Jump to content

Greek mythology in popular culture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Anachronist (talk | contribs) at 00:28, 27 July 2011 (→Cerberus: removed items that are not clear Greek mythology references other than the name). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Elements of Greek mythology have appeared many times in popular culture.

Olympians

Aphrodite

  • Aphrodite, referred to as "Lady Cyprian", appears in John C. Wright's Orphans of Chaos and is one of the three goddesses who will determine who succeeds to the throne of Zeus.[1]
  • Aphrodite appears twice in the God of War video game franchise. First, in God of War, she gives Kratos (the main character) the power to turn enemies to stone, but to prove himself, he is forced to bring her the head of Medusa. In God of War III, she is encountered in her bedchamber frolicking with her two handmaidens; she seduces Kratos (to which the player can choose to engage in a sex mini-game) to have sex with her, then lets him continue with his quest. She is the only Olympian that is not killed by Kratos in this game.
  • Aphrodite appears in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, particularly in The Titan's Curse and is the mother of Silena Beauregard. She also appears in The Lost Hero as the mother of Piper McLean. She is viewed as kind, very pretty, yet powerful, with Percy stating he fears her more than her boyfriend Ares.
  • Venus appears in The Apotheosis of Washington, holding the transatlantic cable.[2]

Apollo

  • Apollo appears in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and is the father of a doo number of campers. He is vain, often composing self-centered horrible poetry, with Percy claiming he rather get shot with an arrow than listen to one.
  • In John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, Apollo, as "Phoebus the Bright God" and "Destroyer", is one of the Olympians determining the children's fate.[1]
  • In the video game God of War III, his bow, the Bow of Apollo (owned by Pirithous in the game) is featured as an Item (sub-weapon). There is also a bonus costume dedicated to him.
  • In The Awakening of Flora, Apollo brings the day and sanctions Flora's wedding with Zephyrus.

Ares

Main article: Ares in popular culture
  • In Percy Jackson, Ares is an enemy of Percy Jackson, and Curses him that whenever he raises his blade, he will feel the curse of Ares.
  • In John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, Ares, referred to as "Lord Mavors", is a major character, owing to his wish to claim Zeus's throne, and the infludence of his plans on the children's ability to escape and survive.[1]
  • Ares is featured in the God of War video game franchise as the titular 'God of War' and primary antagonist of the first game.

Artemis

  • Artemis appears in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books and is the leader of Hunters maidens, particularly in The Titan's Curse.
  • In John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, Artemis, called "Phoebe" and "Huntress", appears and hunts the children, from which they are only saved by Ares's intervention.[1]
  • Artemis appears in the 2005 video game God of War and grants the main character Kratos her blade, The Blade of Artemis (a blade she used to slay a Titan), as a weapon on his journey.
  • In the Dark-Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dark-Hunters are immortal warriors who serve the Greek goddess Artemis, dedicated to defending mankind against Daimons and other enemies.

Athena

Demeter / Ceres

  • Demeter appeared in the 1997 Disney movie, Hercules and the animated series based on it, as one of the gods upon Mount Olympus.
  • Demeter is also one of the poems in Carol Ann Duffy's collection The World's Wife.
  • Demeter (together with Dionysus) was used as an archetype for the character Tori by contemporary artist Tori Amos in her 2007 album American Doll Posse. Amos created five personalities for the album, each representing a different Greek god or goddess.
  • In the computer game Zeus: Master of Olympus, Demeter is one of the gods to whom the player can build a temple. The completion of the sanctuary to Demeter provides the city with arable farmland suitable for raising crops or livestock; the goddess provides blessings and sanctification of buildings associated with produce, and can be appealed to for a supply of food.
  • In the Konami game for the MSX computer The Maze of Galious, Demeter is one of the gods the player can visit to buy artifacts which gives extra powers.
  • She is a character in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Here she constantly reprimands Persephone for being foolish enough to eat the fruit of the underworld. She seems to care a lot about cereal and agriculture.
  • In the long running British radio soap opera "The Archers" one of Lynda Snell's goats is named Demeter. The other is named Persephone.
  • Ceres appears in The Apotheosis of Washington, on the McCormick Reaper.[2]

Dionysus

  • Dionysis can be worshipped in the game Zeus: Master of Olympus and provides wine when worshipped and allows grapes to be grown around his Temple.
  • Dionysis is a main character in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, being named Mr D and is the camp director of Camp Half-Blood.
  • Frequently referred to by Maryann Forrester (a maenad) as "the god who comes", as well as by several of his epithets (Bacchus, Bromios, Dendrites, Eleutherios, Enorches), in the HBO series True Blood.
  • In John C. Wright's Titans of Chaos, Dionysus ("Lord Vintner", "Lord Anacreon") is considered as a suspect for sending the Lamia to kill one of the children.[1]
  • In C. S. Lewis's Prince Caspian, Bacchus is leader of the maenads and Silenus when they accompany Aslan. He shows power over vines.
  • In Roberta Gellis's Bull God, Dionysus is the love interest of Ariadne; unlike the myth, she is never in love with Theseus.[3] He also appears in her Thrice Bound as a child that Hekate is raising.[4]
  • John Keats's Ode To A Nightingale rejects "charioted by Bacchus and his pards."[5]
  • In John Keats's Endymion, the "Song of the Indian Maid" recounts how "Bacchus and his crew" interrupted her in her solitude.[6]
  • In Disney's Fantasia, Bacchus is the center of the festivities in the Pastoral Symphony sequence.

Hades

Main article: Hades in popular culture

Hephaestus

Main article: Hephaestus in popular culture

Hera

  • Hera appears in Percy Jackson and the Olympians where she is one of the two goddess that do not have demi-god children, and takes on a major role in The Lost Hero, the first of the sequel series.
  • In John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, Hera ("Great Queen" and "Lady Basilissa") is one of the three goddess who will determine who will claim the throne of Zeus.[1]
  • Hera appears in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys as the main antagonist to Hercules. Hera was jealous Zeus had a son with a mortal women that she to revenge on Hercules by murdering his wife and children.
  • Hera is featured in the 2010 video game God of War III. She orders Hercules to attack protagonist Kratos, to which Kratos kills, and is later killed in her gardens by Kratos after mocking Pandora (who reminded Kratos of his deceased daughter). Her death kills all plant life. She also had ordered her pet Argos to stop Kratos' destruction of Greece in the 2007 video game God of War: Betrayal.

Hermes

Hestia

Poseidon

  • Poseidon is the father of Percy Jackson of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and a major character.
  • Poseidon—as "the Earthshaker" and "Lord Pelagaeus" -- is one of the major factions in John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos.[1]
  • Poseidon appears as one of the main antagonists in Saint Seiya, serving as the primary antagonist in the second arc of the manga series.
  • Poseidon appears in the God of War video game franchise. He first appears in the 2005 game God of War where he tasks series protagonist Kratos with ridding his seas of the Hydra and grants him the magic, Poseidon's Rage. Kratos also acquires his trident which is used in each chronological game and lets Kratos swim under water indefinitely. He makes a brief appearance in scenes in the 2007 game God of War II showing the time of the Great War and then appears at the end of the game watching Kratos lead an assault with the Titans on Mt. Olympus. He again appears in the 2010 game God of War III as the first boss of the game. He at first takes out the Titan Epimetheus and then uses a large leviathan with an avatar of himself controlling the beast. Kratos knocks him out of the construct to which he beats and kills Poseidon, which in turn causes the seas to flood the earth. He also appears in the 2010 game God of War: Ghost of Sparta and communicates to Kratos through a statue showing anger as Kratos destroyed his beloved city Atlantis.
  • Neptune appears in The Apotheosis of Washington.[2]

Zeus

  • Zeus appears in Nathaniel Hawthorn's A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, in the story "The Miraculous Pitcher."
  • Zeus is a major character in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, starting with The Lightning Thief, where the stolen lightning is his. He has a daughter named Thalia Grace and a son Jason Grace who he concived while in his roman form Jupiter In Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, he is portrayed by Sean Bean.
  • In John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, Zeus, called "Lord Terminus", has recently died, and infighting over his throne fully occupies Olympus, and his commands with regards to the children are a determining factor in their lives.[1]
  • Zeus is a major repeating character in the God of War video game franchise. He first appears in God of War and aids Kratos with the magic, Zeus' Fury. He also appears to Kratos in human disguise as The Grave Digger and does this again in the 2010 game God of War: Ghost of Sparta. Also in that game, he appears as a playable character in the after-game mode, the Combat Arena by selecting The Grave Digger and wields the weapons, the Gauntlet of Zeus and Blade of Olympus. In the 2007 game God of War II, he betrays Kratos, kills him and becomes the final boss. It is also learned that he created the Blade of Olympus to end the Great War and that he is Kratos' father. Kratos acquires this weapon to fight against Zeus with. He is featured as the final boss again in God of War III where he is killed by Kratos. In the 2008 game God of War: Chains of Olympus, Kratos uses his weapon, the Gauntlet of Zeus.
  • Zeus is the name of a "Bit-Beast" in the beyblade anime series, as well as a beyblade toy.
  • In Disney's Fantasia, Zeus interrupts the festivities with a storm in the Pastoral Symphony sequence.
  • In Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, Jupiter is deposed.
  • Zeus is the code name give to Prototype protagonist Alex Mercer.

Minor gods

Aeolus

Boreas

Ceryx

  • Appears in the 2007 game God of War: Betrayal as the final boss. He is sent by Zeus to tell Kratos (main character) to stop his rampage of Greece. Kratos ignores him and kills Ceryx for interfering.

Circe

Main article: Circe in popular culture

Eros/Cupid

Euphrosyne

Flora

Hebe

Hecate

  • Hekate is the main character of Roberta Gellis's Thrice Bound.[4]
  • In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Hecate appears as the queen of witches.[11]
  • The Greek goddess of magic gets a cabin built of stones engraved with magical writing in Rick Riordan's The Last Olympian.

Hymen

Hypnos

  • Hypnos appears as the primary villain in Monkeybone portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito. Besides being the God of Sleep that resides in Downtown, he is depicted as a satyr and the brother of Death. He sent Monkeybone into Stu Miley's body so that he can make a lot of nightmares.
  • Appears in the video game The Last Remnant, as a humanoid enemy with long arms that appears in larges groups.
  • In The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan it is revealed that Hypnos has demigod children at Camp Half Blood. His most known child is his son Clovis.

Iris

See also: Iris (mythology) § Fictional adaptations

Moirae

  • In Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief, the three fates appear to Percy as three old women, and one of them cuts a thread.
  • In the 2007 video game God of War II, the Moirae (called The Sisters of Fate) appear as the next to final boss. The protagonists Kratos begins a journey to the Sisters of Fate as he was betrayed and killed by Zeus. He journeys to them to change his fate at the hands of Zeus. Upon reaching them and being denied, he battles and kills the three sisters and uses their power to change his fate at the hands of Zeus and battles Zeus. Zeus manages to escape and Kratos uses the sisters power again to go back in time to the time the Titans were amidst defeat in The Great War, and brings them to his time where the gods are weakened.

Morpheus

See also: Morpheus (mythology) § Appearances
  • In The Last Olympian, Morpheus puts the all of Manhattan to sleep for much of the book.
  • In John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, Morpheus is the father of Colin, and the one best able to communicate to the hostage children, in their dreams.[1]
  • Morpheus's Dream is a Spanish band fronted by Raquel de Rosario
  • In the 2008 game God of War: Chains of Olympus, he is the silent assailant of Persephone. He is not seen, though, he causes the gods to go into a deep slumber after Helios' kidnapping. He retreats after Helios is returned to the sky. In the 2010 game God of War III, he is featured as a bonus costume.

Muses

Main article: Muses in popular culture

Nyx

  • A series of young adult novels by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast known as "House of Night" feature Nyx as the main goddess worshiped by vampyres and young fledgling vampyres at the eponymous school.
  • Nyx (as Nox) is an important, if enigmatic, character in Piers Anthony's novel, "And Eternity", the seventh book of his "Incarnations of Immortality" series. Seventeen years after the original completion of the series, Mr. Anthony has added an eighth book,"Under a Velvet Cloak" in which Nox is the central Incarnation of Immortality.
  • Nyx appears as a Demon in the popular Japanese Megami Tensei series of Role-playing games. In Persona 3, Nyx is the main antagonist and the harbinger of the apocalypse.
  • Nyx is the name of a character in the PS2 title, Radiata Stories. He is the founder of the thief/assassin guild "Void Company", and he was an appropriately named personal skill called "King of Night".
  • Nyx appears in Richelle Mead's book "Succubus Dreams"
  • In Mitaka, Tokyo, there is a bar named Nyx.
  • In Bangalore, India, there is a nightclub named Nyx.
  • In Kamichama Karin, Kirika is borrowing the powers of Nyx.
  • In Harry Potter, the spell to extinguish the light produced by the spell 'Lumos' is 'Nox'
  • In the PS2 game Resident Evil: Outbreak: File #2 the final boss of the game is Nyx, a B.O.W. developed by Umbrella.
  • In The Game Eve Online, there is a gallente ship known as the Nyx.

Pan

Main article: Pan in popular culture

Persephone

Main article: Persephone in popular culture

Proteus

Main article: Proteus in popular culture

Thanatos

  • Appears in the 2010 video game God of War: Ghost of Sparta as the final boss. He is the ruler of the Domain of Death and father of Erinys. He's responsible for imprisoning and torturing Kratos's (main character) brother Deimos.

Skiron/Caurus

  • In L. Jagi Lamplighter's Prospero In Hell, Caurus is a wind-spirit that aids Miranda in a fight.
  • In John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, Corus is the wind god that catches Amelia in her escape and agrees to let her go.

Zephyrus

Humans and demi-gods

Achilles

Main article: Achilles § In_later_art

The Argonauts

The Australian Broadcasting Commission featured Jason and the Argonauts in its The Argonauts' Club children's program. Children listened to the afternoon radio program and interacted with the presenters, whose leader was "Jason", by sending in stories, poems, and art works, some of which were described on air. Their interaction helped them gain status within the organisation, such as "The Order of the Dragon's Tooth" and "Order of the Golden Fleece", but members were only ever known by their Ship and number (Oar) in its crew of fifty. The format was devised by author Nina Murdoch in 1931 then revived and developed by Ida Elizabeth Osbourne in 1941 and ran until 2 April 1972. The longest serving presenter, and "Jason" throughout, was Atholl Fleming who died in May 1972.

Also, The Argonauts are referenced in the They Might Be Giants song "Birdhouse in Your Soul"("after killing Jason off, and countless screaming Argonauts!"). Kate Bush also refers to argonauts on various songs. Metal band, 3 Inches of Blood reference the Argonauts in their song "The Hydra's Teeth". Warwick Lobban also referenced the Argonauts in his song "The Prospective Argonaut".

XTC's outstanding 1982 album English Settlement features the song "Jason and the Argonauts".

Ariadne

  • Ariadne appears in the retelling of Theseus in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales.
  • In John C. Wright's The Golden Age, characters discuss how to deal with a (metaphorical) labyrinth in a computer system—and propose "Hire Ariadne", or subvert parts of the system. The sophotech (artificial intelligence) that ensues from this adopts the name Ariadne.
  • In the movie Inception, Ellen Page's character is named Ariadne. She is a dream architect who designs mazes in a person's mind.
  • In the Percy Jackson series, Ariadne is mentioned by Dionysus, and is his immortal wife on Olympus.
  • Ariadne is the main character of Roberta Gellis's Bull God.[3]
  • Ariadne is a major character of Mary Renault's The King Must Die.

Castor and Pollux

  • In the anime Sailor Moon, Castor and Pollux were two of Nephrite's most powerful youma (demons/monsters). While connected at the tail they were extremely powerful and copied the fire and water attacks of Sailor Mars and Mercury respectively, but were defeated after arguing between themselves.
  • In the 1997 feature film Face/Off directed by John Woo, the principal villains - played by Nicolas Cage and Alessandro Nivola - are brothers named Castor and Pollux Troy.
  • Olympus, a comic book published by Image, written by Nathan Edmondson with art by Christian Ward, follows the twins Castor and Pollux as they hunt down renegade divinities for Zeus.
  • In the video game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Castor is the persona of Shinjiro Aragaki and Polydeuceus is the first persona of Akihiko Sanada.
  • In the video game Spartan: Total Warrior, brothers Castor and Pollux help the un-named Spartan to free Greece of Roman tyranny
  • In the video game Phantasy Star Online: Episode 3 C.A.R.D Revolution, Castor and Pollux are powerful enemies players encounter before the final battle.
  • In the Video game Shadow Heart: Covenant, Castor (represented as a flying red demon) and Pollux (represented by a flying blue demon) appear as boss enemies at the end of the tunnel dungeon in Paris.
  • In the book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, two twin demigods, with Dionysus as their father, were named after the two. In the fourth book Castor was killed during an invasion at Camp Half-Blood. In the fifth book, Pollux became the senior counselor of his father's cabin.
  • In the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess, Castor and Pollux appear as conjoined twins appearing at a bachanalia that they throw called the Gemini Party. Aphrodite and Gabrielle disguise themselves as Swedish conjoined twins and wrestle them (Gabrielle more than Aphrodite) for their potion.
  • In Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games Trilogy, Castor and Pollux are twin cameramen working for District 13.

Cephalus

Cephalus appears as a character called the Huntsman in Marvel Comics who is an adversary of Hercules.

Endymion

Eumaeus

Galatea

Heracles/Hercules

Main article: Hercules in popular culture

Iphigenia

Main article: Iphigenia § A_modern_viewpoint

Jason

Main article: Jason in popular culture

Maenads

See also: Maenad § Later culture
  • In C. S. Lewis's Prince Caspian, the forces that accompany Aslan include many maenads.
  • In John C. Wright's Titans of Chaos, maenads are a major part of the force sent out to murder Amelia or the other children.
  • In Joeseph Delany's The Wardstone Chronicles [The Last Apprentice-US] the Maenad's are women in Greece who are animalistic human beings who feast upon the flesh of the dead and dying. They drink a large amount of red wine which causes their lips to be swollen and purple and reek of rotting flesh. They are worshipers of the old god The Ordeen, who when entering our world accompanied by her followers of daemons, fire elementals and Vaengir Lamia Witches leave many dead bodies for them to devour.
  • Charlaine Harris' The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels and its television adaption, the HBO series True Blood (2nd season, aired in summer 2009), feature maenads in the characters of Callisto and her television representation, Maryann, respectively. In the show, Maryann wishes to sacrifice a supernatural being, (Sam Merlotte), in hopes of summoning her god, Dionysus.
  • During the second season of True Blood, the character of a maenad is introduced with the powers to entrance an entire village into compulsive sexual activity and anarchic behavior.
  • In Jim Butcher's "Last Call", a maenad enchants beer so as to produce wild, violent and lustful behavior.
  • In Poul Anderson's "Goat Song", the narrator's last words recount how he is going to meet some wild and violent women; as he is explicitly described in the story as a parallel of Orpheus, they are clearly parallel to the maenads who tore Orpheus to pieces.
  • In L. Jagi Lamplighter's Prospero in Hell, Miranda, Mab, and Mephisto encounter maenads while leaving the North Pole.

Medea

  • A "Medea complex" is sometimes used to describe parents who murder or otherwise harm their children.[15]
  • Born Susie Benjamin, Medea Benjamin, co-founder of both Code Pink and the international human rights organization Global Exchange, renamed herself after the Greek mythological character Medea during her freshman year at Tufts University.
  • Medea is featured in the visual novel game and anime series Fate/stay night as an example of the Caster-class Servant.
  • In 2006 The Abingdon Theatre Company produced a spoof on the Medea novels, "My Deah" by John Epperson.
  • Playwright Christopher Durang wrote a short spoof of Medea.
  • Playwright Neil LaBute wrote a scene in his play "Bash: Latter-Days Plays" called "Medea Redux", inspired by the myth of Medea.
  • Medea is one of the NPC villains in the Freedom City campaign setting for the Mutants & Masterminds role-playing game. Talos, the bronze man of Crete, is also featured as an NPC villain.
  • Singer/songwriter Vienna Teng wrote a song entitled My Medea.
  • The genetic technique called Maternal effect dominant embryonic arrest, which favors offspring with particular genes, is named after Medea.
  • In Stephen Sondheim's musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the opening number, "Comedy Tonight", contains the line, "Nothing that's grim; nothing that's Greek. She plays Medea later this week."
  • In the PS2 game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Medea is the Persona for the character Chidori. Appropriate to the "Medea complex", Medea herself tries to strangle Chidori at one point in the game.
  • In the PS2 game Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Medea is the princess of a ruined kingdom, Trodain. She was put under a curse by a jester named Dhoulmagus and was transformed into a horse. She is a horse throughout most of the game.
  • In the book series The Icemark Chronicles, book 2, Blade of Fire, Medea tries to kill her brother and betray her country.
  • "Medea--One Foot In Hell" is the final track on The Showdown's album Back Breaker.
  • In James Owen's novel "The Search for the Red Dragon", Medea is a woman that lives on only as a reflection in a mirror. She spends most of her time in the novel talking to Peter Pan in a cave guarded by children dressed in animal furs.
  • In the Woody Allen movie Annie Hall, the character played by him, Alvy Singer, is lamenting Annie moving to Hollywood. Leaving a theater in an impromptu conversation with an older lady he meets on the street, she asks him, "Don't tell me you're jealous?" Alvy replies, "Yeah. Jealous? A little bit. Like Medea."
  • In the 2008 video game Rise of the Argonauts, she is an NPC, with very big breasts.
  • Aaron Allston's Galatea In 2-D includes an animated painting of Medea.
  • In Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero, Medea has returned from the dead and has become immortal, learning how to charmspeak to almost lead the main characters to their deaths.

Midas

  • Midas features in Nathaniel Hawthorne's A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys in the story "The Golden Touch".
  • In Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero, the heroes meet Midas along their route, and discover that he did not actually learn his lesson from the Midas touch.
  • In the Wild Cards series, one "ace" acquired the power to turn things to gold (temporarily) with a touch; he has his servants feed him by hand, which is explicitly described as avoiding Midas's problem.
  • In the 2010 video game God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Midas is featured. Main character Kratos finds him grief stricken (as he turned his daughter to gold) in a volcano beneath Atlantis. He accidentally burns his hand off in the lava after having a hallucination believing he was at the River Styx. After chasing down Midas, Kratos uses him and throws him into the lava which turns it to gold so that he my proceed.

Orpheus

  • In The Cricket in Times Square, a character refers to the cricket as a little Orpheus and explains how Orpheus could entrance everyone and everything with his music; later, in his final concert, the cricket stills a large portion of New York City to listen to him.
  • In John C. Wright's The Golden Age, a character took on the name Orpheus as part of the neo-romantic movement he founded, and created noumenal recordings, which created personal immortality.
  • In John C. Wright's Orphans of Chaos, Orpheus appears, as a man with his head separate. Other characters observe that it is impossible to bribe him, because all factions agree that he shall be the new Psychopomp.
  • In John Myers Myers's Silverlock the first character the narrator meets, and his guide, is "O. Widsith Amergin Demodocus ... Boyan Taliesin Golias." -- the "O" standing for Orpheus.
  • In Persona 3 from the Shin Megami Tensei series, Orpheus is the first persona of the main character, and the main characters ultimate persona is known as Orpheus Telos
  • In Jim Butcher's "Last Call", the maenad threatens Dresden with the fate of Orpheus.
  • In Poul Anderson's "Goat Song" retells the story of Orpheus as a futuristic science fiction tale; at one point, the narrator discovers the tale of Orpheus and recognizes his own story.[16]
  • In L. Jagi Lamplighter's Prospero Lost, a spell Prospero was working on before he vanished is identified as having been written by Orpheus.
  • Roberta Gellis's Enchanted Fire retells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Pandora

  • Pandora appears in the story "The Paradise of Children" in Nathaniel Hawthorne's A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys.
  • In John C. Wright's The Golden Age, a character takes the name Pandora, explaining that the true story of Pandora was that she received foresight from Prometheus, which allowed women to foresee all the plagues that would afflict their children, but also allowed them to avert them creating hope.
  • In Rick Riordan's The Last Olympian, Prometheus gives Percy Pandora's jar and tells him to open it, freeing Elphis (hope) to surrender. Percy and the other demi-gods are unable to put it aside; it keeps coming out of storage. Percy finally gives it to Hestia, who can keep it away.
  • In James Cameron's movie Avatar, the planet where most of the story takes place is called Pandora.
  • In an episode of Charmed, a demon releases the chaos contained within Pandora's Box, and the only thing left at the bottom of the box was hope.
  • Pandora is mentioned in the 2005 game God of War with Pandora's Box and appears in the 2010 game God of War III as a key character. She is needed to pacify the Flame of Olympus (surrounding Pandora's Box) so that Kratos (main character) may once again open Pandora's Box. In the game, she is a creation of the smith god Hephaestus as the key to opening Pandora's Box (which he also created) and comes to regard Pandora as his daughter.

Paris

See also: Paris_(mythology) § Later_treatments

Perseus

Phaethon

  • In John C. Wright's The Golden Age, the hero selected the name of Phaethon; when asked to explain it, he declared that the myth was obviously wrong, as Phaethon could not have burned up the earth, which was still there, but rather obviously Jupiter had struck him down for fear that he would show that men could do what gods could.[19]

Philoctetes

Main article: Philoctetes § Modern_literature

Psyche

Pygmalion

Theseus

  • In Roberta Gellis's Bull God, Theseus is a major character although, unlike the myth, he and Ariadne are never in love.[3]
  • Theseus is the main character of Mary Renault's The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea.
  • In the 2007 video game God of War II, Theseus is a servant of The Sisters of Fate guarding the Steeds of Time. He battles protagonist Kratos to determine who is the greatest warrior in all of Greece to which he looses and is killed.

Titans

Main article: Titans in popular culture

Giants and monsters

Antaeus

  • In Dante's The Divine Comedy, Antaeus is a giant who guards the ninth circle of Hell, and lowers Dante and Virgil down to the iced-over Cocytus.
  • One of the stories of the Tanglewood Tales features Antaeus and the Pygmies (Chapter: "The Pygmies").
  • Antaeus was mentioned in the film The Great Debaters as a metaphor for growing stronger when one loses.
  • Антей (Antaeus in Russian) is the original name of both the Oscar-II class submarine and the Antonov An-22 transport aircraft.
  • There was a literary magazine, edited by Daniel Halpern, named Antaeus.
  • Antaeus is the title of a short story by the American novelist Borden Deal.
  • Rick Riordan (Author of the Percy Jackson books) uses Antaeus in Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth; he describes him as fully red with wave patterns etched into his skin and teeth. He is also about five metres tall, and, like in mythology, he uses skulls from his victims to decorate a temple to his father Poseidon. Perseus kills him in the Labyrinth.
  • The Irish poet Seamus Heaney wrote two poems about Antaeus in his book 'North'.
  • There are two comic book characters named after Antaeus, see Antaeus (comics)
  • Antaeus is the name of a men's Eau de Toilette by Chanel launched in 1981
  • The Antaeus myth features heavily in the Pat Barker novel Regeneration as a metaphor for men psychologically disturbed in World War I
  • There is a new paraglider model, a high-end intermediate/performance glider name Antea by the Czech paragliding brand SKY. They tend to name gliders after characters of Greek mythology, like Brontes, one of the Cyclopes.
  • In chapter 57 of the Margaret Mitchell novel Gone With the Wind, Rhett says of Scarlett's relationship to Tara plantation (where she has gone to recover from a serious injury), "Sometimes I think she's like the giant Antaeus who became stronger each time he touched Mother Earth. It doesn't do for Scarlett to stay away too long from the patch of red mud she loves."
  • Antaeus was used by ADM Hyman G. Rickover as a metaphor for engineers who sometimes become isolated from the world around them. "... the Devil is in the details, but so is salvation."
  • The Antaeus Brotherhood is a fictional organization in the novel The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers in which they protect 17th century London from "Sorcerous treason" relying on a connection with the ground (wearing an iron chain fixed to their ankle and dragging behind) to negate magical attacks.
  • Antaeus is also mentioned in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.
  • Antaeus is referenced in The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley.
  • Antaeus is a character in Stargate SG-1. He belongs to the Nox race and was portrayed by Armin Shimerman.
  • In Hercules and the Circle of Fire, Hercules and Deianeira encounter Antaeus during their journey. He is depicted as being made of rocks and tree bark. Like in the myth, the Earth rejuvenates him during his fight with Hercules. Deianeira realizes the truth, allowing Hercules to finally defeat him.
  • Antaeus inspired the name for The Antaeus Company, LA's Classical Theater Ensemble. As Antaeus gained strength by touching the earth, the ensemble members of The Antaeus Company sustain their creative strength by continuing work on the classics.

Centaurs

Main article: Centaurs in popular culture

Cerberus

Erinyes

  • In T. S. Eliot's play The Family Reunion, the protagonist Harry is haunted by the Eumenides for killing his wife.
  • In Jean-Paul Sartre's play The Flies, the Erinyes (who represent remorsefulness) chase Orestes and Electra for the murder of their mother Clytemnestra and her husband, King Aegistheus.
  • Tisiphone appears and is a major character (and the others are mentioned) in David Weber's book Path of the Fury and its expanded version In Fury Born.
  • In George Eliot's Daniel Deronda, Gwendolen Harleth is haunted by the Furies because of her betrayal of Lydia Glasher.
  • The sixth book of Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time is entitled The Kindly Ones.
  • The Erinyes are the main subject of the comic book The Kindly Ones from comic book series Sandman and also appear in earlier volumes.
  • In the book series T*Witches, three girls looking to murder Cam and Alex call themselves "The Furies", as they live in underground caves.
  • They are monsters in the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
  • The Furies also feature in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess.
  • In the fourth season of the TV show Charmed, Piper interferes with the Furies' business and becomes one herself. When a fury turns a witch it causes a portal of unexpressed rage to manifest itself, in this case, that of Piper's inner rage towards her sister Prue's death the previous season.
  • The character Anyanka from the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, draws some aspects of the Erinyes.
  • In the third and fourth seasons of the TV show Angel, Lorne calls upon the Transuding Furies for making Caritas and the Hyperion Hotel into demon violence-free zones with payment only Angel could pay.
  • In the computer game Freespace 2, the Erinyes class is a playable advanced assault fighter for the GTVA. It is considered one of the more advanced ships.
  • In Stephen King's novel Rose Madder, Erinyes is the name of the blind bull which guards Rose Madder's baby at the heart of a labyrinth.
  • Trivium's fourth studio album Shogun features a song named "He Who Spawned the Furies" which lyrically deals with the tale of Cronos castrating his father and then eating his children.
  • Roger Zelazny wrote a novelette entitled The Furies. In the tale the furies were three humans of unnatural power that set about to restore balance in the universe. It was published in his book Four For Tomorrow in 1967.
  • In the computer games City of Heroes and City of Villains, two humans drink from the Well of the Furies and gain godly superpowers. They also open Pandora's Box, releasing the potential of human endeavour, heralding a golden age of superheroes.
  • A song, "The Chorus of the Furies", sung in Latin by Faith and the Muse on the album Evidence of Heaven (Neue Ästhetik Multimedia) (1999).
  • Francis Bacon: Seated Figure 1974. Painting.
  • Helene Cixous wrote the play: 'La Ville parjure ou le réveil des Erinyes' which was performed by Theatre du Soleil (director - Ariane Mnoushkine) in 1994/5.
  • In Battlezone, there are many references to Greek mythology; it is said that Greek mythology was, in fact, heavily influenced by the Cthonians, a race who created biometal, a material with a consciousness. The Cthonians eventually separated into two factions, the Olympian Council and the Hadeans who contested with each other over control of the Solar System. The Hadean scientists harvested the bodies of fallen Greek warriors and used their DNA to imbue biometal with an "aggression factor", resulting in the creation of the Furies, nigh-unstoppable craft with a mind of their own. The Furies revelled in causing death and destruction and was the ultimate cause of the destruction of the Cthonian civilisation and their home planet of Icarus, located between Mars and Jupiter. When the CCA attempted to resurrect the project to use it against the NSDF more than 200 years later, the result was the same: the Soviet Furies were completely uncontrollable and it took the effort of both sides to subdue them on Titan and Achilles, a previously unknown moon of Uranus. The NSDF attempted a different approach, fusing humans with biometal; this project failed too, because the American Furies retained their human minds and free will, resulting in their escape.
  • In anime, The manga "the furies" tells the stories of three Greek Furies. The story is filled with references to the myths of Orestes, the transformations of the furies, Heracles, and the roles played by the furies in Greek myths. Several websites feature the furies manga including the furies fan club[20][21]
  • In Dante's Inferno the Furies appeer, and show Dante Medusa's head when he is unable to travel further.
  • The Kindly Ones is the title of a novel of Jonathan Littell.
  • In the 2010 game God of War: Ghost of Sparta (spelled Erinys in the game), she appears as the daughter of Thanatos and a boss. Protagonist Kratos kills her and takes her magic, the Scourge of Erinys, as his own. In the game, she is voiced by two actresses and refers to herself as "we". She can also transform into a giant eagle.
  • In Piers Anthony's Xanth novel Dragon on a Pedestal, the three Furies inflict curses on characters lacking filial piety. Irene magically returns this on them, revealing that, having sprung from the blood of their murdered father, they have neglected their father's grave.

Euryale

  • Appears in the 2007 video game God of War II as a servant of the Sisters of Fate. She is confronted on the Island of Creation as a boss who wants revenge for Kratos' (main character) murder of her sister Medusa, and is killed by decapitation. Her head is then used as a magical weapon to turn enemies to stone.
  • Appears in the secuel of the Japanese visual novel Fate/stay night, Fate/hollow ataraxia in one of the flashbacks of her sister Rider along with her other sister Stheno.

Harpies

Main article: Harpies in popular culture

Hecatonchires

  • Cottus plays a role in the Post-Crisis origin of DC Comics' Amazons of Themyscira.
  • Briareos is the name one of the protagonists of the Appleseed manga series and its several film adaptations. Most of the characters in the series are named for entities from Greek mythology; in Briareos' case it is in reference to his strength and command of the Hecatonchires system of his cybernetic body, potentially allowing him to control a large number of external devices as readily as if they were extensions of his own body. However, this ability is barely explored within the series.
  • Briareos plays a part in the children's novel The Battle of the Labyrinth, where his name is spelled Briares.
  • In the 2007 game Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, five enemy super-weapons are named after the Hecatonchires. One was called the P-1112 'Aigaion' Heavy Command Cruiser/Aerial Aircraft Carrier, two were called the P-1113 'Kottos' Electronic Warfare Platform and the last two were called the P-1114 'Gyges' Fire Support System.
  • The Hecatonchires appear as the first Titan boss in the 2002 video game Rygar: The Legendary Adventure, as an entity that uses a large statue of two male figures and a rearing stallion as an exoskeleton to dwell within. The monster is also present in the Wii remake, Rygar: The Battle of Argus, where it is renamed "Hekatonkeil".
  • The Hecatonchires also appear as a mythological unit playable by the Atlantean civilizations in the 2003 video game Age of Mythology: The Titans, where they are known as the Hekagigantes. These creatures are sacred to the Titan god Helios.
  • Hecatencheires appears in the roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons as an incredibly powerful enemy capable of attacking with one-hundred long sword strikes in a single round.
  • Hecatonchires (known as Hecatoncheir in the game) also appears as the Eidolon beast of Oerba Dia Vanille in Final Fantasy XIII who can transform his arms into machine guns.
  • In the video game Shadow Hearts, its a special attack used by the vampire Keith Valentine.

Hydra

  • In the second installment of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Sea of Monsters, the main characters battle the Hydra somewhere near Chesapeake Bay. In the film adaptation of the first book, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the Hydra, disguised as five janitors and with the ability to breathe fire (as opposed to acid in the book and poisonous fumes in classical mythology), guards one of Persephone's pearls.
  • Hydra the Revenge is a Bolliger and Mabillard designed roller coaster at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania with a Lernaean Hydra theme. The name of the ride pays tribute to the "Hercules" wooden roller coaster that once stood on the same spot. The theme itself is the Hydra coming back to life and seeking revenge over Hercules.[22] It also is the only currently operating coaster to have an inversion before the main lift hill.
  • The Ray Harryhausen film Jason and the Argonauts features both Hercules and a seven-headed hydra guarding the Golden fleece (though, contrary to Greek myth, the hydra is slain by Jason, rather than Hercules, as the latter has already left the Argonaut's expedition in this re-imagined version of the story). The plot is where Jason lays a hand on the fleece, and the hydra is awakened. Strangely, it has more birdlike heads. It immediately proceeds to strangle an argonaut with its forked tail, and a brief battle ensues between it and Jason, until he thrusts his sword into its heart.
  • In 1997, Disney released an animated movie named Hercules. In the film Hercules fights the Hydra, however this hydra starts with a single head, and as the fight progresses, the monster gains dozens of heads, until all that can be seen is dozens and dozens of heads, each trying to eat Hercules. He defeats the monster by causing a rock slide, crushing the Hydra.
  • The 1971 TV Movie Ellery Queen - Don't Look Behind You starring Peter Lawford features a serial killer dubbed 'The Hydra' by the media, although the killer strangles his victims. To fit in with the legend the title sequence features an animation of a multi-headed reptile.
  • In the final book in the Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles series, the protagonist faces the Wyrm King, who is a Hydra.
  • "The Hydra" is one of many stations built by The Dharma Initiative on ABC's LOST.
  • In the anime series "Bakugan battle brawlers" there is a bakugan named "Hydranoid" which gains a new head and tail with each evolution. There is also a bakugan called "Exedra' which resembles an eight headed Hydra.
  • In the film Swordfish, there is a custom-made computer virus that acts like a worm but attacks multiple systems at the same time.
  • The Hydra is mentioned by Tenacious D in the song "Wonderboy"
  • In Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar the lyrics contain the words: I am the Hydra, Now you'll see your stars...
  • In the anime One Piece, the venom-based devil fruit allows Chief Warden Magellan to animate a Hyrda.

The Hydra has featured prominently in video games of a fantasy setting:

  • In the 2005 game God of War, the protagonist Kratos battles an enormous Hydra as the game's first boss. It features one main head larger than the other heads and must be defeated in parts. The creature is ultimately killed when Kratos impales the main head on the mast of a ship.
  • You may summon Hydras as allies in the game Age of Mythology and they are available to the Greeks. They are sacred to the Greek god Dionysus. These hydras gain an extra head when they kill enemy soldiers and other myth units, increasing their attack capabilities.
  • In the game Magic Carpet 2, the Hydra is one of the new creatures that made an appearance in this second installment. The Hydra is shown to be a seven-headed dinosaur-like dragon with long necks that fires powerful bolts of fireball and lightning attacks and has the ability to teleport around the game map. It will regenerate its lost heads quickly if not attacked with sufficient force and can only be killed after all its heads are destroyed at once. It is considered as the most powerful enemy in the game and was heavily criticized by its players because of this.
  • The Hydra is also a boss in the game Spartan Total Warrior, where you must destroy the stubs of the heads to prevent them from growing back. Like God of War you must destroy the main head to kill the Hydra. You fight the Hydra after gaining the staff of Achilles.
  • In Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, the Hydra is an optional challenging boss on Legendary difficulty and easily recognizable as an enormous serpentine multi-headed monster.
  • The Fourheads in the Viva Pinata game series is based on the Hydra. It has the appearance of a three-headed snake with another head on the end of its tail, referencing some of the Hydra's more serpentine depictions.
  • An enemy called a hydra is featured in the game Prototype.
  • An enemy in the popular flash game Sonny 2 is named "The Hydra".
  • In Kirby Air Ride, one of the two legendary Air Ride machines is a lizard-like vehicle known as Hydra.
  • In the video game Master of magic, Hydra is a powerful creature of chaos.
  • In the game Kingdom Hearts II, Hydra is a boss in Olympus Collosium.
  • In Bookworm Adventures, the Hydra is the first super boss fight.
  • In the computer game Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire the Hero has to defeat the Hydra in order to complete the main quest.
  • In Final Fantasy VII, Hydra is a boss, depicted as a dragon with two heads, where one head attacks with fire, and the other with ice.

Lamia

Lamia makes many appearances in popular culture

  • 'Lamia' is one of the Witches in the movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel Stardust. In the novel she is not named, though called the "Witch Queen". In the movie, she is portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer. It is also the name of a woman who takes people's heat in Gaiman's novel Neverwhere.
  • Lamias are also mentioned in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series and the novels of Rob Thurman.
  • Lamia feature in the Tim Powers novel The Stress of Her Regard as chthonic vampires that both inspire and prey upon poets such as Keats, Byron, and Shelley.
  • On the Genesis concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the hero Rael has an encounter with "three vermilion snakes of female face", related in the track The Lamia. At the end of the song the Lamia taste Rael's blood and then die.
  • Lamia is a traditional monster in the Final Fantasy game series produced by Square.
  • Deis, a character from the Breath of Fire series, is a Lamia.
  • Lamia is also mentioned in an Iron Maiden's song entitled "Prodigal Son", which is the 8th track of Iron Maiden's 2nd album, Killers.
  • In the manga Fairy Tail there is a guild named Lamia Scale with a crest of a Lamia. The guild is allied with Fairy Tail and another two guilds to defeat Oracion Seis.
  • The Lamia is mentioned in the Sam Raimi film Drag Me to Hell voiced by Art Kimbro. This version is depicted as an evil spirit summoned by a curse put on a personal item or memento. It takes three days for the Lamia (described as a fierce, two-legged creature with the head and hooves of a goat) to fully manifest: at first it appears as a malevolent spirit but on the fourth day it comes for the owner of the accursed object and drags him/her into Hell. The only ways to (possibly) stop the Lamia from taking the targeted person to hell in the movie continuity is: a) appease it with a blood offering by sacrificing a small animal, but this isn't always effective; b) summon the Lamia and place into a corporeal body (human, animal, etc.), then kill what it inhabits; and c) give the cursed object to someone else (be they living or dead), and the Lamia will take him or her to Hell instead of the original owner. While stated within the film several times to be called the Lamia, the demon bears a much closer resemblance to the creature Baphomet minus the bird-like wings.
  • The Lamia in the book series Night World are born vampires that can choose when they want to stop physically aging. They follow strict rules and live hidden, in the Night World, with the "made" vampires, witches, shape shifters, and werewolves.
  • The Lamia is also referred to in Joseph Delaney's "Wardstone Chronicles", featuring the Spooks Apprentice, Spooks Curse, Spooks Secret, Spooks Mistake, Spooks Battle & Spooks Sacrifice although the series as of yet is not complete. In the books the Lamia is a breed of witch from the Mediterranean, mostly Greece. The main character, Tom Ward's mother is a lamia witch, however, in the sixth book in the series it is revealed that she is in fact Lamia, the mother of all Lamia witches. They come in two forms, feral and domestic. Feral lamias are vicious and drink human blood, they can have wings and covered in scales with long sharp talons. The lamias become domestic by being around humans, which causes them to take the form of a beautiful human woman, only recognizable by a line of green and yellow scales down her spine.
  • Lamia was a demonic adversary in the television series Poltergeist: The Legacy, cast as a beautiful succubus-type spirit that preyed on men through their dreams. She was captured by the protagonist team in a specially engraved box after an incantation was cast and her name spoken.
  • In the Warhammer universe, Lahmia was one of the Nehekharan city-states. It was there the first vampires came to when the ruling class drank from the Elixir of Nagash.
  • In the series debut episode of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" ("The Wrong Path"), a lamia is the main antagonist of a Greek village. Though called the "She-Demon", she has the upper body of an attractive human female (portrayed actress Nicky Mealings), and from the hips down a +30'-long pale-green tail. She was ordered by a goddess to sacrifice the first-born sons of the village for their not worshiping her. The She-Demon uses a long white skirt to hide her tail, thus luring in unawares men, but this makes her imobile as moving about would reveal her true identity as a monster. Then, when they were close enough, she would use the tip of her tail to "sting" them, which killed them instantly and changed their bodies into stone statues. In the episode, one of the villagers seeks out Hercules to kill the She-Demon, but the demi-god is in mourning from the recent loss of his family at the hands of his stepmother Hera. Later, after learning that his friend Iolaus had fought and died in his stead, Hercules goes to the She-Demon's cave and fights her- tricking her into accidentally stinging herself with her own tail (She stung herself as she was attempting to retaliate for him humiliating her.) This turns her to stone, and returns all of her victims to life. She is portrayed as having both superior speed and strength in her tail, overpowering even Hercules' legendary strength.
    • H:TLJ was notable for being among the first generation of serialized television shows in the United States to semi-regularly merge CGI with live-action footage. This technique was used to render full-body shots of the She-Demon's tail and the transformation of her victims.
  • In the series Rosario + Vampire, Kagome Ririko is a lamia.
  • In the 2006 movie Pan's Labyrinth, directed by Guillermo del Toro, the character of the Pale Man borrows much of its personality from the Lamia, including its predeliction for eating children and the ability to remove its own eyes.
  • In Paul Torday's novel " The Girl on the Landing" (2009) the Lamia , portrayed as a beautiful dark-haired young woman in a long flowing green dress (snakeskin?) is the hallucination of the principal character's schizophrenia that drives him to commit his atrocities.
  • In John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, Lamia appears to molest and threaten Quentin; Quentin's ability to identify and name her is treated as proof that he has not lost his memories.
  • In Kathi Appelt's novel The Underneath, Lamia is a character called Grandmother Moccasin.
  • Lamia appears in AdventureQuest Worlds. They are found in the Djinn Realm when the players head their to fight Tibicenas. Lamia is shown as a recolored and altered version of Nure-onna.
  • The lamia is a type of creature in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, especially known for actively consuming musa acuminata.

Medusa

Main article: Cultural depictions of Medusa and gorgons
  • Medusa is played by a bass to emphasize her ugliness in Jean-Baptiste Lully and Phillippe Quinault's opera, Persée.
  • Impaled Nazarene, a Finnish black metal band, have a song entitled "Curse of the Dead Medusa" on their album "All That You Fear" (2003).
  • The rockabilly musician Eddie Meduza (Errol Leonard Nordstedt).
  • Anthrax, an American thrash metal band, have a song entitled Medusa on their 1985 album Spreading the Disease.
  • In 1968, The Mind Robber, an episode of the BBC TV sci-fi series Doctor Who, depicted Medusa as a danger to The Doctor and Zoe in a land of fictional characters.
  • Alternative singer Heather Dale has a song titled "Medusa" from her point of view, singing "I create my own perfection... My garden's full of pretty men who couldn't stay away."
  • English metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon have a song titled "(I Used To Make Out With) Medusa" on their album Count Your Blessings.
  • English singer/songwriter Sheila Nicholls has a song entitled "Medusa" on her 1999 album, "Brief Strop".
  • Manga series King of Thorn contains a disease named Medusa, which turns people to stone and crumble.
  • In 1987, an episode of the ITV satirical puppet comedy series Spitting Image depicted the then UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as having Medusa's distinctive hair, complete with red flashing eyes and evil cackling. Unlike the rest of the series, which depicted politicians and celebrities in rubber latex puppet form, because of the complexity of this sketch, the figure of Thatcher was a Plasticine model, movement completed using stop-motion animation.
  • Soul Eater had the first antagonist of the series being a witch named Medusa who had power over snakes.
  • Medusa is featured in the novel The Lightning Thief as well as its film version. In the film version, she is played by Uma Thurman.
  • Medusa also appeared in the 1981 film Clash of the Titans as well as the 2010 remake.
  • Medusa is featured in the visual novel game and anime series Fate/stay night as an example of the Rider-class Servant.
  • Medusa is the main antagonist in the action-adventure Nintendo video games Kid Icarus and Kid Icarus: Uprising.
  • One of the main characters in the 1990 animated television series Gravedale High is a teen monster called Duzer, whom is based on Medusa.
  • Medusa is a notorious monster in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI.
  • Medusa appears as a boss in many Castlevania games, most of which also include many Medusa heads as minor enemies.
  • In Final Fantasy X, the boss Yunalesca resembles Medusa in all three of her forms.
  • Queen of Blades, a major role in Blizzard Entertainment's game StarCraft resembles Medusa with the quote "my stare alone would reduce you to ashes.". Also, the sequel StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty has the name "Medusa" as the project code.
  • Medusa is the final boss in the first book of Bookworm Adventures and is also one of the bosses Codex summons at the end of game.
  • Medusa was the subject of episode 5 of Clash of the Gods.
  • Medusa is the mother of Deuce Gorgon in Monster High, however his "stone-gaze" is much weaker than his mother's, lasting only hours.
  • Medusa appears in the 2005 video game God of War as a mini-boss. The Goddess Aphrodite tasks Kratos (the main character) with slaying the Queen of the Gorgons, and upon doing so, Aphrodite empowers Kratos with Medusa's severed head as a magical weapon to turn enemies to stone.

Pegasus

Main article: Pegasus in popular culture

Polyphemus

  • In music, the story of Polyphemus and Galatea was the basis for Lully's Acis et Galatée, Handel's Acis and Galatea and Antonio de Literes' zarzuela Acis y Galatea. Jean Cras's opera Polyphème is also based on the story.
  • The Coen brothers' film "O Brother Where Art Thou?", is based on the Odyssey, and John Goodman plays the eyepatch-wearing Big Dan Teague, a reinterpretation of Polyphemus.
  • The Radio Tales drama "Homer's Odyssey: Tale of the Cyclops" is a dramatic retelling of the portion of Homer's epic poem featuring the cyclops Polyphemus.
  • There have been several Royal Navy ships with the name "Polyphemus" - see HMS Polyphemus.
  • Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs have the species name "polyphemus" in reference to their having eyes centered in the middle of their prosomas.
  • Symphonic Metal band Nightwish made a reference to the Cyclops in the song "Nemo" in the line "Nemo my name for evermore". The song refers to when the Cyclops asked Odysseus what his name was and Odysseus responded with "nemo" (roughly translated) to "nobody".
  • Polyphemus is a pivotal character in the second book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan.
  • Thomas Wolfe's short story, "Polyphemus", centers around a one-eyed Spaniard who is blind to the true wealth around him as he searches the New World for gold.
  • In Jonathan Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels', Gulliver's first encounter with a Brobdignagian giant has allusions to the encounter between Odysseus and Polyphemus in Homer's 'Odyssey'.
  • In James Cameron's Avatar, Polyphemus is a gas-giant planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri, which is itself orbited by the moon Pandora where the main action of the film occurs. This giant planet has a large vortex in its atmosphere, like the Great Red Spot of Jupiter but more pronounced, which resembles a cyclops' eye, thus the name.

Porphyrion

In the British novel Howards End (1910), by E.M. Forster, Porphyrion is the name of a large insurance company based in London where one of the minor characters, Mr. Leonard Bast, works as a clerk. In this case, the classical allusion to the Greek giant serves as an ironic comment on the un-heroic, impersonal work with which the modern (i.e. early twentieth century) business ethic dehumanizes individuals.

Porphyrion also appears in the direct to video animated film, Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus. Here he is the Earth Elemental Titan is the Titan's leader.[citation needed]

Scylla and Charybdis

Movies

Scylla and Charybdis appear in the 1997 miniseries The Odyssey directed by Andrei Konchalovsky and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, when Odysseus (Armand Assante) tries to cross the Strait of Messina. The movie Wing Commander features a pair of space-time anomalies named Scylla and Charybdis.

Television

  • In the Xena: Warrior Princess episode "Lost Mariner," the plot revolves around the tale of Cecrops. He eventually sacrifices himself by jumping into Charybdis to save the lives of all aboard his cursed ship.

Music

The Police referenced Scylla and Charybdis in their 1983 hit single "Wrapped Around Your Finger" from Synchronicity. Track 2 on the 2008 album Shogun by Metal band Trivium is entitled "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis". Also, there is a Massachusetts band called Of Blessings and Burdens who had a song called "Between Scylla and Charybdis". Part 6 of the metal band Symphony X's song "The Odyssey"on the album "The Odyssey" is entitled "Scylla And Charybdis". Azita has a song "Scylla and Charybdis" which is on her album "How Will You?".

Radio

The Radio Tales drama "Homer's Odyssey: The Voyage Home" adapts the portion of Homer's epic poem featuring Charybdis and Scylla.

Video games

  • In the Nintendo DS role-playing game Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, two sectors of space that the player travels to are named Sector Scylla and Sector Charybdis. Later, the player can fight two powerful robots named Scylla and Charyb (short for Charybdis) Also in Breath of Fire 3, the player faces off against Two fiery serpents named Scylla, and Charybdis.
  • The 1999 Japanese game Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere by Namco, features a level called 'Scylla and Charybdis', where the player is needed to choose between downing two different friendly aircraft (that is, betraying one of them), where downing one or the another will lead you to a different branch in the game story path.

Books

  • In Rick Riordan's book, The Sea of Monsters, the main character, Percy Jackson, encounters them.
  • In James Joyce's Ulysses, Scylla and Charabdis are represented by Aristotle and Plato, respectively.

Scylla

  • In Masami Kurumada's classic manga Saint Seiya, the myth of Scylla is present as the background for the antagonic character Scylla Io, who is a servant of the god Poseidon, wearing a powerful armor called Scale shaped as Scylla. Io's abilities are derived from those described in Scylla's Greek myths.
  • Metalcore band Trivium recorded as song for their fourth album, Shogun, entitled "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis". The song focuses on indecision to fight the monsters.
  • In the video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Scylla is a boss monster that has the upper torso of a female and the lower part of an octopus. It also has wolf heads on the sides and it can attack with snake heads.[23]
  • In the movie Marathon Man, Scylla is the code name of the spy/assassin Henry "Doc" Levy. In the novel of the same name, he is often referred to as "Scylla" or "Scylla the Rock", because of both his strength and ability to kill bare-handed.
  • In season 4 of the television series Prison Break, Scylla is used as the name of the six cards and related database used by the Company which contain all the names and information of the Company's inner workings.
  • In the television movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor, the Scylla is the name of a ship used by civilians. This is the first ship in which Admiral Helena Cain orders all available resources and qualified civilians to be placed on the Battlestar Pegasus, effectively taking all of their supplies and leaving them die in the recesses of space.
  • In the 2010 video game God of War: Ghost of Sparta, the Scylla is confronted as a boss. Poseidon sends the beast in an attempt to stop the protagonist Kratos from reaching his city Atlantis. The Scylla is killed by Kratos.
  • In the short story and graphic novel The Laughter of Witches, Scyalla is presented as a creation of Circe, who guards her island home. She resembles her traditional form, a woman with wolf heads on her hips and a lower body that appears as either a fish tail or snakes. When Odysseus is turned into a goat and tries to attack Circe, she counters by turning into a savage panther and chasing him back into the sea, where Scylla tosses him into a whirlpool to the underworld.

Spartoí

  • In the videogame Culdcept, there is a spell card called Spartoi which produces a skeleton monster on a random, unoccupied space on the game board.
  • In the manga Soul Eater, the protagonist Maka and her companions are part of an elite meister-weapon unit called Spartoí

Stheno

  • Appears in the sequel of the Japanese visual novel Fate/stay night, Fate/hollow ataraxia in one of the flashbacks of her sister Rider along with her other sister Euryale.
  • She is seen in The Son of Neptune by Rick Riodan, chashing Percy Jackson

Nymphs

Nymphs often appear in modern popular culture, both as generic beings and as special characters from folklore

Calypso

See also: Calypso (mythology) § In popular culture

Oenone

Thetis

  • Thetis appears in episode 12 of the anime version of Sailor Moon. She uses water-based powers in combat.
  • Thetis, played by Maggie Smith, is the antagonist in the 1981 film, Clash of the Titans.
  • Thetis, played by Julie Christie, appears as a minor character in a scene in the 2004 film, Troy. Her status as a goddess is not alluded to in this instance, though perhaps referenced in that she is shown standing in an ocean pool during her entire scene

Locations

Elysium

Main article: Elysium in popular culture

Erebus

Main article: Erebus in popular culture
  • A series of young adult novels by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast known as "House of Night" feature Erebus as the eternal mate of the Goddess Nyx that is worshiped by vampyres and young fledgling vampyres at the eponymous school. A group of mature, trained Warriors in House of Night series are called the Sons of Erebus.

Fortunate Isles

Phlegra

River Phlegethon

It is a river traveled upon by the Incarnation of War, named Mym, in the Piers Anthony novel Wielding a Red Sword. When Mym is lured into Hell, he decides to incite rebellion against the forces of Satan and uses four of the five major waterways of Hell, among which are the River Lethe, the Archeron, the River Kyoktys, and the River Styx.

Tartarus

Themiscyra

The DC Comics character Wonder Woman is one of a nation of Amazons originating from a magically-hidden island called Themyscira, originally called "Paradise Island" from Wonder Woman's first appearance in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) until the character's February 1987 relaunch in Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #1.

Other

Argos

  • The main character in the Lost tie-in novel Bad Twin shares a dog named Argos with his old classics professor.
  • In The Venture Bros. episode Escape to the House of Mummies Part II, Doctor Byron Orpheus' demonic mentor means to appear as 'Argos' to teach the doctor a lesson. But, as Orpheus correctly identifies, his form is actually that of Cerberus.
  • In the Futurama episode "Jurassic Bark" Fry's faithful dog, Seymour, waits at the pizzeria Fry worked at before being frozen for a thousand years. A montage scene elapses, to the tune of "I Will Wait For You" by The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, wherein Seymour, never wavering, waits for many years through rain, snow and seasons for his master to return. Seymour's story, and much of Fry's journey, mirror the story of Odysseus and his faithful dog.
  • In the director's cut of the Hollywood adaptation Troy, during Odyssues' introduction, he speaks of missing his dog while away at war. Though the dog's name is never mentioned, it can be assumed the dog was, in fact, Argos.
  • The musical Alley Dog (2010) by Paul Lewis resets the Argos story to Cleveland, Ohio during the Korean War of the 1950s.
  • Argos appears in the 2007 game God of War: Betrayal. Argos is sent by Hera to stop the rampaging Kratos (main character), who is causing destruction all over Greece, but is killed by Kratos.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Fugitives of Chaos by John C. Wright Dramatis Personae"
  2. ^ a b c d e f "The Apotheosis of Washington"
  3. ^ a b c "Roberta Gellis BULL GOD"
  4. ^ a b Heidi Elizabeth Smith, "A Mythological Fantasy of Compulsion and Freedom: Roberta Gellis's Thrice Bound"
  5. ^ a b John Keats, Ode To A Nightingale
  6. ^ "John Keats: Poetry, Song of the Indian Maid, from Endymion"
  7. ^ a b Schakel, Peter. (2003) Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. Retrieved on August 5, 2008.
  8. ^ a b "Shimmering Splendor"
  9. ^ a b c "Milton, L'Allegro and Il Penseroso"
  10. ^ "Annotations to the Girl Genius Comic"
  11. ^ "Who is Hecate in Macbeth?"
  12. ^ "As You Like It: A Study Guide"
  13. ^ "Prothalamion by Edmund Spenser"
  14. ^ Philips, F. Carter. "Endymion." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2010. Web. 22 Dec. 2010.
  15. ^ Lucire, Yolande. Medea: Perspectives on a Multicide [online]. Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences, The; Volume 25, Issue 2; Dec 1993; 74-82. Availability: <http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=783875560798854;res=E-LIBRARY> ISSN: 0045-0618.
  16. ^ "Orpheus"
  17. ^ a b "RPO -- Alfred, Lord Tennyson Oenone"
  18. ^ Matthew Hodgart, "The Witches’ Secrets" December 21, 1967
  19. ^ Greg West "The Golden Age: A Romance of the Far Future"
  20. ^ thefuries.webs.com
  21. ^ Simones 32
  22. ^ Hydra The Revenge at Roller Coaster Database
  23. ^ http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/image/196885.html?gf=12
  24. ^ "The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). Vol. 6. The Drama to 1642, Part Two"
  25. ^ Rudyard Kipling, "The Three-Decker"
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greek_mythology_in_popular_culture&oldid=441628789"