There is a body of ancient stories which form the foundations of our Western civilization and which were retold and referred to over and over again in European literature. Beowulf, Tristan and Iseult, the King Arthur Cycle, the Illiad, and the Odyssey are epic heroic tales which used to feature in high school curricula because they were recognized as the roots of our past. Ignorance of these tales makes it impossible to understand European literature. Unfortunately, the way i