This is an exciting and provocative exploration into the environmental and psychological forces that shaped human culture and gave rise to storytelling & mythmaking. Devouring beasts, birds with razor-talons, and writhing snakes - these and other animal predators in search of human flesh are a staple of ancient mythology, along with their mythic counterparts - dragons, griffins, gorgons, and more. The message is clear: for thousands of years our ancestors lived in fear of predators, real or imagined, and reflected the dangerous nature of their daily existence in the many animal myths that exist in almost every culture. "Deadly Powers" is an illuminating and evocative exploration of the origin and function of storytelling which argues that mythmaking evolved as a cultural survival strategy for coping with the constant fear of being killed and eaten by predators.
