An expert in myth and religion, the author spent over a quarter-century assembling this study of the cults, rites, and myths of antiquity. Frazer's definitions of "magic," "religion," and "science" were useful to his successors in social anthropology, and his explications of ancient legends influenced generations of writers and poets. Annotation: Sir James George Frazer's comparative study of anthropology, folklore, and myth has been an influential work for writers and a standard text for scholars since its original publication, in several volumes, in the early part of the 20th century. Frazer was a professor of social anthropology and a classicist.
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