Vero? Is Netflix’s KAOS Really About Greek Mythology?
Content note: spoilers for KAOS on Netflix; mentions of dismemberment and murder in SFF
KAOS, which premiered on Netflix on August 29th, is often described as the ancient Greek gods in a modern setting. I initially described it this way myself when watching the early episodes, but by the end of Season 1, my interpretation was much more complex. I noticed lots of Latin words and influences from ancient Roman history, although many articles about KAOS mention Greek mythology only. KAOS combines influences from ancient Greek and Roman cultures, 21st-century science fiction like The Hunger Games and Black Mirror, and more. It’s a modern SFF show with mythological trappings.
Charlie Covell, who described themselves as a mythology nerd in interviews, wrote and created the show. They have a lot of knowledge of ancient mythology, along with creative departures from the source materials. However, like most streaming shows, KAOS has been marketed in reductive ways that do it and viewers a disservice. This show is polarizing, but I think this is partly because marketing creates unclear audience expectations.
I attempted to parse out some of the show’s disparate influences, so viewers wouldn’t confuse ancient Greek myths with KAOS’ many other inventions. I love mythology and its retellings, but I’m not Greek, a Classicist, or a mythology expert. Ancient Greece and Rome were both diverse, dynamic societies that lasted for millennia and contacted many other civilizations.
I understand it may seem like a facile or insincere question to ask whether KAOS is in fact about ancient Greek mythology. Olympians Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) and his wife Hera (Janet McTeer) are the main characters. Other important characters include Eurydice (Aurora Perrineau), her husband Orpheus (Killian Scott), the Titan Prometheus (Stephen Dillane), and many other figures from ancient Greek myths. If KAOS had been promoted more generally as a SFF show, it may have found a wider audience who still noticed the many mythological figures and references.
Without at least some knowledge of ancient Greek myths, KAOS may be baffling or overwhelming. For example, Billie Piper’s character isn’t introduced by name, but I knew instantly that she was Cassandra. She tells Eurydice that no one ever believes her. Cassandra says, “I told them about the [Trojan] horse,” and “Today is the day you’ll leave him” (meaning Eurydice will die today). As this article points out, in the myths, Cassandra’s ironic curse is that her prophecies are always true, but no one ever believes her.
Leila Farzad plays Ari (presumably, short for Ariadne). In mythology, Ariadne is the Minotaur’s half-sister. In this show, she is his twin. Ari’s storyline is unique and poignant. Caeneus, a trans man character and minor figure from ancient Greek myth, is played by Misia Butler, a trans male actor. KAOS has a diverse cast of LGBTQIA actors, actors of color, and disabled actors.
Despite the obvious references to ancient Greek mythology, KAOS has many distinct influences from ancient Rome as well. It’s baffling that marketing omitted this, creating an impression that the show itself or audiences would conflate Roman and Greek sources. The chant in Isabella Summers’ often dissonant, compelling score (“celestis, divinitus, insania, vero”) is Latin, not Greek. Characters use the word “vero” (“true” in Latin) as a salute or blessing in the show. It’s like their equivalent of “amen.”
Other musical choices include lots of European classical music, such as The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. I’m used to hearing classical music, including in Latin, to create an “epic” tone in lots of English-language dramas. There are many more eclectic songs too, from 1970s psychedelic rock to the musical Oklahoma! The music signals more diverse influences than ancient epics alone.
KAOS also contains violent scenes of Roman gladiator-style executions and human sacrifices. This brings more graphic violence and body horror to KAOS, although ancient Greek myths are also often violent themselves.
Michelle Greenidge plays one of the Tacitas in KAOS. Her character is also Eurydice’s mother. She sacrificed her own tongue to serve Hera in the hopes of a reward in future incarnations. The Tacitas were not based on history or mythology. Instead, this indicated to me that KAOS was becoming a more visceral, morbid SFF show — like the most frightening Black Mirror episodes. In this interview, Covell explains that they made up the Tacitas, taking inspiration from the Avoxes from Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games novels.
Tacita is a Latin name, not Greek. It is the root of English words like tacit (unspoken). As far as I can tell, Tacita was an obscure, Roman goddess of silence, with no Greek equivalent. In the show only, Tacitas are priestesses sworn to Hera. They even hide her affair with Poseidon (Cliff Curtis).
When Eurydice enters the afterlife, KAOS becomes even more intriguing. The series uses many figures and beliefs from the ancient Greek afterlife, like the River Lethe, Hades, Persephone, Charon, and more. In other aspects, though, it’s the afterlife as bureaucracy, like in The Good Place. So, I think marketing and reviews get confusing when they mention only mythology and not modern SFF influences.
In this fascinating video essay, Lady of the Library on YouTube explains many complex beliefs about the afterlife from ancient Greek texts. The video mentions that the Orphic and Pythagorean mystery religions, among others, believed reincarnation was possible. Pythagoras was a strict vegetarian because he believed that humans could be reincarnated as other species.
This connects to KAOS’ shocking twist. In the scene when Eurydice rides the ferry to the Underworld with Agatha, the willing sacrifice victim, Agatha believes that virtuous people get Renewed (reincarnated). In KAOS, we learn that the gods “Renew” everyone, but not to reincarnate. They are being recycled or turned into Meander water for the gods to consume. I loved this twist, but it reminded me of the revelations in Black Mirror episodes that characters’ lives are computer simulations or cruel social experiments. It’s important evidence that KAOS is an SFF show with some mythology figures and themes, more than a show about the ancient gods and myths.
To return to mythology for a moment, the ancient Greek gods ate and drank ambrosia, called the nectar of the gods. Gods were always immortal, but ambrosia kept them strong. KAOS’ Meander water keeps gods healthy, somewhat like ambrosia and nectar in the myths.
KAOS’ biggest twist is that the gods are consuming human souls. Renewal or reincarnation was once reserved only for great heroes, but Zeus murders his servants indiscriminately and encourages human sacrifices to create more Meander water. Thus, Renewal in KAOS is not equalizing or generous but an indication of the gods’ greed and corruption. This creative plot development is a huge departure from ancient Greek myths. Like in The Good Place, there are also possible, metaphysical metaphors here for worldwide pollution and exploitation in current, capitalistic societies.
Netflix’s KAOS is billed as Greek mythology in a modern setting, but is that really what it’s about? I don’t mean this only metaphorically but also literally. Some of its influences and Latin vocabulary are more Roman than Greek. Viewers without any background in ancient Greek mythology may be confused. Viewers expecting mostly mythology may be disappointed. I liked it, but I think Netflix, interviews, and reviews overemphasized its Greek mythology influences. KAOS is a modern, metaphysical, dystopian SFF series, with many obvious influences from other contemporary SFF.
I wrote about ancient Greek mythology’s influence on pop culture on Book Riot and my Medium blog.
