The Golden Bough attempts to define the shared elements of religious belief, ranging from ancient belief systems to relatively modern religions such as Christianity. Its thesis is that old religions were fertility cults that revolved around the worship of, and periodic sacrifice of, a sacred king. This king was the incarnation of a dying and reviving god, a solar deity who underwent a mystic marriage to a goddess of the Earth, who died at the harvest, and was reincarnated in the spring. Frazer claims that this legend is central to almost all of the world's mythologies.

Sir James George Frazer's 'The Golden Bough' was first published in 1890 and gradually expanded into an enormous (and almost unreadable) 12-volume work over the next 20 years. Hailed as "a milestone in the understanding of man's cultural past, and a profoundly significant contribution to the history of ideas" Frazer's study is a fascinating overview of mythology and 'primitive' cultures, encompassing such disparate subjects as The Priest-King, the Dying God, Taboos, the Scapegoat, Saturnalia and 'days of Misrule', and Killing the Divine King. 'The Golden Bough' established a framework for...

A classic study of the beliefs and institutions of mankind, and the progress through magic and religion to scientific thought, The Golden Bough has a unique status in modern anthropology and literature.

First published in 1890, The Golden Bough was eventually issued in a twelve-volume edition (1906-15) which was abridged in 1922 by the author and his wife. That abridgement has never been reconsidered for a modern audience. In it some of the more controversial passages were dropped, including Frazer's daring speculations on the Crucifixion of Christ. For the first time...