Campbell, Joseph (1904–1987)

Joseph Campbell was the most prominent North American mythologist of the 20th century. A prolific writer, editor, and speaker, Campbell was a pioneer in the emerging field of comparative mythology and introduced the study of mythology to much of the American public. As a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College for 38 years, Campbell authored some 12 books, including Myths to Live By (1972), The Mythic Image (1974), and the four-volume survey of world mythology, The Masks of God (1959–1968); among other volumes, he edited the posthumous papers of Indologist Heinrich Zimmer (beginning with Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization), The Portable Jung, and six volumes of Jung's Papers From the Eranos Yearbooks.

Campbell's international renown was established in 1949 with The Hero ...