XPost: alt.folklore   
   From: deverett@c2i.net   
      
   On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 22:21:39 -0700, Camilla Cracchiolo wrote:   
      
      
   > I'm looking for books on various myth systems of the world, especially   
   > Scandinavian, African, Hindu, Chinese and Japanese.  I want the kind of   
   > thing that doesn't set out to tell you "favorite stories" but instead is   
   > like a dictionary or encyclopedia, that lists each god, goddess,   
   > demi-god, bad guy, etc. by name so when I come across one I'm not   
   > familiar with I can look up the name.  If you've seen the Penguin   
   > Dictionary of Classical Mythology (which covers the Greco-Roman pantheon   
   > in considerable detail) you know what I mean.   
   >   
   > Can anyone recommend some books?  Thanks.   
      
   For the Scandinavian myths I can recommend Andy Orchard's "Dictionary of   
   Norse Myth and Legend".  I find this book useful not only for its compact   
   listings of "each god, goddess, demi-god, bad guy, etc." but also for the   
   pointers it gives to the source material, such as a specific poem in the   
   Elder Edda or a particular saga.   
      
   Also worth a look is Rudolf Simek's "Dictionary of Northern Mythology",   
   which is also quite generous with references to the sources.  Simek   
   focusses on divinities at the expense of heroes, however, and his   
   perspective on "Northern Mythology" is typically German.   
      
   --   
   Derrick Everett   (deverett at c2i.net)   
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