In Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson and Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, both authors use Greek mythology as a tool to tell their stories. Riordan uses Greek mythology to normalize what society sees as other and creates a world where being neurodivergent makes you special and gives you the ability to be a hero. Carson uses a specific myth from Greek mythology to help her tell her story. Neither of these stories are set in ancient Greece, they both bring Greek mythology to the modern world.
Riordan makes kids who are neurodivergent the heroes in his books. By doing this, he removes the negative connotation that society puts on being neurodivergent. In his story, Percy and his half-blood friends have ADHD because the hyper focus and energy help them in battle, and they have dyslexia because their brains are wired to read ancient Greek. Framing the usually negatively thought-about aspects of being neurodivergent in a positive way creating a space where kids did not have to feel bad about having dyslexia or ADHD. Well, Riordan’s stories follow the stereotypical hero trop, they are not about a specific myth whereas Carson’s story inserts a specific myth into the story. Carson’s use of Greek mythology gives her story underlying connotations and hidden meanings. She names the main character Geryon, and his main love interest is Herakles. In the Greek myth, Herakles kills Geryon as one of his tasks. Although the story does not specifically follow this myth it does imply that Geryon and Herakles’ relationship might be toxic. This is shown to be true as their story plays out.
Although Riordan and Carson do not use Greek mythology in the same way, they both use it to explain parts of their stories. Riordan uses it to explain, in a positive way, ADHD and dyslexia. Carson uses it to express Geryon and Herakles’ toxic relationship. Myths can be used to explain the unknown, I think both Riordan and Carson use mythology to explain unknowns in their stories.
Riordan, Rick. Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Disney Hyperion Books, 2006.
That’s such an interesting connection to make, and I like what you said about using mythology to explain the unknown, or to explore those spaces that are uncomfortable or overlooked. Both authors chose to write about characters that are in this sort of lesser-known category, as Geryon is more of a side character to Herakles, and the demi-gods are the children of the Greek gods, though they do not receive much recognition. It might also be interesting to look at parent-child relationships through the lens of these two stories.
This is such a creative connection but it works so well! I wonder if you could even expand it to analyze how both these texts portray the entire process of recognizing and embracing a quality that makes someone an “other.” Autobiography of Red tells the whole story of Geryon’s experience with his monstrosity, starting in childhood when he hides his wings and finishing when he meets Ancash and finally actually uses his wings. It’s been a long time since I’ve read Percy Jackson, but I wonder if you could make the argument that it also portrays the process of coming to terms with one’s identity. Maybe Camp Half Blood is like Percy’s Ancash, in the way that it’s a place where he finally connects with others like him and learns to embrace his neurodivergence.