دانلود کتاب Mythology For Dummies

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Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Mythology Basics and Why the Stories Endure
Chapter 1 The Truth About Myths
How to Spot a Myth a Mile Away
Specifics of mythological proportions
Legends and Sagas
Folktales
If a Tree Falls in the Forest and No One Writes It Down, Is It Still a Myth?
The oral tradition
Art
Literature
Comparative Mythology 101
Theories about mythology
Major types of myths
A Who’s Who of Mythological Players
Deities
Heroes
Tricksters
Different Types of Myths: Historical and Fictional American Legends
Johnny Appleseed, a cultural hero
Br’er Rabbit, American trickster
Chapter 2 Ancient Myths in Modern Culture: The Legacy
Remaking Myth: Troilus’s Journey from Obscurity to Fame
The pathetic Trojan prince
Early pulp romance: Medieval authors rediscover Troilus
On to Italy and England
Troilus and Cressida live on
Popping up in Pop Culture
Driving it all home
Wearing it today
Looking up in the Sky . . . It’s a Bird . . .  It’s a Plane . . . No, It’s a Myth!
The number of myths in space is astronomical
NASA loves mythology, too
Good Myths make for Good Art
Art without myth? Impossible!
Myths are darn good stories
Myths in English literature
Modern mythical literature
Myths show up in theaters and on the small screen
Movies
Television shows
Video games
About those Marvelous Heroes
Part 2 Thunder and Lightning: Greek Mythology
Chapter 3 Greek Creation Myths and Really Ancient Greek Gods
Considering Creation, Primordial Beings, and the First Generation of Gods
Managing Monstrous Kids and the Second Generation of Gods
Our children are real monsters!
Meet the Titans, the second generation of gods
Gaia’s sweet revenge and the prodigal son
Mythology repeats itself: Cronos and Rhea turn into their parents
Taking on the Third Generation of Gods: The OG Olympians
The Olympians clash with the Titans
The fourth generation (more Olympians)
Perusing the Creation of People
Playing with fire
The love-hate triangle: Prometheus, people, and Zeus
Checking out the World People Lived in, Courtesy of the Gods
Permanent vacation and celebrity dinner parties: The Hyperboreans and Ethiopians
Evil wrapped up all pretty: Pandora, the first woman
Sailing through a Flood and Rebirth Story
Human hospitality fail
Deucalion and Pyrrha save the human race
Chapter 4 Taller, Younger, and Better Looking Than You: The Olympian Gods
Zeroing in on Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades: Big Daddy and His Brothers
King Zeus, lover of women and thunderbolts
Taking whatever he wants
Realizing his limits
Poseidon, god of the sea and full-time macho man
Identifying Poseidon in ancient art and pop culture
Fighting over cities
Butting heads with humans and other deities
Hades, god of the underworld: The land down under (like way under!)
Getting to know the real Hades
Heading to the underworld
Introducing the Other Boys in the Band: Young Male Gods
Apollo, handsome jukebox hero
Playing a lyre or playing a liar?
Ruling over the sun, medicine, and a few other jobs
Standing for something: Apollo’s symbols
Calling Apollo by all his names
Chasing after girls before they turn into trees: Apollo and Daphne
Hephaestus: He has a great personality . . .
Being the only ugly god
Building items fit for the gods
Ares, god of war
Not getting voted most popular in high school
All’s fair in love and war: Getting together with Aphrodite
Hermes, fleet of foot and mind
Serving as a hero to the heroes
Living life as a single father
Inventing the lyre
Dionysus, the party god
Reppin’ the wine god
Calling on the twice-born god
Kidnapping a god isn’t a good idea
Building an entourage of misfits
Worshipping in wild ways
Chapter 5 The Fairest and Meanest of Them All: The Greek Goddesses
Hera, Aphrodite, and Demeter: Wives and Mothers
Queen Hera, protector of marriage (except her own)
Imperial displays and titles for only a special few
That no-good man of mine
Mad enough to start a war
Hera and Heracles: ’Til death do you annoy me
Aphrodite, fertile femme fatale
She’s from the seashell by the seashore, but she’s not called Shelley
Probably voted most popular in high school
Part-time lover: Adonis
Demeter, Mother Nature and master gardener
She’s corny but must not be named
The rape of Persephone and the origin of the seasons
Undercover goddess: Demeter gets a temple at Eleusis
Look but Don’t Touch! The Virgin Goddesses
Athena, the real GI Jane
Athena’s symbols and nicknames
Athena’s influence
Artemis, the pretty huntress
The outdoorsy type: Artemis’s symbols and epithets
Oh, I’ll just have to kill you
Hestia, goddess of good fire
Ideas, Powers, and Virtues: Some More Abstract Goddesses
Goddess Gangs: A Motley Crew
Muses
Graces
Fates
Furies
Chapter 6 So Fine and Half Divine: Heroes
Perseus, a Real Prince of a Guy
Trying to change fate
Taking on a heroic quest
Getting by with a little help from his (divine) friends
Finding true love and another battle
Stoning the king
Catching up with granddad (and fate)
Heracles, a Box Office Gold of the Ancients
Mommy Issues: Heracles’s origin story
The 12 Labors of Heracles
The sneaky centaur and the tragic mix-up
Theseus, a Home-Grown Hero
Conquering the Minotaur and Daedalus’s labyrinth
Revamping Athens: A commonwealth under new management
Marrying Phaedra and burying Hippolytus
Ending the exploits of a hero
Jason the Jerk
The Golden Fleece and the Argonauts
Medea the witch: Self-starter, proactive, works late as needed
Late-night meetings and invincible ointment
Apparently blood isn’t thicker than water . . .
Behind every hero is a great witch
Jason trades up for a more royal model
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned . . .
Chapter 7 The Trojan War, the Iliad, and the Odyssey
Setting the Stage: Events Leading to the Trojan War
Determining the fairest of them all
Kidnapping Helen, the prettiest girl in the world
Hiding the hero Achilles
Sacrificing Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon
Lining up a cast of characters
Greeks
Trojans
The Trojan War, Nine Years Later: The Iliad
Raids, plagues, and wounded pride
Achilles and his best bud change the tide
The old switcheroo: Patroclus steps in
Now it’s personal: Achilles returns to battle
The end of the Iliad — not the end of the war
The End of the Trojan War
The Amazons and Africans
The death of Achilles
The bow of Philoctetes and the death of Paris
The Trojan Horse and the fall of Troy
A Hero Makes His Way Home after the Trojan War: Homer’s Odyssey
I’ll wait up for you, honey
What a long, strange trip it’s been!
Odysseus meets the Cyclops
Show me who’s boss, baby: Circe and the underworld
Sirens (and not the ones on police cars!)
Between a Monster on a Rock and a Wet Place
The best beef is on the Island of the Sun
Trapped with Calypso
Raft-wrecked on Phaeacia Island
Heading home: Heads are going to roll
The old beggar disguise
The bow of Odysseus: Only real men need apply
Chapter 8 Of Chorus They’re so Dramatic: Greek Tragedy
Intro to Greek Drama
Athenian theater: Honoring the artsy party god
Mythical recycling: Connecting Greek drama
A translation error: Creating tragic flaws
The big three: Meeting the artists
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Meet the Parents: The House of Cadmus
Weird beginnings: Cadmus and the cows
Finding a good spot for the city of Thebes
Sowing teeth and reaping the benefits
Setting up a cast of characters
The Oedipus saga
Receiving an oracle and an attempting to change fate
Solving the sphinx’s riddle and winning a city
Watching it all unfold: The blockbuster Oedipus Tyrannos
Seeing the cast again: Aeschylus’s version
Leaving a bitter legacy: Antigone
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: The House of Atreus
The bad dads who like to cook
The sins (and meals) of the father
The charioteer’s bitter curse
The fight for the throne and a brother’s wife
The family recipe
The damned descendants of Atreus
The spoils of war: Agamemnon
Pursued by the Furies: Orestes
Part 3 The Cultural Spoils of an Empire: Roman Mythology
Chapter 9 Will the Real Roman Mythology Please Stand Up?
Home-Grown Gods: Early Italian Religions
Acknowledging ancient Italians who weren’t Roman
Finding spirits at home and in public
Original Italian gods: Numena
Household gods: Lares
Spirits in the closet: Di Penates
Makes a better door than a window: The two-faced Janus
Masks of the Ancestors: Imagines
Meeting the Etruscans: It’s all tombs and mirrors
Making way for Roman (Empire) religion
The Greek-Roman Pantheon
Roman astronomy
It’s all Roman to me
Gods of ideals and mysterious gods
The Roman citizen: Quirinus
Ho ho ho, Merry . . . Saturnalia?
Some Borrowed Gods
Mithras, patrolling good and evil
The all-you-can-eat buffet chef: Hercules
Ancient dirty jokes: Priapus
Roman Goddesses
Vesta and the virgins
The goddess
The Vestal Virgins
Magna Mater: The Big Mama
Bona Dea, the Good Goddess
Chapter 10 Virgil’s Aeneid and the Founding of Rome
The Original Foundation Myth: Romulus and Remus
The legendary twins
Now I need some Romans: The rape of the Sabine women
Why the Romans Needed Another Myth: Down with Carthage!
Emperor Augustus and Virgil’s PR Machine: The Aeneid
Duty calls: Aeneas is just the guy
Escape from Troy
A Mediterranean cruise
My Carthaginian queen
You’re cute; let’s move in together
Dido’s curse: Why Carthage and Rome didn’t get along
Aeneas’s adventures in Italy
The prophecy comes true
A bride and a war
Nope, he didn’t found Rome
Chapter 11 Time to Change Things Up: Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Surprising Transformations and Heroic Hunters
Arachne and Minerva
Hermaphroditus
The Calydonian boar hunt
Super heroes to the rescue
The spoiled spoils of the hunt
Ovid’s Lovers
Pygmalion and Galatea
Orpheus and Eurydice
Pyramus and Thisbe
Cupid and Psyche
Cupid’s arrow changes the plan
The lights are on, but is anybody home?
Here comes trouble
Mommy-in-law dearest gets involved
Part 4 One Big Family Feud: Norse and Northern European Mythology
Chapter 12 Snow, Ice, and Not Very Nice: Norse Deities
The People and Their Poems: Norse Origins and Oral Tradition
A Viking life for me
A song to pass the time on a long, cold night
Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dwarves: Creation of the World
Molding and divvying up the world
Living in one big tree house
The Good, the Bad, and the Mortal: Norse Deities
Norse gods: A rough and tough bunch
King Odin
Loki the trickster
Thor the thunderous
Freyr the fertile
Tyr the brave
Divinely supporting characters
Norse goddesses: Tough, sexy, and equal
Freya, goddess of love
Frigg, wife and mother
Hel: Half dead
Minor (but still powerful!) goddesses
Here be dragons (and giants and dwarves): Some other magical beings
Giants
Dwarves
Other fanciful beasties
Ragnarök: The End of the World
The death of Balder
The final battle
The beginning after the end
Chapter 13 Heroes and Monsters: The Big Northern European Sagas
Binge-worthy Programming: The Saga of the Volsungs
Volsung family history
Trouble at Signy’s wedding
Sigmund and Signy’s revenge
Some father-son exploits
The great Dane Sigurd (the guy, not the dog)
Now for that big ol’ dragon
A little bird told me
Love’s losers and the psychic hotline
Trapped by the ale of forgetfulness
Courtship by fire
The last of the Volsungs
Gudrun and Attila the Hun
The end of Gudrun’s line
Something for Everyone: Beowulf
Grendel and the Heorot drive-thru
Beowulf meets party-crasher Grendel
If (Grendel’s) Mamma ain’t Happy, Nobody’s happy
A dragonslayer’s last stand
Chapter 14 A Seat at the Round Table: King Arthur and His Court
King Arthur: The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Everybody loves Arthur: Medieval sources
His star power continues!
Who’s Who in Camelot
Macho men of yore
Independent women
A Medieval Daytime Drama: Arthur’s Beginning
Uther and Igraine
That weird sword stuck in the stone
The beginning of Arthur’s reign
Fetching Excalibur, another magical sword
Loving the wrong women
Sex, Lies, and Aimless Wandering
The queen and her lover
Lancelot and Elaine of Astolat
Lancelot and his accidental mistress
A king’s little scheme: Seduced in the night
Fool me twice, I lose my mind
Don’t Quit Your Day Job: Knightly Heroics
Sir Gawain and the jolly Green Knight
A chop for a chop
The quest to fulfill the bargain
Kiss and tell
Sir Galahad and the quest for the Holy Grail
Time to try out the Siege Perilous
Galahad heals all and finds the Holy Grail
The Last Days of King Arthur
The breakup of the Round Table
King Arthur identifies his real enemy
King and sword depart forever
Chapter 15 Myths from the Emerald Isle: Ireland and Celtic Mythology
Meeting Major Celtic Gods and Goddesses
Claiming and Settling Ireland: Irish Foundation Myths
Settling down in Ireland (finally!)
Bearing gifts from Greece: Tuatha Dé Danaan
Making Celtic History: Key Players and Tales of Irish Mythology
The Wolf-Queen: Mebd (Maeve)
The Great Cattle Robbery: An Irish Epic
The great Irish hero: Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool)
Being Finn MacCool: The prequel
Sucking on the Thumb of Knowledge
Finishing Finn
The Snake Charmer: Saint Patrick
Part 5 The Cradle(s) of Civilization: African and Near-Eastern Mythology
Chapter 16 Central and Southern Africa: The Bantu’s Eternal Earth and Sly Animals
The People and Their Beliefs
Sharing with the neighbors
Worshipping spirits and gods
Myths about Humanity
Creating humans from bamboo . . . or maybe Omumborombonga?
Dying for dogs and chameleons
Changing form: When your man is a real ogre
The Trickster Spirits: Huveane and Uhlakayana
Trickster number 1: Huveane
Trickster number 2: Uhlakayana
One tough baby
Your mom is for dinner
Leopard cubs for lunch
The house that Uhlakayana (or maybe Huveane) built
Chapter 17 Floods, Mud, and Gods: Mesopotamian and Hebrew Mythology
Mesopotamian Gods: Okay, We Fear You . . . You Happy?
Enûma Elish: The Babylonian Creation Story
Just one big happy family
House party
Ea in the house
A corporate reorg and some new leadership
Marduk to the rescue!
The final showdown: Bridges to earth, sky, and Babylon
Gilgamesh: Epically Sumerian
Gilgamesh the king: Big man in Uruk
A new drinking buddy who’s a total animal
Just say no to Ishtar
Bittersweet realizations: The price of male bonding
Searching for immortality
Utnapishtim’s flood story and advice
Coming home
Hebrew Mythology: A is for Apple, B is for Babel
In the beginning
The creation of humans
One apple and you’re out of the garden
Oh look, a flood myth
The Tower of Babel and different languages
Chapter 18 Three Cheers for Egypt: Ra, Ra, Ra!
Write Me a Really Big River
A Cavalcade of Creation Stories
Order from chaos: One version of how the world began
Egyptian creator gods and their side of the story
A different take on Atum
Amon-Ra fusion
Khnum, sculptor of humans
Heavy-metal god Ptah
Gods and Goddesses of the Sands
Major players
Ra, the sun god
Isis, a mover and a shaker
Osiris, first among equals
Seth, a stormy uncle
Horus and his band of pharaohs
Other deities, national and local
Trouble in paradise: Horus and Seth
Assembly required, battery not needed
Trials, contests, and mutilations
The pen is mightier than the harpoon
Religion in Egyptian Life
Pharaohs: Church and state
Pyramids: Houses of eternity
Death and the afterlife
Mummies and rebirth
The Book of the Dead
Chapter 19 North African Mythology: A Real Melting Pot
Honey, I Brought the Bees: Phoenician Mythology
Phoenician deities and heroes
A passion for beekeeping
Love for a Mummy and a Mommy: Berber Beliefs
Connecting with ancestors
Keeping in touch with Mom
Desert Spirits: The Hausa People
The magic of Bòòríí
The founding of the Hausa people
The Woman King
Chapter 20 One Thousand Tales: Persian Mythology
You Gotta Take Sides: Zoroastrian Mythology
The (Almost) Never-Ending Story: 1,000 Tales
One thousand and one different versions: The legacy
The “framework story”: The story that sets up all the others
Scheherazade keeps ’em coming back: Talking to stay alive
The Stories within the Stories within the Story
From Baghdad to Batavia, on, in, and under the sea: Sinbad the Sailor
The great Persian genie-off: Aladdin, his lamp, and the genie
Open, sesame! Ali-Baba, some thieves, and the clever Morgiana
A lucky find
Cassim needs a password manager
A secret mission for a tailor
Morgiana shows her value again
One last dance
Part 6 Kashmir to Kyoto, and a Lot in Between: South- and East Asian Mythology
Chapter 21 Land of a Thousand Gods: India
The Vedic Invaders
Creation of the world, animals, and people
Warlike gods for a warlike people
Indra, the warrior chief
Varuna, the old king
A battle between gods: Devas versus Asuras
Memorized mythology: The Vedas
Hinduism: Room for Many Gods
Sources of Hindu myths
The creation of the world and Brahma, the creator
The other big gods: Some okay guys
Vishnu, the protector
Krishna
Shiva, the sexy destroyer
The goddesses: A mixed bag
Devi, the every-goddess
Shri/Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity
Sati/Parvati
Kali, the scary one
Life after life: What you sow is what you reap
Two Coexisting Religions: Buddhism and Jainism
Buddhism and its start in India
Buddha and the journey to enlightenment
Do practice moderation and don’t suffer
Jainism: Give it up!
Another journey with a different ending
A very strict vegan
Chapter 22 Get out the Fine China: Early Chinese Myth and the Three Teachings
How the World and Humanity Began: Ancient Chinese Creation Myths
Pan Gu, the first man
A melon goddess and her little creations
Molded from mud
A fight between gods threatens humans
Too Hot to Handle: Hou Yi shoots down the extra suns
Saved by a gourd: A flood story
The bitter fruit of small favors
The wrath of the water god!
A second start for humanity
Taoism: Keeping Your Balance
Harmony of opposites: The beliefs
Facets of humanity and the Eight Immortals
The military man: Han Chung-li, the hermit
The magically reborn: Chang-kuo Lao
The lifelong student: Lu Tung-pin and fleeting material success
The nobility: Ts’ao Kuo-chiu gets a second chance
The patron of the Sick: Li T’ieh-kuai and the iron crutch
The cultured one: Han Hsiang-Tzu and a fortunate fall
The simple minstrel: Lan Ts’ai-ho
The single lady: Good girl Ho Hsien-ku
Confucianism: Myths of Devotion
Lady Silkworm and her dad
A boy and his father’s bones
Buddhism: Letting it Go
A deity or two
A little Buddhism, a little Confucianism
Chapter 23 Japan: Myths from the Land of the Rising Sun
Rituals for Everything, in Two Religions
The way of the gods: Shinto beliefs
Buddhism, Japanese-style
Creation and Ancient Matters
The first gods and the first people
The first marriage: How does that go again?
Izanagi’s trip to the underworld
Men can have babies, too
Sibling rivalry between the sun and ocean
But brothers and sisters should love one another!
The sun goddess goes on strike
Susano’s new careers
The hero always gets the girl
Susano has a culinary streak and gardening expo
The hero O-Kuninushi
The ol’ white rabbit disguise
You can choose your friends but not your family
O-Kuninushi visits Susano: Not exactly a luxury suite
Supernatural Beings and Folk Tales
Bird ladies from heaven
Devils and peaches
Cutting a rug with the local devils
Momotaro, the Peach Boy
Earthbound ghosts: Boo!
Mythical beasts and creatures
Part 7 “New World”? Says Who? Mythology of the Americas
Chapter 24 Central and South American Mythology: Civilizations, Cities, and Ball Games
Footprints of a Lost People: The Old Cultures
Olmecs
Teotihuacan
Toltecs
Quetzalcoatl, the feathered snake (or a real guy?)
Also appearing at the Sky Club as the planet Venus
Maya
The interrupted creation of people
Multifaceted deities: The gods and their business
Reptilian universe: The world where they lived
Aztecs
The world under the fifth sun
Gods for rain, corn, and sacrifices
Aztec festivals and traditions
Blood for the good of the gods: Human sacrifice
The calendar cycle festival
What a coincidence: Mythology, Moctezuma, and the conquistadors
Incas
Sun, moon, stars, and people
The creator god and the divine ancestors of the Incas
Our claim to fame
Skybound: The Inca deities
Children of the sun: Inca culture
Sun worship throughout the empire
Human sacrifice for the good of the empire
Chapter 25 Sea to Sea, and Lots of Animals in Between: Indigenous Myths of North America
The Lush Green Forests of the East
Northeastern woodlands: The Iroquois and their beliefs
The Iroquois Confederation
Domestic disputes between the sun and moon
A thunderous family
Southeastern woodlands: Stories of the Five Tribes
Rabbit steals fire
The seeds of love and tobacco
Big Sky Country: Tales from the Great Plains
The Lakota people get advice from the Great Spirit
The Arikara and the buffalo people
A human fights back
And they lived happily ever after
Saguaro Cactus Flower in the Southwest
Southwestern mesas: Pueblo people mythology
A Hopi Creation Myth: Four Worlds
The Anasazi (or “Old Ones”)
Underground religion and kachinas
Kokopelli, the flute player
Southwestern hunters: Navajo and Apache tales
Coyote trickster myths
The Wealthy Pacific Northwest
A generous people
Animal tales from the Pacific Northwest
Hunting is for food, not sport
Of bears and people
Part 8 The Part of Tens
Chapter 26 Ten Mythological Monsters
Gorgons
Chimera
The Phoenix
Cerberus
Dragons
Unicorn
Griffon
Sphinx
Scylla and Charybdis
The Loch Ness Monster
Chapter 27 Ten (Plus One) Mythological Places
Elysium, or Elysian Fields
Xibalba
Hy-Brasil, or Brasil
Arcadia
Valhalla
Atlantis
The Kingdom of Prester John
Avalon
The River Styx
The River Lēthē
Tara
Index
EULA