Mythology Activities and Links
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If you come across an excellent resource, let us know at hello@harborandsprout.com so we can add it to the list!Project Gutenberg
The Internet Sacred Text Archive
https://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm
The Joseph Campbell Foundation
The Journal of Mythic Arts Archive
https://endicottstudio.typepad.com/articleslist/
The Moonlit Road: Traveling the Strange South Through Storytelling
https://www.themoonlitroad.com/
Theoi Greek Mythology
“East Versus West - The Myths that Mystify”
Devdutt Pattanaik, the Chief Belief Officer of Future Group in Mumbai, India offers a fascinating TED Talk about how mythology determines the manner in which countries conduct business based on their ideologies and belief systems.
https://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik_east_vs_west_the_myths_that_mystify
“The Hunt For La Llorona - The Weeping Woman”
The Ghoul Boys Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej of Buzzfeed Unsolved (Supernatural) do an excellent job explaining the mythic variations of La Llorona’s narrative while offering a fun way to understand the frightening, lasting impact of her story.
Goddess Remembered
The documentary film Goddess Remembered provides further sources and evidence of the profound manner in which Marija Gimbutas’s work in conjunction with other female scholars have served to broaden our perspective of prehistory, mythology, religion, and culture, and women’s place within the cosmos.
https://www.nfb.ca/film/goddess_remembered/
"Play is More Than Fun"
Victor Turner examined the concept of ritual as play. Dr. Stuart Brown further documented and evidenced the idea of play as a ritual imperative for all living beings and shares his findings in this important TED Talk. Brown’s research was featured in the 1995 National Geographic cover story "Animals at Play" and PBS Documentary series The Promise of Play.
https://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_play_is_more_than_just_fun
The Power of Myth
Please enjoy excerpts from the PBS Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell interview The Power of Myth. Note that full streaming episodes are available on Amazon and iTunes for purchase. Additional Campbell videos and interviews are available through the Joseph Campbell Foundation (jcf.org).
https://billmoyers.com/series/joseph-campbell-and-the-power-of-myth-1988/
“Joseph Campbell - Jung and the Persona System”
One in a series of brief video lectures released by the Joseph Campbell Foundation focusing on Campbell’s lectures about Jung’s theories of personal archetypes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GNypViGWdc
Media viewing may include Star Trek: “The Enemy Within” (Season 1, Episode 5) and Teen Wolf episode "Riddled" (Season 3, Episode 18) to understand Carl Jung’s theories of the Shadow.
The Bradshaw Foundation
Member of the Rock Art Network dedicated to preservation and education of global rock art.
https://www.bradshawfoundation.com
“Ritual in Action: Making a Mandala Sand Painting”
Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery visit the Nashville, Tennessee Frist Art Museum while on tour in the United States creating sand mandalas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WFOh0v1EzI
“The Mythic World of the Navajo: Sand Painting Rituals”
A brief video excerpt from Jospeh Campbell’s lectures about the Navajo (Dine’) sand paintings.
Before Yesterday We Could Fly
The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition honoring the Seneca Village community in New York City that was displaced to create Central Park.
https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/afrofuturist-period-room
Family Across the Sea
Folkstreams documentary about a group of Gullah/Geechee including Cornelia Walker Bailey who visit Africa in a journey of reconnection and reclamation.
https://www.folkstreams.net/films/family-across-the-sea
“Hopi Origin Story”
Animated PBS short film about the Hopi emergence mythology and associated migrations.
https://www.pbs.org/video/hopi-origin-story-dc0awe/
Hopi Songs of the Fourth World
Documentary that connects the Hopi emergence mythology in time, demonstrating how they live honoring their creator.
Destination Truth
Evidence of bigfoot creatures from around the world explored in this reality television series hosted by archeologist Josh Gates.
- Season 1, Episode 4: “Bigfoot and Nahuelito”
- Season 2, Episode 1: “The Yeti”
- Season 2, Episode 7: “The Yowie and Haunted Mosque”
- Season 3, Episode 9: “The Bhutan Yeti”
- Season 5, Episode 1: “Vietnam’s Bigfoot”“The Harrowing Hunt for Bigfoot”
Buzzfeed Unsolved (Supernatural) investigation with Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej including an excellent summarization and narrowing of focus for the topic and timeline of major events within bigfoot research.
https://www.youtu.be/AWNyH56oXvY
“Knife Dancing”
A National Geographic video about a young South Korean girl who receives the shamanic call and the initiatory events that transpire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jgbYESmeJo
Newgrange at the Winter Solstice
Review the videos taken at sunrise on the Winter Solstice at Newgrange since 2001, seeing the results of Neolithic peoples’ passage tomb possibly constructed in celebration of this astronomical event.
https://www.newgrange.com/winter_solstice.htm
Edith Widder TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/edith_widder_how_we_found_the_giant_squid/transcript
Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum Finding Bigfoot interview: https://youtu.be/fxcWxCbJQio
Formation of the Solar System video clip: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Uhy1fucSRQI
“Aeschylus Agamemnon 03/10”
A clip from the National Theater of London performance of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon directed by Peter Hall. Note the dramatic, ritual elements chosen to most closely simulate the same in ancient Greek tragic theatre, including music, masking, and a male-only cast.
"Belsnickle in the Schoolhouse”
The Belsnickel Christmas Trickster visits a Pennsylvania schoolhouse at a local “Christmas on the Farm” festival.
“Re: Krampus attack in Silandro (South Tirol)”
In modernity within the Alpine regions of Europe, groups of young men costume themselves as Krampus dressing head-to-toe in animal skins and furs, running through the streets frightening passersby and visiting homes with Saint Nicholas scaring children into obedience.
"Tuva: Shamans and Spirits presented by The Foundation for Shamanic Studies"
The Foundation for Shamanic Studies is a Western collective of students and practitioners educating and disseminating information about shamanism. This video is a demonstration of shamanic practice in Siberia among the Tuva people.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
A PBS clip from The Power of Myth interviews with Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell making modern connections to archetypal heroic themes within Star Wars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byli-Y8KonY
Modern Media
Here are names of a few films and television series incorporating the hero quest for one or more characters. What are your favorite films and series that incorporate the hero quest?
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Hoot
- Moana
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- Spirited Away
- The X-Files
- Whale Rider
The Angel that Stands by Me: Minnie Evans’ Paintings
Folkstreams documentary about the life and work of Minnie Evans including interviews and examples of her art.
https://www.folkstreams.net/films/angel-that-stands-by-me-minnie-evans-paintings
Masks of the Goddess Project
Artist Lauren Raine’s 20-year mask-making and performance project dedicated to global goddesses.
https://www.masksofthegoddess.com/gallery.html
Sita Sings the Blues
An independent animated film by Nina Paley about the Hindu heroic myth The Ramayana including a modern, autobiographical perspective.
https://www.sitasingstheblues.com/watch.html
“The Spirit of the Mask”
An excerpt from ethnobotanist and humanist anthropologist Wade Davis’s film exploring the sacred use of masks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8WREmWxggU
“Your Elusive Creative Genius”
Author and journalist Elizabeth Gilbert’s beloved TED Talk offers tangible, human insight into the workings of creation as both cosmic and personal process.
Literary devices, definitions, and examples: https://writers.com/common-literary-devices
This list comprises a brief reading list about mythology and the interdisciplinary research related to the subject. When looking for myths from a specific culture, it is most helpful to find content-specific sources through a local library, Amazon, or Project Gutenberg online.
The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images by the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS)
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
Man and His Symbols edited and with an introduction by Carl Jung
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers
Primal Myths: Creation Myths Around the World by Barbara C. Sproul
Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth by Alan Dundes
Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art by Lewis Hyde, forward by Michael Chabon
The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner
The Wayfarers: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World by Wade Davis