Reviews for Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual

The average rating for Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-08-23 00:00:00 Sean Fitzpatrick The first two chapters, The Organization of Myth and The Persistence of Ritual, are great, but after that and overall the feeling I got was that not so much was being said about Greek Mythology and, although dealing with influences from other civilizations, particularly the Near-East and Egyptian ones can be illuminating in understanding Greek Mythology, it seems that these civilizations were shown a bit more interest than the primary subject of the book.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-10-13 00:00:00 Julia Cole This book was highly recommended to me, and I can definitely see why! Burkert is dense reading, make no mistake, but that's because he packs so much information into his work. Careful research is partnered by an in-depth explanation of what we know about the way the Greek culture worshipped and worked with their Gods. Burkert is a consummate linguist. He uses that talent often in explaining how the very words that the Greeks used for their practices are themselves working with worship. But even Burkert can't work with what he doesn't have, and he laments the terrible paucity of learning what people did in everyday life. We simply don't know, outside of the main festivals, what the people did - especially the lower classes. As a modern example, it's as if everyone knew about saying grace before meals and so it was never mentioned in our literature. It is hard to summarize such a dense book. It sounds like a copout, but I highly recommend anyone interested in the culture read it in full and learn about some of the great festivals and the way the people changed over time. Anything less does it a disservice.