When They Severed Earth from Sky
Book description
Why were Prometheus and Loki envisioned as chained to rocks? What was the Golden Calf? Why are mirrors believed to carry bad luck? How could anyone think that mortals like Perseus, Beowulf, and St. George actually fought dragons, since dragons don't exist? Strange though they sound, however, these "myths" did…
Why read it?
1 author picked When They Severed Earth from Sky as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
When I first read this book, not only was I struck by its central theme that ‘myths’ have meaning but also by the fact that it is our problem that we cannot today recognize myths for what they once were. All oral traditions evolve through time, sometimes over thousands of years and across hundreds of generations of retelling, but if their core is sufficiently memorable, then it can remain recognizable. It is up to us to unpack the stories we hear today, to learn how they changed through time, and try to see whether there is an empirical core in…
From Patrick's list on ancient oral traditions.
Want books like When They Severed Earth from Sky?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like When They Severed Earth from Sky.
Share your top 3 reads of 2024!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,187
readers submitted
so far, will you?
