Dictionary of Mythology

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Dictionary of Mythology is a handbook and lexicon on mythology that has been published by Klett-Cotta Verlag in Stuttgart since 1965 . The editors of the work were Egidius Schmalzriedt and Hans Wilhelm Haussig .

Conception

In the context of the “Dictionary of Mythology”, the term “ myth ” is understood in a broad sense as any “objectification of theological statements”, which makes it a central element of all religions. In addition to its religious-historical and literary value, it is also assigned a general historical significance as a reflection of historical developments and at the same time as a driving force for them. However, the Dictionary of Mythology does not seek a comprehensive analysis of these phenomena in the context of comparative religious studies, but rather the "simple recording of [mythological] material from the various regions [of the earth] in view of today's specialization". The systematic access to a dictionary was chosen instead of the attempt at retelling, especially since many of the myths treated are no longer known in their contextual, retellable context due to the poor source situation.

Many of the cultural groups included were or were still very young research fields at the time of publication of the corresponding volumes, so that no reliable research results are presented there, but basic work is done in the dictionary or summarized for the first time. Such contributions are comparatively detailed, whereas well-researched and relatively well-known mythologies are presented in a limited space.

construction

In order to structure the material, the six volumes published so far deal with the mythology of a large cultural area, within which mutual influences of mythological ideas can be ascertained. Each volume consists of several chapters, each dealing with the mythological ideas of a religion or a people of this cultural area. The chapters in turn consist of a systematic introduction, which also briefly outlines the general history of the area covered, and an alphabetically structured lexical section that includes names (gods and persons) as well as other terms of mythology. Most of the texts come from recognized experts in the respective subject matter, including Dietz-Otto Edzard , Wolfgang Röllig and Wolfgang Helck among the authors of the dictionary. Cross-references within the individual chapters, the alphabetical structure of the lexical part and volume registers are intended to facilitate access to individual questions and the establishment of cross-connections. The references, illustrations and maps are rather brief, but are intended to provide a basic overview of the relevant topic. Apart from the basic features mentioned, the chapters are comparatively heterogeneous and designed by the respective authors. Each volume is preceded by an introduction by the editor.

The aim of the entire work is to provide an overview of the mythological traditions of all areas of the world. So far only volumes of the first section (“Die alten Kulturvölker”) have been published, which deal in detail with the ancient Orient (including Egypt ), the “ancient Europe”, the Caucasian and Iranian peoples, the Indian subcontinent , East Asia and Central Asia and Northern Eurasia. Not yet published, but planned as Volume 3 of the first section is a work on "Gods and Myths of the Greeks and Romans". A volume on the myths of ancient America is also planned as part of the complete work. The contributions to various smaller mythologies, which are ascribed less importance in terms of cultural and intellectual history, should be collected in a supplement to the first section. The conception of the dictionary of mythology formulated in 1965 also provides for further sections of the complete work on the mythology of contemporary world religions such as Christianity , Judaism and Islam as well as on the mythological conceptions of sects and occult sciences .

Overview of the published volumes

The overview below relates to the first section: The ancient civilized peoples of the plant. Bibliographical information on the other planned departments is not available.

Volume 1: Gods and Myths in the Middle East
1965, limited preview in the Google book search

  • Dietz-Otto Edzard : Mesopotamia. The mythology of the Sumerians and Akkadians
  • Einar von Schuler : Asia Minor. The mythology of the Hittites and Hurrites
  • Marvin H. Pop, Wolfgang Röllig : Syria. The mythology of the Ugarites and Phoenicians
  • Wolfgang Helck : Egypt. The mythology of the ancient Egyptians
  • Maria Höfner : The tribal groups of northern and central Arabia in pre-Islamic times
  • Maria Höfner: South Arabia
  • Maria Höfner: The Semites of Ethiopia

Volume 2: Gods and Myths in Old Europe
1973, ISBN 3-12-909820-8 , limited preview in the Google book search.

  • Edward Neumann, Helmut Voigt: Germanic mythology
  • Raymond Lantier : Celtic Mythology
  • Norbert Reiter: Mythology of the Old Slavs
  • Michael de Ferdinandy : The mythology of the Hungarians
  • Lauri Honko : Finnish Mythology
  • Jonas Balys, Haralds Biezais : Baltic mythology
  • Maximilian Lambertz , Klaus-Henning Schröder: The mythology of the Albanians
  • José Miguel de Barandiarán: The Basque Mythology
  • Werner Vycichl: The mythology of the Berber
  • José-Maria Blásquez: The Mythology of the Old Hispanics

Volume 3: Gods and Myths of the Greeks and Romans (in preparation)

Volume 4: Gods and Myths of the Caucasian and Iranian Peoples
1986, ISBN 3-12-909840-2 , limited preview in the Google book search.

  • Georges Dumézil : Mythology of the Caucasian Peoples
  • Kegham Ishkol-Kerovpian: Mythology of the Pre-Christian Armenians
  • Carsten Colpe : Old Iranian and Zoroastrian mythology
  • Josef Elfenbein: Mythology of the Balutschen

Volume 5: Gods and Myths of the Indian Subcontinent
1984, ISBN 3-12-909850-X , limited preview in Google book search.

  • Volker Moeller: The mythology of the Vedic religion and Hinduism
  • Jozef Deleu: The Mythology of Jinism
  • Günter Grönbold: The mythology of Indian Buddhism
  • Heinz Bechert : Mythology of the Sinhalese folk religion
  • Martin Pfeiffer: Mythology of the Indian Primitive Peoples
  • Hermann Berger : Mythology of the Gypsies
  • Kamil V. Zvelebil: Mythology of the Tamils ​​and other Dravidian-speaking peoples

Volume 6: Gods and Myths in East Asia
1994, ISBN 3-12-909860-7 , limited preview in the Google book search.

  • Herbert Zachert : The mythology of the Shinto
  • Hans A. Dettmer: The mythology of the Ainu
  • Erika Kaneko: The Mythology of the Ethnic Minorities of Taiwan (Appendix: Gods and Myths of the Yami)
  • Inez de Beauclair, Erika Kaneko: Appendix: Gods and Myths of the Yami
  • Frits Vos: The Mythology of the Koreans
  • Franz Josef Meier: The Mythology of Chinese Buddhism
  • Franciscus Verellen: The Mythology of Taoism

Volume 7 / I: Myths in Central Asia and Northern Eurasia
1999, ISBN 3-12-909870-4 , limited preview in the Google book search.

  • Käthe Uray-Köhalmi: Mythology of the Manchu-Tungan peoples
  • Jean-Paul Roux: The old Turkish mythology
  • Pertev N. Boratav: Turkish Mythology
  • Edith Vértes: Mythology of the Urals of Siberia

Volume 7 / II: Myths in Central Asia and Northern Eurasia II
1998, limited preview in the Google book search.

  • Juha Pentikäinen: The Lappish (Saami) mythology
  • Per Kvaerne: The Mythology of the Bon Religion and the Tibetan Folk Religion
  • Agnes Birtalan: The Mythology of the Mongolian Folk Religion
  • Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz: The Mythology of Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhism

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b foreword. In: Hans Wilhelm Haussig (Hrsg.): Götter und Mythen im Vorderen Orient (= dictionary of mythology. Department 1: The ancient cultures. Volume 1). Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1965, pp. V – X, here p. IX.
  2. ↑ Preface. In: Hans Wilhelm Haussig (Hrsg.): Götter und Mythen im Vorderen Orient (= dictionary of mythology. Department 1: The ancient cultures. Volume 1). Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1965, pp. V – X, here SV
  3. ↑ a b foreword. In: Hans Wilhelm Haussig (Hrsg.): Götter und Mythen im Vorderen Orient (= dictionary of mythology. Department 1: The ancient cultures. Volume 1). Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1965, pp. V – X, here p. VI f.
  4. ↑ a b foreword. In: Hans Wilhelm Haussig (Hrsg.): Götter und Mythen im Vorderen Orient (= dictionary of mythology. Department 1: The ancient cultures. Volume 1). Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1965, pp. V – X, here p. VII.
  5. ↑ Preface. In: Hans Wilhelm Haussig (Hrsg.): Götter und Mythen im Vorderen Orient (= dictionary of mythology. Department 1: The ancient cultures. Volume 1). Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1965, pp. V – X, here SX
  6. ↑ Publisher's information on Volume 7.2 of the Dictionary of Mythology , accessed on November 17, 2017.