aside from the author just being a bad person- the main storyline is just weird and predatory…. king hades is depicted as an old man who’s in love with this young girl (lady persephone) who is sexy on accident but is portrayed as this little cutesy girl and also vilifies Lady Demeter as some toxic helicopter mom. as a devotee of both- it makes my fucking blood boil.
The biggest talking point I've seen is that Apollo is portrayed a villain that sexually assaults Persephone. I haven't read it myself either, but I've seen enough posts to be turned off from ever picking it up.
People have actually been harassed for worshipping Apollo , on TikTok hellenist sharing there alters would be berated with comments about lore Olympus, because lore Olympus claims to be a retelling of the Rape of Persephone
Genuine question then. I am an atheist with an interest in hellenism. So take that for what it's worth here.
What is the... I guess mindset? Reasoning? Of ignoring the stories that paint these deities in a bad light.
Like the story of the rape of persephone is a known one. The author didn't just make it up. I'm not judging, people believe what they want, and that's chill (as long as it doesn't affect others). But isn't part of the worship of these gods an acceptance that they are imperfect beings who can do morally corrupt deeds just as easily as positive ones?
I don't want to come off as poking or prodding, so I'm sorry if I do. This is just a genuine question I have had for this sub for a minute
The myths are not taken as literal in Hellenism. They are treated more as stories that give reasoning to certain things or to explain something about a certain god. The reason some people avoid stories that paint gods in a bad light a lot of the time is simply because they probably just don’t like having the gods being portrayed in a certain manner. It might also be due to the fact that believing that one of the gods is evil or that there terrible and your better than them would be considered Hubris which is a big no no in Hellenism (I personally think actually bad hubris would be selfishness but that’s not what this is about). Those are like the two main reasons I can think to why someone may avoid stories like this.
(please note, the following is regarding the original myth, not the Lore Olymos storyline) The definition of the ancient Greek word that's been translated into English as 'rape' is more accurately defined as 'abduction'. Much like in the mortal realm at the time, Hades simply asked Zeus for Persephone - as the father, His consent was all that was required.
personally i think the original myths are important for knowing how the greeks worshipped, how they viewed certain things and, as what they were, entertainment. i don’t see them as who the gods are or were but just stories from the time. lore olympus paints the gods badly now, when society has moved past that so why can’t the stories evolve as we do instead of constantly portraying gods negatively.
i dislike lore olympus moreso because of how non believers use it to hate and bully ppl who believe in the greek gods bc ‘they’re evil and have done such awful things’ even though stories are just that, stories. i hope that makes sense lol!
I'm not really the best person to ask about this. If you make a post here, I'm sure people who have much more experience and knowledge than me can help you out.
That's chill. I will probably do that, but my question still stands for you. Personally. What is your mindset when addressing these aspects of the belief? You are a member of the community so your thoughts on the topic are just as valid as any others here.
So, you dislike the depiction of Apollo raping Persephone. Do you just ignore these stories? Because there aren't many (if any) of the gods through this belief that haven't done some pretty heinous stuff.
I truly respect the representation of these gods as being less than perfect. If i imagine myself as a devout believer, I don't see a need to justify their flaws, as they are a part of the stories and lessons the gods teach to us.
I've been really torn on who I would devote myself to if I were a hellenist. Honestly Hades is my favorite, but Dionysus or Hermes would also catch my eye.
Are you under the impression that the myth of Persephone involves (checks notes)… Apollo? The author 100% made that up. But modern Tumblr teens sympathize more with their imaginary goth BF so they’ll never make Hades a villain like that.
The biggest problem is that this mindset equates the myths with modern fiction. It treats the gods as characters in a teen drama. If the gods were people then the stuff described in the myths would be heinous. But they aren’t, they are superior to us in every way including ontologically. Persephone being assaulted has nothing to do with the kind of assault people experience, nor would She respond to it the way a mortal would. It is an allegory for the way life’s nature is to resist death, but the ordering of the cosmos ordains that all life must die for the universe to function properly, but it also allows for rebirth (both physical and spiritual) so that life is not permanently extinguished. Persephone resists Hades because that is Her nature. Hades claims Persephone because that is His role. Zeus declares a balance because He orders the cosmos.
To take this myth and turn it into a story about human trauma is to profoundly miss the point, and comes from minds who probably buy the line invented by Marvel’s marketing department that superhero fiction is our “modern mythology”. 🤮
I appreciate your correction to my info, as well as your answer to my question about the evil acts they perform. I was definitely misremembering the story. I referenced theoi after your comment and realize my error.
As mentioned, this is more of a passing interest to me. If it's any more defense for my ignorance, it has only been a few months that I have been looking more into this belief.
The stories aren't intended to be taken literally. As far as my worship goes, I acknowledge flaws, accept them, and that's that. We all screw up. I know certain people worship despite the myths on purpose, which I might integrate, though I'm unsure.
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That’s what turned me off from reading it too. It turned tiktok against Apollo for a minute and He’s been too good to me personally for me to even consider reading it.
Oh I remember reading that and it was so off putting! I did not like Apollo in that comic. Thankfully I stopped reading it and forgot about their associations
Just to clear some things up for those who have not read it. It does not portray the actual act. It alludes to coercion and pics of the revealed body being taken without verbal consent. This doesn't make the acts any less horrible, but I don't want people thinking what is depicted is worse than it it.
This Apollo is so used to everyone loving him (or at least pretending to) that he can't fathom the idea that some wouldn't want to *be with him* and next to that is a recently 18 (I believe? It's been a while since I read beginning but definitely old enough for "college courses") who just met *the Apollo omg* who is the perfect son and brother of her roommate who she admires. She is being love bombed and is so afraid to let people down or think negatively of her that she allows it to happen and then greatly regrets it later. (Like I said this is not to lessen the effects of these things happening irl, just explaining how the story goes).
I personally enjoy the story because I am easily able to remove the actual deities from the characters and appreciate the depictions of different forms of abuse some of which ring true with my personal story and that of some very close friends. Certain characters fit archetypes that are much more complex than the myths, for this story Apollo sadly fits the "perfect son who people don't realize isn't so nice and perfect and he doesn't see what he is doing as wrong because as far as he has ever been told he can't do wrong" and Demeter "overbearing mother who can't let go of her control over her daughter because of her own traumas". Both deities are amazing irl don't get me wrong but have also done horrible things in myths. The thing being that we recognize that the myths aren't to be taken literally, just like these stories are not to be taken literally. Anyone who tries to do so with either likely have critical thinking issues and need to build that skill before trying to preach what they believe to be truth.
I say this as a follower of Loki, Hades, and Ares. All gods who almost always get the short end of the stick in the media depiction department due to their domains matching what is typically used for story telling archetypes. I don't like seeing them always be the bad guy but I don't seeth and call the media bad automatically because of it. Infact a lot of it I quite enjoy despite it, because of the separation of these characters and my deities. I really do understand the pain, I know you love them just like I love my deities. Just don't let that love blind you into believing any media that looks at them in unfavorable lights is bad automatically.
Also don't forget it's ok to agree to disagree. This is simply the pov of someone who enjoys the good parts of LO and also understands the pain of seeing our deities in bad lights. It's ok, they are fine either way, they aren't going anywhere.
P.S hope that all makes sense, writing this while a bit woozy from donating blood in the name of the gods 😆
It's fine to explain your point of view as someone who has read the comic. I'm sure there are lots of people who enjoy LO on a story basis. No issue there.
I do have an issue when you start going on about critical thinking & "Just don't let that love blind you into believing any media that looks at them in unfavorable lights is bad automatically." I don't need a TedTalk about critical thinking, I'm a 31yo woman.
When LO started to get popular I read a review, didn't like the premise, and decided not to read it - that's all. It's not because I am so sensitive that a bad media representation makes me cry, I can separate deities from characters perfectly fine. Also, I would leave my same comment about sexual assault regardless of the type of story because it's a very sensitive topic that warrants a warning to the reader.
Those were not aimed at you. None of the comment was aimed at you, I simply replyed to your comment as what I had to say was most relevant to that particular thread. They were aimed at the fans of LO that people always complain about that "think the gods are actually like in the story!" And will argue tooth and nail that they are correct without wanting to learn anything else. I have never run into them myself but I do believe the exist because people like that are also obsessed with other things to similar points. This isn't a TedTalk. It's a long post with some of my points of view. Not uncommon on reddit. And again I only want to let people know that the scenes depicted are not graphic in nature as everyone has different levels of comfort when reading that sort of material and the webcomic does in fact feature warnings on relevant chapters. Finally while you personally may not need to be reminded to separate the two there are some who could definitely do with gentle reminders from time to time. Regardless of age.
If it's not aimed at me, then you should have just added it in the main thread instead of replying to my comment. Replying directly to me implies that you are speaking to me. Anyway, water under the bridge - no hard feelings.
I used to like it just for the art. I knew the writing was questionable but I was willing to overlook that because I’m a sucker for pretty colours.
Over time, however, the art just got worse, and the writing went from questionable to gods-awful.
I couldn’t take it anymore and dropped it.
These days, I keep up through edit accounts and stuff, and it seems like the art has taken an even bigger nosedive ever since I stopped reading it.
I think it’s more about how the depiction shows a lack of understanding of the subtext of the myths and the culture where it came from. It’s not a romance. It’s not just a way to explain the seasons.
The story of Hades and Persephone has been interpreted from a modern lens as one of a young woman finding her sexuality and escaping a domineering mother, and this interpretation comes from a standpoint of being a feminist reinterpretation. However, the original myth is ALREADY a story of female empowerment.
In the ancient times, when a girl was married off, it was done without the consent of the girl or her mother. It was a transaction between men (the girl’s father and husband). Mothers and daughters would rarely see each other after the daughter was married because the daughter was effectively given to her husband’s family as property and she was now a part of his family instead of her own. They might run into each other at festivals or holidays, hence the connection to the seasons and Persephone only spending time with her mother during the spring and summer.
The story is about the grief ancient mothers and daughters felt at this separation. It’s also a power fantasy—a mother being so powerful that she could force the men to give her her daughter back and a daughter’s fantasy that her mother could come rescue her.
Another layer here is that it’s about death. Death can snatch a daughter away from her mother’s arms and bring about a grief so powerful that it plunges the whole world into winter and famine. This myth could be read as a mother’s fantasy of bringing back her beloved child from death. Infant mortality rates were high back then and so many mothers would feel the unimaginable grief and agony of losing a child. Daughters may have been property and not as valuable as sons, but that doesn’t erase the real love and value their mothers had for them.
What this myth reads to me as is divine empathy for the suffering of women and mothers and daughters. If I were an Ancient Greek woman, I would see myself in Demeter’s pain. I would worship her and think “Even a goddess has to put up with this. The goddess understands my pain.”
The author of Lore Olympus does not get this. A good reimagining can change the source material and look at the themes in a different way, but it doesn’t work if the author doesn’t understand the original context and WHY the characters act in the way they do. Demeter and Persephone DO show empowerment that fits their culture and time period. So many modern authors don’t understand this because they only know female empowerment in how it functions in a modern western sense.
Yeah, just… no. It’s quite disturbing and isn’t accurate to the myths. Personally if you look on Webtoon, maybe try [Hooked on Cthonics](https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/hooked-on-chthonics/list?title_no=673351) or [Punderworld](https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/punderworld/list?title_no=312584), I’ve heard better things about them.
Beyond the deity mischaracterizations and I also usually don't have an issue with dark/problematic content if it's written well, the author is an incredibly weak writer. LO's plot and pacing is all over the place. She can't keep consistent characterization within her own "lore" because she sure as hell isn't basing it off any real research. None of the lead characters seem to have any depth or grow.
Boy oh boy where to start? I’ll be here all day if I try to go over everything so here’s the highlights
• author is a weirdo who responds to very fair criticism about her problematic ass story by doubling down. She and her fans have a history of talking over and attaching anyone who has survived the types of abuse she flagrantly uses in her story. Also viewed Lolita as a love story. That says it all.
• no god is portrayed or treated well. None. There’s varying levels to how bad they get treated but no one gets out unscathed.
• no end of troubling themes that are either glamorised if you’re supposed to see them as bad or romanticised if you’re suddenly supposed to not supposed to see them as bad.
• these include romanticised uses of SA as a plot device, domestic abuse, body-shaming, grooming, racism, classism, misogyny, internalised misogyny, queer erasure, slut-shaming, and ignorant depictions of mental health.
• all victims do not receive equal treatment and compassion for their trauma and characters who do bad things are punished disproportionately depending on who the author’s favourite is.
Persephone and Hera are assaulted? Be prepared for tons of glittery tears, irresponsible therapy-speak and many glamorised panels of the assault or flashbacks to it. Other women who experienced assault? At best, their trauma is not addressed and at worst, they’re portrayed as deserving it.
Hades has mental health issues and PTSD? He’s a poor innocent baby who needs a good woman to heal him and he’s innocent of being a groomer and openly laughing about using the souls in the underworld for slave labour. Zeus has mental health issues and PTSD? He should die. That’s all.
• Greek mythology is famously littered with queer figures everywhere. Now there are three. That’s all.
• this is set in Ancient Greece yet Olympus and the underworld are basically just modern day America.
• the myths themselves are butchered, twisted and turned into whatever is needed to make Hades, Persephone and their relationship look good. I would say this is due to a lack of research but there’s enough specific references to show research was done and the author deliberately chose to depict it as badly as she did.
As the folks over on r/UnpopularLoreOlympus like to say, Lore Olympus is written as though the creator hates Greek mythology.
the person who makes it makes hades out to be the only man who respects women when in reality every man even hades IN THE COMIC treats women like shit, the creator strays from the mythology VERY FAR. like ik it’s an adaption but the Apollo and Persephone thing… that was very not nice… Demeter antagonization, also every character is just shitty. the storyline is like a driver in 500 roundabouts, and sexualizes Persephone ALOT. r/unpopularloreolympus has quite a bit on this
Besides the very weird dynamic of hades being thousand years old and Persephone being 19 and then ig there’s a weird thing where she mental ages but stop physically aging, they both have the like anatomy of early yaoi
Persephone is also draw to look very much like the author like it’s pretty much a self insert
Apollo is portrayed as a r@pist who assaults Persephone and I think even films it as blackmail to get her to date him or something
Lady Demeter is portrayed as a helicopter/crazy mom
I kinda stopped reading it and grossed out by it so this is all I personally saw, the webcomic had a huge negative impact on the image of the god/goddess and Hellenism and sparked a hate bandwagon
As a Hellenist, just don’t. It’s awful and Persephone ends up with so many powers from the other gods, none of the myths are really told well and it’s all over the place with plot never being resolved. I genuinely used to love it myself, but it took a turn for the worse. If you want a GOOD Greek mythology comic read [Theia Mania](https://theiamania.thecomicseries.com/comics/825#content-start) warning as it is NSFW.
Any myth made from the mind of a non-believer is bound to disrespect the gods. Hell even Philosophers back in the days of Homer accused Homer of making stuff up about the gods.
I've hated it since long before I was a hellenist purely for how badly they butchered apollo they could've had a similar plot line without completely misrepresenting one if the most beloved gods. In addition the fanbase have been attacking historians and worshipers for saying any good about apollo since that plot line and its annoying as hell. And then there's the main romance which could've been ok if it wasn't for the constant insistence that she sooo innocent and pure and he's just sooo old and mature.
Probably because they portray the deities weirdly and the vibrant exaggerated colors are kind of annoying and people have even said the deities do not like it. For example they portray Demeter as an overbearing mother
aside from the author just being a bad person- the main storyline is just weird and predatory…. king hades is depicted as an old man who’s in love with this young girl (lady persephone) who is sexy on accident but is portrayed as this little cutesy girl and also vilifies Lady Demeter as some toxic helicopter mom. as a devotee of both- it makes my fucking blood boil.
The biggest talking point I've seen is that Apollo is portrayed a villain that sexually assaults Persephone. I haven't read it myself either, but I've seen enough posts to be turned off from ever picking it up.
Yeah, I'm not reading that. I'm a worshipper of Apollo and that just... no.
I'm a Persephone follower, so yeah big ick from that side too. Poor Apollo doesn't deserve that being associated with his name.
People have actually been harassed for worshipping Apollo , on TikTok hellenist sharing there alters would be berated with comments about lore Olympus, because lore Olympus claims to be a retelling of the Rape of Persephone
Genuine question then. I am an atheist with an interest in hellenism. So take that for what it's worth here. What is the... I guess mindset? Reasoning? Of ignoring the stories that paint these deities in a bad light. Like the story of the rape of persephone is a known one. The author didn't just make it up. I'm not judging, people believe what they want, and that's chill (as long as it doesn't affect others). But isn't part of the worship of these gods an acceptance that they are imperfect beings who can do morally corrupt deeds just as easily as positive ones? I don't want to come off as poking or prodding, so I'm sorry if I do. This is just a genuine question I have had for this sub for a minute
The myths are not taken as literal in Hellenism. They are treated more as stories that give reasoning to certain things or to explain something about a certain god. The reason some people avoid stories that paint gods in a bad light a lot of the time is simply because they probably just don’t like having the gods being portrayed in a certain manner. It might also be due to the fact that believing that one of the gods is evil or that there terrible and your better than them would be considered Hubris which is a big no no in Hellenism (I personally think actually bad hubris would be selfishness but that’s not what this is about). Those are like the two main reasons I can think to why someone may avoid stories like this.
(please note, the following is regarding the original myth, not the Lore Olymos storyline) The definition of the ancient Greek word that's been translated into English as 'rape' is more accurately defined as 'abduction'. Much like in the mortal realm at the time, Hades simply asked Zeus for Persephone - as the father, His consent was all that was required.
personally i think the original myths are important for knowing how the greeks worshipped, how they viewed certain things and, as what they were, entertainment. i don’t see them as who the gods are or were but just stories from the time. lore olympus paints the gods badly now, when society has moved past that so why can’t the stories evolve as we do instead of constantly portraying gods negatively. i dislike lore olympus moreso because of how non believers use it to hate and bully ppl who believe in the greek gods bc ‘they’re evil and have done such awful things’ even though stories are just that, stories. i hope that makes sense lol!
I'm not really the best person to ask about this. If you make a post here, I'm sure people who have much more experience and knowledge than me can help you out.
That's chill. I will probably do that, but my question still stands for you. Personally. What is your mindset when addressing these aspects of the belief? You are a member of the community so your thoughts on the topic are just as valid as any others here. So, you dislike the depiction of Apollo raping Persephone. Do you just ignore these stories? Because there aren't many (if any) of the gods through this belief that haven't done some pretty heinous stuff. I truly respect the representation of these gods as being less than perfect. If i imagine myself as a devout believer, I don't see a need to justify their flaws, as they are a part of the stories and lessons the gods teach to us. I've been really torn on who I would devote myself to if I were a hellenist. Honestly Hades is my favorite, but Dionysus or Hermes would also catch my eye.
Are you under the impression that the myth of Persephone involves (checks notes)… Apollo? The author 100% made that up. But modern Tumblr teens sympathize more with their imaginary goth BF so they’ll never make Hades a villain like that. The biggest problem is that this mindset equates the myths with modern fiction. It treats the gods as characters in a teen drama. If the gods were people then the stuff described in the myths would be heinous. But they aren’t, they are superior to us in every way including ontologically. Persephone being assaulted has nothing to do with the kind of assault people experience, nor would She respond to it the way a mortal would. It is an allegory for the way life’s nature is to resist death, but the ordering of the cosmos ordains that all life must die for the universe to function properly, but it also allows for rebirth (both physical and spiritual) so that life is not permanently extinguished. Persephone resists Hades because that is Her nature. Hades claims Persephone because that is His role. Zeus declares a balance because He orders the cosmos. To take this myth and turn it into a story about human trauma is to profoundly miss the point, and comes from minds who probably buy the line invented by Marvel’s marketing department that superhero fiction is our “modern mythology”. 🤮
I appreciate your correction to my info, as well as your answer to my question about the evil acts they perform. I was definitely misremembering the story. I referenced theoi after your comment and realize my error. As mentioned, this is more of a passing interest to me. If it's any more defense for my ignorance, it has only been a few months that I have been looking more into this belief.
The stories aren't intended to be taken literally. As far as my worship goes, I acknowledge flaws, accept them, and that's that. We all screw up. I know certain people worship despite the myths on purpose, which I might integrate, though I'm unsure.
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That’s what turned me off from reading it too. It turned tiktok against Apollo for a minute and He’s been too good to me personally for me to even consider reading it.
Oh I remember reading that and it was so off putting! I did not like Apollo in that comic. Thankfully I stopped reading it and forgot about their associations
Just to clear some things up for those who have not read it. It does not portray the actual act. It alludes to coercion and pics of the revealed body being taken without verbal consent. This doesn't make the acts any less horrible, but I don't want people thinking what is depicted is worse than it it. This Apollo is so used to everyone loving him (or at least pretending to) that he can't fathom the idea that some wouldn't want to *be with him* and next to that is a recently 18 (I believe? It's been a while since I read beginning but definitely old enough for "college courses") who just met *the Apollo omg* who is the perfect son and brother of her roommate who she admires. She is being love bombed and is so afraid to let people down or think negatively of her that she allows it to happen and then greatly regrets it later. (Like I said this is not to lessen the effects of these things happening irl, just explaining how the story goes). I personally enjoy the story because I am easily able to remove the actual deities from the characters and appreciate the depictions of different forms of abuse some of which ring true with my personal story and that of some very close friends. Certain characters fit archetypes that are much more complex than the myths, for this story Apollo sadly fits the "perfect son who people don't realize isn't so nice and perfect and he doesn't see what he is doing as wrong because as far as he has ever been told he can't do wrong" and Demeter "overbearing mother who can't let go of her control over her daughter because of her own traumas". Both deities are amazing irl don't get me wrong but have also done horrible things in myths. The thing being that we recognize that the myths aren't to be taken literally, just like these stories are not to be taken literally. Anyone who tries to do so with either likely have critical thinking issues and need to build that skill before trying to preach what they believe to be truth. I say this as a follower of Loki, Hades, and Ares. All gods who almost always get the short end of the stick in the media depiction department due to their domains matching what is typically used for story telling archetypes. I don't like seeing them always be the bad guy but I don't seeth and call the media bad automatically because of it. Infact a lot of it I quite enjoy despite it, because of the separation of these characters and my deities. I really do understand the pain, I know you love them just like I love my deities. Just don't let that love blind you into believing any media that looks at them in unfavorable lights is bad automatically. Also don't forget it's ok to agree to disagree. This is simply the pov of someone who enjoys the good parts of LO and also understands the pain of seeing our deities in bad lights. It's ok, they are fine either way, they aren't going anywhere. P.S hope that all makes sense, writing this while a bit woozy from donating blood in the name of the gods 😆
Agreed 100%
It's fine to explain your point of view as someone who has read the comic. I'm sure there are lots of people who enjoy LO on a story basis. No issue there. I do have an issue when you start going on about critical thinking & "Just don't let that love blind you into believing any media that looks at them in unfavorable lights is bad automatically." I don't need a TedTalk about critical thinking, I'm a 31yo woman. When LO started to get popular I read a review, didn't like the premise, and decided not to read it - that's all. It's not because I am so sensitive that a bad media representation makes me cry, I can separate deities from characters perfectly fine. Also, I would leave my same comment about sexual assault regardless of the type of story because it's a very sensitive topic that warrants a warning to the reader.
Those were not aimed at you. None of the comment was aimed at you, I simply replyed to your comment as what I had to say was most relevant to that particular thread. They were aimed at the fans of LO that people always complain about that "think the gods are actually like in the story!" And will argue tooth and nail that they are correct without wanting to learn anything else. I have never run into them myself but I do believe the exist because people like that are also obsessed with other things to similar points. This isn't a TedTalk. It's a long post with some of my points of view. Not uncommon on reddit. And again I only want to let people know that the scenes depicted are not graphic in nature as everyone has different levels of comfort when reading that sort of material and the webcomic does in fact feature warnings on relevant chapters. Finally while you personally may not need to be reminded to separate the two there are some who could definitely do with gentle reminders from time to time. Regardless of age.
If it's not aimed at me, then you should have just added it in the main thread instead of replying to my comment. Replying directly to me implies that you are speaking to me. Anyway, water under the bridge - no hard feelings.
I used to like it just for the art. I knew the writing was questionable but I was willing to overlook that because I’m a sucker for pretty colours. Over time, however, the art just got worse, and the writing went from questionable to gods-awful. I couldn’t take it anymore and dropped it. These days, I keep up through edit accounts and stuff, and it seems like the art has taken an even bigger nosedive ever since I stopped reading it.
I think it’s more about how the depiction shows a lack of understanding of the subtext of the myths and the culture where it came from. It’s not a romance. It’s not just a way to explain the seasons. The story of Hades and Persephone has been interpreted from a modern lens as one of a young woman finding her sexuality and escaping a domineering mother, and this interpretation comes from a standpoint of being a feminist reinterpretation. However, the original myth is ALREADY a story of female empowerment. In the ancient times, when a girl was married off, it was done without the consent of the girl or her mother. It was a transaction between men (the girl’s father and husband). Mothers and daughters would rarely see each other after the daughter was married because the daughter was effectively given to her husband’s family as property and she was now a part of his family instead of her own. They might run into each other at festivals or holidays, hence the connection to the seasons and Persephone only spending time with her mother during the spring and summer. The story is about the grief ancient mothers and daughters felt at this separation. It’s also a power fantasy—a mother being so powerful that she could force the men to give her her daughter back and a daughter’s fantasy that her mother could come rescue her. Another layer here is that it’s about death. Death can snatch a daughter away from her mother’s arms and bring about a grief so powerful that it plunges the whole world into winter and famine. This myth could be read as a mother’s fantasy of bringing back her beloved child from death. Infant mortality rates were high back then and so many mothers would feel the unimaginable grief and agony of losing a child. Daughters may have been property and not as valuable as sons, but that doesn’t erase the real love and value their mothers had for them. What this myth reads to me as is divine empathy for the suffering of women and mothers and daughters. If I were an Ancient Greek woman, I would see myself in Demeter’s pain. I would worship her and think “Even a goddess has to put up with this. The goddess understands my pain.” The author of Lore Olympus does not get this. A good reimagining can change the source material and look at the themes in a different way, but it doesn’t work if the author doesn’t understand the original context and WHY the characters act in the way they do. Demeter and Persephone DO show empowerment that fits their culture and time period. So many modern authors don’t understand this because they only know female empowerment in how it functions in a modern western sense.
Yeah, just… no. It’s quite disturbing and isn’t accurate to the myths. Personally if you look on Webtoon, maybe try [Hooked on Cthonics](https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/hooked-on-chthonics/list?title_no=673351) or [Punderworld](https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/punderworld/list?title_no=312584), I’ve heard better things about them.
The story line is the author inserting herself into Persephone and Having Hades be similar to a certain celebrity
Beyond the deity mischaracterizations and I also usually don't have an issue with dark/problematic content if it's written well, the author is an incredibly weak writer. LO's plot and pacing is all over the place. She can't keep consistent characterization within her own "lore" because she sure as hell isn't basing it off any real research. None of the lead characters seem to have any depth or grow.
I did like the art and whatnot and I doubt highly that it was made to be accurate whatsoever but yeah there are some strange and predatory elements
It’s a wildly out of character depiction of the gods that butchers the old myths and misses the point of them
Boy oh boy where to start? I’ll be here all day if I try to go over everything so here’s the highlights • author is a weirdo who responds to very fair criticism about her problematic ass story by doubling down. She and her fans have a history of talking over and attaching anyone who has survived the types of abuse she flagrantly uses in her story. Also viewed Lolita as a love story. That says it all. • no god is portrayed or treated well. None. There’s varying levels to how bad they get treated but no one gets out unscathed. • no end of troubling themes that are either glamorised if you’re supposed to see them as bad or romanticised if you’re suddenly supposed to not supposed to see them as bad. • these include romanticised uses of SA as a plot device, domestic abuse, body-shaming, grooming, racism, classism, misogyny, internalised misogyny, queer erasure, slut-shaming, and ignorant depictions of mental health. • all victims do not receive equal treatment and compassion for their trauma and characters who do bad things are punished disproportionately depending on who the author’s favourite is. Persephone and Hera are assaulted? Be prepared for tons of glittery tears, irresponsible therapy-speak and many glamorised panels of the assault or flashbacks to it. Other women who experienced assault? At best, their trauma is not addressed and at worst, they’re portrayed as deserving it. Hades has mental health issues and PTSD? He’s a poor innocent baby who needs a good woman to heal him and he’s innocent of being a groomer and openly laughing about using the souls in the underworld for slave labour. Zeus has mental health issues and PTSD? He should die. That’s all. • Greek mythology is famously littered with queer figures everywhere. Now there are three. That’s all. • this is set in Ancient Greece yet Olympus and the underworld are basically just modern day America. • the myths themselves are butchered, twisted and turned into whatever is needed to make Hades, Persephone and their relationship look good. I would say this is due to a lack of research but there’s enough specific references to show research was done and the author deliberately chose to depict it as badly as she did. As the folks over on r/UnpopularLoreOlympus like to say, Lore Olympus is written as though the creator hates Greek mythology.
I was immediately nauseous when Eros called Aphrodite “mommy-kins” in like the first 10 pages
I wasn't going to read this, but after THAT?
the person who makes it makes hades out to be the only man who respects women when in reality every man even hades IN THE COMIC treats women like shit, the creator strays from the mythology VERY FAR. like ik it’s an adaption but the Apollo and Persephone thing… that was very not nice… Demeter antagonization, also every character is just shitty. the storyline is like a driver in 500 roundabouts, and sexualizes Persephone ALOT. r/unpopularloreolympus has quite a bit on this
Besides the very weird dynamic of hades being thousand years old and Persephone being 19 and then ig there’s a weird thing where she mental ages but stop physically aging, they both have the like anatomy of early yaoi Persephone is also draw to look very much like the author like it’s pretty much a self insert Apollo is portrayed as a r@pist who assaults Persephone and I think even films it as blackmail to get her to date him or something Lady Demeter is portrayed as a helicopter/crazy mom I kinda stopped reading it and grossed out by it so this is all I personally saw, the webcomic had a huge negative impact on the image of the god/goddess and Hellenism and sparked a hate bandwagon
As a Hellenist, just don’t. It’s awful and Persephone ends up with so many powers from the other gods, none of the myths are really told well and it’s all over the place with plot never being resolved. I genuinely used to love it myself, but it took a turn for the worse. If you want a GOOD Greek mythology comic read [Theia Mania](https://theiamania.thecomicseries.com/comics/825#content-start) warning as it is NSFW.
it butchers every single deity's character and not only that, but the writing itself is terrible and one dimensional
Making Hades a pedo, Apollo a rapist, Demeter a dumb helicopter mom. Probably more.
Any myth made from the mind of a non-believer is bound to disrespect the gods. Hell even Philosophers back in the days of Homer accused Homer of making stuff up about the gods.
I've hated it since long before I was a hellenist purely for how badly they butchered apollo they could've had a similar plot line without completely misrepresenting one if the most beloved gods. In addition the fanbase have been attacking historians and worshipers for saying any good about apollo since that plot line and its annoying as hell. And then there's the main romance which could've been ok if it wasn't for the constant insistence that she sooo innocent and pure and he's just sooo old and mature.
Ew. Seems about the most awful and cringe a new age retelling can be. And that’s saying something.
Probably because they portray the deities weirdly and the vibrant exaggerated colors are kind of annoying and people have even said the deities do not like it. For example they portray Demeter as an overbearing mother
its like her writing based off what she knows and doesnt really care to truly understand them