Published in 1990 under the title "Los mitos del tlacuache," this is the first major theoretical study of Mesoamerican mythology by one of the foremost scholars of Aztec ideology. Using the myth cycle of the opossum and the theft of fire from the gods as a touchstone, L pez Austin constructs a definition of myth that pertains to all of Mesoamerican culture, challenging the notion that to be relevant such studies must occur within a specific culture.

Shown here is that much of modern mythology has ancient roots, despite syncretism with Christianity, and can be used to elucidate the pre-Columbian world view. Analysis of pre-Columbian myths can also be used to understand current indigenous myths. Subtopics include the hero and his place in the Mesoamerican pantheon, divine space and human space, mythic event clusters, myth as truth, and the fusion of myth and history.

This book presents a unique description of the Mesoamerican world view for students of comparative religion, history of religion, folklore, ethnology, and anthropology.

"There is something of a paradox about our access to ancient Greek religion. We know too much, and too little. The materials that bear on it far outreach an individual's capacity to assimilate: so many casual allusions in so many literary texts over more than a millennium, so many direct or indirect references in so many inscriptions from so many places in the Greek world, such an overwhelming abundance of physical remains. But genuinely revealing evidence does not often cluster coherently enough to create a vivid sense of the religious realities of a particular time and place. Amid a vast archipelago of scattered islets of information, only a few are of a size to be habitable." from the Preface

In On Greek Religion, Robert Parker offers a provocative and wide-ranging entree into the world of ancient Greek religion, focusing especially on the interpretive challenge of studying a religious system that in many ways remains desperately alien from the vantage point of the twenty-first century. One of the world's leading authorities on ancient Greek religion, Parker raises fundamental methodological questions about the study of this vast subject. Given the abundance of evidence we now have about the nature and practice of religion among the ancient Greeks including literary, historical, and archaeological sources how can we best exploit that evidence and agree on the central underlying issues? Is it possible to develop a larger, "unified" theoretical framework that allows for coherent discussions among archaeologists, anthropologists, literary scholars, and historians?

In seven thematic chapters, Parker focuses on key themes in Greek religion: the epistemological basis of Greek religion; the relation of ritual to belief; theories of sacrifice; the nature of gods and heroes; the meaning of rituals, festivals, and feasts; and the absence of religious authority. Ranging across the archaic, classical, and Hellenistic periods, he draws on multiple disciplines both within and outside classical studies. He also remains sensitive to varieties of Greek religious experience. Also included are five appendixes in which Parker applies his innovative methodological approach to particular cases, such as the acceptance of new gods and the consultation of oracles. On Greek Religion will stir debate for its bold questioning of disciplinary norms and for offering scholars and students new points of departure for future research."

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

"The most important and challenging book on Arthurian and Grail tradition for many a long year." - Gareth Knight. The relationship between human and Faery lies at the very core of the Arthurian stories. In this radical re-evaluation of the Grail legends, Wendy Berg brings the ancient mythology of the British Isles into sharp focus centred around the marriage of King Arthur to the Faery Gwenevere and the origin and destiny of the Grail Hallows. Drawing upon numerous Arthurian sources and other related texts from the Book of Genesis to The Lord of the Rings, she explores the magical ritual underpinning of the legends and their connection to the ancient stellar deities of Britain. "When these stories are read with the additional level of understanding that they are for the most part a record of the lives and relationships of Faeries and humans working together about the Round Table, they immediately become not only a great deal more interesting, but also acquire a new and vivid relevance for the present day."

The Book of Jasher covers the Mosaic period of the Bible presented in Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua in greater detail and with explanations not found in the present Old Testament Documents. This apocryphal book of the Bible has been considered by some to be the original beginning to the Bible and is referenced in both the Book of Joshua and the Second Book of Samuel. Is not this written in the Book of Jasher?-Joshua, X. 13. Behold it is written in the Book of Jasher.-II. Samuel, I. 18

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

And An Appendix, Containing Notices Of Congregational Bodies In Other States.

In perhaps as few as one hundred years, the Inka Empire became the largest state ever formed by a native people anywhere in the Americas, dominating the western coast of South America by the early sixteenth century. Because the Inkas had no system of writing, it was left to Spanish and semi-indigenous authors to record the details of the religious rituals that the Inkas believed were vital for consolidating their conquests. Synthesizing these arresting accounts that span three centuries, Thomas Besom presents a wealth of descriptive data on the Inka practices of human sacrifice and mountain worship, supplemented by archaeological evidence.

Of Summits and Sacrifice offers insight into the symbolic connections between landscape and life that underlay Inka religious beliefs. In vivid prose, Besom links significant details, ranging from the reasons for cyclical sacrificial rites to the varieties of mountain deities, producing a uniquely powerful cultural history.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

"From a Drop of Water..." A Collection of Magickal Reflections on the Nature, Creatures,Uses, and Symbolism of Water. "This creation is, in its totality, a drop of Water; man himself has originated from a drop of Water" Bundahishn 28,2 FROM A DROP OF WATER is a unique collection of 17 essays by some of the foremost modern esoteric writers, pagan scholars and magickal practitioners. Each contribution reflects the writer's own understanding and passion for Water, and in doing so they share their unique insights, experiences and their diverse research on the subject with the reader. The powerful nature of Water as transformer and healer, initiator into the mysteries and bringer of both life and death is emphasised throughout. The multitude of spiritual beings associated with Water are powerful and volatile forces of nature. They include the Undines and Nymphs of European folklore, as well as mythical creatures such as mermaids and krakens, sirens and selkies. The importance of Water is often taken for granted, yet its symbolism connects every religion, spiritual path and philosophy. Many of the earliest creation myths have Water as a central theme, and man has forever been telling tales of the Waters of this Earth, and has since time immemorial gazed up at the Moon who governs the ebb and flow of the ocean's tides. Likewise, deities associated with Water often play a central role in myths, legends and practices, and this is explored in many of the essays in this anthology. From Anahita, the Persian Goddess of rain and abundance, to the Afro-Brazilian Goddess Yemany, the Egyptian Mother Goddess Isis as portrayed in Dion Fortune's Sea Priestess and Nimue in the Arthurian Legends, the power of Water is ever present. Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love is born from the foam of the oceans, and many of the Vodou Lwa - including Agwe, Mambo La Sirene, Erzulie Freda, Damballah Wedo and the Simbis also have strong associations with Water which are explored in this collection. Furthermore, the magical qualities and symbolism of Water are explored through examples of meditation, ritual, song and dance. Its magic is manifested through talismans, poetry, art and invocation. Moreover, Living Water as used in the Kabbalah and Grimoires, as well as the role of Water in Baptism are also explored. This exceptional collection of essays bring together a breadth of experience, which is emphasised through the diversity of traditions they represent. These include Vodou, Thelema, the Western Mystery Tradition, Wicca, Paganism, and English Root Magick, as well as Grimoire Magicians who work the magick of the Key of Solomon and Goetia. Water both allures and terrifies - just like the stark contrast between the glimmering of moonlight upon the ocean's surface on a clear night and the hulking gloom in its fathomless depths. But the planet's oceans and many Waters are vast and unfathomable, and herein lies but a few drops of wisdom in a sea of possibilities.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

The relationship between the individual and the divine in ancient Greece is a complex one, which has tended to be neglected in favour of studies of state religion, festivals, sanctuaries and oracles. This reader presents a selection of texts that shed light on many potential aspects of an individual's personal religious beliefs and influences including divine epiphany, superstition, epilepsy, athletics victories, life after death, philosophy, pollution, Orphism and curse tablets. The Greek authors include Homer, Hesiod, Theophrastus, Herodotus, Aeschylus, Pindar, Empedocles, Plato and Aristotle as well as a Hippocratic text, orphic gold leaves, and fragments of the Derveni Papyrus. Each text has an introduction explaining the background and significance of the passage, an English translation and commentaries. The Greek texts are given in a separate section at the end of the book.

Volume One Contains The Iron Period To The End Of The Thirteenth Century.

In Vergil's Aeneid, the poet implies that those who have been initiated into mystery cults enjoy a blessed situation both in life and after death. This collection of essays brings new insight to the study of mystic cults in the ancient world, particularly those that flourished in Magna Graecia (essentially the area of present-day Southern Italy and Sicily). Implementing a variety of methodologies, the contributors to Mystic Cults in Magna Graecia examine an array of features associated with such "mystery religions" that were concerned with individual salvation through initiation and hidden knowledge rather than civic cults directed toward Olympian deities usually associated with Greek religion. Contributors present contemporary theories of ancient religion, field reports from recent archaeological work, and other frameworks for exploring mystic cults in general and individual deities specifically, with observations about cultural interactions throughout. Topics include Dionysos and Orpheus, the Goddess Cults, Isis in Italy, and Roman Mithras, explored by an international array of scholars including Giulia Sfameni Gasparro ("Aspects of the Cult of Demeter in Magna Graecia") and Alberto Bernabe ("Imago Inferorum Orphica"). The resulting volume illuminates this often misunderstood range of religious phenomena.

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Since its initial publication in 1979, Sources for the Study of Greek Religion has become an essential classroom resource in the field of classical studies. The Society of Biblical Literature is pleased to present a corrected edition in a new, attractive, and electronic-friendly format with hopes that it will inspire a new generation of classicists and religious historians. This volume includes primary texts and documents in translation, illustrating the range of Greek religious beliefs and practices from Homer to Alexander the Great with the addition of relevant post-classical material. The sources are arranged in chapters devoted to the Olympian gods, heroes, public religion (including rural cults), private religion, mystery cults, and death and afterlife. Introductory notes place the selections in their context in Greek history and provide basic bibliography. The volume includes a glossary of technical terms, a general index, and an index of ancient sources cited. Beyond the correction of minor errors and use of footnotes rather than endnotes, the reader will find that the present volume remains true to the original.