Top 10 Things Movies And TV Get Wrong About Greek Mythology

#10: The Sirens’ Appearance

When most people hear of the Sirens, they imagine young women using their beauty and siren song to lure unfortunate sailors to their watery demise. You know, kind of like deadly mermaids. This concept is reinforced by depictions in films such as “Pirates of the Carribean.” While talk of their beautiful singing may be faithful to the source material, depictions of their appearance most certainly are not. In their original appearances in Greek mythology, the Sirens are endowed with birdlike features rather than aquatic fins. And some sources indicate it is their song, not their physical appearance, which is beautiful and alluring.

#9: The Muses’ Role

If your only knowledge of the Muses is from Disney’s “Hercules,” you probably think that they are primarily storytellers and singers. That’s because they narrate the film as a gospel quintet - although in fact, there are nine muses, not five. While their connection to the arts checks out with the source material, the Muses are also strongly connected to history and the sciences. And they are definitely not bit players or simply narrators. They are powerful and important gods. The musical “Xanadu” is somewhat more accurate in this regard. The Muse Terpsichore is shown exerting great influence after coming alive again. Despite their important role in mythology, many films utilizing Greek myth ignore them entirely.

#8: Zeus Wasn’t Heroic

Zeus frequently comes across as a hero in Hollywood projects. He’s often an all-powerful ruler of the gods, as seen in both “Clash of the Titans” movies. Casting Laurence Olivier in the original and Liam Neeson in the remake reinforces this upright leading man depiction. Meanwhile in Disney’s ‘Hercules,” Zeus is a warm and wise father figure. You need to look to the MCU and Russell Crowe’s somewhat vain and cowardly portrayal in “Thor: Love and Thunder” to get closer to the Zeus found in Greek mythology. The mythological god is all about his own ego, and quite depraved in how he makes people suffer for it. He is also a serial womanizer and adulterer. All in all, not a great role model.

#7: The Chimera’s Appearance

Imagine a creature with the body of a lion, the head of a goat in its middle, and the tail of a serpent. That’s what Homer did when he wrote about the Chimera in “The Iliad.” In some versions, the Chimera is more like a three-headed beast, with the goat head breathing fire. This multifaceted creature is not always presented cinematically in such an interesting configuration. For example, in “Wrath of the Titans,” we get a beast with the body of a lion, and two lion heads. One of the heads still breathes fire, and it has wings, but aside from that, it is essentially a large two-headed lion.

#6: Persephone's Abduction

The Broadway musical“Hadestown” isn’t a movie yet, but it is likely to make its way to the big screen someday. When it does, it will continue the trend of romanticizing and softening the depiction of Persephone’s abduction by Hades. There’s even one version where it unfolds in front of modern Japanese tourists. Often when Hades and Persephone are characters in a project, they seem to be a regular couple with no hint of their true backstory. In the source material, though, Hades’ kidnapping of Persephone is a violent non-consensual act. While the abduction isn’t shown in the best light, their relationship is still reciprocal in TV’s “Blood of Zeus.” A truly faithful rendition of their story would be hard for modern audiences to take in its original form.

#5: The Minotaur’s Role

The Minotaur has the head and tail of a bull with a human body and so technically can be considered a monster. And yes, even in its original Greek origins, it is presented as a beast that ate humans to survive. But modern media representations of the creature tend to stop there without giving the backstory. He was born from the union of a bull and a human woman as punishment for her husband’s insult to the god Poseidon. As such, he is more of a pitiable creature, a victim of circumstance who is condemned to live trapped in the labyrinth. By accentuating its bull-like features, some filmmakers have cast the Minotaur as a black and white antagonist, and a creature undeserving of sympathy and understanding.

#4: Hercules' Labors

The 12 Labors of Hercules are integral to the ancient hero's story. They have been depicted in countless works of art over the centuries, so it only makes sense that Disney would have to include them in their animated “Hercules” movie. While the House of Mouse doesn’t go into detail on all of them, we do get Hercules defeating Hydra and other beasts Hades sends to him, all part of a quest for him to regain his true status as a hero. What Disney doesn’t show is the cause of the tasks given in the source material. In Greek mythology, Hera drove Hercules mad, to the point where he killed his wife and children. The 12 Labors are his penance for and redemption from this.

#3: Medusa's Appearance

Medusa started out as a beautiful maiden, but Athena turned her into a Gorgon, a hideous-looking creature with snakes for hair that turned anyone who looked at her into stone. That is directly out of Greek mythology, and Hollywood usually gets most of it right. However they frequently, and some might say conveniently, forget the “hideous” part. In “Clash of the Titans,” for example, we get a full-on serpent Medusa, with snakes for hair, but the face and upper body of a conventionally quite attractive woman. This combination of beauty and danger is common now, but not true to the original myth.

#2: The Trojan War

If you asked someone whose knowledge of Greek mythology was largely gleaned through pop culture to explain The Trojan War, they probably could, at least superficially. Most likely they’d say it was a conflict between two cities that started with a kidnapping and ended with the gift of a giant wooden horse that had enemy troops in its belly. You get that framework, plus more detail, in big budget films like “Troy.” But you also get the basics depicted in countless parodies, such as one by “The Simpsons.” In the original“Odyssey,” though, this is a many-sided conflict involving various gods and heroes. There are layers. It’s not just about Sparta versus Troy.

#1: Hades Wasn’t a Villain

If you’re known as the god of death and the underworld, you can see why some may equate you with the Christian devil. Quite a few Hollywood directors and writers have done just that, and cast Hades simply as Greek mythology’s Satan. In films like Disney’s “Hercules” and “Clash of the Titans” and series like “Xena: Warrior Princess,” he is depicted as a classic villain. Frequently, the underworld is also analogous to Hell, shown simply as a fiery realm. In the source material, though, it has several regions and is a rather complex place. Hades is its administrator. He’s a god doing a job, and a necessary one at that. It hardly makes him evil.

Do you agree with our list? Can you think of other parts of Greek Mythology Hollywood just doesn’t get right? Let us know in the comments.