Part 2: Chapter 4, Sections 1 and 2 Summary and Analysis

This chapter discusses mythological representations of death - of both the individual and the universe, which are both inevitable and both manifestations of the cosmogonic cycle.

"Dissolutions" - "End of the Microcosm" Death, for the man-hero as well as the ordinary man, is portrayed by Campbell in this section as an opportunity for re-union with the Unmoved Mover (God, the Great Mystery, Great Spirit, etc.). The journey into that re-union, according to many myths, can be as dangerous and full of challenges as the journey into life - indeed, as dangerous as the Hero Journey into enlightenment. Here, Campbell suggests, is the reason why death is, and has always been, marked by detailed, mythically grounded prayer and ritual. He includes a lengthy excerpt from the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, in which specific references...