Mythology

Kathryn Huxtable's Pagan Bibliography

("An it harm none...")

Since modern revivalist Paganism and Wicca are recreating ancient religious practice suitable for modern times, we should know as much about world mythology as possible. Even if you follow a "traditional" path, you need to know as much as possible about that tradition. And it never hurts to know what other people believe.

Apuleius, Lucius. The Golden Ass. Trans. Robert Graves. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1951.

The mythological classic about a man who witnesses a sacred rite of the Goddess and is turned into an ass and his adventures thereafter. The description of the Isis ritual at the end make this work a classic.

Budge, E.A. Wallis. The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Dover, New York, 1967.

The classic translation of the Egyptian rites and spells for the "dead". Can be interpreted as a ritual manual of Egyption spiritual initiation mysteries.

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1949.

Campbell's classic work analyzing the basic patterns repeated in myths the world over. Dry reading and somewhat dated in his attitudes towards women, but otherwise worth slogging through.

________. The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology. Penguin, New York, 1987.

Examines the roots of mythology in pre-civilized cultures to find basic patterns.

________. The Masks of God: Oriental Mythology. Penguin, New York, 1976.

Examines mythology in the earliest city-states and on into Egypt, India, China, and Japan.

________. The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology. Penguin, New York, 1976.

Examines the themes that underlie the art, worship, and literature of the Western world, from Greece and the Middle East through Christianity and Islam.

________. The Masks of God: Creative Mythology. Penguin, New York, 1976.

Examines the philosophical, spiritual and artistic history of Western culture since the Dark Ages, with a special focus on our creation of our own mythology. The last several chapters of this are Campbell's paean to Western European derived culture and literature. With a few caveats, I'd agree with him. We've accomplished something great. Now, if we can only keep from destroying it....

Carpenter, Thomas H., and Christopher A. Faraone. Masks of Dionysus. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1993.

Collection of papers from a conference on Dionysus. Analyzes the various aspects of this most complex of Greek Gods. Excellent. Highly recommended.

Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Norse Myths. Pantheon, New York, 1980.

A retelling of the Norse myths, attempting to keep the flavor of the original. Highly recommended.

Eisler, Riane. The Chalice & the Blade. Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1987.

Analyzes ancient history using data from Marija Gimbutas and others to show that European history started out peaceful and matristic and became warlike and patriarchal after invasions. Highly recommended.

Euripides. The Bacchae. Trans. C.K. Williams. Noonday Press, New York, 1990.

Euripedes masterpiece of Divine madness.

Foley, Helene P., ed. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1994.

A fresh annotated translation of the Homeric Hymn, with scholarly commentary. Excellent in depth analysis of this particular myth and various forms it may have had in the Hellenic world. Highly recommended.

Frazer, James G. The Golden Bough. Avenel Books, New York, 1981.

The classic analysis of "primitive" myth and religion. Although Frazer's conclusions are dated, this is still required reference for the complete library.

Graves, Robert. The White Goddess. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1982.

Inspired analysis of poetic myth as the magical language of the Moon Goddess among Mediterranean and Northern European peoples dating from as early as the Stone Age. This might well be the source book for modern revivalist Craft mythology.
The important thing to keep in mind, though, is that this is not a scholarly work of history. It is a scholarly work of poetic analysis. The conclusions may have nothing to do with anything that happened thousands of years ago, but everything to do with what's happening now.

Guerber, H.A. Myths of the Norsemen. Dover, Mineola, New York, 1992. (orig. 1909)

Classic collection of Icelandic myths.

Harrison, Jane Ellen. Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1992. (orig. 1903)

Classic examination of the substrata of Greek religious practice, as opposed to mythology. Lots of good information about the worship of Dionysus and the Orphic Mysteries. Her conclusions are considered erroneous by some today, but the data is excellent.

Hendricks, Rhoda A. Classical Gods and Heroes. Morrow Quill, New York, 1978.

Contains most of the Greek and Roman myths translated pretty literally from classical authors. This means that some of the material is fairly late, but it's still fresher than a modern retelling.

Hesiod. Works and Days/Theogony. trans. Stanley Lombardo. Hackett, Indianapolis, 1993.

An excellent poetic translation of the two classics by Hesiod: "Works and Days", his rant to his brother, and "Theogony", the earliest known telling of the central Greek origin myths. I like this book, but then, I took Latin from the translator, and I liked him, therefore it's recommended.

Jones, Gwyn and Thomas. The Mabinogion. Illus. Alan Lee. Dragon's Dream, The Netherlands, 1982.

The classic of Welsh mythology with illustrations by Alan Lee.

Monaghan, Patricia. The Book of Goddesses & Heroines. Llewellyn, St. Paul, 1989.

Encyclopedic listing of Goddesses from around the world.

Ovid. Metamorphoses. Trans. Rolfe Humphries. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1955.

Translation of the Roman poet's interpretation of various Greek and Roman myths.

Squire, Charles. Celtic Myth and Legend. New Castle Publishing, Van Nuys, California, 1975.

Compendium of Celtic mythology. Although a bit dated in its approach to the myths, it's still a useful reference and a good starting point for research into Celtic myth cycles.

Stone, Merlin. When God Was a Woman. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego, 1976.

Semi-scholarly study of of the archaeological traces of ancient Goddess worship.

Walker, Barbara G. The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1983.

An extremely complete listing of Goddesses and things relating to Goddess worship. Gods are not neglected, but the focus is on the Goddess. I've always suspected some of her history, but it's still a fascinating mine of information.

Contact kathryn@kathrynhuxtable.org with questions or comments about this page.

The current URL is http://www.kathrynhuxtable.org/bibpagan/mythology.shtml
This file was modified Wednesday, 15-Dec-2004 12:54:34 PST