The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) Hardcover – July 28, 2008

This classic work of Joseph Campbell deals with two ideas: the monomyth and the cosmogonic cycle. The monomyth (also known as the hero’s journey) is a mythological archetypal story found around the world. Campbell’s at-the-time novel work systemizes the understanding of the monomyth. According to him, the monomyth has three major rites of passage: separation, initiation and return. Under these rites of passage Campbell develops his systematization of mythic understanding. Under the part of separation are five themes: (1) The Call to Adventure, (2) Refusal of the Call, (3) Supernatural Aid, (4) The Crossing of the First Threshold, and (5) The Belly of the Whale. Under initiation are six themes: (1) The Road to Trials, (2) The Meeting with the Goddess, (3) Woman as the Temptress, (4) Atonement with the Father, (5) Apotheosis, and (6) The Ultimate Boon. Under the part of return are also six themes: (1) Refusal of the Return, (2) The Magic Flight, (3) Rescue from Without, (4) The Crossing of the Return Threshold, (5) Master of the Two Worlds, and (6) Freedom to Live.According to Campbell, myths shouldn’t be understood as scientific of historical thought, for it renders the story from its deeper interpretations and understanding. Using his systematization of the monomyth we can look at old myths in a new light. The author uses the scientific research of noted scholars such as Sigmund Freud, Carl G. Jung, Wilhelm Stekel, Otto Rank, Karl Abraham and Géza Róheim. His arguments are wisely and adamantly placed, making it impossible to refute his scholarly research as mere superstition.The book, although it provides explanations to well known myths, is of intermediate difficulty to read. It isn’t lengthy as James Frazer’s work (and doesn’t even give exhaustible examples of myths) but his argumentation and connection of different themes, motifs and archetypes between stories with eons between is difficult to grasp at first. Even when Campbell is exclusively describing a part of the hero’s journey, all the mythological themes are connected, and therefore it is important to keep in mind all the aspects of the journey at once. His perspective isn’t orthodox in nature, so you will find similarities between characters of various myths, such as Buddha and Jesus. The other part of his analysis is the cosmogonic cycle. In there he polishes is thesis developed in the monomyth part, focused in the understanding of the cycles of death and rebirth.The book contains endnotes, footnotes, an index and a bibliography divided in four parts: his main bibliography, editions of sacred texts he cited, journals and works he cited without information on edition. It is well written and maintains the thesis it puts forth at the introduction. It is a highly recommended book for those interested in story and myth. Those who read Mircea Eliade, James Frazer or Carl G. Jung will find it in their interest to dig into this book.

If, like me, you’ve heard the term “hero’s journey” but didn’t really know what it was all about, this, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, is the definitive book by comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell. Although it’s by no means an easy read, it is well worth the investment of time and study if you want to learn the expanded definition of a hero according to a general consensus of world cultures.First, it’s important to recognize that the hero’s journey belongs to the greater fabric of mythology. In the book’s prologue, Campbell states without reservation that myth is the basic expression of all human culture: “It would not be too much to say that myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into the human cultural manifestation. Religions, philosophies, arts, the social forms of primitive and historic man, prime discoveries in science and technology, the very dreams that blister sleep, boil up from the basic, magic ring of myth.” With these words, Campbell gives the reader fair warning that this book is not a mere collection of fairy tales, nor is it an attempt to contain mythology as a separate discipline. Myth, according to the author, touches every part of the human experience. It is not meant to be contained.The Hero with a Thousand Faces, therefore, is Campbell’s exploration of just one aspect of myth, the hero’s journey. In this “composite adventure,” as he calls it, the author relates “the tales of a number of the world’s symbolic carriers of the destiny of Everyman.” Even focusing on just one aspect of myth is a heavy undertaking, and Campbell acknowledges that he is only describing “a few striking examples from a number of widely scattered, representative traditions” to illustrate the common elements of the hero’s journey appearing in many cultures around the world. Part I, “The Adventure of the Hero,” delineates the hero’s journey in three basic phases: Departure, Initiation, and Return. Part 2, “The Cosmogonic Cycle,” explores myths about the world’s creation and destruction, a macrocosm of the hero’s journey.Considering the extraordinary scope of material at hand, Campbell offers readers a well-curated overview of various traditional depictions of the quintessential hero. Some of the heroes described in the book are well-known cultural and religious icons, including Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Perseus, and Osiris. Many others, such as the Pueblo Water Jar Boy (one of the oddest and most humorous stories in my opinion), may be unfamiliar to readers.This book is not only informative for mythology students and enthusiasts, but also very helpful for fiction writers. If you can understand what cultures all over the world have lauded as a hero for thousands of years, you can infuse your protagonist with some or all of these qualities and create an engaging story that touches on the deepest longings and fears of the human experience.Note: If you've never read Joseph Campbell before, I recommend starting with The Power of Myth, based on a 1988 PBS miniseries in which Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell discuss applications of mythology to contemporary life. Because the text of the book is drawn from these Moyers' interviews with Campbell, reading it is like listening in on a conversation between friends, and it's a great way to ease into Campbell's work.

This book is fascinating both in it's claims, assertions, and observations that all religions and mythology are the same story. From people that have never met due to space or time. And that they are not to be regarded as history books but as psychology books that represented what we were most concened with then. Not that religion is true (I think Campbell was an Aethiest) but how has religion served mankind? How can it serve us today? I also like how he says it basically can't. The scientific method and large state powers have shattered it. It's taught today basically as lies. But Campbell then also offers some clues as to what the next great hero, savior, or religion is up against. Also this guys vocabulary is crazy and you may have to stop to read about some side story he mentions like everyone has read that. But I really love it because I always feel like I'm on the brink of figuring something out. About the meaning of life, and it just slips away, But the book has that feel to it.