Uploaded January 2022 | Updated September 2026, 19 hours ago
Persephone retellings are a big hotness right now, but was the original myth really so appealing? Let's talk about translation, and mistranslation, of sexual assault in the ancient world.
Patreon is here!: patreon.com/zyllas_athenaeum
Or for a one-time donation, feel free to buy me a Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/zyllablack
Follow me on Twitter @Zyllable
And now on Twitch @Zyllable
Zylla's Athenaeum theme by Daniel Raine and Nora Borealis of WholeTone Academy: wholetoneacademy.com
Additional sounds by ZapSplat.
Further links and reading:
Overly Sarcastic Productions' Hades and Persephone video: youtube.com/watch?v=Ac5ksZTvZN8&vl=en
Princess Weekes' video essay about Persephone: youtube.com/watch?v=k-ONhwAD87A&
Antiquity in Media Studies: antiquityinmediastudies.wordpress.com
Aimee Hinds' article, "Rape or Romance? Bad Feminism in Mythological Retellings": https://eidolon.pub/rape-or-romance-1b3d584585b8
Foley, Helene P. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter: Translation, Commentary, and Interpretive Essays. Princeton University Press, 1994.
Louis, Margot Kathleen. Persephone Rises, 1860-1927: Mythography, Gender, and the Creation of a New Spirituality. Ashgate, 2009.
Smythe, Rachel. Lore Olympus. March 2018-current. webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/list?title_no=1320.
Whitman, Emily. Radiant Darkness. Greenwillow Books, 2009.
Claudian. Rape of Proserpina. Translated by M. Platnauer. Loeb Classical Library 136. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1922.
Schaps, David M. Handbook for Classical Research. Routledge, 2011.
Dana Ménard, A., and Christine Cabrera. 2011. “‘Whatever the Approach, Tab B Still Fits into Slot A’: Twenty Years of Sex Scripts in Romance Novels.” Sexuality & Culture 15 (3): 240–55. doi.org/10.1007/s12119-011-9092-3.
Diemer, Sarah. 2011. The Dark Wife. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.
Garrity, Shaenon. 2021. “Flower Goddess and Dread Queen: PW Talks with Rachel Smythe.” Publisher’s Weekly, July 23, 2021.
Glenn, Evelyn Nakano, Grace Chang, and Linda Rennie Forcey, eds. 1994. Mothering: Ideology, Experience, and Agency. Perspectives on Gender. New York: Routledge.
Johnston, Deirdre D., and Debra H. Swanson. 2006. “Constructing the ‘Good Mother’: The Experience of Mothering Ideologiesby Work Status.” Sex Roles 54 (7–8): 509–19. doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9021-3.
Malloy, Audrey Miles. n.d. “Remnants of the Bodice Ripper: How Consent Is Characterized in Heterosexual and Lesbian Erotic Romance Novels,” 80.
Philadelphoff-Puren, Nina. 2005. “Contextualising Consent: The Problem of Rape and Romance.” Australian Feminist Studies 20 (46): 31–42. doi.org/10.1080/0816464042000334519.
Quilliam, S. 2011. “‘He Seized Her in His Manly Arms and Bent His Lips to Hers...’. The Surprising Impact That Romantic Novels Have on Our Work.” Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care 37 (3): 179–81. doi.org/10.1136/jfprhc-2011-100152.
Robert, Katee. 2021. Neon Gods. Dark Olympus 1. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks Casablanca.
Sejic, Linda. n.d. Punderworld. WebToon. webtoons.com/en/challenge/punderworld/list?title_no=312584&page=1.
Suzanne. 2018. “Review: Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe.” Love in Panels!, September 19, 2018. loveinpanels.com/comics/lore-olympus.
Tripodi, Francesca. 2017. “Fifty Shades of Consent?” Feminist Media Studies 17 (1): 93–107. doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2017.1261846.
Miller, Anna, Claire Cartwright, and Kerry Gibson. 2018. “Stepmothers’ Perceptions and Experiences of the Wicked Stepmother Stereotype.” Journal of Family Issues 39 (7): 1984–2006. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0192513X17739049
Dougherty, Debbie S. 2006. “Gendered Constructions of Power During Discourse About Sexual Harassment: Negotiating Competing Meanings.” Sex Roles 54 (7–8): 495–507. link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-006-9012-4
Persephone retellings are a big hotness right now, but was the original myth really so appealing? Let's talk about translation, and mistranslation, of sexual assault in the ancient world.
Patreon is here!: patreon.com/zyllas_athenaeum
Or for a one-time donation, feel free to buy me a Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/zyllablack
Follow me on Twitter @Zyllable
And now on Twitch @Zyllable
Zylla's Athenaeum theme by Daniel Raine and Nora Borealis of WholeTone Academy: wholetoneacademy.com
Additional sounds by ZapSplat.
Further links and reading:
Overly Sarcastic Productions' Hades and Persephone video: youtube.com/watch?v=Ac5ksZTvZN8&vl=en
Princess Weekes' video essay about Persephone: youtube.com/watch?v=k-ONhwAD87A&
Antiquity in Media Studies: antiquityinmediastudies.wordpress.com
Aimee Hinds' article, "Rape or Romance? Bad Feminism in Mythological Retellings": https://eidolon.pub/rape-or-romance-1b3d584585b8
Foley, Helene P. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter: Translation, Commentary, and Interpretive Essays. Princeton University Press, 1994.
Louis, Margot Kathleen. Persephone Rises, 1860-1927: Mythography, Gender, and the Creation of a New Spirituality. Ashgate, 2009.
Smythe, Rachel. Lore Olympus. March 2018-current. webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/list?title_no=1320.
Whitman, Emily. Radiant Darkness. Greenwillow Books, 2009.
Claudian. Rape of Proserpina. Translated by M. Platnauer. Loeb Classical Library 136. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1922.
Schaps, David M. Handbook for Classical Research. Routledge, 2011.
Dana Ménard, A., and Christine Cabrera. 2011. “‘Whatever the Approach, Tab B Still Fits into Slot A’: Twenty Years of Sex Scripts in Romance Novels.” Sexuality & Culture 15 (3): 240–55. doi.org/10.1007/s12119-011-9092-3.
Diemer, Sarah. 2011. The Dark Wife. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.
Garrity, Shaenon. 2021. “Flower Goddess and Dread Queen: PW Talks with Rachel Smythe.” Publisher’s Weekly, July 23, 2021.
Glenn, Evelyn Nakano, Grace Chang, and Linda Rennie Forcey, eds. 1994. Mothering: Ideology, Experience, and Agency. Perspectives on Gender. New York: Routledge.
Johnston, Deirdre D., and Debra H. Swanson. 2006. “Constructing the ‘Good Mother’: The Experience of Mothering Ideologiesby Work Status.” Sex Roles 54 (7–8): 509–19. doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9021-3.
Malloy, Audrey Miles. n.d. “Remnants of the Bodice Ripper: How Consent Is Characterized in Heterosexual and Lesbian Erotic Romance Novels,” 80.
Philadelphoff-Puren, Nina. 2005. “Contextualising Consent: The Problem of Rape and Romance.” Australian Feminist Studies 20 (46): 31–42. doi.org/10.1080/0816464042000334519.
Quilliam, S. 2011. “‘He Seized Her in His Manly Arms and Bent His Lips to Hers...’. The Surprising Impact That Romantic Novels Have on Our Work.” Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care 37 (3): 179–81. doi.org/10.1136/jfprhc-2011-100152.
Robert, Katee. 2021. Neon Gods. Dark Olympus 1. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks Casablanca.
Sejic, Linda. n.d. Punderworld. WebToon. webtoons.com/en/challenge/punderworld/list?title_no=312584&page=1.
Suzanne. 2018. “Review: Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe.” Love in Panels!, September 19, 2018. loveinpanels.com/comics/lore-olympus.
Tripodi, Francesca. 2017. “Fifty Shades of Consent?” Feminist Media Studies 17 (1): 93–107. doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2017.1261846.
Miller, Anna, Claire Cartwright, and Kerry Gibson. 2018. “Stepmothers’ Perceptions and Experiences of the Wicked Stepmother Stereotype.” Journal of Family Issues 39 (7): 1984–2006. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0192513X17739049
Dougherty, Debbie S. 2006. “Gendered Constructions of Power During Discourse About Sexual Harassment: Negotiating Competing Meanings.” Sex Roles 54 (7–8): 495–507. link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-006-9012-4
