If there’s one thing us millennial classicists love, it’s Disney’s Hercules. The songs! The design! The merch. Even the animated series was a winner. And Hercules himself is great and all, but Hades, the snarky Lord of the Underworld, is clearly the best character. So, I was v excited when Igloo Books sent me an advanced review copy of Hades: Horn of Plenty, a new release as part of the Disney Villains series. It was also excellent timing as I’ve just finished marking my students’ Underworld outreach projects – where Hades featured a lot!
This graphic novel adventure follows Hades as he hatches another plot to get himself more power and ultimately seize control of Olympus – this time, by stealing the goat Amalthea and using her magical horn to make a wish. It might sound far-fetched, but Amalthea does actually appear in Greek mythology: she was the goat-nurse of baby Zeus, helping him grow and strengthen – and eventually providing the cornucopia (horn of plenty) like in the story here.
Okay, so, Hades doesn’t plot to steal Amalthea in any of the Greek myths, but there is an interesting play on another traditional tale going on here. In our story, Amalthea turns out to be the beloved pet goat of the goddess Demeter. Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and harvest, and one of the most famous Greek myths is about her daughter Persephone being kidnapped by Hades and taken to the Underworld. You usually find this being retold in kids’ books, sometimes with slightly err… questionable… covers.
We don’t have Persephone in Hades: Horn of Plenty, so there’s no weird child-snatching vibes to contend with (for a change!) Instead, Hades has an ‘escapegoat’ plan… And once his plan is underway in this story, there turns out to be a lot of similarities with what happens in the Persephone myth – especially for the poor mortals on earth, caught up in the gods’ disputes yet again as Demeter neglects her duties and the crops on earth wither and die.
The illustrations throughout the book are fab – atmospheric with bright and bold colours for the different landscapes. The dialogue is snappy (as you would expect from Hades especially) and easy to follow for the younger end of the audience age. There’s a useful little ‘Wordbox’ glossary at the front explaining some of the more unusual terms, like gigantomachy, as well as symbols like the horn of plenty. It would have been great to have some simple pronunciation guidance alongside this and some of the Greek names, for younger readers who aren’t as familiar or confident with them.
Overall this was a really fun little read, with lots of familiar figures from the Disney movie reappearing in their roles. Lots of the best spooky characters show up too, from Cerberus and Charon to the Fates — and there’s even a sneaky cameo from Phil. There’s also some great little jokes in there for the myth nerds – I mean, replacing the kid in kidnapping with an actual goat is always going to be a wild ride!
wee classics 