>‘this thing is too generic and tropey’
>look inside
>forefather of that genre
Ok so stop me if I'm wrong but
... If the basics of Greek\Roman mythology is taught in schools in some countries in Europe, the same is probably not true in the US.
Like, as Europeans, we are a bunch of countries which got invaded by Romans way back when and therefore, their culture had an impact ours.
So knowing that the US history probably start closer to the creation of their country, they probably don't really touch the subject all that much...
Greek and Roman myth are absolutely taught in US schools, usually as part of literature education (or were; it has been a while), and from a young age. Understanding the basics of classic mythology (and the Bible, if approached correctly) are absolutely critical for understanding basically the entire English literary canon.
This doesn't mean that people will retain all that information. I had definitely forgotten about the character Mentor.
Okay! So you guys DO study it. But then maybe it depends where you are? In my case for example (I'm European, but hear me out), we were supposed to study the Odyssey in class but never did (I was in a very shitty school) So I never learned that Telemachus mentor's name was Mentor. Would it be far fetched to assume the same can happen somewhere else?
Yeah, that's accurate. In the US, as with I assume any nation, YMMV on the quality and contents of your education.
