Comparative Mythology

Rating:
Summary: Pithy overview of Indo-Europian mythology.
Review: Dr. Puhvel's writing is a breath of fresh air. He makes occasional pithy use of modern colloquialisms ("hit parade") to clearly and simply describe the relevance and context of elements of archaic Indo-European mythology. His book would make a good textbook for a college undergraduate or lower graduate-level anthropology course on Indo-Europeans, or a supplementary text for a religion or sociology course on mythology in general.

The title of this book is somewhat misleading: it's not really about Comparative Mythology in general; the text only covers Indo-European myths, and only to the degree that those myths illustrate what the myths of the Proto-Indo-Europeans might have been. So for example, Australian, Chinese, African, and North- and Meso-American mythologies are missing, which a comprehensive book on comparative mythology might include. The only exception is a brief review of middle eastern myths in chapter 2, which serves double duty as an illustration of cultural diffusion, and prepares the reader for the intrusion of Mesopotamian themes and characters into Greek mythology, covered in chapter 8. For Indo-European studies, however, this book is excellent.

Dr. Puhvel makes a restrained, although selective and suggestive presentation of the myths; his form is almost "just the facts." Puhvel presents evidence and (mostly) leaves it for the reader to decide how certain the hypothetical original characters and themes might be. His relaxed presentation is a refreshing contrast to the oppressive speculation of earlier Indo-European mythographers.

This book is a good read for the avid lover of myths, college students studying related courses, and people following with interested the archeological search for the Proto-Indo-Europeans.

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular!
Review: This is absolutely the best text on Indo-European Comparative Mythology that you will ever find. Dr. Puhvel has a wonderful sense of humor as well as a knack for complicated topics in a manner that is easy for anyone to understand. You can't beat this book for overviews of the traditions of Vedic India, Epic India, Ancient Iran, Epic Iran, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Celtic peoples, Germanic peoples, and Baltic and Slaveic peoples. Add to that essays on the study of myth, an analysis of creation myth in the ancient Near East, a discussion about Indo-Europeans and Indo-Iranians, as well as sections on "God and Warrior," "King and Virgin," "Horse and Ruler," "Fire in Water," and "Twin and Brother," and you just can't find anything that compares to this text. Dr. Puhvel offers suggestions for further reading at the end of every chapter and an excellent bibliography. This is a wonderful book to use as a text in classe! ! s on mythology as well as a great reference work for your personal library. If you love mythology, whether you are a scholar or an aficionado, this is definitely the book for you!