The Enduring Love Of Mythology In Western Entertainment

Despite most of it happening well over a thousand years ago if not two, ancient stories and imagery are everywhere in daily life, particularly in the oldest of Welsh legends. Things drawn from the oldest cultures in the world make their way into a vast number of places, and entertainment is by far the most common. Today we’re exploring how mythological entertainment still impacts us here at home.

Greek Mythology

When we talk about cultural contributions in the UK and the West as a whole, the Ancient Greeks are easily on top of the list. Much of the fine art in our museums, whether sculpture or painting, either was created in antiquity or shows scenes from it. With even the works of Shakespeare himself said to have been drawn from the classics, it’s a serious knock-on effect in terms of lasting impact.

In terms of visual media, you can find Greek mythology in everything from online casinos to film. For the former, there are a wide range of Greek-themed slots, including titles like the Age of the Gods slot, series packed with all manner of godly figures such as Zeus or Poseidon. For the latter, there are blockbuster productions like the epic Troy or the extremely retro Jason and the Argonauts.

Egyptian Mythology

There was, for many decades of the 18th and 19th Centuries, an absolute whirlwind of interest around everything Egyptian. Things like mummies and the Pyramids were major news around the Western world, with the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb being an iconic moment in recent history. The lack of relatable legends and stories made it stick a little less with the wider public, though.

With that said, what stories and fragments we do have been given vast amounts of attention. More recent entertainment productions have included the character of priest Imhotep in various adaptations of The Mummy, for better or worse, although Cleopatra remains the most media figure from Shakespeare right through to more than two dozen movies.

Norse Mythology

Although Wales was one of the few places in the British Isles that remained relatively free of Viking influence, Norse mythology is still one of the closest major mythologies to us. Historically, the gods of the Norse pantheon were overlooked for discussion, but as the Vikings themselves were reevaluated in the 20th Century, their beliefs became more common knowledge.

We’ve started to get more and more depictions of Norse mythology in recent years and there are several movies to show for it, but the most interesting is through more gritty shows like Vikings and The Last Kingdom. The former show in particular walks the line between the real and the mythical, and thanks to deeper connections to our own culture, has been used as much to reflect on the creation of Britain as it has any of the invaders shown. The relatively recent historical time frame also makes for fascinating interactions with existing beliefs.

Our culture is so vibrant because all of these mythologies and many more are woven into our history. We’d recommend looking into Welsh mythologies as well – they aren’t shown as much on TV, but they are fascinating all the same.