Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) is one of the more well-known mythographers, who formalized the descriptions of various myth cycles into some fairly consistent patterns. He wrote a 4-volume series ( Masks of God ) detailing the histories of 3 major cultural areas and the overview of them (volumn 4 is the weakest, being that overview/synthesis). GeorgeLucas used his work as the basis for the plot line(s) in the StarWars movie series.
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