I. Introduction : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], p. 3 I. INTRODUCTION THE prominent civilized nations--the Babylonians and Egyptians, the Hebrews and Hindus, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans, as well as the Teutons and others--all began at an early stage to glorify their...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Hercules : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], HERCULES 2 After the loss of his numerous sons, Electryon betroths his daughter, Alcmene, to Amphitryon, the son of his brother, Alcaeus. However, Amphitryon, through an unfortunate accident, causes the death of Electryon, and escapes...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Cyrus : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], CYRUS The myth of Cyrus the Great, which the majority of investigators place in the center of this entire mythical circle--without entirely sufficient grounds, it would appear--has been transmitted to us in several versions. According...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Karna : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], KARNA A close relationship with the Sargon legend is also shown in certain features of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata, in its account of the birth of the hero Karna. 3 The contents of the legend are briefly rendered by Lassen. 4...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Romulus : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], p. 44 ROMULUS The original version of the story of Romulus and Remus--as told by the most ancient Roman annalist Quintus Fabius Pictor--is rendered as follows by Mommsen: 1 "The twins" borne by Ilia, the daughter of the preceding king...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Perseus : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], PERSEUS Acrisius, the king of Argos, had already reached an advanced age without having male progeny. As he desired a son, he consulted the Delphian oracle, but this warned him against male descendants, and informed him that his daughter...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Sargon : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], p. 14 II. THE CIRCLE OF MYTHS FROM the mass of chiefly biographic hero myths, we have selected those that are best known and some that are especially characteristic. 1 These myths will be given in abbreviated form, as far as relevant...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Jesus : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], JESUS The Gospel according to Luke (1:26-35) relates the prophecy of the birth of Jesus, as follows: And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, "to a virgin espoused to a man whose name...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Lohengrin : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], LOHENGRIN The widely distributed group of sagas that have been woven around the mythical Knight with the Swan (the old French Chevalier "au cigne") can be traced back to very ancient Celtic traditions. The following is the version which...
Untitled : * Otto Rank, (b. 1884, d. 1939), was a brilliant Austrian psychologist who was part of Sigmund Freud's inner circle. This early monograph by Rank is a groundbreaking application of the psychoanalytic method to comparative mythology. At the turn of the 20th century psychologists were beginning...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Tristan : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], TRISTAN The theme of the Feridun story is pursued in the Tristan saga, as related in the epic poem by Gottfried von Strassburg. This is especially evident in the prologue of the Tristan saga, which is repeated later on in the adventures...
Title Page : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], THE MYTH OF THE BIRTH OF THE HERO A Psychological Interpretation Of Mythology (Translation Of "Der Mythus Von Der Geburt Des Helden: Versuch Einer Psychologischen Mythendeutung". Leipzig, Deuticke, 1909) BY OTTO RANK Translated...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Oedipus : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], OEDIPUS The parents of Oedipus, King Laius and his queen, Jocasta, lived for a long time in childless wedlock. Laius, who longs for an heir, asks the Delphic Apollo for advice. The oracle answers that he may have a son if he so desires;...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Siegfried : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], SIEGFRIED The old Norse Thidreksaga, as recorded about the year 1250 by an Icelander, according to oral traditions and ancient songs, relates the history of the birth and youth of Siegfried. 4 King Sigmund of Tarlungaland, on his return...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Paris : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], p. 23 PARIS The famed Greek legend of the birth of Paris relates that King Priam of Troy had with his wife Hecuba a son, named Hector. When Hecuba was about to bear another child, "she dreamed" that she brought forth a burning log...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Telephus : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], TELEPHUS Aleos, King of Tegea, was informed by the oracle that his sons would perish through a descendant of his daughter. He therefore made his daughter Auge a priestess of the goddess Athena, and threatened her with death should she...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Gilgamesh : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], GILGAMESH Aelian, who lived about 200 A.D., relates in his "Animal Stories" the history of "a boy who was saved by an eagle:" Animals have a characteristic fondness for man. An eagle is known to have nourished a child. I shall tell...
Ii. The Circle Of Myths. Moses : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], MOSES The biblical birth history of Moses, which is told in the second chapter of Exodus, presents the greatest similarity to the Sargon legend, even an almost literal correspondence of individual traits. 2 Already the first chapter (22)...
Iii. The Interpretation Of The Myths : * "The Myth of the Birth of the Hero", by Otto Rank, [1914], p. 65 III. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE MYTHS A CURSORY review of these variegated hero myths forcibly brings out a series of uniformly common features, with a typical groundwork, from which a standard saga, as it were, may be constructed...
