Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book constitutes a vital and lively contribution to this evolving perspective, which restores the value of myth qua myth, as the primal and analysis-defying mythic material continues to resonate in new and foreign frames. The enduring relevance of ancient tales and symbols is apparent throughout the book. Translation addresses the collectivity, specificity, and metamorphosis inherent in myth. The case for myth's universality is nowhere more passionately advanced than in the works of Carl Jung, whose theory of archetypes and the collective unconscious has also contributed greatly to a re-appraisal of the primordial aspects of the human mind, and of the power of myth, as opposed to the rational requirements of logos. In identifying an array of universal motifs that are inherited in the collective unconscious, Jung draws attention to their presence at the heart of mythical stories throughout the world.