Quest for the origin of primitive myths : revisiting Max Müller’s comparative mythology

Abstract

Victorian intellectuals explored the origins of primitive myths to understand the early human mind and its evolution to its present state. Among various interpretations, Max Müller’s Comparative Mythology, based on Comparative Philology, is influential, controversial, but ultimately eclipsed. This essay revisits the rise and fall of Müller’s Comparative Mythology, paying particular attention to three particular time spots in Müller’s career. By examining Müller’s works on mythology, this essay argues that, with all its errors and limits, Müller’s theory of Mythology is multi-faceted, playing different roles in Victorian Mythography. Indeed, in the 1850s and 1860s, Müller’s Comparative Mythology is epoch-making, and scholars tend to forget his pioneering contributions to the Science of Mythology, neglecting his cautious warnings against anthropological conjectures.