When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth

by Elizabeth Wayland Barber, Paul T Barber, Paul T. Barber

Book Overview

Why were Prometheus and Loki envisioned as chained to rocks? What was the Golden Calf? Why are mirrors believed to carry bad luck? How could anyone think that mortals like Perseus, Beowulf, and St. George actually fought dragons, since dragons don't exist? Strange though they sound, however, these "myths" did not begin as fiction.

This absorbing book shows that myths originally transmitted real information about real events and observations,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691127743
• ISBN13: 9780691127743
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.9"