The Myth of the Birth of the Hero
Subtitle: A Psychological Exploration of Myth
By: [by] Otto Rank; translated by Gergory C. Richter, Ph.D., and E. James Lieberman, M.D.; with an introductory essay by Robert A. Segal, Ph.D.
Contributors: Robert A. Segal (Introduction); Gregory C. Richter (Translator); E. James Lieberman (Translator)
Edition: Expanded and updated edition
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: September 1, 2004
Place of publication: Baltimore, MD
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 200
ISBN-13: 9780801878831
Subjects: Mythology -- Psychological aspects.; Psychology, Pathological.; Heroes.
Genres: Non-fiction
First sentence: Nearly all prominent civilized nations, including Babylonians and Egyptians, Hebrews and Indians, Persians, Greeks and Romans, as well as the Germanic peoples and others, have left us literatures in which, early on, they glorify national heroes-mythical princes and kings, and founders of religions, dynasties, empires, and cities-in many poetic tales and legends.
Description: Originally published in German in 1909, Otto Rank's The Myth of the Birth of the Hero offered psychoanalytical interpretations of mythological stories as a means of understanding the human psyche. Like his mentor Freud, Rank compared the myths of such figures as Oedipus, Moses, and Sargon with common dreams, seeing in both a symbolic fulfillment of repressed desire. Thirteen years later, Rank substantially revised this seminal work, incorporating new discoveries in psychoanalysis, mythology, and ethnology, doubling the size of the book. This expanded second edition has never before been available in English.

For the second edition, Rank added anthropological considerations of primitive and civilized peoples to those of mythology; extensive discussions of birth dreams, flood legends, and rescue fantasies; and new mythological examples -- among them Dionysus, Kullervo (a precursor of Hamlet), Trakhan, and Tristan -- as well as fuller treatments of Sargon and Moses. Eloquently translated by Gregory C. Richter and E. James Lieberman, this volume also includes an introductory essay by Robert A. Segal and Rank's 1914 essay, "The Play in Hamlet."
Notes: Includes notes (p. 105), references (p. 129), and index (p. 143).
Table of contents: label: 1
title: Introduction
pagenum: 1; label: 2
title: The Cycle of Myths
pagenum: 9; label: 3
title: The Interpretation of the Myths
pagenum: 47; title: The Play within Hamlet: Toward an Analysis and Dynamic Understanding of the Work
pagenum: 93