In dit eerste deel van The Masks of God onderzoekt en belicht de meest vooraanstaande mytholoog ter wereld de bronnen van de mythe. Joseph Campbell toont zijn voorbeeldige combinatie van wetenschappelijke diepgang en volksenthousiasme en kijkt naar de uitingen van religieus ontzag bij de vroege mens en de weerklank daarvan in de rituelen van overlevende oerstammen. Campbell laat zien hoe mythe ons begrip van de wereld, gezien en ongezien, door de tijd heen heeft beïnvloed. Terwijl hij archetypische mythische beelden en praktijken onderzoekt en deelt, wijst hij ook op de manier waarop deze concepten ons persoonlijke leven beïnvloeden.

Na voltooiing van de monumentale serie Masks of God ontdekte Campbell dat zijn werk ‘de eenheid van het mensenras bevestigde, niet alleen in zijn biologie, maar ook in zijn spirituele geschiedenis’. Hij vergeleek deze eenheid met een symfonie waarin verschillende delen een ‘grote beweging’ creëren. Misschien meer dan ooit tevoren is het inzicht van Campbell niet alleen verhelderend maar ook inspirerend. ( )

I've always loved Joseph Campbell's work ever since I read The Hero With A Thousand Faces. I've had Campbell's The Masks of God on my radar for a little while now, and I'm finally getting around to it. Book 1 of this series was really well done, and I found it very informative. Campbell relays the info on this mythology really well.
Full review of all 4 books to come. ( )

A classic--I loved it! I did get a swimmy feeling in my head with all the details--it was a lot to absorb. However, well worth the effort and now I'm excited to learn more about our current understandings of myths, evolution of homo sapiens etc.! ( )

What a delight! I've had my eyes on these four doorstoppers of mythology every since I read Campbell's [b:The Hero With a Thousand Faces|588138|The Hero With a Thousand Faces|Joseph Campbell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442885694s/588138.jpg|971054]. And like that other classic, Campbell mixes an enthusiastic and encyclopedic knowledge of everything from Australian Aborigines to Sumerian to African to Egyptian belief systems in an attempt to find all the core recurring concepts in the same way that Frasier did in [b:The Golden Bough|408862|The Golden Bough|James George Frazer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1174504446s/408862.jpg|16303733], only MORE SO.

This is beyond impressive. Even if we criticize some of the conclusions he comes up with, no one can dispute the research or first-hand scholarship or the breadth of his knowledge.

I think he's something of a god. He breaks down whole systems of thought into inclusive theories that are truly universal. His influence on sooooo many artists from Lucas to Gaiman is undisputed. Of course, that's far from all. You might say that his way of thinking has permeated rational inclusive scholarship across the world. By the time this particular book came out in 1959, his clarity of thought and writing and speaking brought in a golden age of open-mindedness.

What do I mean? I mean he's the one who came up with the idea "Follow your Bliss." Vast passages in this text are devoted to the sanctity of play. It's even a valid argument that most societies work on the principle that we fake it till we make it. Act as if until it becomes real. There's no difference between putting on a mask you know very well was created by your neighbor and dance around with the perfect assumption that you're now the incarnation of a god and getting on stage at Eurovision and singing your heart out to adoring fans who invest you with the power of their worship. The only difference is scale.

There is no way I can do this book justice like this. There is such a wealth of mythologies between the covers of this book that I can't think of any other single book that covers as much. It's also extremely readable. But expect a long, long quest. The other three books are much larger. :)

Side note: I am required to remain skeptical about some of the conclusions for one rather big reason: they're addictive. I love them so much that I'm tempted to swallow it all whole. Few theories are this powerful. Or enjoyable.

After all, Inanna is Isis is Aphrodite is Mary mother of Jesus, after all. We can place this at this man's feet. :) ( )

jfc this is one is mb worse than oriental mythology

campbell literally takes anthropological info on MODERN PPLS (ie from the past ~500 yrs) and suggests that their societies r a model for PALEOLITHIC SOCIETIES (!?!?!?!!) like wow! fuck! levi-strauss was fucking better than this!!!! mauss and durkheim already covered this ground in a much less offensive way!!!! ( )