Available for purchase as part of Hartley Classics Volume 1
This compelling film explores the mysteries and the grand achievements of the Mayan civilization through a journey to its ceremonial centers.
Master Mayan astronomers and mathematicians created cities of extraordinary pyramids and palaces. Joseph Campbell, world-renowned scholar of mythology, provides eloquent commentary on the Mayan images and sacred sites filmed by Elda Hartley in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
He also considers the cultural impact of Christian colonization on the religious life of formerly Mayan peoples.
Campbell writes: "The memory of the [Mayan] folk is long. Their dances and their Christian prayers to this day carry echoes of the festivals of the Gods that taught their ancestors. Can it be that as trees cut down send up second shoots, so in this simple rite on the rising steps it is the same Maya worship that ascends and the same heart of heaven that hears?"
"A very informative film on the Mayan civilization."
- Los Angeles Public Library System
If you would like to explore films with similar themes, please click on Joseph Campbell or Spirituality.