Essays on a Science of Mythology : the Myth of the Divine Child and the Mysteries of Eleusis

by C. G. Jung

Other authorsR. F. C. Hull (Translator), Carl Kerényi (Author)

Hardcover, 1949

Status

Available

Genres

Religion & Spirituality

Nonfiction

Publication

[New York] : Pantheon Books, 1949.

Description

When Carl Jung and Carl Kerenyi got together to collaborate on this book, their aim was to elevate the study of mythology to a science. Kerenyi wrote on two of the most ubiquitous myths, the Divine Child and The Maiden, supporting the core 'stories' with both an introduction and a conclusion. Jung then provided a psychological analysis of both myths. He defined myth as a story about heroes interacting with the gods. Having long studied dreams and the subconscious, Jung identified certain dream patterns common to everyone. These 'archetypes' have developed through the centuries, and enable modern people to react to situations in much the same way as our ancestors. From nuclear annihilation to AIDS and Ebola, we continue to engage the gods in battle. Science of Mythology provides an account of the meaning and the purpose of mythic themes that is linked to modern life: the heroic battles between good and evil of yore are still played out, reflected in contemporary fears.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member iayork

Jaspers, Stekel, Adler, Freud, Jung...???: Certainly not to "praise great men," which is anathema to me, but to trace and track the "development of psychology." That is why I have observed its serpentine journey throughout history, slinking as far back as Heraclitus, now rising up into the Aquarian

Age, right through Pisces, which brings us to the next development in psychology, Archetypal Psychology, as presented by James Hillman, Jung's worthy successor, which leads the "pupil" for "dominating spirit" to "receptive soul" and beyond, or below, to an ultimately gracious union of the two. At the end of this book by the two Carls, Kerenyi says, "Miracle DO happen in Eleusis," and Eleusis, like Utopia, like the Realm of the Mothers, like the Spirit Realm, is DOWN, the very direction in which Hillman points, always, as does Joseph Campbell, e.g., "If you are falling...DIVE!"

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