Greek, Roman, and British Mythology

Greek, Roman, and British cultures were very much predominant in ancient Europe. The myths and tales of each of these countries are historically integrated in each other, in fact, it is difficult for historians to accurately pinpoint what Roman mythology was like before it was introduced to Greek mythology because of its immediate influence on the former. Most aspects of Roman mythology were not recorded, but instead kept in the memories of people who knew the stories well. This made it very easy for Roman mythology to change and distort as the Roman citizens heard of other myths. Because of this cultural integration, Greek and Roman myths became increasingly similar as the two cultures became more and more involved with each other.

Roman mythology often centered around the deification of significant Roman figures, such as emperors and heroes of war. The stories themselves often romanticize the history of Rome, and the beasts explained in such stories often appeared physically as hybrids of two or more animals. For example, the Roman harpy was a bird with the head and chest of a woman and was believed to control the winds. Ancient Greek literature also uses this animal hybridization to create creatures, but Greek monsters are built less around a story and more around an inexplicable phenomenon that needs explaining.

British mythology is more human-centric. Most of the monsters out of British mythology are humanoid in form or based off of man's best friend, the dog. Humanoid monsters, such as the green man, a man with foliage sprouting out of his face who is largely responsible for springtime, mermaids, people with fish tails that lure sailors to their doom, and selkies, seal people, seemed to have the same purpose as Greek and Roman monsters did- to explain the unexplainable or to add a sense of mystery and fear to a dangerous place. Dog-based monsters, such as Faerie dogs, which are banshee-like barking omens of death that live in the dark parts of the forest.

For my product, I will be creating a new mythological creature by taking reference and influence from these three cultures. I will begin with a phenomenon, like the Greeks, use the hybrid characteristic coined by the Romans, and the human base that the British were fond of.

I began with the question of deaths in the desert. Ancient peoples did not know much about dehydration, so I've created a beast that roams the desert in packs and picks off unprepared travelers. The species is a centaur with a tiger's body. Possible additions include tribal head tattoos, small wings behind ears, and pincer-like sharp teeth.


(Progress: I have tons of concept sketches but no working scanner at the moment, I will upload the final product and its progress as it will be done digitally! References used)


Works Cited
Hargraves, Richard, Elaine Kenzel, and Miami, FL. Dade County Public Schools. Greek And Roman Mythology: English, Mythology. n.p.: 1971. ERIC. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.
Hayman, Richard. "Ballad Of The Green Man." History Today 60.4 (2010): 37-44. Academic Search Elite. Print. 30 Dec, 2014
Morford, Mark P.O. "Classical Mythology, 8th Edition," 2007. Web. 30 Dec, 2014
"Roman Mythology." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2014): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Print. 29 Dec, 2014.

Greek and Roman Mythology and their Modern Equivalents

Since Greek and Roman mythology has always intrigued me, I decided it would make a great topic for this project. The current chapter (Chp. 17 + 18) is set in Alexandria, which has temples to many gods and goddesses. Although some in the book are Egyptian, I will be focusing mainly on Roman gods (and their Greek equivalents). I decided to learn about the ancient gods, and then make up my own gods for modern life. Some of the ancient gods were:

• Zeus/Jupiter; King of the Gods. Married to Hera/Juno.
• Hera/Juno; Queen of the Gods. Married to Zeus/Jupiter.
• Poseidon/Neptune; God of the Seas.
• Hades/Pluto; God of the Dead.
• Ares/Mars; God of War.
• Athena/Minerva; Goddess of wisdom and strategy. 
• Artemis/Diana; Goddess of the hunt, girls, and the moon. Twin to Apollo.
• Apollo; God of music, archery,light, truth, the sun. Twin to Artemis/Diana.
• Hermes/Mercury; God of messengers and thieves.
• Aphrodite/Venus; Goddess of love and beauty.

You can see many of these names in the modern world, for example the minor god Nike/Victoria who is the god of victory is used for the athletic brand Nike. Venus, the goddess of love, is an offshoot of the razor brand Gillette. From this point, I felt like it would be interesting to try to make my own version of these gods for the modern world. 

• Twitterus; Goddess of Social Media. Her head is that of a bird, and always carries a smartphone in her hand. She can be characterized as being the most social of the gods, always coming down from Olympus (otherwise known as the Caribbean) to take "wicked awesome selfies dude."

• Electro; God of electricity. His head is covered in bright blond hair that crackles with electricity. Although he is much like Zeus/Jupiter, he is not the god of the sky, only of electricity.

• Mobius; God of Transportation. Whether it is a train, a car, or a plane, Mobius has it down. He is known as the modern day Hephaestus/Vulcan (who was the god of the forges). He always has a wrench in his hand, and all of his clothes are stained with grease.

• Computus; God of Computers. Although Computus is a god, nobody actually can confirm his existence, since he has never been seen to emerge from the dim light of his computer screen.

• Medicus; God of Medicine. Medicus travels around the world saving lives, whether it be in a hospital or at home. He always wears a pair of spotless scrubs, and a face mask. He is known to be a bit of a germaphobe at times.

These gods were based off of what I believe to be some of the most important things in modern day life. I learned that many of the gods in ancient mythology were based off of tasks done around the house, or in the country. Since many of the things stated above have impacted our lives greatly, this is what helped me create them.

Works Cited

Mehta-Jones, Shilpa. "Religion and Beliefs." Religion and Beliefs. N.p., 2005. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.

"Roman and European Mythologies." Roman and European Mythologies. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.