More than fairy tales: why introduce a child to ancient myths

Children’s books about myths are always relevant. New — “Myths of Ancient Greece. Stories of Gods, Heroes, and Monsters became an Amazon bestseller and was backed by the well-known National Geographic community. Let’s get acquainted with the book and figure out why to read stories that are three thousand years old.

Are myths fairy tales or…?

Mythology has more ancient roots than a fairy tale. Unlike the latter, myths are closely related to beliefs — they reflect religious cults, natural phenomena, «transferred» to the will of the deities, and everything that people of the III-II millennia BC. couldn’t explain.

A fairy tale is originally a fantasy, an invention for the entertainment of children. An adult did not take fairy tales seriously, but he could not imagine life without faith in his gods.

Mythology contains a lot of different stories for all occasions. The ancients believed that the gods had (or could take) the appearance of people, and also possessed human qualities elevated to the absolute. Let’s say, if we have the goddess of beauty Aphrodite in front of us, then this is perfect beauty. There is no one more beautiful than her, her charms cannot be resisted. If Hermes is the god of eloquence, dexterity and trade, then no one will be able to deceive him, but he himself, on the contrary, will outwit anyone.

The gods differed from mortals, as a rule, in height (2-3 times higher), corresponding superpowers, a halo of radiance and immortality. But passions on Olympus were seething quite human. From here, the wise Greeks drew so many stories that later became canonical.

Santa Barbara. Prequel

Why, even after thousands of years, adults and children read and reread the legends about the exploits of Hercules, the immortal Odyssey or the tales of Troy? Mythology of Ancient Greece is the first series in history. Think about it. The branched «family tree» of the ancient gods gave rise to a lot of scenarios for the development of events. We follow with curiosity the intertwining of their destinies, new turns in their lives, triumphs and tragedies.

There is not a single character trait that would not be beaten in the plots of myths. That is why world culture, cinema and art are based on ancient Greek myths. It is an eternal source of inspiration. The first school of human relations.

Those who are well acquainted with myths feel more deeply classical architecture, better understand the secret background of the masterpieces of painting or the director’s idea in cinema and theater. And also knowledge of the world epic is a sure sign of a well-educated person, educated and intellectually developed. The one with whom it is always pleasant to be in the same company.

That is, it is useful, interesting, and simply necessary to study mythology in order to be at home in a cultural society. Therefore, good books about the folk epic of different countries, and first of all, Ancient Greece, must be included in the home library.

Children and myths

For children, there is another value in mythology. With legends, they live through all stages of growing up. It is especially useful to introduce myths to children from 8 years old, when they begin to have questions for themselves and for the world around them. Mythology is full of vivid and illustrative examples of courage, determination, devotion, generosity and ingenuity. With her, the young reader lives through a variety of situations, finds resonant topics for himself and answers to unasked questions.

To captivate a child, a book of myths must be of high quality, understandable and well illustrated. The myths of ancient Greece mentioned above. Stories of gods, heroes and monsters” are just that. Under the cover are collected classic stories about the famous Olympus and its inhabitants, mortals who were equal in valor and strength to the gods, beautiful maidens and terrible monsters opposing the heroes. Each character is accompanied not only by an impressive legend, but also by reference material. The book connects plots with geography and history, astronomy and ancient culture — this way the child remembers the material more easily and traces the connections between the narrative and real life events.

This edition is an excellent candidate for a growing child’s bookshelf. And thanks to the colorful, detailed illustrations, the book is truly captivating. And it looks very presentable. It will serve as a great holiday surprise for readers aged 7-14.

Be sure to introduce your children to the world epic — this is a worthy investment in their intellectual, aesthetic and spiritual development.