"We have not even to risk the adventure alone for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known...we have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination we shall find a God. And where we had thought to slay another we shall slay ourselves. Where we had thought to travel outwards we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone we shall be with all the world."

"Dreams the personalized myth. Myth, the depersonalized dream"

An accessible, well laid out, overview of the various stages and lines of thought within world myths (a meta-analysis?). This book had been on my radar for quite some time, and I'm satisfied that I read it. Recommended to anyone, regardless of their worldviews.
Campbell presents the myths collected from various cultures and peoples ranging from Eurasian antiquity (Greeks, Egyptians, Norse) to the new world (Inuits, Pueblos, Aztecs), and interweaves effectively the commons basics and threads found in many if not most world mythologies and religions.
From the Norse Eddas and Hindu Bagavad Gita, to the Mesopotamian/Levantine Abahamaic stories, the Hero is found at the core of many of life's transitions and events... birth, death, marriage, spring, winter, harvest, feast-days. As one reads and discovers you will find that you have encountered many of the 'themes' in traditions that are not your own, but that have remarkable similarities to what you "know". It's also interesting that Campbell 'eulogizes' myth in light of modernity: "The universal triumph of the secular state has thown all religious organizations into such a definitely secondary, and finally ineffectual, position that religious pantomime is hardly more today than a sanctimonious exercise for Sunday morning..." and laments the loss of the world of myth in personal, group, and global life.
There are other more recent books that might be easier to read (Karen Armstrong's "A Short History of Myth", Kenneth Davis' "Don't Know Much About Mythology"), and other more intensive reads (Robert Bellah's "Religion in Human Evolution"), but Campbell's "HERO" is a definite must-read. ( )

Had to look up words like henotheistic and cathectic. Didn’t learn anything useful until page 384: “No tribal rite has yet been recorded which attempts to keep winter from descending; on the contrary: the rites all prepare the community to endure, together with the rest of nature, the season of the terrible cold.” Etc. And on the next page: “…anyone in exile from the community is a nothing. From the other point of view, however, this exile is the first step of the quest.” Which made me think of my trans friends.
Robert Graves was easier to read, if less plausible.

Along with Kafka, Joyce, Asimov, and Gibson, Campbell has earned himself a spot as one of the authors that have had the greatest impact on my psyche and the way I see the world. Easily one of my favourite books ever. Campbell's prose is poetic, yet succinct. He puts his points across in a beautiful way through myths and legends from all over the globe. I found that every chapter lead me down a road of epiphany and wonder, and I know for certain I'll be coming back to this book throughout my life. ( )

I doubt I read it all the way through, but between the Bill Moyer show and reading enough of the book to make notes, and encountering Campbell elsewhere, I have a pretty good grasp of the concept if not all of the examples. I will revisit Campbell in general to see if he still resonates 20 years later. ( )