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana,
and Wyoming)
The Treasures of the Gods 277
Norse (Iceland)
The Seven Great Deeds of Ma-ui 283
Oceania (Hawaii)
Prometheus, from Hesiod’s Theogony 301
Greek
Pa Pandir, or Daddy Moron 306
Malaysian
The Raven Steals the Light 311
Haida (Haida Gwaii, Pacific Northwest North America)
Works Cited and Suggestions for
Further Reading 318
6 Sacred Places 320
The Grounding of Mythology 320
Gulliford’s Nine Categories of Sacred Places 321
Deloria’s Four Categories of Sacred Sites 322
Sites of Longing and Fear 325
Combining Interpretive Strategies 325
Two Sacred Places of Human Origins 326
Reading Sacred Places Myths 328
The Zuni and the Grand Canyon 331
Zuni (Modern Account, Arizona)
The Emergence 333
Zuni (Traditional Account, Arizona)
Bighorn Medicine Wheel 336
Northern Cheyenne, Northern Arapaho,
Eastern Shoshone, and Crow (Wyoming)
The Medicine Wheel 343
Hyemeyohsts Storm (Wyoming)
Sacred Landforms in Japan 347
Japanese
The Mountain of the Lotus and the Fan 349
Japanese
Xiv Contents
Yosoji and the Goddess Fuji 352
Japanese
The Ten Thousand Treasure Mountain 353
Yao (China)
Kobo Stories 359
Buddhist (Japan)
The Waters of Eternal Life 360
Jewish (Italy, ca. 11th Century)
The Castle in the Lake 370
Post-Buddhism Bon (Tibet)
The Cormorants from Utrést 376
Norland (Northern Norway)
The Areca Tree 380
Vietnamese (Vietnam)
Biriwilg Becomes a Painting 387
Aboriginal Australia
Works Cited and Suggestions for
Further Reading 393
Index I-1
