Symbolism in Greek Mythology: Human Desire and Its Transformations [Hardcover]

Paul Diel (Author), Vincent Stuart (Translator), Micheline Stuart (Translator), Rebecca Folkman (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 218 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (July 12, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394510836
• ISBN-13: 978-0394510835
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,443,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The universal key to symbolism, March 23, 2002

By 

etienne lorenceau (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Symbolism in Greek Mythology (Hardcover)

Furthering the steps of Joseph Campbell, deeper than J. P. Vernant, less poetic but more rigorous than Mircea Eliad, not as structurally biased as C. Levy Strauss, more versatile than Freud's Totem and Taboo, Paul Diel's work supplies an analysis which applies to any religious story or any myth at any period in time in any geographical region. This is a book for a lifetime. Confronting Paul Diel's enlightments with Rene Girard's analysis offers a path for anyone interested in getting wiser. Hard to read but more than worth deciphering.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbeatable book!, August 26, 2004

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symbolism in Greek Mythology (Hardcover)

This text is fundamental for all the raeders who have a wide interest in that issue so relevant and trascendental for knowing ourselves as the glorious sons of this civilization.
Paul Diel made an exhaustive analysis about the keys and clues of every myth . Its further implications and the inner relations with the psychology and sociology .
He analizes Icarus , The Minotaur , Edipus, among others with sophisticated but precise and meridian clarity .All along this book you will discover the hidden codes , the inner meaning of these fundamentals episodes of that radiant and fascinating mythology universe .

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading, April 7, 2002

By 

Robert K. Schmidt (Cleveland, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symbolism in Greek Mythology: Human Desire and Its Transformations (Hardcover)

I was lucky enough to be introduced to Diel by a French friend. Diel doesn't hold anything back: by page 7 he reveals the meaning of life ("harmonius satisfaction of multiple desires"). Diel's intended audience was probably students of psychology, but writers bored of the hackneyed "mythic structure" instilled by the popularity of application of Joseph Campbell's work to screenwriting will revel in what Diel has to offer. But more than improving my writing, I feel reading Diel has made me a better person--and for that, I rank this as one of the most important books an adult person can read.