Synopses & Reviews
With her repulsive face and head full of living, venomous snakes, Medusa is petrifyingandmdash;quite literally, since looking directly at her turned people to stone. Ever since Perseus cut off her head and presented it to Athena, she has been a woman of many forms: a dangerous female monster that had to be destroyed, an erotic power that could annihilate men, and, thanks to Freud, a woman whose hair was a nest of terrifying penises that signaled castration. She has been immortalized by artists from Leonardo da Vinci to Salvador Dalandiacute; and was the emblem of the Jacobins after the French Revolution. Today, sheandrsquo;s viewed by feminists as a noble victim of patriarchy and used by Versace in the designerandrsquo;s logo for menandrsquo;s underwear, haute couture, and exotic dinnerware. Sheand#160;even gives herand#160;name to a sushi roll on a Disney resort menu. Why does Medusa continue to have this power to transfix us?and#160;David Leeming seeks to answer this question in Medusa, a biography of the mythical creature. Searching for the origins of Medusaandrsquo;s myth in cultures that predate ancient Greece, Leeming explores how and why the mythical figure of the gorgon has become one of the most important and enduring ideas in human history. From an oil painting by Caravaggio to Clash of the Titans and Dungeons and Dragons, he delves into the many depictions of Medusa, ultimately revealing that her story is a cultural dream that continues to change and develop with each new era.and#160;Asking what the evolution of the Medusa myth discloses about our culture and ourselves, this book paints an illuminating portrait of a woman who has never ceased to enthrall.
Review
"Elegant contributions to the vast literature on mythology, these well informed and thoroughly documented studies enhance our understanding of this elusive topic."--Library Journal (part of dual review)
"Leeming brings myth out of the past and smartly into the present.... Challenges readers to look beyond antiquity and to recognize how artists, writers and scientists help create the modern and postmodern myths through which we achieve self-understanding."--Publishers Weekly
"David Leeming has provided us in this compact book a compelling account of the powers of myth to inform the human condition and ultimately to provide meaning as myth persists from ancient time to the present. Here, the reader will enter into the mythic worlds of classic religious texts, into debates about science and modernism, and perhaps most importantly, into the realm of myth's enduring archetype, the hero."--Richard D. Hecht, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion, University of California at Santa Barbara
"A profound interpretation of myth and religion. A must for all seekers after meaning and purpose."--James H. Cone, Briggs Distinguished Professor of Theology, Union Theological Seminary
"In this little book, Leeming's ideas about the emerging myths of the twenty-first century (set suitably into a history of myth) make it essential that, within a few years, he write another book to tell us how it all came out."--Paul Bohannan, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Southern California
Review
andldquo;David Leeming peels layers from the myth and views his subject from a number of perspectives. The result is a complexity that affords us a far richer foundation upon which we can build our understanding of both the myth and ourselves.andrdquo;
Synopsis
- An investigation of ancient mythological themes and their role in modern culture
Synopsis
Exploring classic works such as the Song of Songs, the Tao Te Ching, the Rg Veda, the New Testament, and the Indonesian myth of Hainuwele, Myth: A Biography of Belief reveals the cultural energies that ancient "mythmakers" sought to corral in their creations. David Leeming argues that myths are, by definition, evolving creations that live on in the work of modern-day "mythmakers" such as W.B. Yeats, Virginia Woolf, and Albert Einstein. Leeming provides an engaging new outlook on the role of myth in the works of these and other contemporary artists and scientists. The similarities between modern concepts like the "Big Bang" and ancient myths of creation illustrate our continuing need to confront the mysteries of existence by way of metaphor and narrative. Leeming suggests that myth and factual knowledge do not negate, but complement each other. Whether it is the "American Dream," alien abduction, or belief in virgin birth and resurrection, these "living myths" play a very therapeutic role in the development of a healthy society.
About the Author
David Leeming is professor emeritus of English and comparative literature at the University of Connecticut. His books include Myth: A Biography of Belief and James Baldwin: A Biography. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Myth
2. Medusaand#8217;s Lineage
3. Medusa in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
4. Medusa in the Romantic and Victorian Ages
5. Medusa in the Age of Realism
6. The Modern Intellectual Medusa
7. The Feminist Medusa
8. Medusa as a Contemporary Icon
9. Myth as Dream
Conclusion: Who is Medusa?
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index