MYTHS OF THE HERO

The purpose of this book, written by an educator-novelist, is to reintroduce myths to the student of literature, with an expressed hope that some general readers will join the party. Anthropologists have utilized the myths of heroes in tracing the evolution of human behavior--they provide a key to the interpretation of man's cultural past. Historians, scientists, classical scholars and philosophers have all scrutinized the myth in their turn. But the epics included in this collection are above all good literature. The author relates fourteen hero myths--seven from ancient times (Sumer, Egypt, Greece, Troy, Persia, India and Rome) and seven stories from medieval times (Denmark, Wales, France, Hungary, Austria, Russia, and Spain). Norma Goodrich's book makes available to the reader some stories that were never before translated; she includes a great deal of explanatory comment that will interest the general reader as well as the students of literature and history. This anthology gives the reader easy access to some of the richest works of the human imagination, and should certainly afford pleasure to all adult readers. An indispensable reference work.