Victorian comparative religion
The Golden Bough: Third Edition, Vol. 02 of 12
Continuing the investigation of magic and kingship, this volume focuses on sacred kingship, divine kings, and the burdens of royalty. Frazer explores how kings were believed to embody divine power, control nature's forces, and ensure communal prosperity. The work examines royal taboos, the king's magical functions, succession through combat, and ritual regicide. Drawing on examples from Africa, Southeast Asia, and ancient civilizations, Frazer develops his theory that early kings were magician-priests whose power depended on maintaining supernatural potency.
Archive Paths
Comparative Religion
Comparative religion texts on ritual, myth, sacrifice, belief, ancient religion, and cross-cultural theories of sacred practice.
Comparative Mythology
Comparative mythology texts on gods, hero cycles, symbolic patterns, classical myth, Indo-European myth, and cross-cultural mythic structures.
Folklore Studies
Folklore studies texts on folk tales, fairy belief, superstition, regional customs, oral tradition, and the collection of vernacular belief.
Anthropology of Religion
Anthropological texts on ritual, animism, totemism, taboo, early religion, culture, and theories of belief formation.
Contents32 chapters
- 01The Golden Bough, A Study in Magic and Religion
- 02CONTENTS
- 03CHAPTER VIII DEPARTMENTAL KINGS OF NATURE
- 04CHAPTER IX THE WORSHIP OF TREES
- 05§ 1. Tree-spirits
- 06§ 2. Beneficent Powers of Tree-Spirits
- 07CHAPTER X RELICS OF TREE-WORSHIP IN MODERN EUROPE
- 08CHAPTER XI THE INFLUENCE OF THE SEXES ON VEGETATION
- 09CHAPTER XII THE SACRED MARRIAGE
- 10§ 1. Diana as a Goddess of Fertility
- 11§ 2. The Marriage of the Gods
- 12§ 3. Sacrifices to Water-spirits
- 13CHAPTER XIII THE KINGS OF ROME AND ALBA
- 14§ 1. Numa and Egeria
- 15CHAPTER XIV THE KING’S FIRE
- 16CHAPTER XV THE FIRE-DRILL
- 17CHAPTER XVI FATHER JOVE AND MOTHER VESTA
- 18CHAPTER XVII THE ORIGIN OF PERPETUAL FIRES
- 19CHAPTER XVIII THE SUCCESSION TO THE KINGDOM IN ANCIENT LATIUM
- 20CHAPTER XIX ST. GEORGE AND THE PARILIA
- 21CHAPTER XX THE WORSHIP OF THE OAK
- 22§ 1. The Diffusion of the Oak in Europe
- 23§ 2. The Aryan God of the Oak and the Thunder[1149]
- 24CHAPTER XXI DIANUS AND DIANA
- 25INDEX
- 26THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
- 27"Cover"
- 28The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Golden Bough, Third Edition, Vol. 2 of 12, by James George Frazer
- 29The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Golden Bough, Third Edition, Vol. 2 of 12, by James George Frazer
- 30The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Golden Bough, Third Edition, Vol. 2 of 12, by James George Frazer
- 31The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Golden Bough, Third Edition, Vol. 2 of 12, by James George Frazer
- 32The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Golden Bough, Third Edition, Vol. 2 of 12, by James George Frazer
Influences & Sources
By the Same Author
Ask the Hermetikon Archivist about this text
Search within this book, retrieve direct quotations with page references, or explore related ideas.