Table of Contents

Chapter One: Purposes and Definitions
The Study of Mythology
What is Myth Historically?
The Rise of Mythology
Mythology During the Enlightenment
Mythology in the 20th Century
Mythology Today
Reading Mythology
Works Cited and Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter Two: Creation Myths
The Birth of Order
Classifying Cosmogonic Myths
Types of Creation Myths
Reading Creation Myths

"Amma and Nummo Create the World" (Dogon/Nigeria)

"The Creation, from The Eddas" (Norse/Iceland)

"From Chaos to King Zeus" (from the Theogony/Greek)

"Out of the Blue" (Modern retelling from Iroquois sources)

"The Creation of Ulligara and Zalgarra" (Sumerian/Iraq)

"Creation Myth from the Vishnu Purana" (Hindu/India)

"Genesis: The Creation Account" (Hebrew Scriptures)

"The Popul Vu" (Maya/Yucatan and Guatemala)
Works Cited and Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter Three: The Female Divine
The Great Goddess
Archetypal Psychology
Goddess as Literary Character Types
Reading the Female Divine

"The Fire" Goddess (Hawaiian/Hawaii)

"White Buffalo Calf Woman" (Brule Sioux/North American Great Plains)

"The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi" (Sumerian/Iraq)

"A Taste of Earth" (modern retelling of Vietnamese materials/Vietnam)

"Kali Beheaded" (modern retelling of Hindu materials/India)

"Calisto and Arcas" (from Ovid's Metamorphosis; Roman/Italy)

"On the Origin of the World" (Gnostic/Egypt)
Works Cited and Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter Four: The Male Divine
The Prehistory of God
The "Sorcerer" of Trois Freres
The "Shaman" of Trois Freres
Images of the Masculine
Reading the Male Divine

"Bhagavad Gita" (Teachings 1, 2, 6, and 11; Hindu/India)

"Enki and Ninhursanga" (Sumerian/Iraq)

"Orunmila Gives the Orishas Their Powers and His Friendship with Eshu" (Yoruba/Nigeria)

"Thor's Dual with Hrungnir" (Norse/Iceland)

"Quetzalcoatl Rescues the Precious Bones and Discovers Corn" (Aztec/Mexico)
Works Cited and Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter Five: Trickster Myths
The Embodiment of Ambiguities
Reading Trickster Myths

"Why We Tell Stories about Spider" (Ga/West Africa)

"Ajapa, Aja the Dog, and the Yams" (Yoruba/Nigeria)

"How Coyote Placed the Stars" (Wasco/Oregon)

"Coyote Man and Saucy Duckfeather" (modern myth; Peter Blue Cloud)

"The Trouble with Rose Hips" (Lipan Apache/American Southwest)

"Old Man Coyote Meets Coyote Woman" (Blackfoot/South-Central Canada, North-Central U.S.)

"The Treasures of the Gods" (Norse/Iceland)

"The Seven Great Deeds of Ma-ui" (Oceania)

"Prometheus" (from the Theogony/Greek)

"Pa Pandir, or Daddy Moron" (Malaysian)
Bibliography
Works Cited and Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter Six: Sacred Places
The Grounding of Mythology
Gulliford's Nine Categories of Sacred Places
Deloria's Four Categories of Sacred Sites
Sites of Longing and Fear
Combining Interpretive Strategies

"The Zuni and the Grand Canyon" (modern Zuni account/Arizona)

"The Emergence" (ancient Zuni account/Arizona)

"Bighorn Medicine Wheel" (modern account/Wyoming)

"The Medicine Wheel" (medicine man Hyemeyohsts Storm/Wyoming)

"Sacred Landforms in Japan (Japan)

"The Mountain of the Lotus and the Fan" (Japan)

"Yoshoji and the Goddess Fuji" (Japan)

"Ten Thousand Treasure Mountain" (Yao/China)

"Kobo Stories" (Buddhist/Japan)

"The Waters of Eternal Life" (Jewish/Italy, 11th c.)

"The Castle in the Lake" (Bon/Tibet)

"The Cormorants of Utrost" (Norway)

"The Areca Tree" (modern retelling of ancient Vietnamese materials)

"Biriwilg Becomes a Painting" (Aboriginal Australia)
Works Cited and Suggestions for Further Reading
Index