Tag Archives: Greek Mythology

Epic the Musical: The Ocean Saga (EP Review)

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EPIC: The Musical is a concept musical loosely adapting the story of the Odyssey, the famous Greek epic. It has been fully released with 9 sagas, each featuring 3-5 songs, and the Ocean Saga is the third in line. If you haven’t listened yet, this will have spoilers – go check it out!

  1. Storm
    The opening song, Storm is mostly setting up the rest of the saga. Odysseus and his crew are facing a torrential storm (go figure), but Ody spots a floating island. He asks Eurylochus to prepare the crew to throw harpoons at the island, hoping to latch on and escape. Admittedly, the plot hook of a storm is underwhelming compared to the previous threat of a cyclops, but it is catchy nontheless. I often find myself humming the main lines when it rains! The vocals of the crew echoing back Odysseus’s lines drive home how he is what is keeping the crew afloat, and how they all listen to him. (Which certainly won’t come back to haunt us later).

2) Luck Runs Out

In this, Eurylochus expresses his doubts about Odysseus’ plan. This song is fascinating as it delves into the mindset of both of the characters. Odysseus’ main trait is that he is cunning, a trickster. He has relied on his wits to get the crew out of all situations thus far. Eurylochus is above all else, practical. We saw this in Full Speed Ahead, in his introduction, where he proposes the crew take the more brutal, but efficient way of raiding the island. Eurylochus is worried about the fact that Odysseus is relying on nothing but himself, that he has no safety net to fall back on. “How much longer,” he asks, “til’ your luck runs out?” Odyssseus tries to convince Eurylochus under the mantra of optimism, but he doesn’t relent. In the end, Odysseus pulls Eurylochus to the side and reminds him that he can’t be opposing his plans. The crews voices, interestingly, echo Eurylochus instead of Odysseus here, showing that they share his doubts and fears and are siding with him.

3) Keep Your Friends Close

Odysseus has successfully made it to the island in the sky, and is now requesting the aid of Aeolus, the wind god, to help them through the storm. Aeolus proposes a deal – the storm will be put inside a bag and given to Odysseus. Now, he will be able to get through, but should he open the bag, his crew will be blown all the way back. Aeolus’ “winions” feed into Odysseus’ crew the idea that the bag actually has treasure inside, tempting them to open it. Despite Odysseus’ best efforts to dissuade the crew and protect the bag, the temptation is too great and the bag is opened – blowing the ship in the complete opposite direction away from Ithaca.
This song overall perfectly accomplishes a light and bouncy feel in the first half contrasted with a deeper, dramatic tone in the second. Aeolus’ singer perfectly portrays the airy, whimsical feel of the wind god, and the segment where Odysseus has a dream perfectly serves to remind the viewer of what he is working towards – right before it is brutally ripped away. This song also deepens the growing divide between Odysseus and his crew, which has been a major theme in this saga. The usage of the flute perfectly suits Aeolus as well!

4) Ruthlessness

The usage of trumpets, Poseidon’s designated instrument, match his aggressive temper amazingly. Poseidon’s singer has some amazing vocals with growls and roughness that perfectly mature the brash nature of the god. Besides the musical aspect of this song, it also displays some important themes. The main conflict of EPIC: the Musical is the clash between the ideology of “Open Arms”, as referred to by Polites in the aptly named song, which is the idea that everyone should be treated with trust and kindness, versus the idea of Ruthlessness.

The Ocean Saga’s songs set up vital theme dominoes for the rest of the musical with their compelling instrumentation and devastatingly catchy lines. Next up: The Circe Saga!

The Sun and the Star: A Review

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Written by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro, the Sun and the Star dives into countless topics and genres– just as the main characters, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace, dive into Tartarus. One of the overarching themes is “fixing what’s broken,” and the process of doing so.

A quick plot summary: In a previous book, Bob the Titan sacrificed himself to let Annabeth and Percy escape from Tartarus. However, they neglected to think about or visit him afterward. In “The Sun and the Star,” Rachel Dare comes bearing a prophecy for Nico and Will, saying they need to save Bob. To do so, they must journey through the underworld and go to the heart, otherwise known as Tartarus. Though Nico, being a son of Hades and a previous Tartarus visitor, is an obvious choice, it’s different for Will, son of Apollo. However, he insists on coming with his boyfriend and facing the danger. Through their adventures, they find an overbearing plot and overturn it (and the primordial goddess leading it…).

One “broken” part they try to mend is Nico’s state of mind as he comes to terms with his PTSD. It’s a part of him, experiences he’s had, but it doesn’t mean he should be bound by his nature or past. In addition, he starts to understand feelings and PTSD are not weaknesses. They may be extremely difficult, but working with them is better than hiding them. Also, Will supports Nico during this time. To talk to your demons is scary, however, it’s better when you do it with someone you care about. In page 367, we see “[Will] wanted to understand Nico, even the parts that seemed difficult or sad. All Nico needed was to be seen and heard by someone he cared for, and Will was making the effort.” This also introduces the concept that relationships are a two-way street. No matter how different or similar the two may be, the most important part is accepting and working to understand one another.

Meanwhile, Bob, who also stars in the book, must work with his newly returning memories of his former self, Iapetus. Since he was dipped in the River Lethe, he became a better person (or Titan,) but he suffers from an identity crisis since remembering his dark past. Near the end of the book, he demonstrates his realization that he can never stop being a Titan, but it’s also completely possible for him to have changed.

Nico and Will are often respectively compared to darkness and light in the book. A key moral of the book, they realize they’re not just one or the other: “”There cannot be light without darkness, nor darkness without light. You must have the contrast for both to exist.”” (Riordan & Oshiro 244) Not everything is broken, even if it looks like it. Fix what’s actually broken, but treasure what isn’t.

The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Libby.

Hadestown: a Spoiler-Free Review

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Recently I saw Hadestown live – a retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, in musical form. It was so good! The songwriting, the aesthetic, the performances, they all came together to form an amazing experience that I’d highly recommend.

As I said before, this musical retells the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, starting from their first meeting all the way to Orpheus’ fated trip below. If you haven’t heard of the story yet, that’s completely fine! It makes your viewing experience perhaps even more dramatic, because you won’t know how it’ll end.

The show sets the Greek Underworld in a sort of industrial, Depression-era aesthetic, making for some really creative interpretations of the various features of Hell. It also does a great job of setting the contrast between the grungy, oppressive, sweltering Hadestown and the bright, airy, but freezing overworld.

The traveling cast that I saw was amazing (they performed in Segerstrom Center in late October) and the Broadway Official Recording is also spectacular. The emotion carries through even without the visuals!

Notably, the band is prominently displayed on stage along with the actors. Not only does this look insanely cool, but it gives the musical a different feel – something more personal. The songs of Hadestown are heavily inspired by different jazz genres, which is a breath of fresh air compared to other musicals.

Overall, I would highly recommend checking out Hadestown if you can!

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes

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As a newly converted Latin nerd making my first odyssey into the perilous (root word: periculum) land of Roman jargon, I’m deeply appreciative of my 3rd grade obsession with Percy Jackson. Not only am I able to seem even nerdier among my peers, I’m also glad for how Percy Jackson has widely popularized Greek and Roman mythology.

Now, re-reading one of the most information-dense books (Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes), I’m surprised at how much information is cleverly packaged in Percy Jackson’s sarcasm and humor. It doesn’t feel like reading a textbook, but I’m still gaining an immense amount of information. And that’s the true power of Rick Riordan’s bestselling books: the ability to take something that’s always been more niche and turn it into something fun.

I like the stories themselves too: Rick Riordan tells the classic myths of Heracles, Medusa, and the Minotaur, but also the stories of Otrera, queen of the Amazons, or Atalanta, the great huntress. It’s a snarky, modern take on classical myth that retains their initial meaning.

Take the story of Arachne: an incredibly talented mortal seamstress with skills that rival those of Athena. Her pride got the better of her after she challenged Athena to a weaving competition, and the end is not pretty. But Riordan also points out the other, less-mentioned moral of the story: that the villagers who once worshipped Arachne were just as willing to betray her. Ultimately, the ugliest characters in the story are not the prideful gods in Arachne’s tapestry, or the spider she becomes, but the hypocrisy of Arachne’s own community.

All in all, I still love Percy Jackson, for all of its minor historical inaccuracies. It brought classical mythology into a modern spotlight, and it’s just a truly fun and enjoyable read. You might even pick up a few facts and morals in the process. Just don’t forget to sacrifice a goat after your read.

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Hades Video Game Review

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Video games have been an admittedly large part of my life, and so has Greek mythology (I mean, my name is literally Artemis), so a game that combines both is bound to be one that I like. Hades is probably my favorite single-player game, and I want to share it with y’all!

Hades is an isometric hack n’ slash rogue-lite game available on macOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, Windows, and Netflix Games. The goal is to make it out of the Greek Underworld by getting through different rooms and defeating enemies. The game has no checkpoints and you lose almost all of your resources and progress if you die, but it’s a lot less frustrating than you might expect. That’s because there’s a lot of permanent upgrades that can make the game easier over time!

There are four types of currency: Charon’s Obol, Darkness, Gemstones, and Nectar. They’re all used for different types of items, but Charon’s Obols can be used for upgrades within your run, while the other three are used outside of your run to give you permanent character upgrades, or for trades between the currencies or for other artifacts.

The gameplay is very fun and interactive. You can use one of six different weapons with four versions of each. This along with the different boons from each god can really switch up how you play in each run. I usually just use the Varatha and get a ton of boons from Zeus and Ares, and Athena’s Dash boon if possible and mash buttons, but you can play in a ton of more engaging ways. It can be very difficult at first, but it gets exponentially easier as you unlock more permanent upgrades.

So if you like action-filled single player video games, I would highly recommend Hades. It’s a great roguelike with good theming and very fun gameplay.

Hades is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Book Review: The Heroes of Olympus The Mark of Athena

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The Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan is the third book within the Heroes of Olympus series. Within this book, the seven demi-gods mentioned in the prophecy of the seven finally meet up and begin their quest. Of those seven demi-gods, this book shows the P.OV. of the four of them who are Greek demi-gods, namely Percy Jackson son of Poseidon, Annabeth Chase daughter of Athena, Piper McLean daughter of Aphrodite, and Leo Valdez son of Hephestus.

Moving more into the plot now, this book places a lot of emphasis on the struggles and furthermore, the doubts of the protagonists. With Percy we see him being to think more about his role on the team, his fatal flaw of loyalty, and how that affects him. Percy is grappling with the fact that he is insanely loyal and protective of his friends and therefore struggles with letting them go and do their own thing because he’s worried that if they do and they get hurt it will be his fault.

With Annabeth we mostly see her struggling with her doubts about if she can complete the quest her mother gave her. Basically, Annabeth is given the task of following the Mark of Athena and recovering the Athena Parthenos, which was stolen by the Romans several years before the story started and is now in the hands of the antagonists. This quest becomes even more important when it is learned that the recovery of the statue is important to fixing the gods’ case of fantasy dissociative identity disorder(don’t ask).

Piper’s issue is honestly mostly petty drama with her boyfriend who spends most of this book passed out so we’re skipping over that dumpster fire to talk about Leo. So Leo’s issue is due to the fact that he is something of the odd man out in the group of heroes. Leo has a lot of issues combining to make him the proverbial black sheep with the two most notable being that his being possessed by ghosts at the start of the book starts a fair bit of the book’s conflict and the fact that he is the only member of the seven to not be in a relationship. The second one may seem minor by comparison but given that there are several points where he is referred to as a seventh wheel it’s pretty clear that it affects him a lot.

I honestly have to say that I enjoyed this book more than the previous two in the series. Not that the first two were bad it’s just that most of the “character development” there was a character getting over trauma related to one of their powers or with Percy and Jason dealing with their amnesia (long story). In conclusion, I would say that this series is definitely a good one and that its author really earned his title of “the storyteller of the gods.”

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Odyssey by Homer (Using translation by Robert Fitzgerald)

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I’m sure many people know of this book. Whether you have heard of it or have even read it yourself, I’m sure that a good majority of people know of The Odyssey by Homer. It is completely fine if you don’t but do be warned, this can be a very difficult read without proper background knowledge. I had to read this in school and I couldn’t be more thankful that my teacher had given us extra pages to brief us. These papers were from Edith Hamilton’s Guide to Mythology and taken from the chapters about the Trojan War. These two chapters were relatively short but hold a lot of important information regarding the Trojan War and prior events to The Odyssey. If you can find these anywhere, they would be great to read before reading The Odyssey. You can most likely find this as a PDF online and I’m serious when I say this was one of the crucial things when it came to my understanding of this book. 

The Odyssey is one of Homer’s epics, completely centered around Greek mythology. Specifically, the Greek hero, Odysseus and his journey after the Trojan War and how he gets home. He journeys through different lands, meeting many other popular characters in Greek mythology such as Calypso, Circe, and many more. The Odyssey also includes Odysseus’ son, Telemachos, who goes on his own journey in hopes of finding his father to save their island, Ithaka. The short version of the story is that while Odysseus is out fighting in war and disappears for 10 years, his home is overtaken by suitors trying to take his wife Penelope’s hand in marriage. Telemachos cannot let this happen, so with Athena’s help, he journeys out to find news about his father. While this happens, Odysseus, who has been stuck on Calypso’s island for many years, has escaped her grasp and tries to make his way home, explaining how he had ended up on Calypso’s island and what had happened to him after the war. However, he is not done with fighting yet as when he comes back home, he must fight for it back.

I remember I tried to read this book over the summer before school started. I couldn’t understand it at all and I got frustrated and gave up on it. But when my teacher explained it all, I ended up enjoying the book a lot. There are plenty of Greek values and conventions in the book which help the story make a lot more sense if you know about them. 

Despite having given up on it before school had even started, once everything made sense, I actually enjoyed this book. A lot of people I know don’t like it or dislike it. They are in the middle of the two which is fine. I liked the unique way of storytelling. It was funny to read about the absurd things that happened like how over 100 men came to pursue Penelope’s hand in marriage. Other times, the book would have five chapters that would just be Odysseus explaining what had happened. While it may sound boring, it was really interesting to read about the places he went to and what he had done to get him to where he was now. I also enjoyed picking apart the characters and analyzing them. Many of the characters are heroic and different in their own way. 

The Odyssey is not an easy book to read due to its way it words certain phrases, the different types of spelling, and is especially hard to read without any prior knowledge. If you don’t know much about Greek mythology but are interested in reading this, I would highly suggest researching and trying to find Edith Hamilton’s Guide to Mythology which is available online. While it may take a while to get used to reading this book, The Odyssey was still enjoyable to me, even though I had to re-read a few pages every now and then. I would definitely recommend this to a Greek mythology lover and even would recommend it to those who have little to no knowledge in that area – with some hesitation.

-Nicole R.

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald, is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

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Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods is a 336 paged book written by Rick Riordan and illustrated by John Rocco. I know all of us have heard of Percy Jackson. You have probably at some point read one of the books in Percy Jackson’s mythological world. So as a person who doesn’t know much about Greek mythology this book is great. Most people don’t much about Greek mythology. So this book is great giving you not only an interesting story but allowing you better understand and enjoy the other Percy Jackson books.

The book starts off with how the world is created in Greek mythology. So we learn about the start of Earth and the Titans. After the Titans are the Gods. It goes through the first Titan wars explaining how the Gods got into power. Zeus who is actually the youngest starts the war by freeing his five older siblings from the prison which was their father’s stomach.

After, explaining the war the book goes over the stories of 15 of the main Greek Gods. The 15 main Greek Gods talked about were Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Persephone, Hermes, Hestia, Hephaestus, and Dionysus.

We read interesting and exciting stories made centuries ago with a modern writing style. As well as background knowledge on some of the Greek gods. It’s an interesting book and a must-read for anybody planning to read Percy Jackson’s books.

-Luke G.

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Libby.

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

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The Son of Neptune is the second volume in the Heroes of Olympus series, In the novel, someone transports Percy from his home Camp Half-Blood in New York to Camp Jupiter in Southern California. He ends up there with no memory except one name, Annabeth.

On his way to Camp Jupiter, he is chased by the gorgons and observes something extremely odd. He observed that when he killed them they would just reform and come back and attack him which was not possible. 

He embarks on a quest to make sure monsters stay dead when they are killed with his new friends, Frank and Hazel. He goes to the north meeting foes and friends. He completes his quest and arrives at Camp Jupiter just in time to aid them at their time of greatest need, during a battle for survival. He regains his memory and meets his own friends from his original camp to lead an even larger quest to save the gods.

I highly recommend this book because it leads to an even bigger finale and the book along with many others in the series   Also, this is a novel that really makes you want to keep reading until the book is over. I read this novel in a very short time because i was really hooked into the story.

-Badrish A.

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

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Melora “Lore” Perseous is done with the Agon and it’s bloody aftermath. Years ago, after her family was killed, Lore refused to take part in the Agon, which instructs the gods to become mortals for a week, allowing any mortal hunter to kill a god and recieve their power, who then becomes the leader of their ancestral family. After years of this, the only original gods that remain are Athena, Artemis, Apollo, and Dionysus. During a street fight, which is how Lore makes her money, a familiar face from her childhood shows up, warning her of danger. Lore shrugs it off and returns home, only to find a deathly injured Athena at her doorstep. With no other choice, Melora is dragged back into the ruthless world of Gods and Goddesses, to stop a power hungry new god with ambitious plans for the world.

I loved ‘Lore’ and enjoyed reading it, although I admit that it can be a bit confusing if you’re not a bit familiar with Greek Mythology. Melora’s perseverance and bravery is definitely to be admired. With the different characters and personalities, the author makes it hard to find any boring part. Athena, who’s a frightening and self-assured goddess, Castor, Lore’s childhood friend who will do anything to keep her safe, Van, an uptight and serious young man, has one goal: keep Castor safe. Finally, Miles, Lore’s friend who knows nothing of the Agon but is determined to help. Alexandra Bracken’s ‘Lore’ seems almost reminiscent of ‘The Hunger Games’ with it’s bloody tournament, brave and loyal protagonist, and male counterpart, who’s kind and devoted. I highly recommend ‘Lore’, for those who enjoy Greek Mythology, ‘The Hunger Games’, fantasy, and action with a bit of slow-burn romance.

-Kelsie W.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.