ABSTRACT

Myths have intrigued scholars throughout history. 'Twentieth Century Mythologies' traces the study of myth over the last century, presenting the key theories of mythology and critiquing traditional definitions of myth. The volume presents the work of influential scholars in mythology: the noted Indo-Europeanist Georges Dumezil, the structuralist anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, and the historian of religions Mircea Eliade. 'Twentieth Century Mythologies' is an indispensable resource for scholars of religion and myth and for all those interested in the history of ideas.

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

History and comparative epistemology

part |97 pages

Georges Dumézil, or Society

part |67 pages

Claude Lévi-Strauss, or the Mind

chapter |12 pages

The symbolic order

chapter |12 pages

From Marx to Kant

chapter |8 pages

The semantics of myth

chapter |10 pages

A Buddhist among the Bororo

part |117 pages

Mircea Eliade, or the Sacred

chapter |10 pages

Conclusion

Modern theories of myth and the history of Western thought