Deviating from the typical thematically organized mythology anthology, Barry Powell organizes this text first by geography and then by chronology. By doing this the text becomes a ‘history of the world,’ showing us how different peoples understood their environment and its challenges through myth.

Worldly and scholarly, this well-designed text presents myths from around the world in a lively and easy-to-read manner.  The material has been arranged by geographic and chronologic origin.  It features fresh translations, numerous illustrations, maps, and commentary that emphasizes the anthropological, historical, religious, sociological, and economic contexts in which the myths were told.