Mythopedia
A Brief Compendium of Natural History Lore
$34.41
- Hardcover
208 pages
- Release Date
6 October 2025
Summary
From acclaimed folklorist and historian Adrienne Mayor, an enchanting collection of the ancient myths that emerged out of the wonders and disasters of the natural world.
Mythopedia is a fun, fact-filled A-Z treasury of myths inspired by natural events. Bringing together fifty legends from antiquity to the present, this delightfully entertaining book takes you around the world to explore sunken kingdoms and lost cities, accursed mountains and treacherous terra…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780691247861 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0691247862 |
| Author: | Michele M. Angel, Adrienne Mayor |
| Publisher: | Princeton University Press |
| Imprint: | Princeton University Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 208 |
| Release Date: | 6 October 2025 |
| Weight: | 264g |
| Dimensions: | 22mm x 122mm x 180mm |
| Series: | Pedia Books |
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Critics Review
“This engaging and accessible volume is appropriate for laypeople and scholars of interdisciplinary fields connecting anthropology, disaster studies, folklore, science, and history.” * Library Journal *
“Folklorist and historian Mayor, author of the National Book Award finalist The Poison King, draws on the new field of geomythology to explain the historical background and science behind 53 legends and myths of the earth… . A fascinating catalog of ancient cultures and unique geological events.” * Kirkus Reviews *
”[The] breadth of Mayor’s learning can create an illusion of omniscience. It is intercontinental as well as interdisciplinary, and her study of folklore helps restore to the written record knowledge of the past transmitted orally across centuries or, in some instances, millennia. The surprises she rescues and presents frequently amaze.”—Donovan Hohn, Lapham’s Quarterly
“I can’t say that Mythopedia deepened my relationship to the land, but it has shaken and shifted it like so many toads in a tornado.”—Dan Piepenbring, Harper’s
”[A] captivating volume… . Written with wit and erudition, this delights.” * Publishers Weekly *
“An entertaining introduction to the power of human storytelling in service to make sense of nature.”—Sharon A. Hill, Fortean Times
Michele M. Angel
Adrienne Mayor is the author of many books, including The Poison King, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and The Amazons (both Princeton). She is a research scholar in classics and the history of science at Stanford University.
Michele M. Angel is an award-winning watercolorist, illustrator, and graphic designer.
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