Part of our new and growing Myths and Mysteries series, Myths and Mysteries of New York explores unusual phenomena, strange events, and mysteries in New York’s history. Each episode included in the book is a story unto itself, and the tone and style of the book is lively and easy to read for a general audience interested in New York history.

Are there alligators under New York City? Did the military take the lessons learned in the so-called “Philadelphia Experiment” of 1943 and apply the same technology at Montauk—to develop a weapon that would literally drive the enemy insane? Just who was the homeless man who walked a 365-mile route every thirty-four days, dressed in heavy leather? From the Lake Champlain monster to the friendly ghost hostess of Skene Manor, New York Myths and Legends makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the Empire State’s most fascinating stories.

Myths and Mysteries of Florida reveals the dark and ominous cloud of mysteries and myths that hovers over the Sunshine State. This book offers residents, travelers, history buffs, and ghost hunters a refreshingingly lively collection of stories about Florida's unsolved murders, legendary villains, lingering ghosts, terrifying myths, and haunted places.

Clever insights are a distinguishing mark of this excellent, concise overview of ancient religions that existed during the formative years of Judaism and Christianity.

Comprehensive and cross-referenced, this informative volume is a rich introduction to the world of nature as experienced by ancient peoples around the globe. 51 halftones.

Essays focusing on some of the ways in which myths have been made, and made to function, in the rich cultural history of India from the dawn of history through to the present day.

Classical Mythology, Sixth Edition, continues to build on its best-selling tradition of focusing on the literary tradition of Greek and Roman mythology through extensive translations of original mythological sources. Its coverage of comparative and interpretative approaches as well as evidencefrom art and archeology is expanded in this edition. Morford and Lenardon's insightful and accessible discussion of classical myths in their historical and cultural settings, as well as their survival in literature, art, music, and film, remains unparalleled: This comprehensive introduction toclassical mythology features new translations, expanded critical coverage, an expanded art program, and a new web site.

This book uses a nine-year experience of teaching world mythology to art students in order to discuss why and how such ancient stories provide significance today. Myth’s weird images and metaphors recall Wyrd (Word), the goddess of the cauldron. Students can be guided into the cauldron of mythic language to feel the stirring of new awareness of what it really means to be human. Psychologically, myth offers insights into family relations, memory, imagination, and otherness. Ecological insights from myth teach the connection among human-animal-plant relations and the organicism of all life forms. Cosmological insights from myth surprisingly echo findings in new science, with its emphasis on quantum mechanics, force fields, black holes, subatomic particles, chaos, and the possibilities of time travel. Two areas often considered completely opposite -- myth and science—actually reflect one another, since both propose theories, albeit in different ways. Myth cannot be laughed away as “mere” fabula, since, like science and psychology, it has long explored adventures into unseen, unknown worlds that yield necessary knowledge about the place of humans in the scheme of things big and small. The “more” of myth will be of interest to teachers and students of curriculum studies, to those seeking to go beyond Oedipus and Gutenberg, and to readers who know that all forms of life (including fingernails and rocks) are wondrous, diverse, alive, capable, purposive, and necessary.

What makes something mythic? What do mythic events and narratives have to do with us? In Mythology, David Leeming offers an unusual and effective approach to the subject of mythology by stressing universal themes through myths of many cultures. This anthology collects a wide array of narrative texts from the Bible to English literature to interpretations by Joseph Campbell, C.G. Jung, and others, which illustrate how myths serve whole societies in our universal search for meaning. Leeming illustrates the various stages or rites of passage of the mythic universal hero, from birth to childhood, through trial and quest, death, descent, rebirth, and ascension. The arrangement of texts by themes such as "Childhood, Initiation and Divine Signs," "The Descent to the Underworld," and "Resurrection and Rebirth" strip mythic characters of their many national and cultural "masks" to reveal their archetypal aspects. Real figures, including Jesus and Mohammed, are also included underlining the theory that myths are real and can be applied to real life. This edition is updated to include additional heroine myths, as well as Navajo, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, and African tales.