By The New York Times — 1983
For almost 50 years Joseph Campbell has been writing major studies of mythology.
Read on www.nytimes.com
CLEAR ALL
With the Marvel Studios films, Thor has gone from one in a long line of mythological heroes people might know to arguably the most popular mythological hero out there. (Sorry, Hercules). But how similar is Marvel's version of Thor to what he was based on, the Thor from Norse mythology?
From Odin’s mighty horse to a world-circling serpent, Norse Mythology has a cacophony of crazy creatures!
The Jötnar in Norse mythology are a tricky bunch. Are they bad guys? Are they good guys? Or do they just want the Æsir to stop bothering them? Read on to find out more.
In Norse mythology, Valkyries were originally sinister spirits that would fly above the battlefield in search of the dead, deciding the fate of the fallen for Odin.
The tale of how Odin got the mead of poetry from the enemies of the gods begins when the Aesir gods and the Vanir gods had ended their war. They wanted to make some token of the peace they had agreed to.
Religion is so diverse and nuanced a subject that it’s nearly impossible to encapsulate all of the world’s major religions in just a few words. But we’re going to try anyway. This is an entry point for understanding the basics of the world’s major religions.
Campbell claimed his theory, which has gone on to influence everything from Star Wars to Disney’s Aladdin, arose from a universal structure inherent in the global myths of antiquity. The problem is, that’s a lie. Campbell’s theory is as mythological as the stories from which it borrows.
Some Afro-Diasporan traditions like Palo Mayombe require certain things to be done with the body after death.
Myth is not a no thing, an insubstantial conceptual will-o'-the-wisp. It is coded into our cells and waters the seas of the unconscious. It dwells in our little finger and plays along the spine as well as the spirit.