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Joseph Campbell

The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) Hardcover – July 1, 2008

by Joseph Campbell (Author)

3,777 ratings

Part of: The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell (18 Books)

in Mythology & Folklore Encyclopedias

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Since its release in 1949, The Hero with a Thousand Faces has influenced millions of readers by combining the insights of modern psychology with Joseph Campbell’s revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology. In these pages, Campbell outlines the Hero’s Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world’s mythic traditions. He also explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world creation and destruction.

As part of the Joseph Campbell Foundation’s Collected Works of Joseph Campbell, this third edition features expanded illustrations, a comprehensive bibliography, and more accessible sidebars.

As relevant today as when it was first published, The Hero with a Thousand Faces continues to find new audiences in fields ranging from religion and anthropology to literature and film studies. The book has also profoundly influenced creative artists—including authors, songwriters, game designers, and filmmakers—and continues to inspire all those interested in the inherent human need to tell stories.

Print length

432 pages
Language

English
Publisher

New World Library
Publication date

July 1, 2008
ISBN-10

1577315936
ISBN-13

978-1577315933
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“I have returned to no other book more often since leaving college than this one, and every time I discover new insight into the human journey. Every generation will find in Hero wisdom for the ages.”
— Bill Moyers

“In the three decades since I discovered The Hero with a Thousand Faces, it has continued to fascinate and inspire me. Joseph Campbell peers through centuries and shows us that we are all connected by a basic need to hear stories and understand ourselves. As a book, it is wonderful to read; as illumination into the human condition, it is a revelation.”
— George Lucas

“Campbell’s words carry extraordinary weight, not only among scholars but among a wide range of other people who find his search down mythological pathways relevant to their lives today....The book for which he is most famous, The Hero with a Thousand Faces [is] a brilliant examination, through ancient hero myths, of man’s eternal struggle for identity.”
— Time

“In the long run, the most influential book of the twentieth century may turn out to be Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”
— Christopher Vogler

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Product details

Publisher : New World Library; Third edition (July 1, 2008)
Language : English
Hardcover : 432 pages
ISBN-10 : 1577315936
ISBN-13 : 978-1577315933
Item Weight : 1.35 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #2,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Medical Psychoanalysis
- #1 in Mythology & Folklore Encyclopedias
- #3 in Popular Psychology Psychoanalysis

Customer Reviews:
3,777 ratings

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4 star		11%
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Top reviews from the United States

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Vee

A must for reading

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2018

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This book should be included in high school reading. Regardless of whether you agree with the ideas it is a wonderful example of research, passion, and hard work. It is also well written and brings up religious, societal, and psychological questions and issues that should be examined, researched further, and discussed not just among the academics, but among everyone. Teenagers should be given the chance to get a global, historical picture of religions and how they have shaped the world so that they can be more informed and prepared to create their own personal beliefs and rituals in order to be healthy, functioning adults out in the world who are tolerant and respectful of everyone around them.

130 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jeremy David Stevens

The Karate Kid and The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2018

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All the way back in 1949, Joseph Campbell wrote a book titled The Hero With a Thousand Faces. The book contains hundreds of examples of stories from a wide range of mythology, including those from Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Native American, and Greek (and countless other) canons.

Campbell identifies similarities in style as well as structure between the great adventure stories/mythologies throughout human history. Famously, he determines specific characteristics about the hero and his or her journey, hence the term (coined by Campbell) familiar to readers and writers alike, The Hero’s Journey. In effect, there is a very specific set of rules governing what makes a great story. And just in case I wasn’t certain of the extent of Campbell’s research, the book contains over forty pages of endnotes and other references. The man put in the research time.

Reading The Hero With a Thousand Faces came at the perfect time for me. I’d heard of it and seen it recommended to me on Amazon for quite some time, but I never took the time to actually read it. Actually, I “Wikipedia’d” it a few times, but that was the extent of that. But in finally reading the book, Campbell has helped me understand much better some of the ideas that I’ve been working out in my weekly “Books of the Bible” review posts. If you’ve read any of my recent Bible book reviews, you’ll immediately recognize that Campbell has already clearly written what I’m still trying to figure out for myself. For example:

“For the symbols of mythology are not manufactured; they cannot be ordered, invented or permanently suppressed. They are spontaneous productions of the psyche…”

Powerful stuff.

Here are the rules governing the first great stage of the adventure story (some of it is paraphrased in my own words):

The Call to Adventure
Initial Refusal to Heed the Call
Supernatural Aid/Mentor/“Old Man” (Old man is a direct quote from Campbell.)
Crossing the First Threshold
Belly of the Whale (The Point When the Hero’s Death/Ultimate Failure seems Certain)

Truly, Exodus would have been the perfect story to compare with Campbell’s ruleset, but I just wrote a review of Exodus last week, so I wanted to do something different. The Karate Kid might just might be the most perfect modern example of them all (and one of my favorite movies). So I thought it might be interesting to see just how closely the writers of this movie follow Campbell’s rules.

Young New Jersey native Daniel is called to the great land of adventure (California) by his mother. He hates it there (his initial macro-reluctance to heed the call) and would like nothing more than to move back home. The only saving grace (besides a pretty girl) is a mentor (Mr. Myagi) that he meets when he arrives. After getting into some trouble with the local bullies, Daniel’s mentor signs him up for a karate tournament. Daniel is mortified and has no faith in his ability to survive a karate tournament like that (Micro-reluctance to Heed the Call), “I cannot believe… what you got me into back there!”

But Daniel does as his mentor says and enters the tournament anyway (Crossing the First Threshold), where he manages to make it to the semifinals, further than he ever dreamed, before even hitting a snag. When he gets there, young bully Bobby cheats in a most despicable manner, kicking Daniel directly in the knee, damaging Daniel’s body seemingly beyond repair (into the Belly of the Whale, i.e., Daniel’s ultimate defeat seems certain). But just as soon as all hope is lost, Daniel’s mentor heals his leg through supernatural methods and Daniel comes back to win the tournament, his dignity, and the girl. Indeed, it’s a Hero’s Journey almost worthy of Moses.

Note: There are other rules and further stages to the story that I haven’t included in this short review, but it seems to me that these are certainly the essential components to the modern story. Maybe some other time, I can write about the further stages and which stories they apply to (Lord of the Rings comes to mind).

My final say on this book is as follows: If you’re a student of religion, mythology or philosophy, or if you are a writer (whether of music, poetry, or fiction), read this book. It contains a lot of good information.

155 people found this helpful

Helpful

Robert Wright, Jr., Ph.D., COFT

A Treasure!

Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2015

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This book is for the serious reader who is looking to learn more about the origins and power of myths in their historical context and how timeless symbols including archetypes are being "rediscovered" from a psychological perspective. For the uninitiated, this is an eye opening book in that Joseph Campbell is able to demonstrate in a masterful way how many of "the patterns and logic of fairy tale and myth correspond to those of dream, [and how] the long discredited chimeras of archaic man have returned dramatically to the foreground of modern consciousness" [page 255].

If you are a curious individual or student of history, then you'll find The Hero With A Thousand Faces to be a fascinating read as the author probes deeply into the origins and significance of mythology from epistemological, ontological, psychological, and teleological perspectives. Whether you are a student of the ancient Egyptians, ancient Greeks, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Karl Abraham or others, you're sure to find a wealth of valuable information and "perspective" in this book.

A happy outcome is that by reading this book you may glean a glimpse of your own heroes journey. That fact is worth the price of the book alone. It also makes a great gift for anyone who enjoys being reflective and is not fearful of diving into their own psyche and what they might find.

Robert "Bob" Wright, Jr., Ph.D., COFT

123 people found this helpful

Helpful

TamiJ

Good concepts, a little hard to read

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2017

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I love Joseph Campbell and this is an exhaustive collection of his works and the Heroes Journey. You have to be very focused when reading. It is a complicated read!

47 people found this helpful

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Dan Fiala-T. H. Channel

Eye-opening in every way

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2017

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This is the guideline for understanding not only all of stories, but all of storytelling. Across cultures from every corner in the planet, the same themes show up time and again--but why? This book looks at why we tell stories, and what deeper truths we can know about humanity from the fact that ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Native American tribes, and African tribes, all consumed themselves with stories that have way more in common with Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad, then you'd think.

Skeptics have pointed to ancient myths, authentically dated well before the life of Christ, that ring far too familiar to His story. They'll say this is proof that Christianity is B.S., but Joseph Campbell says it must mean something deeper.

Campbell was a Christian, and I'm an agnostic, but I'd say anyone who can dig through his heavy rhetoric will find something really valuable here, regardless of their previous spiritual beliefs.

45 people found this helpful

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JMD

Pedantic

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2018

Verified Purchase

I purchased Myths to Live By and this book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, both by Joseph Campbell, at the same time. I wish I had not because I found this book to be just as pedantic as the first one. The author comes across as an arrogant close-minded academic elitist doing his best to impress the reader with just how elite he is by subtly insulting their intellect. If you want to be told what to think, then this is a book for you. If you revel in thinking for yourself this book is a waste of money.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

John

a bit of a slog

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

I picked this up off the back of a podcast I watched recently on the art of storytelling. For a long time, I've had a fascination with Joseph Campbell. Probably his known quote is “Follow your bliss” which has remained as the background on my phone ever since I heard it.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces is probably one of his most well-known works. In it he draws from myth and legend, the stories of the ancients, the Vedas, and verses from the bible and unpacks them in his unique way, showing us the underlying similarities each contains and uses them to describe the Hero’s Journey. A process in which an adventure is called to action, and goes through a series of challenges, and eventually returns home with his or her “treasure”. I can expand on this but its probably easier to watch a video on Youtube.

If I’m completely honest I really struggled to get through this. I do not doubt that this isn't a brilliant book and Joseph’s concept has influenced all matter of individuals from songwriters, to movie producers to fellow authors. His work was truly groundbreaking for its time. But boy did I struggle, however I think that's more on me, I’ve always struggled with maintaining interest in myth and legend, ironic considering I’m fascinated by ancient Egypt. It also probably doesn't help that it was written 70+ years ago and how we speak has changed a lot since then. Then is no denying the importance of this book, and I'm glad I read it, but I for those interested it might be best to watch his Netflix series which was produced in the late 80s just before he passed away.

I mean no disrespect to Joseph Campbell, I'm most likely just not intellectual enough to understand where he is coming from. And infact I am going to read Joesph Campbell on his Life and Work, a spin off of the documentary on Nelflix, as it was written much later and I still wish to learn more about his ideas. Funnily enough I actually found that on the side of the road while reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and its an old library book from Austin, TX, complete with classroom purchase orders for pizza, airline tickets, and old car hire receipts which are almost 20 years old.
for more reviews please see my website everythingandnothing.co

33 people found this helpful

Gian Andrea

Priceless read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

I've learnt how to read thanks to Mythology, a fascination for storytelling that only grew into a deep love for History, Literature and - last but not least - Philosophy. As the all Campbell work is centered around the importance of the monomyth, we see how the same pattern is applicable to any culture and any society, for all of them have ingrained at their core a common truth: universality.
The most immediate takeaway from this book is in fact the similarity in the original message behind any religion or ritual or ancient myth, a path shared by any story we've ever told, in books, movies and beliefs. A primordial, seemingly innate, connection between the outer world and the human mind.
Priceless read.

12 people found this helpful

Faris

not enjoyable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

did not enjoy, I was looking for a process detailing the hero's journey so I can learn from it. This was not written for that purpose it seems, but was describing elements of it represented in old civilisations.

5 people found this helpful

David Martin

Great ideas, but a difficult read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2021

Verified Purchase

I'd heard a lot about this book, and I'd previously read The Power of Myth which I really enjoyed. The idea of The Hero's Journey is very interesting, and clearly Campbell has a vast knowledge of mythology. However, I have to say this book was a bit of a let down.

I found the book poorly written, and badly structured. I just couldn't get used to Campbell's writing style, his sentences are long and meandering, with asides within asides. Some paragraphs are composed of one single, unbroken sentence. He also jumps rapidly from story to story, then refers back haphazardly to stories he's previously mentioned. He never seems to fully articulate a point, he makes some vague allusions then jumps to another point. It almost seems like Campbell had so much knowledge that he just couldn't get it all on the page.

I'd say overall that it's still worth reading, although it is a bit of a slog.

2 people found this helpful

Filipe P.

But nothing like getting re-acquainted with it through the horse's mouth

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

Joseph Campbell's work is legendary nowadays. But nothing like getting re-acquainted with it through the horse's mouth. JC shared many great examples and illustrates his points clearly, blowing your mind. Novelists, film writers, game developers, and story telling-related professionals and aficionados will find a wealth of knowledge here with a very positive impact in their works

7 people found this helpful

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