I have always been a reader. I had tons of books from the library on history and mythology and absorbed them all from the time I could read. And before I could read, some ancient myths were read to me by grandparents from various children's books. Also comic books (Thor! Silver Age DC and Marvel) -- TV and movies to a degree (I am old enough to remember The Mighty Hercules cartoons!) -- plus in US public schools in those days, we usually had some exposure to the classical Greek myths and legends in English class most years, up until high school anyway. I don't know if that's still the norm or not. So basically, I an auto-didactic but also assisted by the cultural influences around me. My foundation is Mediterranean, but I have always been keen to learn about non-European mythologies as well. I have a pretty large library of this stuff, shelves and shelves of books.