Vox Latina 2019-2020 Vox Latina Fall 2019 | Page 18

Mythology in the Modern Day
By Erin Devine
F or thousands of years, Greek and Literary reference isn’t the only way
Roman culture has influenced the way
we live our lives. Through
government, art, literature, language,
and architecture, evidence of these
classic civilizations lies everywhere:
from the columns on monuments in
Washington D.C., to the names of
cities like Cincinnati. Like these
cultures that have influenced so many
things in modern times, so has the
mythology and deities that were
worshipped back in the days of Rome!
mythology has survived; ever since
the Renaissance and onward, art and
certain images of mythology have
appeared. For example, the staff of
Asclepius is still used on medical
company logos and medical supplies.
The popular shoe company with the
iconic ‘swoosh’ for a logo is named
after the Greek goddess of victory,
Nike.
Mythology has even worked its way
into science. NASA’s Apollo Space
Program is world-renowned for its
trips to the moon (even though he’s
the sun god), and is named after
Apollo’s ability to always hit his mark
with his arrows. The elements
promethium and titanium are named
after Prometheus, and the strong,
powerful titans who came before the
gods
(respectively)!
Even
at
convention, when students aren’t
celebrating the language or grammar
of Latin, we dress up and make
projects based off of mythological
figures and tales.
Mythology's major role in post-
polytheistic Greece and Italy can be
traced mostly through literature.
Shakespeare’s works like Romeo and
Juliet were influenced by Ovid’s
Pyramus and Thisbe, and Mary
Shelley’s novel Frankenstein has a
direct theme to Prometheus’s tale and
was even called The Modern
Prometheus when she was alive.
Children’s books and the Percy
Jackson series have continued to
entertain current day youth. The plots
and names of gods and goddesses are
used for characters in some works to
demonstrate specific qualities, such Mythology is, in so many ways, still
as wealth and gloom for Pluto, or love thriving and alive today. All you have
and charisma for Venus.
to do is take a close look around!
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