The myth of the birth of the hero : a psychological interpretation of mythology / by Otto Rank ; authorized translation by Drs. F. Robbins and Smith Ely Jelliffe.

  • Rank, Otto, 1884-1939.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The myth of the birth of the hero : a psychological interpretation of mythology / by Otto Rank ; authorized translation by Drs. F. Robbins and Smith Ely Jelliffe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

    10/112 (page 2)
    manner of its manifestation, which within certain limits is iden- tical at all times and in all places. This interpretation was urgently advocated by Adolf Bauer^ [1882], as accounting for the Avide distribution of the hero myths. (2) The explanation by original community, first applied by Th. Benfey [Pantschatantra, 1859] to the widely distributed parallel forms of folklore and fairy tales. Originating in a favorable locality [India] these tales were first accepted by the primarily related [namely the Indo-Germanic] peoples, then con- tinued to grow while retaining the common primary traits, and ultimately radiated over the entire earth. This mode of explana- tion was first adapted to the wide distribution of the hero myths by Rudolf Schubert* [1890]. (3) The modern theory of migration, or borrowing, accord- ing to which the individual myths originate from definite peoples [especially the Babylonians], and are accepted by other peoples^ through oral tradition [commerce and traffic], or through literary influences.® The modern theory of migration and borrowing can be readily shown to be merely a modification of Benfey's theory, necessitated by newly discovered and irreconcilable material. The profound and extensive research of modern investigations has shown that not India, but rather Babylonia, may be regarded as the first home of the myths. Moreover the mythic tales presumably did not radiate from a single point, but travelled over and across the entire inhabited globe. This brings into prominence the idea of the interdependence of mythical structures, an idea which was generalized by Braun^ [1864], as the basic law of the nature of * Die Kyros Sage und Verwandtes, Sitsb. Wien. Akad., 100, 1882, P- 495. * Schubert. Herodots Darstellung der Cyrussage, Breslau, 1890. Compare E. Stucken, Astral mythen, Leipzig, 1896-1907, especially Part V, Moses. H. Lessmann, Die Kyrossage in Europe, Wiss. beit. z. Jahresbericht d. stadt. Realschule zu Charlottcnburg, 1906. ' Naturgeschichte d. Sage. Tracing all religious ideals, legends, and systems back to their common family tree, and their primary root, 2 volumes, Munich 1864-65.