Abstract

    The Greek mythology is an important part of the Greek culture and a priceless cultural heritage of humanity. It also has exerted great influence on the British and American cultures in many aspects, such as British and American literature, British and American mass culture, the English language and so on. Language and its cultural background interact with each other and are inseparably integrated, which makes it possible to learn languages through cultural background. If one wants to learn English well and makes good use of it in communication, he or she has to make acquaintance with its cultural background knowledge. As the valuable property of the whole world and the treasure of mankind, Greek mythology plays a significance role in the development of western civilization. So it is important for the English learners to acquire it the language learning.
The paper mainly discusses the influence of Greek mythology on the British and American cultures. It briefly introduces the origin and characteristics of Greek mythology, analyzes the influence of Greek mythology on the British and American cultures from the aspects of British and American literature, British and American news, brands and advertisement, as well as the English language, and also explores the importance of learning Greek mythology in English teaching. Through such a study on Greek mythology, it is hoped that the paper will help the English learners understand the British and American cultures better and improve their language learning ability. 

Keywords: Greek mythology, the British and American cultures, influence

摘要

古希腊神话是希腊文化的重要组成部分，也是人类宝贵的文化遗产。它在英美文学，英美大众文化和英语语言等许多方面对英美文化也有着重要的影响。语言和文化背景相互联系不可分割，通过文化背景学习语言显的极其重要。一个语言学习者想要学好英语，就必须掌握好文化背景知识。作为世界文化中宝贵的一部分，希腊神话在英美文化中也起着重要作用。本文主要讨论了希腊神话对英美文化的影响。简单介绍了希腊神话的起源和特点，主要从其对英美文学，英美新闻、商标、广告以及英语语言等方面的影响分析了希腊神话对英美文化的影响，探讨了学习希腊神话对英语教学的重要性。本文希望通过对希腊神话的了解与研究，以此来更好地了解英美文化，从而帮助英语学习者提高英语学习水平。

关键词：希腊神话；英美文化；影响