FREE Returns

FREE delivery Tuesday, November 8

Or fastest delivery Friday, November 4. Order within 11 hrs 21 mins

In Stock.

[{"displayPrice":"$25.49","priceAmount":25.49,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"25","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"49","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"eZCsx%2BSn%2BtBD3QJXunVLfDRX%2BnGduxN6WRM734vXWgqZinNSaK5%2FwnpNyv57o15oXTZ0zhQ%2FYIdQjZzvEGaXipP19OYb7vfvp%2Bf9KeZ6IaeI1iEbkO4wuclncAHk2C6WPgoi75WCVb8%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$11.75","priceAmount":11.75,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"75","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"%2FwM0XmcLwwReNjYa3your24iouhnq%2B%2F9THOEQX9PWirwhZbzkZEG0ei5NaqieMFUvjwAEjNNUzs34ntEeUgH0LDtS3MOpL%2BqGuGf4l9yr5w1%2BZs%2BgAVScuw0PiNtuAh6t924CV%2FY2%2FwmH7m9LxWxERsFexOZWKGPqvdnOKZAg1jZU41RdGGaKlKcuc2o4ksP","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$25.49 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: Returnable until Jan 31, 2023

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Wednesday, November 9 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Or fastest delivery Friday, November 4. Order within 3 hrs 6 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by -OnTimeBooks-

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Share

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$17.35
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: SuperBookDeals---

Added

Not added

$23.46
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Book Depository US

Added

Not added

$19.64
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: allnewbooks

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Jean Chevalier

The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols (Dictionary, Penguin) Paperback – March 1, 1997

by Jean Chevalier (Author), Alain Gheerbrant (Author), John Buchanan-Brown (Translator)

488 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

$320.39

Paperback

"Please retry"

$25.49

$17.03

$3.99

Enhance your purchase

This remarkable and wide-ranging book is an inventory of symbols and the symbolic imagination. The editors and their fifteen contributors are drawn from a variety of scholarly backgrounds—including anthropology, ethnology, psychotherapy and art history. This diversity of approach is responsible for the book's unique character, a reflection of the multiplicity of symbols and signs and the phenomenal range of possible interpretations they offer. This book draws together folklore, literary and artistic sources, and focuses on the symbolic dimension of every colour, number, sound, gesture, expression or character trait that has benefitted from symbolic interpretation. The conscious and unconscious minds are explored, desire and dreams are treated alongside the known and the chronicled. Extraordinary in its range and eclecticism, this dictionary was originally published in French as the Dictionnaire des Symboles, and it is regarded as the standard work on the subject.

Print length

1184 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

March 1, 1997
Grade level

12 and up
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

7.6 x 5.18 x 2.08 inches
ISBN-10

0140512543
ISBN-13

978-0140512540
See all details

Frequently bought together

The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols (Dictionary, Penguin)

$25.49

Get it as soon as Tuesday, Nov 8

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images

$30.49

Get it as soon as Tuesday, Nov 8

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Signs and Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Their Origins and Meanings

$14.99

Get it as soon as Tuesday, Nov 8

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Choose items to buy together.

Andrea Richards
920
Hardcover
45 offers from $20.02
Jessica Hundley
510
Hardcover
54 offers from $29.17
Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS)
1,609
Hardcover
58 offers from $21.26
Jessica Hundley
1,236
Hardcover
56 offers from $28.75
C. G. Jung
1,051
Paperback
67 offers from $13.19
C. G. Jung
2,788
Imitation Leather
77 offers from $21.50

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jean Chevalier (1906–1993) was a French writer, philosopher, and theologian. Until 1964, he was director of the Bureau of Relations for Member States at UNESCO, a post he left to research and write Dictionnaire des symboles with famed Amazon explorer Alain Gheerbrant. A compendium of more than 1,600 articles about the symbolism of myths, dreams, colors, habits, etc., found in folklore and mythology, this encyclopedia of cultural anthropology is published as The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols in English.

Alain Gheerbrant (1920–2013) was a French writer, editor, and explorer. He was the founding editor of K Éditeur, which published works by Antonin Artaud, Georges Bataille, and Aimé Césaire. In 1948, he left France with his team to explore a dense part of the Amazon, including Sierra Parima, and wrote of his travels in L’Expédition Orénoque-Amazone (1952). In 1982, in colloboration with author Jean Chevalier, he published Dictionnaire des symboles (The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols in English), an encyclopedia of cultural anthropology about the symbolism of myths and folklore. He released his memoir called La Transversale in 1995.

John Buchanan-Brown is a long-established and gifted translator of French books. He is best known for his translations of The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols by Alain Gheerbrant and Jean Chevalier and The Secret of the Missing Boat by Paul Berna.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; 2nd Revised ed. edition (March 1, 1997)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 1184 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140512543
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140512540
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.76 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.6 x 5.18 x 2.08 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #34,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Social Sciences Reference
- #57 in Dictionaries (Books)
- #60 in Literary Criticism & Theory

Customer Reviews:
488 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Jean Chevalier

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

5 star		71%
4 star		16%
3 star		6%
2 star		3%
1 star		4%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Bri18

Great dictionary

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 29, 2022

Verified Purchase

I enjoy this book but wish they also sold it in Kindle format so that I could take it everywhere.

Helpful

Dennis Hendrix

A book of Symbols (and World Folklore and Mythology)

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 29, 2011

Verified Purchase

This is an amazing book -- it covers symbolism, but it also a functions as a book of world folklore and mythology. It's nearly 1,200 pages and the entries are quite extensive. For example, there are about nine pages on "stone," five pages on "egg," a full page on "dew." But even more obscure items like "termite" gets four paragraphs, "comb" gets two, "porcupine" gets eight lines and "persimmon" gets six. This book takes a world perspective, showing what each symbol has meant to different cultures, religions and peoples -- these often differ. I've rarely seen a book of this type that is able to tackle both a wide range, yet give them depth as well. For example the entry on "falcon," one page, gives perspectives from Ancient Egypt, the Peruvian Incas, the Yunca Indians of Peru, the Irish, and various beliefs from the Middle Ages.

There are some ancient gods and mythological and religious figures presented like Adam and Cain, and astrological signs, but thankfully these don't take up most of the book -- there are enough books on those topics already. The vast majority of this book covers _things_ like "chariot," "dog," "feather," "oil," "serpent," "throne" and "wheel" -- just to name a few. I own many books on folklore, superstition, folk belief and mythology, and I know a great book on these topics when I see one -- and this is a great book and a browser's dream.

Some complain that images would have been helpful, and there aren't many pictures here, but when you're discussing something like "fox," "crown" or "satire" -- do you really need an image? I would prefer this book to have been a little larger, it is a rather small, fat book but regardless of the format the content is just beyond anything else I've seen.

I would recommend "Dictionary of Symbols" as a companion volume to a book like "Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend." While the "Standard Dictionary..." is a much longer book, it opts for more depth and perhaps a bit less range than this one. Of course their purposes are slightly different. There's several dictionaries/encyclopedias of symbols out there, if you just want one, get this one.

26 people found this helpful

Helpful

Atma Weapon

Incomplete But Good

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

I'm mostly happy with this book, but I'm not 100% satisfied. I do enjoy how the book dives right into the entries without any tedious introductory remarks, but it may have been good to include at least some small explanation as to the definition of symbol or a remark on the methodology used to determine which entries to include. The book seems to cover the sorts of symbols that most people would probably be interested in: animals, plants, gems, astrological, and mythological. However, it's less about the graphic representations than it is about the conceptual and metaphorical aspects. There is scant coverage of mathematical symbols and modern symbols. Then, there are also entries which seem out of place: seemingly modern entries like "automobiles", an entry on "dreams" (which is not really a symbol so much as a context for symbols), and many entries on specific mythological characters (which are admittedly interesting to read about but perhaps not deserving the designation "symbol"). In my point of view, generic types of beings such as centaurs and elves warrant inclusion, while specific characters (e.g. "Daedalus") mostly do not. This is perhaps subjective, but that is my perspective as someone who would rather use a dedicated mythology reference book for those entries. So, for all of those reasons, I would deduct half a star. Then, I would deduct another half star for the quality of the entries themselves. For example, the entry on "eye" described many mythological traditions where the sun and moon are eyes, but failed to mention the ancient Egyptian good Horus. Nevertheless, I have already learned many new things from this book (including things evidently not known to Google and Wikipedia, which is impressive) and so I do intend to finish it and keep it as a reference.

37 people found this helpful

Helpful

A. Jensen

Interesting book with endless definitions.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 3, 2022

Verified Purchase

I bought this to get an overview of the symbolism of time. Got what I paid for. 🤪

Helpful

Raeann Henderson

Great reference book to many unusual insights into different dreams etc.!!! Very good N

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 28, 2022

Verified Purchase

Very helpful in tryin to find out what irtain things mean than you have dreamed or need the certain meaning too. Very interesting.

Helpful

Newer dictionaries with pictures are great, but this is the one I always return to.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 1, 2009

Verified Purchase

I purchased my first copy 10 years ago and have been working with my dream symbols for nearly 20 years. I've been enticed to purchase newer ones since then with photos and graphics ( I now have nearly a dozen symbol dictionaries) -- thus I am clearly drawn to these things.

However, I find there is always a trade off. Publishing costs and space taken up for these visuals means less text and less substance. So while I have an initial pleasure in perusing the ones with pictures I often find these don't really have anything to do with my dream images -- they are indeed usually intriguing works of art but not particularly helpful for serious symbol analysis.

Thus the most consistently helpful symbol book, to which I always return when I seriously want to know a range of possibilities for my dream images or concepts is the Penguin Dictionary of Symbols by Chevalier, Cheerbrant and Buchanan-Brown. The authors have done a monumental work bringing so much substance to it, managed to remain relevant for decades even though it was first published in France in 1969 with the second edition in 1982, and by now reading it is like coming home.

A another benefit of being all text (seriously the text is not that hard to read, the print is of excellent quality with crisp deliniations between entries, references, etc.) is that the act of researching my dream images does not itself start interfering with the memory of my own visual image, as pictures might.

To each his own preference ... but for persons more experienced in working with dreams, I think the substance here will be recognized as highly valuable.

35 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

loz81904

Great book for my English Literature degree

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 18, 2013

Verified Purchase

I have just purchased the dictionary of symbols as a reference tool for my English Literature Degree, helping me understand literary analogies, allegories and some allusions (such as mythology) and for use as assignment quotes.

So far it has been fantastic for quotes as it is surprisingly hard to find academically acclaimed guides to symbolism via online searches... believe me I've tried!

OK.. so it doesn't have pictures, you really don't need them, and all entries are alphabetically listed so really easy to find what you need. It spans many different subjects and cultures for its references, and is really interesting (I have found myself reading articles I didn't need to). Some entries are short and concise as they don't have many different meanings, however others such as serpents have an longer entry looking at a wealth of meanings including biblical and psychological.

Maybe not for everyone, but I honestly don't know how I have coped without this book.

15 people found this helpful