This is a blog post I've debated publishing here to my blog. I publish so many tips and suggestions posts here. I thought this type of post would be a bit redundant and repetitive given similar posts in the past. However, as I started thinking about it (and after a few messages over on my Bookstagram about this), I thought this may be a nice type of post to draft and publish. So Thursday, yesterday, and today, I've focused on tips for getting into certain genres that I read a lot.
Today, here are 8 tips for getting into the mythology genre.
Tip 1: Take notes.
I've given this tip out so many times at this point. But it can really help to take notes when reading mythology. I would also suggest having slightly detailed notes, such as who's who, where someone's from, what they're the deity of, etc.
Tip 2: Have a list or two of names, places, and dates easily accessible.
Some mythology books do include these lists. However, if your edition doesn't have these lists, maybe look them up online and bookmark them. That way, you can refer back to them if there's a name or place you forgot about or if you need to place the myth within chronological context.
Tip 3: Try to understand the context in which these myths were originally relayed.
Most of these myths were told orally. As a result, there may be a few redundant and/or repeated phrases or sentences. Some recent mythology book editions do edit most of the redundancy out when they can, but if you see a lot of repetition, it's because it was originally told orally.
Tip 4: Try to understand the myths from the original audience's perspective(s).
You don't have to agree with the original audience's perspective(s), but the least you can do is understand those perspectives. This will also help you better understand the myth as well, because we aren't the original, or even the intended, audience.
Tip 5: Don't stick to one person's interpretation or translation of a myth or set of myths.
Yes, one person's interpretation or translation of a myth or set of myths may be more accurate. However, you don't necessarily need to rely on only their interpretation. Reading multiple translations can help you have a more rounded view of the myth(s).
Tip 6: While you don't need to know everything about a society and its mythology, you have the option to do research.
This is very similar to a couple tips I included in yesterday's post, so I won't spend too much time here. However, it may help to do some research so you can understand the context of the myths a bit better.
Tip 7: Yes, myths are myths for a reason, but be aware that they could have some truth to them.
I think the best example of this is the Trojan War - the only evidence of it was Homer's Iliad until Heinrich Schliemann discovered it. Even if exact cities in myths aren't real, myths can give you a lot of detail about the society that the myth originated from.
Tip 8: Epic poems (think The Iliad, The Odyssey, the Aeneid, and Beowulf) do count as mythology.
This may seem obvious. However, since they're often categorized as "epics" or "epic poems," I tend to notice people forgetting and/or not realizing that they are also part of a civilization's mythology.
