The Hero with a Thousand Faces
- Downloads：5303
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-24 11:54:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Joseph Campbell
- ISBN：1577315936
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Since its release in 1949， The Hero with a Thousand Faces has influenced millions of readers by combining the insights of modern psychology with Joseph Campbell’s revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology。 In these pages， Campbell outlines the Hero’s Journey， a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world’s mythic traditions。 He also explores the Cosmogonic Cycle， the mythic pattern of world creation and destruction。
As part of the Joseph Campbell Foundation’s Collected Works of Joseph Campbell， this third edition features expanded illustrations， a comprehensive bibliography， and more accessible sidebars。
As relevant today as when it was first published， The Hero with a Thousand Faces continues to find new audiences in fields ranging from religion and anthropology to literature and film studies。 The book has also profoundly influenced creative artists — including authors， songwriters， game designers， and filmmakers — and continues to inspire all those interested in the inherent human need to tell stories。
As part of the Joseph Campbell Foundation’s Collected Works of Joseph Campbell， this third edition features expanded illustrations， a comprehensive bibliography， and more accessible sidebars。
As relevant today as when it was first published， The Hero with a Thousand Faces continues to find new audiences in fields ranging from religion and anthropology to literature and film studies。 The book has also profoundly influenced creative artists — including authors， songwriters， game designers， and filmmakers — and continues to inspire all those interested in the inherent human need to tell stories。
Reviews
Gehan
，
Summary: all myth distil down to a few narratives - that are retold with small not relevant changes based on time and culture。
Georgi Georgiev
，
Unbelievably valuable， yet hard to read because of the style。 It should be studied in schools。
Joe B。
，
Campbell writes beautifully， and he has picked up some major similarities between the various myths of the world。 He then ties them all to the archetypes of Jungian psychology。 Our “collective unconscious” has harbored stories of personal transformation and man’s place in the cosmos， expressed dramatically through myth， as long as we have been around。It’s a nice thought， but that is pretty much it。 It’s cool to see the structure of narrative laid bare， but I’m not totally convinced that the ‘mon Campbell writes beautifully， and he has picked up some major similarities between the various myths of the world。 He then ties them all to the archetypes of Jungian psychology。 Our “collective unconscious” has harbored stories of personal transformation and man’s place in the cosmos， expressed dramatically through myth， as long as we have been around。It’s a nice thought， but that is pretty much it。 It’s cool to see the structure of narrative laid bare， but I’m not totally convinced that the ‘monomyth’ isn’t a creation of Campbell’s rather than a discovery。 He is also obsessed with death， which he lumps with mystical experience and the birth of the universe into one big ‘cosmogonic’ thing/event。 It’s all very Kantian and Schopenhauerian。 The Nietzsche in me wants to view these tales as celebratory of life rather than death， and to doubt that Campbell knows as much as he claims to know about that which is by definition unknowable。 But it was a joy to read， and it is a useful way to see how most modern people view myth， though somewhat pessimistically。 4 stars。 。。。more
Taya
，
This book is a collection of an astonishing number of myths and stories from literally all around the world。 At times it might be hard to follow due to the old language used， but the ideas of the author are incredible for the time this book was published。 Not everybody would like it though。 If you bought the book and found it boring I suggest at least skipping to the epilogue where the thoughts of the author as well as other prominent figures of the time can be found。
Joshua Moravec
，
There's something wonderful about the idea that all of humanity is connected through the stories we tell each other and pass down。 That our myths and folk lore are all fundamentally the same story and we just have differences in the details can be a unifying concept to help us resolve our differences and get along。 I think Campbell makes a compelling case for the monomyth and gives example after example to help support it。 And I think its telling that I remember learning about this idea in middl There's something wonderful about the idea that all of humanity is connected through the stories we tell each other and pass down。 That our myths and folk lore are all fundamentally the same story and we just have differences in the details can be a unifying concept to help us resolve our differences and get along。 I think Campbell makes a compelling case for the monomyth and gives example after example to help support it。 And I think its telling that I remember learning about this idea in middle and high school in the 90's and 2000's。 His ideas have permeated our culture and ideas about storytelling。Actually reading the work was to be honest difficult。 Personally， I found the sections disconnected from each other， and I felt zooming out more often to see the broader picture would have been helpful for me personally。 However， I'm not an academic and am not studying the book closely， just reading to better further my own knowledge。 He may have not been writing this to an audience like myself。I'm looking forward to reading more mythologies in the future， and trying to apply this framework to them as I read them。 。。。more
Megan Babb Hartman
，
Very good if you are interested in comparative mythology and storytelling， but if you are not an academic it will likely be a dry read for you。
Anushe Khan Pagnier
，
Think I liked this more in concept than as the book， found myself losing interest when each part of the hero’s journey was explained through various myths- I understand that it was to explain the concept better but sometimes there were just too many explanations
Morgan Kail-Ackerman
，
Overall， I really enjoyed The Hero With A Thousand Faces。 Campbell has a lot of great ideas， ones that are so rooted in our culture that reading it felt almost redundant。。。 even though he is the way who brought these ideals to us in the first place。 I wrote notes down in the margins and I was constantly writing ideas。 As an author myself， I got so many ideas based on the psychological work he did analyzing stories。 There is so much we can glean as students， as readers， as thinkers in his work。 T Overall， I really enjoyed The Hero With A Thousand Faces。 Campbell has a lot of great ideas， ones that are so rooted in our culture that reading it felt almost redundant。。。 even though he is the way who brought these ideals to us in the first place。 I wrote notes down in the margins and I was constantly writing ideas。 As an author myself， I got so many ideas based on the psychological work he did analyzing stories。 There is so much we can glean as students， as readers， as thinkers in his work。 The reason I rated this as a 3/5 stars is the way the book is written。 I love how it is formatted， with the heroes journey and the breakdown of the different heroes and models at the end。 However， the book can get boring at times。 His analysis is fascinating and still has me thinking， but he spends so much time telling stories that it got boring。 I wanted less mythologies from around the world and more analysis of stories。 I came to read his thoughts， not a mythology book。 The book is so long because he will talk about these other stories for pages upon pages。 This means that the analysis part is so unique and creative， but I struggled when he just talked about stories。 Sometimes he didn’t even analyze them， and they were every page。 So eventually， it got tiring。 Outside of that， there are some obvious issues with social justice。 Although Campbell does talk about mythologies all around the world， not just the Western stories， there is a lot of sexism。 This goes with the territory of reading a book published in 1949。 There is a lot I’d love to take apart if I ever teach this book because， although there is a lot about virginity and women as wives and caretakers， there are some feminist moments。 Probably none that he intended， but I could see these ideas reading the lines。 This is just a warning - it’s a great analysis， but one that is obviously dated。 If you love analysis， psychology， and storytelling， I would recommend reading The Hero With A Thousand Faces because there is a lot to learn and gain from his smart thinking。 。。。more
Mackenzie Melo
，
Expectancy killed the heroDo you know when you expect too much of something and then you get underwhelmed when it is delivered？ Well， unfortunately that's my feeling towards this book。 I heard so much about it， about its importance and how it impacted the ones who read it， including a lot of works of fiction - such as Star Wars （George Lucas） - that I came to it expecting a world shattering book。 Don't get me wrong。 As I said in a preview of what would be this final review， I was sure that this Expectancy killed the heroDo you know when you expect too much of something and then you get underwhelmed when it is delivered？ Well， unfortunately that's my feeling towards this book。 I heard so much about it， about its importance and how it impacted the ones who read it， including a lot of works of fiction - such as Star Wars （George Lucas） - that I came to it expecting a world shattering book。 Don't get me wrong。 As I said in a preview of what would be this final review， I was sure that this would be a book to only to be read， but to be re-read and studied many times over。 And that's exactly what it is， because it has so much information packed in it's pages that one reading is not enough to really grasp it's magnitude。 This is a great book。 Period。 My rating of 4 Stars is probably not fair in the long run， but that's my feeling about it after a first pass。 I was expecting more of it。 But hey， nothing is perfect and maybe next time I read it I will come with less expectations and I will see something that I didn't see this time。Yes， I will read it again。 It is worth it。P。S。: the beginning and the epilogue of the book are wonderful， even with my high demand I was taken by Campbell's words。 。。。more
Miranda
，
Like many other people， I decided to read this book thanks to Star Wars universe。 If you like religions and myths， you'll enjoy this book。 Through its pages Campbell analyses the similarities among the ancient and mystical stories about the hero's journey and his deep meaning for each person， so this book can be inspiring for your life。 Like many other people， I decided to read this book thanks to Star Wars universe。 If you like religions and myths， you'll enjoy this book。 Through its pages Campbell analyses the similarities among the ancient and mystical stories about the hero's journey and his deep meaning for each person， so this book can be inspiring for your life。 。。。more
Greg
，
This is a tough one to rate。 The overall concept of the hero's journey and it's narrative formula throughout time and culture， is clearly a compelling one。 There is a lot to glean from this。 However， I also feel Campbell's presentation is not consistently clear and many times he dives too far into the weeds providing more examples of various myths。 I would have preferred less myths with greater depth。 It is certainly a thought provoking book and one that should be read。 If you are looking for a This is a tough one to rate。 The overall concept of the hero's journey and it's narrative formula throughout time and culture， is clearly a compelling one。 There is a lot to glean from this。 However， I also feel Campbell's presentation is not consistently clear and many times he dives too far into the weeds providing more examples of various myths。 I would have preferred less myths with greater depth。 It is certainly a thought provoking book and one that should be read。 If you are looking for a straight mythology book there are better selections。 If you are looking to understand the nature of myths and how they manifest themselves historically， then this book should help。 。。。more
Michał Sokolski
，
Jako dzieło mitoznawcze książka oczywiście jest niedobra。 Metoda Campbella polega na dobieraniu fragmentów wyjętych z kontekstu mitów z różnych stron świata do schematu opartego o jungowską psychoanalizę。 Ta metodologia nie różni się za bardzo od tego， co przed nim robili ewolucjoniści， np。 J。G。 Frazer - jako nauka o mitach jest to dziś nie do obrony。Tyle tylko， że schemat jungowski jest o wiele bliższy współczesnej （pop）kulturze niż schematy stosowane przez ewolucjonistów。 Dzięki temu Campbell， Jako dzieło mitoznawcze książka oczywiście jest niedobra。 Metoda Campbella polega na dobieraniu fragmentów wyjętych z kontekstu mitów z różnych stron świata do schematu opartego o jungowską psychoanalizę。 Ta metodologia nie różni się za bardzo od tego， co przed nim robili ewolucjoniści， np。 J。G。 Frazer - jako nauka o mitach jest to dziś nie do obrony。Tyle tylko， że schemat jungowski jest o wiele bliższy współczesnej （pop）kulturze niż schematy stosowane przez ewolucjonistów。 Dzięki temu Campbell， chociaż zawodzi jako mitoznawca， sprawdza się jako mitotwórca i pozostaje interesujący ze względu na teksty kultury， które na jego koncepcjach wyrosły。 Choć i tak， jeżeli warto dziś do niego zajrzeć， to głównie ze względu na jego dar gawędy。 Gdyby opowiadał mity nie tak sprawnie， byłby dziś autorem wspominanym w samouczkach dla scenarzystów， ale rzadko czytanym w oryginale。 。。。more
Ryan Berger
，
The Monomyth is OUT
Bruno Oliveira
，
This book， more than working the connections between mythologies， is a call to the hero within you。I could say more， but that's all you need to know。 This book， more than working the connections between mythologies， is a call to the hero within you。I could say more， but that's all you need to know。 。。。more
Knigoqdec
，
Сравнителна митология， с която се запознах с голямо удоволствие。 Имаше， разбира се， някои тези на Кембъл， с които не мога да се накарам да се съглася （главно свързани с тълкуването на сънища и досадното фройдистко натякване "Ти и твоята сексуалност сте корена на всяко зло"， най-общо казано）。 Но извън тези подробности， трудът му е безупречен и всеобхватен。 Българското издание също е бижу。 Сравнителна митология， с която се запознах с голямо удоволствие。 Имаше， разбира се， някои тези на Кембъл， с които не мога да се накарам да се съглася （главно свързани с тълкуването на сънища и досадното фройдистко натякване "Ти и твоята сексуалност сте корена на всяко зло"， най-общо казано）。 Но извън тези подробности， трудът му е безупречен и всеобхватен。 Българското издание също е бижу。 。。。more
Basak
，
After reading this book， it becomes a challenge to ignore the hero narrative in just about any production or piece of art。 Campbell loops a serious amount of tales and myths into every aspect of the hero's journey， so so many that when I rewatched The Truman Show the other day and Truman's father showed up as Truman strolled along the road， the line that came into my mind from this book was "one may be only casually strolling， when some passing phenomenon catches the wandering eye and lures one After reading this book， it becomes a challenge to ignore the hero narrative in just about any production or piece of art。 Campbell loops a serious amount of tales and myths into every aspect of the hero's journey， so so many that when I rewatched The Truman Show the other day and Truman's father showed up as Truman strolled along the road， the line that came into my mind from this book was "one may be only casually strolling， when some passing phenomenon catches the wandering eye and lures one away from the frequent paths of man" （58）。Most of the tales I'll probably forget， but some myths and beliefs like the one with vodyanoy， the Slavic male water spirit， and the Kamchatka's stories of creation， are closer to home and will probably stick around in my mind。 Besides some nice tid bits， this book was a tedious read。 I did like how Campbell tied the purposes of myth back to the present （which was 1949） and basically said that we've become too detached from ye old purposes of myth as religions serve too capitalistic a mission now instead of a transcendental one; however， we can still be the heroes of our society's problems through journeys of personal despair。 The tone of the book was fair and hopeful， which I loved and made me persist through the dull academic language。 *pats self on back*I recommend to people more scholarly than myself。 。。。more
Lisa Reads It All
，
I would give this book 10 stars if I could。
Rachel
，
You will never look at stories the same again
Babak
，
اصل كلام اين كتاب مطالعه تطبيقي اسطوره هاي ملل مختلف مي باشد كه شباهت برخي از آنها با روايت ها و قصه هاي مذهبي تامل برانگيز است。 ترجمه خوب است
Erica
，
People that say this is a must read to write your novel are procrastinating and fooling themselves。 I did like the diversity of myths shared in this but the theory/analysis was hit and miss for me。
Scott Lackey
，
Impossible to read this pompous， self-serving drivel
Mert Önal
，
the author did not make the necessary explanationsThere were some examples from mythology， but the connection to the main idea was not shown。the author could explain what he wanted to tell more clearly and could base his ideas better。Lastly， I think it was not that every hero had a similar adventure that was meant to be told， but that people told similar stories for some reason。And I confess I read the book a little sloppy
Jon
，
It's not uncommon to be the recipient of a recommendation for some piece of media， consume it， and identify that sometimes you just don't have the same tastes as others。It's somewhat less common， but certainly not unheard of， to walk away thinking you didn't actually have a disagreement of sensibilities， but rather the party that was full of praise had created their experience of the piece out of whole cloth。So was my experience with The Hero With a Thousand Faces。 Sold not just as a proficient It's not uncommon to be the recipient of a recommendation for some piece of media， consume it， and identify that sometimes you just don't have the same tastes as others。It's somewhat less common， but certainly not unheard of， to walk away thinking you didn't actually have a disagreement of sensibilities， but rather the party that was full of praise had created their experience of the piece out of whole cloth。So was my experience with The Hero With a Thousand Faces。 Sold not just as a proficient source on The Hero's Journey， but the very progenitor of the term。 You'll find an abundance of 5 star reviews praising the many worldly tales that Campbell has tied together into one volume。But the quantity of sources one gathers is entirely unrelated to the quality of said sources and， moreso， it is completely detached from what can be said about any work that ties those sources together， and certainly， by number alone， gives no indication to their relevance to the work at all。So given the intent of this work， the fundamental questions:Were the sources good？Were they well tied together？Was the intent of the piece well accomplished？No， no， and。。 no。The table of contents certainly would pique the interest of any person with a passing interest in this subject matter， and the idea of examples for those common threads across societies would entice an immediate purchase。And the book does well to begin with a call to Theseus and the minotaur， whetting your appetite with an examplar of the genre with which you already have familiarity， and the implicit promise of complementary tales from other cultures with which you are no doubt less familiar。Then again， the book also does poorly to begin with discussion of Oedipus， which would be misplaced in most discussions of heros --though certainly archetypal in its own right-- and of questionable importance to the matter of hand。 You may already be pondering if it's setting the ground work for a fourth coming discussion of the tragic hero。 It is not。 It is in fact presented hand in hand with Freud， who is mentioned rather frequently throughout the book， as though he has something to offer on this subject matter。Adding insult to that very injury， Campbell frequently references "a woman dreamed。。。" or "a man dreamed。。。" as sources as though there isn't a person dreaming every which thing under the Sun， and as though he's not writing a book about common cultural threads， not singular delusions in particular dreamers' heads。But remember when I said "It does well to begin。。"？ Because as unassuming as the beginning may be， it's all down hill from there。What sources in this book might be related to various components of our familiar Hero's tale are usually rather trite and hardly examined。 Whats more， their number is in dwarfed by general myths of world creation and religion， perhaps interesting in their own right， but which have no purpose in fulfilling this particular project。 This would be upsetting on its own， but suffice it to say Campbell has a taste for the demented after Freud's own heart， which seems to have factored into the selection of his sources much more than his purported subject did。So as Campbell copies down his myths （often for pages at a time） of the world and origins of clouds， and claims it as his book， and you wonder more with each grotesque depicted act "what on Earth does this have to do with anything" sometimes Campbell will bless you with his own brand of ramblings as a prize rather than slamming into a chapter's end。 Although the latter usually offered just as much exposition as the veritable word salads from Campbell。 Somehow he could offer paragraphs that were simultaneously entirely detached from the preceding excerpt and a complete misinterpretation of it。But when one finally manages to traverse the arduous task of this tome the principal issue becomes clear。 Paraphrased in the final pages is the sentiment that in modern life the archetypal hero is essentially dead and gone。 This is literal nonsense。 By nature of it being archetypal it can not be removed， and it seems Campbell lacked all capability to comprehend or pursue this work to begin with。Rather than increase my faith in a universal Hero's Journey --previously taken for granted-- reading this book has if anything dealt it a blow。 If this book is the originator of such an idea， than surely the whole notion has been built on sand。For that reason I have to give this book 1 star。 For the audience I assume would be most interested in it in particular it is almost exactly， by my estimation， the opposite of the book they would want to read。 And for that tempted hero enthusiast， frankly， I don't think I could have picked better "examples" to specifically make such a person uncomfortable if I tried。 。。。more
Dunrie
，
After reading marketing books that leaned heavily on this work， I knew I had to go to the source。 Often the original is better than the copies， true in this case。I enjoyed the breadth and ease with which he connected stories in from seemingly disparate places and cultures。 Some of it （heavy Freudian-speak， male-focus， a hierarchy of sophisticated and unsophisticated cultures） made it feel of it's time rather than current。 I also have to imagine that these stories are slippery and timeless and ca After reading marketing books that leaned heavily on this work， I knew I had to go to the source。 Often the original is better than the copies， true in this case。I enjoyed the breadth and ease with which he connected stories in from seemingly disparate places and cultures。 Some of it （heavy Freudian-speak， male-focus， a hierarchy of sophisticated and unsophisticated cultures） made it feel of it's time rather than current。 I also have to imagine that these stories are slippery and timeless and can mean many things to many people， so open to many other interpretations。 。。。more
Heba Abu-kwaik
，
بناء الكتاب ككل مزعج للغاية، وخلط الأساطير بالقصص الشعبية وبالدين لتأكيد الفكرة القائلة بأن أساس كل هذا أحلامنا ولا وعينا المتشابه أمر غير منطقي。
Clare Pitt
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Honestly， I had no idea what was going on 90% of the time。 However， I think this could have been an interesting book if I had read it properly， not as an audiobook。 Unfortunately the audiobook swapped 3 voices around at random intervals， and it wasn't clear where one point started， and another ended。 Honestly， I had no idea what was going on 90% of the time。 However， I think this could have been an interesting book if I had read it properly， not as an audiobook。 Unfortunately the audiobook swapped 3 voices around at random intervals， and it wasn't clear where one point started， and another ended。 。。。more
Aiden Hunt
，
After trying several times to get interested in this book， I just couldn’t do it。 Possibly attributable to the fact that I’m reading other things that interest me more。 Giving this 3 stars as the beginning was interesting， but going to shelf it for now。
Genevieve
，
While certainly not the end of the study into world mythology and religion， it is a worthy entry point， offering many paths to take to continue said study。
Paul Triller
，
Tried to find something slightly out of my realm of understanding， and realised I overshot my goal。When a book turns out to be almost half bibliography/index you know it will be more of a tome than a casual recreational read。
Reeds
，