As a Greek, I’ve always been proud of our rich mythology—full of fascinating gods, epic heroes, and timeless stories. But every time Hollywood makes a movie based on Greek mythology, I can’t help but feel disappointed.
It’s like they take 20% of the actual mythology and then mix it with random stuff that doesn’t make any sense! They ignore the depth of the original stories and instead focus on flashy action scenes or add characters and events that feel completely out of place.
Greek mythology isn’t just about battles and drama; it’s about complex relationships, morality, and the interplay between humans and the divine. Yet, Hollywood often oversimplifies or changes it to fit their version of what they think will sell.
Don’t get me wrong—I get that adaptations need creative freedom. But as a Greek, it’s hard to watch when they twist something so meaningful into something that feels unrecognizable.
What do you think? Have you noticed this too? Or am I just being too picky because of my connection to the culture?
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Hi, Alexandros Karamanolis. I'm part Greek. It's been a while since I've seen any Greek mythology movies, so I can't say if I've noticed that or not. My first (or second) script was like a Greek version of Power Rangers. It's been so long since I wrote it, I can't remember if it was my first or second script. I came up with things for the script (like things about the characters), but I did a lot of research to make sure the story was accurate to Greek mythology.
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Hey @Maurice Vaughan But I think Hollywood doesn’t really cast Greeks for movies based on Greek mythology. As a Greek—and like every Greek—I know we would bring passion to ensure everything is accurate. Of course, research plays a significant role, but you also need people who truly represent the story, the country, and the myths. Hopefully my story one day will be real and we can finally enjoy good mythological fantasy !!!
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I just remembered that some of the characters in Clash of Titans (2010) and Wrath of the Titans weren't Greek, Alexandros Karamanolis. You're right. It's not just about the research. It's also about who represents the characters. Yeah, one day. And it's on screenwriters and filmmakers to make that happen. Who knows? I might rewrite my Greek script one day. Or I might write a new script.
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Maurice Vaughan Please do we need something fresh something new
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Interesting post Alexandros Karamanolis
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I am saddened by the fact that Hollywood does not use Slavic mythology. But we have a lot of strange and creepy characters. I offered a screenwriter friend to present one of my projects to the producers, but refused and said that no one would consider a story with Slavic mythical characters.
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Greek mythology is not real. Same as making movies. It is make-belief for entertainment. As artists it is in our rights to make whatever changes and very few make great, while many just make average.
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myths may contain a metaphor for real historical characters and events. In general, myths are part of the culture of the people. distortion of the myth may be an insult to another culture.
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Arthur Charpentier i agree with you brate. I think Witcher had slavic mythology im not 100% sure but u right.
@Dan MaxXx Dan the word mythology is basically mean telling a story with metaphors. For example I think Hercules was a true story but the "Labors of Hercules" is the mythos.
Hercules is make belief character like Yoda the Jedi Master. Stop it.
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In a movie, you want to package a story in three acts with a theme (or moral).
Lots of myths are more shaggy than that. They meander around, or are episodic (more suitable for TV or comics).
You also have some characters who have outrageous actions or backstories involving murder, beastiality, and incest.
All of this makes for tricky subject matter to adapt literally. But there’s plenty of room for inspiration and interpretation.
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I wonder if you were inspired to make the original post because THE RETURN is coming out soon? It looks like it tells the last segment of the Odyssey, where Odysseus returns from his voyage to reunite with Penelope.
The Odyssey is a good example of a story that is too big for a movie, so it’s not a bad idea to find drama in telling just this portion of it.
For those interested in Greek myth and analysis (with jokes) I recommend checking out the Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics podcast.
https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/b077x8pc.rss
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Mike Boas Oh I actually didn't know that they doing another movie with Odysseus hope is gonna be good.
Yes. It's not "Based on actual events" but "Inspired by actual myths". I think one should make up myths, or respect them. It's like making a Christmas movie and be inspired to put the white beard on the reindeer because Santa looks cool without.
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I feel you're right, Hollywood tends to boil down Greek mythology to nothing more than an aesthetic when in reality it's mind-blowingly deep, rich, and nuanced. I know I've gone down quite a few rabbit holes researching it for elements that make up Finding Elpis since I draw heavy inspiration from it.
As for the why... I'm guessing since you only have a limited amount of time with films and TV to tell a story, you typically pick the most expedient options for conveying the mood you want, so you often have to reduce the richness of Greek mythology down to allusions or aesthetic or anything that really points out it's there without diving in. It's definitely annoying but I can see why it happens.
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I feel your pain. I am not Greek, but was told numerous Greek myths by my literature teaching mother and later studied Odysseus in college. I am particularly frustrated with depictions of Hades as the devil. Tomorrow, I am pitching (again) my feature screenplay "Persephone" which I feel portrays Hades with the respect he deserves as King of the Underworld. That said, I've enjoyed some reinterpretations of the Greek myths from "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" to "KAOS" in which universal themes that we find in the original myths are updated to be made accessibly relevant to today's audiences.
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Kristina Van Kirk Hoffman in Greece even today there is a celebration to hades is something like Día de (los) Muertos of Mexico. The people that they worship the pagan gods even today they speak Ancient Greek and they keep the traditions that our ancestors had.
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Nepotism. People born into the business can’t give a damn about some ‘ little things ‘ like literature or history, half of them are not even educated enough to be in the business to begin with.
After the camera and eventually the camcorder was invented, “Times renaissance” which caused “quite a stir” amongst “The superstitious”, they and people generally, however still didn’t believe in superhuman feats, eg The ability of one man to defeat several (of average abilities), but the martial arts world showed up including of all people “Bruce Lee”… on planet earth and there was,,, again “quite a stir” all over in history. Not to mention amongst the superstitious. Then followed people with incredible strength (eventually world strongest man competition) then people who could run way faster than the average human being including “Jesse Owens”, also the world of “Body Building” and so on. All in grand surprise to a then world, ultimately compelling the grand attention of…. “The Scientific Community”
If Hollywood and “The Modern Arena” didn’t have a home for these "Colossus Giants" what would have been the demonstration of them in the general public to expect instead?
We may have grown quite accustomed to them now, because of "cinematic public relations", but they never (at least according to history) existed previously. They were (obviously to some extent) written about (unknowingly or knowingly) thousands of years before in Greek Mythology and Others!
In other words, there’s certainly "Another Perspective", that cannot be ignored!!!
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I think it bothers you because you're knowledgeable on the subject (Greek mythology), therefore any error or creative straying from the original that's exercised jumps at you. Much like poorly written stories about horses and horsemanship are endlessly annoying to me. The solution? You write it the way you'd like to see it portrayed.
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In all fairness, Hollywood gets everything wrong. Entertainment takes priority and a lot of stuff is derivative.
What's true, even in a factual world is always up for debate too. When I was part of a civil war project this year, we had experts disagreeing on everything.
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There are certainly challenges to note in my previous comments, although part of our history!
I therefore like the statements, “Even in a factual world is always up for debate too.”
And
"Experts disagreeing on everything".
One question for now!…Where does this leave our general public, in their assumptions?
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The general public should not be getting their knowledge from movies. Even documentaries tend to be massively biased and pull from dubious sources.
Correct is right!
For recollection: My second comment listed of the stir in human history in times renesaince and thereafter. Matters did calm over the centuries. We now have another simular stir in human history with “AI”s intervention and human enhancements. We as creatives should now know how to approach era and perspectives accordingly!
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I saw Gladiator 2 this past weekend. I guess no History Experts gave notes to Ridley Scott.
Maybe someone here can make Greek mythology visually entertaining as the Roman Empire?