Further reading for myth decoders

These are the publishers of the books I obtained in the UK. Check on the Internet for your local suppliers. Older books may have a number of publishers of either hardback or paperback versions.

The astronomical interpretation:

"Hamlet's Mill" by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend, first published in 1969, paperback edition published in Nonpareil Books, by David R Godine, Publisher, Inc. 1977. This is the seminal work that discovered a technical language embedded in mythology. The language was that of astronomy. It should be required reading for all those seriously interested in understanding mythology.

"The Origins of Mithraic Mysteries" by David Ulansey, 1989, published by Oxford University Press. The author decodes the mysteries of the Roman cult of Mithras and discovers its inner astronomical secrets.

His article in Scientific American in December 1989 provided a broader view of Mithraism in Western culture.

"The Secret of the Incas" by William Sullivan, 1996, published by Three Rivers Press. The author discovers an astronomical system within Andean (S. American) mythology, and also a sociological history that stretches back 2000 years, one that matches the known archaeological record.

"The Death of Gods in Ancient Egypt" by Jane Sellers, published by Penguin, London 1992. One of the first Egyptologists to have used Santillana and von Dechend's system to analyse Ancient Egyptian religion. She discovered precessional astronomy had been encoded in the Osiris myth.

Other views:

"The Hero With a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell, published by Fontana Press, UK 1993. The author has a psychological view of mythology, showing how many myths across many cultures incorporate the same archetypes.

"The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion" by Sir James George Frazer. Originally published in 1890, there are numerous sources for both complete and abridged versions, and online sources. It is a classic work that interprets mythology from the view point of an archetypal pattern, that of the worshipped and sacrificial Sacred King of antiquity.

Other myths and fables:

"The Brothers Grimm". The brothers collected European folk tales in the early 19th century. Various versions are still available depending on the level of detail and authenticity you want. Many of the tales are familar to us as fairy tales and animated films, but the originals are peasant and folk stories whose provenance are in the deepest past.

"The 1001 Arabian Nights". Originally published a thousand years ago, a number of Western translations have been available since the 18th century. Richard Burton's English translation (originally published 1885) is widely available for the English language world, and other translations exist. It is a collection of stories and folk tales from the Middle East and south Asia whose origins may go back to civilizations deep in antiquity. Both complete, abridged, and online versions are available.

"Beowulf" by Seamus Heaney, 1999, published by Faber and Faber. This is a new translation of the saga.

Children's versions will have been 'sanitised' and illustrated for younger readers. They are an excellent introduction to our mythological heritage for juniors, but for serious purposes read the unedited original version.