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Learning through Fun. Classical Antiquity in Tytus, Romek i A’Tomek, a Polish Comic Book Series

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25365/lili-2022-58-1

Keywords:

children’s comic books, child protagonist, animal protagonist, antiquity, Atlantis, Olympic Games, Athens, Greek theatre, learning Latin, Colosseum, gladiator fights

Abstract

The series Tytus, Romek i A’Tomek is largely enjoyed by children and has been popular with genera-tions of Polish readers since it was first printed in 1957 in the magazine Świat Młodych. Since 1966, the author Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski has been publishing the series in the form of independent booklets. The comics are about two boys and a chimpanzee, Tytus, whose intellect is similar to that of a human being. Their adventures feature many educational elements as the characters learn about the world, and yet they are still incredibly witty and entertaining. The focus of this analysis is to show how information about the ancient Olympic Games, Greek theatre and Roman gladiator fights can be successfully incorporated into a children’s comic book.

Author Biography

Marta Pszczolińska is an alumna of culture studies at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw where she currently works within the project “Our Mythical Childhood... The Reception of Classical Antiquity in Children’s and Young Adults’ Culture” in Response to Regional and Global Challenges supported by the European Research Council Consolidator Grant. She works mainly on the reception of Greek and Roman antiquity in Polish children’s and teenagers’ literature and educational materials of the 20th century.