This is an excellent source for those interested in all the variant mythologies surrounding Siva. The information is well organized and told with an even objective viewpoint, which is perfect since Siva is fascinating in his own right, so there is no need to flower things up. The multple tellings of the same core myth really drives home the core points and character traits of Siva. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Siva or Hindu Mysticism.

This wonderful review of the literature of Siva, by far one of the most interesting and misunderstood of the Indic gods, is already a classic. The contrasts between asceticism and eroticism are carefully and precisely laid out, without the quackery of popular psychological babble. The stories are well translated, with full notes, in such a way as to leave the ambiguities of the original intact. Absolutely lovely.

In OTHER PEOPLE'S MYTHS, Wendy O'Flaherty says "God created people because he loves stories." O'Flaherty teaches History of Religion at the University of Chicago. She says not everyone will approach her book with the same level of interest. The orthodox religious may find it sacriligious while hard-core secular humanists may find it too "religious." However, she believes some secular humanists may be ready to rethink the premise that rational thought is the only way to gain a handle on reality, and it is to them she dedicates this book.

MYTHS will prove illuminating to those who study the history of religion (non-theologians), fascinating to anthropologists who study other cultures, and provocative to theologians looking for inspiration. O'Flaherty's book is a synthesis of many strands from many disciplines--she likes the metaphor of weaving to describe her work.

O'Flaherty says myths can provide alternative answers to the fundamental questions of life and death. Juxtaposed, these answers can be deciphered like a secret code. She says myths are not lies they are fragments of the truth. Myths are the clothes archetypes wear--or structures if you're a structuralist, or parables if you're God.

O'Flaherty, a Jew, is a specialist in Christian and Hindu mythology. She compares and contrasts the various stories of these two cultures with the earlier Greek myths--which she says weren't myths at all by the time they were discussed by Plato, but mere shadows of their former selves--zombies. Myths are alive, they resonate.

She says Allan Bloom (author of THE CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN MIND) says we have lost our classics (stories) and to a certain extent she agrees with him. But, she says, the classics to which Bloom refers never belonged to all the people whereas myths do. She tells of the Mahabharata which the most illiterate peasant in India knows. In the U.S., it's equivalent is the Bible. Most Westerners can recite some sections of the Bible.

As far as the classics go, they don't survive unless they are mythologized. To mythologize a story is to tell it over and over. Not all stories can become myths. Myths bear repeating. There are many different kinds of myths, from those involving Western heros to those about characters in children's tales like Cinderella. (I discovered Cinderella is a Chinese tale--hence the small feet as an aspect of female beauty, and those slippers were fur, not glass--the tale was mistranslated!!).

In the information age, the theater plays a large role in the transmission of cultural myths. Movies are big in the U.S. and big in India. O'Flaherty says her favorite mythical tale is "Through the Looking Glass." She mentions other tales--both written and on film that are mythical including "Star Wars", "The Red Shoes", and "The Wizard of Oz." She says in a pluralistic society, many new tales will be mythologized, and new heros will materialize -- The Lion King, Harry Potter, and James Bond??

O'Flaherty wrote her book in the late 1980s before the "English Patient" was released as a book and film. She says Herodotus was the first person to record the existence of a myth as an aspect of a culture. I kept thinking as I read the book and she cited Herodotus over and over, I must watch "The English Patient" again.

With his recent translations of Aeschylus, Sophocles and especially Homer, Robert Fagles assumes the status of the finest Greek translator of the age. The grandeur, excitement and triumph of this beautiful translation cannot be overstated. The Oresteia is truly one the most monumental and enduring legacies from the Golden Age. Here is a translation which befits the greatness of the subject.

Some additional random musings:

1. This is one of the many books I was "forced" to read in graded courses at the University, but only really first discovered when I was long graduated and freed from all compulsory studies. In the meantime I have also had the time and passion to study -- very slowly and with great delight -- the originals.

2. As with other "great" works of literature, my advice is to ignore what the "experts" have to say about the work and go straight to the work itself. Thus, skip the intimidating intro and dive right into the text, doubling back later only if the muse strikes you.

3. After reading and then rereading Fagles' new translation of the Agamemnon, Libation Bearers and Eumenides I am struck by the similarities of the Oresteia in both tone, theme and mien to the greatest Shakespearean tragedies, especially Hamlet. My dogeared copy of this Aeschylus is now bristling with notes and crossreferences to the Bard.

The Oresteia (the only extant complete Greek trilogy) consists of three plays: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and the Eumenides. It begins with Agamemnon returning home triumphant from the Trojan war only to be struck down (together with the tragic Cassandra) by his wife Clytaemnestra. Her motives while just (he sacrificed their daughter Iphigeneia to calm the winds) are impure because of her adultery with Aegisthus.

The second play is the vehicle for Clytaemnestra's punishment, as her son Orestes returns to kill both her and Aegisthus with the help of his sister Electra.

Finally, the Eumenides has the trial of Orestes by Athena, as she stops the furies from taking him in return for the blood-guilt he incurred for killing his mother. The Eumenides provides the way to end the cycle of revenge by banishing the furies from active participation in the world of men.

The cycle can be read in any number of ways. The introduction to the Penguin/Fagles translation contains a summary of the various readings. I kept wondering what Proteus, the missing fourth satyr-play would have provided. We read it so clearly as a trilogy and the Eumenides has such a harmonious ending that I can't help but wonder if the circle closed in the third play reopens in the fourth or if it was something else entirely.

My only complaint about the book is that in the Fagles translation the notes are at the back of the book rather than assigned per page, and I find that a cumbersome style to read.

Professor Fagles' translation of the Oresteia trilogy is the most powerful, moving, intense, bloody, achingly sad and beautiful drama I have ever read. As a typical member of the late Baby Boomer/early Gen X generation, I was never assigned such texts in school, and had the misconception that anything written by an ancient Greek must be boring, stale, and irrelevant. Fagles' Oresteia translation shows how misguided we are, and (along with his Illiad, Odyssey, and Three Theban Plays) opens up an incredible world to so many of us who have been in the dark.

Do not read this simply for your intellectual, moral, and spiritual improvement -- experience this because it is so enjoyable. "Pulp Fiction," "The Terminator," "The Titanic," Stephen King, or the latest Martin Scorcese film cannot compare for plot, intrigue, sex, violence, gore, intensity, entertainment, or cutting edge creativity.

From the plays' depiction of horrendous and unspeakable crimes to its climactic courtroom drama, you'll see why so many ancient playgoers fainted in the audience -- some women even having spontaneous miscarriages -- and why modern readers are so shocked and on the edge of their armchairs. Even if you've never read a "classic" or a "great book," read this.

The problem with most translations of ancient religious books, is that they are usually translated by devotees, who give their own "spiritual spin" to things, and who definitely have an "agenda".

The author not only avoids this, but she explains what she did and why. Most translators never explain this or any of the problems of translating. And since things like the Rig Veda are huge, she expalins her slections quite well.

The translation is plain not flowery religious language. Some examples are like: "mom's a doctor..." and " Oh Wondferful Agni..." and I believe this preserves the flavor of the Rig Veda. That can be appreciated by someone who feels that accuracy in translation is useful.

If you are looking for a flowery "spirtitual" translation this is not it. However if you want a translation that is good in inspired moments, and also good with pizza and beer this is for you.

Compared to other selections of Rig Vedic Hymns, this book is quite different. Most Indologists, esp. the Indian Vedic scholars, only select more "philosophically sophisticated" hymns. But this selection is more representative of the actual content of the Rig Veda.

Wendy Doniger's translation of the Rig Veda is nothing less than spectacular. She manages to take this most ancient of texts and render it in a way that at once retains its voice from the very distant past, while still speaking with lively language that sounds completely fresh and startling. Contained herein are the elemental questions of mankind, contemplating the meaning of existence. Highly recommended for anyone who ponders these same questions! I first bought this book 17 years ago, and it changed my life. It continues to do so as I reread it today.

I am very concerned by certain reviewers who revile these books as untrue to some kind of fundamentalist doctrine. There is nothing in these translations to offend, but as other reviewers said, Ms. Doniger herself has no fundamental agenda in her translations. Rather, she lets the texts talk for themselves.

This work aims to retell and analyze amazing tales of dream and illusion from classical Indian literature, mostly from the Yoga Vasishtha, a ~12th century Sanskrit work described by the scholar and yogi, H.P. Shastri, as the inner story of the Ramayana. How well it succeeds in this task depends upon one's sympathy with mythological thinking. The Introduction contrasts different philosophical approaches to reality: waking vs. dreaming, Plato vs. Hume, moksha vs. samsara. Implicitly contrasted is Dr. Doniger the Sanskrit scholar vs. little Wendy learning to read Alice In Wonderland. Throughout, the discussion of dream motifs in Sanskrit literature digresses to Freudian dream interpretation, philosophy of science, art of illusion, paradoxes of self-reference. But really, what can Karl Popper-who despised poetical Plato-teach us about mythology? The tales are told well, no mean feat given that the originals are scattered like gems in the world's second biggest book. But focus on the stories and ignore the author's hyperconscious interpretations; otherwise, as depicted on the cover, any lived experience of Shankara's rope/snake will be explained away as intellectual curiosity, right down to the image's incongruent shadow. The author does mention Carl Jung's dream of a yogi meditating in a church; this dream deeply unsettled Jung, who realized that the yogi was more real than himself and that, the moment the yogi awoke from meditation, he (Jung) would disappear. Had the author read von Franz's works on dreams or infused more Wonder into her own writing, this could have been a marvelous book. As is, it is merely interesting. Consider this myth: Psyche (mind) fell in love with Cupid (Eros), who forbade her to look upon him by day. Frightened, with protective knife in hand, she gazed finally upon his beauty by night. But her candle dripped hot wax on him and, wounded, away he fled. Moral? The light of reason destroys what is beautiful, and the grown-up brain gives up childish things. The End.

This book is full of inaccuracies. The author does not understand anything about hinduism. Not worth your time if you want to get some accurate information.

Lousy book,wouldn't be be surprised if the author is a rightwing Christian fanatic.Save your money.

The book addresses the diffcult task of giving an overview of hindu myths, with the relevant content. Naturally the book is a part-reference and a part-survey kind of book. The range of the themes are adequate; covers the major aspects- Vedas, Vedic gods, the evolution of purna Gods SIVA, VISHNU, DEVI. The last chapter deals with the objectives of Vedic mythology, Epic myhtology and Puranic mythology. This is an interesting part of the book. No way, such analysis will have acceptance from all.