No Themes are Truly Original

It was so interesting to see where all of the themes in our modern day stories came from. Even our most famous writers, like Shakespeare, based their stories off of Greek mythology. For example, I had no idea Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was based of a Greek myth about Pyramus and Thisbe.

Hephaestus (Google Images)

I learned that the Greek gods were very humanic, as in, they weren’t perfect. They often made mistakes and weren’t necessarily role models. Out of all the gods, I decided to do my individual research on the most imperfect one: Hephaestus, god of craftsman, fire and volcanoes. Not only were his actions imperfect, but also his physical features. He was ugly, had a clubbed foot, and was also known as the “Lame God.” When he was born, his mother, Hera, was so ashamed of him that she exiled him from Olympus. Years later, Hephaestus returned to Olympus for revenge. He built a magical golden chair and presented it to Hera as a gift, but when she sat down, she became a prisoner and could not stand back up. Eventually Hephaestus agreed to let Hera go after being promised Aphrodite as his wife.

This story is actually very common in modern day media. In many movies and literature, characters are motivated by revenge and many villains put civilians in danger or hold them hostage in order to receive what they want. In fact, many Greek myths are present in our modern day media. Every story and every movie is based off themes so ancient that we don’t even realize it, so therefore, no themes are truly original.

~Aurea Colston