In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Journal of American Folklore 119.474 (2006) 497-498


Reviewed by
Bonnie D. Irwin
Eastern Illinois University
From Olympus to Camelot: The World of European Mythology. By David Leeming. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Pp. xiii + 210, introduction, bibliography, index.)

David Leeming has added to his series of small, readable mythology texts with his latest book, From Olympus to Camelot. Unlike the anthologies, such as God and Goddess, which he recently coauthored with Jake Page, this book contains fewer translations of mythic texts. Rather, Leeming here boldly attempts to bring together the diverse strands of opinion on European mythology's origins to create a portrait of myth's role as a fundamental shaper of culture and belief.

By exploring linguistic, cultural, and historical connections among the various myth traditions of Europe, the author has created a companion volume for those wishing to delve into the backgrounds of the myths featured in myriad recent anthologies. As with Leeming's other works, From Olympus to Camelot is primarily written for general and student audiences. The chapters are subdivided into short, clearly labeled sections, allowing a reader to use the volume as a narrative reference of pantheons, histories, and languages. The book reads far better as a whole survey, however, as it steadily builds from prehistoric traditions through the familiar Greco-Roman, Celtic, and Germanic mythology, until finally ending with Christian hegemony and modern philosophical myths, all in fewer than two hundred pages.

The coverage of Europe is comprehensive here, including less-studied mythologies such as the Baltic and Balkan ones, as well as non-Indo-European traditions. Leeming effectively uses archeological evidence to demonstrate not only the sources of these myth traditions, but also how they interact with and influence one another. For example, without subscribing entirely to the theory that all the earliest European myths originated in gynocentric, earth-mother worshipping traditions, Leeming shows how much archaeological evidence supports such theories and explains how the later development of patriarchal pantheons suppressed, but did not eliminate, goddess worship.

Leeming offers welcome linguistic conveniences, such as including both the Latvian and Lithuanian terms in the Baltic chapter and explaining to readers that the Irish fairies known as sidh are named for the sidhe, or underground mounds, in which the Tuatha were purported to have lived. These linguistic notes, spread throughout much of the text, give readers an introduction, albeit a brief one, to the cultural [End Page 497] context of the myths. The linguistic details are especially helpful as Leeming navigates the complex relationships among the gods of the Greek pantheon. The etymological relationship among Zeus, Dionysos, and theos is especially well drawn. Some may find these linguistic asides to be needless window dressings, but for those interested in pursuing the myths further, the wide range of terminology provides that access.

Undergraduate students will probably find the last section of the book, "European Mythic Patterns and Christian Hegemony," most engaging. Here the author explains why Christianity found such fertile ground in Europe by describing the archetype of the dying god and two of its pre-Christian representatives, the Norse Baldr and the Greek Dionysos. The archetype, seen through the lens of Dumézil's tripartite function of the god as king, warrior, and fertile progenitor, was familiar enough to ancient Europeans that a tripartite Christian God, whose human form was at once priest, victim, king, and god, was not farfetched. As Jesus supplanted other dying gods, the Christian Father displaced the sky gods such as Zeus, Mary replaced the long suppressed great goddess, and Christianity thus eventually pushed other mythic systems aside.

For the myth scholar, there is little new in Leeming's latest work, but seeing these traditions juxtaposed with one another opens new paths of understanding. For the student or general reader, this volume answers a wide range of questions and surveys a vast number of gods and goddesses in an efficient and readable way. This latter audience is clearly the one for whom this book was written. For a knowledgeable...

pdf

Share