If you have seen the 1981 Clash of the Titans, you know the story of Perseus, the slayer of Medusa, whose royal mother was driven to exile since she gave birth to Zeus’ illegitimate son. Not unlike some tales, Zeus even assumes the role of husband. He descends to the Earth in disguise to seduce woman, and in kid-friendlier texts, makes his move with consent? Check. Zeus notices a pretty woman from the heavens? Check. The concept of Zeus shapeshifting into various entities on Earth to evade his jealous wife Hera and seduce mortal women is present in many Greek heroes’ origin stories, and Heron’s background hits every trope.
The show throws an extra creation-story spin by showing the ruler god Zeus introducing reason and compromise into the Earth by persuading two of the Giants to ally with the gods. Less graphically, Blood of Zeus depicts the Giants as emerging from a fallen Titans’ blood. Hesiod’s 700 BC poem Theogony describes the Giants as born from the blood of Uranus, the primordial Sky god, when one of his godly sons castrated him during intercourse with the primordial Earth goddess (yes, really). The story that incites the plot is the Gigantomachy, the legendary battle between Mount Olympus gods and the Giants. Within 8 episodes, this first season weaves a tapestry of remixed familiarity for those who have consumed - or devoured - Greek mythology. Disney’s Hercules this is not.īlood of Zeus takes advantage of the malleability of myths by borrowing from the ancient stories while spinning its own tale.
Heron demigod series#
Created by Charles and Vlas Parlapanides ( Immortals), this gore-spurting Blood of Zeus is the latest hard-R animated series from Netflix and Powerhouse Animation, the makers of the Castlevania video game adaptation. The info dump gives the show complete freedom to shapeshift mythical material for its own action use. The opening of Blood of Zeus claims that the saga of its hero Heron is a lost, untranscribed chapter of ancient Greek mythology.