The Hero with a Thousand Faces
A study of the universal hero's journey in world myths.
In this work, Campbell argues that myths from diverse cultures around the world share a single, fundamental narrative pattern, which he terms the "monomyth." He borrowed this term from the writer James Joyce, a scholar of whose work Campbell was. The core of this pattern is the "hero's adventure," a journey that begins in the ordinary world. The hero receives a call to adventure, crosses a guarded threshold with the help of a mentor, and enters a supernatural realm where normal rules do not apply. There, the hero faces a series of trials, sometimes with the aid of allies, culminating in a central ordeal. Upon overcoming this challenge, the hero receives a reward or boon, experiences a metaphorical death and resurrection, and must decide to return to the ordinary world. The return journey involves further trials, and the hero ultimately uses the boon to improve the ordinary world. Campbell structures this journey into three broad stages: Departure (or Separation), Initiation, and Return, a framework he adapted from Arnold van Gennep’s work on rites of passage. His analysis also draws on the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, particularly Jungian archetypes and the collective unconscious. Campbell illustrates his theory by examining stories from a wide range of traditions, including those of Osiris, Prometheus, the Buddha, Moses, and Jesus. First published in 1949, the book was revised by Campbell in 1968. It has been widely influential, with filmmaker George Lucas, for example, acknowledging its impact on the *Star Wars* films. A new edition was released in 2008 by the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and in 2011, *Time* magazine named it one of the one hundred most influential English-language books since 1923. The book has been translated into over twenty languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide.
- field
- Comparative mythology
- known_for
- Theory of the monomyth (the hero's journey)
- publisher
- Bollingen Foundation through Pantheon Press
- languages_translated_into
- Over twenty languages
Lore & Background
Joseph Campbell explores the theory that mythological narratives frequently share a fundamental structure, which he calls the monomyth. He details the hero's adventure, summarizing it as a venture from the ordinary world into a region of supernatural wonder, where a decisive victory is won and the hero returns with a boon for his fellow man. The stages include departure, initiation, and return, with steps such as the call to adventure, crossing a guarded threshold, a road of trials, an ordeal, and the application of the boon. Campbell studied religious, spiritual, mythological, and literary classics, including stories of Osiris, Prometheus, the Buddha, Moses, Mohammed, and Jesus, and used Freudian concepts, Jungian archetypes, and Arnold van Gennep's rites of passage to develop his model. The work has been translated into over twenty languages and has sold well over a million copies worldwide.
Reader's Guide
The Hero with a Thousand Faces has had a significant impact on modern artists and writers. Filmmaker George Lucas acknowledged Campbell's theory and its influence on the Star Wars films. Stanley Kubrick introduced Arthur C. Christopher Vogler wrote a memo for Disney Studios on using the book as a guide for scriptwriters, influencing films such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. The book also influenced Bob Dylan, Mark Burnett, Jim Morrison, and members of the Grateful Dead. In games, Jenova Chen cited the hero's journey as the primary inspiration for the PlayStation 3 game Journey. Novelist Richard Adams acknowledged a debt to Campbell's work. The book's theory continues to influence artists and intellectuals in contemporary arts and culture, suggesting a basic usefulness for Campbell's insights beyond mid-20th-century forms of analysis.
Did You Know?
- Campbell borrowed the term 'monomyth' from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
- George Lucas acknowledged Campbell's theory and its influence on the Star Wars films.
- The book has sold well over a million copies worldwide and been translated into over twenty languages.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is the monomyth or the hero's journey?
The monomyth is Campbell's label for the recurring narrative arc he finds in myths worldwide, in which a protagonist leaves the familiar world, faces trials and transformation, and ultimately returns changed. It is the structural backbone of the book and the concept most associated with Campbell's name.
What academic field does The Hero with a Thousand Faces belong to?
It sits squarely in comparative mythology, a discipline that looks for structural parallels across the mythological traditions of different cultures and eras. Rather than studying one tradition in isolation, Campbell draws side-by-side comparisons to reveal the shared skeleton beneath the surface differences.
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