Mythology: The Complete Guide to Our Imagined Worlds - Hardcover

Lively and accessible --Watkin's Mind Body Spirit

The glory of this lavish and comprehensive survey of the world's most enduring stories of gods, heroes and monsters lies in the 410 reproductions of artworks from every major tradition,
chosen with great flair, often presenting unfamiliar works instead of the obvious and well known. --Fortean Times

Myths in every culture of the world explain our origins, the world’s creation, gods and monsters, demons, the afterlife and the underworld. This fresh and compelling account gathers together themes and stories from every culture, showing how myths share many common patterns, and how the human imagination is expressed in all its diversity. It asks the question: what do myths tell us about the human condition? Compiled by the bestselling author of books on monsters and on masterpieces of world art, Mythology is packed with authoritative text and an inspired selection of images, chosen from unusual and hidden sources while also including some of the best-known representations of myths from around the world.

Table of Contents

The Supernatural Realm: Gods and Goddesses, Sun, Moon,
Underworld · The Earth: Creation, Mountains, Floods, Trees,
Springs · Humankind: Twins, Sexuality, Dreams, the Eye, Death ·
Gifts from the Gods: Kingship, Laws, Fire, Beauty · The Animal
Kingdom: Cows, Lions, Eagles, Peacocks, Turtles · Symbolic
Substances: Gold, Blood, Apples, Salt, Honey · Heroes and
Heroines: Heracles, Thor, Theseus, Arthur, Gilgamesh · Quests,
Journeys and Epics: Jason, Odysseus, Holy Grail, the Ramayana