Expert: Irulan Serena - 5/19/2004

Question
I'd like your suggestion for a book.I'm currently writing  a book about self directed educational travel. The working title is The Thoughtful Traveler. I think every educated traveler should have a grounding in mythology for no other reason than to help understand all the icons and symbols that populate art, architecture and literature particularly in the West. Do you know of such a book which is readily available? Ideally the book should include other mythologies than Greek and Roman and be well illustrated. Thank you. Mark Lane

Answer
Hello Mark,

Here are some books that should help.


An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols by J. C. Cooper  

Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them by Hans Biedermann, et al

1000 Symbols: What Shapes Mean in Art and Myth by Rowena Shepherd (Editor), Rupert Shepherd (Editor)

The Secret Language of Symbols: A Visual Key to Symbols and Their Meanings by David Fontana

The Herder Dictionary of Symbols: Symbols from Art, Archaeology, Mythology, Literature, and Religion by Boris Matthews (Translator), Herder

A Dictionary of Symbols by Juan Eduardo Cirlot

A Dictionary of Symbols by Jean Chevalier (Editor), et al

An illustrated encyclopaedia of traditional symbols by J. C. Cooper

Dictionary of Symbols by Carl G. Liungman

Symbols and Their Meanings by Jack Tresidder (Author)


Cordially,

Iru