The Masks of God: Creative Mythology

Joseph Campbell

Arkana, 1991 - Social Science - 730 pages

This volume explores the whole inner story of modern culture since the Dark Ages, treating modern man's unique position as the creator of his own mythology.

Contents

• Experience and Authority: 3
• The World Transformed: 42
• The Word Behind Words: 84

About the author

Joseph Campbell was interested in mythology since his childhood in New York, when he read books about American Indians, frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History, and was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia in 1925 and 1927 and went on to study medieval French and Sanskrit at the universities of Paris and Munich. After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 1940s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The many books by Professor Campbell include The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths to Live By, The Flight of the Wild Gander, and The Mythic Image. He edited The Portable Arabian Nights, The Portable Jung, and other works. He died in 1987.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Masks of God: Creative Mythology; An Arkana book: Mythology; Volume 4 of Masks of God, Joseph Campbell
• Author: Joseph Campbell
• Edition: 5, reprint, reissue
• Publisher: Arkana, 1991
• ISBN: 0140194401, 9780140194401
• Length: 730 pages
• Subjects: Social Science / Folklore & Mythology