Mythology is one of the principal sources of inspiration for Turkish literature. During the classical period, Persian and Eastern mythologies were gradually supplanted by ancient Greek mythology in the Westernization process. Hilmi Yavuz is one of the poets who engage with the world of myths through new imagery and symbols in his poems. Yavuz’s Soylen Poems, consisting of sixteen poems, supports the myth based poetic tradition in modern Turkish literature through original imagery influenced by postmodern expression. This article closely examines the mythological elements in the Yavuz’s Soylen Poems “Lethe”, “Endymion”, “Charybdis and Skylla”, “Dionysos Who Incites the Wild Horses”, and “Chronos” through the lens of reception aesthetics. In the poems analyzed in the article, the significance of the mythological representations is explored, along with the universal or subjective emotions they evoke, and how the created images and imagery relate to the continuity of past mythical traditions. The myths in the poems reflect the appropriation as a universal heritage and the continuity established through the connection with the past. This study offers insights into Turkish literature’s mythological tendencies through the new imagery generated in poems inspired by mythology.

Turkish poet, mythology, Greek Mythology, Hilmi Yavuz, Soylen Poems.