Anthems for the Monsters of Mythology 

By Sophie Kolax

What makes a character a monster? What differentiates a villain and a monster? Are monsters inherently evil? In myths, like in many stories, the monstrous label comes from the power of the opposition- the more powerful, the more monstrous. However, after some examination of a few of the famed mythological monsters, many of these characters often began as victims and reacted out of anger against the system that created both their unfortunate circumstances and the heroes sent to slay them. 

More often than not, it is women who become the most powerful and most feared monsters. These women are often at the mercy of the male hero in the story who is sent to prove his masculinity and heroism by taking down the monster. But power is not the only part of the character that makes a monster; it is also their place in society, how they are different from the heroes and the other characters, what makes them an ‘other’ and therefore something to be feared. 

This article examines three monsters from Greek myths, explores their stories, and connects their emotions and identities to some modern anthems that encapsulate the anger and sadness often present in the origins of these mythological monsters.

Circe - The Scorned Sorceress

Best known for her story in Homer's Odyssey, when Odysseus visits her island of Aeaea on the way back from the Trojan War,Circe changes most of his crew into swine for taking advantage of her hospitality. Circe is a powerful sorceress who is consistently scorned by hero after hero visiting her island. Another example of a hero rejecting her advances is in the story of Picus from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Picus was an Italian king whom she turned into a woodpecker for resisting her advances.

Unrequited love seems to be Circe’s most recurring issue, often leading her to anger. Even when Odysseus stays on her island and they have children together, he eventually leaves her to return to his wife, Penelope. She is made to feel as though she is not worthy of the hero’s love.

Circe is known for her hospitality and charming nature, using what has been called ‘over-hospitality' to take her victims, but that could also be understood as just doing everything she can to feel wanted by the heroes who visit her. Adele expresses this feeling in her anthem, Turning Tables.

The lyrics “All that I have is on the floor/ God only knows what we're fighting for” highlight the feeling of giving everything to make a relationship work, and it still not being enough, as Circe experiences time and time again. In a similar notion, Adele sings “No, I won't rescue you for you to just desert me/I can't give you what you think you gave me”, describing how one-sided the effort of her advances on these heroes felt, and what led Circe to feel such anger. 

The song ‘Maybe’ by Sienna Spiro is a ballad that captures the scorn often portrayed in Circe’s stories. In the chorus, where Spiro sings, “Well, maybe this time/ You'll hurt like I do/ You won't get no sympathy 'cause I got none from you”, it mirrors the development from heartbreak into anger that Circe exhibits in her myths. 

Both the song and Circe’s story center on the human desire for emotional equality in a relationship. ‘Maybe’ closes with a similar sentiment, “Maybe this time you'll feel like I do/ It don't feel so good/ When it's your turn in blue”, highlighting how rejection can inspire negative emotions like anger and sadness, and how betrayal can inspire a person to wish those same feelings on the person who wronged them.

Circe is a heartbroken woman who happened to be a powerful witch, and her desire to express her emotions against the men who hurt her makes her a monster.

Medusa - A Maiden Maligned

Medusa is another scorned woman. However, her monstrous condition is given to her by a Goddess, Athena, who is unhappy with her involvement with Poseidon, the God of the sea, in one of her sacred temples. Athena turns Medusa and her innocent sisters into gorgons, giving them snakes for hair and the ability to turn men to stone.

Throughout most of the Greek myths, the Gods go around having relations with human women, leaving them to deal with the consequences, and Medusa is one of the most famous examples. Poseidon and Medusa supposedly fall in love and share that love in Athena's temple. Athena is appalled by this, and takes her anger out on Medusa, leaving Poseidon without any consequences.

Medusa really did nothing wrong, but she was made into one of the most infamous creatures. She was not even particularly dangerous, as she and her sisters removed themselves into isolation to prevent creating statues. 

Another Adele Anthem for Medusa, ‘All I Ask’, I imagine would be a last-ditch effort to spend time with Poseidon, knowing she would likely not have any future in love after Athena’s curse, singing “If this is my last night with you/ Hold me like I'm more than just a friend/ Give me a memory I can use/ Take me by the hand while we do what lovers do/ It matters how this ends/ 'Cause what if I never love again?”

While Medusa is never portrayed as villainous, or particularly angry, as she is slain in her sleep by Perseus, she is feared by the Greek world for the power she has. I can only imagine she was angry with Athena for making her into a monster and forcing her into isolation. From the perspective of Medusa about Athena, Everybody Loves An Outlaw’s song ‘I See Red’ is a perfect example of how anger can center one's vision, even if it doesn't always mean turning someone to stone.

Medusa is another example of a woman who becomes villainized because of God's anger, and is represented as a monster by the rest of the world for it. 

Arachne - The Punished Prodigy

Arachne, the infamous spider of the Greco-Roman myths, represents a different path to monster fame. Instead of being a victim of the gods' romantic pursuits, she challenged the goddess Athena in an effort to prove that her talent for weaving was based purely on her own efforts, and not a blessing from the gods. 

Arachne becomes well-known for her talent for weaving in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. However, she gets in trouble with Athena for claiming to be the best at weaving and not thanking Athena for blessing her with the talent, as was customary in Ancient Greece. She challenged an old woman to a competition, who later appears to be Athena in disguise.

When it becomes apparent to Arachne and the crowd that Athena herself is the opponent, Arachne continues on her weaving, creating an image negatively depicting the hubris of the gods. In this competition, Joy Crook’s song ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me Now’ mirrors the idea that Arachne is standing on her own skill set to showcase her talent in a high-stakes moment as she sings “Feet, don't fail me now/I got to stand my ground”.

When the competition comes to a close, Athena respects Arachne for her skill and talent, but as the image was a protest against the systems that Athena represented, Athena still decides to punish Arachne by turning her into the first-ever spider. 

Arachne’s story emphasizes how often it is the winner of a story that gets the privilege to recount the tale, leaving questions about the validity and a lack of knowledge about the motive of the opposition. While this tale is not about a romantic split, the idea that there are always two narratives, even if one isn't present in the story, is excellently experienced through Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Silver Springs’, as Stevie Nicks sings, “Time casts a spell on you, but you won't forget me”.

So often we experience stories through the eyes of the heroes, but oftentimes the antagonists have tales of their own, and they deserve to be sung too.