The Kalevala occupies a particular position in world literature. Inspired by and collected from traditional Finnish epic oral verse, the book has been translated into a number of languages around the world. Analysis of these translations can give us insight into how translators construct the identity of their own culture or of a foreign culture. In the context of globalization, translation becomes a tool for manipulating foreign and domestic discourse alike, especially for texts which, like the Kalevala, emphasize on mythological material. In this text it is shown how two translators from two different cultures of Europe are somewhat bound by the rules of their home country’s literary system when it comes to translating the Finnish national epic.