Lore Olympus, the three-time consecutive Eisner Award-winning comic by Rachel Smythe, is a modernized take on the classic Greek myth of Hades and Persephone.Lore Olympustakes the myth that is known to be about male dominance over an unwilling female victim and flips it upside down, instead creating a story where Persephone is the agent of change and choice in her own narrative.
Told mostly through Persephone’s point-of-view,Lore Olympusdebuted on WEBTOONin 2018. Smythe, with her firm grasp on Greek mythology, challenges the classics andreimagines a world where a goddess can control her own fate.
A common theme in classical Greek myths is dominance. Sometimes, the gods interfere on the mortal plane and exert their otherworldly powers over humans, who stand no chance against the immortals. Other times, the conflict and imbalance of power is between the gods themselves. The conflicts among the Greek pantheon almost always have repercussions on the mortal plane,as well as on Olympus.
UnlikeLore Olympus, the Original Myth Makes Persephone a Victim
Hades Lives Up to His Wicked Reputation in the Original Myth
In one of the most famous Greek myths, Persephone is the daughter of Demeter - the goddess of agriculture - and the king of the gods, Zeus. While in a field tending to her duties,Persephone is kidnapped by Hades, the king of the Underworld. While Persephone is held hostage in the Underworld, Demeter searches far and wide for her daughter. Eventually, Demeter’s grief becomes so severe that she cannot uphold her responsibilities as the goddess of agriculture, thus leading to disaster on the mortal plane. Crops wither and die, nothing new grows, and the land becomes barren due to Demeter’s despair.
When Zeus notices that Hades' actions are causing widespread ramifications in the mortal world, Zeus brokers a deal with his brother to allow Persephone to return to her mother. However, before Persephone can return,Hades tricks Persephone into eating four (sometimes six in other versions of the myth) pomegranate seeds, thus binding Persephone to the Underworld for four (or six) months of the year. Persephone’s innocence and lack of knowledge about the rules of Hades' realm leads to her predicament and ultimate role as goddess of spring and queen of the Underworld.
The original Greek myth includes another major theme: a powerful male preying on an innocent woman.
Persephone spending time with Demeter explains springtime, with growth and life returning to the world. When Persephone returns to the Underworld, the land becomes barren, explaining the cold and unproductive winter months. Beyond this agricultural interpretation, the original Greek myth includes another major theme: a powerful male preying on an innocent woman.The only decision Persephone makes for herself is eating the pomegranate- a decision based on manipulation and lies. Her role as queen is the result of a kidnapping and the rules of the Underworld, which Hades used to ensnare Persephone.
Lore OlympusReturns Persephone’s Autonomy, Making Her the Writer of Her Own Story
Persephone and Hades' Love Story inLore OlympusIs Based on Mutual Trust and Respect
ThePersephone ofLore Olympusdiffers greatly from the Persephone of mythology. From the start,Persephone is presented as a young goddess with dreams of pursuing a life in Olympusinstead of in the mortal realm as the successor to her mother’s thriving agricultural business. The initial decision to step outside the comfort of her sheltered upbringing under an overprotective Demeter is Persephone’s decision alone, and one that goes against what Demeter wants for her.
As Persephonesettles into life in Olympus, she makes friends on her own and eventually decides to venture to the Underworld on her own accord as an intern. In the world ofLore Olympus, the Underworld is run as a company aptly named Underworld Corp. As the king of the Underworld,Hades acts as the head of the corporation, which organizes and employs the souls of the dead, creating a thriving and surprisingly lively city. The more time that Persephone spends in the Underworld, the more she grows to love the culture and the people, both immortal and deceased.
Persephone does not let the hearsay stop her from getting to know the man behind the rumors.
Though her friends and family outside the Underworld think that Persephone is making a massive mistake in her career by becoming attached to Hades and his realm,Persephone pushes forward and continues to further her education and her relationship with Hadesof her own volition. Hades, by reputation, is seen as a fearsome figure by the citizens of Olympus. However, Persephone does not let the hearsay stop her from getting to know the man behind the rumors. She discovers that Hades is a tragic figure with a huge heart, and she falls in love with him as much as she falls in love with the Underworld.
The Pomegranate Is the Ultimate Symbol of Persephone’s Autonomy inLore Olympus
The Pomegranate Represents Future Possibilities for Persephone
Hades is patient with Persephone and, at times,tries to protect her from his false reputation. Persephone is not persuaded by what others or Hades himself says, and she follows her heart and her intuition instead of allowing external forces to control her narrative. Even when the odds become stacked against her and Hades, she pushes forward and fights the likes of Zeus to have the future she desires with Hades.
But the defining moment for Persephone as the ruler of her own fate is her decision to eat the famous pomegranate. When the Underworld is on the brink of destruction and Hades is incapacitated, unable to save his own people,Persephone actively seeks out the pomegranate on her own to willingly bind herself to the Underworld as its queenand inherit the power to save the place she has come to love as much as Hades.
Lore Olympus Webtoon is Being Collected in Trade Paperback
Lore Olympus is about to find new life in a physical format. The series - retelling an ancient Greek myth - is coming offline in a trade paperback.
Persephone’s choice to become the queen of the Underworld is not connected to her romantic relationship with Hades. In fact, she and Hades are not even betrothed or married when she becomes his queen. Persephone knows what she wants and is self-possessed, choosing a life tethered to the Underworld out of deep love. The Persephone ofLore Olympusis not a mere tool used at the whims of those more powerful; she is a true hero who follows her heart, no matter the cost.
