num_pages: 248
description: In Structure and History Burkert's theoretical concerns are larger, including both myth and ritual. The precise relation between myth and ritual has been a vexing question for scholars of ancient religions; Burkert places them side by side and links them at a structural level. He thinks ritual is older than myth, because it is a form of behavior found even in animals. Nevertheless, ritual and myth share several important features: Both depend upon basic biological or cultural programs of action and detachment from pragmatic reality. Both serve communication. Because myth and ritual are related in this way, it is possible for them to be found together.
language: English
title: Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual
titlecomplete: Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual
genres: Anthropology, Classics, History, Religion, Reference, Nonfiction, Mythology
ratings_count: 44
series: Sather Classical Lectures
publisher: University of California Press