Don’t Know Much About® Mythology (74 page)

Vogler, Christopher.
The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
(second edition). Studio City, Calif.: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998. A fascinating text-book that draws heavily on the work of Carl G. Jung and Joseph Campbell in utilizing myth for modern storytellers.

Voytilla, Stuart.
Myth and the Movies: Discovering the Mythic Structure of 50 Unforgettable Films
. Studio City, Calif.: Michael Wiese Productions, 1999. An interesting critical assessment of such classic films as
The Godfather
,
Jaws
,
The African Queen
, and
Citizen Kane
from a mythical perspective. Draws heavily on the themes laid out by Christopher Vogler (see above).

Wade, Nicholas.
The New York Times Book of Archeology
. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2001. Collected articles from the newspaper’s Science Times section record some of the major recent discoveries in archaeology.

Warner, Marina.
Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary
New York: Vintage, 1983. A scholarly but accessible account of the changing historical perspectives given to the mother of Jesus, including the influence of ancient mythical characters on the image of Mary, especially in the early Christian period.

Sometimes it is difficult to comprehend that this Don’t Know Much About series started nearly twenty years ago with the simple idea about writing a book about something I loved—American history. It has grown into a series of books for adults and children that has exceeded my wildest imaginings. That could only have happened with the hard work, support, and determination of a large supporting cast. A great many people have been part of the long journey I have been on, and I wish to thank and recognize some of them for their unique contributions to making my work possible.

I start with a teacher somewhere out there who once read Homer’s
Odyssey
to a group of fifth-graders in Mount Vernon, New York. To her, and the all the other teachers who inspire young minds every day in schools around America, I say thank you for doing what you do. It is the most important job in America, but is not usually seen that way. America owes an enormous debt of gratitude to the teachers who are so dedicated to the work of challenging young minds in difficult times.

For the past few years, it has been my great pleasure to work with an excellent group of committed, dedicated colleagues at HarperCollins, starting with Jane Friedman, who has been so supportive of my work. I would also like to especially thank Carrie Kania, Christine Boyd, Shaina Gopen, David Koral, Suzie Sisoler, Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich, Will Staehle, Susan Weinberg, Diane Burrowes, Patti Kelly, Leslie Cohen, my copyeditor, Olga Galvin Gardner, and my tireless publicist, Elly Weisenberg.

Most of all, I am deeply indebted to the pushing, prodding, and vision of my editor, Gail Winston. Her assistant, Katherine Hill, was also instrumental in making this book possible.

I have been fortunate to work with some of the nicest people in the book business at my longtime literary agency, the David Black Agency. I am not only lucky to have such hardworking, dedicated people on my team, I feel fortunate to consider all of them my friends: Jessica Candlin, Leigh Ann Eliseo, Linda Loewenthal, Gary Morris, Susan Raihofer, Jason Sacher, Joy Tutela, and the maestro, David Black.

Over the years, a great many other people have provided moral support, laughs, and the encouragement that make the work of writing bearable, and I am indebted to all of them for their friendship: Star Gibbs, Ellen Giusto, Jim and Esther Gray, Joyce Waldon, and Linda Louise Watson. I also thank the wonderful people at one of America’s great independent bookstores, the Northshire, in Manchester Center, Vermont.

I would like to add a special note of gratitude to April Prince, who has been a friend and a great help in making these books, especially this one, in recent years.

My deepest and greatest gratitude must always go to my family. First, my mother, Evelyn Davis, who made those trips to the local public library such a significant part of my young life. Without anybody knowing it or predicting it, those regular visits to the temple-like Mount Vernon Public Library set me on the road to becoming a writer.

My children, Colin and Jenny, are my joy and inspiration, and they have had to put up with a father who was often distracted or preoccupied.

And, finally, I thank the young woman who once told a bookstore owner who was interviewing me for a job, “Hire the kid.” That same woman later told me I should be writing books, not selling them. She was so smart, I married her. Thank you, Joann. More than I can ever say.

—D
ORSET
, V
ERMONT
May 2005

Note: Entries in this index, carried over verbatim from the print edition of this title, are unlikely to correspond to the pagination of any given e-book reader. However, entries in this index, and other terms, may be easily located by using the search feature of your e-book reader.

Aborigines, 394–95, 504–6

Abraham (Judeo-Christian), 123, 163–64

Abzu (Mesopotamian), 138, 145, 146

Achilles (Greek), 4, 244, 245, 342

Actaeon (Greek), 204

Adam (Judeo-Christian), 168

Adonis (Greek), 146, 206

Aeneas, 256–57

Aeneid
,
The
, 171, 255–57

Aeschylus, 186, 199, 208, 226, 245

Aesir (Norse), 300

Aesop, 31–32, 130

African myths, 397–430

common characteristics of, 408–12

creation myths, 11, 415–18

gods, 418–27

milestones, 400–403

new world myths and, 393–96

sub-Saharan Africa and, 404–7, 413–15

Voodoo, Santeria, and, 427–30

afterlife.
See also
death

African beliefs, 408

Celtic beliefs, 278

Chinese beliefs, 366–67

Egyptian myths and, 90–93

Indian beliefs, 327

Agamemnon (Greek), 244, 246–47

Agni (Indian), 334

agora (Greek), 186, 187–88

agriculture

Mayan, 457–59

Mesopotamian, 123, 130–31

Aha (Egyptian), 100

Ah Puch (Mayan), 462

Ahura Mazda (Persian), 169–70

Aido-Hwedo or Aida-Wedo (African), 417, 421, 428

Airsekui (North American), 449

Akhenaten, 13, 107–11

Alexander the Great, 111, 251

allegories, myths and, 25–26, 34–37, 156–57

All Saints’ Day, 291, 469–70

alphabet, Phoenician, 165, 183, 185

Amarna Revolution, 107–8

Amaterasu (Japanese), 9, 384–85, 387–89, 390–91

Amaunet (Egyptian), 77

Amenhotep IV, 107–11

American myths, 431–501

Aztec myths, 464–74

characteristics of, 448–53

of, 440–45

myths, 475–81

Mayan myths, 453–63

milestones, 435–39

world myths and, 393–96 (
see also
African myths; North Amercan myths; Pacific Island myths)

suppression of, by European conquerors, 445–48

Amma (African), 418–19, 426

Ammut (Egyptian), 92, 93

Amun (Egyptian), 77, 84

Analects of Confucius, The
, 379, 381

Anansi (African), 410, 423–24

Anat (Mesopotamian), 166–67

ancestor worship, 410, 505

Andromeda (Greek), 221

animals.
See also
bulls; dragons; snakes

African myths, 422–27

American myths, 450, 490–91

Br’er Rabbit stories, 5, 410–11, 426

Egyptian myths, 97–98

fables, 31–32

of, 16, 45, 367, 430

animism, 41

ankh symbol, 107, 113

An or Anu (Mesopotamian), 138, 144–45, 155

Anubis (Egyptian), 82, 85–86, 93–94

Ao (Chinese), 375

Apep (Egyptian), 73, 81

Aphrodite (Greek), 148, 182, 196, 200–201, 206, 211, 246

Apis bull (Egyptian), 97

Apollo (Greek and Roman), 88, 189, 202–3, 244

Apollodorus, 199, 251

Apollonius of Rhodes, 226

Apophis (Egyptian), 73, 81

apples, Halloween and, 291

apples of the Hesperides, 225

Apsu (Mesopotamian), 138, 145, 146

Arachne (Greek), 204–5

Arcadian stag, 223

archaeology

Celtic myths and, 273–74

Indian myths and, 324–25

Kennewick man, 440, 500

and, 35–37

female forms, 141

Schliemann’s discovery of Troy, 37–38, 184, 247–48

archaic triad (Roman), 252

archetypes, myths and, 16, 31, 48–49

Ares (Greek), 203, 212

Argonauts (Greek), 35, 226–30

Argus (Greek), 2–3

Ariadne (Greek), 235

Aristotle, 233, 236

Arjuna (Indian), 323, 346–47

armpit creation story, 299–300

art

African, 406

Greek, 181, 186, 208

Mesopotamian, 134

world myths and, 396

Artemis (Greek), 203–4

Arthur, legend of King, 28–29, 235, 293–95

Aryans, 252, 318–19

Asclepius (Greek), 221, 228–30

Asgard (Norse), 299–300

Asherah (Mesopotamian), 166

Ashoka, 351

Ashurbanipal, 134, 137, 145, 156

Asian myths, 309–11.
See also
Chinese myths; Indian myths; Japanese myths

Assyrian Empire, 134, 156, 161

Astarte (Mesopotamian), 148

Atahensic (North American), 488

Atahualpa, 477

Aten (Egyptian), 107–8

Atharva-Veda, 321

atheistic religions, 45

Athena (Greek), 179, 182, 204–5, 221

Athens, 181, 186

Atlantis (Greek), 25–26, 231–34

Atlas (Greek), 197

Atrahasis (Mesopotamian), 158

Atum (Egyptian), 76, 77–78

Augean stables, 224

Australian myths, 393–96, 501–3, 504–6

avatars (Indian), 333, 344–45

Ayars (Incan), 478–79

Aztec myths, 464–74.
See also
American myths

Day of the Dead holiday, 469–70

gods, 470–74

sacrifice and, 465–67

Mexico and, 7, 464

Spanish conquerors as gods, 467–69

Baal (Mesopotamian), 31, 129, 148, 165–67.
See also
Marduk (Mesopotamian)

Babylon, 125, 128–29, 135–36, 152, 160–63.
See also
Mesopotamian myths

Babylonian Empire, 135–36, 160–63

Bacchanalia holiday, 206, 257–61

Bacchus (Roman), 206–9, 259

Badbh (Celtic), 284

Balder (Norse), 300–301

ball game, Mayan, 459–62

baptism, 45

basket themes, 254

Bast or Bastet (Egyptian), 94

Beelzebub, 167

beer

Egyptian, 65

Incan, 475, 478

Indian soma, 334–35

Mesopotamian, 133

Bel (Mesopotamian), 31, 129, 148, 165–67.
See also
Marduk (Mesopotamian)

Belenus (Celtic), 280–81

belief, myths and, 17, 43–45

Beltane festival, 280–81, 291–92

benben stone, 78, 101–102

Benten (Japanese), 388

Berserkers (Norse), 305

Bes (Egyptian), 94

bhakti yoga, 340

Bhagavad-Gita, 46, 313, 317, 345–47

Bible.
See also
Judeo-Christian religion

Abraham in, 163–64

Babylon in, 31, 116, 124, 129, 146, 152, 162–63

Canaan in, 165–67

Egyptian influence, 112

Greek version, 251

Genesis creation myth, 11, 46, 74–75, 122, 137–38, 156, 163, 168

Leviathan in, 149–50

Lilith in, 168

challenges to, 38–42, 137

Noah flood story, 38–40, 157–60

Palestine and Philistines, 165

Paul in, 257–58

of, 45

stories of, 46

Samson and Heracles, 223

Shem and semite term, 135

rivalries, 81–82

Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), 146

Tower of Babel, 160–63

Bingham, Hiram, 475, 478

birds, Stymphalian, 224

boar, Erymanthian, 223

Bobbi-bobbi (Pacific Islands), 506

bodhi or bo tree, 349

Book of Changes, 353, 365, 367–68, 375, 381

Book of Invasions, 275

Book of the Dead.
See
Egyptian Book of the Dead, The

Bragi (Norse), 301

Brahma, the Creator (Indian), 331–33, 337–39

Brahman (Indian), 45, 323, 325, 327, 337

Brahmanas, 322

Brahmins, 322, 327, 328, 348

Br’er Rabbit stories, 5, 410–11, 426

Brigid (Celtic), 30, 282–83

Brynhild or Brunhilde (Norse), 307–8

Buddha (Indian), 345, 348–51

Buddhism, 9, 319, 348–51, 363, 386, 388

bulls

Celtic, 287

Egyptian, 97

Greek Heracles and Cretan, 224

Greek Theseus and Minotaur, 234–37

Mesopotamian, 155

Minoan, 183–84

Mithraism and, 170

Bumba (African), 415, 419

burial literature, Egyptian, 71–74

Byzantine Empire, 261

caduceus symbol, 228

Caesar, Julius, 36, 112, 269, 271–73, 277

Cagn (African), 419

calendar, 6, 64

Calypso (Greek), 249, 250

Canaan, 165–68.
See also
Mesopotamian myths

cannibalism, 210, 220, 429

Capitoline triad (Roman), 253

Cassandra (Greek), 246

caste system, Indian, 328–30, 346–47

castration, Greek myths and, 194–98

Catal Huyuk, 130

Caterpillar (North American), 490

cattle of Geryon, 225

Cattle Raid of Cooley, The
, 263, 275–76, 285–88

causal myths.
See
creation myths; explanatory myths

celebrations.
See
holidays

Celtic myths, 263–95.
See also
Norse myths

The Cattle Raid of Cooley
, 285–88

Druids and, 269–80

Fenian Cycle and Finn MacCool, 288–92

gods, 280–84

evidence, 272–76

sacrifice, 276–79

of King Arthur, 28–29

Mabinogion
and Wales, 292–95

milestones, 266–68

Salmon of Knowledge, 288–90

Samhain festival and Halloween, 290–92

shamans, 412

Stonehenge, 279–80

centaurs (Greek), 226

Centeotl (Aztec), 470

Centzon Totchtin (Aztec), 450

Cerberus (Greek), 209, 225–26

Ceres (Roman), 205–6, 253

Cernunnos (Celtic), 281

Ceryneian deer, 223

Chac (Mayan), 462

Chalchiuhtlicue (Aztec), 472–74

Chaldean Empire, 161

Chang E (Chinese), 379

Changing Woman (North American), 489

Chango (African), 410, 427–30

Chaos (Greek), 194

Charon (Greek), 209

Cheops, 99–102

chicha beer, 475, 478

chi life force (Chinese), 364, 378

Chinawezi (African), 417

Chinese myths, 353–84

Chinese history and, 309–11, 361–64

Confucius and Confucianism, 379–82

myths, 369–73

and, 365–69

gods, 374–79

Japanese myths and, 386 (
see also
Japanese myths)

Laozi and Taoism, 382–84