The Golden Bough is a significant work of cultural anthropology and mythology, written by Sir James George Frazier in 1890. It explores the origins of religion and mythology, including Christian rituals, and argues that ancient religions were fertility cults. Frazier also examines the concept of taboo, the evolution of ancient gods, and the complex rituals surrounding crops. The book is over 800 pages long but is considered a classic in the field.
The Golden Bough is an extensive comparative study of religion and mythology written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazier in 1890. The Golden Bough is historically significant in that it is one of the earliest works to consider religion, especially Christianity , from a modernist rather than a theological perspective, showing how Christian rituals such as Christmas are continuous with pagan holidays practiced for thousands of years before Christ. At over 800 pages, The Golden Bough is a tome, but it is considered one of the most important classics of cultural anthropology and the study of mythology and religion.
The Golden Bough begins by examining the rules of priesthood succession in Nemi (near Rome), with the priest being ritually killed by his successor. In an attempt to give a reasonable explanation for the origin of his rules of succession, he examines an ever-widening sphere of world mythologies, examining customs from ancient England to those of the Australian aborigines. His final conclusion is that most, if not all, ancient religions were fertility cults revolving around the worship and then periodic sacrifice of an ancient king.
In addition to focusing on his central thesis, Frazier addresses many sub-points in The Golden Bough, exploring the fuzzy line between “sacred” and “unclean” known as “taboo,” pointing to African tribes who change the words in their language every week because they refuse to say any words that even resemble the names of their dead ancestors. He notes that many of the ancient gods, such as Dionysius, began by being represented exclusively in animals and only through cultural evolution did they incarnate as people. Many of the animals that originally represented these gods began to be ritually sacrificed to them.
Frazier examines the historical obsession with crops, especially corn, and the complex rituals surrounding planting, harvesting and eating the crop. Examine various “sympathetic magic” strategies used by our ancestors to promote the growth of crops, including but not limited to: human sacrifices, sexual intercourse at the instant of planting, mocking the one who is last to reap the grain, idols made of the last bunch of wheat to be harvested, etc. Some of these rituals have obvious connections to fertility rituals, but others are more obtuse and require some explanation and analysis. Frazier does a great job of this in The Golden Bough.
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