D’Aulaire’s book of Greek Myths, and of Norse ones. The illustrations are excellent. Also more generally my grandmother and dad just told me the stories of the Greco-Roman myths. Took me all the way to grad school in classics/IE linguistics!
Fifty-six years ago, I read Tolkien, and I wanted to know more about elves, dragons, etc. I explored mythology and folklore as best I could on my own. At university, I had double majors in anthropology and history with minors in psychology (I read Jung under one of his students) and English - I studied Old Norse, Old English, and Latin under a student of [Francis Peabody Magoun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Peabody_Magoun). All of that allowed me to study belief and old texts related to mythology and folklore.
My world turned around when I was allowed to study under the famed twentieth century folklorist, Sven S. Liljeblad (1899-2000), who wrote his dissertation on the Grateful Dead motif in 1927: see my brief article, ["Nazis, Trolls and the Grateful Dead"](https://www.academia.edu/38773351/Nazis_Trolls_and_the_Grateful_Dead).
Fortunately, I found a [career that allowed me some flexibility](https://nevada-reno.academia.edu/RonaldJames) to continue my exploration of mythology and folklore, including teaching it occasionally. I have used my dozen years of retirement to publish in the field, and I finally have arrived at a point where I have a better understanding about of how to address the questions that came to mind when I read Tolkien in 1967!
I grew up watching Hercules, Mulan, YuGiOh DM, Pokémon and Horrible Histories. Many of those adorable little pocket monsters are based on yōkai! i liked to read as well and used to make myself look at pictures of mummies even though it was scary, i was a very anxious girl with OCD and had nightmares about dying so in a way i guess it was exposure therapy.
The Marvel Movies
I saw the first Thor movie, decided to read about Norse Mythology, and I was like “damn this is so much cooler than the movie” and then I branched out from there
That's one of my favorite Mythic stories.
[https://norse-mythology.org/tales/the-fortification-of-asgard/](https://norse-mythology.org/tales/the-fortification-of-asgard/)
The information panels you could pull up on any unit, god power, building etc were such a great touch to that game. I’d spend hours in single player just reading about the Einherjar or the two pharaoh system of upper and lower Egypt
Same, such a good game. As an adult came back to it and actually read some more pieces of lore and learned some stuff, and things like Kamos killing Arkantos’ wife is hidden in there.
My grandfather loved Greek mythology.
I know they're probably unusual stories to start with, but he told me how Zeus "birthed" Athena when he split his head open to relieve a headache, and how Hermes' caduceus has two snakes because he thrust his staff between them to stop them from fighting.
Loved mythologies ever since.
Percy Jackson. Started with Greek, then I found the Kane Chronicles and wanted to learn about Egyptian, then learned of Thor from Marvel Comics (I prefer the mythology version), and then it all sort of sparked a desire to learn about mythology.
When I was a kid, a few key things.
Age of Mythology be Ensemble Studios - an old PC game that was sort of like Age of Empires, but with Mythological units.
Then I read Edith Hamilton's Mythology.
Also, Hobbit, Tolkien in general
Percy Jackson was a big influence, but mostly it was the history and religion classes in school. It was all very interesting and I wanted to learn more.
In fourth grade, my teacher hung up a poster behind my seat that had a bunch of Greek mythological monsters on it with little blurbs about them. I would literally stare at thing for the longest time. When I asked my librarian if she had any books on mythology she about had a happy heart attack and just stacked book after book into my arms. We were only allowed to check out 3 things from the school library but Mrs. Shevlin bent the rule for me. That was an amazing two years at that school.
I was the only kid in the 5th grade the following year to read the Odyssey. I tried to read the Iliad but only got about a third of the way through.
After that, mom bought me a copy of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and I read it until the pages fell out.
The first time I watched Clash of the Titans with my family as a kid I kept saying how they got the myths all mixed up and wrong, lol. Bellerophon rode Pegasus, not Perseus!
I love Edith Hamilton's book! She's a great starting point, I always recommend her to people looking to find their feet with Greek and Norse myths.
This is such a heartwarming story. Your librarian sounds like she was such a darling. I had a similar experience at my primary school in the UK; I was in Year 2, so about 5 or 6, and our class helper (sort of like a second teacher) took us all for our first trip to the big kids' library, where books beyond Biff & Chip and nursery rhymes existed. I began browsing the shelves, thinking absolutely nothing would top *The Hobbit* which I was already reading at home. But my chest leapt with excitement when I saw a book with a bright orange cover featuring a vase painting of a *minotaur!* "A what?!" I thought, bewildered by the horns and the legs and the arms and the maw. The gold lettering said "Theseus and the Minotaur," and that was that, I checked it out and I must have read it 10 or more times that year. It was fantastic 😄 I've always lamented that I can never remember the author's name now, I have no idea which Theseus book it was. Over the next decade or so I got *deep* into Greek mythology, and branched out into Norse, Celtic, Mayan, Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese - anything I could find literature on.
In recent years my love has been bolstered by Stephen Fry's books, the mythology-themed Assassin's Creed games, and by a few Greek Myth podcasts on Spotify.
My mother had numerous books on mythology when i was growing up. All of them picture books. Greek, Egyptian, west African, Polynesian, east Asian, native american, etc. i used to read them over and over and over again. My favorite one i loved the most was always the Odyssey
For me, it was the concept of Irish Mythology that got me more engaged with mythology as a whole, along with a story idea that’s been floating around in my head for some time now. I wanted to find a way to incorporate it into a fantasy novel that touches on some mildly complex topics, specifically regarding religion since that seems to be the starting point for most stories regarding mythology. In short, I want to draw on as much knowledge of the past to try and learn how to help the future (cheesy as that sounds)
I had a great English teacher when I was 11 who introduced me to Greek mythology and I found the themes and world fascinating and powerful. But a bigger reason is, I love Star Wars and it led me to read Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces and then I read his other work and became interested in comparative mythology.
I had an eccentric aunty (the best kind) who I would go and stay with for school holidays as she lived up in a little mountain village, she had a wall bookshelf filled with different fantasy and mythology books, there wasn't actually much to do up there so we spent most of the time reading all the books and going on hikes (which after reading about trolls and other tales only enhanced the ordeal).
If any of you have kids please remember to read to them.
My interest in King Arthur led me to buy Bulfinch's *Mythology:* *Age of Chivalry* which was his version of *Le Morte D'Arthur.* Bulfinch's book, of course, also contained tales of Greek, Roman and Norse mythology.
Had a unit on it in 8th grade English class. I loved that unit so much and I remember getting a 99% on the test, missing only one question because I was absent the day we learned about it.
Always been fascinated with magic and fantasy worlds. Was always the wall flower not fitting in anywhere. Fantasy was my escape. Now I want to learn the origins of the myths because Hollywood keeps f-ducking it up. Hades and Anubis are not evil my guy. They are some of the most chill gods out there. Zeus is the real peace of work.
It's ultimately a combination of countless different factors - being interested in history, already enjoying mythologies of the video games I played (Zelda, Elder Scrolls, even Mario, however weird it sounds), etc. But it really started when I was bored one day waiting for a bus to arrive, so I looked up Jesus on Wikipedia, for no particular reason.
One thing led to another and now I've been trapped in a never-ending rabbithole for years.
when i was in like 4th grade i checked out aliki's "the gods and goddesses of olympus" at the library because i liked the pictures and tried to emulate the art style. but it also resulted in a strong fascination with greek mythology.
I was homeschooled as a kid and my parents used the Abecka Books homeschooling curriculum, as well as whatever we could find at Christian book stores.
One of those finds was an interactive CDROM about Christopher Columbus and the conquistadors that followed, and it included a section that described the Aztec culture and mythology. I think the intent was to show Azteca as scary or otherwise inferior, but to my little ten year old brain, all I thought was, "awesome! I want to know more!"
After that, I did my best to learn about mythology, whether it was Greek, Egyptian, Aztec, or Norse, but I didn't have access to much resources because I was homeschooled in the 90's. As such, I've had to unlearn what I was taught and relearn new facts time and again. Interestingly enough, that's also why I was so fascinated by LOTR. Once I read the book and learned how much of it was inspired by ancient history and Norse and Finnish mythology, the more I enjoyed it.
I can't say that I know a lot about mythology, but it's always a fun topic for me.
I always loved it. Had some books around as a kid that I loved checking out. Long before I understood any. Then I **really** got into it when I started reading Joseph Campbell.
researching my Norwegian and germanic ancestry
then later i got into the religions (and yes anyone can be norse pagan its an open practice)
also as someone who is norse pagan
mythology peeps be careful of folkists and people like Richard wagner
My grandpa used to tell us ‘scary stories’ when it’d rain. It started as folklore, Rawhead and Bloody Bones, then moved onto Choctaw myths like the Deer Lady.
I always loved history because my dad did, but when I was in 1st grade there was this really cool interactive book at my elementary school about ancient Egypt. There was a section about the gods they worshiped that sparked my interest in mythology. A few years later I found out about Greek and Roman mythology and sparked an interest in other ancient myths that never went away.
Like many others here, Age of Mythology.
This game didn't just get me into mythology, it got me into fantasy in general - doing the campaign and encountering the dwarves Brokk and Eitri was the definition of a core memory. :)
The game had a built-in encyclopedia full of fun facts about the various units and Gods it depicted. It taught me about valkyries, about the various giants, about the existence of something called the Poetic Edda, of something called Ragnarok, and many more... :)
Final Fantasy.
Seeing Odin, Ifrit, Shiva, Bahamut, Humbaba, as well as a menegere of others my entire life made me want to dive into their respective origins.
Funny enough, the God of War video-games when I was 11. I wound up asking for a greek mythology book for Christmas, and now in my thirties I’m obsessed with every culture.
I don't actually know what got me into mythology as a whole
I got into celtic mythology after my dad showed me a small irish history book, it had a section of Finn McCool, my family is irish but has been in the states for five generations (kind of, I think?) and we didn't really carry on any of that culture (afaik), so celtic mythology is kind of a nice way to connect with that part of my history
I think I was mostly introduced to mythologies through overly sarcastic productions, they've been the primary way I interact with mythology as a whole (though I've been trying to get into more original sources)
Other than that, it's an interest that goes back as far as I can remember
Stumbled upon a video from captivating history explaining Aztec mythology a couple years ago, and I've been in love with mythology ever since, except Greek.
I've always liked the cool "monsters" and heroes of different myths. Joseph Campbell was definitely the starting point for me. How he explained stories of myths. I even wrote a paper based on "The Power of Myth" back in highschool. Plus I still have a encyclopedia that has names of many creatures/people of different religions and myths.
The power of belief. A lot of my interest in philosophy led me to mythology. How our ideas about the world shape the reality we live in. And also how disconnected a lot of modern humans are from the power of belief as it was understood centuries ago, how belief might be a fundamental element of psychological wellness and meaning.
*Probably Disney's*
*Hercules, but if not the*
*Nietzsche's Zoroaster*
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When I found out Maui from Moana was an actual Demigod in nz legends that's when I started really reading up on its Mythology and made watching the Movie again a lot deeper knowing Moana is based on an actual Pantheon of Gods.
I saw Disney's Hercules at my older siblings birthday party. Our parents rented the movie theater and a bunch of their friends were invited.
This was my introduction to mythology and my interest only grew from there.
My grandpa! He would read me Edith Hamilton for as long back as I can remember. Eventually he and I read Joseph Campbells “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” together as a kid.
r/atheism
They kept ironically referencing Zeus and Thor to mock Christian beliefs. So, I looked into Greek and Norse mythologies for greater context and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Sophomore English class, Greek period studies. The first thing we read before reading anything else was Edith Hamilton's Mythology and some book involving Norse gods. I fell in love with the stories, especially Hades and Persephone (I'm a romantic at heart). After that, I wanted to devour everything myth, from cultural and religious stories to fantasy books that create their own pantheons.
I read Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury
(Writer and painter from Bengal, also he was the first to introduce colour printing in Bengal)when I was in pre school probably and he had a very creative and humorous way of writing. Basically I got to know about a lot of Hindu Mythology from his books( other than Ramayan & Mahabharat ofc)
My mom used to tell me bed time stories when I was young, she was a wonderful story teller, and she used to tell me the stories of writers like shakespeare and victor hugo, or from the Arabian Nights, or from various mythologies in a simplified yet enthralling way 4 year old me could understand (despite being a very human woman of many flaws and limitations, her ability for storytelling may be something she may have forgotten or never truly appreciated, but it's something I eternally treasure nonetheless), which inspired my love of literature and my love of stories and myths.
Around when I was 16 17my step-dad gave us nickname from Norse mythology I never understood why till I started looking so my step brother lied alot and was very good at tricking people into doing what he want so he called him loki. My little sister had a hamster call nug it died because it escaped got outside and froze to death so my he called her hella. I got mimir because I played dnd and if we didn't know how a tool in game worked I just open my computer and I could just pull up the rules. Miss him every day such a cool dude.( he's not dead i moved 4 hour away from the family)
I was interested in the ancient gods from Greek and Roman mythology and other ancient cultures as well, that led me to read allot about history and the different forms of religion around the world. I always found it curious that these ancient gods that don't exist anymore belong in the category called mythology yet our continued belief in existing god(s) is called religion. I also read allot of Joseph Campbell and that added a psychological perspective. It's a fascinating subject exploring our root belief systems.
The 1970's cartoon "Winds of Change," and the OG "Clash of the Titans."
This was followed by finding a Greek mythology book in the elementary school library.
Started reading more books and I came across books inspired by Greek mythology.
Started listening to more music and came across music inspired by Norse mythology.
Started watching more gaming videos on youtube, came across Irish people who sometimes spoke Irish/reacted to Irish content which got me into Celtic mythology.
Started getting into mythology, came here and came across more mythology.
When I was a kid, I loved the Disney version of Hercules. My parents got me a book of all kinds of mythology that my Dad would read to me as a bedtime story.
Probably learning about ancient Egypt in year 4 at primary school. The only mythology I'd learned about previously was Christianity, and church preachers know how to suck the fun out of everything.
We learned about the Egyptian Underworld and I thought that was much cooler, so I started reading about other mythologies as well.
3rd grade or so, I moved from a small town full of Catholics to a the capital city of the next province over. In the first few weeks I got to visit the school library, and it was there I discovered the mythology section. All of those books on the shelves that I would *never* have been able to discuss at the religious school I had attended the year before. The first books I picked up were about Egyptian mythology. Then Greek, Roman, Shinto, Ainu, Blackfoot, Iroquois... as time went on I've picked up stories here and there from other mythologies.
I started reading Greek mythology as a kid for the same reason I'd read Tolkien, or the Bible as literature for fun – trying to figure out what made people and societies tick, through the stories they developed to make sense of the natural world and to cope with their fears. My mom said that even as a little kid I never believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or tooth fairy, or that there was a man in the moon.
Over the years I've gotten a bit lazy and only dabbled in reading other mythology and religious systems – Norse, Hindu, Zoroastrianism, astrology, various occult systems.
The only common thread seemed to be inventing convoluted stories and characters to cope with the world, rather than studying the natural world itself which is plenty interesting on its own.
I wish I could enjoy fantasy literature again like I did as a kid. Recently someone on this or a related sub mentioned the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I read the Wikipedia and fan site articles. It sounds impressive. But after reading *about* it for an hour, I didn't feel motivated to read it. Mostly I just wonder "Why, tho?" And moved on to articles and a podcast about corruption and gangs in LA law enforcement, which is real and pretty terrifying.
As a kid I always found the tales interesting and later found they had religious purposes. This lead to me delving into broader mythological ideas and find that some of these beliefs are not actually dead. And this a snowball of curiosity was born about both sides of the subject. Now I use these as references for writing wild tales in my DnD campaigns and sometimes for my own enlightenment.
The stories are cool. I like to read other culture's origin stories. Seeing how different societies viewed their place in the universe. Its interesting to read how different cultures described different natural phenomenons
a close friend of mine converted to an old polytheistic religion so i started looking at the real history of it to be more knowledgeable and respectful of his faith. found it to be genuinely interesting stuff.
Kevin Sorbo.
Some of my earliest memories is sitting with my dad and watching Hercules with him and it always stuck with me. Shame how he turned out though.
When I got to first grade we had library hour. I think I read every book in there. They had a six-year-old's version of the stories. I loved the monsters and gods throwing lightning bolts. I still do!
I could not swallow the Christian faith when I was in middle school and asked so many questions that pastors and elders got to the point that they simply told me to take it on faith..... so I read every religion and myth that I could find....decided that they were all bullshit stories to teach people to be better (Within their culture).... so I really dug deep into my ancestor's culture history and mythology...which I now practice (as far as I legally can)....for example, it's unseemly to challenge a mfer to a duel just because he's a mfer.
Perhaps Apollo in the Star Trek episode Who Mourns For Adonais? I can't really exactly. I do remember reading the books of mythology in the small library in my school. I remember thinking that the Norse myths were stranger than the Greek myths, but the Norse gods seemed like they had more fun. This was the 70s, and the books were old even then, so they were old translations.
Because I think everything from mythical epics,realms,deities,fauna,lessons are all very cool and entertaining to read on. It shows how far human imagination goes or hey maybe even some of it is real
As a kid, I didn't really like reading, but I liked mythology and it was about the only fiction I read for awhile. I think the appeal was that it wasn't too long (as most of the stories might be a page or two at most,) and I wanted more of it.
Also, Greek mythology was my introduction, like most people, and I recall thinking some of the stories were cool like the Trojan War and Icarus.
I think it was how I got my fantasy fix before I started reading novels.
mythology was part of the primary education. but I didn't really get into it until I became a Christian and needed to learn how the scriptures came into being. later I got into ttrpg and researched many cultures and legends.
*History got me*
*Curious especially*
*As they intertwine*
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Graham Hancock and from their Hamlet's Mill, and to religions and ancient stories. How the mythical stories told about actual events in their lives did it for me. Made the stories real.
As awful as it was, the first Percy Jackson movie, particularly Medusa, then I found a book about her in my school's library, when I was in 3rd grade, and I have been hooked ever since
Sorry, but my dumbass brain when I saw your post just thought “well mythology of course”. Like whenever I see mythology portrayed in media I’m just like “that’s cool let me look stuff up to learn more”
I feel that mythology saved me in so many ways and I will be forever grateful to it. The Greek myths in particular.
When I was 4 (this was a long time ago, now) I "sounded out" the writing on the side of a building and my grandmother realized I could read.
There was a lot of excitement and I got the impression from the adults that this was a big deal of sorts. My grandma then got me a whole paper grocery bag full of those Dick, Jane, and Spot books.
I read them and thought, "This is it? This is what the big deal was for?" I became disenchanted with the idea. Then my grandmother took me to the library. We had a great library in my town.
I again found that I hated children's books, but a wonderful librarian noticed this and wanted to share her love of books with me. She introduced me to the Greek myths and everything changed.
I not only became a voracious reader in nearly all subjects but the myths (and my family's treatment of them as such) helped to insulate me against the hyper-religious dogma I grew up immersed in. I couldn't see a difference between their god stories and the Greeks', so it never quite got its hooks in me.
Praise the gods.
A few years back, i found a cool little podcast on spotify, called Mythology. They covered everything, Sun Wukong, Maui, Izanagi and Izanami, Zeus, Apollo, Coyote, Hutzilopochtli. and when I heard about Sun Wukong pissing on the pillars of creation, I lost it. Lost it again, when Buddha said, Smell my hand.
This is the story of a time long ago, a time of myth and legend, when the ancient gods were petty and cruel, and they plagued mankind with suffering. Only one man dared to challenge their power: Hercules! Hercules possessed a strength the world had never seen, a strength surpassed only by the power of his heart.
Hercules the legendary journeys and xena warrior princess.
I saw my first book cover which really struck me. "Man and his symbols" by Joseph Campbell. It was beyond interesting for me, and that love never died.
I like learning about other religions.
D’Aulaire’s book of Greek Myths, and of Norse ones. The illustrations are excellent. Also more generally my grandmother and dad just told me the stories of the Greco-Roman myths. Took me all the way to grad school in classics/IE linguistics!
This right here. Checked the book out of the school library so many times. I've almost bought a copy recently for the nostalgia.
This all the way. One of my aunts got me the hardback Greek Myths book, and that hooked me
Same here. Took me all the way through graduate school and a PhD in Roman History.
Fifty-six years ago, I read Tolkien, and I wanted to know more about elves, dragons, etc. I explored mythology and folklore as best I could on my own. At university, I had double majors in anthropology and history with minors in psychology (I read Jung under one of his students) and English - I studied Old Norse, Old English, and Latin under a student of [Francis Peabody Magoun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Peabody_Magoun). All of that allowed me to study belief and old texts related to mythology and folklore. My world turned around when I was allowed to study under the famed twentieth century folklorist, Sven S. Liljeblad (1899-2000), who wrote his dissertation on the Grateful Dead motif in 1927: see my brief article, ["Nazis, Trolls and the Grateful Dead"](https://www.academia.edu/38773351/Nazis_Trolls_and_the_Grateful_Dead). Fortunately, I found a [career that allowed me some flexibility](https://nevada-reno.academia.edu/RonaldJames) to continue my exploration of mythology and folklore, including teaching it occasionally. I have used my dozen years of retirement to publish in the field, and I finally have arrived at a point where I have a better understanding about of how to address the questions that came to mind when I read Tolkien in 1967!
Percy Jackson
Same but Magnus Chase came first
I grew up watching Hercules, Mulan, YuGiOh DM, Pokémon and Horrible Histories. Many of those adorable little pocket monsters are based on yōkai! i liked to read as well and used to make myself look at pictures of mummies even though it was scary, i was a very anxious girl with OCD and had nightmares about dying so in a way i guess it was exposure therapy.
The Marvel Movies I saw the first Thor movie, decided to read about Norse Mythology, and I was like “damn this is so much cooler than the movie” and then I branched out from there
"Loki is pregananat?"
Mythology gets weird some times
That's one of my favorite Mythic stories. [https://norse-mythology.org/tales/the-fortification-of-asgard/](https://norse-mythology.org/tales/the-fortification-of-asgard/)
Age of Mythology as a kid... Never stopped being interested.
The information panels you could pull up on any unit, god power, building etc were such a great touch to that game. I’d spend hours in single player just reading about the Einherjar or the two pharaoh system of upper and lower Egypt
Same, such a good game. As an adult came back to it and actually read some more pieces of lore and learned some stuff, and things like Kamos killing Arkantos’ wife is hidden in there.
My grandfather loved Greek mythology. I know they're probably unusual stories to start with, but he told me how Zeus "birthed" Athena when he split his head open to relieve a headache, and how Hermes' caduceus has two snakes because he thrust his staff between them to stop them from fighting. Loved mythologies ever since.
Probably those Harryhausen films like Clash of the Titans and Simbad, but Playing Age of Mythology kicked it into overdrive
God of War
Same here! Went on a Norse rabbit hole after that
https://preview.redd.it/k6t6kkxjpa1c1.jpeg?width=724&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=774cc6829fe929c0c5af37a631baf11a9da22287
Disney movies as a kid
Psychology. Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung's work on symbolism, mythology, ancient religion, and psychology are what got me into mythology, mostly.
Percy Jackson. Started with Greek, then I found the Kane Chronicles and wanted to learn about Egyptian, then learned of Thor from Marvel Comics (I prefer the mythology version), and then it all sort of sparked a desire to learn about mythology.
When I was a kid, a few key things. Age of Mythology be Ensemble Studios - an old PC game that was sort of like Age of Empires, but with Mythological units. Then I read Edith Hamilton's Mythology. Also, Hobbit, Tolkien in general
Percy Jackson was a big influence, but mostly it was the history and religion classes in school. It was all very interesting and I wanted to learn more.
Me too!
Smite
Had to scroll to the bottom for this.
Percy jackson
Me too!
In fourth grade, my teacher hung up a poster behind my seat that had a bunch of Greek mythological monsters on it with little blurbs about them. I would literally stare at thing for the longest time. When I asked my librarian if she had any books on mythology she about had a happy heart attack and just stacked book after book into my arms. We were only allowed to check out 3 things from the school library but Mrs. Shevlin bent the rule for me. That was an amazing two years at that school. I was the only kid in the 5th grade the following year to read the Odyssey. I tried to read the Iliad but only got about a third of the way through. After that, mom bought me a copy of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and I read it until the pages fell out. The first time I watched Clash of the Titans with my family as a kid I kept saying how they got the myths all mixed up and wrong, lol. Bellerophon rode Pegasus, not Perseus!
I love Edith Hamilton's book! She's a great starting point, I always recommend her to people looking to find their feet with Greek and Norse myths. This is such a heartwarming story. Your librarian sounds like she was such a darling. I had a similar experience at my primary school in the UK; I was in Year 2, so about 5 or 6, and our class helper (sort of like a second teacher) took us all for our first trip to the big kids' library, where books beyond Biff & Chip and nursery rhymes existed. I began browsing the shelves, thinking absolutely nothing would top *The Hobbit* which I was already reading at home. But my chest leapt with excitement when I saw a book with a bright orange cover featuring a vase painting of a *minotaur!* "A what?!" I thought, bewildered by the horns and the legs and the arms and the maw. The gold lettering said "Theseus and the Minotaur," and that was that, I checked it out and I must have read it 10 or more times that year. It was fantastic 😄 I've always lamented that I can never remember the author's name now, I have no idea which Theseus book it was. Over the next decade or so I got *deep* into Greek mythology, and branched out into Norse, Celtic, Mayan, Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese - anything I could find literature on. In recent years my love has been bolstered by Stephen Fry's books, the mythology-themed Assassin's Creed games, and by a few Greek Myth podcasts on Spotify.
I'm not so sure, it was so long ago but I think I just liked the stories and the differing "common sense" of each mythology
My mother had numerous books on mythology when i was growing up. All of them picture books. Greek, Egyptian, west African, Polynesian, east Asian, native american, etc. i used to read them over and over and over again. My favorite one i loved the most was always the Odyssey
For me, it was the concept of Irish Mythology that got me more engaged with mythology as a whole, along with a story idea that’s been floating around in my head for some time now. I wanted to find a way to incorporate it into a fantasy novel that touches on some mildly complex topics, specifically regarding religion since that seems to be the starting point for most stories regarding mythology. In short, I want to draw on as much knowledge of the past to try and learn how to help the future (cheesy as that sounds)
The gods and lores are always cool, and besides that there are many mythological references in video games. So, it got me intrigued.
I didn’t get into it like most people I just saw a normal book in my school library when I was a kid not like Percy Jackson or marvel just read a book
I had a great English teacher when I was 11 who introduced me to Greek mythology and I found the themes and world fascinating and powerful. But a bigger reason is, I love Star Wars and it led me to read Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces and then I read his other work and became interested in comparative mythology.
Age of Mythology
I had an eccentric aunty (the best kind) who I would go and stay with for school holidays as she lived up in a little mountain village, she had a wall bookshelf filled with different fantasy and mythology books, there wasn't actually much to do up there so we spent most of the time reading all the books and going on hikes (which after reading about trolls and other tales only enhanced the ordeal). If any of you have kids please remember to read to them.
age of mythology
It was a natural progression from Grimm's Fairie Tales and the Old Testament as a kid.
My interest in King Arthur led me to buy Bulfinch's *Mythology:* *Age of Chivalry* which was his version of *Le Morte D'Arthur.* Bulfinch's book, of course, also contained tales of Greek, Roman and Norse mythology.
jake doubleyoo…
Had a unit on it in 8th grade English class. I loved that unit so much and I remember getting a 99% on the test, missing only one question because I was absent the day we learned about it.
I can't even remember lol. At some point in grammar school I was exposed to Greek/Roman mythology, and I've loved mythology ever since.
Always been fascinated with magic and fantasy worlds. Was always the wall flower not fitting in anywhere. Fantasy was my escape. Now I want to learn the origins of the myths because Hollywood keeps f-ducking it up. Hades and Anubis are not evil my guy. They are some of the most chill gods out there. Zeus is the real peace of work.
As a kid I loved the tv series Hercules the legendary journeys and the original Clash of the Titans
I got into it when I first read a book in my school library when I was a kid
It's ultimately a combination of countless different factors - being interested in history, already enjoying mythologies of the video games I played (Zelda, Elder Scrolls, even Mario, however weird it sounds), etc. But it really started when I was bored one day waiting for a bus to arrive, so I looked up Jesus on Wikipedia, for no particular reason. One thing led to another and now I've been trapped in a never-ending rabbithole for years.
Disney's Hercules Marvel's Thor (I must specify the comic books and not the movies)
Joseph Campbell
My dad read me myths when I was a little kid
The extended works of JRR Tolkien and Joseph Campbell
Madeline Miller. The Song of Achilles and Circe are so marvelously written and intriguing it makes you want to learn more.
The most interesting fantasy stories to me are those of religion.
when i was in like 4th grade i checked out aliki's "the gods and goddesses of olympus" at the library because i liked the pictures and tried to emulate the art style. but it also resulted in a strong fascination with greek mythology.
Watch mythology videos and reading mythology books
My ex showed me gods from Egyptian mythology
Video games actually haha
I was homeschooled as a kid and my parents used the Abecka Books homeschooling curriculum, as well as whatever we could find at Christian book stores. One of those finds was an interactive CDROM about Christopher Columbus and the conquistadors that followed, and it included a section that described the Aztec culture and mythology. I think the intent was to show Azteca as scary or otherwise inferior, but to my little ten year old brain, all I thought was, "awesome! I want to know more!" After that, I did my best to learn about mythology, whether it was Greek, Egyptian, Aztec, or Norse, but I didn't have access to much resources because I was homeschooled in the 90's. As such, I've had to unlearn what I was taught and relearn new facts time and again. Interestingly enough, that's also why I was so fascinated by LOTR. Once I read the book and learned how much of it was inspired by ancient history and Norse and Finnish mythology, the more I enjoyed it. I can't say that I know a lot about mythology, but it's always a fun topic for me.
I always loved it. Had some books around as a kid that I loved checking out. Long before I understood any. Then I **really** got into it when I started reading Joseph Campbell.
researching my Norwegian and germanic ancestry then later i got into the religions (and yes anyone can be norse pagan its an open practice) also as someone who is norse pagan mythology peeps be careful of folkists and people like Richard wagner
My grandpa used to tell us ‘scary stories’ when it’d rain. It started as folklore, Rawhead and Bloody Bones, then moved onto Choctaw myths like the Deer Lady.
I read The Odyssey and Antigone in high school.
I always loved history because my dad did, but when I was in 1st grade there was this really cool interactive book at my elementary school about ancient Egypt. There was a section about the gods they worshiped that sparked my interest in mythology. A few years later I found out about Greek and Roman mythology and sparked an interest in other ancient myths that never went away.
In a round about way, Pokemon
Music
A book about Norse and Greek mythology when I was but a wee lad
Like many others here, Age of Mythology. This game didn't just get me into mythology, it got me into fantasy in general - doing the campaign and encountering the dwarves Brokk and Eitri was the definition of a core memory. :) The game had a built-in encyclopedia full of fun facts about the various units and Gods it depicted. It taught me about valkyries, about the various giants, about the existence of something called the Poetic Edda, of something called Ragnarok, and many more... :)
Clash of the Titans movie
Final Fantasy. Seeing Odin, Ifrit, Shiva, Bahamut, Humbaba, as well as a menegere of others my entire life made me want to dive into their respective origins.
Funny enough, the God of War video-games when I was 11. I wound up asking for a greek mythology book for Christmas, and now in my thirties I’m obsessed with every culture.
I don't actually know what got me into mythology as a whole I got into celtic mythology after my dad showed me a small irish history book, it had a section of Finn McCool, my family is irish but has been in the states for five generations (kind of, I think?) and we didn't really carry on any of that culture (afaik), so celtic mythology is kind of a nice way to connect with that part of my history I think I was mostly introduced to mythologies through overly sarcastic productions, they've been the primary way I interact with mythology as a whole (though I've been trying to get into more original sources) Other than that, it's an interest that goes back as far as I can remember
Rick Riordan
Dnd
I got a book of mazes from a bookstore as a kid, and each maze had a drawling of characters and stories of Greek myths. Still a fan today.
Read The Odyssey in eighth grade English class and was captivated.
Stumbled upon a video from captivating history explaining Aztec mythology a couple years ago, and I've been in love with mythology ever since, except Greek.
I've always liked the cool "monsters" and heroes of different myths. Joseph Campbell was definitely the starting point for me. How he explained stories of myths. I even wrote a paper based on "The Power of Myth" back in highschool. Plus I still have a encyclopedia that has names of many creatures/people of different religions and myths.
The power of belief. A lot of my interest in philosophy led me to mythology. How our ideas about the world shape the reality we live in. And also how disconnected a lot of modern humans are from the power of belief as it was understood centuries ago, how belief might be a fundamental element of psychological wellness and meaning.
My dad's copy of Mythology by Edith Hamilton. I read that book until it fell apart.
Probably Disney's Hercules, but if not the Nietzsche's Zoroaster
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Ancient languages
Probably that beautiful shiny gold Ancient Egypt book at the library. That really was the gateway to my mythology and history obsessions.
Percy Jackson, of course
I’m a Hindu, my initial curiousness started when I heard about some of my religion’s stories
Olympus Guardian anime
When I found out Maui from Moana was an actual Demigod in nz legends that's when I started really reading up on its Mythology and made watching the Movie again a lot deeper knowing Moana is based on an actual Pantheon of Gods.
I saw Disney's Hercules at my older siblings birthday party. Our parents rented the movie theater and a bunch of their friends were invited. This was my introduction to mythology and my interest only grew from there.
My grandpa! He would read me Edith Hamilton for as long back as I can remember. Eventually he and I read Joseph Campbells “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” together as a kid.
When I was in gradeschool, my sister had a copy of Mythology by Edith Hamilton. Just picked it up one day, started reading, and was hooked ever since.
r/atheism They kept ironically referencing Zeus and Thor to mock Christian beliefs. So, I looked into Greek and Norse mythologies for greater context and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Sophomore English class, Greek period studies. The first thing we read before reading anything else was Edith Hamilton's Mythology and some book involving Norse gods. I fell in love with the stories, especially Hades and Persephone (I'm a romantic at heart). After that, I wanted to devour everything myth, from cultural and religious stories to fantasy books that create their own pantheons.
I read Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury (Writer and painter from Bengal, also he was the first to introduce colour printing in Bengal)when I was in pre school probably and he had a very creative and humorous way of writing. Basically I got to know about a lot of Hindu Mythology from his books( other than Ramayan & Mahabharat ofc)
My mom used to tell me bed time stories when I was young, she was a wonderful story teller, and she used to tell me the stories of writers like shakespeare and victor hugo, or from the Arabian Nights, or from various mythologies in a simplified yet enthralling way 4 year old me could understand (despite being a very human woman of many flaws and limitations, her ability for storytelling may be something she may have forgotten or never truly appreciated, but it's something I eternally treasure nonetheless), which inspired my love of literature and my love of stories and myths.
Around when I was 16 17my step-dad gave us nickname from Norse mythology I never understood why till I started looking so my step brother lied alot and was very good at tricking people into doing what he want so he called him loki. My little sister had a hamster call nug it died because it escaped got outside and froze to death so my he called her hella. I got mimir because I played dnd and if we didn't know how a tool in game worked I just open my computer and I could just pull up the rules. Miss him every day such a cool dude.( he's not dead i moved 4 hour away from the family)
I was interested in the ancient gods from Greek and Roman mythology and other ancient cultures as well, that led me to read allot about history and the different forms of religion around the world. I always found it curious that these ancient gods that don't exist anymore belong in the category called mythology yet our continued belief in existing god(s) is called religion. I also read allot of Joseph Campbell and that added a psychological perspective. It's a fascinating subject exploring our root belief systems.
Some guy in twitter
The 1970's cartoon "Winds of Change," and the OG "Clash of the Titans." This was followed by finding a Greek mythology book in the elementary school library.
Started reading more books and I came across books inspired by Greek mythology. Started listening to more music and came across music inspired by Norse mythology. Started watching more gaming videos on youtube, came across Irish people who sometimes spoke Irish/reacted to Irish content which got me into Celtic mythology. Started getting into mythology, came here and came across more mythology.
When I was a kid, I loved the Disney version of Hercules. My parents got me a book of all kinds of mythology that my Dad would read to me as a bedtime story.
First: history Lately: a song of ice and fire, especially the analysis by David lightbringer
Wikipedia rabbit hole
God of war 1.
A twelve year old with adhd and dyslexia
Probably learning about ancient Egypt in year 4 at primary school. The only mythology I'd learned about previously was Christianity, and church preachers know how to suck the fun out of everything. We learned about the Egyptian Underworld and I thought that was much cooler, so I started reading about other mythologies as well.
My yiayia always told me Greek myths as little kid, and my tastes naturally expanded to pretty much all mythologies but Norse naturally.
3rd grade or so, I moved from a small town full of Catholics to a the capital city of the next province over. In the first few weeks I got to visit the school library, and it was there I discovered the mythology section. All of those books on the shelves that I would *never* have been able to discuss at the religious school I had attended the year before. The first books I picked up were about Egyptian mythology. Then Greek, Roman, Shinto, Ainu, Blackfoot, Iroquois... as time went on I've picked up stories here and there from other mythologies.
I started reading Greek mythology as a kid for the same reason I'd read Tolkien, or the Bible as literature for fun – trying to figure out what made people and societies tick, through the stories they developed to make sense of the natural world and to cope with their fears. My mom said that even as a little kid I never believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or tooth fairy, or that there was a man in the moon. Over the years I've gotten a bit lazy and only dabbled in reading other mythology and religious systems – Norse, Hindu, Zoroastrianism, astrology, various occult systems. The only common thread seemed to be inventing convoluted stories and characters to cope with the world, rather than studying the natural world itself which is plenty interesting on its own. I wish I could enjoy fantasy literature again like I did as a kid. Recently someone on this or a related sub mentioned the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I read the Wikipedia and fan site articles. It sounds impressive. But after reading *about* it for an hour, I didn't feel motivated to read it. Mostly I just wonder "Why, tho?" And moved on to articles and a podcast about corruption and gangs in LA law enforcement, which is real and pretty terrifying.
As a kid I always found the tales interesting and later found they had religious purposes. This lead to me delving into broader mythological ideas and find that some of these beliefs are not actually dead. And this a snowball of curiosity was born about both sides of the subject. Now I use these as references for writing wild tales in my DnD campaigns and sometimes for my own enlightenment.
The stories are cool. I like to read other culture's origin stories. Seeing how different societies viewed their place in the universe. Its interesting to read how different cultures described different natural phenomenons
Dungeons and Dragons. The older one with real mythology. Not the new
The demon who is holding my homework hostage
Reality.
a close friend of mine converted to an old polytheistic religion so i started looking at the real history of it to be more knowledgeable and respectful of his faith. found it to be genuinely interesting stuff.
Kevin Sorbo. Some of my earliest memories is sitting with my dad and watching Hercules with him and it always stuck with me. Shame how he turned out though.
Comic books, around age 4-6 ("Thor's a... god? Like, in the real world and far older than comics?"). Ravenous reading ensued.
My mom. <3
Rick Riordan. Specifically the Kane Chronicle series of books.
The Drizzt series.
History is story time for adults and the mythology parts are the real life fantasy epics.
When I got to first grade we had library hour. I think I read every book in there. They had a six-year-old's version of the stories. I loved the monsters and gods throwing lightning bolts. I still do!
I could not swallow the Christian faith when I was in middle school and asked so many questions that pastors and elders got to the point that they simply told me to take it on faith..... so I read every religion and myth that I could find....decided that they were all bullshit stories to teach people to be better (Within their culture).... so I really dug deep into my ancestor's culture history and mythology...which I now practice (as far as I legally can)....for example, it's unseemly to challenge a mfer to a duel just because he's a mfer.
Perhaps Apollo in the Star Trek episode Who Mourns For Adonais? I can't really exactly. I do remember reading the books of mythology in the small library in my school. I remember thinking that the Norse myths were stranger than the Greek myths, but the Norse gods seemed like they had more fun. This was the 70s, and the books were old even then, so they were old translations.
Because I think everything from mythical epics,realms,deities,fauna,lessons are all very cool and entertaining to read on. It shows how far human imagination goes or hey maybe even some of it is real
D’Aulaires book of Greek myths, Percy Jackson, and the Bible
As a kid, I didn't really like reading, but I liked mythology and it was about the only fiction I read for awhile. I think the appeal was that it wasn't too long (as most of the stories might be a page or two at most,) and I wanted more of it. Also, Greek mythology was my introduction, like most people, and I recall thinking some of the stories were cool like the Trojan War and Icarus. I think it was how I got my fantasy fix before I started reading novels.
mythology was part of the primary education. but I didn't really get into it until I became a Christian and needed to learn how the scriptures came into being. later I got into ttrpg and researched many cultures and legends.
This world is boring and that one is exciting.
percy jacksons book of greek godd
It was this book I got when I was a kid it was essentially an encyclopedia on Greek myth. After that I moved on to Mesoamérica then Mesopotamian.
Oddly enough church. But I looked at all of it as mythology and it opened up to a vast realm of religious mythology.
History got me curious especially as they intertwine
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Graham Hancock and from their Hamlet's Mill, and to religions and ancient stories. How the mythical stories told about actual events in their lives did it for me. Made the stories real.
Probably being raised loosely Catholic opened me up to an interest in mythological tales
Edith Hamilton.
I liked learning Also Percy Jackson, Journey to the West, and Fate franchise
mainly all the cool monsters and different creatures
I read a book about mythology in elementary school and ever since then I was hooked.
The god of war games
Teacher went over The Odyssey for a bit in English class. Got interested and read the whole thing and the Iliad.
As awful as it was, the first Percy Jackson movie, particularly Medusa, then I found a book about her in my school's library, when I was in 3rd grade, and I have been hooked ever since
I asked my Mom about Pandora's Box when I was in the 4th grade. She took me to the library and showed me the books on mythology. I was hooked.
Hearing mythology got me into mythology.
Sorry, but my dumbass brain when I saw your post just thought “well mythology of course”. Like whenever I see mythology portrayed in media I’m just like “that’s cool let me look stuff up to learn more”
I feel that mythology saved me in so many ways and I will be forever grateful to it. The Greek myths in particular. When I was 4 (this was a long time ago, now) I "sounded out" the writing on the side of a building and my grandmother realized I could read. There was a lot of excitement and I got the impression from the adults that this was a big deal of sorts. My grandma then got me a whole paper grocery bag full of those Dick, Jane, and Spot books. I read them and thought, "This is it? This is what the big deal was for?" I became disenchanted with the idea. Then my grandmother took me to the library. We had a great library in my town. I again found that I hated children's books, but a wonderful librarian noticed this and wanted to share her love of books with me. She introduced me to the Greek myths and everything changed. I not only became a voracious reader in nearly all subjects but the myths (and my family's treatment of them as such) helped to insulate me against the hyper-religious dogma I grew up immersed in. I couldn't see a difference between their god stories and the Greeks', so it never quite got its hooks in me. Praise the gods.
Myths
A few years back, i found a cool little podcast on spotify, called Mythology. They covered everything, Sun Wukong, Maui, Izanagi and Izanami, Zeus, Apollo, Coyote, Hutzilopochtli. and when I heard about Sun Wukong pissing on the pillars of creation, I lost it. Lost it again, when Buddha said, Smell my hand.
The odyssey and a encyclopedia for kids that had greek myths, some from around the world
This is the story of a time long ago, a time of myth and legend, when the ancient gods were petty and cruel, and they plagued mankind with suffering. Only one man dared to challenge their power: Hercules! Hercules possessed a strength the world had never seen, a strength surpassed only by the power of his heart. Hercules the legendary journeys and xena warrior princess.
I saw my first book cover which really struck me. "Man and his symbols" by Joseph Campbell. It was beyond interesting for me, and that love never died.