What does '2001: a Space Odyssey' have to do with Odysseus? How does Brad Pitt's Achilles in 'Troy' match up to Homer's original hero? And is Arnold Schwarzenegger the new Heracles? This collection of video animations and audio discussions examines how the heroes of Greek mythology have been represented in popular culture, from ancient times to the modern day. Odysseus is the archetypal questing hero - a blank canvas on which every era has projected its own values. Heracles is the original strongman. And Achilles is the fighter whose sexuality vies with his heel for popular attention. The videos mix archive film and TV clips with character animation, bringing a playful approach to classical myth, while the audio discussions shine a more scholarly light on how today's popular culture sees these myths differently from the Ancient Greeks.
To the ancient Greeks, every mystery in nature could be explained by the whims, passions and peculiarities of the gods. This episode features three favorite nature myths:
- The Myth of Persephone, in which Hades, the god of the underworld, abducts the beautiful young Persephone, thereby plunging the earth into a permanent state of icy winter. It takes the great Zeus to negotiate a deal between Hades and Persephone's distraught mother, resulting in the arrival of spring, and the ongoing cycle of seasonal changes.
- Echo & Narcissus, in which a talkative nymph loses her heart to the handsome Narcissus, only to discover the young man only has eyes for himself.
- Helios, in which a brash young man named Phaethon borrows his father's sun chariot and finds out the hard way that pulling the sun across the sky each day is easier said than done.