Greek mythology has travelled a remarkably long distance. Stories that began as ancient tales of gods, monsters and heroes have been retold in books, television shows and films for generations.
Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey is the latest example of Hollywood returning to one of the best-known epics of the ancient world.
But long before Greek mythology reached modern cinema, its characters were being used for another purpose: making fun of politicians.
In 18th-century Britain, political caricaturists turned familiar figures from Greek mythology into tools of satire. Artists used heroes such as Hercules and mythological characters such as King Midas to portray contemporary politicians as powerful, foolish, greedy or inexperienced.
The practice was part of a much longer tradition of adapting ancient stories for new audiences. Greek myths never had a single, fixed version. Their stories existed in different forms and could be reshaped depending on the storyteller and the audience. That flexibility made them particularly useful to artists looking to comment on contemporary events.
When Greek mythology became political satire
The 18th century saw a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture through the movement known as Neoclassicism. Knowledge of classical mythology was particularly associated with education and the cultural elite.
Political caricaturists, however, helped take those references beyond the classroom.
Artists such as James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson became well known for their political caricatures. Others, including William Dent, produced more direct and sometimes cruder political jokes.
Their work was not simply created for private amusement. Satirical prints were commercial products. Single-sheet illustrations, often hand-coloured, were sold to the public, displayed and discussed. They functioned as entertainment while also commenting on the political personalities and controversies of the time.
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Greek mythology gave these artists a ready-made visual language.
A politician could be represented as Hercules to suggest strength. King Midas could represent greed because of his famous ability to turn everything he touched into gold. A Hydra could represent a problem that seemed difficult to defeat.
The audience did not necessarily need a lengthy explanation. The myths already carried meanings that many people recognised.
Pitt, Fox and Sheridan became characters in a visual political drama
Among the politicians repeatedly featured in these caricatures were Charles James Fox, William Pitt and Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
Their public personalities became familiar through repeated depictions. Fox was portrayed as a fashionable socialite and gambler, while Pitt was often represented as serious, reserved and somewhat stiff. Sheridan was caricatured through references to his financial troubles and drinking.
Once their personalities were established in the public imagination, artists could place them inside well-known mythological stories.
One example was Thomas Rowlandson’s The Infant Hercules. The caricature presents the young William Pitt as Hercules, fighting two serpents representing Fox and Lord North.
At first glance, Pitt appears to be the heroic figure. But there was another joke hidden in the image.
Pitt was shown not as a fully grown Hercules but as an infant. This allowed Rowlandson to comment on Pitt’s age and political inexperience. Pitt became prime minister in 1783 when he was only 24.
The image also alluded to Pitt’s political family background. His father, William Pitt the Elder, had also served as prime minister. The symbolism therefore worked on several levels: Pitt was presented as a young political force while the image also hinted at the influence of his father’s legacy.
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King Midas became a symbol of political greed
James Gillray used another famous Greek myth to make a political point about Pitt.
In the ancient story, King Midas is granted the ability to turn everything he touches into gold. What initially appears to be a gift soon becomes a curse.
In the image, Pitt is presented as Midas, turning what he touches into paper money. The caricature was connected to criticism of Pitt’s taxation policies and portrayed him through the familiar association of Midas with greed.
Gillray also gave Pitt the donkey’s ears traditionally associated with Midas. The addition made the political joke more pointed by linking Pitt to foolishness as well as greed.
The myth therefore allowed the artist to communicate a political argument without spelling it out in words. The audience already knew the story of Midas, so the transformation of a politician into the mythological king immediately carried a particular meaning.
The Odyssey also became material for political jokes
Greek mythology was not limited to depictions of power and greed. Characters from Homer’s Odyssey were also adapted for political caricature.
In Homer’s epic, the nymph Calypso keeps Odysseus on her island. The story was later reworked by caricaturist Charles Williams in The Modern Calypso.
The caricature places Richard Brinsley Sheridan in the role of Mentor, the friend of Odysseus, alongside Calypso. Sheridan is shown surrounded by wine, creating a political joke based on contemporary perceptions of his drinking.
Here, the mythological story was not the real subject. It was the framework through which the artist could make a contemporary political comment.
Why did these jokes work?
The biggest advantage of mythology was that it allowed caricaturists to communicate complicated ideas quickly.
A political print could work at different levels.
Someone unfamiliar with the details of Greek mythology could still understand the basic visual joke. A young politician appearing as an infant, for instance, could immediately suggest inexperience. A politician with donkey ears could be understood as an insult even without knowing the complete story of Midas.
For viewers familiar with classical mythology, however, the same image offered another layer of meaning.
That made mythological caricatures particularly effective. The artist could rely on stories that already existed in the cultural imagination instead of explaining every political argument from scratch.
The prints could also function as entertainment. They were sold in shops, displayed publicly and discussed in places such as streets and coffee houses. Political satire could therefore travel alongside popular culture.
From hand-coloured prints to Hollywood screens
The connection between ancient mythology and modern entertainment is therefore older than cinema.
Today, Greek myths continue to be adapted for contemporary audiences through films, television, novels and popular retellings. Stephen Fry’s modern retellings and Disney’s Hercules are examples of how ancient stories have been reshaped for newer generations. Nolan’s The Odyssey continues that tradition on a much larger cinematic scale.
The medium may have changed, but the basic idea remains similar.
An ancient story can be taken out of its original context and given a new meaning. The same myth can speak differently to different generations because its characters and conflicts are flexible enough to accommodate contemporary concerns.
That may be one reason Greek mythology has survived for thousands of years. These stories have never been completely fixed. They have always been retold, reinterpreted and adapted. up
The 18th-century caricaturists understood that power. They took heroes, villains and monsters from ancient Greece and placed them into the political world of their own time.
Centuries later, filmmakers are doing something remarkably similar. The technology has changed from hand-coloured prints to giant cinema screens, but the appeal of Greek mythology remains the same: old stories can acquire new meanings when each generation tells them again