Não sei se no fundo meus interesses mudaram ou alguma engrenagem girou, mas decidi largar este livro depois de empurrar uns meses com a barriga. Li o primeiro da série e, em meio a seus altos e baixos, terminei gostando e interessado a continuar; mas, quando algumas paginazinhas por dia deste me tomavam uma força e um esforço exagerado, e havendo a perspectiva de mais dois livros da série pela frente, não deu para continuar. Não sem aquela fagulha de interesse que move pela novidade. A prosa é muito técnica e as primeiras páginas repetem em excesso muito do livro anterior; apenas adicionam a mitologia egípcia e o texto das pirâmides, e de um jeito muito, muito denso. Faltou Índia, China e Japão. Mas num deu, não.

In dit tweede deel van The Masks of God – Joseph Campbell’s belangrijkste werk op het gebied van de vergelijkende mythologie – kijkt de vooraanstaande mytholoog naar de Aziatische mythologie zoals deze zich in de loop van vijfduizend jaar ontwikkelde tot de kenmerkende religies van Egypte, Mesopotamië, India, China, en Japan.

The Masks of God is een vierdelige studie van wereldreligie en -mythe en geldt als een van de meesterwerken van Joseph Campbell. Toen hij het voltooide, schreef hij: Het belangrijkste resultaat voor mij is de bevestiging geweest van een gedachte die ik al lang en trouw koester: over de eenheid van het mensenras, niet alleen in zijn biologie, maar ook in zijn geestelijke geschiedenis, die overal ontvouwde zich op de manier van één enkele symfonie, waarvan de thema’s werden aangekondigd, ontwikkeld, versterkt en omgedraaid, vervormd, opnieuw bevestigd, en vandaag, in een groots fortissimo van alle secties die samen klinken, onweerstaanbaar op weg zijn naar een soort machtige climax, uit waaruit de volgende grote beweging zal ontstaan.

Deze nieuwe digitale editie, onderdeel van de serie Collected Works of Joseph Campbell, bevat ruim veertig nieuwe illustraties.

(Vergelijkende mythologie: het oude Egypte, het hindoeïsme, het boeddhisme, het jaïnisme) ( )

This was another great book by Joseph Campbell. Some parts left me slightly bored, but honestly, that's not a huge deal for me. I think Campbell really analyzed the Eastern mythologies well, although there were a few tinges of a European take on the myths. Despite the occasional European take, Campbell does his best to analyze the myths for what they are for their culture(s). (I may add to this review a little later, but I'm not too worried about it right now.) ( )

Make no mistake, the Masks of God series by Joseph Campbell is something fierce.

The level of scholarship and devotion to the whole subject of mythology blows me away. Where the first book devoted itself to ancient mythos, the kind we can only infer from lacking sources, this Oriental Mythology tackles time-periods closer to home if not always particularly close.

The exceptions to this are Taoism and Buddhism. Both of these are treated in the perfect storytelling-way that the rest are treated. (And no worries, Christianity will get its day with equal time.)

This is Campbell, after all.

What we get here is Babylonian, Egyptian, Buddhist, Taoist, and a smattering of some others.

Did I enjoy the collective treatment and the positioning that showed us, in grand glory, how traditions and stories carry on from one culture to another? Hell, yeah. Did I appreciate the insight and the perspicacity of the author in laying it out in such an obvious and clear-as-day manner?

What do you think?

Yeah. I'm a fanboy. For good reason. Campbell has reshaped our society in more ways than one. Our whole way of looking at things has changed thanks to him. And no matter what your persuasion, a God Fearing Christian or any other faith, a clear eye is better than none.

I can and will thank the man for this. :)

Never go blindly.



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the space given to india versus china, japan is outrageous; and why even include tibet, w the space given to it?

this is not to mention the exclusion of so many other literary mythic cultures of (jfc) "the orient" (korea, vietnam, burma, thailand, mongolia being the major ones)

do i even have to call this orientalist? given the fucking title? but it is orientalist, just to b clear

god the reductionism and stereotyping is HORRIBLE, and all follows the colonial logics laid out by the likes of mircea eliade, jung, and durkheim; ofc, campbell lacks the analytic insight of any competent structuralist ( )