On this page are reviews of TV programmes or episodes which have some kind of a classical connection. If you’ve come across something similar, why not review it and send in your thoughts via the Contact page?
Shows discussed on this page:
The Wire
Sharp Objects
Westworld: Season 2
The Handmaid’s Tale
Missions
Westworld
The Sopranos
Game of Thrones: Jamie Lannister
The Sopranos
Inside No. 9: The Riddle of the Sphinx
Game of Thrones: Shireen Baratheon
Legion
Game of Thrones: Myrcella Baratheon
South Park
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones: Cersei Lannister
True Blood
Red Dwarf VI
Battlestar Gallactica
Game of Thrones
Riviera
The Wire
Reference: Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus
Level: Overt
Description: In Season 5, Episode 7 of The Wire, Senator Clay Davis is a corrupt politician walking up the steps of a courthouse to discover the severity of his sentence. In his hand, he holds a book, Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus. It’s an old trick, but it works – if you want to look intelligent, wave some Classics around. But the choice of text is more significant than a simple cover-up for Clay’s crimes. Clay Davis is a charlatan, no doubt, but his use of Classical Reception is superb. Amusingly, Clay mispronounces both the name of the text and of Aeschylus himself, proving by his ignorance that the text is simply a prop for his grandstanding, which is proven further by his incorrect synopsis of the text. Clay states that the play is about a simple man who is horrifically punished by the powers that be for the crime of trying to bring light to the common people. However, Prometheus was not a simple man – he was a Titan with a complex past which included several duplicitous acts. The Titan’s crime is also not simple; by giving humans light, he removes human dependency on the Gods and thus weakens the power of higher beings. Is Clay Davis Prometheus in any way? Possibly, but not in the way that he would like his audience to believe.
Prometheus Bound’s inclusion at this moment in The Wire is significant. In the play, Prometheus knows that eventually he will be set free from eternal suffering because he is aware of his knowledge that can be used to save Zeus in the future; he just needs to hold his nerve through the tough times. It’s a truism The Wire exploits – the higher up the chain of command you are, the more difficult you become to prosecute. How? Well, as you climb the ladder, you get dirt on people at the top of the ladder. Clay is kept out of prison partly because of his own eruditeness in court, but he remains free because he can give information on people even higher up the chain than he is. Prometheus was bound, but his foresight told him that he had the power not to be chained to that rock forever and one day the higher power would be asking for his help; this is repeatedly what happens in The Wire; the people at the top – despite (and because of) committing terrible deeds, have achieved the means to their own emancipation. Crime can pay if you invest in it hard enough.
Prometheus is also an apt god for this series because of the relentless inevitability of his punishment. Each day his liver will be eaten and there is nothing that he can do about it and this is a message that rings out loud and clear in The Wire; you can fight the war on drugs, but each day will begin with the same soldiers, fighting the same battle with the same result. Only self-interest seems to free people from the fetters that dictate their behaviour and unfortunately self-interest doesn’t seem to generate altruistic actions. With great power comes great chances to get out of a jam – thus, as with most aspects of life, it’s the people at the bottom of the hierarchy who have no way out of their bad situation (like Io perhaps?). The little man will never be a Titan, but will instead be a subject of their whims.
One final factoid: Prometheus made humans from clay. Is the name ‘Clay Davis’ alluding to the fact that we are made this way, so why fight who we are?
Contributor: David Hogg
The Wire
Reference: Ares
Level: Overt
Description: In Season 2 Episode 6 of The Wire, Omar Little is about to testify in a murder case. He sits opposite ‘a police’ who is doing a crossword – Clue: God of War (4 letters). Mars fits the spaces, but doesn’t match the letters already inserted. Omar offers the suggestion ‘Ares’ and explains that it’s the “same dude, different name is all”. In this one exchange, Omar (who is ‘A God of War’ himself in his missions of vengeance, in addition to his other roles of Robin Hood and a Fury) essentially sums up not just Roman and Greek mythology, but also the entire enthralling (yet depressing) premise of The Wire. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest he has summed up the War on Drugs and even the whole of human history. Everything just repeats – it’s always the same dude with a different name and each season of The Wire demonstrates the Sisyphean repetitiveness of fighting crime; a different cop chases a different drug dealer; the endings are the same and so are the beginnings – ad infinitum. Omar knows this and decides to play out his whole life as a game; he is relaxed about the bleakness of it all and philosophical in the face of his own suffering. The renaming of the Greek gods by the Romans echoes Omar’s opinion of history repeating – one empire falls, another emerges and Zeus becomes Jupiter. Simple.
This is a depressing truth about crime and criminal behaviour and The Wire plays out the idea in almost balletic (and nihilistic) beauty. The makers knew that a Season 6 would have just been the same again – but with a different name. By the end of Season 5, we know how the story ends and by not dragging the ideas out further, we are left alone with the knowledge that right now the same thing, with a different name is happening all over again. It’s a powerful punch and takes a while to get over.
Contributor: David Hogg
Sharp Objects
Reference: Persephone
Level: Overt
Description: As the TV adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects draws to a close, the madness and misdirection comes from all sides. In the final episode, the teenage Amma tells her half-sister Camille that “I’m Persephone” and then explains that Persephone is hated and feared even though she has done nothing wrong, because her existence causes inadvertent pain to other people. Amma is making a reference to the mythology of Persephone, the kidnapped daughter of Demeter who is imprisoned in the Underworld until she is freed from Hades for a portion of the year (which in turn inspires her mother, Demeter – Goddess of the harvest – to rejoice and allow the crops to grow). Persephone has to return to Hades every year and this upsets Demeter so much that crops fail to grow and winter becomes mankind’s annual struggle.
It is an interesting proposition from Amma to state that people blame Persephone for the barren months. It shows how her character sees victimhood as an unavoidable fate and that people’s opinions are formed by personal interest rather than empathy with the facts – after all, it was not Persephone’s fault that she was kidnapped. Judgements made by people that show a lack of empathy is a recurrent theme throughout the series; people in a ‘small town’ cast big aspersions on people who fail to fit their ideas of the norm. What is also interesting is that by the end of the series we discover that it is actually Amma who is the figure of Hades; she has dragged her victims down to hell against their will. However, unlike in mythology, there is no coming back for the innocent girls Amma has mutilated.
The reference to Persephone is a great piece of misdirection by Amma because it allows the viewer to see her as the victim of her mother’s Munchausens by Proxy syndrome – and there is no doubt that she is a victim of this – and by allowing herself to be kept captive by her mother, she has (ironically) been able to freely carry out the murders without suspicion. Amma is Persephone and Hades rolled into one and uses her ‘Persephone side’ to hide her Hades.
There is perhaps one other myth hinted at and that is Orpheus and Eurydice. Camille listens to music a lot (Orpheus?) and seems to be journeying to hell to save… herself? Amma? The memory of her sister? But just like Orpheus, Camille makes a fatal error in the final scenes of the series by ‘looking back’; she examines Amma’s dolls house and the horrific truth is revealed to Camille. Amma (Eurydice) will be caught for her crimes, thus descending back into Hades, never to be freed again, leaving Camille to wander the earth alone and distraught forever.
Contributor: David Hogg
Westworld: Season 2
Reference: Argus, Io, Prometheus, Delos
Level: Overt/Implied/Inferred
Description: With Westworld Season 2 complete, it is time to try and decipher what the significance of the Argus Initiative is. In Greek mythology, Argus had 100 eyes and they were never all closed at the same time, thus he was the perfect sentry. We find out in this season that the guests in Westworld have been having every aspect of their data harvested so that they could cheat death – therefore it seems that the Argus referenced here is an allegory for the many-eyed watchman who sees all at all times; here he is seeing everything the guests do and think at all times.
In the mythology, Argus is killed by Hermes, the messenger of the gods and it seems that there are several messengers of the ‘God Robert Ford’ (interestingly Ford is the name of the leader worshipped like a god in dystopian fiction Brave New World) who could lay claim to ‘killing’ the Argus Initiative (Dolores, Maeve, Bernard). At this point, it is interesting to consider why Hermes kills Argus. Zeus has a concubine, Io, who is disguised as a cow so that his wife doesn’t find out about her. However, Hera knows full well who the cow is and sets Argus up to watch her. Zeus wants her free and this is why he sends Hermes, who slaughters poor Argus. Hera takes pity on Argus and turns him into a peacock (the tail feathers representing the eyes) and Episode 3 of Season 2 opens with an image of 2 peacocks. Coincidence?
So who is Io in Westworld. In mythology Io sets off on a journey after the death of Argus and travels through many lands and has many fantastical meetings. For me, Dolores is Io. In the myths, Io was tormented by a gadfly, which keeps her moving across the lands and I think this annoyance for Dolores will be Bernard. The descendants of Io are ultimately responsible for the liberation of Prometheus from his chains and with this in mind, I think we are now into some serious speculation for Season 3 – if we start thinking about Prometheus being unbound we enter Frankenstein territory too; all of which sounds very ‘discussable’ and chimes in perfectly with the science/morality/megalomania tropes of the TV series. Finally, the representative for the Argus Initiative who meets James Delos (S2E2) is also the leader of the Ghost Nation (Akecheta), which means that James Delos was manipulated from the start by Ford who wanted the space to make his new world without being seen to be doing so. It’s a great ‘switcheroo’ as the island of Delos (in mythology) is meant to be hidden from the sight of the gods. The ‘world’ that Ford creates became invisible as he hid it all in plain sight ‘on Delos’. To conclude, as John Milton (Al Pacino) states in The Devil’s Advocate, “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist” – the greatest trick Ford pulled was creating a world and convincing people it didn’t exist.
Contributor: David Hogg
The Handmaid’s Tale, Season 2
Reference: The Pleiades, Callisto
Level: Overt
Description: In Episode 6 of Season 2, the Handmaid Offred gets involved in what seems to be an empathetic conversation with Serena Joy. Both women appear to be finding common ground in the nursery of ‘Serena’s baby’ and this allows Offred to begin to reminisce about her past (an attempt at manipulating Serena that eventually backfires). Before Serena shuts down the heart-to-heart, Offred discusses the nursery of her first child (Hannah) and how glow-in-the-dark stars were stuck on the ceiling; she speaks about how her partner used to point out different constellations and she names two: the Big Dipper and The Pleiades. Both constellations consist of 7 stars and therefore this number feels significant. In Greek mythology The Pleiades are 7 sisters, vulnerable daughters of Atlas who are pursued by Orion. Zeus turns them into stars in order to rescue them – but strangely the constellation of Orion is permanently facing the Pleiades, with his bow drawn in an eternal threat to the seven women.
Within Gilead it seems there are seven types of female who are constantly under threat by their own hunter – the oppressive patriarchal system that has forced itself upon the free women of this dystopian future. The seven types are: The Wives, the Handmaids, the Marthas, the Aunts, the Jezebels, the Econowives and the children (dressed in pink – pre-women). Offred’s mentioning of The Pleiades reminds the viewer that women have always been oppressed by men and this is seen in narratives/myths that are as old as time.
In addition to The Pleiades, the Big Dipper is mentioned. This constellation also has 7 stars and its Greek name is Callisto. Is the mentioning this constellation a piece of foreshadowing? In mythology, Callisto is turned into a bear and is almost killed by her own son (who obviously doesn’t recognise her in her ursine form). Is this Offred’s future? Can we expect to see Offred attacked by her own child after being brainwashed by the aunts?
Contributor: David Hogg
Missions
Reference: Odysseus/Ulysses, Atlantis
Level: Overt
Description: Missions is a French Sci-Fi drama that is small in production scale but big on ideas. It tells the story of the crew of the space shuttle Ulysses and their attempt to be the first manned mission to Mars. The space shuttle also has different rovers and landers called Circe and Telemachus. As soon as the name Ulysses appears, it becomes a mission for the viewer to see if the allusions from his journey home can be seen.
Missions throws something of a curveball though as there are not slavish nods to the Classical poem. There are moments where the military man blindly follows orders where one can perhaps see the cyclops. There are also magical elements which would be at home on the islands of Circe and Calypso, but there are not many moments that scream ‘Odyssey!’. The Homeric poem is most clearly seen in the existential crisis of the characters and the forming of a resolve to surmount obstacles in order to get back home – a spiritual quest played out in a physical space.
There are also references to Atlantis in this series, the suggestion being that the lost civilisation was created by Martians; there is even a reference to the mythological metal of Atlantis (Orichalcum) when they find it on the surface of Mars, this proving that not only are we not alone, but we are also not who we think we are. There is a Season 2 in pre-production so the allusions may be built upon in future episodes. As an aside, I think naming any vessel after a man who went missing for 10 years and lost his entire crew is asking for trouble – especially when you are going to a planet named after the god of war! Perhaps a ship named Aphrodite would get a better welcome.
Contributor: David Hogg
Westworld
Reference: Orpheus and Eurydice
Level: Inferred
Description: There are lots of Classical allusions in this sci-fi spectacular, some of which will only become truly apparent as the series draws to a close. However, episode 8 of season 2 was a self-contained episode which would have been almost possible to watch and understand without having seen any other episodes (although I must stress the almost); because of the ‘complete’ nature of this episode, it was possible to clearly see one of the most heartbreaking stories in Greek mythology without the need to see what happens next.
The character of Akecheta (part of the Ghost Nation) has been flitting around the edges of this programme from the beginning. This has mainly been in the guise of a stereotypical ‘Indian savage’, a somewhat lazy caricature which seemed out of place within the cerebral nature of this series. His character was fleshed out properly in this episode; we are introduced to him in this episode in his former life as a man at one with nature and with a wife called Kohana whom he loved very much. One day he sees the symbol of ‘the maze’ and begins to try and share this knowledge with his follow tribe members. All of this subversion eventually leads to him being rewritten by Delos and separated from Kohana, but he is unable to forget her and so seeks her out and frees her mind once again from the shackles of their programming – whereupon they again embark on living a utopian life in the wilderness; that is until she is captured and taken away for good by Delos. Akecheta begins to search for Kohana again but this time he cannot locate her; he realises that his last option is to look for her in the next world and so, he decides to let himself be killed so that he can go through ‘the door’ and rescue her. Once in Delos HQ he searches for Kohana, which leads him down into the basement where she is stored in stasis. Even though he has found her, he is unable to bring her back to the ‘upper world’ and she has therefore vanished from him for a second time.
The parallels with the story of Orpheus and Eurydice are clear. Two innocent nature lovers are ripped apart by a cruel fate, but love drives Orpheus, like Akecheta, to search for Eurydice in the Underworld. Significantly, Akecheta, like Orpheus, has to go “down” in order to try and bring his loved one back “up”. Both fail in their quest and it seems that fate will always have its way – just like the programming of the hosts will always decide for them where they will go and what they will do. After failing to bring Eurydice back, Orpheus never recovers. In Westworld it looks like Akecheta has decided to try to go through ‘the door’ again and this time take people with him. His final promise to Maeve to look after her daughter has an echo of the Persephone myth (although the mother and daughter roles have been switched here). Westworld seems to be a complex, futuristic place, but at its heart, it confronts issues which have troubled the human race for millennia – do I have free will and if so, what do I do with it and do I really want it?
Contributor: David Hogg
The Sopranos
Reference: Julius Caesar
Level: Inferred
Description: Episode 7 in Series 1 of The Sopranos is called Pax Soprano. This is a reference to the Pax Romana (sometimes referred to as the Pax Augusta) which is meant to be a time of relative peace for the Roman Empire – sandwiched as it was between brutal civil wars. It’s a nice idea but of course is a long way from the truth – it certainly isn’t a peace that I would be happy with, especially if I was one of the tribes subsumed by force into the ever-expanding empire.
In this episode of the Sopranos, Tony Soprano tries to broker peace with his uncle to avoid internecine warfare. On the surface it all seems very sensible, but Tony is manoeuvring himself into a position of power – a manoeuvre he will successfully complete over the following seasons. It is impossible not to see the machinations of Julius Caesar in Tony (a reference that does not escape Junior – who reminds him what happened to the would-be king of Rome). This is perhaps highlighted most clearly in Tony’s panic attacks which cause him to pass out. Julius Caesar also had a ‘condition’, often thought to be epilepsy (although new research is changing ideas on this assumption) that he tried to hide from those closest to him as he knew that not only could it be seen as an omen/curse, but would have been viewed as a sign of weakness in a leader. Tony seeks help for his condition, whilst maintaining an iron grip on his empire.
Like Julius Caesar, Tony commands loyalty from his troops, but it is also those closest to him who present the greatest danger. The show’s climax is perhaps its greatest glory – we are left looking at an isolated leader, who has what he wants, but to quote Macbeth “to be thus is nothing”. He sits in his diner (forum), lord of his empire (a grotty corner of New Jersey) and waits for the day to come when he will be stabbed in the back – the only question is who will be his Brutus? Tony loved the History Channel and he would have known how it ended for Julius Caesar. Perhaps he thought he was Augustus, but even he had his Livia and her (alleged) figs. Carmela is sitting opposite him at the diner table…
Contributor: David Hogg
Game of Thrones: Jamie Lannister
Reference: Aquila
Level: Inferred
Description: Jamie Lannister was the youngest member of the Kingsguard, sworn to protect his king. When he began his duty, he was assigned the task of protecting Aerys II Targaryen, the Mad King. However, Jamie breaks his vow when he stabs Aerys in the back near to the end of Robert Baratheon’s rebellion. Much is made of Jamie’s treasonous act in the TV series and even characters who would be glad to see the end of the Mad King’s reign use Jamie’s slaying as a means to insult him and prove his disloyalty. Jamie reveals that he only did this heinous act to save the whole of King’s Landing from being burnt down by Aerys. However, this is not a definite fact and it would not be the first time in the show that someone has lied about their actions to achieve a favourable personal result.
The Roman Emperor, Caligula, also had a ‘King’s Guard’, called the Praetorian Guard. They were sworn to protect their emperor and were employed purely for that role. Yet in 41 AD, a group of Caligula’s own guards, along with some other co-conspirators (involving Senators and Equestrians) assassinated him for the greater good of Rome – or so they would have had us believe. Politically, Caligula was a nightmare for the Roman elite. He was mad, bad and dangerous to know and having to work with him in any capacity could be a degrading experience, or even fatal. The Praetorian who led the betrayal was called Cassius Chaerea and he was routinely humiliated by Caligula. Unable to take it anymore, he conspired to have Caligula executed. This coup was a success, particularly for the Praetorians, who became kingmakers when they put Claudius into the role of Emperor. The final death-blow to Caligula is attributed to a man called Aquila, who very little is known about. It is thought that Caligula may have even been dead by the time Aquila plunged his blade into him – thus rendering it a symbolic act rather than a necessary one. Therefore, it could be argued that there is nothing brave about this act by Aquila. Aquila may simply have seen which side of history he needed to be on if he was going to survive, a trait which Jamie Lannister demonstrates many times in Game of Thrones.
Like the conspirators of Caligula’s assassination, Jamie tries to promote the idea that his murderous act was for the greater good, but like Aquila’s actions, Jamie’s can also be seen as symbolic rather than necessary as the Mad King had already lost the war. Like Aquila, Jamie’s name is only recorded as a kingslayer for prosperity and nothing else is written about him (In The White Book/The Book of Brothers). Jamie does not like this, but perhaps he will be grateful to be remembered for something in the end, regardless of what it is. Aquila is just about remembered by us, but there are many, many more who are not.
Contributor: David Hogg
The Sopranos
Reference: The Cumaean Sybil
Level: Overt
Description: In Season 2, Episode 4 of The Sopranos, Tony Soprano makes a ‘business trip’ to Naples. Whilst there, he meets Annalisa, who has become the boss of the Neapolitan crime organisation. Initially, Tony seems to follow the predictable path of trying to seduce her, but his attraction seems to change as he starts to see that she is wiser and more of a challenge to him than he had first given her credit for. It is during a sight-seeing tour of Naples where Tony realises that he will need to keep his ‘guard up’ because Annalisa is no fool. She takes him to the cave of Cumaean Sybil and explains how the priestess would have been able to offer guidance and advice to those who wanted answers. Tony asks what advice Annalisa (who has positioned herself as a modern Sybil) has for him and she replies, “you are your own worst enemy.” Tony responds by saying that she reminds him of someone from ‘back home’ and we know that he is talking about his psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi.
It is an interesting comparison as the Sybil was able to offer advice and acted as bridge between the living and the dead. In Tony’s meetings with Dr. Melfi, she is undoubtedly trying to guide him and because of the nature of his ‘business’, she is very clearly a link for Tony to the living and the dead in his life. But to what end she is helping him is quite ambiguous. Melfi’s meetings with Tony allow him to become a better parent, but they also allow him to become a better criminal. Her moral ambivalence in their meetings often tortures her when she is away from him. Her punishment is reminiscent of Apollo’s reaction to being spurned by the Sybil in Ovid’s Metamorphoses; Apollo allows the Sybil to wither away until nothing is left of her except a voice in a jar (Melfi’s office perhaps?). Dr. Melfi seems to lose more than she gains by helping the morally tortured Tony Soprano, and viewers are also forced to evaluate their too support for this murderous criminal at several points in the TV series.
Tony’s meeting with Annalisa at the cave of the Sybil, is an attempt to centre Tony Soprano in the tradition of the Epic/Homeric/Classical ‘hero’ (Aeneas? Odysseus? Heracles? Achilles?) and by the end of the final episode of this TV series, it would be hard to disagree that Tony Soprano is a worthy modern addition to the pantheon of tortured ‘Classical’ men.
Contributor: David Hogg
Inside No. 9: The Riddle of the Sphinx
Reference: Oedipus, Medea, Pygmalion, Iphigenia, Hector, Sphinx
Level: Overt and Inferred
Description: This episode of Inside No. 9 seems to ooze with the elements of Greek tragedy and while Oedipus is literally spoken about in the script, there are certainly echoes of other plays within this sumptuously sinister 30 minutes of tragicomedy (notably Medea).
The premise seems relatively harmless to begin with… Crossword-setter Nigel (the Sphinx) stumbles across a young woman who has broken-in to his office and attempts to teach her how to solve cryptic crossword clues. Nigel mentions ‘My Fair Lady’ (inspired by Pygmalion) and we brace ourselves for some uncomfortable ‘flirting’. However, when Nigel describes the Sphinx as a creature that would strangle and then eat victims who could not solve its riddle, we suspect that all is not as it seems. Nina (the woman) attempts to poison Nigel as revenge for causing her own brother’s suicide, which, once we are aware of the ending seems to reference (perhaps) Electra/Iphigenia. However, things get really ‘tragic’ when it transpires that it is Nigel who has actually managed to poison Nina, thanks to help from her own father (Tyler) who is out to get revenge on Nigel for having an affair with his wife (Monica) – Agamemnon and Medea both seem to be present in this twist. But there is one more gruesome turn to come as it transpires that Nina and her brother (Simon) were actually Nigel’s children from his affair with Monica. This would be great news for Nigel except he has now poisoned his own daughter (who he also made inappropriate comments about before he knew his relationship to her) and caused the death of his son Simon by defeating him in a crossword competition where Nigel knew him as ‘Rex’ (after Oedipus Rex – who defeats the Sphinx). We are then reminded of Thyestes as Nigel is forced by Tyler to eat Nina. Distraught, Nigel kills himself after revealing his middle name is Hector.
It is therefore Nina who is ‘Oedipus’ (not her brother); it is Nina who unwittingly kills her own father (believing him to be her enemy) and by trying set herself free, she becomes the instrument of her own destruction. However, this episode is not a straightforward transposition of the Sophocles play onto a new setting – the mentions of the Sphinx’s riddle and Oedipus hide the fact that Medea is as equally influential to this gruesome tale. It is an amazing piece of TV that feels as though it was written 2500 years ago – and that is absolutely meant to be a compliment.
Contributor: David Hogg
Game of Thrones: Shireen Baratheon
Reference: Iphigenia
Level: Inferred
Description: There are many violent moments in Game of Thrones (and there are many others that push the boundaries of ‘good taste’), but perhaps the most disturbing of all of its scenes is the sacrifice of the child (Shireen Baratheon) by her own father (Stannis). Shireen’s fate seems to be based on the Greek story of Iphigenia.
In the myth, Agamemnon offends Artemis and in revenge, the God manipulates the winds to prevent the Greek fleet from setting off on its conquest of Troy. Agamemnon’s status amongst the Greeks becomes increasingly weaker each day that they remain stuck in harbour. The wind is literally and figuratively being taken from their sails and this is leading to dissent, dissertation and perhaps even mutiny. It is a situation that is replicated by Stannis’s march on Winterfell in Season 5, but this time it is a snow storm that prevents the leader’s progress. Both generals seek the help of immortals in order to maintain their authority over mortals and both fathers are told that the sacrifice of their own daughters will loosen this strategic ‘log jam’. Both men feel the weight of history on their shoulders and decide that their reputation as ‘King’ is more important than their role as ‘father’ and thus, the sacrifices are carried out.
Initially it seems that the sacrifices ‘work’ and both men are able to get on with attempting to write their own histories. However, for both men, the infanticide is the beginning of their end; Agamemnon’s wife kills on his return from Troy and for Stannis, it is the ‘belief’ that this act gives him, that ensures he marches into his death. In Greek mythology, there are versions of this story where the Gods replace Iphigenia with a stag at the point of her execution, thus allowing her to flee. This reference is foreshadowed in GoT when Sir Davos gives her a gift before he departs on a mission, just days before her death – it is a carving of stag.
As a side note, once Stannis wakes up after his daughter’s sacrifice, GoT becomes Macbeth for about 5 minutes: troops desert, his wife commits suicide and “no man born from a woman” delivers his death-blow (Brienne of Tarth – a woman). This is not the only time in this series where the Bard and the Classics are woven together. (See Thyestes).
Contributor: David Hogg
Legion
Reference: Enceladus
Level: Inferred
Description: In the ‘flashbacks’ of David’s bedroom, a poster with the word ‘Enceladus’ can clearly be seen. Enceladus is a moon of Saturn and is considered to be the most viable site for life in our Solar System (excluding Earth), but it is the mythological reference that is perhaps less well-known.
In Greek mythology, Enceladus was one member of larger group of unpleasant creatures called the ‘Giants’. These monsters weren’t just big; they had snakes for legs and were so strong that they could throw mountains. They also had a penchant for theft, murder and rape. It was this behaviour (and an attack on Hera) which eventually forced Zeus and the other Olympians to destroy them. The Giants had been created from blood that had been spilt on the Earth – blood that had emanated from Uranus’s castrated member. The Giants were children born from a violent act (castration), which itself was a response to a violent act (carried out by Uranus’s son, Cronos). In Legion, David seems to have the supernatural strength of a Giant within him and his potential for destruction frightens all that witness what he can do. His immeasurable mutant powers have been hijacked by a parasite that is destroying him and putting those around him at risk.
However, David is not Enceladus – the parasite in his mind is the monster and it is a monster that we know has been ‘created’ by conflict and is now out of control – just like the Giants in the mythology. In Series 2, it will be interesting to see if David can finally do what needs to be done and lock his parasite/Giant away for good (in mythology, Enceladus is buried underneath Sicily), thus conquering his ‘Giant’ and becoming ‘a god without equal’, free from threats; or will we see the Giant within him set free from its prison and run amok around the world. David needs to be aware that The Giants could not be defeated by the Gods alone and they needed help from a mortal. In mythology Heracles tips the balance in favour of the Olympians; will David need a ‘mortal’ to save him and if so, who could it be?
Contributor: David Hogg
Game of Thrones: Myrcella Baratheon
Reference: Pliny the Younger
Level: Inferred
Description: In about 105/106 C.E., Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to Aefulanus Marcellinus about the death of Minicia Marcella – the daughter of their mutual friend Fundanus. Minicia seems to have made quite an impression on Pliny. He states, “I have never seen anyone more cheerful or agreeable or worthy of a long life-even immortality – than that girl.” More platitudes follow in the writing until he presents the bitterest pill to swallow – Marcella was engaged to be married at the time of her death and the family’s joy had now been changed to sorrow.
In Game of Thrones, the daughter of Cersei Lannister is called Myrcella – a spelling that is not made clear in the TV programme, and is therefore a homophone of the Marcella found in Pliny’s letter. Like Marcella, Myrcella was also young, innocent, full of life and preparing for a happy marriage (to a Prince in Dorne). Before her death, the scenes of Myrcella’s idyllic, positive life in Dorne created a juxtaposition with the perpetual purgatory of King’s Landing and, for a while, it seemed that there was the possibility of at least one character in this drama having a nice life. Prince Oberyn had even said, “We don’t hurt little girls in Dorne”, so the signs were good! But as with Marcella, Myrcella was destined not to experience the happiness that the people watching from the outside wanted her to receive. Myrcella is murdered and Marcella dies of an illness; although the means are different, the outcomes resonate in the same the same way – the good die young and the evil never stops.
Pliny finishes his letter by stating, “A mind when its grief is fresh rejects consolation, soon desires it and calmly accepts what is offered.” One wonders if we will start to see Cersei soften in the final season of Game of Thrones as she comes to terms with her grief. I somehow doubt it.
Contributor: David Hogg
South Park
Reference: Thyestes by Seneca
Level: Implied
Description: Revenge may well be a dish best served cold, but in the South Park episode Scott Tenorman Must Die, the dish is unbearably hot.
After being mocked and exploited by the older Scott Tenorman, Eric Cartman decides that there is only one form of vengeance that will erase his humiliations – he will cook a meal for Scott Tenorman. Anyone who has seen South Park knows that Eric Cartman does not cook for his friends, let alone his enemies and we are immediately on tenterhooks as we await the Cartman coup de grace. When it comes, we are shocked into disbelief. Cartman has killed Scott Tenorman’s parents and fed them to him in a bowl of chilli.
This is a riff on Seneca’s revenge Classic Thyestes. In Seneca’s play, Atreus exacts vengeance on Thyestes (his brother) after he steals his kingdom and his wife from him. To pay him back, Atreus holds a banquet and feeds Thyestes food made from his own children. As an audience member, your moral compass is all over the place and this is symptomatic of the best revenge tragedies from the Classical world. Medea is another example of a play which uses an extreme act to transform the victim into the violator; no-one can deny that Medea has been wronged, but no-one can deny that her revenge goes too far. Despite the fact that we expect Cartman to test our taste-boundaries, his culinary comeback still shocks – even though ‘the Classics already did it’ 2000 years before.
Contributor: David Hogg
Game of Thrones
Reference: Thyestes by Seneca
Level: Implied
Description: After following the trials and tribulations of Arya Stark over 1000s of miles and several years, viewers were relieved when they discovered who she had become – a cold-blooded killer, driven by revenge with a penchant for showomanship. There were doubtless many people incongruously cheering at the TV when they found out that Walder Frey was eating a pie made from his own sons in Season 7. It was an abominable act that was a signal to the viewers that the Stark fight-back was well and truly on!
The feeding of children to their parents as an act of revenge can be traced back to Seneca’s Thyestes. In this play, Thyestes robs his brother (Atreus) of both his kingdom and his wife. As payback, Atreus invites Thyestes to a banquet where he is served food made from his own children. Has Atreus crossed the line? Discuss. In Game of Thrones, Walder Frey was such an abhorrent character that it is hard to argue that he did not deserve this stomach-churning punishment. The Starks had also been victims of such a horrendous narrative (partly thanks to Frey) that to begrudge the family of the serving of this dish would be cruel. Plus, the writing was probably on the wall for the sons, since their father is named after a pie maker (See Fray Bentos).
Contributor: David Hogg
Game of Thrones: Cersei Lannister
Reference: Circe
Level: Implied
Description: This name is more than just homophonic. The significance of the sound of her name (rather than the spelling) reminds me of the scene is Macbeth and the false-king stumbling around calling out for ‘Seyton’. I know it has a different spelling, but the audience hears Satan and this carries aural weight and adds an additional layer to the meaning of the scene; as does Cersei’s name every time she appears on screen.
In The Odyssey, Circe is a witch who surrounds herself with lions and wolves. At the start of Game of Thrones, Cersei is surrounded by the wolves of the House of Stark and lions from her own family, the House of Lannister. Circe poisoned her victims, which is the weapon of choice for Cersei – until she gets enough power to use other means. In mythology, Circe is meant to have killed her husband, as does Cersei (by expediating her husband’s end). Interestingly, a boar is the source of Robert Baratheon’s demise, which echoes the fact that Circe the witch used to turn her victims into pigs. Finally, Circe bedded the sailor/warrior Odysseus and Cersei Lannister has most recently found herself with the Iron Island’s sea-dog Euron Greyjoy. Is there one final Circe-esque turn to come, or has this TV character evolved beyond her original allusion?
Contributor: David Hogg
True Blood
Reference: Maenads, Dionysus/Bacchus
Level: Implied
Description: In Season 2 of this American TV series, there are vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters and, well, just generally any kind of mythical creature they can crowbar in – all in one small town (what are the chances!). It gets really interesting, though, when Maryann Forrester rocks up in town and gets everyone a little hot under the collar. Turns out she’s a Maenad (from Greek mythology) who worships Dionysus, known as the God of Wine (and all things indulgent and hedonistic). In Roman mythology, Maenads were also known as Bassarids (or Bacchae or Bacchantes) after the Roman equivalent of Dionysus, known as Bacchus; cue maniacal dancing to the sound of loud music and crashing cymbals, in which the Maenads whirl, scream, become drunk and incite one another to greater and greater ecstasy. Season 2 gets hotter and hotter as it moves towards the climax of the whole town falling under Maryann’s spell for some sacrificial purpose – can anyone stop her? Do they want to?
Contributor: Keeley Hogg
Red Dwarf VI
Reference: Sirens
Level: Overt
Description: Series VI, Episode 1 is called Psirens. The ‘silent P’ emphasises the psychological aspect of these aliens and their ability to get into the characters’ psyche. In adding a ‘P’ to siren, a modern, sci-fi twist is given to the traditional mythological rock-dwellers who lured sailors to death with their songs.
In this episode, the Psirens transform themselves into what the characters most desire or who they obey, before luring them into striking range and sucking out their brains. Space is a fantastic setting to place mythological creatures – we don’t know what’s out there and therefore ANYTHING could be out there! Sirens are part of our modern lexicon now – everyone knows what someone means when they call a woman a ‘siren’ – but is the term applicable to men? And if not, what is the male equivalent of a siren? Roxy Music’s Siren album cover features Jerry Hall as an iconic siren.
Contributor: David Hogg
Battlestar Gallactica
Reference: Virgil, Aeneid
Level: Inferred
Description: There are many references to ‘the gods’ in this TV series, but the overall structure follows the Aeneid in lots of ways. When watching this, it is heaps of fun to see if you can spot the narrative parallels before your other Aeneid-obsessed friends can (or perhaps this is just me…)!
Contributor: David Hogg
Game of Thrones
Reference: Julius Caesar
Level: Inferred
Description: (SPOILER ALERT)Popular ‘man of the people’ John Snow is stabbed to death by men more honourable than him, including a boy that he trusted. Sounds very familiar… Snow almost looks at the boy and says, “And you little boy…”. Just as Julius Caesar could not believe Brutus (his young nephew) conspired against him, Snow cannot believe he is betrayed by his adolescent squire.
Snow does not need a ‘Mark Antony’ to seek revenge for him though, as he is simply resurrected in the next series and carries on where he left off. This leads to an interesting ‘what if…’ question. What if Julius Caesar had been brought back from the dead by a local haruspex? What would Rome have become? Would he have been a good king or would he have given the powers back to the people? Would he have united the 7 kingdoms against the White Walkers (or the German Tribes as he’d have probably called them [in Latin])? Would he have grown a beard?
Contributor: David Hogg
Riviera
Reference: Io, Jupiter, Juno, Argus
Level: Overt
Description: Riviera is a great example of how Classics can be used to add a ‘bit of class’ to a straightforward TV drama. The plot is heavily based around fine art, specifically Lorrain’s painting Juno Confiding Io to the Care of Argus. The painting and the myth behind the masterpiece are mentioned frequently in the series. The characters speak about the mythology and the idea of ‘hiding in plain sight’ and we the audience are led to think that there MUST be a link between the plot and ‘hiding in plain sight’. If Julia Stiles was meant to be Io, perhaps there is a Season 2 on the way. The last scene has her sailing away on her boat, where she will perhaps continue the mythology and bump into a version of Prometheus chained to the rock (perhaps her father who is, as we know, in prison).
Contributor: David Hogg
Classical Studies Support 