[Stephen Gerringer]

Hi Juan,

Thanks for sharing that link. I appreciate that the essay doesn’t mention Joseph Campbell at all (though there are references to his fellow-travelers, Jung and Eliade, who shared that same interest in the resonance between psychology and myth). Campbell’s perspective is important, but not the only way to view myth.

(I am also intrigued by the author’s mention of some 500 different definitions of myth over 2500 years, which illustrates the shapeshifting aspect of myth.)

Of course, Western psychology often focuses on Greek mythology, which makes sense (with Jung sometimes referring to the gods as psychological factors, with gods of love, war (anger), motherhood, etc. personifying psychological and/or emotional states). We rarely wander east of Suez, as Campbell referred to it. The Greek pantheon is relatively small; the 20,000 gods in the Hindu pantheon suggest a more complex and elaborate grasp of psychological factors in play.

Personally, I came to Jung through Campbell’s work; a number of people come to Campbell through Jung’s work – clearly overlap, but different accents, as you note. Curious – did you start with myth, or psychology yourself?