One of the rulers of the Duma of the educated public of the sixties and seventies, Mircea Eliade (1907-1986), was the most original researcher of the mythological traditions of mankind. He taught religious history for many years at the University of Chicago. "Sacred texts of the peoples of the world" is an extensive anthology, which included sacred texts from a huge variety of sources of world culture: the Koran, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Rigveda, the Bhagavad Gita, the Popol Vuh, etc. Anthology is based on the thematic principle. Each theme (for example, “Gods, goddesses and supernatural beings”, “Death, the afterlife, eschatology” or “Myths of creation and origin”) is revealed through myths, religious stories, tales from all over the world. This edition presents a unique opportunity for Russian readers to get acquainted with the spiritual quests of civilizations and peoples of the world.