I have recently discovered that Xena: The Warrior Princes is syndicated in Greece. So is Little House on the Prairie, interestingly enough. This little factoid (about Xena, not the latter) made me curious about how Greek viewers thought about a Hollywood-stylized adaptation of Greek Mythology.
That of Xena. Obviously Amazons (Xena is an Amazon, bytheway) interacting with Greek gods does not really portray Greek culture accurately. Is Xena an act of heresy? Actually, Greeks can utilize Xena’s inaccurate use of Greek mythology to extend it. Preteen Greek kids that are anxiously sitting around their tv sets watching Xena could believe Greek gods were promiscuous with the indigenous people in the Amazon. In fact, if you did believe in Greek mythology as a religion, than the gods would be promiscuous with the whole world population. Hmmm.
This sparked my interest in seeing the show again. I found a random episode on the internet and tried my best to recreate my childhood Saturday nights, when I’d stay up late to watch Xena on the WB. This time I exchanged a box of tissue for a pen and notepad, however. I’m living on a couch after all.
This Xena was the thirteenth episode from the second season, circa 1995. The episode is perhaps most remembered by the famous kiss between Xena and Gabrielle.
Visualize this:
Xena: [to Gabrielle] I’ll always be with you, Gabrielle.
[they kiss]
We see some attention-grabbing cameos and appearances. One is the guy that was Hercules’ sidekick and the other is B-movie king, Bruce Campbell portraying Autolycus, the ‘king of thieves’.
The story goes that Xena is dead and Gabrielle needs to take her body to be buried with her brother’s (an Amazon with a brother? Hmmm). On the way, however, a group of Amazons waylay Gabrielle and Xena’s dead corpse as the Amazons want the corpse to be burnt the Amazonian way. Somehow, also, Gabrielle can become queen of the Amazons too. Anyway, Gabrielle decides to burn the body and be queen instead of burying the body and not being queen.
Yet, Xena is not dead yet, or how the show puts it: ‘not completely dead’. Xena goes into, and sometimes can wield, Autolycus’ body. This makes for some needed humor provided by a slapstick actor. Although I am a fan of Bruce Campbell, I was disappointed with his slapstick acting. So Autolycus and Xena (hiding in his soul) go to get Xena’s body.
See, there is still a chance for Xena to be saved…if her dead body consumes the food of the gods, ambrosia, than her life can be restored. It sounds harder than it really is, but to access the food of the gods they must also venture to a temple and use the BLLAAADE OF HELIOS (that Autolycus conveniently retains).
Meanwhile, another Amazon girl, Valaska who is with Gabrielle wants to be queen, as well as a god, so she wants the ambrosia too. Obviously Autolycus succeeds in saving Xena’s body, and Gabrielle and Xena (possessing Autolycus’ body, mind you) are able to feed Xena’s dead body the ambrosia, while killing Valaska.
The Greek Angle
The main Greek elements in the show, as there are not many, are Autolycus, (the BLAAADE OF) Helios and ambrosia. Pretty much everything else was not Greek. Let’s look at these elements and see how Greek Mythology was adapted for America, 1995…
Autolycus literally means self-wolf, but translates to lone-wolf essentially. He was best known for his wicked thieving skills and athletics; however, he was also one of the Argonauts that accompanied Jason to locate the Golden Fleece. Although he is not a notable character in Greek mythology, Autolycus does frequently pop-up in many stories. He was the son of Hermes and grandfather of Odysseus, the hero in Odyssey. He is also noted as the guy that trained Hercules in wrestling.
Although I see the parallels of using the king of B-movies to portray the ‘king of thieves’, the slapstick style of Bruce Campbell was inaccurate. This was a tactic used by the creators to add the needed humor to the episode, obviously. At first glance this appears to be the case, but the name Autolycus was also used by Shakespeare in his comedy ‘The Winter’s Tale’. Autolycus was a rogue similar to the Autolycus in Xena. So perhaps rather than a misinterpretation of a Greek mythological character, it was a cultural blend between Greek mythology and English theater.
The BLAAADE OF Helios! Helios was a deity or Titan that was personified as the Sun. The modern Greek word for the sun is ‘ilios’ (ee-lee-os), so there’s the connection. As for the blade, Helios didn’t have a specific one, nor was Helios a gatekeeper to the stock of god-food. He was best known for his chariot, which he rode across the sky every day. Providing a magical item in a show, such as a weapon used by a god, appeals to us and follows suit to something like Indiana Jones and the archeological elements thereof.
Ambrosia is believed to be the food or drink of the gods. Nectar is also used as either the food or drink of the gods, but both terms were used. Only Homer distinguished ambrosia as the food and nectar as the drink. Through the consumption of ambrosia the person becomes immortal.
Valaska upon consumption of the ambrosia would only be granted immortality not god-status, nor would Xena be able to be resurrected. A dead body having the ability to digest food is asinine. Ambrosia was used to help facilitate a shitty story and add to the suspense (Valaska’s attempts to become a god) and sympathy (a dead Xena) factors the show desired to use.
So how does the episode hold up? Save for the weak production and storyline, the Greek mythology used isn’t too far off from what I found on wikipedia. The elements that were changed served a purpose to make the show more appealing and entertaining. The possibility that the character of Autolycus derives from Shakespeare in lieu of Greek mythology would be clever and has hints of sophisticated character development. I think Greeks watching the show would have the same impressions regarding the shows portrayal of Greek mythology as anyone else: the show uses just enough accurate elements to satisfy your intellectual needs but provides enough scantly clad amazons pretending to fight to satiate your other needs.
~The Guy on the Couch…Out
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