The Masks of God Series by Joseph Campbell

The first volume in Joseph Campbell’s monumental four-volume Masks of God series, originally published in 1959 and now revised with up-to-date science and new illustrations in this Collected Works of Joseph Campbell editionIn this first volume of The Masks of God, the world’s preeminent mythologist explores and illuminates the wellsprings of myth... moreThe first volume in Joseph Campbell’s monumental four-volume Masks of God series, originally published in 1959 and now revised with up-to-date science and new illustrations in this Collected Works of Joseph Campbell editionIn this first volume of The Masks of God, the world’s preeminent mythologist explores and illuminates the wellsprings of myth. Showing his exemplary combination of scholarly depth and popular enthusiasm, Joseph Campbell looks at the expressions of religious awe in early humans and their echoes in the rites of surviving primal tribes. Campbell shows how myth has informed our understanding of the world, seen and unseen, throughout time. As he explores and shares archetypal mythic images and practices, he also points to how these concepts inform our personal lives.Upon completing the monumental Masks of God series, Campbell found that his work affirmed “the unity of the race of man, not only in its biology, but also in its spiritual history.” He likened this unity to a symphony in which various parts create a “great movement.” Perhaps more than ever before, Campbell’s insight is not only illuminating but also inspiring. less

An exploration of Eastern mythology as it developed into the distinctive religions of Egypt, India, China, and Japan.

A systematic and fascinating comparison of the themes that underlie the art, worship , and literature of the Western world.I consider this, as his other books, of outstanding importance and scholarship, clarity and depth. I believe that anyone truly interested in the science of man...will find these books a wealth of data, penetratingly analyzed and written in such a way that he has the chance of digesting them in his own manner. —Erich FrommCover design by Neil Stuart... moreA systematic and fascinating comparison of the themes that underlie the art, worship , and literature of the Western world.I consider this, as his other books, of outstanding importance and scholarship, clarity and depth. I believe that anyone truly interested in the science of man...will find these books a wealth of data, penetratingly analyzed and written in such a way that he has the chance of digesting them in his own manner. —Erich FrommCover design by Neil Stuart.Cover illustration: from a fifteenth-century antiphonary in the Museo Opera del Duomo, Florence, Italy. less

This volume explores the whole inner story of modern culture since the Dark Ages, treating modern man's unique position as the creator of his own mythology.