A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong

This document presents excerpts from Karen Armstrong's "A Short History of Myth," a book that systematically explores the evolution and significance of myth across various historical periods. The text begins by defining myth as an intrinsic human characteristic, evident even in Neanderthal burial practices, and emphasizes its role in confronting death and the inexplicable. Armstrong then chronologically surveys mythological development, from the Palaeolithic mythology of hunters and their reverence for animals and the sacredness of the natural world, through the Neolithic period's agrarian myths centered on fertility goddesses and the cycle of death and rebirth. The book continues into the Early Civilizations, detailing how urban life shaped myths of order against chaos and the rise of human agency, leading to the Axial Age's spiritual transformation that challenged old myths and introduced new ethical and philosophical frameworks across diverse cultures like China, India, and the Middle East. Finally, it addresses the Post-Axial Period and the Great Western Transformation, where the dominance of "logos" (reason and scientific thought) led to a devaluation of myth, causing a spiritual void and a loss of understanding for myth's deeper, transformative function in human experience.