Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero

289 Pages·1998·16.7 MB·English

by  David Adams Leeming

MYTHOLOGY
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MYTHOLOGY
The Voyage of the Hero
THIRD EDITION
DAVID ADAMS LEEMING
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1998
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York
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and associated companies in
Berlin Ibadan
Copyright © 1998 by David Adams Leeming
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Leeming, David Adams, 1937-
Mythology, the voyage of the hero /
David Adams Leeming. — 3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-512153-8. — 0-19-511957-6 (pbk.)
1. Mythology. 2. Heroes—Mythology. I. Title.
BL311.L326 1998
291.1'3—dc21 97-40573
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
For
Morgan
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CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xii
Introduction: The Meaning of Myth 3
Part 1. THE MIRACULOUS CONCEPTION AND BIRTH
AND THE HIDING OF THE CHILD
Leda and Helen 13
Aethra and Theseus 13
Maha-Maya and Buddha 14
Chimalman and Quetzalcoatl 18
Dughda and Zoroaster 19
Siegfried 20
Kunti and Karna 21
Changing Woman 22
Maui 23
Moses 23
Cybele 25
Nana and Attis 25
Water Jar Boy 26
Kutoyis 28
Hainuwele 30
Coatlicue and Huitzilopochtli 31
Lituolone 32
Isis and Horus 32
Persephone and Dionysos 33
Myrrha and Adonis 34
Anna and Mary 34
Mary and Jesus 35
The World Child:
Commentary on Part 1 39
Part 2. CHILDHOOD, INITIATION, AND DIVINE SIGNS
Krishna 43
Heracles 44
Odysseus 45
Theseus 46
vii
King Arthur 47
Cuchulainn 48
Siegfried 49
David 51
Buddha 54
Mary 55
Joan of Arc 56
Jesus 58
Draupadi 59
Moses 61
Dionysos 63
Origins and Initiation:
Commentary on Part 2 65
Part 3. PREPARATION, MEDITATION, WITHDRAWAL,
AND REFUSAL
Buddha 69
Milarepa 74
Jesus 76
Moses 78
Isaac Tens 79
Wunzh 82
The Pleiades 85
Percival 88
Mohammad 89
Penelope 91
Endymion 92
The Seven Sleepers 92
Odysseus and Achilles 96
The Unknown Within the Self:
Commentary on Part 3 97
Part 4. TRIAL AND QUEST
Heracles 101
Sita 106
Prometheus 108
Theseus and Ariadne 112
Kutoyis 115
Kyazimba 118
Gawain and Percival 118
Ananse 122
Gilgamesh 124
Pele, Hiiaka, and Lohiau 128
viii
Seth 133
Quetzalcoatl 134
Faust 136
Jesus 140
Dionysos 142
The Summer of Life:
Commentary of Part 4 152
Part 5. DEATH AND THE SCAPEGOAT
Attis 157
Adonis and Aphrodite 158
Tammuz and Inanna 160
Osiris and Isis 161
Hainuwele 164
Corn Mother 165
Persephone and Demeter 166
Dionysos 171
Orpheus 172
Kutoyis 174
Wanjiru 174
Jesus 175
Odin 179
Death and the Promise of New Life:
Commentary on Part 5 180
Part 6. THE DESCENT TO THE UNDERWORLD
Inanna 185
Hiiaka and Lohiau 186
Wanjiru 191
Dionysos 192
Jesus 192
Kuan Yin 194
Heracles 196
Kutoyis 197
Orpheus and Eurydice 197
The Young Comanche 201
Hermodr and Balder 202
Izanagi and Izanami 203
Moses 204
Odysseus 206
Aeneas 209
The Night Journey of the Soul:
Commentary on Part 6 213
ix