Best of
Mythology

1958

A Dictionary of Symbols


Juan Eduardo Cirlot - 1958
    At every stage of civilization, people have relied on symbolic expression, and advances in science and technology have only increased our dependence on symbols. The language of symbols is considered a science, and this informative volume offers an indispensable tool in the study of symbology. It can be used as a reference or simply browsed for pleasure. Many of its entries — those on architecture, mandala, numbers, serpent, water, and zodiac, for example — can be read as independent essays. The vitality of symbology has never been greater: An essential part of the ancient arts of the Orient and of the Western medieval traditions, symbolism underwent a 20th-century revival with the study of the unconscious, both directly in the field of dreams, visions, and psychoanalysis, and indirectly in art and poetry. A wide audience awaits the assistance of this dictionary in elucidating the symbolic worlds encountered in both the arts and the history of ideas.

Rites and Symbols of Initiation


Mircea Eliade - 1958
    Organizing data from cultures the world over, Eliade lays out the basic patterns of initiation: group puberty rites, entrance into secret cults, shamanic instructions, individual visions, and heroic rites of passage.

Homer and the Heroic Tradition


Cedric H. Whitman - 1958
    What follows in the succeeding chapters is an attempt to formulate such a synoptic view, to bring together—for the first time, I believe—the results of modern specialized disciplines relating to Homeric studies and the kind of criticism which, twenty years ago, was called “New,” but which no, in modified forms, has become simply this era’s characteristic way of approaching such problems as imagery, action, and the poetic consciousness. —Cedric H. Whitman, from the Preface

Naming Day in Eden: the Creation and Recreation of Language


V.J. Jacobs - 1958
    This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.