Myths & Legends: An Illustrated Guide to Their Origins and Meanings

by John Pemberton

Rock paintings of the rainbow serpent in Australia date back more than 6,000 years and the legend has been passed down orally for even longer. The Aboriginal dreaming about this mystical being with a kangaroo head and crocodile tail is the personification of fertility and abundance. Its significance to the culture of indigenous Australians is priceless. Whether or not it ever existed is unimportant as the riches come from the lessons the rainbow serpent teaches about life, death, survival, and love.

Interest in mythology has exploded over the years and we now realize that many ancient legends have in fact assisted the human race in understanding the complex world we live in, even if they have been embellished over the years.

Myths and Legends brings together the principal mythologies, legends, and folklore of ancient and modern cultures and explores the relationship that they have with their people and with the major religions of the world.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Reference, History

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

John Stith Pemberton (July 8, 1831 – August 16, 1888) was an American pharmacist, and is best known for being the inventor of Coca-Cola.

Reviews

[I.S. Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a very good jumping off point for people who want to learn about mythology in general. I myself actually learned a couple of things in the book about mythologies I never looked into before. If you pick this book up just for the Greek or Norse mythology you are going to be disappointed.

One thing that some people might find disturbing is that the author points out a lot of similarities between the different stories. This by itself would not bother most but then he also points out how many of these stories mirror stories from the Bible. I personally don't mind such things but some people are bound to have a problem with that. I have a feeling though that those people would not pick up this book anyway.

If you no little to nothing about mythology and want something to whet your appetite, give this book a look.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wide variety of myths from many different cultures. I enjoyed all of it, but I frequently felt like so much more could have been said. I know this wasn't meant to be an 800 page encyclopedia or anything, but there were several times when I felt that one paragraph on a topic was far less than sufficient. At times it seemed that the author thought the reader knew more about what he was saying and that he didn't need to elaborate, and for this kind of collection I really think more was necessary.

[Tom Byron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative book. This is a good overview of pretty much every cultures background . I am appreciative of the Mesoamerican and afro- Caribbean mythology as too many books seem to mostly concentrate on European studies. Interesting artwork inside but I would have liked more of a timeline and a cross-cultural comparison chart in there. Overall a worthy book to have in a collection of Occult and religious information.-

[Rosalinda Sepeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! the book was awesome. Makes me think of the many movies such as "Thor" "Beowulf" "Pandora's Box" came to be.
It provide an easy-to-follow structure the book and groups the world's myths into four geographical regions and should be noted that many of the cultures featured here were separated through vasts periods of time.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The myths here are a bit cramped and reduced down since each one only gets a few sentences, so sometimes important elements are left out. I was hoping for more detailed renditions of the stories. But it's a nice collection of a lot of different myths from a lot of different cultures, with some stories you don't see very often. So it's a good overview.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty high level and sparse on the details. There are also some weird things that I had never heard before and I'm not sure of the veracity of some of the information. Overall an interesting look at some aspects of mythology around the world.

[Zach Opsitnick · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion, a very well put together overview of so many cultures mythologies from all corners of the globe, and even some areas that I wasn't initially familiar with, like the Oceania region. While it covers many topis, due to its length there isn't much in depth information, but that's to be expected. I view this as a nice tapas book. Many bites of many little things that get you curious about them in a deeper way.

[J.T.K. Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book so full of information that is clearly-stated and explained. I will archive it and reread and refer to it for a long time to come!

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

A nice book about myths throughout the world.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mix of interesting stories.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely good little volume with a nice (albeit brief) look at stories and legends from quite a few world cultures, including those not commonly referenced, such as the Australian Dreamtime. An excellent volume on myths, one I would have loved to have had as a kid. Giving 4 stars only for brevity, but taken for what it is, excellent. 4.5/5

[col13en · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fascinating read! It covers all the important myths and legends from all corners of the globe, both modern and ancient. It also includes lots of good photos and artwork that enhance all of the stories.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a nice review of what I have already learned and an amazing overview of everything I didn't. Short and not too detailed, but it kept my interest.