Benek Babalon Benek Babalon

MythoLogical

While as a writer I'm far from qualified enough to tell others off for making mistakes, as a fan I can point to a couple that always lose me. When dealing with mythology, the first and foremost to me is when people try to impose realistic and/or modern logic on an ancient setting. 

It's a supremely thin line to tread, but to me this authenticity is the difference between what's a piece of mythological writing and what's a reference. Because if we can level with one another- the Ancient Roman and you have seen Mars decide a fight about the same amount of times. Whether you want to imagine Eve as looking like a Renaissance painting or Aubrie Plaza, you could honestly make decent arguments either way. But, without explanation, I do not see how we can take the fantastical elements of mythology and separate them from their time period and outlook and then expect it to read coherently. 

A lot of younger readers chuckle at Zeus'... let's say "extremely skeptical" view of monogamy or Loki turning into a mare to give birth to Odin's horse, Sleipnir, but to me the solution can't be to gloss over these tales. Or worse yet, transform them to something that makes more sense to a modern reader. Part of the staying appeal of these worlds, these stories, is that they don't make contemporary sense. That the rules feel "otherworldly." Trying to think it through a different rationale is part of what engrosses us in the story.

The keen eyed among you have undoubtedly  already spotted the salient "without explanation" in my second paragraph. I must, as much as it hurts my fragile self-esteem, concede that  if you can make a change of logic flow with a setting, it really is up to you. Your work should, all things considered, convince your audience to stay and read. Yet, in order to kiss my now broken ego better, I'll compare it to forgoing a lawyer and mounting your own defense in court. You always can, it's just usually inadvisable. Unless you want to go to jail, in which case go nuts, you (insert nationality here) Charles Bronson you.

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