Description
Arising from almost 30 years' teaching experience and from a profound and vast scholarship, Puhvel's study represents a major contribution to his field. It begins with a detailed survey of Indo-European mythsthose of India, Iran, Greece, and Rome, of the Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, and Slavic culturesand proceeds to a cross-cultural examination of a number of themes: God and Warrior; King and Virgin; Horse and Ruler; Fire in Water; Twin and Brother. While Puhvel eschews any particular interpretive methodology or theory, his book is not merely a reference volume. Underlying his exposition is the hypothesis that the myths of these cultures is traceable to a common ancestry. Specialists and laypersons alike will find much to ponder in these pages, which are written in a surprisingly readable and lively fashion. Paul E. Muller-Ortega, Religious Studies Dept., Michigan State Univ. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
