Comparative Mythology

by Jaan Puhvel

Book Overview

In a magisterial work, Jaan Puhvel unravels the prehistoric Indo-Euopean origins of the traditions of India and Iran, Greece and Rome, of the Celts, Germans, Balts, and Slavs. Utilizing the methodologies of historical linguistics and archaeology, he reconstructs a shared religious, mytholoigcal, and cultural heritage. Separate chapters on individual traditions as well as on recurrent thees-god and warrior, king and virgin, fire and water-give life...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801839386
• ISBN13: 9780801839382
• Release Date: August 1989
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Superb introduction to comparative mythology

Puhvel writes this book as I imagine he teaches his classes. He does not cite sources; as he says, there are just too many sources to cite, so to do so would clutter up the book unnecessarily. The result is more of an "Intro" to comparative mythology, which he does very well. Though it is a little too dense to serve as a "popular" book, those interested in the subject matter will enjoy his excellent, though at times somewhat complex, writing style and grammar. I appreciated his scientific (that is to say, objective and methodical) approach to the subject as well. The book is concise, integrated, and composed well. Without extra words or redundant thoughts, Puhvel makes his points succinctly--and very interesting points they are!

Useful introduction to Comparative Myth and IE Mythology

This work is an introductory survey of comparative mythology by noted scholar Jaan Puhvel. In this work, he discusses the comparative method and the definitions of the Indo-European and Indo-Iranian culturo-linguistic groups. This is then followed by a brief survey of the mythological material from a comparative perspective. The final part of the book covers common Indo-European themes. This work is extremely interesting and provided new avenues for my own comparative studies. Many themes I have been working on studying have new material presented in this work. The work is so comprehensive that my guess would be that others who look at comparative Indo-European mythological traditions will find new material for their own approapches as well. Highly recommended.

From an interested amateur

This book is a study of the comparative mythology of the Indo-European cultures. A university lecturer, Jaan Puhvel's style is, at times, light and breezy and one would imagine he was a popular professor. His grasp of the various sources- Indian, Iranian, Greek, Roman, Germanic and Celtic- is impressive and he shows the detachment necessary to look for the underlying proto-IE mythological commonalities. Jaan Puhvel was a student of Georges Dumezil and the latter's tripartite view of ancient IE cultures pervades the book. While mostly to the good, it is sometimes disconcerting. Quite a few suppositions are treated as fact and the author then proceeds to build on those. On the otherhand, this detracts little from the overview of the IE cultures he presents. He does, on occasion, go too far: I have a hard time believing that the song Silent Night has anything to do with a Roman goddess; and while many would agree his political views of the Nixon era and Viet Nam are laudable, they did not need to be interjected in the text. The casual contempt shown for the post-Ragnarok deities was likewise not necessary. It probably sounded better as a lecture. It was worth the read, but I was not unhappy to finish it.

Pithy overview of Indo-Europian mythology

Dr. Puhvel's writing is a breath of fresh air. He makes occasional pithy use of modern colloquialisms ("hit parade") to clearly and simply describe the relevance and context of elements of archaic Indo-European mythology. His book would make a good textbook for a college undergraduate or lower graduate-level anthropology course on Indo-Europeans, or a supplementary text for a religion or sociology course on mythology in general. The title of this book is somewhat misleading: it's not really about Comparative Mythology in general; the text only covers Indo-European myths, and only to the degree that those myths illustrate what the myths of the Proto-Indo-Europeans might have been. So for example, Australian, Chinese, African, and North- and Meso-American mythologies are missing, which a comprehensive book on comparative mythology might include. The only exception is a brief review of middle eastern myths in chapter 2, which serves double duty as an illustration of cultural diffusion, and prepares the reader for the intrusion of Mesopotamian themes and characters into Greek mythology, covered in chapter 8. For Indo-European studies, however, this book is excellent. Dr. Puhvel makes a restrained, although selective and suggestive presentation of the myths; his form is almost "just the facts." Puhvel presents evidence and (mostly) leaves it for the reader to decide how certain the hypothetical original characters and themes might be. His relaxed presentation is a refreshing contrast to the oppressive speculation of earlier Indo-European mythographers. This book is a good read for the avid lover of myths, college students studying related courses, and people following with interested the archeological search for the Proto-Indo-Europeans.

Spectacular!

This is absolutely the best text on Indo-European Comparative Mythology that you will ever find. Dr. Puhvel has a wonderful sense of humor as well as a knack for complicated topics in a manner that is easy for anyone to understand. You can't beat this book for overviews of the traditions of Vedic India, Epic India, Ancient Iran, Epic Iran, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Celtic peoples, Germanic peoples, and Baltic and Slaveic peoples. Add to that essays on the study of myth, an analysis of creation myth in the ancient Near East, a discussion about Indo-Europeans and Indo-Iranians, as well as sections on "God and Warrior," "King and Virgin," "Horse and Ruler," "Fire in Water," and "Twin and Brother," and you just can't find anything that compares to this text. Dr. Puhvel offers suggestions for further reading at the end of every chapter and an excellent bibliography. This is a wonderful book to use as a text in classe! ! s on mythology as well as a great reference work for your personal library. If you love mythology, whether you are a scholar or an aficionado, this is definitely the book for you!