History of Religious Ideas, Volume 1: From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries [Hardcover]

Mircea Eliade (Author), Willard R. Trask (Translator)

Book Description

Series: History of Religious Ideas | Publication Date: February 15, 1979

"No one has done so much as Mr. Eliade to inform literature students in the West about 'primitive' and Oriental religions. . . . Everyone who cares about the human adventure will find new information and new angles of vision."--Martin E. Marty, New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 508 pages
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press (February 15, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226204006
• ISBN-13: 978-0226204000
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,735,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The human and the spiritual, December 30, 2003

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of Religious Ideas, Volume 1: From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries (Paperback)

Mircea Eliade has spent a lifetime exploring the origins, meaning and mysteries of mankind's spiritual inner being. He is the Joseph Campbell of religion - not myth. This first volume was ably translated (from the French) into clear and direct English - a hallmark of his writing. It is difficult to speak knowingly of neolithic religion because the evidence is largely circumstantial and evolutionary. That is, we divine from our own religious present what must have existed prior to the forming of current ideas.

One of his main points is that peoples around the world, for whatever reason, seemed to be instinctually drawn toward the worship of something - an object, animal, human or unseen god or goddess. In this first volume he explores various cultures and their beliefs - the Mayas, Greeks, Iranians, neolithic man, Egypt, other Middle East groups...a dazzling array of cultures and societies. As the imagination grew, so did belief in an unseen world.

Of particular interest is the section on ancient Israeli beliefs and the origins of Yahweh. The chapters on religion in Greece were notable for their abundant detail. Even in the most isolated areas, the same rites and beliefs emerged - the idea of sacrifice, the belief in another life, the battle of good vs evil, the idea of holy representatives and eventually the thought of eternal life.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative, yet easy to read and understand., June 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: History of Religious Ideas, Volume 1: From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries (Paperback)

This book reminds me of Joseph Campbell's Masks of God series in the way it is presented. Lots of facts and theories, but very readable. Eliade hasn't assumed that you are reading this book because you are a theologian or going for your Master's degree but for the common person with a beginning interest in Religious History.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, January 10, 2001

By 

George H. Mcallister "George McAllister" (Montgomery, AL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: History of Religious Ideas, Volume 1: From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries (Paperback)

This is a superb series on the history of religion, and incidentally serves as a fine introduction to comparative religion. The only real weakness is in this first volume: I've never like the treatment of paleolithic religion here, which seems abrupt. But this caveat is far too minor to dissuade anyone from reading these wonderful books.