Although Ancient Greek society (known as the Hellenic civilisation) declined from its zenith more than 2000 years ago, Greek culture, and more specifically greek mythology, has reached across the river of time to greatly influence modern western society and pop culture, with references to it found almost everywhere. This timeless nature that is characteristic of Greek civilisation has hugely impacted language, science, arts and literature.
The demise of Greek Civilisation led to the rise of the Roman Empire. The Romans, greatly influenced by Greek culture, adopted it while adapting it to suit their specific beliefs and in the process, adopted and adapted Greek mythology too. The vast expanse of the Roman Empire sowed the seeds of modern western culture as we know it today. It is, therefore, not surprising to find references to Hellenic or Roman mythology in modern pop culture, fiction and songs. Many of these myths are used even today to teach a moral lesson to children through the lesson they convey; we have all heard and grown up on the tales of Icarus and Daedelaus, King Midas, Pandora's box and also terms like Achilles' heel amongst many others. Thus, modern fiction is rife with references to Greek and Roman mythology in the famous Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and the Percy Jackson and other related series by Rick Riordan to name a few.
Some of the latest references to Greek mythology can be found in the lyrics and music videos of the hugely successful K-Pop band BTS. Since these are the most contemporary references, I have compiled a list of them below:-
The first song is Blood, Sweat and Tears (click to go to the You Tube video of the song). It has both, biblical and mythological references, as well as from a book called Demian by Hermann Hesse.
This song has one main reference to Greek Mythology, namely, the Legend of Icarus. In the music video the following paintings are prominently featured:-
The next song, Young Forever (click to go to the You Tube video of the song), is an inspirational song for the youth of today. The video features certain scenes with a maze and feathers ; a reference to the Labyrinth (created by Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos to house the Minotaur) and the Wings of Icarus. The song conveys the message of chasing ones dreams despite the trials, tribulations and hardships one faces along the way. In this song, the band has expressed the difficulties they faced in their journey to success and the uncertainty of the life they lead, despite which, they keep moving forward. The mythological references to the maze depict the hardships and the feathers (from the wings of Icarus) depict the way out, through sheer hard work, despite the fact that one may fail initially, inspiring a person to constantly strive to achieve ones goal.
Dionysus (click to go to the You Tube video of the song and the lyrics), is another track with Hellenic inspiration, specifically the Greek God Dionysus. Also known as the twice born god, Dionysus is the god of wine, festivity & celebration, fertility, arts & music, ecstasy, death and resurrection. He is the son of Zeus and a mortal, Semele (a princess from Thebes). As the patron god of arts & music, he represents freedom from self consciousness and duality.
I will discuss the details of the various references to greek mythology like the Legend of Icarus, the Labyrinth etc and the music video of Blood, Sweat and Tears in subsequent posts.
Watch this space ..............
Well written.. 👍