Part One considers the distinguishing features of the various Cycle of tales and the personages who figure most prominently in them. Part Two reveals the cosmological framework within which the action of the tales takes place. Part Three consists of a discussion of the themes of certain classes of stories which tell of Conceptions and Births, Supernatural Adventures, Courtships and Marriages, Violent Deaths and Voyages to the Other World, and an attempt is made to understand their religious function and glimpse their transcendent meaning.

    He begins with a mystery: Why is the most important god in the Rg Veda, the oldest of India's sacred texts, known by a secret name--"Ka," or Who?What ensues is not an explanation, but an unveiling. Here are the stories of the creation of mind and matter; of the origin of Death, of the first sexual union and the first parricide. We learn why Siva must carry his father's skull, why snakes have forked tongues, and why, as part of a certain sacrifice, the king's wife must copulate with a dead horse. A tour de force of scholarship and seduction, Ka is irresistible.

    As you’d expect from Daniel McCoy, the creator of the enduringly popular website Norse Mythology for Smart People, it’s written to scholarly standards, but in a simple, clear, and entertaining style that’s easy to understand and a pleasure to read. It includes gripping retellings of no less than 34 epic Norse myths – more than any other book in the field – while also providing an equally comprehensive overview of the fascinating Viking religion of which Norse mythology was a part. You’ll learn about the Vikings’ gods and goddesses, their concept of fate, their views on the afterlife, their moral code, how they thought the universe was structured, how they practiced their religion, the role that magic played in their lives, and much more. With its inclusion of the latest groundbreaking research in the field, The Viking Spirit is the ultimate introduction to the timeless splendor of Norse mythology and religion for the 21st Century.

    In fulfilling this time-honored quest, penetrating new light is cast upon the Grail Code of Service and the venerated feminine element, upheld in chivalry but forsaken by the Church in order to forge a male dominated society.This unique work offers revelatory insight concerning the descendant heirs of Jesus and his brother James while, in documenting a hidden legacy of the Messiah, it unveils hitherto guarded facts about characters such as Mary Magdalene and Joseph of Arimathea. Tracing the sacred lineage through centuries of persecution and Inquisition, Bloodline of the Holy Grail reveals a systematic suppression of authentic records and a strategic manipulation of the New Testament Gospels.Featuring all the charm and adventure of Arthurial romance, coupled with enthralling Rosicrucian and Templar disclosures, this extraordinary work has a cutting edge of intrigue that removes the established blanket of enigma to expose one of the greatest conspiracies ever told.

    S. dollar bill? Did a pharaoh inspire Moses to worship one God? What’s a Canaanite demoness doing at a rock concert?Since the beginning of time, people have been insatiably curious. They’ve asked questions about where we come from, why the stars shine and the seasons change, and what constitutes evil. The imaginative answers crafted by our ancestors have served as religion, science, philosophy, and popular literature. In this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling Don’t Know Much About® series, Kenneth C. Davis introduces and explains the great myths of the world using his engaging and delightfully irreverent question-and-answer style. He tackles the epic of Gilgamesh; Achilles and the Trojan War; Stonehenge and the Druids; Odin, Thor, and the entire Norse pantheon; Native American myths, and much more, including the dramatic life and times of the man who would be Buddha. From Mount Olympus to Machu Picchu, here is an insightful, lively look at the greatest stories ever told.

    This compendium of early Japanese life provides a panorama of Japan during its formation.

    It includes hands-on information for modern celebrations, spells and divination, recipes and crafts, invocations and prayers, and more!Samhain—also known as Halloween—is the final spoke in the wheel of the year. At this time, the harvest has finished and the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. This guide shows you how to practice the serious work of divination and honoring the dead along with the more light-hearted activities of Halloween.

    Guided by the advice of more than 500 teachers of world literature and a panel of regional specialists, the editors of the Third Edition a completely new team of scholar-teachers have made this respected text brand-new in all the best ways. Dozens of new selections and translations, all-new introductions and headnotes, hundreds of new illustrations, redesigned maps and timelines, and a wealth of media resources all add up to the most exciting, accessible, and teachable version of the Norton ever published."

    Compiled by an international team of experts, each entry is given its complete range of interpretations - sexual and spiritual, official and subversive, cultural and religious - to bring meaning and insight to the symbol.

    Undaunted, however, Temple is back, with 140 pages of new scientific evidence that makes his hypothesis more compelling than ever. Many authors have speculated on the subject of extraterrestrial contact, but never before has such detailed evidence been presented. Temple applies his in-depth knowledge of ancient history, mythology, Pythagorean physics, chaos theory, and Greek, to a close examination of the measurements of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was built to align directly with the star Sirius. He concludes that the alien civilization of Sirius and our own civilization are part of the same harmonic system, and are destined to function and resonate together. His findings warrant a profound reappraisal of our role in the universe.

    We see the relentless propaganda, the cut-throat politics, the brutality and repression that lay behind the appearance of unchanging monarchy.

    Children meet Bragi, the god of poetry, and the famous Valkyrie maidens, among other gods, goddesses, heroes, and giants. Illustrations throughout depict the wondrous other world of Norse folklore and its fantastical Northern landscape.

    Like the symbols that haunt our dreams and guide our inner journeys, the myths of the Western world touch something deep within us, awakening old nightmares and new yearnings.Some of the gods, tales, and mythic creatures in Bergen Evan's Dictionary Of Mythology are as familiar as the disturbing tale of Oedipus. Others may seem strange, wonderful, or chillingly macabre: Lycaon, the murderer, who is transformed into a wolf by an angry god; Cronus (Time) who devours his won children; Pan, the god of the animal in man, who fills us with overmastering fears that sweep courage and prudence aside; the hero Sigurd, who seeks a magic ring and finds a maiden . . . in a ring of fire.These tantalizing stories and dozens more make this book a perfect addition to any library, as delightful for browsing as it is essential for reference.

    The lyrical passages and poetic images, the wry humor, the tall-tale extravagance, and the homely realism of the 'Kalevala' come through with extraordinary effectiveness.

    Beginning at the time of Alexander the Great, the monsters come fast and furious--Behemoth and Leviathan, Gog and Magog, Satan and his demons, Grendel and Frankenstein, circus freaks and headless children, right up to the serial killers and terrorists of today and the post-human cyborgs oftomorrow. Monsters embody our deepest anxieties and vulnerabilities, Asma argues, but they also symbolize the mysterious and incoherent territory beyond the safe enclosures of rational thought. Exploring sources as diverse as philosophical treatises, scientific notebooks, and novels, Asma unravelstraditional monster stories for the clues they offer about the inner logic of an era's fears and fascinations. In doing so, he illuminates the many ways monsters have become repositories for those human qualities that must be repudiated, externalized, and defeated.