Arbeit am Mythos

The papers in this volume, which were presented at a lecture series held by the Academy and the University of Göttingen in the 2010 summer term, contain approaches to the merits and boundaries of myths. What constitutes a myth, what is a suitable approach to myths, what was their function in their era? The volume begins with systematic contributions to mythological studies from the fields of philosophy, religious studies and cultural anthropology. These are followed by articles on subjects ranging from the earliest, still largely unknown written and image sources from the ancient Near East, ancient Egypt and Greco-Roman antiquity, the mythical in the Old Testament, late ancient Christianity and Arab cultures to present-day Kurdistan. The articles put new perspectives on these complex phenomena in the context of myths.