There are many other myths of Australia and the Pacific islands, a legacy of ancient people who moved across vast expanses of land and open seas. One of these ancient myths seems especially salient today. It is a story told by many of the people of the Pacific islands about a mythical race of Pygmies, two feet tall. While these "little people" sometimes shot tiny arrows at careless travelers, they otherwise lived peacefully in caves.

In October 2004, scientists announced the discovery, on a tropical island midway between Asia and Australia, of the skeletons of a race of people whose adults stood three and a half feet tall. The diminutive "Floresians," as the scientists named them, lived in a cave on Flores, an island 370 miles east of Bali. This other race of humans lived there until about 13,000 years ago-a miniature version of prehistoric man.

Myths indeed are as fresh as the headlines. And perhaps, after all, Shakespeare was right: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Anthologies, Collections, and Translations of World Myths Abrahams, Roger D. African Folktales. New York: Pantheon Books, 1983. A collection of ninety-five tales from sub-Saharan Africa, offering a taste of the rich oral tradition of African myth and legend.

Alighieri, Dante, translated by Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander. The Inferno. New York: Anchor Books, 2000. (Many other translations available.) Apollodorus, translated by Robin Hard. The Library of Greek Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. A source book of Greek myths from the origins of the universe to the Trojan War, compiled in the second century BCE. This is the most significant source of Greek mythology after Homer and Hesiod.

Apollonius of Rhodes, translated by Richard Hunter. Jason and the Golden Fleece. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. A verse translation of the third century BCE poem about the quest for the fleece, the Argonauts, Jason, and Medea.

Bierhorst, John. The Mythology of North America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. A thorough and accessible "field guide" that breaks Native North American folklore into eleven distinct regions, with discussions of the shared mythologies, stories, and gods of each.

Birrell, Anne M. Chinese Mythology: An Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. English translation of some three hundred ancient Chinese myth narratives, with very scholarly notes and explanatory texts.

Birrell, Anne M. The Classic of Mountains and Seas. New York: Penguin Books, 2000. A treasure trove of colorful stories about more than two hundred Chinese mythical figures, most of them very unfamiliar to Western readers.

Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable; The Age of Chivalry; Legends of Charlemagne. Available in various editions that appeared in 1855, 1858, and 1863, respectively.

Coomaraswamy, Ananda K., and Sister Nivedita. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists. New York: Dover, 1967. Gathers the most important stories from Indian mythology, which is the source of the two major religions reflected in the title.

Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Norse Myths. New York: Pantheon, 1980. Retelling of thirty-two classic tales from the Viking world.

Davis, F. Hadland. Myths and Legends of Japan. New York: Dover, 1992. Collected retellings of classical Japanese myths.

Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz, editors. American Indian Myths and Legends. New York: Pantheon, 1984. A collection of 160 folk myths and tales from eighty different tribal groups.

Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz, editors. American Indian Trickster Tales. New York: Penguin, 1998. A collection of more than one hundred tales from different tribes about the colorful, mischievous, and highly oversexed characters known as tricksters, from various American Indian traditions, including Coyote, Iktomi the Spider, and Rabbit. Colorful and very earthy.

Faulkner, R. O. The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1985. The religious and magical texts known to the ancient Egyptians.

Foster, Benjamin R., translator and editor. The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001. A recent translation of the Mesopotamian epic poem with critical notes and essays.

Gantz, Jeffrey, translator. Early Irish Myths and Legends. London: Penguin Books, 1981. First written down around the eighth century, these are early Celtic legends from Ireland.

Gantz, Jeffrey, translator. The Mabinogion. New York: Penguin Books, 1976. A collection of the eleven medieval Welsh prose tales, including some of the earliest written Arthurian legends.

Hesiod, translated by M. L. West. Theogony and Works and Days. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Less known than Homer, the poet Hesiod wrote a systematic genealogy of the Greek gods, from the mythological beginnings of the world.

Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald. The Iliad and The Odyssey. New York: Vintage Books, 1961. (Many other translations and editions available.) Husain, Shahrukh. The Virago Book of Erotic Myths and Legends. London: Virago, 2002. A compilation of modern retellings of some of the erotic tales from diverse cultures.

Kinsella, Thomas. The Tain: From the Irish Epic Tain Bo Cuailnge. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970. A mixed prose and verse translation of the cycle of Irish heroic tales.

Leeming, David A. The World of Myth: An Anthology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. A collection of myths, organized by theme (creation, heroes, etc.).

Leeming, David A. and Jake Page. The Mythology of North America. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988. A collection of seventy-two representative myths from a variety of tribal groups, with commentary and introductions.

Littleton, C. Scott, general editor. Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth and Storytelling. London: Duncan Baird, 2002. A large, heavily illustrated compendium of more than 300 myths from around the world.

Mascaro, Juan, translator. The Bhagavad-Gita. London: Penguin Books, 1962. An essential document of Hinduism, the conversation between the god Krishna and the warrior Rama before a great battle.

Mason, Herbert. Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1970. A widely read modern verse version of the ancient Babylonian epic, one of the oldest pieces of literature in human history. (Many other translations of Gilgamesh are also available.) Mitchell, Stephen. Gilgamesh: A New English Version. New York: Free Press, 2004. Another modern translation with excellent historical and introductory notes.

Neihardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press/Bison Books, 1988. First published in 1932, the now-classic "as-told-to" account of a Native American wichasha wakon (holy man, priest) that encompasses both the myth and history of the Oglala Sioux who fought Custer and were later massacred at Wounded Knee.

Ogden, Daniel. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2002. A scholarly translation of some of the lesser-known myths specifically involving magic.

Ovid, translated by A. D. Melville. Metamorphoses. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. The Roman poet's collected accounts of transformations and changes presented in the Greek and Roman myths. (Other editions available.) Pelikan, Jaroslav, editor. Sacred Writings, Volume 5. Hinduism: The Rig-Veda. New York: Quality Paperback Book Club, 1992.

Pelikan, Jaroslav, editor. Sacred Writings, Volume 6. Buddhism: The Dhammapada. New York: Quality Paperback Book Club, 1987.

Prabhavananda, Swami and Dr. Frederick Manchester, translators and editors. The Upanishads. New York: Signet, 1957. A collection of the principal holy writings of Hinduism.

Rosenberg, Donna. World Mythology: An Anthology of Great Myths and Epics (second edition). Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group, 1994. An anthology of key myths in contemporary prose, divided by geographic region.

Rouse, W. H. D. Gods, Heroes and Men of Ancient Greece. New York: New American Library, 1957. A popular retelling of Greek myths by a scholar-teacher who told the tales to his students at Cambridge, England.

Spence, Lewis. The Myths of Mexico and Peru. New York: Dover, 1994. Reprint of a 1913 classic work on the myths of the Aztec, Inca, and other South and Central American groups.

Sproul, Barbara C. Primal Myths: Creation Myths Around the World. New York: Harper, 1979. A collection that cross-references various Creation stories from many cultures.

Sturluson, Snorri, translated and edited by Anthony Faulkes. Edda. North Clarendon, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing, 1987. The standard collection of Norse poetry, compiled in the 1200s by a poet and courtier later killed in a political intrigue. (Many other editions available.) Tatar, Maria. The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. New York: W. W. Norton, 2002. Although not about myths, this collection of twenty-six of the best-known children's tales (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel) illuminates some of the connections between mythic stories and familiar children's tales-and they are not always about virtues!

Tedlock, Dennis, translator. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life (revised edition). New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 1996. One of the most important texts in the native languages of the Americas, often called the Mayan Bible.

Wilson, Andrew. World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. New York: Paragon House, 1991. A collection of sacred writings, organized thematically, from many diverse faiths and traditions, including the major religions as well as texts from native religions of Africa and the Americas.

Reference (includes both general references and works specific to mythology) Achtmeier, Paul J. The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996. A wide-ranging, objective, and comprehensive guide that includes many mythological connections to the Bible.

Birrell, Anne. Chinese Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000. A brief overview of Chinese myth for Western readers.

Carpenter, Thomas H. Art and Myth in Ancient Greece. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1991. Scholarly appraisal of how early Greek artists used mythic themes.

Comrie, Bernard, Stephen Matthews, and Maria Polinsky, editors. The Atlas of Languages (revised edition). New York: Facts on File, 2003. An introduction for general readers to the world of languages and how they grew. Also includes information on the development of various writing systems.

Cotterell, Arthur. A Dictionary of World Mythology. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1986. A concise listing of major mythic figures, divided by geographic regions.

Cotterell, Arthur. The Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends. New York: Macmillan, 1989. A very comprehensive, illustrated reference guide to world myth.

Curtis, Vesta Sarkhoshi. Persian Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Overview of traditional tales and stories from ancient Iran. (Part of a series of brief monographs on world myths; other titles listed below.) Dallapiccola, Anna L. Hindu Myths (The Legendary Past series). Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003. One in a series of brief monographs, this volume provides a scholarly but quick overview of Hindu legends.

Farmer, David. Oxford Dictionary of the Saints (fifth edition). New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Concise accounts of the lives, cults, and artistic association of Christian saints, some of whom have their own myths.

Forty, Jonathan. Mythology: A Visual Encyclopedia. New York: Sterling Publishers, 2001. Heavily illustrated reference to world myths, organized geographically.

Freeman, Charles. Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean (second edition). New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Excellent one-volume reference on the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world.

Gardner, Jane F. Roman Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Brief overview of Roman myths and the ways they reflected specific Roman history.

Green, Miranda Jane. Celtic Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Exploration of the mythology and beliefs of the pagan Celts between about 600 BCE and 400 CE.

Hart, George. Egyptian Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. This brief overview of Egyptian mythology is a scholarly but excellent introduction.

Hayes, Michael. The Egyptians. New York: Rizzoli, 1996. A concise, accessible, and highly illustrated introduction to Egyptian history and civilization.

James, Vanessa. The Genealogy of Greek Mythology: An Illustrated Family Tree of Greek Myth from the First Gods to the Founders of Rome. New York: Gotham Books, 2003. A very useful, accordion-like, illustrated foldout guide to the major names-both immortal and human-of Greek mythology.

Leeming, David A. and Margaret Leeming. A Dictionary of Creation Myths. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Alphabetically divided by traditions, covers almost every Creation account, from Sumer and Egypt to the Big Bang.

Lewis, Jon E., editor. The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness Ancient Egypt. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003. Documenting three thousand years of Egyptian history through actual documents and eyewitness accounts of mummification, temple building, and the real Cleopatra.

McCall, Henrietta. Mesopotamian Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Brief overview of the myths of Mesopotamia and their influence on the Greeks and Hebrews.

Macrone, Michael. By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. How the Greek myths live on in the English language through such words and expressions as "Titanic" or "Wheel of Fortune."

Manguel, Alberto and Gianni Guadalupi. The Dictionary of Imaginary Places. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 2000. An encyclopedic guide to places that never were, including the legendary sites of mythology.

Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday, 1994. A somewhat irreverent but very useful guide to the practices of various religions around the world.

Orchard, Andy. Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. London: Cassell, 1997. More than one thousand entries detailing a range of Scandinavian myths, sagas, and legends.

Page, R. I. Norse Myths (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. The influential stories and legends of pagan Scandinavia and Germanic tribes.

Pattanaik, Devdutt. Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols, and Rituals From the Heart of the Subcontinent. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2003. Scholarly and somewhat abstract, this introduction to the streams of Hindu thought and myths is still highly useful.

Powell, Barry B. Classical Mythology (fourth edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004. A textbook that breaks the usual textbook mold; well written, entertaining, insightful.

Price, Simon and Emily Kearns, editors. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Drawn from The Oxford Classical Dictionary, third edition (Oxford, 1996), this is an excellent resource focusing on Greek and Roman myths and religion and their relationship to Judaism and Christianity in the Greco-Roman world.

Romann, Chris. A World of Ideas: A Dictionary of Important Theories, Concepts, Beliefs and Thinkers. New York: Ballantine Books, 1999. From "a priori" to "Zoroastrianism," a useful compendium of philosophy, faith, and the people behind the ideas.

Shaw, Ian, editor. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. A comprehensive single-volume reference covering Egypt's history from the Stone Age to the Roman period.

Smart, Ninian. The World's Religions (second edition). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. An academic overview of the great religions, including material on their mythic origins.

Smith, Huston. The Illustrated World's Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994. An overview of world religions and how they have evolved since primal times.

Tarnas, Richard. The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Shaped Our World View. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991. An accessible overview of Western philosophical thought from the ancient Greeks to modern times; especially useful for its discussion of the Greek worldview.

Taube, Karl. Aztec and Maya Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Overview of the two central cultures of Mexico and Central America.

Teeple, John B. Timelines of World History. London: DK Publishing, 2002. A lively, illustrated timeline of human history, organized by date and geographic regions. An excellent reference.

Urton, Gary. Inca Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Overview of the legends of the great empire based in the Peruvian Andes, which fell to the Spanish conquistadors.

Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003. A lavishly illustrated reference to the complex pantheon of Egypt from the early days of the pharaohs to Roman times.

Williams, Dr. William F., editor. Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. New York: Facts on File, 2000. A critical and skeptical scientific guide to the world's many frauds, hoaxes, superstitions, and mistaken theories, many of them related to ancient myth and civilizations.

Willis, Roy, editor. Dictionary of World Myth: An A-Z Reference Guide to Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, Heroines and Fabulous Beasts. London: Duncan Baird, 1995. The title says it all.

General Works of History and Criticism Armstrong, Karen. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. New York: Knopf, 1993. Best-selling account of the rise of the three dominant monotheistic religions with discussion of their pagan or mythical roots. Scholarly but very accessible.

Armstrong, Karen. Buddha. New York: Penguin Books, 2001. An insightful, brief historical and "philosophical" biography of the legendary founder of Buddhism.

Ballard, Robert D. and Toni Eugene. Mystery of the Ancient Seafarers: Early Maritime Civilizations. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004. Heavily illustrated account of recent discoveries in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that shed light on the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, and other early sailors; by the man who found the Titanic.

Benedict, Jeff. No Bone Unturned: Inside the World of a Top Forensic Scientist and His Work on America's Most Notorious Crimes and Disasters. New York: Perennial, 2003. Fascinating account of the Smithsonian scientist who rebuilds skeletons and is at the center of the controversy of "Kennewick man," the oldest known human remains in North America.

Bierlein, J. F. Parallel Myths. New York: Ballantine Wellspring, 1994. Accessible work discussing the themes common to many mythologies.

Boorstin, Daniel J. The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself. New York: Random House, 1983. How humanity learned much of what it knows. Erudite and fascinating.

Boorstin, Daniel J. The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World. New York: Random House, 1998. A survey of the history of philosophy, religion, and the sciences in the Western world.

Cahill, Thomas. How the Irish Saved Civilization. New York: Doubleday, 1995. The first in the Hinges of History series, this book recounts the little-known role of medieval Irish monks in preserving history through illuminated manuscripts. Entertaining and accessible history.

Cahill, Thomas. Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter. New York: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 2003. The fourth volume in the best-selling Hinges of History series, an entertaining and accessible history of the legacy of the Greeks.

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1949. Campbell's first classic account of the role of the hero in myths.

Campbell, Joseph. The Mythic Image. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1974. A heavily illustrated exploration of the relation between dreams, mythology, and artistic imagery.

Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. New York: Broadway Books, 1988. A summing-up of the televised conversations about mythology between Joseph Campbell, the great teacher of mythology, and journalist Bill Moyers.

Camus, Albert, translated by Justin O'Brien. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. New York: Vintage Books, 1983. One of the most famous modern uses of ancient mythology, by the Nobel Prizewinning French existentialist who explored the idea of living in a universe devoid of meaning.

Ceram, C. W. Gods, Graves and Scholars: The Story of Archeology (second revised edition). New York: Knopf, 1967. Although somewhat dated, this is still an excellent introduction to the history of modern archaeology, focusing on the incredible real-life adventures of the likes of Heinrich Schliemann and Howard Carter.

Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church (The Penguin History of the Church, Volume 1, revised edition). New York: Penguin Books, 1993. Scholarly but accessible overview of the beginnings of Christianity and its rapid expansion throughout the Roman world.

Clayre, Alasdair. The Heart of the Dragon. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985. Companion to a twelve-part PBS television documentary, an accessible introduction to China's past, with an emphasis on philosophy and ancient religions.

Davidson, Basil. The Search for Africa: History, Culture, Politics. New York: Random House, 1994. A collection of essays about African history by a veteran journalist-historian, including material on the roots of Africa's ancient kingdoms.

Davidson, James. Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. Sex and seafood in classical Athens. Interesting insights into what life was really like when the ancient Greeks were in their glory. Not quite as accessible as Thomas Cahill's Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea (see above).

Deloria, Vine Jr. God Is Red: A Native View of Religion (thirtieth anniversary edition). Golden, Colo.: Fulcrum Publishing, 2003. First published in 1972, this is the third edition of a seminal work on Native American religious views. Challenging, angry, and provocative opinions on Native American history and spirituality and how they have often been mischaracterized.