#more zeus fanart

[thelilylav]

We only see each other at funerals

(On Jason, Thalia, Nico, Bianca, and their parallels/connections)

The Titan's Curse (Rick Riordan), @/anxiousmaya_, Right Now (Gracie Abrams), The Battle of the Labyrinth (Rick Riordan), Joan of Arc (Mary Gordon), The Lost Hero (Rick Riordan), Episodes Toward and Elegy for Halley's Comet (Lindsey Drager), Jason Grace (Riordan Wiki), The Gods Show Up (Michael Kinnucan), The House of Hades (Rick Riordan), What the Living Do (Marie Howe), The House of Hades (Rick Riordan), Planet of Love (Richard Siken), The Blood of Olympus (Rick Riordan), Tangerine (Nolune), The Blood of Olympus (Rick Riordan), The Blood of Olympus (Rick Riordan), I Bet On Losing Dogs (Mitski), The Burning Maze (Rick Riordan), @/abhorarchive (Twitter), The Burning Maze (Rick Riordan), Seventeen (MARINA), The Burning Maze (Rick Riordan), @/rollercoasterwords, The Tyrant's Tomb (Rick Riordan), @/the-overanalyst, Where Things Come Back (John Corey Whaley), Grit (Silas Denver Martin), Softcore (The Neighbourhood), The Tower of Nero (Rick Riordan), Frost (Mitski), @/moonbends, I'm Your Man (Mitski), Sun Bleached Flies (Ethel Cain), The Tower of Nero (Rick Riordan), Three (Sleeping At Last), My Art

[jennrypan]

My redesign for their outfits for Hades and Persephones wedding cuz there's no way in hell the King and Queen would dress so plainly.

They aren't happy though..this wedding was rushed and to them..very tacky and poorly timed, it was a shot gun wedding and they take notice how almost none of Persephones friends are there..no nymphs and not even her mother..they don't much care for the reunion but..Hera is the Goddess of marriage and it would've been more trouble than it's worth to not show up.

(Also Zeus should wear earrings more, that's it)

[art-making-grat]

Hera and Zeus lol

[scrunkl3bunk1e]

i don’t really think anyone’s bringing in the actual purgatory term to tboi so here.

this is zeus he loves being a dumbass. he also seems to like uhh…

country music and literally raw cookie dough?? the fcuk am i cracked on

and he seems to enjoy annoying dogma and satan. great.

but yeahh i made a new character yayyy im not lazy as sh!t yayy :’)

feel free to ask about the purgatory batsard <3

[really-sleep-deprived-nerd]

Y'know, I've seen a bunch of fanarts and also a couple of fics where Poseidon from Epic the musical gets isekaied into the Percy Jackson show and the god just kinda adopts Percy and now there's just 2 poseidons running around the world, which are Great and very funny, but a concept I haven't seen is Book Percy getting isekaied into the show.

Like, fully grown, college age, fought and won 2 wars, could and Would fold Zeus like a lawn chair with zero hesitation, Book!Percy getting sent into the world of the show and getting to meet this weird, alternate reality where things and people are like he remembers them being but just slightly to the left: Grover is more confident in himself, this weird toddler version of himself with blonde hair keeps butting heads with Annabeth because of their beliefs and not because of who their parents are, and then just Luke, Good God Luke. Percy would have a mental breakdown over the differences between his Luke and the show!Luke alone.

Just, veteran book!Percy, who just really wants a break from the bullshit, getting thrown into the beggining of the camp, seeing everything begin to unfold and having the same nervous breakdown we are all having by watching the show of "Oh my god they are all babies"

Like. I think it'd be neat for a crackfic. You could get around the "But he knows how things are going to end!" by the fact that no he doesn't, he knows how they happened on his side, but on his side he didn't have any guidance, on his side Luke wasn't kind, on his side Sally Jackson didn't attempt to fight the Minotaur like a matador. Percy can make an educated guess about how things will unfold, but he can't be sure, the best he can do is help train and then protect the little toddler versions of himself and his loved ones that they are sending on a quest. Due to timing he is aware that it would be extremely fucking sus if there were suddenly Two sons of poseidon just cassually walking around, so after a quick talk with Chiron and Mr.D to catch them up (Not to ask permission, just to give them a heads up) if anyone asks he's just a weird minor ocean god gone rogue who wants to be a good, reasonable older brother

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Favorite Posts

Mainly this is so I can find these posts easily (for future reference) but also wanna make a place for all these great posts :3

this is definitely not complete and I don't think it ever will be haha

Mythology

Apollo is Best Dad by @whatasunchild

Artemis & Ipheginia in Aulis by @specialagentartemis

Mythology is Flexible by @tuurverheydepoetryandprose

Defend Apollo Hours by @whatasunchild

Apollo & Cassandra Fanfic by @odiko-ptino (i need more nuanced Apollo & Cassandra they give me LIFE)

@my-name-is-apollo

Apollo & Admetus I

Apollo & Admetus II (with extras!)

Marsyas

Apollo & Cassandra Analysis II

Apollo & Cassandra Analysis III

@amiti-art

Apollo & Rhoeo

Eumelus

Multiblogs

Apollo & Cassandra Analysis I by @poemsandmyths @theoiaesthetics and @wasspword

Apollo & Hera by @sukizula, @/my-name-is-apollo, @greek-suitehearts, @pjgreeksblog, & more!

The Eumenides Analysis by @clodiuspulcher and @crisisoninfintefandoms

ToA

Artemis & Apollo's Relationship in ToA by @worlds-oldest-teenager

TTT Apollo V Commodus Fight Analyzed by @newathens

Demigods POV on the gods V Apollo's by @the-primordial-archivist

Keyseeker's Abundance of Analysis by @flightfoot

Reread PJO/HoO/ToA by @hashtagloveloses

Apollo Headcanons by @ukelele-boy

Copollo Art That Inspired A Fanfic (And My Reaction To It) by @newobsessioneveryweek

Copollo Incorrect Quote by @moodyseal

The Apollo Iceberg by @lubble-underscore

ToA/AtLA Fusion by @colorsunlikeanythingseen

Rachel & Apollo by @hogoflight

@thesungod

"the fall of the sun; the final verse"

Apollo Slay Moments

@aeithalian

The Estelle Theory

Apollo's Fatal Flaw

Middle Child Hermes

@literallyjusttoa

Sunny's Timeline (part 1) (part 2)

Copollo ToApril 2023 Fanart

The Delphic Family (With Some of My Headcanons)

Caged God Art (that i wanna make a fanfic of) (that i DID make a fanfic of-)

Top 7 Exes From Ancient Greece

Apollo Headcanons

Zeus & Apollo

Greek & Roman Culture Differences

@fearlessinger

Apollo & Zeus BoO Analyzed

The Halcyon Green Elephant

ToA: What To Know Before Reading

What Apollo's Arc Is Really About

@tsarinatorment

Apollo Kids are Greek AND Roman

Apollo & Octavian

Michael Yew's Fatal Flaw (Ao3)

The Twins & the di Angelos (Ao3)

Michael Yew's Death (Ao3)

Kronos Wins AU (But Also Not)

MultiBlogs

Nico & Apollo by @tsarinatorment & @fearlessinger

Apollo is CHB's Patron by @tsarinatorment, with additions by @stereden (here) & @fearlessinger (here)

Commodus Redemption Arc: How It Could Happen some clowning between @moodyseal and myself :)

[theodysseyofhomer]

this is not to single anyone out, but i have a lot of new followers, and i would just love for you all to know... the search function on my blog is operational. if you search for epic the musical, you will find that i have dabbled in it. it is slightly annoying to be asked over and over whether i've heard of it, even by lovely, enthusiastic, friendly people.

i have another reason for not answering those questions, which is that when someone is being enthusiastic and friendly to me, i don't want to be mean to them. but if i'm going to speak from my heart as an odyssey lover, i don't think epic the musical is that good. it doesn't especially interest me as a standalone piece, but i also don't find it provides much insight on, or compelling points of comparison with, homer's odyssey. i'm glad you're all having a good time! please stop asking me about it.

bullet point review below the cut, for those who are more curious about my opinions.

things i like about epic:

astyanax's murder doesn't get brought up a lot in stories that are sympathetic to odysseus. it's optional when adapting the odyssey or the iliad, but i am definitely of the opinion that odysseus did it, and even if he didn't, he convinced the other greek leaders that it needed to be done.

the athena/odysseus duets.

i found the reframing of polyphemus' blinding compelling, where he's doing the same thing he does in the odyssey for a different reason. i also liked that the audience doesn't learn his name until he reveals it to polyphemus. that's a neat touch.

earwormy as hell.

the fanart! i saw odysseus fanart maybe 3 times a year before the troy saga dropped. i'll take that trade (for my sanity when i try to navigate the tags).

jorge seems to be invested in odysseus/penelope, which is like the bare minimum to hold my attention, but still.

anyhow jorge seems charming; all his videos and interactions with fans seem nothing but excited about what everyone can contribute. commissioning wolfy to animate a trailer? widely regarded as a great move.

things i don't like about epic:

as gutsy as i think it is to start with astyanax's murder, the main thing to me is not whether his hands physically threw the baby, but whether he is in some way responsible for it. more than that, astyanax's death isn't divinely mandated: it's a ruthlessly pragmatic preemptive strike against vengeance that the greek leaders are afraid of. it's 100% human. so framing it around zeus, known troy stan, forcing odysseus to do it and he feels so so bad about it ????????

baffling to me to start with a moral conflict about infanticide, and after committing it, odysseus is still like... maybe kindness is brave? maybe i'm not a ruthless person? please be serious. you murdered that baby.

(been talking to @littlesparklight about this but you could have started out with some version of sophocles' ajax, a death caused by the gods that odysseus actually is complicit in when he didn't necessarily want it to happen. i digress.)

don't like the way the fandom talks about astyanax, specifically, as if odysseus raising a kidnapped trojan boy whose people were destroyed and whose mother was sold into slavery in another land is ever going to be a fluffy au and meanwhile odysseus did very much murder that baby, so!

the songs are not... good. like i said, they're earwormy, but that's also because they're repetitive and predictable. the lyrics are distractingly bad at times, not only from a character perspective, but in the sense of using words wrongly or awkwardly to try to fit them into a rhyme scheme.

i like the reframing of the polyphemus episode. not so much the aeolus one. at that point, you have odysseus doing the opposite of what he did in the odyssey for opposite reasons, which makes him a character bearing no resemblance to odysseus at all.

and this happens while other characters (mostly gods) try to drag him kicking and screaming into his actual homeric characterization.

like, odysseus is haunted by the war in the odyssey, but not because he regrets what he's done as a moral injury. he chose violence on purpose. the gods did not force him to be this person. it's a narrative throughline that serves only as a bid to make odysseus more sympathetic.

... and in doing so, strips away his agency — in sacking a city, in lying and obscuring the truth with his crew (his lies are more than a quirk that endears him to athena, they have consequences!) — some might say his personality. i do have sympathy for odysseus, even at his worst moments morally, because i find his character as a whole compelling. you don't need to try to absolve him of these things! they tell you about what kind of person he is! they are evocative (and provocative) already! take them away and he is boring, because he is not choosing to do anything.

the new wave of odysseus fans seem unable to handle homeric odysseus' complicated aspects and character traits, and to a degree i blame this on the musical characterization. it's allowed to be its own thing, certainly, but now i regularly get people arguing about whether he's a good person when all they know is something epic made up and that was never the fucking point, anyway.

are we really going to pretend he didn't have sex with circe and calypso at all

[achillesmonochrome]

"I thought I lost you."

"Is going to take more than a failed cloning process to keep me away from you, Zuzu."

Characters Belong to: @quins-makeshift-menagerie / @ask-mirage-mews Go and check it out!

I...was impatient, because I am really loving these characters, so I decided to do a fanart!

I wanted to mirror the scene where Zeus was cradling Mnemosyne's on his arms when they didn't woke up, I thought it would be neat.

I'm still trying to find a way to draw mewtwos, or fur, or clothes- but is all the more reason to continue practicing to get as good as the original author!

[hrodvitnon]

I had just discovered this (https://twitter.com/Austrorapt49590/status/1782585044780925378) and it made me wonder what the Titans' reactions would be when they discover that people make fanart of them. I can see Mothra seeing this and just bursting out laughing. "Oh, I am *framing* this!"

Ah yes, I've seen the Greco Goji art (which sounds better than Zeus!Goji because unlike Zeus, Goji actually has rizz) over on Discord... some more safe for work than others!

Suddenly the Titans are very curious as to how they'd look in such a style, and Ghidorah is especially loud in demanding that any Grecodorah art must include a particular Priapus protrusion. (It happens, but it only applies for San).

Mothra giving commissions for NSFW Greco Goji art—

[lunaloothemew]

My goodness drawing Zeus’ hands was a pain, I’m happy with how the drawing turned out tho (well it probably could have been better but I just really wanted to finish and post it lol)

Anyways some more fanart for @ask-mirage-mews/ @quins-makeshift-menagerie I love this story so much!

[astradreaming]

perseus jackson | melancholy

God of Loyalty, Mercy and Tides.

Zeus generously offered the Son of Poseidon immortality after defeating Kronos during the Battle of Manhattan at sixteen. Perseus Jackson, commonly known as Percy agreed to said offer.

The new god of Loyalty, Mercy and Tides was born.

strings of fate

'How could I ask for more?'

↳ Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco

'Haven't I given enough?'

↳ Gilded Lily by Cults

'You know it's not the same as it was - And nobody's coming to help'

↳ As It Was by Harry Styles

'And the world's gonna know your name'

↳ Hall of Fame by The Script

'Oh Father tell me - Do we get what we deserve?'

↳ Way Down We Go by KALEO

'Best to give me your loyalty'

↳ Royalty by Egzod

fanart cr: left cr. velinxi/velsmells. middle cr. frostbite.studios. right cr. alexcopeman

[archetypesanalysis]

I love all the analyses you've done. Especially Crosshair as I always found him to be a complex character.I would like to know your opinion of Crosshair in this third season and what did you think of him? Also his closeness to Hunter, since they've been talking they seem to be together all the time.

Now that I remember, I've seen fic where Hunter and Crosshair are described as lovers and it's funny because reading your analysis I remembered a story where Hunter gets drunk and gets involved with 2 Twi'leks and Crosshair upon seeing the mess on the boat angrily tells him he's not going to clean up his mess.And in other stories where they are together but are always fighting and arguing.Or in others where Tech and Crosshair do things on the sly and Hunter only tolerates Tech's because when it comes to Crosshair he reproaches them.I'm not saying they're canon or anything, but as written coincidences go, they're fun.

Thank you so much! Yes, Crosshair is a complex character, and I can't believe that I have written so much about him.

I am going to write an analysis of The Bad Batch season 3 after the series finale. Right now, I think Crosshair is on the right path as he is growing beyond his four main archetypes.

In "Shadows of Tantiss", once he takes a leap to escape Tantiss with Omega despite not knowing what's ahead clearly, he is starting to move beyond his Apollo archetype.

In "A Different Approach", Omega teaches Crosshair that violence does not always solve problems (something an Artemis person must learn, which is how to take down the Calydonian Boar). Of course, Crosshair does teach Omega to be more assertive and not let other people take advantage of her (a useful Artemis trait for a Persephone person like Omega).

As Crosshair reconciles with the Bad Batch, especially Hunter, he is "recycling" his Hera archetype, and this happens after "The Return" (winter has finally passed as Crosshair leaves the Outpost). Hunter defends Crosshair from Howzer, showing that he does care about Crosshair, which assures Crosshair's Hera archetype. When Crosshair talks about how loyalty should go two ways in "Extraction", it shows that he has grown beyond his Hera archetype - able to make wise decisions after getting out of an abusive relationship with the Empire.

In "Bad Territory", Crosshair learns meditation, which is a healthy method to deal with his emotional trauma. This helps him to move beyond his Poseidon archetype - channeling his destructive emotions through creative and calm methods.

Based on my analysis, Hunter has the Zeus archetype while Crosshair has the Hera archetype, which may explain why they are so close to each other (I do not do clone shipping). They support each other, yet they will argue with each other a lot. Those stories that you have mentioned do match this dynamic of theirs (and Tech with Hunter's favouritism).

They all may seem like "written coincidences", but I interpret it as archetypes existing in our collective unconscious. Carl Jung did travel to places in India and Africa where the people had never had western influences, and he found that many of their myths shared the same archetypal patterns as those western myths. He believed that archetypes are universal and they exist in our collective unconscious. Even though we may come from different places, have different cultures and have different experiences, the same patterns can be identified, taking on various forms, just as Joseph Campbell has stated in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

I do believe these archetypes already existed in the Bad Batch, be it obvious or subtle. These archetypes are later expanded by the fans through various interpretations in the forms of headcanons, fanarts and fanfictions. They may not all be canon, but it's certainly fun to see. Besides, it helps me to explore human psychology and reaffirm Carl Jung's theory of the collective unconscious. Sometimes, by looking into how a person interprets the Bad Batch (along with what they like and don't like about them), I can figure out some interesting things about their personality, which leads me back to the archetypal patterns.

[livingbrother]

Hecate Rewrite

Her personality

Hecate is wise, distinguished, and independent. Her attitude shifts with the moon's phases, the Maiden (new to waxing) is strong headed, fierce, and naive, the Mother (full to waning) is caring, loving, and proud, the Crone (waning to new) is wise, spiritual, but forgetful in her old age. They have lived many lifetimes and have gathered so much information from that, but she has seen many injustices and has a bit of a pent up rage because she's seen the same thing over and over again.

Her fashion

She favors mostly loose modern clothing, it only changes into ancient wear when special events show up.

Their background

Hecate was cut out of the night sky by her mother, Asteria, who she lost early in life. She lived out her early life on the island, Delos, and befriended Apollo and Artemis. They later learn about their mother's sacrifice for Leto and Zeus's pursuit of her, and vowed to never let that happen to any other woman or person. They use their magic and spells to protect those from evil, she's also known to help guide the undead down into the Underworld in her Crone form.

Design notes

I wanted to lean into her space and nighttime theming more. I didn't like how Hecate looked in LO because she didn't feel like the goddess I used to worship and I hated that she was relegated to an assistant. Hecate is their own person here. I went with her holy color (blood red) for her clothing to keep that element of her. You can also tell if she's Maid/Mother/Crone by the stage of the sun on her face. The Maiden has an average star, the Mother has a red giant, and the Crone has a planetary nebula. It has a blood red moon on its forehead because I needed to put SOME element of the moon on her SOMEWHERE. The constellations have no meaning, I just put them there for pizzazz. She is also a low-key Eldritch horror so that's why she looks like that.

What else should you know?

She uses she/they/it pronouns and enjoys brandy. When she's mad, her sun turns into a black hole. They enjoy anything their aunt Leto cooks, but they love her spanakopita the most. SHE'S THE HARDEST CHARACTER I HAVE TO DRAW. HER LACK OF TRADITIONAL HAIR THROWS ME THROUGH A LOOP EACH TIME.

Thanks for reading!

[I allow fanart of my redesigns if that's a thing you wanna do since I've seen a recent up tick of people liking my stuff.]

[burgercheese1812]

Ok so.

I heard that there are some people out there who just hate on the canon Leo x Calypso ship, not just because they’d rather ship Leo with Jason or Piper (I don’t have a problem with that, it’s peek fanart honestly), but because they hate that Calypso is technically so much older than Leo and so they don’t like that it’s canon.

Well.

Why don’t we get into the technicalities then, shall we?

Yes, Calypso is technically like, a few thousand years older than Leo (but she was stuck to be immortal on a prison island for most of it, so she didn’t actually age, but anyway-)

But, Poseidon is thousands of years older than Sally, and literally any other women he dates

Also, Apollo?? He’s also thousands of years older than any mortal and I see all your Apollo x reader fanfics 🤨

You like Tyson x Ella? Well Ella is probably almost as old as Calypso and Tyson is literally Percy’s age or something.

More technicalities??

Zeus married his SISTER (incest is why Ares is the way he is just let that sink in)

Hades married his NIECE

And oh Ho Ho-

You thought Percabeth was SAFE??

ATHENA IS TECHNICALLY POSEIDON’S NEICE

SO PERCABETH ARE TECHNICALLY 1st COUSINS ONCE REMOVED

INFACT

EVERY CAMPER IN CHB WHO DATES ANOTHER CAMPER IS TECHNICALLY DATING THEIR COUSIN

THEY’RE ALL TECHNICALLY COUSINS

The only mildly ACCEPTABLE pairing is children of Aphrodite with other campers, because at least THEY’RE all far enough away from the Olympic family tree that it’s ok. (Aphrodite was made from Uranus’s blood so she is technically Zeus’s aunt but also technically not?)

In short, none of the ships are safe from the technicalities.

So just why, does it suddenly apply to Caleo??

(See tags)

[symeona]

Hi! I was wondering if you knew where the post (I think it was replying to an ask) that you made about how Heracles is black was? I mentioned it off hand to a friend, and I'd love to be able send your post to her! Also, if you have any extra tidbits or resources about people of color in Greek mythology, I'd love to hear them! It's all so interesting, thank you for talking about it!

Okay lemme start with,

Greek people aren't a race. We've never been that, I don't care how much the Renaissance has whitewashed our history. Greek people have never looked one way or the other. I just like to debunk white supremacists and their theories because

1. I'm not a mulatto nor a g*psy

2. My cousin is a black Greek man and this whole thing started because I wanted to show him that his heritage is his: success.

3. Greek culture does not belong to the Romans nor white Europe, die mad. Sami ppl can have it if they want, cause I said so.

4. I like to piss off Nazis

Going as far back as Homer, dark skin was regarded as healthy and beautiful amongst us. White skin was associated with weakness. Λευκώλενος for example, means white-armed which meant weak.

Pharos is a good source that I think talks about the dark skin part of it all

Now

Heracles is painted in most cases with dark skin. So, it's safe to say that he was seen as a dark skinned man. (Look up paintings on amphoras, look up the terracotta statue of him and Apollo, etc.) Dark skin is associated with strength because, to put it bluntly... White people would faint and die if they ran around ancient Greece without sunscreen. Rip.

I went the extra mile and said he was probably a black Greek man because of Andromeda, who was the daughter of the king and queen of Ethiopia. Andromeda was Heracles's great-something grandma. And Zeus, well.. I'll get there in a bit.

A little about Ethiopia, most sources will say it's just Africa. But in some ancient texts it's described as the East and West. This might be a wonderful little hint, that said Hey. Black people were just living life all around us. I can't prove it but hey.

Memnon is another character who is either dark skinned or black. He's been portrayed as both in antiquity. Here's an article.

Achilles is a funny story. Most fanart will portay himst as a blond man.

Now. Allow me to go off a bit.

Achilles has never been described as white nor blond in the actual texts. Ξανθός doesn't mean blond. I call my sister that, she's absolutely not blonde. But she does have lighter hair and skin than me. Do with that what you will. His hair was also described as pyrros (red). Idk how to tell white people this... But your concept of blond and red hair? Very different than ours. Ξανθός can even mean glistening, the ocean was described as that, I don't think the ocean is yellow, do you? Another source, Aristonicus, says that Ξανθος meant angry (ξανθοχολοι). It doesn't help that Achilles's hair is described like that only two times, at Patroclus' death and his funeral. Both times he was angry. Aha! A clue perhaps, Sherlock.

Idk what else to tell ppl, Achilles was not blond.

In fact, Achilles has more in common with Memnon than any other character in the history of Greek epics. Does that mean that my ancestors were like "Woaah look at the light-skinned man! He can actually run in the sun without dying!!" Or was he dark skinned. I can't say cause it's just a story.

Odysseus, when Athena made him look like a "god", darkened his beard and his skin (Od. 16.175: μελαγχροιής, melanchroiês, which is a compound of melan, “dark,” and chroiê, “flesh”).

Zeus was portrayed as a black man by Sophocles. Not just dark skinned. Black. (Read Inachus)

I focus on the black history of it all because had Europeans not been racist towards black people I would have never been racialized and experienced violence because I'm a "mulatto". It's personal vindication to look at the history of my people with a critical eye. Idk if that makes sense but

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Why do you think the myth of Hades and Persephone is so popular now with many retellings, fics, books, fanart?

As a Greek i learned the story but many even at school and historians refer to it as a kidnapping and forced marriage agaist her will. Many will defend it but sorry this story to me is just a reflection of ancient greek society and the oppression women faced back then from powerful men. They say he was ehh... more faithful than Zeus ??? But thats not an excuse to romanticise this.

Yes enemies to lovers trope is more appealing to the audience but i would prefer if foreigners didnt use this story as a romantic one.

After my studies of this phenomenon over the years which consisted of... simply existing online, I figured it all started from Tumblr. What I saw is aesthetics popping up, and foreigners enchanted by the idea of "Spring/Kore" and "Death" archetypes. Greek mythology is already very popular in Europe and America so people from these places had already some general knowledge of the myths and it was easier for them to engage with it. As you said, they rarely capture the nuance of the abduction and the harmonious (as depicted) marriage afterward.