Customer Reviews

Parallel Myths

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was struck by more than this Bierlein's wonderfully lucid and enthralling style. Even though others had found most of the mythic & scriptural patterns, Bierlein's intriguing evidentiary quotations and disciplined background & contextual analysis gave me goosebumps. He is not only on to something mysterious here but he has courageously related the inspiration he felt as he explored the undeniable spiritual realities embedded in the roots of civilization. Others' comments include: "Religious scholar J.F. Bierlein gathers key myths from the world's major traditions, drawing from the works of Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, and others, to reveal their common themes, images, and meanings. He vividly retells creation, flood, morality, and underworld myths, among others." Professional and hobbyist archaeologists, adventurers and anyone concerned with matters spiritual must acquire and absorb this important work. I impatiently await his next fascinating endeavor, due out in early 1998: MYTH, MYSTERY, AND MEANING. -- Dan Gallagher author, THE PLEISTOCENE REDEMPTION

I had originally given this book a severe review and one star. I still hold that for me, the book is not very useful. But after a few discussions with the author, Mr. Bierlein, I have somewhat changed my opinion, although I can't completely let him off the hook. As an aside, I would like to say that Mr. Bierlein is a complete gentleman, especially considering my original words, which weren't too nice.
I was greatly looking forward to reading this book and I was somewhat letdown. I am a bit of a student of mythology so I was quite excited to find a book that purported to draw on the work of Joseph Campbell, G.G. Jung, and Mircea Eliade.
My first complaint is there is not a great deal of original content. The large portion of the book is cut and paste from Eliade, Jung, and Campbell, books which I already own. So, if you are already a well-read student of this field, this book will have a limited appeal. I have come to realize, however, that it could be a valuable source to those who have little to no knowledge of comparative mythology. Mr. Bierlein alerted me to the fact that the book was intended to be an introductory text for High School students, so keep that in mind. I must concede that it could be useful in that regard, as the subject matter is very broad rather than overly specific in any one area.
This explains what had been my second issue with the book. Please note that the stories have been censored, so that nothing overly sexual is portrayed. Again, this could be good for younger students, getting it included in schools, but could be a detriment to older students who wish to see the tale in its original and pagan form. As a good reader is apt to know, the pagans did not share our delicate Christian sensibilities when it came to the facts of life.
For a more in depth study of particular mythologies, I would recommend reading "Greek Mythology" by Robert Graves. For comparative mythology read anything by Joseph Campbell or Mircea Eliade, who is very good in speculative anthropology. James Frazer's "The Golden Bough" is an excellent source of comparative mythology and anthropology, but admittedly is dry reading. For a psychological view of myth and archetype, read "The collective unconscious" by C.G. Jung. Although, as Bierlein himself pointed out, Jung is a gray area to scholars now days. It should be remembered that a few initials after one?s name does not make one the uncontested expert of a field, and this is coming from a hopeful academic himself.
The strongest aspect of this book is what I will term, the non-traditional mythology included in this book. This type of mythology does not particularly appeal to me, as I am a die-hard europhile. Thus, I approach mythology mostly with an interest in the myths of Europe: Norse, Greek, Roman, et cetera. Mr Bierlein has included these to some extent, but as he himself has conceded, he was less interested in going over the ground that had been well-tilled by other luminaries.
Thus, he includes information on Indian, Hawaiian, Aztec, Iranian, African, Finnish, Chinese, Japanese, Polynesian, and North American myths. If you have an interest in these less studied myths, then this book would be a strong starting point. As for myself, I feel that these myths have less an impact on our culture and psychology, although not to say they are not worthy of study.
So, all said and done, this book has its strong points and weak points. It could be a good text for particular people. I still wouldn?t call it an invaluable text (sorry J.F.) but as a high school text, or as a very broad introduction to a non-scholar, I think it would serve as a good starting point.
As one further digression, this is the only book I have read by Mr. Bierlein, and it was written ten years ago. Thus, this is in no way a commentary on the man?s other works, which I have yet to review. So, as a Roman might have said, Aio, quantitas magna frumentorum est, although I rather doubt that he did.

The book offers the material in a very readable fashion. I got exactly what I expected from the title -- readings of parallel myths. The themes around which the parallels were drawn such as the "hero" or "descent to the underworld" made sense. More commentary on the themes themselves would have been of interest to me but then would have changed the book from a straight forward collection into a thesis. The final chapters of the book give a short but informative review of the key theories of how myths may be traced back to primordial events and societies. The author seems to be presenting this collection (along with short commentary) as a counterbalance to the rational materialism of our present culture that demands empirical evidence and eschews all things supernatural. His short closing arguments for the positive role of mythology in our present society are interesting.

Being already familiar with the mythologies of many peoples around the world, This book had little to offer in the way of things I haven't seen before. As an introduction to world mythology, however, and as a concise cross-reference, this book is wonderful.

This fascinating work - which delves deep into myths from around the world and shows startling parallels - is a must-have for anyone who is interested in the study of ethnology, comparative religions, mythology, the development of civilizations, etc. and so forth - in other words, just about anyone who is interested in where we, as humanity, have been and where we are going.

The author shows where parallel myths have developed between cultures where there is no known contact and speculates, via various models, on how this might have happened. Myths are presented from the typical Greek, Roman and Norse, through Egyptian, Semitic, Polynesian and various Native American tribal myths as well as Incan and Aztec.

I was particularly interested (having managed to get this far in my life and not been exposed to much in the way of Norse/Germanic mythology or Wagnerian opera) by how much Tolkien borrowed for his LotR series from said sources. I was also appalled in many instances by the extreme bloodiness of some of the Egyptian myths - most of them seemed to end badly, which made me wonder . . . I shall now have to do further research (oh, drat - now I'll have to go buy books . . )

Although scholarly in nature, the work is engaging and accessible to the lay reader and in this reader's humble opinion, should be added to the reading list of as many individuals as possible. A definite recommend from me.

One of the themes I consistently stress to my students is that there are only a handful of stories, and they are all just variations on an original theme. Invariably, they all ask me "who wrote the original stories?" Well, look no further. J.F. Bierlein has done a masterful job of compiling some of the more intriguing world mythologies and categorizing them by theme (creation myths, Armageddon myths, etc.) This is a that I have used with great success in the classroom, and I would highly recommend it as a starting point in any study of mythology.Why Are All the Good Teachers Crazy?

I READ THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT WAS REQUIRED FOR A COURSE I AM TAKING AT OLLI-UGA. I THINK THAT ALL PEOPLE, THROUGH INSTINCT, RECOGNIZE A SINGLE ULTIMATE POWER WHO IS UNEXPLAINABLE AND WHO CREATED ALL THINGS. THIS BOOK MANAGES TO SHOW THAT MANY DIVERSE CULTURES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD ACKNOWLEDGE SUCH A BEING. I REALLY ENJOYED THE BOOK. I AM EVEN MORE CONVINCED THAT THERE IS A GOD WHO SENT HIS SON TO EARTH TO PROVIDE US A WAY TO HEAVEN.

J.F. Bierlein's "Parallel Myths" is a concise and well-written introduction to mythology that any novice of the subject will enjoy and appreciate.

I found this book useful as a broad survey of myths. It is an easy and enjoyable read. I was disturbed, however, by some of the sloppiness. Just starting the book I soon found some embarrassing errors. On page 11 Bierlein says, "... the Egyptian year consisted of 13 lunar months of 30 days each, or 360 days." No, 12 months of 30 days each is 360 days. I found other errors, using the book as a reference book; e.g., on page 71, Apsu is described as the "sky god." No, An (or Anu) was the sky god, Apsu was the creature representing the freshwater abyss. There are others. This is a shame because this ambitious undertaking and useful comparison is marred by careless errors that makes one unsure of what can be trusted.

"Language is everything to myth..." - Bierlein

J.F. Bierlein is a good as anyone about objectively offering such comparisons...

I have most of Joseph Campbell's works in my library.. and Bierlein now as well.

"The Hero With A Thousand Faces" is what gets most people really interested in his other works.

There are several other really good authors to discover.



"...a mythology is a control system, on the one hand framing its community to accord with an intuited order of nature and, on the other hand, by means of its symbolic pedagogic rites, conducting individuals through the ineluctable psychophysiological stages of transformation of a human lifetime - birth, childhood and adolescence, age, old age, and the release of death - in unbroken accord simultaneously with the requirements of this world and the rapture of participation in a manner of being beyond time."

-Joseph Campbell

J.F. Bierlien stands out for me as an author who really knows the material and is objective. His "Parallel Myths" was better than his "Living Myths" for me, but good enough to purchase and research from. I would like to have this in hardcover, though.

His Trickster Tales from all over are vastly original and thought-provoking - not the dimestore regurgitated rubbish in many textbooks.