The Golden Bough

This work by Sir James Frazer (1854–1941) is widely considered to be one of the most important early texts in the fields of psychology and anthropology. At the same time, by applying modern methods of comparative ethnography to the classical world, and revealing the superstition and irrationality beneath the surface of the classical culture which had for so long been a model for Western civilisation, it was extremely controversial. Frazer was greatly influenced by E. B. Tylor's Primitive Culture (also reissued in this series), and by the work of the biblical scholar William Robertson Smith, to whom the first edition is dedicated. The twelve-volume third edition, reissued here, was greatly revised and enlarged, and published between 1911 and 1915; the two-volume first edition (1890) is also available in this series. Volume 9 (1913) considers the role of the scapegoat in maintaining the stability of the community.

Preface; 1. The transference of evil; 2. The omnipresence of demons; 3. The public expulsion of evils; 4. Public scapegoats; 5. On scapegoats in general; 6. Human scapegoats in classical antiquity; 7. Killing the god in Mexico; 8. The Saturnalia and kindred festivals; Note - the Crucifixion of Christ; Index.

This greatly revised and enlarged twelve-volume third edition (1911-15) of the controversial work by Sir James Frazer (1854-1941) applies the techniques of comparative ethnography to classical religion. Volume 9 (1913) considers the role of the scapegoat in maintaining the stability of the community.