Selected by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title
From Odysseus to Aeneas, from Beowulf to King Arthur, from the Mahâbhârata to the Ossetian "Nart" tales, epic heroes and their stories have symbolized the power of the human imagination. Drawing on diverse disciplines including classics, anthropology, psychology, and literary studies, this product of twenty years' scholarship provides a detailed typology of the hero in Western myth: birth, parentage, familial ties, sexuality, character, deeds, death, and afterlife. Dean A. Miller examines the place of the hero in the physical world (wilderness, castle, prison cell) and in society (among monarchs, fools, shamans, rivals, and gods). He looks at the hero in battle and quest; at his political status; and at his relationship to established religion. The book spans Western epic traditions, including Greek, Roman, Nordic, and Celtic, as well as the Indian and Persian legacies. A large section of the book also examines the figures who modify or accompany the hero: partners, helpers (animals and sometimes monsters), foes, foils, and even antitypes. The Epic Hero provides a comprehensive and provocative guide to epic heroes, and to the richly imaginative tales they inhabit.
Dean A. Miller is a professor emeritus of history and comparative religion at the University of Rochester.
Table of Contents
Introduction. The Book of the HeroChapter 1. The Hero from on HighChapter 2. The Heroic BiographyChapter 3. The Framework of AdventureChapter 4. The Hero "Speaks"Chapter 5. Foils, Fools, and AntiheroesChapter 6. Tertium Quid: Aspects of LiminalityChapter 7. The Final Hero: Beyond ImmortalityNotesIndex
What People are Saying About This
C. Scott Littleton
Miller has made a fundamental contribution to scholarship that transcends everything so far published on this subject, including the works of Rank, Raglan, and, indeed, the late Joseph Campbell and his army of admirers. To put it simply, he has produced a masterpiece!
From the Publisher
Miller has made a fundamental contribution to scholarship that transcends everything so far published on this subject, including the works of Rank, Raglan, and, indeed, the late Joseph Campbell and his army of admirers. To put it simply, he has produced a masterpiece!—C. Scott Littleton, Occidental College