Cover Image: The Meaning of Myth

The Meaning of Myth

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Member Reviews

For those that study/are familiar with myths, this might not be the best read for you. It definitely reads like its for those who are just cultivating an interest and are curious to the differences in myths, legends, fables, etc. That does not in any way make this book bad! Everyone has to start somewhere. Burton's writing feels (and is) accessible. Many books like this tend to come off as dry and academic - so not for your average public library reader. Burton writes in a way that captivates interest and walks the reader through not just the mythology itself, but what it means and why it exists.

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hold on, hold on. wow.

this book really opened another perspective of mine. and you telling me the stories i heard as a little kid are all lies??? 😭 what a nightmare.

but i'm so stunned by how the author retells the story and the interpretations. especially the story about the 3 oracles. 🥲🤌 i'll never view these stories the same now.

***got an arc from netgalley in exchange of honest review. thank you netgalley!

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An interesting premise and clearly well researched! But it failed to keep my attention and seemed scattered at times

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An interesting book.
I did want a bit more information about Medusa, especially as she is featured on the cover.

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Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this!

This was a really great introduction to interpretations on some of the most famous greek myths! I also really loved the Myth of Er and the similarities between that and Dante; I'm definitely looking for more on this now.

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Get a basic overview of chosen myth and gets an interpretation of it by a psychiatrist. So for someone who likes myths they can have this look at them.

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I had a lot of fun reading this book, I loved that the author uses Greek Myths and psychology to recreate other myths. It was a great read and I enjoyed getting to read this.

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4.5 ⭐

Thank you NetGally for letting me review this book.

This is such an interesting and informative book. For sure I did get a lot of information and new views about the things that's being discussed on this book. Very detailed and also engaging that really interest me in many ways.

The 2nd part really enjoyed the most, I was really invested on the takings and discussions on that part. I just find it very well written, point out and voiced up that is really interesting and informative on the part where I get to noticed different and new aspects from the stories.

Overall it's very good read.

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Interesting discussion and comparisons of the differences between myths, fairytales, fables, parables, within both a contemporary and historical context.

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So how does a myth differ from a legend or a fable or even a fairy tale? What are the origins of myths? Do myths share a common structure across many cultures around the world? Yes, they do. How did political and sociological events affect the synthesis of myths? Neel Burton's book assembles some of these questions and brings history, philosophy, literature, theology, and psychology to grapple with the essence of myths. Learn Spinoza's views about myths in this book. Or Feyerabend's critique about science which makes for a good page stopper. Has science led to the demise of myths?
The first part of this book is very interesting. The chapters are not only devoted to the history of myths but discuss a range of elements in mythology like characters such as heroes and monsters, the use of metaphors, and the presence of misogyny. Readers interested in the last topic can refer to my review of Antigone Rising by Helen Morales. A brilliant book that can be read with this particular one.
The second part of the book summarises well-known myths with specific historical nuggets, modern interpretation, and psychological maps of the characters in those myths.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is one of the books in the ataraxia series.

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I found this really interesting and easy to read.
I really liked that the information was given in 'plain english' and didn't try to sound superior etc.
I did speed read this book but think I will definitely be rereading it again at a more leisurely pace. I don't usually read books for a second time but feel that this one deserves a second reading.

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book does exactly what it says it does, it looks deeper into what a myth is as well as the psychological analysis of some myths. The beginning of this is a big jarring as it includes many mini chapters dissecting a myth and all of the themes it could entail. By the time we get to the actual deep diving of particular myths I was ready to learn new myths and what they could teach us. However, all the myths are ones we have seen beaten to death and retold by Hollywood. I wish there would have been lesser known myths so that the authors insights could have felt genuine and his own.

Overall, you get what you pay for with this book, and it just wasn't worth it for me. If you're into Greek myths that you've heard over and over but unwrapped to the point of boredom this one is for you. However I truly wish this would have just been lesser known myths or even just the first part of the book that would then reference numerous myths.

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A must read if you are a lover of mythology!! I definitely learned a lot and can't wait to annoy my family with my newfound knowledge.

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Great book, finally I understood the difference between myths, legends, fables, and fairy tales. I prefer fables and i am trying to teach my children the stories close to reality.
Thank you NetGalley for this interesting book.

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An interesting and accessible discussion about myths and how they develop. The author writes with authority about the subject but still manages to appeal to both the knowledgeable and the initiate. I would recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about the subject.

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i did not finish the book in time before it ran out but from what i read it was very insightful and interesting. it is on an area of particular interest for me so i knew i was going to like it but from what i read i’d recommend this

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The Meaning of Myth

I have always been fascinated with deconstructing myths, with most of my interest trying to unlock the context and intent of the story. I got my start in this endeavor through the Comparative Mythology efforts of Dr. Joseph Campbell and this has a very similar feel to it. The Meaning of Myth fits well into this interest with the first part explaining some of the nominal differences between myth, legend, fable, parable, et al. and I learned a fair bit from that. It also covers some of the why we create myth and how they fit into human psychology. IN that regard, it was very similar to another excellent book that focused on the psychological impact of certain literary devices: [book:Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature|54304160] and I would highly recommend reading both together if you can..

The second half was where Dr. Burton attempts to provide specific details on some of the more well known Greek Myths … unfortunately I found this section to be more hit or miss for me; some of the myths were not really that specific (more general), which is fine, but it seemed to give the whole work more of a disorganized feel than I was expecting … and also seemed to have not gone into as much detail as I was expecting (or it was not clear/obvious to me). I probably was expecting too much on the human psyche explanations … over all it is a short book and still worth a read. I would probably give it 3.5* over all; however, I am rounding up based on subject matter AND availability on Kindle Unlimited.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheMeaningofMyth #NetGalley

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This book was an interesting read. I would highly recommend it to those interested in the subject matter. Well done.

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This was a really fun and engaging read from start to finish. For those interested in mythology and in psychology, this book is broken down into two sections:
1. The meaning of myth
2. Myths decoded.

In part 1, Burton spends a good chunk of time breaking down the idea and concept of mythology and it’s importance in the classical world. This is hugely important for people who (no shade) rely on Percy Jackson to understand mythology. This will provide a good primer-level background for life, definitions, and key roles for myth in the golden age of Greece. A reader will need all of this to beat understand part two.

In part 1, I particularly loved his chapter 8 on Magic and the tropes in our lore. He writes, “Magic is fading or has been banished from the land, which is in deathly decline—caught, perhaps, in a perpetual winter—and the hero is called upon to rescue and restore the life-giving forces of old. There is, of course, a glaring parallel with our own world, in which magic has been slowly driven out, first by religion, which over the centuries became increasingly repressive of magic, and more latterly by science, which, for all its advantages, struggles to meet our emotional needs.” In each chapter, he explains elements or themes of importance, and explains how they are still relevant thousands of years later. He also provides images to solidify his claims, which I enjoyed greatly.

In part 2, he takes some of the most famous myths (Medusa, Theseus, Odysseus, Pygmalion) and first retells them from the original sources and then begins to analyze them. For some, this may seem redundant as these myths are quite popular but for me (a life long reader of myth), I quite enjoyed the retelling. I don’t think a book like this could get away without the retelling aspect.

Each chapter is set up with a detailed retellings from as far back a source as possible, Plato’s Republic, Ovid even. And then, Burton provides an image inspired my the myth (sculpture, painting, etc), and then his analysis begins. Much of it is grounded in historical context from Greco-Roman society, and then he branches into a more modern take— why we still read them today and how they’re still archetypes for people, relationships, case studies, etc.

Not once did I feel like this nonfiction text was over my head, using jargon I didn’t understand or couldn’t comprehend. I enjoyed this reading from start to finish.

I received this copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

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Ever since I was a little girl I loved mythology and everything related to it: retellings, different versions of the same myth and what elements are different, the magical aspect of them, and the neverending stories. This book felt like a college course that I would wake up at 8 am and sit in the front row to attend. It was incredibly interesting, especially the second part of the book. I had never seen mythology and psychology mixed before, but the result was so intellectually stimulating and fluid. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

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