Recently the K-pop group BTS performed at the Melon Music Awards. There were many references to Greek and Roman mythology in their performance.
BTS performed 5 songs from their latest album 'Map of the Soul: Persona'. Each member also had an individual performance which showcased personalities of different gods.
The songs that they performed were :
Persona
Boy with Love
Boy in Love
Mikrocosmos
Dionysus
Mikrocosmos and Dionysus (as I am sure you could have guessed by the name) were the performances that were replete with mythological references.
Their song Mikrocosmos is about all the people who work hard at night with their lights on. Those lights, when looked at together, resemble a small cosmos or in other words, a Mikrocosmos.
The planet Saturn, seen in the background during their performance, while an aesthetic choice for a visually pleasing aspect, is also thought to represent, Kronos the God of time, whose Roman name is Saturn. In the song, he represents masculinity and conception, something that can be understood by comprehending the essence behind their entire album. However, this was one of the most prominent references.
After Mikrocosmos each member of BTS had his solo stage performance which concluded with their coming together and performing Dionysus.
The performance began with the priest of Dionysus blowing a cornucopia (a horn), heralding the arrival of the gods.
The powerful solo performance began with Kim Taehyung, more popularly known as V. He had a flamboyant and extravagant stage, the aesthetics of which reminded people of the Sun God, Apollo.
The next to perform was Jin or Kim Seokjin. He had a very regal and sophisticated aura while performing astride a huge wooden horse and represented the goddess of battle strategy, Athena.
Jimin or Park Jimin followed with an ethereal and delicate contemporary dance reminding people of the goddess of the moon and the hunt, Artemis.
SUGA or Min Yoongi was next. His stage was the representation of fire in all its glory. There is considerable debate as to whom he depicted, as the stage and performance matched the characteristics of both, Hephaestus, the God of blacksmiths and Hades, the God of the underworld. Since they both have an equal amount of connection to the concept of fire, the jury is still out on whom SUGA depicted.
The youngest member of the group, Jungkook, performed next. His performance, in a water tank, alluded to the fact that the portrayal of Poseidon, the God of water.
The penultimate performance was by J-Hope. It was pitch black with a few laser beams depicting lightning, being the only source of light. It was, thus, evident that he represented Zeus, the God of lightning and thunder.
RM concluded the solo performances. He was the charaterisation of Dionysus, the God of wine. This is a known fact since whenever they perform Dionysus (their song), he plays Dionysus. He does so by retrieving his thyrsus (Dionysus's staff/cane), at the beginning of each performance.
Before each of their performances a light bulb was suspended in mid-Air. When all seven light bulbs came together they made a constellation. At the end of the solo performances one realised that the constellation was Corona Borealis, a tribute to Ariadne, the wife of Dionysus. After her death, Dionysus made this constellation so that people would remember her for eternity.
After the solo performances, they stage was prepared in a manner that took the spectators on a journey that led us to Mt. Olympus. On reaching Mt. Olympus we were greeted by Maenads, the followers of Dionysus. Two gargantuan panthers (balloons), depicting Dionysus's ride, emerged from the stage's sides.
Here, my journey to Olympus, recreated on stage by BTS, ended. It left me yearning and longing for more - more songs, more performances, more references to mythology and more superlative storytelling via the medium of music and dance. It reinvigorated me in my desire to compile and write about different references to mythology that I encounter in a plethora of guises, in the journey of life.
Ingenuous... 👌👌