Before attending my first mythology lit class, I thought mythology was "pretty wild". Ancient Greek and Roman culture and polytheism has always been fascinating to me. And why shouldn't it be? It's all around us. Countless films retell their stories: Danny DeVito and James Woods were an unforgettable riot (at least for me) in Disney's version of Hercules; Gerard Butler (memorable for different reasons) brought the Battle of Thermopylae to life in 300; The Clash of the Titans is loosely based on the story of Perseus. Greek mythology isn't solely found on your netflix account. The Olympic games (relevance need not be explained) are regularly held every two years, and have been since their revival in 1859. The famous Nike athletic brand was named after Nike, the goddess of victory. The term "democracy" first appeared in ancient Greek political and philosophical thought. whew...
To my surprise - I guess I should have been less surprised, seeing as I never actually read the course description - LIT 285D is not about Greek mythology. Actual course description: "The study of specific cultural mythologies to explore the nature, function, and theory of myth". The class examines the myths and cultures on every continent (save for Antarctica).
Honestly, I'm slightly disappointed I won't be learning about the Gods and heroes I've been reading about since elementary school. Nevertheless, my original belief about mythology will stay: it's still "pretty wild". Why is that? Because, to me, "wild" means to be untamed and mysterious. The world of Mythology has just exploded and my knowledge is little compared to the expansive universe ahead.
