Victorian comparative religion
The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2)
The first volume of Frazer's groundbreaking comparative study of magic and religion. This inaugural edition introduces the central mystery of the sacred grove at Nemi and the priest-king known as the King of the Wood. Frazer explores sympathetic magic (homeopathic and contagious), taboos surrounding sacred kingship, and the relationship between magic, religion, and science. This volume lays the foundation for understanding primitive religious thought through the lens of evolutionary anthropology, examining how ancient peoples conceived of nature's forces and attempted to control them through ritual and belief.
Contents29 chapters
- 01Contents
- 02Dedication.
- 03Preface.
- 04Chapter I. The King Of The Wood.
- 05§ 1.—The Arician Grove.
- 06§ 2.—Primitive man and the supernatural.
- 07§ 3.—Incarnate gods.
- 08§ 4.—Tree-worship.
- 09§ 5.—Tree-worship in antiquity.
- 10Chapter II. The Perils Of The Soul.
- 11§ 1.—Royal and priestly taboos.
- 12§ 2.—The nature of the soul.
- 13§ 3.—Royal and priestly taboos (continued).
- 14Chapter III. Killing The God.
- 15§ 1.—Killing the divine king.
- 16§ 2.—Killing the tree-spirit.
- 17§ 3.—Carrying out Death.
- 18§ 4.—Adonis.
- 19§ 5.—Attis.
- 20§ 6.—Osiris.
- 21§ 7.—Dionysus.
- 22§ 8.—Demeter and Proserpine.
- 23§ 9.—Lityerses.
- 24Footnotes
- 25THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
- 26"Cover"
- 27The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2)
- 28The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Bough (Vol. 1 of 2) by James George Frazer
- 29The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Bough (Vol. 1 of 2) by James George Frazer
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