Myths of the Past Resurrected in our Present

I have to say that when I was young, I was thrilled when the ancient stories that I read from Bullfinch's book on Greek Mythology came to life on the "Big Screen." I was also disappointed in the same instant, while I watched Clash of the Titans. One of the greatest heroic epics of the ancient realm altered to accommodate so many who didn't know the story. Maybe the masses couldn't believe in a young man falling for the damsel in distress unless she had a rival suitor? The jealous mother with the reigning Gods on Mount Olympus, who according to any Greek myth wasn't even a Goddess. Thetis was, is, and always shall be a Poseidon's "Queen of the Sea." Don't get me wrong, I loved Maggie Smith in that role and because of that movie I only see Sir Lawrence Olivia and Harry Hamlin as Zeus and his son Perseus.

It was not even a problem when they added Burgess Meredith as an amphitheater actor/manager, just so Perseus had a place to stay when he arrived in Joppa. This was where the first alteration becomes evident, since the Nereids are sea nymphs. But unlike the true story, Poseidon is the one that seeks revenge on the Queen Cassiopeia for offending his Nereids. The move references Aphrodite because she was the most beautiful of all from that realm. So either way Poseidon gets involved in the story.

In the movie, they change the name of the sea monster from Cetus to the Kraken. Cetus is a Greek term for a large fish, sea serpent or sea monster. Kraken is the Scandinavian version for the same thing. I guess the writers thought that Kraken was more menacing?

Since Perseus senses that he loves Andromeda, he has to figure out a way to defeat the sea monster. Then with the help of the Graeae, the three perpetually old women with a single eye and tooth between them, he had them help him find Medusa's sisters, the Hesperides. The Hesperides are the ones that gave Perseus the sack that was capable of holding Medusa's head. The Head of Medusa was actually intended to be a gift for the Polydectes, for that was his request.

The weapons that he received in the amphitheater was only missing one thing — the winged sandals from the messenger God Hermes. In the movie, they only had one of the gift bearers correct. Zeus gave Perseus the sword, the helmet came from the Lord of Darkness, Hades, not Artemis. Lastly, the shield came from Athena, not Aphrodite. The other mistake that was made in the movie was the mention of a herd of Pegasi and they belonged to Zeus. Poseidon was known to be the god of horses and was the actual father of Pegasus with Medusa being the mother.

Oh and the back story of Medusa was that she was a very vain/ beautiful woman and she was raped by Poseidon in the temple of Athena not Aphrodite. Poseidon and Athena all throughout the Greek myths had conflicts. Medusa and Poseidon were actually the proud parents of two creatures, Pegasus and Chrysaor, who was human.

So now I guess that brings us to where we truly seek Medusa. It was told that Athena sent her to live with the blind animals of the end of the world along with the Gorgon. She did not reside along the river Styx. This was just another ploy to get a character in from another tale. Then once you are on the island you see the statues of all of her "victims," a boa constrictor (obviously not native to the area), and a two-headed dog. Wait, Cerberus has three heads not two. That would be his brother that has two heads and a snake's tail. That dog was the guard for Geryon's cattle and was killed by Heracles.

So we see the struggle of Perseus trying to cut off Medusa's head, but all that springs forth is her blood, no offspring. He places the head in the bag for transport and instead of just flying to give the present to the man whom asked for it in the first place, Perseus and a couple of soldiers make camp, so a character who is not even in the original story can have a fight scene with the hero. They are forced to fight with this creature that once was a man, Calibos, whom was also known by the name Acrisius. But wait again, Acrisius was the grandfather of Perseus, the King of Argos and father to Danae. So they managed to write the same person into the story twice and for him to become as ugly as his act was in the beginning of the movie. Whoa, wall break.

So in the movie, Perseus with the help of the mechanical Owl Bubo, made by Hephaestus but given by Artemis, he regains the help of Pegasus so he can fly to the rescue of Andromeda. Showing the face of Medusa to the Kraken turns him to stone after a long battle of distractions and Pegasus plummeting into the sea, only to "spring" forth later when the head is thrown into the sea. Wait you were suppose to save your mom with that head and finally give it to the Goddess Athena for her to place on her shield. So, in fact, the whole story is altered.

Don't get me wrong, I do love the movie. But I don't love how they altered the story. The true essences of the story is ripped apart, and most do not understand why a person would get upset about a movie.