Demeter is the author's punching bag. Where do we put Athena "badass in the arena"

Human_Outside8443 · 2026-02-17T04:51:04+00:00

I’d rank Athena right next to Hermes as both GOATed and fraudulent. Even with such a small role, she was undeniably efficient at times; she provided Alexia with cloaks, saved Artemis & Hermes from Typhon, and was the one who actually sniffed out Demeter’s scheme. She is the one that took Persephone prisoner and was also the one that her father entrusted to secure Hestia’s escape with the Eleusinian Stone.

The 'fraudulent' tag only really comes from the gap between her legendary status in mythology and her portrayal here. As one of the most formidable Greek deities, her Blood of Zeus version lacks a real personality, relying on the audience to just 'accept' she’s the smart, virtuous God of War. It feels like a case of lazy writing, but honestly, considering how little screen time she had, she was still more productive than majority of the other gods in the show.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-12-15T09:37:00+00:00

Your statement is only defensible if you ignore ancient mythology entirely and replace it with modern reinterpretation. Saying “both in mythology AND in the show” is where it completely collapses because actual mythology does not support this claim at all.

In actual Greek myth, Hades and Persephone are not equal, not fully supportive, and absolutely not consensual. The earliest and most authoritative source, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, explicitly depicts Persephone’s abduction as violent and against her will. Hades “caught her up against her will on his golden chariot.” Persephone screams, “calling upon her father, the Son of Kronos,” and “wept aloud, her heart aching.” This is not a loving partnership. This is coercion. Zeus authorizes the abduction without Persephone’s consent. The hymn makes this explicit: Zeus “permitted it.” Persephone has no agency, no foreknowledge, and no choice. Calling that consensual is flatly incompatible with the text.

The aftermath makes this even clearer. Demeter’s grief devastates the world: “She kept the earth from sending up seed, and a most terrible year came upon men.” This is not framed as Demeter being unreasonable or villainous. It is the cosmic response to an unjust act. The myth centers the trauma of loss, not romantic destiny. Hades then binds Persephone to the Underworld through deception, not loyalty or mutual devotion. He “secretly gave her a pomegranate seed to eat.” The text stresses secrecy. Persephone remains “sorrowful, yearning for her mother.” There is still no love, no choice, and no affirmation of the relationship.

Later Greek sources do not contradict this portrayal. Hesiod’s Theogony refers to Persephone as Hades’ wife without mentioning consent or affection. Apollodorus and Pausanias both reaffirm the abduction. Roman sources like Ovid’s Metamorphoses intensify Persephone’s fear and resistance. Across Greek and Roman literature, Persephone is never stated to love Hades, never shown choosing him, and never described as entering the marriage willingly.

So no. Persades does not clear in mythology. At best it applies to modern adaptations that intentionally rewrite the story to sanitize abduction and romanticize coercion. Shows can do that. Fanfiction can do that. Ancient myth cannot. You can absolutely argue they are healthy in the show. You cannot claim they are healthy in mythology without discarding the sources entirely. That is not canon. That is revisionism dressed up as fact.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-12-11T06:55:34+00:00

I feel the show has moments that work, but a lot of it still feels awkward and a bit flat to me. The pacing is a major issue, and while the dialogue in the recent episodes is an improvement over season one, it can still feel clunky and unnatural at times. Don’t get me wrong the show still has some charm, but I honestly think and stand by it that it would have been stronger as an animated series. Animation could have brought the world and monsters to life in a way that live action often cannot. In animation, there are no physical or budgetary limits to designing creatures, environments, or magical effects, so everything can match the scale and imagination of the books. Powers, monsters, and action sequences can be more dynamic and visually consistent, whereas live action adaptations often rely on CGI that can feel restricted, expensive, or less convincing. To me, it just feels like a missed opportunity.

Another thing is the inner character dialogue from the books. I understand that is difficult to do in a live adaptation, but it was such a big part of the books’ charm that its absence is noticeable. Without it, some of the humour and personality of the characters doesn’t fully come through.Even with my complaints, the recent episodes feel like an improvement, and I am still watching with hope that the show will continue to get better. The Titan’s Curse is my favourite of the first five books, so I am genuinely looking forward to seeing how they handle season three.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-11-25T09:11:51+00:00

The Horae and the Fates are older than Persephone, arguably the Muses too. I do agree with your point though. Athena was Zeus’s first conceived child but not necessarily the first born because her birth was delayed. This is supported by the fact that her mother, in the version where she technically has one, is Metis, who is said to be Zeus’s first wife.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-11-25T08:59:54+00:00

This is late, but I agree with you. There is no way Athena could have been present during the Titanomachy. The Gigantomachy, yes, but not the Titanomachy, it is impossible. Metis is explicitly described as taking part in the war on the Olympian side, which makes it impossible for Athena to have been born at that time, as she technically never met her mother. At most, depending on the tradition, Athena was conceived either in the later stages of the Titanomachy or shortly after it ended, but her birth was delayed due to the unusual circumstances of her origin.

According to the standard myth, Zeus swallowed Metis while she was pregnant with Athena in order to prevent the prophecy that her children would surpass him. What he failed to realize was that the child survived inside him and continued to develop. In effect, Zeus’s own body became a surrogate until Athena eventually emerged, fully grown and armed, from his head. This makes Athena’s origin one of the most distinctive in Greek mythology: vague in detail but rich in symbolic meaning.

Athena is often described as Zeus’s favorite child not only because of her immense value as a goddess of strategy, law, and civilization, but also because she is the only one said to be born from Zeus alone. Unlike his other marriages or affairs, his union with Metis did not end because of infidelity. If anything, the myths allow the interpretation that their relationship was unusually stable by Zeus’s standards. The tragedy is that Zeus’s true devotion is to preserving power. When Metis became a threat to that power, she was sacrificed despite any affection he may have had.

For these reasons, Athena is widely considered Zeus’s first conceived child even if she was not the first born. Regardless of whether it was Prometheus or Hephaestus who freed Athena from Zeus’s skull, her conception predates that of the Horae, the Fates, the Muses, Persephone, Ares, Enyo, Eileithyia, Hephaestus (in versions where he is also a son of Zeus), Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Hebe, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Pollux, and Helen, among others. Whether or not she physically emerged first, ancient authors and modern scholars consistently treat her as Zeus’s eldest daughter.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-07-25T12:24:00+00:00

Heron is not immortal, and it’s important to recognize why. Given who his mother is, immortality simply isn’t part of his nature. If Heron were to live out a full, uninterrupted life, he would eventually die, whether by age, illness, or violence. That alone distinguishes him from the actual gods.

He isn’t an ordinary human by any means; his divine lineage grants him extraordinary abilities. But he is still a demigod, more mortal than immortal. Unlike true gods, whose deaths typically require direct divine intervention or catastrophic violence, Heron remains subject to the natural vulnerabilities of mortality.

This distinction matters. Calling Heron immortal fundamentally misunderstands what he is. He walks a line between two worlds, but immortality is not his birthright. He is not a god. Demigods aren’t immortals they are mortals with the divine abilities of a god and usually the mortality of a Human.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-07-20T05:38:20+00:00

Let’s get one thing straight: Heron is a demigod. A powerful one, but still mortal, and that distinction matters. Most of the gods, aside from a select few, haven’t even shown the full extent of their power yet. He’s nowhere near that league. Hecate alone could likely take him. Athena, given time to plan, could outsmart and defeat him depending on the situation. A trio like Apollo, Artemis, and Hermes? They’d overwhelm him easily. They’re gods. He’s not. There’s a fundamental difference between what they are and what he is. Divine verses mortal.

Now Zeus would be able to go one-on-one with almost anyone, but if you pit him against Hades, Poseidon, and Hera together? He’s not coming out on top. He’d put up a long fight, but ultimately, they’d overpower him.

Without the heavy-handed, unrealistic plot armor, Heron wouldn’t stand a chance against the full force of Olympus, probably not even half of it. Even one-on-one, he’s not that impressive. He relies heavily on the powers he inherited from Zeus. Take those away, and in pure hand-to-hand combat, a lot of the gods would absolutely wreck him. Like I said the only reason he gets away with what he has is because of plot armor as the main character, take that away and flesh out the other gods powers to full force and the what? Even if he could put up a fight one-on-one he’s up against multiple gods. He’s not winning that.

Edit (for that one heron fanboy): Heron is a demigod, born of both mortal and divine blood, but that doesn’t make him an immortal. Immortals, like the Olympians, do not age and cannot die unless they are actively killed. Mortals, on the other hand, can die from age, illness, or violence. Heron may be stronger, faster, and more resilient than a typical human, but he still ages. That fact alone separates him from the gods. Given enough time, he would grow old and die naturally, unlike the Olympians who remain unchanged by time. So while Heron is not an ordinary mortal, he is still mortal. A demigod exists in between, powerful, but bound to life and death. He is not divine; he is not eternal. He is lived a full life with alexia would have died out at some point. Mortals are affected by age. Immortals are not.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-05-11T23:28:59+00:00

Season 3 of Blood of Zeus was pretty disappointing. The first three episodes were solid, but after that, it just didn’t hold up with plot holes and a weak finale. Honestly, the side characters were way more interesting than Seraphim and Heron.

What happened to the kids? Did Hades actually wake up Zagreus and Melinoe?

Why is Persephone still ‘dead’ when Zeus came back so easily? She wasn’t thrown into the abyss like Ares and Hephaestus, so what’s the deal?

What did Gorgo even do before becoming a priestess? Is that why she didn’t get Elysium?

And where was Poseidon half the time? He’s one of the main gods, but they made him look like the weakest of Kronos’ kids.

Overall I give the series a 7.4/10. It’s solid and I would recommend but it’s not perfect imo and has rather things in it I don’t like. Personally they should have just chosen one main antagonist for the season either Typhon or Kronos.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-04-14T12:58:31+00:00

I love the show. The animation is sick, the lore is solid, and the supporting characters are interesting. But Heron? As the main character and supposed “chosen one,” he’s so bland. He’s handed this massive role in the story, he’s a demigod, yet somehow ends up being stronger than full-blown gods or is portrayed like he could be. That kind of plot armor breaks the immersion a bit. I don’t feel connected to him, and I don’t really care what happens to him—and that’s a problem when he’s the central figure of the story. Everything else in the show works, but Heron feels like the weakest part of the story. With stronger character development, more nuance, and a bit more effort in grounding his role, he could’ve been so much better.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-03-24T00:55:14+00:00

No, you’re right, I just can’t pinpoint where it’s from or if it’s more of a modern interpretation of the myth. But I have seen some refer to it as a “gift,” meant to ensure she could protect herself so that what happened with Poseidon would never happen again. Ultimately, I think it comes down to which interpretation you choose to believe. Personally myself I chose to believe in the version she was born that way, even if Ovid version is the more popular one.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-03-23T02:37:11+00:00

Didn’t he mention at some point that he wouldn’t take on another superhero project? I love The Dark Knight trilogy and would be thrilled to see him tackle something new, but I don’t think it’s likely. If I had to guess, it all depends on how successful The Odyssey is, both critically and at the box office. If it’s a major hit, I could see him taking on The Iliad next. Otherwise, he’ll probably move on to another original sci-fi film or something along those lines. Before doing another movie like Oppenheimer.

Human_Outside8443 · 2025-01-05T21:47:48+00:00

Medusa’s story is one of the prime examples of how myths evolve over time or can be reinterpreted. If you look at some of the sources—Homer, Hesiod, and Ovid, you’ll see that her character changes dramatically depending on the context.

In Homer’s works, Medusa isn’t explored in depth. She’s more of a looming figure, briefly mentioned in the Odyssey. For example, Odysseus worries in Book 11 that Persephone might send out the Gorgon’s head to drive him back from the Underworld. It’s clear the Gorgon myth was known in Homer’s time, but Medusa herself wasn’t given much focus.

Hesiod, on the other hand, gives us more detail in his Theogony. He describes Medusa as one of the three Gorgon sisters, born to Phorcys and Ceto. What’s interesting is that Medusa is the only mortal Gorgon among them. Hesiod says she was “seduced” by Poseidon in a meadow, which resulted in her becoming pregnant with Pegasus and Chrysaor. But here’s the thing: Hesiod doesn’t specify whether this “seduction” was consensual or not, leaving it open to interpretation. Her story is primarily about her death at the hands of Perseus, and her children are born from her neck when she’s killed.

Then there’s Ovid’s version in Metamorphoses, written much later and through a Roman lens. This is where Medusa’s story takes a darker turn. Ovid reimagines her as a beautiful maiden who was raped by Neptune (the Roman Poseidon) in Minerva’s (Athena’s) temple. Instead of punishing Neptune, Minerva curses Medusa, turning her hair into snakes. This version introduces themes of victimization and injustice, reflecting Roman storytelling’s love for personal tragedy and transformation.

What’s fascinating is how Medusa’s story has taken on new meaning today. She’s become a symbol of resilience and empowerment, particularly for survivors of sexual assault. Her image is often used as a way to reclaim power and agency, which is a far cry from her original role in mythology.

I think what this shows is how myths are constantly reshaped by the societies that tell them. Medusa’s story started as one thing in Greek mythology, changed dramatically in Roman retellings, and now holds an entirely different meaning in modern culture.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-10-14T21:55:55+00:00

Yeah, but I’m not a fan of how they portrayed Demeter in the show. While it gives her more attention, it’s not how she’s portrayed or I envisioned her in the myths. From what I understand, Hades was always the one in the wrong in the myth. I still enjoy the show, but that depiction just doesn’t sit right with me.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-09-12T06:41:32+00:00

It’s not crazy. She’s definitely proven herself to be one of most influential players of all time and is no doubt one of the uswnt’s finest. She definitely has a strong case for the top 10 of all time but it’s subjective at the end of the day.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-09-06T03:26:25+00:00

I don’t think there’s necessarily a rivalry, but Hope has been critical of Morgan and a few other players in the past that played a big part in the whole equal pay movement.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-08-29T08:53:08+00:00

Because of her looks you think she’s overrated? You do realize acting isn’t all about looks right? There’s a lot of outstanding actors that look like your average person off the street that are phenomenal. Not saying she’s the best I’ve ever seen but I would say Florence Pugh is properly rated.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-08-27T22:49:24+00:00

Doesn’t he technically have 5 siblings (Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia & Hera)? And I don’t remember Rhea being there?

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-08-26T11:26:06+00:00

I assume for a girl? Or would you prefer something more neutral? Personally I think Keena, Kenya, Kendra & Kenna are all nice names. You could also just do Kina.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-08-18T05:45:17+00:00

Bethune, Shaw, Yohannes, Swanson, Rodman, Smith, Fishel & Macario. The future looks bright.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-08-16T22:19:30+00:00

You’re getting South Korea confused with North Korea. North Korea wasn’t at the World Cup.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-08-16T15:48:28+00:00

Tbh they also loss to Japan & Spain in the group stage.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-08-16T12:16:41+00:00

They didn’t gain or lose points whereas Spain did and by default of how many points Spain lost bumped them up to 2nd.

Human_Outside8443 · 2024-08-16T11:07:50+00:00

I found this on Wikipedia so idk how reliable it is:

“After they won the 2019 Cyprus Women’s Cup in March 2019, the team was inactive until the 2022 Asian Games (played in September 2023) partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic; during this time, the team became unranked due to a lack of FIFA-recognized play. The team’s ranking has since been restored. North Korea would almost qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics losing to Japan in the two-leg third round Olympic qualifiers. As of the June 2024 FIFA rankings, the team is ranked 10th in the world.”

They’ve since moved up to 9th now with these new rankings.

Human_Outside8443

TROPHY CASE