The Heroes by Charles Kingsley

Once upon a time I decided to move overseas.  I was constrained by cost to whittle my possession down to as much as would fit into three tea-chests.  Oh! the decisions, and the agonising over the decisions.  What to take, and what to give away?  In the end I allocated half-a-chest to books and personal papers.  There were several books that needed no decision-making: of course I would taking them to my new home.

One of these books was The Heroes by Charles Kingsley.  It was one of the first  fiction books I read with with genuine delight.  (I started my reading life by reading science and history books exclusively, and my 5y.o. self loathed the standard kiddies classics, such as Wind in the Willows and Winnie the Pooh - although I've warmed to these in my adult years).  Then, I found an old and battered book in a second-hand book store my mother and I used to frequent.  The Heroes.  I liked the sound of that.  So I asked Mum to buy it for me; and thus began my love affair with mythology.

Kingsley retells three tales from Greek Mythology: Perseus, The Argonauts, and Theseus.  My favorite tale in this book was (and still is) that of Perseus.  After an inauspicious childhood, Perseus becomes favoured by the Gods, and they bestowed upon him several magical items, including a pair of winged sandals which he immediately strapped on.

And Athené cried, "Now leap from the cliff and be gone" ... and [Perseus] leaped into the empty air.  And behold, instead of falling he floated, and stood, and ran along the sky ...  and the sandals led him on northward ever, like a crane who follows the spring toward the Ister fens.

I remember vividly how I felt when I first read that passage.  How I wished I too could run along the sky.  I still do.  And just as vividly, I recall the account of Cheiron the centaur schooling young Jason and the boys who would become the Argonauts, and Theseus slaying the supernatural bandits who infested the coast road from Troezen to Athens. 

It has been decades since I last read The Heroes; however, on re-reading, I found it as delightful as ever.  Kingsley's diction is very quaint and very Victorian.  He does use some high language, especially in the dialogue, but his choices are very judicious and he avoids strangling his tales with overblown and faux archaisms - unlike, say, Howard Pyle.  And for all the oddness of the subject matter of the stories, Kingsley makes it very easy for the reader to care for each hero.  Yes, it is all done with a deft touch.  Yes, it was all very enjoyable for me.  Yes, it may be for you too.

As a point of interest, my copy of The Heroes has the following printed on the information page:

REGISTERED AT THE G.P.O SYDNEY

FOR TRANSMISSION BY POST AS A BOOK

WHOLLY SET UP AND PRINTED IN AUSTRALIA BY

CONSOLIDATED PRESS LIMITED

166-174 CASTLEREAGH STREET, SYDNEY

1948

If you are interested in mythology, you may like to look at these reviews: The Inner Reaches of Outer Space and Myths of Light.  Both these books are by the renowned mythology theorist Joseph Campbell.

The Inner Reaches of Outer Space by Joseph Campbell

Originally published in 1986, this is the last work of Joseph Campbell published in his lifetime.  It consists of three essays.

In the first essay, Campbell examines human history to date.  He finds that humans are very concerned with nourishing themselves, reproducing themselves and acquiring and accumulating power and territory.  As for compassion, he finds that this is something extended only to people in the in-group, whether it be village or nation.  Campbell points out that we live in the space age but our myths are still those of the bronze age, still myths of in-groups. A space age mythology, he feels, must be one that involves universal compassion.  Our planet is too small now for in-groups.

In the second essay, Campbell looks at what myths are and how they can be applied correctly.  Myths, he thinks, are something that gets denoted by language and images of the phenomenal world but which connote something that transcends the phenomenal world and cannot be described by language or represented by images.  He calls this thing eternity.

In the final essay, "The Way of Art", Campbell compares the aesthetic theories of Aristotle, James Joyce and ancient India.  Art, he says, is something which can generate mythologies, and it can lift us out of our limited understanding of the world and put us in touch with the great mystery of existence.

The Inner Reaches of Outer Space is not as easy to read as some of Campbell's other work, but it an impressive work of thought and scholarship.  I enjoyed it greatly.

Publishing details: The Inner Reaches of Outer Space - Metaphor as Myth and as Religion by Joseph Campbell (New World Press, Novato C.a., 2002. pp.146)

Myths of Light by Joseph Campbell

Pure genius.  Joseph Campbell is the Deep Thought of mythography and comparative religious studies.  He has the knack of comprehending the important and complex questions and answers of life, the universe and everything and transmitting his findings in a supremely entertaining and understandable form.

Campbell begins by relating the Hindu story "The Humbling of Indra", in which the top god of the pantheon has his colossal ego lanced by a small child.  We learn how ego is delusion, and how everything we need to be happy is really within us.

The rest of the book is an examination of the three main religions of the East - Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism - as seen through their theology and their mythology.  He also explains the social and spiritual development of the individual by way of the several yogic philosophies: raja, hatha, jnana and bhakti (breathing, stretching, thinking, adoring).  If you have ever wondered what chakras are all about, this is the book for you. 

There is a challenge for western readers, especially those from Christian, Jewish and Muslim backgrounds: these myths are not about good vs evil, they are about being and non-being.  It is an idea about religion and spirituality that can seem very alien to some of us.

Sounds daunting? Don't forget that Campbell makes it easy for his readers.  Even so, this is a book to be read slowly for several reasons.  One is to savour the prose.  Another is to take time to consider the images and ideas Campbell describes.  A third is assimilate the message - bliss: if you don't get it here (and it is within you), you ain't gonna get anywhere - and it is a message well worth the effort.

Publishing details: Myths of Light - Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal (New World Library, Novato Ca., 2003. pp.166)