John David Ebert Lecture on Joseph Campbell Part 1-3 (YouTube)

5 Comments | January 15, 2009 at 9:16 am by mahud
Filed under mythology, Joseph Campbell

Prompting some discussion…

1. Anyone been influenced by the works of Joseph Campbell (or not)?
2. What impact has JC had on modern Paganism, if any?
3. Anything you particularly disagree about his theories?

Parts 1-3 of John David Ebert’s Lecture on Joseph Campbell

1. John David Ebert Lecture on Joseph Campbell Part 1
2. John David Ebert Lecture on Joseph Campbell Part 2
3. John David Ebert Lecture on Joseph Campbell Part 3

I’d heard about Joseph Campbell, from my World Mythology: The Illustrated Guide, but didn’t really know what his work was about, until I chanced upon a copy of Occidental Mythology: Masks of God Vol 1. Here, I found, for the first time, a book that dealt with all the mythological subjects that interested me [Tree of Life (Axis Mundi); The Sacred Marriage (Hieros Gamos); androgynous gods; the cardinal directions and elements; myths surrounding the sun and moon, and the divine being from whose dismembered limbs form the universe], plus much more. I was instantly hooked and eventually managed to buy the complete Masks of God series. I was deeply saddened after learning a few years layer that he died back in 1987.

Basically the Masks of God is Campbell’s attempt to write a historical account of the origins of religion and myth and their universal diffusion (as opposed to The Hero with a Thousand Faces where Campbell focuses primarily on the psychology of myth), and the modification of mythical themes according to each different culture’s cosmological outlook.

Much of my own studies have been both influenced and supported by Joseph Campbell’s work, and I am totally in his debt, for the world of the ancient religious past, that he opened up for me.

One thing that amazes me about Campbell was that he took time out and read solidly over a period of 5 years. Man, I’d love to do that. Joseph Campbell is without doubt my greatest Hero of mythological studies.

Cernunnos’ Path: My Interest in Mythology

Also of interest, is a quick overview of JC’s thoughts on a New Mythology, I posted a while back.