Blood of Zeus: Talos, Hera, and all the ways it remixed...

The opening of Blood of Zeus claims that the saga of his hero Heron is a lost, untranscribed chapter of ancient Greek mythology. The info dump gives the show complete freedom to alter mythical material for its own action use. Created by Charles and Vlas Parlapanides (immortal), this blood spatter Blood of Zeus is the latest Hard-R animation series from Netflix and Powerhouse Animation, the makers of the Castlevania Video game customization. Disneys Hercules this is not.

Blood of Zeus uses the malleability of myths by leaning on the old stories and telling his own story. Within 8 episodes, this first season weaves a tapestry of newly mixed familiarity for those who have consumed or devoured Greek mythology.

[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for the first season of Blood of Zeus.]

Gods versus giants

Image: Netflix

The story that stimulates the plot is the Gigantomachy, the legendary battle between the gods of Olympus and the giants. Hesiod’s poem from 700 BC Theogonie describes the giants as born of the blood of Uranus, the original god of the sky, when one of his divine sons castrated him (yes, really) while having intercourse with the original earth goddess. Less graphic, Blood of Zeus shows the giants as having emerged from the blood of a fallen titan. The show throws an extra twist in the story of creation by showing how the ruler god Zeus introduces reason and compromise into the earth by convincing two of the giants to ally with the gods.

Heron, the compound demigod

The concept that Zeus transforms into different beings on earth in order to evade his jealous wife Hera and seduce mortal women is included in the genesis of many Greek heroes, and Heron’s background hits every trope. Zeus notices a pretty woman from heaven? Check. He goes down to earth in disguise to seduce the woman and, in more child-friendly texts, takes his step with consent? Check. A demigod is received? Check. Not unlike some stories, Zeus even takes on the role of husband.

Image: Netflix

If you saw this in 1981 battle of the titansYou will know the story of Perseus, the hunter of Medusa, whose royal mother has been exiled since she gave birth to Zeus’ illegitimate son. Like Perseus and his mother, Heron and Electra live in hiding. Little Hera inventing the agony – sometimes murder – of Zeus’ lovers and mortal children is nothing new either. Heron loses his mother to Hera’s machinations, much like Dionysus. And Hera coldly urges Seraphim, Heron’s long-lost half-brother, to murder Electra. The idea that Hera causes a son to unknowingly slaughter his own mother echoes the myth of Callisto: a myth Hera turns into a bear as punishment leads to an event where Callisto’s son almost hunts her kills.

Fortunately, like Hercules, Heron is rewarded with a place on Olympus to join his divine half-siblings.

So many gods

While the ruling Olympian gods Hera and Zeus are in the limelight in their marital disputes, the sun-shining Apollo with his golden chariot, the sonic-agile messenger Hermes in his winged boots, Hephaestus, the counterfeiter, and the warrior Ares play a supporting role. For fans of Greek mythology, you could spend your time identifying the background gods like Aphrodite, the pink glowing goddess of love. Apollo’s twin sister Artemis, the blue-clad goddess of the moon, greets Heron.

Landscapes

Image: Netflix

There is no construction of the world of Greek mythology without the breathtaking but breathtaking locations: Mount Olympus, the underworld and the domain of fate. The show looks out into realms of the underworld across the River Styx, including the divine field of Elysium. A breathtaking sequence is about the fates whose threads of life give Heron an insight into his past and his crossroads.

The ancients dreamed of automation

The appearance of the bronze Talos automaton is the greatest reminder that the ancient Greeks dreamed of (proto-) robotics. The mythical Talos guarded the island of Crete, throwing stones at the ships of unwanted visitors, while their lively counterpart guarded an enchanted cauldron. Unfortunately, the Talos has its own literal Achilles heel, which is exploited in the series: It actually bleeds “the Ichor … [that] ran out like molten lead “, as illuminated in the epic poem, Argonautica.

So the story goes on, the god of the blacksmith Hephaestus designed bronze automations as his aid, and the animators multiply their presence as training bots and guardians of the Olympic Games on the mountain. Finally there is a call for it battle of the titans‘Character Bubo in the form of Hephaestus’ mechanical clockwork owl.