Greek mythology has long stood above other mythologies and has long since influenced today’s world greater than any other. Mythologies such as Roman, Norse or Japanese are not nearly as known or loved as Greek mythology. The myths and morals from a Greece long past in history, still stand present in current politics and entertainment. 

Percy Jackson and The Olympians, Disney’s Hercules and The Song of Achilles are all examples of the perception of Greek mythology in today’s entertainment industry. These works are all widely adored and rightfully so, they show some of the most favored stories within the Greek myths. The media pertaining to Greek mythology has shaped so many childhoods along with being continually favored throughout life. Compared to other mythologies shown in media such as Roman or Norse, Greek mythology is way more widely known and loved. 

Even outside of books and movies Greek mythology continues to prevail. The international multi-sport event called the Olympics is derived from ancient Greece. The games began at Olympia and were a festival and sports competition to honor Zeus, the king of the gods. Greek myths attribute the running races to Herakles in celebration of the completion of one of his twelve labors. Ancient Greece gave us one of the most favored sports competitions of all time.

In Francis Howell North’s own mythology class, Greek mythology is the first one to be taught and is also favored by many of its students. It is the first mythology taught in the class since many students have some prior knowledge of the subject. Throughout the class many other mythological stories can be connected to parts of Greek mythology and the morals shown throughout it. It can be argued that learning Greek mythology is the best since most people know of the main stories that frame the common knowledge of Greek myths. This in turn makes it more fun to learn since a student can answer questions and create an opinion early on. It also gives students a base of knowledge to relate other myths back to.

Zeus, Poseidon and Hades were the original three gods in Greek mythology and are involved in many of the major stories. Almost 1,000 years later Roman mythology came along and at the beginning had their own deities but then came to take the attributes of the Greek deities and give them to their own gods. So although Roman gods became largely similar to the Greek gods, Roman mythology did not come close to being as good as Greek. Roman mythology is also not nearly as well shown in entertainment so many people do not know the stories as well.

In today’s world many of the stories and psychological problems from Greek mythology are seen everywhere. The concepts of good versus evil, greed, jealousy and power were the basis of many Greek myths and yet we still see these concepts today. We can see a strive for power in the story of Prometheus who was a titan that stole fire from the gods to give to humans. He became a symbol of the human strive for greatness. These myths tie into our modern world problems and people which makes Greek mythology much better and more relatable.