The Myth of the Birth of the Hero: A psychological interpretation of mythology

The Myth of the Birth of the Hero, published in 1909 by Otto Rank, is a psychoanalytic exploration of hero myths from various cultures, including figures like Moses, Oedipus, and Jesus. Rank identifies common themes such as royal lineage, threatened infancy, and eventual recognition, proposing a universal pattern in these narratives grounded in Freudian psychology. This foundational work in hero-myth analysis was significantly revised in a 1922 edition, which expanded on its original concepts and incorporated new insights from psychoanalysis and mythology. The second edition has not been previously available in English.