The Value of Learning Classical Mythology in the Modern World

How a student benefits from being well-versed in ancient religion

This past week, a sociologist questioned the need to teach Greek and Roman mythology at a collegiate level. Though he did not specify precisely why he believed this (save for the fact that they are untrue), there is still value in exploring what the modern student can learn from ancient myths. Not only can they improve reading comprehension on both a superficial level and a deep one, but many philosophers have taught their lessons using a connection to their pagan religion. Moreover, any pious historical leader has allowed their religion to influence their decision-making, and it is important to observe these differences to come to understand their actions. Therefore, I have put it upon myself to explore and explain the different ways in which a student can benefit from studying this topic.

The modern student can see improvement in their writing from studying ancient mythology.¹ Writers will often use certain aspects of mythology as shorthand to give their characters an association with one god or another. For example: Athena, the goddess of wisdom, has an association with owls, and Owl in Winnie the Pooh is the character that all others visit for advice. This is a fairly obvious and surface level allusion that would require only a basic understanding of Greek mythology to understand. As readers move out of the realm of children’s books and fairytales, authors will seek to bury these references in deeper subtext. It is common knowledge that James Joyce’s Ulysses follows the same general outline of Homer’s Odyssey. In modern editions, the chapters have been renamed in accordance with the Linati schema to deepen this connection. Again, on a surface level, Joyce has no problem calling a character “Noman” or quoting “fidus Achates”² from ancient poets to build that comparison, but the true beauty of the work is in much more subtle details. The Greek figure “Daedalus,” from whom Stephen Dedalus gets his name,³ is famous for being a master craftsman. Joyce even starts the semi-prequel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man with the line “Et ignotas animum dimittit in artes,”⁴ which comes directly from Ovid’s story in the Metamorphoses about Daedalus and Icarus. This connection to an artisan is not as strong as Hephaestus, for example, but the metaphor for the character works because Stephen wishes to fly/escape and has the technical knowledge to do so. Though the story of Icarus and Daedalus is commonly covered in children’s books like D'Aulaires’, other tales of his life like the creation of Pasiphaë’s hollow cow⁵ and of the labyrinth go untold, both of which are alluded to at certain points in Joyce’s writings.