bibliogramma (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bibliogramma) wrote2007-12-31 08:26 pm
bibliogramma) wrote2007-12-31 08:26 pm
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What Is Myth, Anyway?
A Short History of Myth, Karen Armstrong
Intended as an introductory volume to a planned series of short novels by Canongate Books in which modern novelists offer re-imaginings of ancient myths from a number of different cultures, this is the first of Armstrong’s books that I’ve not been fully satisfied with. Instead of taking a fresh look at the roles and functions of myth in many cultures Armstrong has here relied primarily on revisiting her previous works on the development of monotheistic religions, and the cultures of the Axial age. It’s a good introduction to Armstrong’s very important scholarship on the development and modern manifestations of monotheistic religions, but it does not, I think, give the reader much insight into the history and, more importantly, the purposes of myth. Myth and religion can work hand in hand, but they are different, and equally important and powerful, forces in human thought and culture.
By focusing on where and how myth and religions are connected, and by drawing so deeply on her work with specific kinds of religions, I think Armstrong has missed out on a great deal that could be useful to a student of myth in general, and a reader of a series based on reworkings of old myths for a new age in particular.
Intended as an introductory volume to a planned series of short novels by Canongate Books in which modern novelists offer re-imaginings of ancient myths from a number of different cultures, this is the first of Armstrong’s books that I’ve not been fully satisfied with. Instead of taking a fresh look at the roles and functions of myth in many cultures Armstrong has here relied primarily on revisiting her previous works on the development of monotheistic religions, and the cultures of the Axial age. It’s a good introduction to Armstrong’s very important scholarship on the development and modern manifestations of monotheistic religions, but it does not, I think, give the reader much insight into the history and, more importantly, the purposes of myth. Myth and religion can work hand in hand, but they are different, and equally important and powerful, forces in human thought and culture.
By focusing on where and how myth and religions are connected, and by drawing so deeply on her work with specific kinds of religions, I think Armstrong has missed out on a great deal that could be useful to a student of myth in general, and a reader of a series based on reworkings of old myths for a new age in particular.