Last year's Summer Reading Challenge used the theme of fantastic creatures from legend and myth.
As an author lucky enough to have a novel on the official booklist, I visited my local libraries to talk to kids about the scheme, and one of the things we discussed was how myths and legends are still very much a part of our lives in the modern age, even if we don't realise it.
For example, Greco-Roman gods provide not only the names of all of the planets in our solar system but also five months of the year - January, March, April, May and June.
Moreover, Viking gods are also remembered via four days of the week - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
These simple examples show how centuries-old myths have stayed with us and got me thinking as to which of today's gods and myths might be remembered in the distant future.
Regular readers will know that I'm a comics buff and I've always thought that the modern day super-hero is very much an analogue to ancient heroes of myth, such as Achilles or Perseus.
Just as the ancient Egyptians drew pictures of their gods in action, so too the modern comic book depicts our updated versions of these archetypes (literally, in the case of Thor). As you can expect, I had children scratching their heads at this - until I showed them the following examples of Then versus Now.
Then:a being with abilities far beyond those of mortal men, including flight and super strength, who derives his power from the sun.
Now: a being with abilities far beyond those of mortal men, including flight and super strength, who derives his power from the sun.
Then: a bat-like creature associated with darkness, sacrifice and death who hunts evil-doers.
Now: a bat-like creature associated with darkness, sacrifice and death who hunts evil-doers.
Then: a ruler of the oceans who wears golden armour and rides upon a hybrid sea creature.
Now: a ruler of the oceans who wears golden armour and rides upon a hybrid sea creature.
The beauty of this is that I doubt that the creators of these super-heroes had any idea of the mythological counterparts to their four-colour characters, but the coincidences are striking and I'm sure Jung would have something to say about this.
And, of course, we have our own modern day monsters from around the world such as the chupacabra, Slender Man and the kuchisake-onna. Clearly, there's a part of the human psyche that clings to the idea of monsters among us.
It isn't hard to imagine people 2,000 years from now looking back upon our century with amusement at the gods we worship in our popular culture.
Jason is the author of The Sword of Kuromori, a tale of monsters and myth set entirely in modern Japan. He has also worked for Marvel Comics.
As an author lucky enough to have a novel on the official booklist, I visited my local libraries to talk to kids about the scheme, and one of the things we discussed was how myths and legends are still very much a part of our lives in the modern age, even if we don't realise it.
For example, Greco-Roman gods provide not only the names of all of the planets in our solar system but also five months of the year - January, March, April, May and June.
Moreover, Viking gods are also remembered via four days of the week - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
 |
| Wodin's Day |
 |
| Thor's Day |
 |
| Freya's Day |
These simple examples show how centuries-old myths have stayed with us and got me thinking as to which of today's gods and myths might be remembered in the distant future.
Regular readers will know that I'm a comics buff and I've always thought that the modern day super-hero is very much an analogue to ancient heroes of myth, such as Achilles or Perseus.
Just as the ancient Egyptians drew pictures of their gods in action, so too the modern comic book depicts our updated versions of these archetypes (literally, in the case of Thor). As you can expect, I had children scratching their heads at this - until I showed them the following examples of Then versus Now.
Then:a being with abilities far beyond those of mortal men, including flight and super strength, who derives his power from the sun.
 |
| Apollo |
 |
| Superman |
 |
| Camazotz, a Mayan bat god |
Now: a bat-like creature associated with darkness, sacrifice and death who hunts evil-doers.
 |
| Batman |
Then: a ruler of the oceans who wears golden armour and rides upon a hybrid sea creature.
 |
| Varuna, a Hindu God |
 |
| Aquaman |
The beauty of this is that I doubt that the creators of these super-heroes had any idea of the mythological counterparts to their four-colour characters, but the coincidences are striking and I'm sure Jung would have something to say about this.
And, of course, we have our own modern day monsters from around the world such as the chupacabra, Slender Man and the kuchisake-onna. Clearly, there's a part of the human psyche that clings to the idea of monsters among us.
It isn't hard to imagine people 2,000 years from now looking back upon our century with amusement at the gods we worship in our popular culture.
Jason is the author of The Sword of Kuromori, a tale of monsters and myth set entirely in modern Japan. He has also worked for Marvel Comics.
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