Mythology

Recently I've read Lewis Spence's Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends. But instead of writing a review about it, I would like to talk about how reading myths became a lifelong obsession.

I never really read a book from cover to cover until I was thirteen. When I tell people that, they're surprised because they thought it has always been one of my passions. Three years before that, I read in my English textbook four short stories about people who are well-known figures in Greek and Norse mythologies. I still remember how fascinated I was when I first saw that section, which is a hard thing to accomplish because my attention was always elsewhere. And I never liked to read. I didn't discover the joys in it yet.

The book was called Language Arts for the Filipino Learners and it was a 2-part book filled with short stories. I loved it. I kept those books for years until I forgot where I placed them. I kept going back to those four stories. Sometimes I'd just stare at the drawings of Adonis, Narcissus, Pandora and Sigmund. I once drew their faces in my notebook. After that I tired searching the book for other stories but didn't find anything. I wanted to read more but I didn't know where to look for such stories. And then I found out that Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess were airing on a local TV station. I didn't watch them religiously but soon I got an idea about what it's like, aware too that everything isn't really accurate. I learned some names and popular stories. But both shows didn't appeal to my taste. Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) seemed too mature for my taste and I was never into warrior-princesses.

The year after that, me and my sisters started watching Young Hercules. We were really excited when it was announced in an advertisement that it will be airing soon. The TV station cut off the series a few months later and I was heartbroken. We really liked it because the characters were much younger and it was dubbed in our native Tagalog.

I never got any opportunity to read more. I never bothered looking for books too and soon forgot about it after a while.

When I got back home here in Davao City in time to start high school, I asked my mother to get me a book about Greek Mythology. At that time, I had already learned the value and gift of reading. I even started writing poetry and essays too. My mother was surprised. When my birthday came, we went to National Bookstore, and there it was -  Edith Hamilton's "Mythology". I was so happy I almost cried. My younger sisters were pretty excited too. We devoured the book like it was going to disappear if we stopped reading. I read it again and again and again.

For the next two years, I scoured the school library for more sources. I was mainly interested in Greek. I didn't even bother reading the Roman version. I found a few (it's really hard to look for such books in my country) but every piece of information was a treasure. I gladly shared some of it with my friends. This obsession also inspired me to expand my reading. I started reading books that are partly related to myths and legends. Soon I was reading pre-history, archaeology, anthropology and philosophy. I didn't even study my current lessons anymore but I knew more than my classmates did on those subjects. I even started reading journals and National Geographic Magazines. Soon I started reading books that are not related to myths.

There was a time I could recite names of gods and demigods. My favorite was Homer's Iliad. Although I didn't read the full version, I managed to put together bits and pieces of information from various books.

Then one day, I let a classmate borrow Mythology. A few days later I asked her for it, but she said it wasn't with her. I asked around but they all pointed to the same girl. She insisted she doesn't have it and claimed I was accusing her of being a thief. My friends told me to let it go because the girl could cause me real trouble. I cried for days before going to sleep. I loved that book and it was a gift from my mother. I could easily just buy a new copy but I didn't.

When I got into college, it opened up more opportunities for me to do research. I could always look everything up in the Internet but I'm more comfortable with a book in hand while lying down. I started expanding my horizons. My classmates find it funny I read books that aren't related to my degree, but who cares, I enjoyed it. However, it is still hard to find books like Mythology. I wanted to find a compilation of the important myths and legends of specific cultures. Not just a compilation of everything. The Lewis Spence book is the only other book I found. I can't afford yet to order something brand new online so I scour the used bookshops whenever I get the chance.

I got another copy of Mythology. Although it's not the one given by my mother it still has the same content. My boyfriend gave it to me when he heard about my story. I still consider that book to be one of the best ever written. If Adonis, Pandora, Narcissus and Sigmund did exist, I'd thank them for opening up this opportunity to discover worlds of wonder and magic.