When and where did you learn about Greek/roman and others mythology?

My father and his books.

Paul Farquhar said:

What I find interesting is what I didn't learn at primary school. For example, I didn't hear of Beowulf until I was well into being an adult. Rosemary Sutcliff wrote a children's translation in 1956 but I never came across it when I was of school age. And local fairy and folk tales generally, I didn't come across. Given that Boggart Hole Clough is around 50 miles from were I grew up, I find that quite surprising.

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I’m surprised that we didn’t get taught about Calgacus when the Roman occupation of Britain comes up. His speech about the invading Romans is a banger for the ages.

“Robbers of the world, having by their universal plunder exhausted the land, they rifle the deep. If the enemy be rich, they are rapacious; if he be poor, they lust for dominion; neither the east nor the west has been able to satisfy them. Alone among men they covet with equal eagerness poverty and riches. To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a solitude and call it peace.”

But then, I also think that Kondiaronk and the indigenous critique should also be taught in schools.

“I have spent 6 years reflecting on the state of European society and I still can’t think of a single way they act that is not inhuman and I generally think this can only be the case as long as you stick to your distinctions of “mine” and “thine.” I affirm that what you call “money” is the devil of devils, the tyrant of the French, the source of all evils, the bane of souls and slaughterhouse of the living. To imagine one can live in the country of money and preserve one’s soul is like imagining one can preserve one’s life at the bottom of a lake.”

Koloth said:

At least one Star Trek Original series episode.

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How could I have forgotten about that? And, for that matter, "The Time Tunnel."

Heh. Clash of the Titans is (coincidentally) on right now. My dog has seen a dog on TV and is transfixed!

Since early childhood, being greek and all, including byzantine history.
I can't help but chuckle every time people treat it as some exotic side to medieval history, even though it's been a part of our history lessons at school since forever (that plus Orthodox Christianity, it's not some mystical esoteric form of Christianity, just different).

Hard to recall. My family is Swedish so Norse mythology was always just kind of around, and then Christian mythology is kind of everywhere in Canadian culture. Greek, Roman and Egyptian have a pretty large footprint in Western popular culture, so I would have picked them up from comics, library books, movies, etc. In school we specifically learned a bit about West Coast indigenous myths and legends. When I was a bit older I remember Japanese culture suddenly becoming very present, between things like video games, anime, toys, and even the TV show Shogun (original).

Edit - oh, and Classics Illustrated comics, which I consumed voraciously as a lad.

Clint_L said:

Hard to recall. My family is Swedish so Norse mythology was always just kind of around, and then Christian mythology is kind of everywhere in Canadian culture. Greek, Roman and Egyptian have a pretty large foot print in Western popular culture, so I would have picked them up from comics, library books, movies, etc. In school we specifically learned a bit about West Coast indigenous myths and legends. When I was a bit older I remember Japanese culture suddenly becoming very present, between things like video games, anime, toys, and even the TV show Shogun (original).

Edit - oh, and Classics Illustrated comics, which I consumed voraciously as a lad.

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Gold Key Comics had some good stuff too.

When I first looked at this thread, I guessed that not only would a lot of people respond, but that initial exposures would skew kind of young. That’s because so much of the hobby is linked to mythology, even if only tangentially or inspirationally.

But why did my thoughts veer that way in the first place? Because IME, mythologies are seemingly not widely taught in American schools. The strongest indicators of that I ever witnessed in person was that I was the guy repeatedly explaining professors’ classical references- like “sword of Damocles”- to my fellow law students.

Dannyalcatraz said:

When I first looked at this thread, I guessed that not only would a lot of people respond, but that initial exposures would skew kind of young. That’s because so much of the hobby is linked to mythology, even if only tangentially or inspirationally.

But why did my thoughts veer that way in the first place? Because IME, mythologies are seemingly not widely taught in American schools. The strongest indicators of that I ever witnessed in person was that I was the guy repeatedly explaining professors’ classical references- like “sword of Damocles”- to my fellow law students.

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Yeah, TTRPG fans and not a representative sample. Of course we know about ancient mythology—it’s kinda in the job description!

Morrus said:

African (except Egypt),

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What about the tales of Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit stories of Uncle Remus? People tend to forget that they have an African origin via American slave culture.

Ive also wondered how much American people hear about Loa and similar 'Voodoo' myth - which make an appearance in a few early zombie movies.

A lot of Greek myth also veers in to Africa due to the old trade with Nubia and Punt (eg Andromeda was Ethiopian)