The myth of Greek gods is alive and kicking

Even though it has been thousands of years since the Greek Gods were widely worshipped, they are still present in our daily lives, often in unexpected ways.

There are countless references to Greek mythology in literature, art and so much more. From books to comics and even musicals, there is basically a whole genre of stories based on rewriting the Greek myths for a modern audience. But these gods have managed to leave their mark even outside of our stories. The number of times I have found references to Greek myths in completely random and unexpected places is hilarious.

Sure, naming your pharmacy and a hospital after the Greek god of healing, 'Apollo', is a good idea and the symbol of medicine being the staff carried by Asclepius, the god of medicine makes sense. The person who named their academy ‘Minerva’ which is the Roman name for the Greek Goddess of knowledge Athena, did a good job. There also used to be a cinema hall named 'Minerva' in Delhi's Kashmiri Gate.

But the fact that Artemis Hospital is named after the Greek goddess of hunting is something that I will never understand. I once found the name of an ancient Greek sorceress, Calypso, printed on a bottle of sanitiser, I can’t find any connection between a powerful sorceress and sanitiser, although I guess that sanitiser is basically a potion that kills germs. If you want to name your store that sells tyres after a Greek god, shouldn’t it be Hermes, the god of travellers? Not according to the person who named their shop Apollo Tyres. On a trip to Manali, I found ‘Eros’ written on a washbasin. Why would someone want to name their sanitaryware products after the Greek god of love? I don’t know the answer to that but it certainly made for a good laugh. So, try to learn about Greek mythology. The knowledge will definitely make your life a little more interesting.

May Athena help you with your research.

About the writer- Pihoo Mamgain (14) is an avid reader, digital artist and a huge fan of anime.