We all know about depictions of Hades as the Christian Hell. The Film Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief depicts the God Hades as Satan, complete with horns, when he wasn’t dressed like a member of a metal band. The landscape contains floating rivers of broken dreams and wishes. The ground looks like a cross between the Galilean moon Io and a mid-ocean ridge. Milton in Paradise Lost draws a lot of his imagery of Hell from descriptions of the Classical underworld.
However, the contemporary world has another story to tell. It seems that wherever you turn, Hades is a politically-charged realm. Struggles to reach Hades become struggles against political apathy or commentaries about the economy. And when they don’t, the stories get personal. All of this comes from the multifaceted imagery surrounding its God: Ploutôn, God of Wealth; Zeus Khthonios, Underworld Zeus; Nekrodegmôn, the Receiver of the Dead; and Polydegmôn, the Host of Many. It comes from a landscape containing both forgetfulness and memory, terrible oaths and goddesses who preside over fate and retribution. If we take this tree of imagery and pluck fruits from its branches, we can do almost anything with it.
One example is a musical called The Frogs, based on the well-known play by Aristophanes. Adapted by Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove, it first came to light in 1974 as a statement against the apathy of the populace in the face of significant world problems; the musical was revived in 2004 following the PATRIOT Act and other Congressional decisions that restrict personal freedoms. This review only follows the music, as the musical closed the same year it began.
Look, I’m no hero. I made my way here through a river of frogs. It wasn’t easy.
They tried to stop me. The frogs like things the way they are.
“Earth is well enough,” they say. “Let well enough alone.”
And I’m afraid more and more people are beginning to think the same way.
– Dionysos, “It’s Only a Play”
The musical takes us on Dionysos’s journey from Earth to Hades as he seeks to bring George Bernard Shaw (the playwright) so he can “speak to the problems of our society and give us comfort, wit, and wisdom — and also challenge our complacencies.” From a polytheistic perspective, the writers’ interpretation is great. They even begin with an invocation to the Gods of the Theater, and the tunes are quite catchy. The song “Ariadne” is a beautiful hymn to a woman whom Dionysos truly loved, and “Hymn to Dionysos” is sung by his deceased devotees.
However, the political quickly comes into play. As you can see from Dionysos’s intentions, all is not well on Planet Earth. The great obstacle of the musical comes in an extensive song that must have had amazing choreography, “The Frogs,” in which Xanthias and Dionysos are attacked by frogs. Their mission? To persuade Dionysos to join them in their complacency about the world. “Everything will fix itself. Forget your troubles, they’ll only give you pain. Don’t make a fuss, send a check.” The frogs stand in the way of Dionysos’s mission because surrendering to their apathy means abandoning his quest: to bring someone back who can make a difference in the world.
Their message is echoed by many characters Dionysos meets in the Underworld, including Hades. “I admire your idealism, even though it’s incredibly naïve,” Hades says. Dionysos stands in opposition to Hades, who is reluctant to believe that simply bringing someone like Shaw back will make a difference to the world. While arguing for the mission, Dionysos exposes his motives for coming more thoroughly. “Our leaders won’t tell us the truth — not the whole truth, just big fat lies told to supposedly protect us [...] and if we start to question things — merely question — we’re accused of being disloyal.” People need to get riled up. They need to care about what is happening to the world, and drama (over which Dionysos rules) is the way to do it. Dionysos eventually decides to take back Shakespeare instead, which will not surprise anyone who has read or skimmed the original play.
No, please don’t nod,
Agreeing with me just ’cause I’m a god.
Have some respect for Aristophanes –
And please don’t nod.
Don’t just shrug,
Content to be a conscientious slug.
It’s fine to feel contented, safe and snug,
But soon enough contented turns to smug.
Don’t shovel what’s uncomfortable underneath the rug.
Speak up! Get sore!
Do something more than just deplore.
– Dionysos, “Final Instructions to the Audience”
Traveling to the Underworld is a metaphor for reaching into the apathy in the world and bring out something that will quicken it again in a very visible way. In the Underworld, everything is dead; all people are shades. People forget what matters to them, as do the frogs that inhabit the river Styx. Drama is a great metaphor for enlivening the world because drama happens everywhere from elite plays on Broadway and in the old theaters of London to streets and high schools. It is one of the most public acts of creativity, and creativity cannot be apathetic, nor can it forget itself.
Of course, the symbolism could have been more consistent, and The Frogs does not completely depart from the problem of treating Hades like the Christian Hell. This is a musical. Dionysos, Giver of Wine, has aspects of the forgetful in him; he is invoked to take cares away, to make people forget in a more gentle way than the frogs. (Yet, according to the devotees, wine brings truth in addition to taking away the sting of life.) The location Hades is called both Hades and Hell, with the associated language of fire and heat.
The musical soundtrack overall provides an enjoyable experience and a great alternative to pieces that treat the Underworld much less forgivingly. I recommend you check it out; there were also some videos on YouTube that provide an idea of how it was performed, but they may have been taken down.
Links
Lyrics to All of the Songs (warning: annoying ads!)
Wikipedia Entry on The Frogs (Musical)
Epithets from Theoi.com
Places to Buy
Amazon.com
eMusic (subscription download site)
iTunes
