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Joseph Campbell and Power of Myth #1
The Hero's Adventure: Power of Myth 1
Long before medieval knights charged off to slay dragons, tales of heroic adventures were an integral part of all world cultures. Campbell challenges everyone to see the presence of a heroic journey in his or her own life.
"There is a typical hero sequence of actions which can be detected in stories from all over the world and from the many, many periods of history. It is essentially the one deed done by many, many different people. The hero or heroine is someone who has given his life to something bigger than himself or other than himself.... Losing yourself, giving yourself to another, that's a trial in itself, is it not? There is a big transformation of consciousness that's concerned. And what all the myths have to deal with is the transformation of consciousness--that you're thinking in this way, and you have now to think in that way."
"Well, how is the consciousness transformed?"
"By trials."
"The tests that the hero undergoes?"
"Tests or certain illuminating revelations. Trials and revelations are what it's all about."
"There is a typical hero sequence of actions which can be detected in stories from all over the world and from the many, many periods of history. It is essentially the one deed done by many, many different people. The hero or heroine is someone who has given his life to something bigger than himself or other than himself.... Losing yourself, giving yourself to another, that's a trial in itself, is it not? There is a big transformation of consciousness that's concerned. And what all the myths have to deal with is the transformation of consciousness--that you're thinking in this way, and you have now to think in that way."
"Well, how is the consciousness transformed?"
"By trials."
"The tests that the hero undergoes?"
"Tests or certain illuminating revelations. Trials and revelations are what it's all about."
60 pages, audio cassette
First published January 1, 1992
28 people are currently reading
7563 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Campbell
426 books6,188 followersJoseph Campbell was an American author and teacher best known for his work in the field of comparative mythology. He was born in New York City in 1904, and from early childhood he became interested in mythology. He loved to read books about American Indian cultures, and frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles.
Campbell was educated at Columbia University, where he specialized in medieval literature, and continued his studies at universities in Paris and Munich. While abroad he was influenced by the art of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, the novels of James Joyce and Thomas Mann, and the psychological studies of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. These encounters led to Campbell's theory that all myths and epics are linked in the human psyche, and that they are cultural manifestations of the universal need to explain social, cosmological, and spiritual realities.
After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, and then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 40s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. He also edited works by the German scholar Heinrich Zimmer on Indian art, myths, and philosophy. In 1944, with Henry Morton Robinson, Campbell published A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake. His first original work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, came out in 1949 and was immediately well received; in time, it became acclaimed as a classic. In this study of the "myth of the hero," Campbell asserted that there is a single pattern of heroic journey and that all cultures share this essential pattern in their various heroic myths. In his book he also outlined the basic conditions, stages, and results of the archetypal hero's journey.
Throughout his life, he traveled extensively and wrote prolifically, authoring many books, including the four-volume series The Masks of God, Myths to Live By, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space and The Historical Atlas of World Mythology. Joseph Campbell died in 1987. In 1988, a series of television interviews with Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth, introduced Campbell's views to millions of people.
Campbell was educated at Columbia University, where he specialized in medieval literature, and continued his studies at universities in Paris and Munich. While abroad he was influenced by the art of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, the novels of James Joyce and Thomas Mann, and the psychological studies of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. These encounters led to Campbell's theory that all myths and epics are linked in the human psyche, and that they are cultural manifestations of the universal need to explain social, cosmological, and spiritual realities.
After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, and then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 40s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. He also edited works by the German scholar Heinrich Zimmer on Indian art, myths, and philosophy. In 1944, with Henry Morton Robinson, Campbell published A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake. His first original work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, came out in 1949 and was immediately well received; in time, it became acclaimed as a classic. In this study of the "myth of the hero," Campbell asserted that there is a single pattern of heroic journey and that all cultures share this essential pattern in their various heroic myths. In his book he also outlined the basic conditions, stages, and results of the archetypal hero's journey.
Throughout his life, he traveled extensively and wrote prolifically, authoring many books, including the four-volume series The Masks of God, Myths to Live By, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space and The Historical Atlas of World Mythology. Joseph Campbell died in 1987. In 1988, a series of television interviews with Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth, introduced Campbell's views to millions of people.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 1, 2017
This was better when I was in high school, and it doesn't hold up well to a re-listening as an adult. Campbell and Moyers' pop folklore is entertaining, but doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Campbell's content to skim the surface, but if a particular culture's myth/origin story doesn't fit with his Jung-lite interpretation, he just doesn't deal with it. Oh well, glad I came back to it, glad I decided to stop listening halfway through.
January 25, 2016
Cassette version: Some interesting and inspirational content. I enjoyed hearing Campbell talk about specific myths. Unfortunately this was the minority of the content in this part.
Notably, Campbell appeared to be promoting a 'new world order', gaia theory, sophia, etc. To my listening, he came very close to indicating climate change as we know it as a myth.
Notably, Campbell appeared to be promoting a 'new world order', gaia theory, sophia, etc. To my listening, he came very close to indicating climate change as we know it as a myth.
October 6, 2011
This is a "must have" audio series.
April 27, 2012
The ideas and mythos of universal hero/heroine. Relating the ideas to modern (1980's) literature, movies, and culture. He also describes how man comes to realize his inner peace and destiny of life.
December 8, 2013
Recognizing and realizing the heroic journeys in our own lives.
June 8, 2017
Life altering.
January 22, 2024
Review for Books 1-6:
Draws on interesting parallels in the storytelling of numerous cultures since the dawn of man, but…most of it is extremely vague and presented in disconnected tangents with a smug air of expansiveness. At times it feels like he is hiding a lack of coherency in cryptic language. Most of the advice he gives is pretty empty, amounting to “follow your heart” and “eternity is in the here and now,” etc. Moreover, his arguments suffer from major internal inconsistencies. It seems much of his personal ideology is sampled conveniently from numerous traditions without consideration of how they may contradict each other. It ends up sounding like generic New Age spirituality but even more squirrelly, as if being explained in the basement of a really stoned friend who has been watching too much Ancient Aliens, and when you ask him to clarify something, he starts telling you a random story that he read on Yahoo Answers.
I was hoping for a more cogent exploration of symbols with examples of where each concept can be found and how it has varied between places and times. But this was too disorganized to really be educational. A lot of Jungian thinkers (I’m looking at you, Jordan Peterson) seem to speak in a similarly scattered and opaque manner, perhaps reflecting their belief that what they so love discussing cannot be adequately communicated in words. Well, it’s probably worth a real try with some semblance of structure, with rambling and random transitions between topics kept to a minimum. What is neatly organized and delineated can be neatly critiqued, and I get the feeling that is a big part of the appeal for these mystical types.
It’s a shame, because I’d still like to read the kind of book that I was hoping this would be.
Draws on interesting parallels in the storytelling of numerous cultures since the dawn of man, but…most of it is extremely vague and presented in disconnected tangents with a smug air of expansiveness. At times it feels like he is hiding a lack of coherency in cryptic language. Most of the advice he gives is pretty empty, amounting to “follow your heart” and “eternity is in the here and now,” etc. Moreover, his arguments suffer from major internal inconsistencies. It seems much of his personal ideology is sampled conveniently from numerous traditions without consideration of how they may contradict each other. It ends up sounding like generic New Age spirituality but even more squirrelly, as if being explained in the basement of a really stoned friend who has been watching too much Ancient Aliens, and when you ask him to clarify something, he starts telling you a random story that he read on Yahoo Answers.
I was hoping for a more cogent exploration of symbols with examples of where each concept can be found and how it has varied between places and times. But this was too disorganized to really be educational. A lot of Jungian thinkers (I’m looking at you, Jordan Peterson) seem to speak in a similarly scattered and opaque manner, perhaps reflecting their belief that what they so love discussing cannot be adequately communicated in words. Well, it’s probably worth a real try with some semblance of structure, with rambling and random transitions between topics kept to a minimum. What is neatly organized and delineated can be neatly critiqued, and I get the feeling that is a big part of the appeal for these mystical types.
It’s a shame, because I’d still like to read the kind of book that I was hoping this would be.
March 21, 2024
Listening to this I couldn’t help but think that Joseph found himself absolutely brilliant. He talks in lofty circles and occasionally bumps into things that are true in some way. He really does just have one idea: some stories follow similar paths throughout some cultures and some times. Which as an observation is fine and a great little observation, good job Joseph. From there he builds out his weird and amorphous worldview that is impossible to pin down. I know comparing people the Jordan Peterson has become a bit of a running bit for me but the resemblance and influence is uncanny.
May 5, 2022
For what it was worth this was pretty good. It is based between multiple interviews by Joseph Campbell in which deal with myths and history in the human race and modern reality in addition to the hero/heroine journey in literature in which is incorporated in films. I probably would have enjoyed it a little more in high school but that all depends on everyone’s key of interest.
February 1, 2025
My first foray into Joseph Campbell and his groundbreaking work on myth and storytelling. I was enthralled by the conversations between him and Bill, and was unabashedly scribbling notes at times. this should be required listening for everyone!
July 1, 2018
This first volume is almost a summary of the Hero With 1000 Faces. Worth a listen.
September 3, 2019
As a novelist, I could not have read a better book. This deserves 10 stars out of five. Highly recommended to storytellers everywhere.
March 31, 2021
Pushes us deep into our soul to understand who we are as a human being.
February 27, 2023
A real thinker
June 18, 2024
We are all the heroes in our own stories
September 13, 2023
Rather than write a review of this man's life work, I'd rather just cite the various posts I've written about him in the past:
• Monomyth Definition: A Defense of The Hero’s Journey
• Hindu Monotheism : The Upanishads and Vedanta
• Follow Your Bliss : Results of Joseph Cambell’s Advice
• The New
Hero: Tolkien and Subversion
• Joseph Campbell Religion :: Did Joseph Campbell Believe in God?
• Joseph Campbell Religion :: Did Joseph Campbell Believe in God?
• Was Joseph Campbell atheist?
And because I like having fun, the Zero with 1,000 Faces
Mark: Got a new lighting rig and arrangement that I want to test out, but I need something that changes and moves around a bunch. You up for a challenge?
Lancelot: [silence. I’m thinking…]
Mark: Day… in the… studio?
Lancelot: New lighting set up?
Mark: Yeah, it’s–
Lancelot: What if I tapped into my old thespian and modeling skillset and tried to give you as many faces as possible?
Mark: So… you’d… wait. Like trying to get me to mix it up as you mix it up?
Lancelot: Yes. You’ll keep me on my toes, making sure the faces are all different. I’ll keep you on your toes so you switch your style.
Mark: Sounds fun.
• Monomyth Definition: A Defense of The Hero’s Journey
• Hindu Monotheism : The Upanishads and Vedanta
• Follow Your Bliss : Results of Joseph Cambell’s Advice
• The New
Hero: Tolkien and Subversion
• Joseph Campbell Religion :: Did Joseph Campbell Believe in God?
• Joseph Campbell Religion :: Did Joseph Campbell Believe in God?
• Was Joseph Campbell atheist?
And because I like having fun, the Zero with 1,000 Faces
Mark: Got a new lighting rig and arrangement that I want to test out, but I need something that changes and moves around a bunch. You up for a challenge?
Lancelot: [silence. I’m thinking…]
Mark: Day… in the… studio?
Lancelot: New lighting set up?
Mark: Yeah, it’s–
Lancelot: What if I tapped into my old thespian and modeling skillset and tried to give you as many faces as possible?
Mark: So… you’d… wait. Like trying to get me to mix it up as you mix it up?
Lancelot: Yes. You’ll keep me on my toes, making sure the faces are all different. I’ll keep you on your toes so you switch your style.
Mark: Sounds fun.
January 24, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed listening to all of these conversations!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews