#“to keep it short” -> writes a bunch of parahraphs because Dionysus is neat 😂

[superkooku]

Heya, so I'm just someone who likes Greek mythology and I didn't read PJO (so my criticism is more general). I'm not the best person out here but I can give some tips if you'd like to.

First off, I'm always happy to see people willing to compare sources and modern adaptations to see which changes were made, all the inaccuracies. It's a sign of a curious spirit who likes to research about the myths. And also a way to discuss with a more nuanced perspective of the ancient culture.

+ Zeus tends to be demonized in modern retellings. People focus on his lustful side and forget that he's a powerful leader, a god of justice and hospitality and that he's not a heartless monster or anything in mythology.

Edit : here's some positive stuff about Zeus :

+ Hera kinda has the same problem, where she's seen as this jealous naggy wife who attacks every single child of Zeus (she only did it to a minority btw) and not given the same amount of respect as other female deities.

Or she's a victim so Zeus is 100% in the wrong. I don't vibe with either of these extremes and would prefer more nuanced explorations of Hera's character as a queen among the Olympians that CAN let go of a grudge (like when Heracles and Hebe married), as well as a goddess of marriage.

+ As for Dionysus, oh boy, where do I start 😂 ? I made a sort of essay dedicated to him on my blog because he's often done dirty in adaptations. Here's the link :

You don't have to read it, obviously, but I let this here just in case you'd like to. So to keep it short, let's say that every adaptation where he's portrayed as a goofy drunk guy or a pacifistic deity are completely wrong.

He's so much more interesting than that. He's, on one hand, a god of festivities, liberation theater and fertility. But on the other, he's also the god of insanity, he has an army of crazy followers (edit : maenads aren't really priestesses so I corrected that).

He doesn't hesitate to violently punish any king that doesn't respect his status as a god. He's a conquerer who, in order to ascend as an Olympian, had to spread his cult.

His relationship with Hera is also very interesting because she follows him throughout his numerous travels (as an antagonistic force) and she almost seems an accidental teacher in the way her punishments on Dionysus resemble those the god will later inflict (especially the madness tendency).

Whereas Zeus also shows a nicer side by being a caring father and protecting him while he was an infant.

Anyways, for Dionysus, I'd suggest you read "The Bacchae" from Euripides. It completely changed my perspective of him 😉.

He's like wine, yk ? Both a drink of celebration and joy, but also one that can unleash repressed traits, be it violence or being tipsy, so more vulnerable, or more joyful. It alters reason and decision making. Dionysus can make people more obedient or straight up rabid when he wants to. So he takes that to the maximum.

I hope this mini rant could help, my friend. If you have anything to say, don't hesitate.

Also @kingkai4ever could you help me for the PJO stuff specifically? If you have anything to add.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ

Hi-this is a call for help.

It's not urgent, but it's very important and serious to me.

Listen-I'm writing a literal essay on how the Greek Gods are incorrectly portrayed, and I want to do sections on Zeus, Hera and Dionysus.

So, this started off as a short post on the bold yin yang of PJO, but it quickly blew up into a whole ass essay on the bastardisation of Greek culture and gods. And holy hell, I'm enjoying writing it. I freaking love it, but-

While Rick Riordan's portrayals of the gods aren't totally incorrect, something about their portrayals has been seriously nagging me for months now. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's just on the tip of my tongue-

but I don't think that Rick portrayed them all correctly, and I want to write sections for them too.

So, can all of you-Greeks, Hellenistic Pagans and other people like me who are neither of the first two but are still interested in the Real Greek Gods-can all of you tell me where PJO Dionysus, PJO Zeus and PJO Hera went wrong?

More specifically, how Real Hera, Real Zeus and Real Dionysus are, and how their PJO versions differ from them.

Because I'm doing my research, but I can't always trust the internet and I really want to hear about Dionysus and Zeus and how they were incorrectly portrayed in PJO from real people themselves.

I mean, Zeus is portrayed as paranoid and abusive and while he wasn't the best guy in the Mythology, he was a great father and husband at times-as well as a great guy.

But in PJO, he was barely shown as a good father or a husband, only twice with Thalia because she was his daughter, and we all know how abusive he was to Jason and Apollo. And he's barely given any nuance-as well as Hera. They're both portrayed to be in an abusive marriage, but both Hera and Zeus really love each other.

I kind of also want to do a section on PJO Hera, because I just KNOW that Rick went wrong with her, even if I can't fully explain Zeus and Dionysus.

So, TLDR, I'm writing an essay on how Rick incorrectly portrayed the Greek Gods and want to do sections on Zeus, Dionysus and Hera, could you please help me and tell me more about the real gods and maybe how Rick went wrong with them?

Thanks to everyone who contributes to this! Even a simple like will suffice. I will also respond to every comment, and feel free to tag anyone whom you think might help.

In fact, if you want to complain about ANYTHING wrong in the PJO series, send me an ask and I'll try to include it in my essay. And I don't get very many asks, so I'll be sure to respond to all of them.

I don't mean to be rude, and if you think I am, then please tell me and I'll change what I need to.

@elytrianemrald I know you're looking forward to this essay, I'm working on it every day and getting closer to finishing it

@lady-menrva I know this might not be your thing, but I think you might know some people who could help me

@my-pjo-stuff you mentioned Artemis being your patron goddess, soooooooo you might know something about the other gods too? And if you don't, maybe you know someone who can help?

If you want to be tagged, tell me and I will tag you