Familiar Mysteries: The Truth in Myth

By Shirley Park Lowry

Have you ever wondered why so many heroes--from Odysseus to Tom Sawyer--journey to the underworld? Or why virgin births occur in so many stories around the world?
In the first comprehensive view of mythology directed toward the general reader, Shirley Park Lowry tells why we find recurring patterns and symbols in stories that are centuries--or continents--apart. Drawing upon tales ranging from the ancient Middle East to modern North America, Lowry shows how "myths reflect and dramatize ordinary experience, illuminating our deepest and least articulated hopes, fears, and quandaries. Their extravagant plots and images are recognizable because they are the language of our own dreams."
Lowry defines what myths are; why they are important; what they share with folk tales, dreams, and fantasies; how we developed a symbolic language and what such symbols as blood, milk, sunlight, and monsters mean; how heroes from Moses and Jesus to Charlemagne and Superman relate to one another; and how myths reconcile us to life's limitations.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195029259
• ISBN13: 9780195029253
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 542 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Great introduction!

This is the best introduction to the field of mythology that I've come across.Ms. Lowry starts off by defining what myths are, and what they do. She discusses how they provide personal guidance, support (or challenge) the social order, how they provide us with a sense of physical order, and how they help us face life's mysteries. She differentiates myth, legend, and folktale, and outlines the "diffusion vs. archetype" argument. The following sections cover the heroic pattern, the tension between chaos and an ordered cosmos, and the mystery of death. This is not merely an anthology of snippets from around the world; she discusses in-depth the underlying motifs, and the disguises they take on as they appear in different ages and cultures. The breadth of her scholarship is impressive...she's equally comfortable with Theseus and Gilgamesh, Horus and Beowulf. More than just a dry anthology, this book challenged me, taught me a great deal, and made me want to learn more. And you can't ask for much more than that.