Teens are into mythology retellings, but how do we point them to the sources?
Can we call the recent influx of mythology retellings a trend if myth books have always been popular?
Every generation has its zeitgeist of introductions to Greek and Roman mythology: Edith Hamilton’s evergreen Mythology, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, and Madeline Miller’s exponentially popular Song of Achilles and Circe.
With the popularity of mythology retellings, why do universities continue shutting the doors to their Classics departments?
Much of America’s early intellectual history can be traced back to classical influences. Of course, our constitution has several references to philosophy from the likes of Aristotle and Plato. But comparatively lesser known, early Black scholasticism in the United States was also largely influenced by classical studies. Black people used the study of Classics as a way to reclaim power. Black thought leader W.E.B. Dubois believed that Black people could achieve social and financial equality by studying the humanities, including Latin and Greek. Other Black scholars heavily influenced by classical works include Toni Morrison, who minored in Classics at Howard University, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who cited Socrates, Aeschylus, and Plato throughout several of his works.
Within the last few years, Howard University announced that it would shut down its Classics department. Howard’s department was the last remaining Classics department housed at an HBCU. The closure of the last HBCU Classics department has shut down one of the last points of access where a majority-Black population can study ancient Greece and Rome. This closure prevents Black students from profoundly engaging in a centuries-long tradition of Black classical scholarship, thought, and philosophy.
The slow, agonizing death of Classics
But Black students are not the only ones shut out of the field. Classics departments are closing their doors due to lacking majors, funding, or interest.
Most students cannot take Latin or Ancient Greek in their secondary education. Undergraduate Classics departments often have well-intentioned but exclusionary language requirements to major in Classics.
Departments like Princeton have done away with this requirement, to the chagrin of many a Twitter troll.
The field of Classics needs a PR miracle
The public perception remains that Classics, as a pillar of the academic ivory tower, is ridden with racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and bigotry. The insistence on ancient language acquisition further turns people away. (Which, for the record, doesn’t imply that ancient language learning isn’t a part of engaging with the ancient Mediterranean world.)
But, for the most part, it isn’t the content that people shrink from—quite the opposite. Young people love the ancient world: from mythology retellings to archaeo-gaming to the upcoming Percy Jackson Disney+ series. But, many of those creations are far-removed from direct conversation with ancient sources. They can perpetuate dangerous misconceptions about the ancient world, like the latent white supremacy in the Percy Jackson series or the hubris in telling your audience that there aren’t sapphic stories from Greek literature.
Several classicists are doing the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the university level. Yet many white scholars focus on the wrong questions when doing anti-racism work: “How do we make this material more interesting to marginalized students?”
But, marginalized people already find interest in the material. Their engagement is clear from the several works that directly engage in ancient conversations, like Beloved by Toni Morrison, Omeros by Derek Walcott, and Chi-Raq by Spike Lee.
Book choices in the high school English classroom
Teenagers know that YA retellings are for them. They engage with the material profoundly and create fanbases, propping up literary characters as teen heartthrobs on #Booktok. But using the Iliad as source material, a “classic,” the same treatment is not allowed. Teenage girls aren’t allowed to “stan” the Achilles of the Iliad because he is a “pillar character of Western literature.” But Achilles from Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles is fair game. He’s been babygirlified.
Ultimately, teens enjoy classical mythology because it doesn’t talk down to them. Through YA mythology retellings, they can engage with difficult questions of sexuality, violence, and imperialism with sanitized (almost infantilized) versions of their mythological counterparts.
Politicians are banning books about sexuality, gender, race, and more
In an American context, politicians ban books from school libraries that touch on subject matter required for a healthy child’s development. In Florida, the Senate passed HB 1467, a law requiring a state-certified librarian to approve all books in a school library and giving parents the right to request the removal of books. Teachers must be extra careful about their book choices, risking contract non-renewal or de-licensure if a parent disagrees with the curriculum.
Book banning is a dangerous policy. Books are a source of information for curious minds, one that often does not require the direct supervision of an adult. Children could independently ask questions that might be taboo and find the answers in a book, especially questions of sexuality, gender, or race.
UNO REVERSE: Using ‘western literature’ as a weapon
Teachers dealing with banned books in the curriculum but actively working on deconstructing the myth of western literature should use the ‘literary canon’ as a bludgeon to beat up book banners. Several theorists discuss the concept of critical consciousness, from W.E.B. Dubois to Paulo Freire and Frantz Fanon – understanding our socio-historical contexts is essential to dismantling systems of oppression and changing our world.
Use the Iliad to talk about intersections of power and marginalization. Achilles is literally on the margins of society for most of the book, yet he still wields his influence. Update your 9th-grade Odyssey curriculum to discuss colonization and imperialism in the Polyphemus episode. Talk about the Aeneid in the context of refugees. Talk about gender identity in the Bacchae. Of course, these are examples from my own expertise, but all subjects can apply these methods.
What comes next for students who love mythology retellings?
Don’t shy away from these tough conversations. Students are hungry for complex topics, so they gravitate towards modern retellings, which often lack the original nuance of the source, opting instead for a contemporary ethos. The ancient source material is ripe for developing self-aware human beings. Politicians rarely challenge these texts in schools, even while dealing with similarly touchy subjects. With guidance, students connect academic experiences to their lives and flourish in their intellectual pursuits, a facet of personal development overlooked in today’s rising culture of anti-intellectualism.
And hopefully, when teachers begin to teach the skill of using humanities as a weapon to dismantle systems of oppression instead of just as a static object to behold and analyze, students will seek out the sources of their favorite retellings.
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this was an interesting read. thank you so much 🙂
Thanks for reading!