Project Gutenberg 2014-03-01 Public domain in the USA. 415 Spence, Lewis 1874 1955 Spence, James Lewis Thomas Chalmers An Introduction to Mythology Produced by Heather Strickland and Marc D'Hooghe (Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) "An Introduction to Mythology" by Lewis Spence is a scholarly examination of mythological principles, likely written in the early 20th century. This comprehensive work explores the evolution, classification, and significance of myths within the context of primitive religion and culture, presenting an overview of the scientific approaches to mythology. Spence aims to illuminate the historical progression of mythic study and its modern applications by synthesizing various theories and presenting definitions that clarify key concepts. The opening of the text introduces the reader to the foundational aspects of mythology, explaining its purpose in understanding the early religious and scientific experiences of humanity. It lays out important definitions distinguishing myths from folklore and legends, suggesting that myths function as explanations for physical and social phenomena. Spence outlines how mythology intersects with folklore, illustrating that myths serve as primitive attempts at rationalizing the universe, while also highlighting significant changes in myth interpretation and classification over time as societies evolve. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 53.4 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Mythology BL Text Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore 920093 2025-07-18T09:00:01.090466 text/html 866817 2024-10-24T03:00:16 text/html 401524 2025-07-18T09:00:18.885885 application/epub+zip 414759 2025-07-18T09:00:06.740443 application/epub+zip 402526 2025-07-18T09:00:04.212461 application/epub+zip 788523 2025-07-18T09:00:26.436853 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 710061 2025-07-18T09:00:16.202898 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 666889 2022-09-20T14:47:52.755299 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 741710 2025-07-18T08:59:59.162509 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 721871 2024-10-24T03:00:16 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16915 2025-07-18T09:00:26.579841 application/rdf+xml 17429 2025-07-18T09:00:04.814446 image/jpeg 4300 2025-07-18T09:00:04.513467 image/jpeg 380168 2025-07-18T09:00:01.151506 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia