The Eternal Drama: The Inner Meaning of Greek Mythology

By Edward F. Edinger

Book Overview

Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Athena -- do the gods and goddesses of Greece have anything to say to us that we haven't already heard? In this book, based on a series of his lectures, the eminent Jungian analyst and writer Edward F. Edinger revisits all the major figures, myths, oracles, and legends of the ancient Greek religion to discover what they can still reveal -- representing, as they do, one of the religious and mythic foundations of Western culture. Building on C. G. Jung's assertion that mythology is an expression of the deepest layers of mind and soul, Dr. Edinger follows the mythic images into their persistent manifestations in literature and on into our modern lives. He finds that the gods indeed continue to speak as we grow in our capacity to listen and that the myths express the inner energies within all of us as much as ever. Heracles is eternally performing his labors, Perseus is still confronting the Medusa, Theseus is forever stalking the Minotaur, and Persephone is still being carried off to life in a new realm.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570626731
• ISBN13: 9781570626739
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Temenos

This book is an excellent overview of the "inner meaning," thus the psychological value of the unconscious images that are represented in Greek Mythology. If the reader is not interested in that, I would not buy it. The material here is for learning more about the language of the psyche. The book covers all of the major figures of Greek Mythology that are most relevant to understanding the inner meaning of various symbolic forms as they might appear in dreams or other spontaneuous productions from the unconscious. Other reviews of mythology such as Bulfinch's or Edith Hamilton cover the basic "facts" or objective features of mythology, while this book again is focused on relating the figures of Greek Mythology as part of the living heritage of the psyche, the collective unconscious. In this respect, the book is most valuable.

The Psychology of Ancient Greece

In addition to the Greek myths and heroes, the author analyzes the Trojan War, Greek drama (Oedipus), oracles, Dionysus, Orphism, and the Eleusinian Mysteries. Unfortunately, he does not always establish the psychological truth of his interpretations which therefore lack authority. Jungian psychology claims that our dreams are a form of personal mythology in which our private concerns are made into myth. I find this a credible arguement because my dreams frequently contain mythological content, usually a monster that I slay.