The Path of the Hero: between the Sacred and the Profane

Abstract

The value of religious myth, for the religiosus and to the secular man isessential, since, as Jung says, the human psyche has a religious function.In particular, the myth of the hero’s journey remains his validity for homoreligiosus mentality, as evidenced by Joseph Campbell, who has focusedon this issue from its psychological implications, and Mircea Eliade, whoapproached this matter from the fields of anthropology and philosophy. Here,we look for reconcile the perspective of both thinkers, because they agreethat the hero’s journey is structured around the initiation rituals. Finally, weconclude with a reflection on the value of myth for modern man, using thesecond naivete proposed by the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur.