Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Greek Gods and legends are all about war, violence, love, hate, lust, curses, vengeance, incest, betrayal and a whole lot of not so pleasant themes. So, Rachel Smythe in her webtoon “Lore Olympus”, takes those larger-than-life tales about Gods, Goddesses, Nymphs, Monster and humans, wraps them up in colorful-cute dreamy illustrations, retelling them in the vein of “young adult romances”. However, the primary focus of “Lore Olympus” is the slow-burn romance between Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, and Hades, God of the underworld, who meet at a party hosted by Zeus.
I love Rachel Smythe’s cutesy illustrations; they are what make “Lore Olympus” a sumptuous, engaging read. Persephone is a short, pink-colored, gorgeous goddess, described as a cinnamon roll at some point in the webtoon, and funnily, she does look like a wholesome dessert throughout most of the story. Hades has blue skin, silver hair, and looks like he belongs in a Disney animated film. Imagine King Triton from Ariel (The Little Mermaid) in his late 20s or early 30s —he has that “sexy daddy” vibe, which is definitely what the creator was aiming for. “Lore Olympus” is essentially like those age-gap romances where a naive, beautiful young college girl and a much older, handsome, wealthy business magnate fall for each other, and the girl’s fierce, overprotective mother is the least of their problems.
While “Lore Olympus” does stay true to many original Greek myths and legends in its depiction of the relationships between the various Gods, Nymphs, Demons, and mortals that appear throughout the webcomic, Rachel Smythe obviously tweaks a lot of events and takes many creative liberties with their portrayal, interactions, and dynamics. The biggest divergence is that the story takes place in modern times, so all the Gods use phones and even social media to interact with each other. They travel in swanky cars, even though most of them can probably teleport wherever they want. And then there’s Hermes, who can simply fly. Persephone, who is just a college student, has to take the metro to school and work. She lands an internship in the Underworld, a ploy by Hera to see if something brews between her and Hades.
My favorite departure from the original legends is perhaps the way “Lore Olympus” depicts the Olympian brothers Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon as “dude bros” – the three often hang out over drinks, gossip about everybody, and generally have a good time. Their basic personalities are familiar, Zeus rules over Olympus and is the most powerful brother, so he often bullies the others, and his relationship with wife Hera is just as tumultuous as the Greek myths. Hera is portrayed as a golden-haired beauty, who keeps an eye out for the young Persephone, even though Persephone does have her own group of powerful friends.
Season one of “Lore Olympus” spans a total of 119 episodes/chapters, which are also available in paperback format. Volumes 1-5 of the books encompass the first 126 episodes of the webtoon. However, since I’ve read the webtoon online, this review focuses solely on season one, which is a slow-burn romance between Persephone and Hades. Rachel Smythe also includes a smattering of other legends in this season, the most popular being the romance between Aphrodite’s son Eros and Psyche. Eros is a total mama’s boy in the webtoon, the duo causing trouble wherever they go, but he also becomes close friends with Persephone and is often there for her whenever she is going through a tough time.
While it is love at first sight for Hades, Persephone takes her time to realize her fondness for him, and a whole lot of complications make it difficult for them to become an official couple, the primary of them being the fact that Hades has a fiery, moody, on-and-off girlfriend, and that Persephone has no experience whatsoever with matters of the heart. There’s also another major catch, but it’s a fun little twist, and would be a major spoiler, so I won’t write about it. Since we’re used to seeing Hades depicted as not so attractive in popular culture, “Lore Olympus” will make many readers see the Greek God of the Underworld in a whole new light. Apart from the fact that he remains asocial, reclusive, he is depicted as kind, shy, and considerate, and often he comes across as a teen boy grappling with his first crush.
The clashing personalities of Hades and Persephone in “Lore Olympus” is absolutely entertaining, even though the two also share a lot of personality traits which draws them towards each other. Their character interactions are almost always sweet, or awkwardly cute. But it’s not all romance, and sunshine in season one, Rachel Smythe does explore darker themes like stalking, sexual abuse, and trauma, even though they aren’t explore very seriously, because hey, this is a webtoon. The creator includes trigger-warnings for readers atop each chapter that dwells into themes that could be uncomfortable for some, so you can watch out for that.
Overall, if you enjoy reading comics or webtoons and have a soft spot for the romance genre, “Lore Olympus” is a solid choice. It’s like a starter pack for readers interested in Greek legends with modern twists.
Rating: 4 on 5. You can read season 1 of “Lore Olympus” for free on Webtoons.
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