The Hero’s Journey is one of the most popular ways to structure a story. There are oftentimes slight variations to the stories, but they have similar trends. Heroes and their feats have been used in storytelling since The Epic of Gilgamesh in the 12th century. Many of these older pieces of literature inspired popular books or movies today.
Greek mythology includes all of these qualities that help literature endure across large amounts of time. It incorporates the hero’s journey, has heroic feats, and inspired things like the modern-day marathon, the sports company Nike after a goddess, movie and book characters, and much more.
When I think of adaptations of Greek mythology, my mind quickly thinks of the Percy Jackson books and movies. This series by Rick Riordan incorporates characters and places from several of the myths with a modern twist. They are the reason that I could name several of the Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes with the myth associated with them. I encourage you to give them a read if you have never read them or if it has been a while since you last experienced the stories.
I like the way that Riordan uses a humorous and easily-understood voice in the story. The storyline incorporates characters that do not seem to be likely heroes. Percy Jackson, the main character, struggled in school and even was kicked out of several schools for various incidents. Also, Riodan incorporates the themes and storylines from Greek mythology like the Greek parentage of the characters of the monsters that present challenges in the plot.
Percy Jackson does not always completely follow the Greek myths but it is a nod to this previous culture. It illustrates one of the important reasons to continue reading and learning about the past since it has and will continue to inspire future generations.