The collection includes the most famous works of D. Fontenrose, V. Bascom, K. Klakhon and S. Human, devoted to a critical analysis of the ritual theory of myth - one of the most popular and ambiguous concepts in the history of the humanities of the 20th century, the influence of which affected the development of anthropology, folklore, the history of religion, literary criticism, cultural studies, the history of philosophy and even mathematics. Discussions around the main ideas of the creators and supporters of the ritual theory (Fraser, Robertson-Smith, Harrison, Cornford, etc.) are little known to the Russian-speaking reader, and this collection significantly fills this serious gap. The translations presented in the book were made for the first time.