Blog/Review/Mythology: Reading Greek Mythology Hits Different Now…

As I think most of you know that I was in the Percy Jackson fandom for a long time, primarily from middle school to the beginning of high school. Most of this was because it was Greek mythology – which I already liked – turned into a fun story with snarky teenagers narrating and I was obsessed with it to an unhealthy level.

Until I grew up and realized what a crap fandom it is and how creepy the books actually are.

From there, I hadn’t picked up a book on Greek mythology since I left that fandom. I mostly drifted over to Tolkien, Jane Austen, and other writers and kind-of forgot about that whole thing. Until…I went camping a few weeks ago.

While packing my bags, amongst the books I took with me was Ovid’s poem Metamorphosis, which is basically a collection of Greek myths connected by the overarching theme of – you guessed it – metamorphosis. This was a book that had been sitting on my shelf for at least two or three years that had remained virtually untouched, and I needed to bring something for pure entertainment value, so I brought it along in my already overstuffed bag of clothes (how I made it fit, I’m still not entirely sure).

There it sat for a little bit until I pulled it out and cracked it open on the second or third day that my family and I were camping. Reading it, you have to admit that it’s an awesome read. It’s beautifully put together and stories that should have no business being related are somehow made to fit perfectly in a continuous stream. However, while reading it, something occurred to me: Greek mythology isn’t a fun fairytale. It’s a grim reminder of the evils of fallen man.

I had not realized this when I was in my Percy Jackson phase. While in books such as Percy Jackson: Greek Gods and Percy Jackson: Greek Heroes, Rick Riordan didn’t shy away from calling out the gods’ wrong doings, he very much watered down just how horrible they are in the original myths. It was a very PG retelling of them, that kept things light and almost on the level of a fairytale. However, reading the original myths from the people that lived in a culture where these gods were worshipped, they are incredibly dark and even rated R. The gods are no better than men; they’re worse. They’re vindictive, lustful, violent, and selfish. Even some of the better ones are horrible. They show no mercy.

Reading Metamorphosis, you wonder how anyone could’ve ever worshipped these gods or how some people still do today. That is…until you realize that the reason why they were worshipped is because 1). They represented and allowed some of the worst parts of humanity and 2). If you didn’t, you ran the risk of death. Why not worship a god/goddess that represents sex, power, and fortune when that’s what you want? Why not do that when to do otherwise means losing that and possibly your life? Just look at how the Christians were treated under the rule of Rome, where they were persecuted not because they were an overall good influence on society, but because they didn’t worship the gods and Ceasar, thus – so the pagans believed – bringing on things like natural disasters, economic turmoil, etc.

Reading this also sheds some light on what it’s like even today as a Christian. Though we may not recognize it because it’s become so mainstream and goes by many different names, we are still living in a culture that is pagan. Our gods just go by different names, that are in some ways more descriptive and honest about who they are. Zeus or Poseidon could be “climate change.” Gaia or Demeter could be “save the earth.” Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, or Hecate could be modern “feminism” and “girl power” (in fact, Hecate is often used in New Age feminist circles for that express reason). Heck, Aphrodite and her son, Eros could also be representative of the entire LGBTQ+ movement. Just look at the comments left by Leftists in response to the flooding in Texas, mocking Greg Abbot for calling for a day of prayer for the flood victims and blaming anyone who doesn’t believe in climate change (especially Christians) for the flooding and deaths. Many are even going so far as to say that the flooding is justice on those people for denying climate change.

Does this not look like what the Romans said of the Christians for not worshipping their pantheon of gods? We live in the same pagan culture, fighting the same battle. The only thing that has changed are the names.

Until next time,

M.J.