Download Fantasy and the Hero of Greek Mythology

Fantasy and the Hero of Greek Mythology:
from Ancient Epic to Miniseries
Dr. Lisa Maurice
Bar-Ilan University
[email protected]
‫סדרות מבוססות על הסיפורים של גיבורים‬-‫ יצאו לאור שלוש מיני‬,‫בעשר שנים האחרונות‬
‫ החיפושים והרפתקות של‬,‫ בעולם העתיק‬.‫ יאסון והארגונאוטים והרקלוס‬,‫יווניים – אודיסאוס‬
,‫סדרות‬-‫ אבל בגירסות המודרניות במיני‬.‫הגיבורים האלה היו נסיון לאסוף כבוד ותהילה‬
‫ שמביא כתוצאה‬,‫הנסיעה של הגיבור הופכת להיות נסיעה מוסרית אחרי התפתחות אישית‬
.‫לא תהילה אבל אהבה רומנטית ושלווה נפשית‬
Over the last ten years there has been a sudden upsurge in fantasy miniseries that take as their subject matter the stories of Greek mythology.
In
1997 a version of the Odyssey appeared, followed by Jason and the
Argonauts three years later, and then Hercules in 2005. The tales of
Odysseus, Heracles and Jason in their original form, portraying the struggles
of heroes against supernatural monsters, beautiful enchantresses and greedy
mortals, are the perfect material for fantasy movies, allowing for spectacular
special effects; yet in the recent adaptations, the whole nature of these
heroes’ quests has changed. In place of a demonstration of superior physical
or mental ability that enables him to defeat fantastic supernatural beings, the
hero’s journey becomes one of self-discovery and moral improvement, in
which the struggles against the unnatural forces who attack him are more a
means to enable personal growth than a proof of heroism.
Thus the
mythological quest becomes a journey of the personal development of the
hero, in a twist that demonstrates more about the moral trends of the early
21st century than it does about the heroes of ancient Greece.
1) The Hero of Greek Mythology
The hero of ancient Greece is a larger than life figure, a fighter with
extraordinary abilities, who is pitted against enemies that are also on a grand
scale. In vanquishing these foes, whether they be human or supernatural
creatures, the hero shows himself worthy of kleos (glory) and thus, through
immortalisation in poetry, earns everlasting time (honour). By his deeds, he
demonstrates extraordinary arete
("excellence" or perhaps "courage" or
"manliness"). His life is a struggle for glory, with the physical quest merely a
means to achieving this kleos, giving him lasting fame and honour. This is the
purpose of his encounters with the fantastical and supernatural.
Yet the
director of the modern mini-series has a very different agenda when he pits
his hero against such forces, as will be demonstrated by an examination of
three such heroes, Odysseus, Jason and Hercules, in ancient mythology and
in this modern format.
2) The Hero and the Mini-Series
a) The Odyssey
The Odysseus of Homer has all the defining character traits of a Greek
hero: strength, courage, nobility, a thirst for glory, and confidence in his
authority. His most distinguishing trait is, however, his sharp intellect.
Because of his outstanding qualities, he is beloved and protected by Athena.
In the Greek mind, Odysseus does not become great because of Athena’s
protection and favour; rather her favour is proof of his greatness. The fact
that she protects and aids him is not evidence of weakness but is in itself a
sign that he is a great hero. Similarly, Poseidon’s opposition to Odysseus is
far more due to internal strife between the gods, and an appeal by Poseidon’s
son, the cyclops Polyphemus, than because of any moral weakness on
Odysseus’ part. Indeed, in Homer’s poem, Odysseus’ final return home is
enabled only by Poseidon’s absence which allows Athene to prevail upon
Zeus to release Odysseus from his suffering, for which the god rather than the
hero himself is responsible.
In contrast, the portrayal of Odysseus and his travails in the mini-series
of 1997 places the blame on the hero himself.
After moving swiftly in a
chronological order through the main events of Odysseus’ story until the
Trojan Horse, the horse stands on the shore, and seems about to be rejected
by the Trojans thanks to the disbelief of the ‘soothsayer’, Lacoon. The day is
saved by Poseidon sending a sea-serpent who devours Lacoon, causing
Priam to order the horse to be taken inside the city. No background is given
to this event, the implication clearly being that Poseidon wants to help the
Greeks at a moment when Odysseus’ ruse seems doomed to failure.
This is made even clearer after the fall of Troy, in a scene that has no
basis in the original texts. Odysseus, the victorious, stands by the sea and
taunts the gods, shouting of his own greatness and refusing to acknowldege
Poseidon’s help in his intervention with Lacoon. This turns Odysseus’ quest
to return home into a punishment of his own causing, an ordeal that can only
end when he has learned the moral lesson being taught by Poseidon. Thus, it
is only after admitting the gods’ role in the world that he is permitted to return.
Only when this lesson has been learned and the hero’s moral development is
complete can he take rightful possession of his kingdom.
b) Jason and the Argonauts
Similar trends can be seen with the adaptation of Jason, who is portrayed
as young and rather inept at the beginning of the movie. As in the ancient
sources, he is sent by Pelias to search for the golden fleece, but in the
modern version it is not merely a quest for personal glory, for Pelias holds
over Jason the threat of his mother’s life. If he returns, his mother lives, if he
does not, she dies. It is this desire to save his mother that prompts Jason to
undertake the quest and keeps him going. This change presents the figure of
Jason as a loving son, with a strong moral conscience, who is driven not by
lust for glory or for the fleece itself, but by a noble desire to save his mother.
Another change is in the nature of the fleece itself.
Both Pelias and
Aertes believe that the fleece has the ability to grant one’s heart’s desires, but
at the end of the film, when Pelias has the fleece, Jason taunts him, telling
him, “the fleece has no power except that imagined by those who seek it. We
make our own destiny by our own actions.” It is this maturity and his refusal
to kill for the sake of the fleece (“I am sickened by bloodshed”) that
demonstrate Jason’ heroism and how he has developed into a noble figure,
worthy of the love of Medea by this point. Making no mention of the later
events in the tale whereby Jason betrays Medea, causing her to exact terrible
and bloodthirsty revenge, the movie ends with this love as the climax, with
Medea and Jason as king and queen of a peaceful, united, happy people.
c) Hercules
Perhaps the most dramatic changes occur in adaptation of the story of
Hercules. In the ancient myth, Hercules was the son of Zeus, the ultimate
super-hero of the ancient world, who undergoes apotheosis after his death,
becoming the subject of a popular cult in both ancient Greece and Rome. In
the mini-series of 2005, however, this deification is rejected entirely. Where
in the original tale, Zeus raped Alcmene, Hercules’ mother, diguised as her
husband, Hercules here is shown to be the outcome of his mother being
raped by a Cretan soldier on the night that her husband returned home. He is
hated by his mother, Alcmene, who is a priestess of Hera, due to her
husband’s championing of Zeus whom he believes to be Hercules’ real father.
Thus despite the fantastic atmosphere, with centaurs, harpies, monsters and
a trip to the underworld, there is an attempt at rationalisation in this version.
Even
Hercules’
famous
super-human
strength
is
assigned
to
his
determination and exercise regime. He is depicted as a figure continually
searching for acceptance and the approval of his parents and the gods. It is
only when he comes to the realisation that he does not need this approval that
he finds peace, as he declares, “It doesn’t matter whether the gods bless or
curse me! I make my own destiny!”. This enables him to be rewarded with a
marriage to his true love in the final scene of the movie, with no mention of
death, let alone apotheosis; it is his own moral and spiritual growth that has
led him to this stage and he no longer requires anything more.
3) Conclusions
In all three of the mini-series based upon Greek mythology produced in the
last ten years, the same trend is visible. In place of the traditional Greek hero
who undergoes quests and adventures, battling supernatural forces and
dealing with the gods, in his bid for honour and glory, the modern heroes must
experience a moral development and growth, the reward for which is a happy
ending, which, in true Hollywood style, means, true love. These adaptations
of the fantastical therefore surely demonstrate more about the expectations of
society in the first decade of the new millenium than they do about ancient
Greece or the original stories upon which they are based.
Bibliography
Miller D. A, The Epic Hero (Johns Hopkins University Press 2000)
Rose, P.W., "Teaching Greek Myth and Confronting Contemporary Myths,"
Classics and Cinema 17-39
Solomon, J., The Ancient World in Cinema (New York 1978).
Stanford, W. B., The Ulysses theme :a study in the adaptability of a traditional
hero (Oxford 1992) (2nd edn.)
Winkler, M., "Classical Mythology and the Western Film," Comparative
Literature Studies 22 (1985) 516-540
Winkler, M., Classical Myth and Culture in the Cinema (Oxford 2001)