The Contribution of Graeco-Roman Mythology to the Formation of Brazilian National Identity

Pablo Silva Machado Bispo dos Santos and Ricardo Gancz examine the different periods in the Brazilian education system, demonstrating how the myths are used to justify and reinforce the political paradigm/views of each period. Tracing the history of Brazil, from the period in which the country was a vassal to Portugal until independence, the beginning of the republic, two different dictatorships, the rise of the left and the current rise of the right, the authors show that with each political change came a shift in the paradigm of education, expressed in the form of laws and the alteration of the obligatory curricula. In every period, as this chapter establishes, mythology was part of the official curricula that schools were required to follow, and these myths were used to further the political messages of the different governments.

The complete volume "Our Mythical Education: The Reception of Classical Myth Worldwide in Formal Education, 1900–2020",   edited by Lisa Maurice, focuses on school education including a wide geographical and chronological range. The volume covers Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas (including Canada, the USA, and South America), Australia and New Zealand.

Published in the series “Our Mythical Childhood”, edited by Prof. Katarzyna Marciniak, Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, University of Warsaw, Poland.

Open Access of the complete volume is available at https://www.wuw.pl/product-eng-14887-Our-Mythical-Education-The-Reception-of-Classical-Myth-Worldwide-in-Formal-Education-1900-2020-PDF.html