--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a very clear memory of my first…" description: "\"“I have a very clear memory of my first encounter with myth, sitting in a mobile library and travelling, at the same time, with Theseus on the road to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/alan-lee-29219_myth_i-have-a-very-clear-memory-of-my-first-e_982328.png" --- # I have a very clear memory of my first encounter with… ![“I have a very clear memory of my first encounter with myth, sitting in a mobile library and travelling, at the same time, with Theseus on the road to Athens. By the time we'd met, and disposed of, the pine-bending giant Sinis, I'd become completely entranced. Within a few months I'd read every…” quote by Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/alan-lee-29219_myth_i-have-a-very-clear-memory-of-my-first-e_982328.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/alan-lee-29219_myth_i-have-a-very-clear-memory-of-my-first-e_982328.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/alan-lee-29219_myth_i-have-a-very-clear-memory-of-my-first-e_982328.png) > ““I have a very clear memory of my first encounter with myth, sitting in a mobile library and travelling, at the same time, with Theseus on the road to Athens. By the time we'd met, and disposed of, the pine-bending giant Sinis, I'd become completely entranced. Within a few months I'd read every book on myths, legends and folklore in our two nearest libraries.”” [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker recalls a vivid early encounter with myth while traveling, leading to an intense fascination and extensive reading of mythic literature. **In simple terms:** Early myth exposure sparked deep fascination and study. Key Takeaway Seek out immersive experiences to ignite passion. Themes myth learning curiosity Mood enthusiastic reflective Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - travel - library visits - reading myths - personal research Key Concepts folklore personal growth literature Questions to Reflect On - How can early experiences shape lifelong interests? - What resources deepen mythic understanding? A Different Perspective Personal enthusiasm may not translate to broader impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Theseus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theseus/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I'm drawn to characters who bear similarities to the protagonists in myths and legends. (...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-m-drawn-to-characters-who-bear-similarities-to-the-protagonists-in/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“Menestheus, the son of Peteus, grandson of Orneus, and the great-grandson to Erechtheus, the first man that is recorded to have affected popularity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/menestheus-the-son-of-peteus-grandson-of-orneus-and-the-great/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [To you your father should be as a god; One that composed your beauties, yea, and one To whom you are but as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-you-your-father-should-be-as-a-god-one-that-composed-your-beauties/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“So, Ariadne was the babe with the ball of twine and the plan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-cross/so-ariadne-was-the-babe-with-the-ball-of-twine-and-the-plan/) [Claire Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-cross/) > [I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-am-a-jew-but-i-am-enthralled-by-the-luminous-figure-of-the-nazarene/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Lovers and madmen have such seething brains Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend More than cool reason ever comprehends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/lovers-and-madmen-have-such-seething-brains-such-shaping-fantasies/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“These things sensibly affected Theseus, who, thinking it but just not to disregard, but rather partake of, the sufferings of his fellow citizens, offered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/these-things-sensibly-affected-theseus-who-thinking-it-but-just-not/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [ “\[Theseus\] soon found himself involved in factions and troubles; those who long had hated him had now added to their hatred contempt; and the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/theseus-soon-found-himself-involved-in-factions-and-troubles-those/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Theseus made unscrupulous use of Ariadne (whom he left on an island where Bacchus later found her-I always think that really meant she took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/theseus-made-unscrupulous-use-of-ariadne-whom-he-left-on-an-island/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [To you your father should be as a god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-you-your-father-should-be-as-a-god/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“I had not fooled myself with false hope. I was a goddess, and he a mortal, and both of us were imprisoned. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-had-not-fooled-myself-with-false-hope-i-was-a-goddess-and-he-a/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [The heroes in paganism correspond exactly to the saints in popery, and holy dervises in MAHOMETANISM. The place of, HERCULES, THESEUS, HECTOR, ROMULUS, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-heroes-in-paganism-correspond-exactly-to-the-saints-in-popery-and/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd Than that which withering on the virgin thorn Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-earthlier-happy-is-the-rose-distill-d-than-that-which-withering/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“This vexed Theseus, and determining not to hold aloof, but to share the fortunes of the people, he came forward and offered himself without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/this-vexed-theseus-and-determining-not-to-hold-aloof-but-to-share-the/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [There are things roaming around inside my head as clever as Theseus in the Labyrinth. It's just that nobody ever gave them the necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-mccaughrean/there-are-things-roaming-around-inside-my-head-as-clever-as-theseus/) [Geraldine McCaughrean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-mccaughrean/) ## More by Alan Lee > [“I’ve had so many influences and sources of inspiration as an illustrator that it is impossible to name just one. I loved Aubrey Beardsley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-ve-had-so-many-influences-and-sources-of-inspiration-as-an/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [I spend as much time as I can sketching from nature, Dartmoor contains such a rich variety of landscape, as many boulders, foaming rivers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-spend-as-much-time-as-i-can-sketching-from-nature-dartmoor-contains/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“When I started to draw, most of my influences were from other painters and illustrators, so I was drawing landscape at second hand, really.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/when-i-started-to-draw-most-of-my-influences-were-from-other-painters/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I've been strongly influenced, in technique as well as subject matter, by some of the early 20th-century book illustrators — Arthur Rackham and Edmund…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-ve-been-strongly-influenced-in-technique-as-well-as-subject-matter/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“A lot of excellent illustrators are working at the moment--especially in fantasy and children's books. It is exciting also to see graphic artists such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/a-lot-of-excellent-illustrators-are-working-at-the-moment-especially/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“There is a storytelling element in there. The tango form is a little like the blues in that you have a kind of structure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/there-is-a-storytelling-element-in-there-the-tango-form-is-a-little/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [To draw a tree, to pay such close attention to every aspect of a tree, is an act of reverence not only toward the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/to-draw-a-tree-to-pay-such-close-attention-to-every-aspect-of-a-tree/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“Many of the most popular children's stories have their roots in tales invented for particular children, and this casual, often serendipitous, approach produces a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/many-of-the-most-popular-children-s-stories-have-their-roots-in-tales/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“Never let yourself get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired, otherwise you’ll do something you’ll regret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/never-let-yourself-get-too-hungry-angry-lonely-or-tired-otherwise-you/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [The power of both myth and art is this magical ability to open doors, to make connections — not only between us and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/the-power-of-both-myth-and-art-is-this-magical-ability-to-open-doors/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I like to work in watercolor, with as little under-drawing as I can get away with. I like the unpredictability of a medium which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-like-to-work-in-watercolor-with-as-little-under-drawing-as-i-can/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [I keep drawing the trees, the rocks, the river, I'm still learning how to see them; I'm still discovering how to render their forms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-keep-drawing-the-trees-the-rocks-the-river-i-m-still-learning-how/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I first read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit when I was eighteen. It felt as though the author had taken every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-first-read-the-lord-of-the-rings-and-the-hobbit-when-i-was-eighteen/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I often don’t have a clear idea of what I am going to be drawing when I start, unless it is for a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-often-don-t-have-a-clear-idea-of-what-i-am-going-to-be-drawing-when/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I believe that we need good tale-tellers now, as much as we did when the oral tradition was the only way that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-believe-that-we-need-good-tale-tellers-now-as-much-as-we-did-when/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) [Explore all 18 Alan Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) ## More Myth quotes > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > ['Sex and The City' was made to correct the myth that if you were single at a certain age, you were a leper. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-patrick-king/sex-and-the-city-was-made-to-correct-the-myth-that-if-you-were-single/) [Michael Patrick King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-patrick-king/) > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“Believe reality is what you were taught was myth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-mcgirr/believe-reality-is-what-you-were-taught-was-myth/) [Nicholas A. McGirr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-mcgirr/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“I argue that the Jesus of the Gospels is essentially a myth. The Gospels are largely fiction. They were created around the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-elleg-rd/i-argue-that-the-jesus-of-the-gospels-is-essentially-a-myth-the/) Alvar Ellegård > [Those who claim absolutism is merely a myth are right that it has been misused simply as a byword for political centralisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wilson/those-who-claim-absolutism-is-merely-a-myth-are-right-that-it-has/) Peter Wilson > [I think the older you get, you start to break down the myth and you get to the dirt of it - and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jena-malone/i-think-the-older-you-get-you-start-to-break-down-the-myth-and-you/) [Jena Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jena-malone/) > [“And we cannot keep our balance. Myth gives way to Reason. Revelation to Orthodoxy. We must dance or go mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cheetham/and-we-cannot-keep-our-balance-myth-gives-way-to-reason-revelation-to/) Tom Cheetham > [Canada is a myth people made up to entertain children, like the Tooth Fairy. There’s no such place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/canada-is-a-myth-people-made-up-to-entertain-children-like-the-tooth/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [In each studio there is a human being dressed in the full regalia of his myth fearing to expore a vulnerable opening, spreading not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-each-studio-there-is-a-human-being-dressed-in-the-full-regalia-of/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-greatest-reward-of-this-constant-interrogation-confrontation-with/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Contrary to a common myth, while there are general guidelines, there is no exact 'right' way to run ... I am amazed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grete-waitz/contrary-to-a-common-myth-while-there-are-general-guidelines-there-is/) [Grete Waitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grete-waitz/) [Browse all 2,141 Myth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have a very clear memory of my first encounter with myth, sitting in a mobile library and travelling, at the same time, with Theseus on the road to Athens. By the time we'd met, and disposed of, the pine-bending giant Sinis, I'd become completely entranced. 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