Showing results by author "James Frazer" in All Categories

The third volume of The Golden Bough. The term Taboo is one of the very few words which the English language has borrowed from the speech of savages. This volume examines the underlying moral code of many societies, both primitive and medieval, and with modern analogies. The reader is encouraged to contemplate the contradictions, inconsistencies, and absurdities, not merely between different people of different countries and ages, but also between similar people within the same countries. Frazer presents extensive evidence that the laws of morality slowly, but subtly, are in an ever changing ...

The Golden Bough, the monumental study of religious rites and practices in ‘primitive’ societies, was one of the earliest influential texts in anthropology. Its author, Sir James Frazer, surveyed the wide range of cultural habits, taboos and beliefs in communities across the world concluding that there was an observable pattern in the way magic developed into religion, though formal expression emerged in different ways.  

The fifth volume and the first of two in the fourth part of Frazer's seminal work on the evolution of belief deals with the semi mythological legends of the Mediterranean and the eastern civilizations. Many analogies are traced between the worship of Osiris and the worship of the dead, especially of dead kings. The conclusion to which these analogies appear to the point is that under the mythical pall of the glorified Osiris, the god who died and rose again from the dead, there once lay the body of a dead man. The traditions of sacred men and women, ritual sacrifice and burning of gods, the ...

The second volume in Frazer's seminal 12 volume set on anthropology and traditional systems of belief. The superstition and magical purpose of kings is further discussed alongside the worship of trees, vegetation, fire, and the sacred marriages, and the mystical bond between people and trees. - Summary by Leon Harvey

The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941). It offered a modernist approach, discussing religion dispassionately as a cultural phenomenon, rather than from a theological perspective. Although most of its theories have subsequently been exploded (the most famous one being that of the relationship between magic, religion and science), its impact on contemporaneous European literature was substantial.The Golden Bough attempts to define the shared elements of...

The Golden Bough A Study in Magic and Religion is an expansive comparative exploration of mythology and religion authored by the renowned Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941). This groundbreaking work presents a modernist perspective, examining religion as a cultural phenomenon rather than through a theological lens. While many of its theories have been challenged over time—most notably the connections drawn between magic, religion, and science—the books influence on contemporary European literature remains profound. Frazer delves into the common threads of ...

The eighth volume in The Golden Bough collection, and second volume of The Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild. The investigations into the superstitions and rituals to propitiate fertility in primitive agriculture are expanded further to cover the link between the belief in the dying and reviving gods to the transmutation of the souls of animals into crops. Frazer discusses his speculation of the evolution belief systems depending on the level of agricultural development between hunting, grazing, and farming, and the relics of totemism and taboo. Divine animals, Gods portrayed as and ...

The fourth volume in Frazer's seminal 12 volume set on anthropology and traditional systems of belief. With this third part of The Golden Bough we take up the question, why had the King of the Wood at Nemi regularly to perish by the hand of his successor? Topics investigated include the practice and intention of human sacrifice, the mortality of gods, the regular killing of divine kings and spirits, and the superstitions surrounding the succession of the soul. - Summary by Leon Harvey

The eleventh volume of The Golden Bough series. Fire festivals in exotic nations, magical properties of flowers, the concept of the external soul, and a proposal to solve the mystery of ritual of the golden bough. Frazer's extensive researches into the origin, the evolution, and the meaning of killing of the king of the wood, is summarised with the help of analogies from the myths of other cultures, and finally explained as a symbolic cycle of death, rebirth, and the recharging of the sacred powers of the natural world thought to come from gods to man. (Summary by Leon Harvey)

The seventh volume in The Golden Bough series by Sir James George Frazer. The figure of the dying and reviving god in Oriental religions of Classical antiquity is returned to, and compared with the systems of belief in Europe. - Summary by leon harvey

The sixth volume in the Golden Bough. Frazer continues into the second part of the compilation of analogies dealing with the recurring theme of the dying god. the worship of the dead, and dead kings. Extensive evidence is presented from the history of Egypt and what had been learned from archaeology in North Africa and the Mediterranean. The Egyptian calendar and festivals, the identify and personality of Osiris, and the relationship of the mother goddess, are discussed in length. - Summary by Leon Harvey

In The Scapegoat, the ninth book of The Golden Bough Series, we reach a pivotal conclusion in the exploration of the Dying God theory. This volume delves into the fascinating role of the Dying God as a scapegoat, a figure who bears the burdens of his worshippers, alleviating them from the myriad struggles of earthly existence. Frazer seeks to untangle the origins of this compelling concept, distinguishing between the tangible and the intangible—between the actual transfer of physical burdens and the metaphorical transference of our mental and emotional woes. As we trace the evolution of this...

In this thought-provoking second part of The Golden Bough, we delve into the concept of Taboo—a term derived from primitive languages—and explore its significance across various cultures, from ancient societies to medieval times and beyond. This volume invites readers to reflect on the moral codes that shape our world, revealing the contradictions and absurdities that exist not only between diverse cultures but also among similar groups within the same society. Frazer presents compelling evidence of how our understanding of morality is not static, but rather a dynamic force that evolves ...