Don’t Know Much About® Mythology (71 page)

Anthologies, Collections, and Translations of World Myths

Abrahams, Roger D.
African Folktales
. New York: Pantheon Books, 1983. A collection of ninety-five tales from sub-Saharan Africa, offering a taste of the rich oral tradition of African myth and legend.

Alighieri, Dante, translated by Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander.
The Inferno
. New York: Anchor Books, 2000. (Many other translations available.)

Apollodorus, translated by Robin Hard.
The Library of Greek Mythology
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. A source book of Greek myths from the origins of the universe to the Trojan War, compiled in the second century BCE. This is the most significant source of Greek mythology after Homer and Hesiod.

Apollonius of Rhodes, translated by Richard Hunter.
Jason and the Golden Fleece
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. A verse translation of the third century BCE poem about the quest for the fleece, the Argonauts, Jason, and Medea.

Bierhorst, John.
The Mythology of North America
. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. A thorough and accessible “field guide” that breaks Native North American folklore into eleven distinct regions, with discussions of the shared mythologies, stories, and gods of each.

Birrell, Anne M.
Chinese Mythology: An Introduction
. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. English translation of some three hundred ancient Chinese myth narratives, with very scholarly notes and explanatory texts.

Birrell, Anne M.
The Classic of Mountains and Seas
. New York: Penguin Books, 2000. A treasure trove of colorful stories about more than two hundred Chinese mythical figures, most of them very unfamiliar to Western readers.

Bulfinch, Thomas.
Bulfinch’s Mythology: The Age of Fable; The Age of Chivalry; Legends of Charlemagne.
Available in various editions that appeared in 1855, 1858, and 1863, respectively.

Coomaraswamy, Ananda K., and Sister Nivedita.
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
. New York: Dover, 1967. Gathers the most important stories from Indian mythology, which is the source of the two major religions reflected in the title.

Crossley-Holland, Kevin.
The Norse Myths
. New York: Pantheon, 1980. Retelling of thirty-two classic tales from the Viking world.

Davis, F. Hadland.
Myths and Legends of Japan
. New York: Dover, 1992. Collected retellings of classical Japanese myths.

Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz, editors.
American Indian Myths and Legends
. New York: Pantheon, 1984. A collection of 160 folk myths and tales from eighty different tribal groups.

Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz, editors.
American Indian Trickster Tales
. New York: Penguin, 1998. A collection of more than one hundred tales from different tribes about the colorful, mischievous, and highly oversexed characters known as tricksters, from various American Indian traditions, including Coyote, Iktomi the Spider, and Rabbit. Colorful and very earthy.

Faulkner, R. O.
The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1985. The religious and magical texts known to the ancient Egyptians.

Foster, Benjamin R., translator and editor.
The Epic of Gilgamesh
. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001. A recent translation of the Mesopotamian epic poem with critical notes and essays.

Gantz, Jeffrey, translator.
Early Irish Myths and Legends
. London: Penguin Books, 1981. First written down around the eighth century, these are early Celtic legends from Ireland.

Gantz, Jeffrey, translator.
The Mabinogion
. New York: Penguin Books, 1976. A collection of the eleven medieval Welsh prose tales, including some of the earliest written Arthurian legends.

Hesiod, translated by M. L. West.
Theogony
and
Works and Days
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Less known than Homer, the poet Hesiod wrote a systematic genealogy of the Greek gods, from the mythological beginnings of the world.

Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald.
The Iliad
and
The Odyssey
. New York: Vintage Books, 1961. (Many other translations and editions available.)

Husain, Shahrukh.
The Virago Book of Erotic Myths and Legends
. London: Virago, 2002. A compilation of modern retellings of some of the erotic tales from diverse cultures.

Kinsella, Thomas.
The Táin: From the Irish Epic Táin Bó Cúailnge
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970. A mixed prose and verse translation of the cycle of Irish heroic tales.

Leeming, David A.
The World of Myth: An Anthology
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. A collection of myths, organized by theme (creation, heroes, etc.).

Leeming, David A. and Jake Page.
The Mythology of North America
. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988. A collection of seventy-two representative myths from a variety of tribal groups, with commentary and introductions.

Littleton, C. Scott, general editor.
Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth and Storytelling
. London: Duncan Baird, 2002. A large, heavily illustrated compendium of more than 300 myths from around the world.

Mascaró, Juan, translator.
The Bhagavad-Gita
. London: Penguin Books, 1962. An essential document of Hinduism, the conversation between the god Krishna and the warrior Rama before a great battle.

Mason, Herbert.
Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1970. A widely read modern verse version of the ancient Babylonian epic, one of the oldest pieces of literature in human history. (Many other translations of
Gilgamesh
are also available.)

Mitchell, Stephen.
Gilgamesh: A New English Version
. New York: Free Press, 2004. Another modern translation with excellent historical and introductory notes.

Neihardt, John G.
Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux
. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press/Bison Books, 1988. First published in 1932, the now-classic “as-told-to” account of a Native American
wichasha wakon
(holy man, priest) that encompasses both the myth and history of the Oglala Sioux who fought Custer and were later massacred at Wounded Knee.

Ogden, Daniel.
Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds
. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2002. A scholarly translation of some of the lesser-known myths specifically involving magic.

Ovid, translated by A. D. Melville.
Metamorphoses
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. The Roman poet’s collected accounts of transformations and changes presented in the Greek and Roman myths. (Other editions available.)

Pelikan, Jaroslav, editor.
Sacred Writings, Volume 5. Hinduism: The Rig-Veda
. New York: Quality Paperback Book Club, 1992.

Pelikan, Jaroslav, editor.
Sacred Writings, Volume 6. Buddhism: The Dhammapada
. New York: Quality Paperback Book Club, 1987.

Prabhavananda, Swami and Dr. Frederick Manchester, translators and editors.
The Upanishads
. New York: Signet, 1957. A collection of the principal holy writings of Hinduism.

Rosenberg, Donna.
World Mythology: An Anthology of Great Myths and Epics
(second edition). Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group, 1994. An anthology of key myths in contemporary prose, divided by geographic region.

Rouse, W. H. D.
Gods, Heroes and Men of Ancient Greece
. New York: New American Library, 1957. A popular retelling of Greek myths by a scholar-teacher who told the tales to his students at Cambridge, England.

Spence, Lewis.
The Myths of Mexico and Peru
. New York: Dover, 1994. Reprint of a 1913 classic work on the myths of the Aztec, Inca, and other South and Central American groups.

Sproul, Barbara C.
Primal Myths: Creation Myths Around the World
. New York: Harper, 1979. A collection that cross-references various Creation stories from many cultures.

Sturluson, Snorri, translated and edited by Anthony Faulkes.
Edda
. North Clarendon, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing, 1987. The standard collection of Norse poetry, compiled in the 1200s by a poet and courtier later killed in a political intrigue. (Many other editions available.)

Tatar, Maria.
The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales
. New York: W. W. Norton, 2002. Although not about myths, this collection of twenty-six of the best-known children’s tales (
Cinderella
,
Sleeping Beauty
,
Rapunzel
) illuminates some of the connections between mythic stories and familiar children’s tales—and they are not always about virtues!

Tedlock, Dennis, translator.
Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life
(revised edition). New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 1996. One of the most important texts in the native languages of the Americas, often called the Mayan Bible.

Wilson, Andrew.
World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts
. New York: Paragon House, 1991. A collection of sacred writings, organized thematically, from many diverse faiths and traditions, including the major religions as well as texts from native religions of Africa and the Americas.

Reference (includes both general references and works specific to mythology)

Achtmeier, Paul J.
The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary
. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996. A wide-ranging, objective, and comprehensive guide that includes many mythological connections to the Bible.

Birrell, Anne.
Chinese Myths.
(The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000. A brief overview of Chinese myth for Western readers.

Carpenter, Thomas H.
Art and Myth in Ancient Greece
. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1991. Scholarly appraisal of how early Greek artists used mythic themes.

Comrie, Bernard, Stephen Matthews, and Maria Polinsky, editors.
The Atlas of Languages
(revised edition). New York: Facts on File, 2003. An introduction for general readers to the world of languages and how they grew. Also includes information on the development of various writing systems.

Cotterell, Arthur.
A Dictionary of World Mythology
. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1986. A concise listing of major mythic figures, divided by geographic regions.

Cotterell, Arthur.
The Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends
. New York: Macmillan, 1989. A very comprehensive, illustrated reference guide to world myth.

Curtis, Vesta Sarkhoshi.
Persian Myths
. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Overview of traditional tales and stories from ancient Iran. (Part of a series of brief monographs on world myths; other titles listed below.)

Dallapiccola, Anna L.
Hindu Myths
(The Legendary Past series). Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003. One in a series of brief monographs, this volume provides a scholarly but quick overview of Hindu legends.

Farmer, David.
Oxford Dictionary of the Saints
(fifth edition). New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Concise accounts of the lives, cults, and artistic association of Christian saints, some of whom have their own myths.

Forty, Jonathan.
Mythology: A Visual Encyclopedia
. New York: Sterling Publishers, 2001. Heavily illustrated reference to world myths, organized geographically.

Freeman, Charles.
Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean
(second edition). New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Excellent one-volume reference on the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world.