On winning two awards at the ceremony at London O2 Arena, Alex Turner, the flamboyant frontman of the beloved Sheffield rock band Arctic Monkeys, said, “That rock‘n’roll, eh? That rock’n’roll, it just won’t go away. It might hibernate from time to time, sink back into the swamp. I think the cyclical nature of the universe in which it exists demands that acquiesce to some of its rules”. What Alex said that night, spoke on the observable nature of human civilization. No matter how far we go, no matter how much we deny it, our ancient roots take hold in what we deem worthy as contemporary. The songs we listen to, the movies we watch, and the food we eat, are all a part of the continuous evolution of the world. As we venture deeper into the future, we unknowingly assimilate past elements into our lives. 

Back when the Ancient Greeks thrived at the peak of human civilizations, they wrote myths based on the gods they worshiped. Every myth was, at its core, centered around teaching human beings certain behavior. An example, is Sisyphus, the king of Ephyra. A tale of how a king, who tricked the gods and cheated death itself, was punished to roll a huge mass of stone up a steep hill for eternity. This tale later influenced Albert Camus, a Nobel Prize-winning philosopher to write an essay dedicated to explaining the philosophy of the absurdity of life called The Myth of Sisyphus. 

Camus compares a person’s dedication to finding meaning in their existence to Sisyphus’ punishment. Although Sisyphus would roll a boulder up a hill and it would always roll down, he was endlessly rolling it up. Camus dissects this myth and tells readers to “imagine Sisyphus happy”. In the conquest for the meaning of life and the universe, no one should lose faith due to its absurdity. Rather, one must embrace the struggle against a losing battle with utmost joy. It is only then that an individual finds security in their identity.

Similar to Sisyphus’ myth appearing to us as a metaphor to enjoy doing the impossible, Greek myths influenced many forms of modern-day entertainment that, unless drawn parallels to, be easily missed. In an episode of Close Enough, Alex provides a Scorsese-based take on how superhero franchises are ruining cinema to which virtual Emily and Bridgette provide an interesting take on how ancient mythologies and cultures throughout history venerate its heroes. One obvious parallel here is Superman and Achilles. Achilles was a hero of the Trojan War and his famous feat was the fact that his body was said to be invulnerable except for his heel. Superman, one of DC’s most popular superheroes, also has an Achilles’ heel – kryptonite. Although not a direct influence, it should be noted that during the Renaissance, Homer’s Iliad was one of the most influential works in the Western canon. The Western canon compromises on an exclusively European ensemble of classic writers such as William Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens, etc. Therefore, it is not surprising to see Superman having such a unique trait as works by writers that were in turn influenced by Homer would have key elements leading us this way.

In recent times, there is an antithesis at play. While our parents may have grown up with the American patriotism-inspired narratives, we are deviating away from the typical superhero standards. The Amazon Prime TV series, The Boys, presents the mythological archetypes as harbingers of chaos such as Homelander. We are also presented with renegades that defy these demigods such as Billy Butcher. What is interesting is that the contemporary take makes them akin to human beings. Ergo, if human beings had super powers themselves, this chaotic interpretation is among the many series of modern takes to make superheroes seem as human as possible such as Rorshach whose belief in moral absolutism parallels the arbitrary nature of human beings. This begs the question – is this too, the cyclical nature of our media? It is as rather than building up on the heroic depictions, the take evolved to deliver the core primitive essence of the myths that began it all.

Greek mythologies bring forward the idea that civilization cyclically influences civilization. Just as how we might resemble our ancestors in ways we may never know, Greek mythologies keep on influencing the modern-day media and we might draw parallels to them like Camus. This may be the only time we will be fascinated to see history repeat itself.

P.S I sent this article to a newspaper. It has been 2 months and I have not heard back from them yet. Very convenient.