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Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the ancient Near East
Thespis Ritual Myth and Drama in the ancient Near East Author:Theodor H. Gaster This is a pioneering book which opens up new vistas in comparative religion, folklore, and ancient literature. All over the world men have always marked the succession of seasons by a pattern of public ceremonies. In Thespis, Dr. Gaster, translator of The Dead Sea Scriptures and editor of The New Golden Bough, seeks to explain the true nature an... more »d origin of that pattern and to show how it found expression in myth, conditioned forms of the drama, and left its impress upon religious poetry in general. Drawing upon Canaanite, Hittite, and Egyptian texts, and including an English mummers' play, Thesspis develops arresting new categories for the understanding of primitive religion and the growth of several literary forms.« less