Books Have a Hot Time - Hades!, Phone home - Persephone!, Say Cheese - Medusa, Nice Shot - Cupid!, Stop That Bulltheseus! | ||
Myth o mania
Myth-o-Mania is a series of books for children by Kate McMullan. Each book is a parody of a different Greek myth starring Hades, the god of the Greek underworld. The books are never identical to the original myth, as they always put Hades in a positive light and claim that Zeus is a liar and made up the original myths in order to promote himself. The traditional hero of the myth, such as Theseus or Hercules, is usually portrayed as a fool or an oaf. Hades has to help the hero complete the quest. There are other differences between the original myth and the myth in the book; these are often humorous or given a modern twist. For example, Elysium (Heaven) is a perpetual rock concert.
Contents
Books in the series
- Have a Hot Time, Hades! (2002) -- the story of Hades' and his siblings' childhood, in which they are eaten by Cronus and choose their domains. Basically an introduction to the Greek Gods
- Phone Home, Persephone! (2002) -- the myth of Hades "kidnapping" Persephone and their marriage
- Say Cheese, Medusa! (2002) -- the myth of Perseus and the Gorgons
- Nice Shot, Cupid! (2002) -- the story of Cupid and Psyche
- Stop that Bull, Theseus! (2003) -- the story of Theseus and the Minotaur
- Keep a Lid on It, Pandora! (2003) -- Pandora's Box and the story of Prometheus
- Get to Work, Hercules! (2003) -- the Twelve Labors of Hercules
- Go for the Gold, Atalanta! (2003) -- the story of the runner Atalanta
- Hit the Road, Helen!(2013) -- the story of the Trojan War
- "Get Lost, Odysseus!" (2014) -- the story of Odysseus' voyage home after the Trojan War.
Differences between the books and the original myths
In each book, Zeus is usually the "enemy" or the "bad guy", but not in the sense that he is evil - only because HE is always the one who causes and starts the trouble - according to Hades, who assures that he will give the accurate version of the stories.
