Editing Classical mythology (section)

{{Short description|Study of myths of the Greeks and Romans}}
[[File:Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre - Le Rapt d'Europe.jpg|thumb|301x301px|''Le Rapt d'Europe'' ("The Abduction of [[Europa (mythology)|Europa]]," 1750) by [[Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre]] ''([[Dallas Museum of Art]])'']]
'''Classical mythology''', also known as '''Greco-Roman mythology''' or '''Greek and Roman mythology''', is the collective body and study of [[myth]]s from the [[ancient Greeks]] and [[ancient Romans]]. Mythology, along with [[Ancient Greek philosophy|philosophy]] and [[History of political thinking|political thought]], is one of the major survivals of [[classical antiquity]] throughout later, including modern, [[Western culture]].<ref>Entry on "mythology" in ''The Classical Tradition'', edited by [[Anthony Grafton]], [[Glenn W. Most]], and Salvatore Settis (Harvard University Press, 2010), p. 614 ''et passim''.</ref> The Greek word ''mythos'' refers to the spoken word or speech, but it also denotes a tale, story or narrative.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Basic Aspects of the Greek Myths - Greek Mythology Link |url=http://www.maicar.com/GML/BasicAspects.html |access-date=2016-12-07 |website=www.maicar.com}}</ref>

As late as the [[Roman conquest of Greece]] during the last two centuries [[Before the Common Era]] and for centuries afterwards, the Romans, who already had gods of their own, adopted many mythic narratives directly from the Greeks while preserving their own Roman (Latin) names for the gods. As a result, the actions of many Roman and Greek deities became equivalent in storytelling and literature in modern Western culture. For example, the Roman sky god [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] or Jove became equated with his Greek counterpart [[Zeus]]; the Roman fertility goddess [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] with the Greek goddess [[Aphrodite]]; and the Roman sea god [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] with the Greek god [[Poseidon]].

[[Latin]] remained the dominant language in [[Europe]] during the [[Middle Ages]] and [[Renaissance]], largely due to the widespread influence of the [[Roman Empire]]. During this period, mythological names almost always appeared in their Latin form. However, in the 19th century, there was a shift towards the use of either the Greek or Roman names.<ref>Francis Haskell and Nicholas Penny, ''Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900'' (Yale University Press, 1981, 1998), p. xv.</ref> For example, "[[Zeus]]" and "[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]]" both became widely used in that century as the name of the supreme god of the classical [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]].