12 Very Different Takes on the Greek Gods in Film and TV

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” utilizes an interesting mix of ancient and modern for its story of demigods in the contemporary world trying to undo the petty grudges and unintended consequences of the Greek Gods’ wrath (as they always are). Production designer Dan Hennah and costume designer Tish Monaghan blend archetypical hoplite gear with goofy orange camp T-shirts; the show gives the mythological entities that Percy (Walter Scobell), Annabeth (Leah Jeffries), and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) encounter free reign to assert their personalities through clothing, style, and, in the case of Mr. D (Jason Mantzoukas), a mild addiction to Diet Coke.

So in honor of that inventive melding of ancient stories with the modern baggage of American pop culture, we found 12 different examples of depictions of the Greek gods in film and television. Now, we’re talking just the classic 12 Olympians here. You should absolutely stop reading this article and turn on Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1969 take on “Medea” if you haven’t seen it yet and want a visually searing depiction of a Greek myth with modern relevance — or grab the nearest classicist you know and watch them watch Wolfgang Petersen’s “Troy” for the ultimate experience in schadenfreude. But we limited our choices to depictions of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus (Hestia is too cool for this list anyway).

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There’s a range of ways to visually interpret the Greek gods, from hewing to ancient Greek art and clothing styles to fully modern dress and attitude. Size is also variable, with some stories trying to big up the gods on a billowing cloud-land above; others fully integrate gods and mortals, since the gods’ concerns are identical to our own. The Olympians just have more time and resources to pursue them. But the best versions of the Greek gods are the ones that work within the worlds they’re occupying, as opposed to trying to aim (mixing metaphors here) for a Platonic ideal.

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