joseph campbell's book the hero with a thousand faces

When he died in 1987 at the age of 83, he was considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on mythology, the Stories and legends told by human beings through the ages to explain the universe and their place in it. We dance.”Ĭampbell could have said it of his own life. ìI think we don’t have ideology,” he said, “we don’t have theology. But I don’t get your ideology, I don’t get your theology.” The Japanese paused as though in deep thought, and then slowly shook his head. He was in Japan for a conference on religion, and he overheard another American delegate, a social philosopher from New York, say to a Shinto priest, “We’ve been now to a good many ceremonies and have seen quite a few of your shrines. And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.īILL MOYERS: Joseph Campbell believed that everything begins with a story, so we begin this series with Joseph Campbell with one of his favorites. And where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god. The labyrinth is thoroughly known we have only to follow the thread of the hero path. JOSEPH CAMPBELL: We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. Released in 1988, The Power of Myth was one of the most popular TV series in the history of public television, and continues to inspire new audiences.

Joseph campbell's book the hero with a thousand faces