Jean Chevalier

Who is Jean Chevalier?

Jean Chevalier was a French writer, philosopher, and theologian, best known for his co-authorship of the Dictionnaire des symboles, first printed in 1969 by publisher Éditions Robert Laffont.

Dictionary of Symbols is an encyclopedic work of cultural anthropology, co-written with the French poet and Amazonian explorer Alain Gheerbrant, devoted to the symbolism of myths, dreams, habits, gestures, shapes, figures, colors and numbers found in mythology and folklore. It contains over 1,600 articles and has been nineteen reprints between 1982 and 1997, republished on worldwide basis by Penguin Books and others.

Up to 1964, Chevalier worked at UNESCO as Director of the Bureau of Relations for Member States before resigning to pursue writing and research.