Don’t Know Much About® Mythology (72 page)

Gardner, Jane F.
Roman Myths
. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Brief overview of Roman myths and the ways they reflected specific Roman history.

Green, Miranda Jane.
Celtic Myths
. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Exploration of the mythology and beliefs of the pagan Celts between about 600 BCE and 400 CE.

Hart, George.
Egyptian Myths
. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. This brief overview of Egyptian mythology is a scholarly but excellent introduction.

Hayes, Michael.
The Egyptians
. New York: Rizzoli, 1996. A concise, accessible, and highly illustrated introduction to Egyptian history and civilization.

James, Vanessa.
The Genealogy of Greek Mythology: An Illustrated Family Tree of Greek Myth from the First Gods to the Founders of Rome
. New York: Gotham Books, 2003. A very useful, accordion-like, illustrated foldout guide to the major names—both immortal and human—of Greek mythology.

Leeming, David A. and Margaret Leeming.
A Dictionary of Creation Myths
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Alphabetically divided by traditions, covers almost every Creation account, from Sumer and Egypt to the Big Bang.

Lewis, Jon E., editor.
The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness Ancient Egypt
. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003. Documenting three thousand years of Egyptian history through actual documents and eyewitness accounts of mummification, temple building, and the real Cleopatra.

McCall, Henrietta.
Mesopotamian Myths
. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Brief overview of the myths of Mesopotamia and their influence on the Greeks and Hebrews.

Macrone, Michael.
By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology
. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. How the Greek myths live on in the English language through such words and expressions as “Titanic” or “Wheel of Fortune.”

Manguel, Alberto and Gianni Guadalupi.
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 2000. An encyclopedic guide to places that never were, including the legendary sites of mythology.

Occhiogrosso, Peter.
The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World’s Religious Traditions
. New York: Doubleday, 1994. A somewhat irreverent but very useful guide to the practices of various religions around the world.

Orchard, Andy.
Cassell’s Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend
. London: Cassell, 1997. More than one thousand entries detailing a range of Scandinavian myths, sagas, and legends.

Page, R. I.
Norse Myths
(The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. The influential stories and legends of pagan Scandinavia and Germanic tribes.

Pattanaik, Devdutt.
Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols, and Rituals From the Heart of the Subcontinent
. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2003. Scholarly and somewhat abstract, this introduction to the streams of Hindu thought and myths is still highly useful.

Powell, Barry B.
Classical Mythology
(fourth edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004. A textbook that breaks the usual textbook mold; well written, entertaining, insightful.

Price, Simon and Emily Kearns, editors.
The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion
. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Drawn from
The Oxford Classical Dictionary
, third edition (Oxford, 1996), this is an excellent resource focusing on Greek and Roman myths and religion and their relationship to Judaism and Christianity in the Greco-Roman world.

Romann, Chris.
A World of Ideas: A Dictionary of Important Theories, Concepts, Beliefs and Thinkers
. New York: Ballantine Books, 1999. From “a priori” to “Zoroastrianism,” a useful compendium of philosophy, faith, and the people behind the ideas.

Shaw, Ian, editor.
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt
. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. A comprehensive single-volume reference covering Egypt’s history from the Stone Age to the Roman period.

Smart, Ninian.
The World’s Religions
(second edition). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. An academic overview of the great religions, including material on their mythic origins.

Smith, Huston.
The Illustrated World’s Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions
. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994. An overview of world religions and how they have evolved since primal times.

Tarnas, Richard.
The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Shaped Our World View
. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991. An accessible overview of Western philosophical thought from the ancient Greeks to modern times; especially useful for its discussion of the Greek worldview.

Taube, Karl.
Aztec and Maya Myths
. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Overview of the two central cultures of Mexico and Central America.

Teeple, John B.
Timelines of World History
. London: DK Publishing, 2002. A lively, illustrated timeline of human history, organized by date and geographic regions. An excellent reference.

Urton, Gary.
Inca Myths
. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Overview of the legends of the great empire based in the Peruvian Andes, which fell to the Spanish conquistadors.

Wilkinson, Richard H.
The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003. A lavishly illustrated reference to the complex pantheon of Egypt from the early days of the pharaohs to Roman times.

Williams, Dr. William F., editor.
Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
. New York: Facts on File, 2000. A critical and skeptical scientific guide to the world’s many frauds, hoaxes, superstitions, and mistaken theories, many of them related to ancient myth and civilizations.

Willis, Roy, editor.
Dictionary of World Myth: An A-Z Reference Guide to Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, Heroines and Fabulous Beasts
. London: Duncan Baird, 1995. The title says it all.

General Works of History and Criticism

Armstrong, Karen.
A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
. New York: Knopf, 1993. Best-selling account of the rise of the three dominant monotheistic religions with discussion of their pagan or mythical roots. Scholarly but very accessible.

Armstrong, Karen.
Buddha
. New York: Penguin Books, 2001. An insightful, brief historical and “philosophical” biography of the legendary founder of Buddhism.

Ballard, Robert D. and Toni Eugene.
Mystery of the Ancient Seafarers: Early Maritime Civilizations
. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004. Heavily illustrated account of recent discoveries in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that shed light on the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, and other early sailors; by the man who found the
Titanic
.

Benedict, Jeff.
No Bone Unturned: Inside the World of a Top Forensic Scientist and His Work on America’s Most Notorious Crimes and Disasters
. New York: Perennial, 2003. Fascinating account of the Smithsonian scientist who rebuilds skeletons and is at the center of the controversy of “Kennewick man,” the oldest known human remains in North America.

Bierlein, J. F.
Parallel Myths
. New York: Ballantine Wellspring, 1994. Accessible work discussing the themes common to many mythologies.

Boorstin, Daniel J.
The Discoverers: A History of Man’s Search to Know His World and Himself
. New York: Random House, 1983. How humanity learned much of what it knows. Erudite and fascinating.

Boorstin, Daniel J.
The Seekers: The Story of Man’s Continuing Quest to Understand His World
. New York: Random House, 1998. A survey of the history of philosophy, religion, and the sciences in the Western world.

Cahill, Thomas.
How the Irish Saved Civilization
. New York: Doubleday, 1995. The first in the Hinges of History series, this book recounts the little-known role of medieval Irish monks in preserving history through illuminated manuscripts. Entertaining and accessible history.

Cahill, Thomas.
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter
. New York: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 2003. The fourth volume in the best-selling Hinges of History series, an entertaining and accessible history of the legacy of the Greeks.

Campbell, Joseph.
The Hero With a Thousand Faces
. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1949. Campbell’s first classic account of the role of the hero in myths.

Campbell, Joseph.
The Mythic Image
. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1974. A heavily illustrated exploration of the relation between dreams, mythology, and artistic imagery.

Campbell, Joseph.
The Power of Myth
. New York: Broadway Books, 1988. A summing-up of the televised conversations about mythology between Joseph Campbell, the great teacher of mythology, and journalist Bill Moyers.

Camus, Albert, translated by Justin O’Brien.
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
. New York: Vintage Books, 1983. One of the most famous modern uses of ancient mythology, by the Nobel Prize–winning French existentialist who explored the idea of living in a universe devoid of meaning.

Ceram, C. W.
Gods, Graves and Scholars: The Story of Archeology
(second revised edition). New York: Knopf, 1967. Although somewhat dated, this is still an excellent introduction to the history of modern archaeology, focusing on the incredible real-life adventures of the likes of Heinrich Schliemann and Howard Carter.

Chadwick, Henry.
The Early Church (The Penguin History of the Church, Volume 1
, revised edition). New York: Penguin Books, 1993. Scholarly but accessible overview of the beginnings of Christianity and its rapid expansion throughout the Roman world.

Clayre, Alasdair.
The Heart of the Dragon
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985. Companion to a twelve-part PBS television documentary, an accessible introduction to China’s past, with an emphasis on philosophy and ancient religions.

Davidson, Basil.
The Search for Africa: History, Culture, Politics
. New York: Random House, 1994. A collection of essays about African history by a veteran journalist-historian, including material on the roots of Africa’s ancient kingdoms.

Davidson, James.
Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997. Sex and seafood in classical Athens. Interesting insights into what life was really like when the ancient Greeks were in their glory. Not quite as accessible as Thomas Cahill’s
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea
(see above).

Deloria, Vine Jr.
God Is Red: A Native View of Religion
(thirtieth anniversary edition). Golden, Colo.: Fulcrum Publishing, 2003. First published in 1972, this is the third edition of a seminal work on Native American religious views. Challenging, angry, and provocative opinions on Native American history and spirituality and how they have often been mischaracterized.

Devereux, Paul.
The Sacred Place: The Ancient Origins of Holy and Mystical Sites
. New York: Sterling, 2001. Illustrated photographic guide to many of the worldwide sites, both man-made (Stonehenge, Chichén Itzá) and natural (Ayers Rock, Mount Olympus), that significantly figure in world mythology.

Diamond, Jared.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a fascinating assessment of history that focuses on geography, disease, and technology, and repudiates many traditional—and often racist—views of the rise of civilizations.

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley.
The Cambridge Illustrated History of China
. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. A beautifully and heavily illustrated introduction to Chinese history; scholarly but very accessible.