On the Hero's Journey

Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) was a renowned American author and scholar of comparative mythology. His groundbreaking work The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) introduced the concept of the “hero’s journey,” a universal pattern found in myths across cultures. Campbell’s theories were influenced by his studies in Europe, the work of Picasso and Joyce, Freud’s and Jung’s theories about the human psyche, his lifelong interest in Native American cultures, and his translation with Swami Nikhilananda of the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. In 1988, the PBS series The Power of Myth brought his ideas to a global audience, solidifying his legacy in the study of mythology.