Re-discovering mythology : adaptation and appropriation in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians saga

Abstract

Buchbinder (2011:128) writes that adaptations are often regarded as barely a step away from plagiarism; however, he notes that ‘much of the literary output of classical Greek culture, for instance, consisted of reworkings of already familiar narratives’. His point is not only true of the classical Greek output, but of a contemporary adolescent fantasy saga, Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2006–2011), which retells many of the classical Greek mythological narratives in a contemporary setting. Given that many adolescent audiences may be unfamiliar with the root narratives, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians saga serves the function of re-introducing an audience to classical mythology, thereby helping them to rediscover their value. This article argues that by skilfully adapting and appropriating the monomythic hero-journeys of Greek mythology, and by retelling them within a contemporary narrative, Riordan is creating a space where readers, possibly unfamiliar with the root classical narratives, can re-discover classical mythology.