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RR 2006/261 The Oxford Companion to World Mythology David Leeming Oxford University Press New York, NY 2005 xxxvii + 469 pp. ISBN 0 19 515669 2 £35 $65
Keywords Dictionaries, Myths
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120610672953
One of my rule of thumb assessments of any reference book is to find a title so interesting that I delay the review because I keep reading and cross-referring within it. This title scores very highly indeed in that scale, and I have had to discipline myself to pause and prepare this review, but with the alluring promise of even more detailed examination later.
Initially, I wondered at the term "companion" since this looks at first sight more like a dictionary, especially with its Oxford University Press provenance. There are thousands of entries covering all cultures and mythologies, as well as more general entries; all are arranged in a single alphabetical sequence, emphasising the appearance as if a dictionary. The notion of "companion" is, however, justified by the nature and often the length of the entries. These are not simply brief factual accounts or definitions, but are more discursive explanatory, comparative or analytical discussions, a feat managed even in the many briefer entries. A few are fairly long: naturally, those on broad topics such as Egyptian Mythology with some ten columns, but also for important topics, so that, for example, The Mabinogion has some nine columns.
How refreshing it is to have a single author of such a reference book, for that allows a consistency and a personal approach so often lacking, or diluted, in team efforts. David Leeming is an emeritus professor...