Myth in Human History

By: Grant L. Voth, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Grant L. Voth

Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Myths provide the keys to truly grasping the ways that principles, rituals, codes, and taboos are woven into the fabric of a particular society or civilization.

It's through myths that we can answer these and other fundamental questions: How was the universe created, and why? What is the purpose of evil? Why is society organized the way it is? How did natural features like rivers, mountains, and oceans emerge?

This entertaining and illuminating course plunges you into the world's greatest myths. Taking you from ancient Greece and Japan to North America and Africa to New Zealand and Great Britain, these 36 lectures reveal mythology's profound importance in shaping nearly every aspect of culture. You'll also discover the hidden connections between them - a comparative approach that emphasizes the universality of myths across cultures.

Along with the stories themselves, you'll encounter fascinating characters, including Herakles, the ancient Greek hero whose life illustrates the idea that all heroic stories have a similar structure; Loki, the shape-shifting trickster who introduces the concept of time into the Norse realm of Asgard; and King Arthur, the Celtic lord and founder of the Knights of the Round Table.

Myths, according to Professor Voth, are "gifts from the ancestors to be cherished." His enchanting lectures are the perfect way for you to celebrate these cherished gifts, inviting you to develop your own interpretations of these age-old tales, as well as to ponder the role that myths - both ancient and everyday - play in your own life.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2010 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2010 The Great Courses

Exactly what I was looking for

I was looking for a comparative analysis of the myths across the world that would draw out common themes and shed some light on characteristics of stories and their telling that are universally human. This was pretty much exactly that. It was well-researched and intelligent (as opposed to the Dr. Rufus Fears lecture series, which was neither). It’s delivery is quite dry, though.

Some of the topics were full of conjecture and based on an infinitesimally small amount of evidence (exe: the Earth Goddess and Sky Gods sections). These seemed like a bunch of malarkey. However, the creation stories, flood stories, hero stories, and tricksters were very interesting!

Excellent overview of myths!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I was initially looking for a place to start my research into Greek and Roman myth, and this series turned out to be the perfect place. It introduced me to so much more than I set out to discover. It not only touched on individual myths from across the globe, but it also explored the many types/categories of myths and the reasons for their existence. I feel that if I had focused on Greek and Roman mythology without first listening to this series, I would have missed out on so much foundational knowledge. Having a stronger understanding of mythology now will enhance my exploration of ancient cultures and their myths in the future.

What did you like best about this story?

I love that I walked away from this lecture series with a greater sense that myths from across the globe and throughout time are both unique/dynamic as well as universal and fundamentally connected. The details of myths may change, but the reason for their existence in human culture is not so different.

What about Professor Grant L. Voth’s performance did you like?

Professor Voth was very energetic and enthusiastic about the subject matter, and this was certainly contagious. I would have enjoyed this subject matter either way, but his delivery made it so much more enjoyable and kept my interest the entire time. He also gave great suggestions on further research, which I've already pursued. I was actually very sad when this series ended because the new series I've started is taught by a different professor. This series has been my commute companion for quite some time, and Professor Voth made the ride something I really looked forward to each day!!!

Enjoyable and refreshing

If you could sum up Myth in Human History in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, meaningful, connecting

What about Professor Grant L. Voth’s performance did you like?

Very easy to listen to and well-researched with supporting evidence. He paces his speaking and uses a calm but reassuring voice which made me feel I was in the front-row of a lecture being delivered just for me.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this as it re-connected me with some stories I remember as a child. I felt that I gained a better understanding of the importance of myth in our lives. It was interesting to hear common connections between societies/ cultures/ religions and how people have created stories to understand their world and phenomena within it.

Very Worth The Listen

Excellent collection of lectures that give in depth information on creationist myths/theories dating back to ancient cultures. Grant is very knowledgeable in his field, and also provides multiple follow up books for people to go read if they want even more in depth information.

Excellent Mythology Class!

Beautifully narrated and thought provoking. This class on Mythology touched on a lot of old favorites and a few stories I wasn't familiar with, too! Highly enjoyable and nicely planned out. 5 stars!

Very well done and insightful

Where does Myth in Human History rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a very worthwhile course. It contains really good analysis of how myths tell us a lot about the culture, principles, and views held by civilizations, what is most important to them at a particular time, and how that evolves over time (such as people’s conception of “god”). Tales of tricksters were some of the highlights of the course. These tales were not only humorous but also were good topics for psychological analysis (they allowed for people to either question or poke fun of their society’s social norms/rules without ostracism). A great number of myths were covered in the course even though I hoped for a little more time spent on classic fairy tales and the purposes or lessons behind them.

Specific "likes" of mine:
• Myths from a wide variety of places were discussed: North American Native American, Sumeria/Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, Australia, Britain, Africa, China, Japan, etc. (NOTE: myths of ancient Greece were limited due to Professor Vandiver's "Classical Mythology" course)
o Discussion around how ancient myths tell us a lot about the culture, principles, and views held by civilizations and what is most important to them at a particular time
o Classification of creation myths into genres:
- Earth Diver myths in which creation comes from mud retrieved from water
- Cosmic egg
- Earth being created from the body of a dismembered god
- Ex Nihilo myths in which creation comes out of nothing from a god (i.e. Old Testament)
- Emergence myths in which creatures discover the earth from underground worlds
- World parent myths in which a parental unit breaks apart into separate individuals
- Rebirth of earth via flood stories

o How people conceive/view “god” has changed over time as peoples and civilizations have changed both internally and externally; Peoples’ conception of “god” has morphed from a pre-eminence of a mother goddess to sky gods (when conquering people invaded the lands) to a family of gods (when civilizations sprung up) to a single male god who created everything (monotheism) and then the need to bridge the gap between a god that had become too transcendent and humanity (Jesus, Buddhism, mysticism, etc.)

o Exploration of the common themes of what makes a hero and how all hero myths have similar storyline elements leading some to conclude that all myths may be a part of one general myth/archetype that may either be a reflection of how humans have apprehended the divine or psychological analysis of the unconsciousness

o Tales of the Trickster- a clever troublemaker who stands on the boundaries of humans and the gods and outside the social conventions and values of a society but brings something positive to that society such as introducing fire or the sun to people even if he does so as more of a side effect of his selfish purposes vs altruistic ones

• The professor’s laugh when discussing humorous myths was contagious and created an endearing quality to his style

Relatively minor "dislikes" from me:
• At one point I found myself tuning out when one world creation myth after another was being discussed and they sounded like they were all rolling into one another without distinction
• The lectures on sacred places weren’t intriguing to me (would’ve liked more trickster myths!)
• Would’ve liked more discussion of fairy tales and the purposes and lessons behind them (only two or three were mentioned as part of another topic)

If you have any interest whatsoever in ancient myths and what they say about a civilization, I highly recommend this course. I am not sure anyone else could've handled the topic better.

Eye-Opening

This was a wonderful course. I was worried at the beginning that it was too introductory -- I hold a degree in history, English, and theatre and the first two lectures were old hat for me. But as soon as Prof. Voth moved into discussing individual myths and influences, I was completely on board. Even the very familiar Adam and Eve myth was given new light. I highly recommend the course!

I tried to get through it

The Teaching Company has so many awesome courses. I think I bought this one without realizing that Greek & Roman mythology was intentionally not included (apparently there's another Teaching Co course that covers them). The professor does his best to make this course interesting, but I finally gave up. I found myself just thinking the stories were silly, no matter how he tried to mine them for deeper meaning.

Great series.

Really good series, though since there were a few things that made me question the understanding of the Christian Bible, I also questioned some of the Hinduism and Islam.

belief meets the universe

this course integrated my belief system with history and helped me feel connected to what was, what is,and what is to come. humans are amazing and that which is not human is clearly diverse!