The podcast Zig-Zagreus is a single podcast episode analyzing the portrayal of myth in modern media and how that media can breathe new life into old myth through the efforts of members of contemporary society.
Image of the Supergiant Team, courtesy of the Supergiant Games’ website (https://www.supergiantgames.com/team/) Darren Korb second from the left
We, the hosts and students at the College of Charleston (Adyson Kurtz, Kinsley Dickerson, and Jay Gulick), were given the opportunity to discuss this concept of contemporary myth making with composer and voice actor Darren Korb in his relation to the videogame Hades by SuperGiant Games. Specifically, we discuss how myths surrounding the main character Zagreus, who Darren Korb voices, were made to reimagine the Greek pantheon as more human, relatable, and almost like a dysfunctional family of sorts.
Image of Zagreus, courtesy of SuperGiant Games’ website (https://www.supergiantgames.com/games/hades)
According to Book 6 of the Dionnysiaca, Zagreus was the son of Zeus and Persephone, but within the game, he is depicted as the son of Hades and Persephone. In this primary source, he is also killed by being ripped to shreds by titans who act upon Hera’s wrath and jealousy, his heart later being used in the creation of Dionysus and in some literature, his strewn apart body becoming mankind.
This gruesome origin stands in stark contrast to that of Darren’s experience with the reimagined character. You can listen to the podcast to discover how Darren ended up working with SuperGiant games and haphazardly ended up voicing Zagreus, who he affectionately calls “Zags.” The game design team did extensive research while creating the characters, all driven by an intense passion for myth that made Darren’s interaction with the other characters something that he thoroughly enjoyed and he hopes the audience does as well.
Image of Orpheus and Euridyce, courtesy of SuperGiant Games’ website (https://www.supergiantgames.com/games/hades)
You can also discover in this podcast that Darren Korb is like a modern Orpheus! He composed the entire game’s soundtrack. If you take a listen, you can learn more about his creative process and the imagination involved in going into a project like this. He is truly a master of his craft! He specifically did his best to capture “mediterranean vibe” as a nod to ancient Greek culture by purchasing and using instruments from the region and surrounding area, but he reimagined the sound in a way that can both entertain and immerse players in the setting of the game. The same effort was put into the more intense, modern, metal leaning portions of the soundtrack as players move throughout the underworld. Metal and hell were just always made to go together!
Image of Hades soundtrack composed by Darren Korb, courtesy of SuperGiant Games’ website, Available for purchase here: http://store.supergiantgames.com/
We could not discuss Zagreus without discussing his mother, Persephone. To cite Watson’s book “Orpheus’ Erotic Mysteries”, within Orphic and Bacchic rites seemed to be a belief that souls were given privileges if they gave compensation for the goddess’ “ancient grief.” This ancient grief was the loss of her son, Zagreus, since he was ripped to shreds by titans. Not only is finding and meeting Persephone a major plot point in the game, but we could not help but wonder why that, in our world, where grief is so often overshadowed by other obligations, if Zagreus and Persephone were given sufficient support throughout the game.
Darren Korb reassures us that the pair is supported in their own unique ways and it all seems to reflect the goal of portraying the pantheon as a somewhat messy, but modern family. We also discuss with Darren how the relationship between Hades and Persephone seems to be so often romanticized, like in the poem “Persephone” by Linda Bamber, and how this game navigates that relationship in light of the unsettling, original myth by giving it a positive twist, but still making it realistic, without all of the fuzzy stuff and butterflies.
Hades – Hymn to Zagreus, (song details the myth of Zagreus), courtesy of Supergiant Games’ Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBq8CLRcJN8rgqHOkyL1ozg
A paper that seems to line up with the message of our podcast is Lorna Hardwick’s paper, Myth, Creativity and Repressions in Modern Literature: Refigurations from Ancient Greek Myth. According to this paper, myth has always had a capacity to “inspire and accommodate change.” We ask for Darren’s insight to this in regards to the game Hades by how it is reimagining Greek characters anew, inspiring new myth seekers to explore myth further, and, to quote Hardwick again, how “the continuing return to the Greek narratives not only renews their cultural force but also transforms it.”
Video Trailer for the game Hades, courtesy of SuperGiant Games’ website (https://www.supergiantgames.com/games/hades)
We want to thank Darren Korb for giving his time to three broke college students and saving our grade. So please take a look at the promotions below. We hope that this podcast as well as the game inspires you to engage with Greek and Roman myth on a plain beyond just the primary sources, so myth can continue to grow and change for ages to come.
Promotions:
Darren Korb’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarrenKorb?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Darren Korb’s Band, Control Group (all proceeds go to the ACLU): https://controlgroup.bandcamp.com/album/its-the-year-2000
SuperGiant Games: http://store.supergiantgames.com/
Podcast Music:
All Podcast music was sourced from the Hades game soundtrack and explicit permission was given to use it from composer Darren Korb. Here is a link to the singles from the album, courtesy of SuperGiant’s youtube channel, if at all interested in listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oksESAMg7WM&list=PL53mjgVKFq7yu0LdAvpp42ZGLzRCkFKuz
Works Cited:
Bamber, Linda. “Persephone.” College English, vol. 59, no. 4, 1997, pp. 459–460. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/378846. Accessed 11 Mar. 2021.
Hardwick, Lorna. “Myth, Creativity and Repressions in Modern Literature: Refigurations from Ancient Greek Myth.” Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, vol. 40, no. 2, 2017, p. 11+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A597253065/AONE?u=cofc_main&sid=AONE&xid=88fea343. Accessed 11 Mar. 2021.
Lombardo, Stanley. Book 5, “Hymn to Ceres.” Metamorphoses, by Ovid, Hackett Pub. Co., 2010, pp. 133–140.
Lombardo, Stanley. Book 10 (complete). Book 11, “The Death of Orpheus.” Metamorphoses, by Ovid, Hackett Pub. Co., 2010, pp. 295-297.
Nonnus. “DIONYSIACA 6.” Translated by W.H.D. Rouse, 155, 169, 206, NONNUS, DIONYSIACA BOOK 6 – Theoi Classical Texts Library, Theoi Project, www.theoi.com/Text/NonnusDionysiaca6.html.
WATSON, SARAH BURGES. “ORPHEUS’ EROTIC MYSTERIES: PLATO, PEDERASTY, AND THE ZAGREUS MYTH IN PHANOCLES F 1.” Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, vol. 57, no. 2, 2014, pp. 57-58. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26343239. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.