Non-Greek Myths In Today's Cultural Education

We hear about them perpetually; The Greeks. This once great civilization dominated the world for many years, and their myths still steal the spotlight away from other past civilizations’ myths. The High Schoolers and Middle Schoolers of today are taught myths, but educators focus on Greek myths, inhibiting a valuable cultural growth for these students. In order to have a well educated, unbiased public, schools must uncover these lost myths and use them to educate students on civilizations of the past. Myths are a tangle of tradition, lessons and explanations for natural events that had been passed down through oral storytelling before being recorded. By teaching myths of another civilization, students learn the morals, history and culture

By educating them about a variety of ancient cultures, we then allow the students to connect their lives with traditions and morals of the past civilizations, helping them grow as a person and learn about what they themselves think is right. By reading the ancient literature, students enrich their own literacy by adding diverse words and phrases. The creativity and often seemingly insane concepts featured in these myths encourage students to put their own spin on literature, which often leads to a passion for writing or reading. “Thor then challenged anyone in the castle to a drinking contest, something at which he had no little skill.” (McCoy). Phrases such as this force the reader to think harder to comprehend the actual meaning. Wording sentences differently can entice your reader and make them think about what they are reading, instead of just skimming over the passage. While the grammar and wording of a myth can inspire a student, the story can do even more. Myths were written to explain a natural phenomenon, teach a lesson, or glorify the gods. By reading these myths we often discover other cultural traditions customs or how that particular culture believed one should act. In McCoy's retelling, the storyline follows the gods, Thor and Loki’s emotions. McCoy describes such incidents many times, the most powerful of which being; “ Thor was so angered by this humiliating trickery that he raised his hammer and prepared to slay Utgarda-Loki and smash his castle to pieces.” A piece such as this can be taken in many ways. While some may argue that this provokes violence, is it any worse than what we see every day in the media? A benefit to this controversial passage is that it teaches students to think Would I do that? Why did he do it? These thoughts, even subconsciously, encourage students to