Line #103 Main/SadlyMythcharacterized


1	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1491730412016742300
2	%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
3	%%
4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shiva_vs_final_fantasy.jpg]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:Shiva, [[DestroyerDeity god of destruction]] in Myth/HinduMythology, and [[AnIcePerson spirit of ice]] in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''.]]
6	%%
7	%% Caption selected per crowner in Caption Repair Thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900&page=29#721
8	%% Please do not replace or remove without further discussion in that thread.
9	%%
10
11	-> ''"I am a big muscly mercenary who in this movie does nothing that Hercules did in any of the myths, and who is constantly stated as having technically not done any of things that WERE in the myths. So basically I have about as much in common with the character of Hercules as I do Theseus, or Conan the Barbarian, or Popeye the Sailor Man."''
12	-->-- '''[[Creator/DwayneJohnson The Rock]]''', ''Website/TheEditingRoom'''s abridged script for ''Film/Hercules2014''
13
14	When a work portrays a mythological figure differently from their original mythological depiction.
15
16	Mythology, a subject that is open to interpretation. What one nation calls Jove, another calls Zeus. The deeds they did are scrutinized, and what is considered heroic changes over time. But sometimes, modern writers want to take things further, and present us with gods and heroes [[InNameOnly far removed from their mythological context]]. A god known for judgment and cheating on his wife might get {{flanderiz\|ation}}ed into being all about one or the other. A hero who looked completely human might take on magical aspects. Any adaptational changes may apply.
17
18	The reasons are varied.
19	# Influence from other cosmologies might have colored the perception of these characters. Especially if the cosmology is [[HiJackedByJesus Abrahamic in nature]].
20	# The namesakes may had been taken from other concepts that just happened to be named for mythological characters (such as the objects of the solar system).
21	# And sometimes, plain old {{Flanderization}} sets in as a result of things the immortals will [[NeverLiveItDown never live down]].
22	%%# ParodyDisplacement might set in and a parodic interpretation becomes the first thing that comes to mind when discussing the divine characters
23	%%# It could be a result of AlternateHistory, used to hint that the universe is not as we know it.
24
25	It is not this trope when the adaptation of a mythical being is closer to the original attitude toward said being because we've overlaid modern sensibilities on them. For example, Zeus being portrayed as a basically decent guy rather than a serial rapist is not this trope, because the Greeks or Romans would have regarded him as a decent guy. Likewise, anyone that is called a hero being depicted as well, heroic would also not count.
26
27	This is a Supertrope to EverybodyHatesHades, EverybodyLovesZeus, HijackedByJesus, VillainBaal, and PantheonSitcom. This is a SubTrope of AdaptationDeviation, AdaptationPersonalityChange and SadlyMythtaken where the writer makes misconceptions about the source material or other parts of mythology, respectively.
28
29	----
30	!!Examples:
31	[[foldercontrol]]
32
33	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
34	* While Happy Science movies make up mythological characters to further the idea that these are Ryuho Okawa's (and El Cantare's) past lives, they take liberties with existing mythological figures, altering them to suit the cult's religious agenda.
35	** ''Anime/TheGoldenLaws'': Prometheus, a Titan whom the Gods punished for giving fire to mortals in the original Greek myth, is depicted as an ordinary human GlorySeeker in Hermes' times. Moreover, he tries to lead people astray from God with [[PlayingWithFire his control over fire]] and Hermes storms into his altars to stop him.
36	** ''Anime/HermesWindsOfLove'' has Hermes, Aphrodite, and Eros depicted as mortals. The former two are royals destined to marry each other and lead Greece to an age of prosperity. The latter is their baby son, born from a magical arrow from an unnamed Goddess of Love. While this portrayal is a far cry from their depictions in the original Greek myths, it's how they're depicted in Ryuho Okawa's mythos.
37	** ''Anime/TheMysticalLaws'': In the original Japanese myth, Yamata-no-Orochi was a monster who harassed a family for refusing to sacrifice their youngest daughter after it ate their other seven older daughters one by one each year, depicted as gigantic. In this film, it is depicted as a bird-like smoke construct barely bigger than a mountain, with eight dragon-like heads, and is the protector of Izumo and all of Japan at the service of Konohana-no-Sakuya-bime.
38	* ''Literature/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'' includes the Greek goddess Hestia as one of the protagonists, depicted as a young girl with GirlishPigtails and a blue ribbon who wants to get into a relationship instead of becoming an older virgin goddess with a head veil. Other gods include [[GenderFlip Loki]] (who [[VoluntaryShapeshifting has an excuse]] in the original myths), and Hephaestus (In the original myths Hephaestus was crippled, elderly and male). Freya, Hermes, Take-Mikazuchi, and Ishtar also appear, but are more accurate to the source myths.
39	* ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' includes characters derived from myth, all as shapeshifting dragons. [[Myth/AztecMythology Quetzalcoatl]] has a GenderFlip and [[Myth/NorseMythology Fafnir]] goes from a dwarf to a {{Bishonen}} who doesn't care much about treasure. Tohru, the eponymous dragon maid, is a subversion. While her name is derived from the Japanese translation of Thor, it's actually stated that it has a different InUniverse origin.
40	* The ''Anime/MazingerZ'' franchise has Zeus appear in two series. Of the two, ''Anime/ZMazinger'' not only depicted Zeus and other Greek mythological figures as {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s, but also made Zeus the original pilot of the eponymous Mecha.
41	* Much like the card game, ''Manga/YuGiOh'' has a couple cases.
42	** The God Osiris, one of the Egyptian God Cards ([[DubNameChange and better known as Slifer the Sky Dragon]]) is depicted as a giant red Dragon with two mouths. Averted in the original, since there its name is "Sky dragon of Osiris", not Osiris itself.
43	** Anubis appears in ''Anime/YuGiOhTheMoviePyramidOfLight'', losing the Jackal head and becoming ObviouslyEvil. He created the eponymous artifact to settle a long score with Atem. He is also claimed as the god of the Dead (that title actually belongs to Osiris, funnily enough the God Card most associated with Yugi and Atem).
44	* ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' takes some liberties with the character of Satan. One forgivable example is Satan having 12 wings. While seraphim are well known for having 6 wings, there are varied accounts inside and outside the Bible on how many wings particular angels had. Satan is described in more than one instance to have a serpent/dragon appearance, and yet not once does Satan ever take on such a form. Certainly Satan having a feminine, hermaphrodite body is nowhere in the Bible. One big deviation from Satan's character, is the idea that Satan wants the death of all humans. Satan is certainly not friendly to humans in the Bible, but he's characterized as more of a trickster archetype who likes to corrupt humans and bring them down to his level. In fact, a big part of Revelation's plot centers around how Satan wants to rule over humans. If nothing else, they did get the part about Satan being an angel of light correct.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Comic Books]]
48	* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
49	** [[Characters/WonderWomanAres Ares]], who according to Greek mythology was the Amazons' ancestor and one of the gods they supposedly worshiped most, is [[AdaptationalVillainy their inveterate enemy]].
50	** Artemis, goddess of the hunt, was in the mythology entirely uninterested in sex, a virgin goddess of virgins, and took pleasure in finding creatively cruel deaths for those who saw her naked form--so her ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2011'' version's crush on her brother and exhibitionist ways are ''ComicBook/New52'' originals.
51	** Athena was an enemy to the Amazons in mythology, fighting against them at Troy and specifically aiding Achilles in killing Penthesilea (in some versions even bringing him back to life after Penthesilea killed him on the battlefield before ensuring his victory), and setting Bellerophon to assassinate their previous queen (implied to be Penthesilea and Hippolyta's mother Otrera). Starting in ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' DC's Athena acts as something like the BigGood to DC's Amazons, and Franchise/WonderWoman becomes her champion.
52	** ''ComicBook/WonderWomanHistoriaTheAmazons'': As is common in most Wonder Woman works, this series [[PerspectiveFlip intentionally deviates]] from how the Olympians were perceived by the Ancient Greeks. Most of the male Olympians for example are hit hard with AdaptationalVillainy, this is common with figures such as Ares and Zeus but now it's even extended to Apollo, Hermes, Posiedon, Hephaestus, and Dionysius.
53	* Creator/{{Marvel\|Comics}}'s [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] is quite different from the original depiction of Thor, the red haired, red bearded god, wielding the hammer Mjölnir that bears no inscription on the worthiness of whoever lifts it, and is not so flat on its sides or top, but is known for its curved shape meeting up towards an angle, and hammer must be lifted with the assistance of the power-belt Megingjörð. In the comics, there has a been a briefly introduced red haired Thor, the power-belt has been used on occasion, and Loki was mentioned as the mother of Sleipnir in a guidebook once, but otherwise, characters and elements originating from the comics, such as the Enchantress and the Warriors Three, are much more prevalent than figures from the original myths. There are some figures from the Myth/NorseMythology family tree who should be much more prominent in an ongoing mythological drama, but are instead relegated to obscurity or not mentioned at all. And though the character designs should make it clear that these are the Marvel versions and not the originals, there are plenty of artists who go by the [[Creator/JackKirby Kirbyesque]] designs when depicting non-Marvel versions of the Norse pantheon. For more information, see SadlyMythtaken.TheMightyThor.
54	* ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' depicts Hecate as a snake-from-the-waist-down blood-drinking EldritchAbomination who exists to herald the Apocalypse, corrupted an ancient utopian city for shits and giggles, and is generally kind of an asshole (like most of the non-Abrahamic supernatural characters in that series). While the mythological Hecate was sometimes referred to as drinking blood (because, like all the Greek gods, people sacrificed animals to her), basically none of the rest of that bears the slightest resemblance to the mythological Hecate besides the name and gender.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Fan Works]]
58	* [[UsefulNotes/{{Voudoun}} Baron Samedi]] in ''Fanfic/PrincessOfTheBlacks'' [[InNameOnly bears little resemblance to his mythological counterpart aside from the name]], as rather than being a DarkIsNotEvil party animal and playboy, he's the dour, [[DarkIsEvil wicked]] patron of [[VillainProtagonist Jen]].
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
62	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' has several cases of this:
63	** Philoctetes is a satyr and a trainer of heroes, akin to Chiron the centaur. In the original myths, he was a human and his only interaction with Heracles was lighting his funeral pyre.
64	** Hephaestus is missing a foot but is still able to use his legs.
65	** Hera herself as a loving mother instead of the jealous wife who wanted Heracles dead.
66	** And of course, [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades as a villain and wanting to kill Herc]], instead of being one of several figures who helped him with a few of his trials.
67	** Hercules himself is missing the pelt of the Nemean lion, with his NighInvulnerability being derived from his demigod status instead (once he earned that back). The "Zero to Hero" sequence referenced the Nemean pelt by having Hercules drape [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Scar's]] pelt over his shoulders during a photo shoot.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
71	* ''Film/{{Dogma}}'': There is no explanation for why the angel Loki shares the name of the Norse trickster god, or why the angel Bartleby shares the name of a character from a Creator/HermanMelville short story.
72	* ''Film/HerculesInNewYork'': The [[Characters/ClassicalMythologyOlympians Olympian]] gods go by their Roman names, except for Zeus, who would be known to the Romans as Jupiter.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Literature]]
76	* Creator/TomHolt:
77	** ''Literature/ExpectingSomeoneTaller'' is one of several books by Holt that play a bit fast-and-loose with characterizations of ''Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung''[='s=] cast. Wotan, in particular, is a straight-up jerkass with a passive-aggressive thing going with the Valkyries where he refuses to wipe his feet before entering Valhalla, or to clean up after himself.
78	** ''Literature/YeGods'' features the Roman pantheon. Mars, god of war, is now a [[ActualPacifist pacifist]] who is only fighting (in a metaphorical sense) for nuclear disarmament. (The logic being that, if there's a war, he has to be in the middle of it, and he has ''no idea'' if his immortality covers being at ground zero of a nuclear explosion.)
79	* ''LIterature/AmericanGods'' features a bunch of "old" gods from various mythologies fighting against the rise of the "new" American gods. The old gods, who have literally changed to reflect changing beliefs, include European gods like Odin, who now goes by Mr. Wednesday, and is a ConMan instead of the wise Allfather. The end of the novel reveals that [[spoiler:an Odin much more in line with the mythology exists in Iceland, implying that the same for all of the other gods too and that the gods presented in the novel are all americanized versions]].
80	* ''Literature/CreaturesOfLightAndDarkness'': The ancient Egyptian gods still rule the universe. While the actual myths have a ''great'' deal of variation in how some of these gods are portrayed, Zelazny ignored most of that in favor of characterizations which forwarded his plot. Thoth was the TopGod before being forced out by a coup by Angels and trying to contain the Thing That Cries in the Night. Anubis is now an angel that became the ruler of the House of Death (a common misconception as Anubis was only the guardian of the resting places in the source myths). Osiris (the actual chief deity of the dead) became the ruler of the House of Life and is also an angel. Set is simultaneously Thoth's son and father.
81	* ''Literature/TheCampHalfBloodSeries'': Despite a sincere attempt at faithfulness towards Greek and Roman myths, resulting in this trope being mainly avoided, Creator/RickRiordan still takes some liberties while depicting the personalities of the gods, either for the RuleOfFunny or out of personal creations.
82	** Dionysus was depicted in the Greek myths as a pleasant and andrygonous youth constantly seeking joy and festivities - in Riordan's universe he is a grumpy and rude overweight middle-aged man. [[spoiler:Discussed in ''The Trials of Apollo'' where it is theorized that Dionysus specifically chose to take this unusual appearance out of defiance.]]
83	** Venus in the Riordanverse is treated as identical to her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite, when in truth the two goddesses were quite different: Aphrodite was a goddess of sexual and romantic love, focused on things such as desire and beauty; Venus was a much more of a mother-goddess, whose aspects were mostly about purification, vegetation and victory.
84	** Prometheus is portrayed as a shifty, untrustworthy manipulator who will readily let human civilization die if it means he gets to be on the winning side of a war. This stands in stark contrast to the original myths, where he's one of the very few unambiguously good characters, and famously loved humans enough that he defied Zeus in order to protect them.
85	** Zeus's portrayal downplays this trope; while the series emphasizes his JerkassGod status and ignores his mythical role as an upholder of justice and moral order, but is still reasonably close to the original myths. However, it's played straight with Poseidon, who is frequently presented as a GoodCounterpart to Zeus and the OnlySaneMan of the Olympians. This has very little basis in the original myths, where Poseidon was just as petty, temperamental, jealous and arrogant as Zeus was if not more.
86	* ''Literature/TheLostYearsOfMerlin'' took Rhita Gawr, a minor Arthurian antagonist most known for [[FelonyMisdemeanor beating up people and cutting off their beards]], and made him a full-blown SatanicArchetype of the Myth/{{Celtic\|Mythology}} gods. Dadga, meanwhile, goes [[EverybodyLovesZeus in the other direction]], with his wisdom emphasized to the point where any unpleasant traits, like his status as a WarGod, pretty much disappear.
87	* ''Literature/TheShadowhunterChronicles'': Arawn is the King of the Unseelie[[note]]which is a Scottish term, incidentally, though cognates with "Seelie" appear in Welsh stories, and this franchise doesn't draw sharp distinctions between different cultures' legends[[/note]] [[TheFairFolk Faeries]] and a general HateSink, killing most of his daughters and abusing his [[MassiveNumberedSiblings many]] sons. The Arawn from [[Myth/CelticMythology Welsh mythology]] was a generally nice guy with none of these unpleasant traits. (Overlaps a bit with EverybodyHatesHades, since the legends were fuzzy on any distinction between "land of the fairies" and "land of the dead.")
88	* The ''Literature/TimeWarpTrio'' book "It's All Greek to Me" invokes this; the Book transports Joe, Sam, and Fred into Myth/ClassicalMythology, but they quickly figure out that the gods they encounter are based off of the versions they wrote for a comedic school play rather than accurate depictions.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
92	* ''Series/Cursed2020'' features the Cailleach, a deity in real world Irish Celtic mythology, but she appears to bear next to no resemblance to the Cailleach as depicted in the show. The real-world Cailleach is a goddess of winter, storms and the harvest, and protecter of wild animals, often depicted as an old woman, not a dark spider-like entity who makes sinister deals with people and eats children.
93	* The makers of ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' took a look at Typhon, the biggest and most dangerous monster in all of [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]], the greatest enemy ever faced by Zeus and the Olympian gods, and the winged monster with snakes for legs. They decided to make him into a dim-witted but lovable, completely human-looking oaf.
94	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
95	** The Halloween episode is notorious among certain circles for portraying Janus as a god of chaos. Nothing could be further from the truth; while the "division of self" does fit the idea of people and their costumes becoming one, Janus could better be portrayed as a god of Order, not Chaos, especially in his role as the Roman god of portals, doors, and gateways.
96	** Same season has someone invoke Diana as "goddess of love and the hunt." Goddess of the hunt yes, but she [[CelibateHero didn't really "do" love]], which was [[LoveGoddess Venus]]' thing. Then again, that might be why the spell went so horribly wrong.
97	* ''{{Series/Charmed\|1998}}'':
98	** The Hindu goddess Kali is portrayed as an evil entity that hides in mirrors. She was actually a benevolent deity ([[BloodKnight mostly]]) who punished evil doers.
99	** Hecate is portrayed as an evil demon, as opposed to the protective goddess she was in Greek mythology.
100	* ''Series/OnceUponATime'':
101	** Hades makes a big deal about Zeus being his older brother. Anyone who is familiar with Greek mythology, however, will immediately point out that the ''opposite'' is true: Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, while Zeus was the youngest.[[note]]The actual mythology played with this a bit, though. While Hades was biologically the eldest, Cronus regurgitating his children after he ate them was regarded as a "second birth". Since Zeus was the only one who didn't get eaten, Hades was indeed younger than him (this was the reason why Hestia was called "the first and last Olympian", because she's the first to be born to Cronus and Rhea, but the last to be regurgitated from his belly).[[/note]]
102	** Poseidon also gets this treatment; he apparently isn't related to the other two brothers mentioned above and [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ursula the Sea Witch]] is his daughter.
103
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
107	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' did this with one unusual case: Bahamut. What was a fish from Arabic Mythology that carried the world became a powerful dragon to be better related to Tiamat. In turn, Tiamat changed from her depiction in Sumerian myth as a primordial, formless sea-deity and embodiment of primal chaos into a five-headed LawfulEvil dragon goddess who lives in {{Hell}} [[note]]although Tiamat was already associated with some draconic/serpentine imagery[[/note]]. This depiction is the {{Trope Maker\|s}} for Bahamut's draconic depiction in other franchises such as ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''.
108	** Most editions of the game also apply this to the Egyptian god Sobek, usually portraying him as a LawfulEvil god of flooding and natural disasters, even though to the actual Egyptians, he was a god of fertility and creation. Part of the confusion may come from the fact that, on the Nile, floods aren't a disaster so much as they are a necessity for agriculture, making Sobek somewhat equivalent to the storm gods (like Thor, Zeus, Marduk, and Susanoo) from civilizations whose farming relied more on rainfall than on seasonal flooding. Another likely reason for Sobek's vilification is that he was a god associated with [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles]], and [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute everyone knows crocodiles are evil.]]
109	* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': Several of the cards fall into this trope:
110	** [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Master_Hyperion Hyperion]] is depicted as an angelic being with flaming wings in dominion over the Agents (All based on planets in the solar system).
111	** [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Freya%2C_Spirit_of_Victory Freyja]] is depicted as a cheerleader. Also of the things Freyja was associated with in Norse myth, victory was not explicitly one of them.
112	** [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Bountiful_Artemis Artemis]] is depicted as an angel [[OurAngelsAreDifferent made of metal and crystals]].
113	** The [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Bujin Bujin]] are all based on the Japanese-Shinto pantheon. The Xyz Monsters are the gods, the components are based on items associated with these gods and the Beast-Warrior-type Effect Monsters are also based on people or places associated with their deities. The archetype has a slight CombiningMecha and PoweredArmor flavor.
114	** The [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Hieratic Hieratic]] archetype depicts the humanoid [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennead Ennead]] of Myth/EgyptianMythology as [[Anime/{{Bakugan}} Bakugan-like]] dragons.
115	** The Nordic archetype, the related Aesir archetype and most Spirit monsters subvert this for the Norse and Japanese pantheons.
116	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': It's implied the Mesopotamian god Nergal (Mesopotamian god of war and plague, among other things) was a dormant aspect of Nurgle, the Chaos god of disease, entropy and decay.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Video Games]]
120	* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' draws heavily from Japanese myth, but depicts Amaterasu as a [[DeusEstMachina machine]] with the ability to interfere with physics and change the timeline (within limits), Take-Mizazuchi as a KillSat and Susano'o as a suit of PoweredArmor and a SoulJar [[spoiler:as well as the real body and identity of Terumi. And he acts more like Lucifer from the Christian myth rather than Susano'o in the original Japanese myth]].
121	* ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'' takes a lot from ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', including summons that are different from their mythological contexts, with [[Myth/NorseMythology Hraesvelgr]] (a giant that resembles an eagle) being an eagle that resembles a jet plane. [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Susano'o]] (god of storm) being a giant wielding a ''radio tower'' as Kusunagi, a Genderbent Sumerian King, and [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Prometheus]] (the Titan who gave fire to man) being a dragon-train. All of these are hints that [[spoiler:Earth is the Celestial Realm]].
122	* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'': Persephone is a demon maid if her description is anything to go by. In practice, she's a NinjaMaid. In the myths she's Hades' wife and bound to the Underworld. Thanks to EverybodyHatesHades, The Underworld is conflated with hell, and thus houses demons.
123	* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' does this with Agni and Rudra, who are depicted as twin ogre-like demons instead of the humanoid Hindu gods they're based on. Other cases include Beowulf, who looks more like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pazuzu Pazuzu]] than the actual ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'' (a human king), and Geryon, who is depicted as a demonic horse instead of a man with multiple conjoined bodies (details vary) from Greek myth.
124	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' often does this with various mythological characters.
125	** Gilgamesh is the prime offender. Despite being named after the Sumerian king and eponymous character of ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh'', he is depicted as a MultiArmedAndDangerous {{Oni}} who more closely resembles UsefulNotes/MusashiboBenkei of Japanese folklore. He's also obsessed with the Arthurian sword Excalibur. His human companion Enkidu also appears in several forms: a green demon, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII a green dog]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV a green chicken]].
126	** As a result of copying several elements from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', Bahamut is depicted as a dragon instead of the fish from Arabic Mythology. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' makes him a gigantic DragonKnight and the most powerful of the Astrals.
127	** Odin is depicted as a BlackKnight whose weapon of choice is not the spear Gungnir, but the sword Zantetsuken. ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII''[='s=] incarnation is able to transform into a horse and use lightning powers. Odin in ''XIII'' is also the Eidolon of Lightning, who takes on the aesthetics of a {{Valkyrie\|s}} in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' and effectively the job of one in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII''. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''[='s=] incarnation of the character gave him attacks referencing Myth/NorseMythology such as Valknut, Einherjar and the aforementioned Gungnir. His horse Sleipnir often does not have the 8 legs associated with him (and in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' is AKindOfOne).
128	** Shiva. In Hindu Myth, Shiva the Transformer is a male god who defends and changes the universe. Here Shiva is a [[GenderFlip female]] entity with power over Ice who is closer to a [[{{Youkai}} Yuki-Onna]]. The name might be a pun on the word "Shiver". ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' makes Shiva a pair of twins who can merge into a Motorcycle.
129	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' included a set of bosses based on TheFourGods. One of those bosses is Fenrir, who is a bipedal white tiger representing Baihu. Fenrir in the [[Myth/NorseMythology original mythology]] was a wolf and a quadruped, not a tiger.
130	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' uses summons different from the traditional mold (though Odin and Alexander are still in the game). Most of which are more akin to ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''. Among them are Brunhyldr (one of the Valkyries of Norse myth) as an Eidolon who can transform into a sports car.
131	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has a few cases.
132	*** Heavensward introduces Hraesvelgr of Myth/NorseMythology as a dragon instead of an eagle, as well as related to Nidhogg, Ratatoskr.
133	*** Also from Heavensward is the Primal Ravana, who is now depicted as an insectoid samurai. The actual Ravana was a MultipleHeadCase and less of a BloodKnight and more of a scholar.
134	* In the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series, Typhon is [[DemotedToExtra just another Titan]] and [[AdaptationalWimp far less powerful]] than in the original mythology. Typhon was not a Titan, he was a monstrous enormous beast and the only being Zeus feared who [[OneManArmy almost singlehandedly overthrew him]] but was defeated. However, his birth varies DependingOnTheWriter. Some stories have him as the son of Gaia with no father, born out of Gaia's rage at the Giants she sired being destroyed by Hercules and the Gods (although not stated to be a Giant himself) while other stories have Typhon as the son of Hera and only Hera, and another story has Typhon born thanks to Kronos semen being smeared across 2 rocks at the request of Hera because she was angry at Zeus at the time. But in none of these stories is Typhon a Titan.
135	* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' has plenty of them with its SummonMagic, though some might be due to using Western names/concepts in the translation:
136	** Coatlicue is a beautiful woman bearing healing water, rather than a horrifying Aztec goddess.
137	** Daedalus is a missile-spewing HumongousMecha, instead of the mortal inventor from Myth/ClassicalMythology.
138	** Procne is a GiantFlyer, though the sequel shows two birds flying alongside it which is more in line with the original Greek myth. The character from Myth/ClassicalMythology had her and her sisters turned into birds to escape vengeance.
139	** Cybele is a giant frog/plant hybrid rather than a Greek goddess. Subverted in ''Dark Dawn'' [[ActuallyThatsMyAssistant when it is revealed that said frog is actually Cybele's assistant.]]
140	** Ulysses is called "a legendary wandering mage", using flying snapping mouths to attack. The original myths did not include those mouths or give him any magic, but ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' has often shown him and his crew as ''victims'' of magic.
141	** Megaera is a MagicalGirl-looking warrior rather than one of the Furies of Greek legend.
142	** In Dark Dawn, Boreas has gone from an armored giant ice grinder to a train whose front half is a horse. Boreas in Myth/ClassicalMythology was the God of the North Wind (Though the Amenoi in general were depicted as both horses and humanoids).
143	** Moloch (bull-headed Mesopotamian fire god) looks like a giant yeti that breathes ice.
144	** In Myth/ClassicalMythology, Poseidon and Neptune were effectively the same god as called by the Greeks and Romans, respectably. In ''Golden Sun'', Neptune and Poseidon are [[DecompositeCharacter two different entities]]: the first is a mutant sperm whale that fires spouts of water, while the second looks like a classic merman.
145	* ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'':
146	** ''VideoGame/KidIcarus1986'': The queen of the underworld is {{Medusa}}, [[DemonicSpider Pluton]] is a common enemy that steals your weapons, Pandora is a giant soap bubble and goddess of calamity and deceit, and Tanatos is a snake that lives in Medusa's hair.
147	** ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' either fixes these, changes them, or plays them for laughs. Palutena herself is supposed to be Pallas Athena, but is now pretty much a different character entirely (her most notable trait? She's a {{Troll}}). Tanatos decides to add the much needed "h" into his name, stating it's for [[LargeHam "Hamaaaaazing!"]], and is explained to be a shapeshifter, with his original role of God of Death intact. Pandora is still the Goddess of Calamity and Deceit, but her "soap bubble" body is revealed to actually be [[TheDisembodied a ghost formed from her own willpower]] [[spoiler:and eventually regains her original [[HotGod very beautiful body]] in line with the Pandora of myth]] and uses "Pandora's Boxes" that are traps. Medusa is brought closer in line with the original myth, being cursed to take a monstrous form by Palutena for her vanity, she still has snake hair but is less monstrous since her return. [[spoiler:She still has the face of a monster and her head can detach itself from the body, and after she dies it's revealed she was not the real queen of the underworld at all. It's [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades]], who just used her as a distraction.]]
148	* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'': Amaterasu, the humanoid Sun/Universe goddess of Myth/JapaneseMythology becomes depicted as a wolf. This is due to a [[DoubleMeaningTitle pun]]. Okami can mean "great god" or "wolf".
149	* Justified in most cases in ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji\|2016}}'' due to the need to incorporate some foreign mythical figures (the ''Hēibái Wúcháng'', vampires) into the Japanese setting, but still comes rather bafflingly with the case of definitely Japanese Tamamo-no-Mae, who's rewritten into [[GenderFlip a man]] here (albeit one [[DudeLooksLikeALady who looks and dresses like a woman]], and by contrast, the ruler of the underworld King Enma being recast as ''[[GenderFlip Lady]]'' Enma.
150	* Some of ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'''s demon designs tend to be more symbolic. Instead of reflecting what the mythological character physically appeared as in their myths, the demon designs incorporates aspects of the myths themselves into them. While often [[ShownTheirWork showing their work]], the results are still at odds with usual physical depictions:
151	** [[MascotMook Cerberus]] is a DoubleSubversion. They are depicted as some sort of lion-wolf with only one head, instead of the three headed canine, in all but three games, due to their portrayal in the original ''Literature/{{Digital Devil Story}}'' novels and anime [[AdaptationDisplacement from which the video games took off]]. But the version with one head is actually the original portrayal. Later portrayals emphasized multiple heads, while varying on the actual number. The idea that they has 3 heads specifically did not sink in until the Renaissance. Therefore, while the 3 headed version is iconic, the one headed version is more accurate but thus unusual.
152	** The Egyptian god Seth is traditionally depicted as an animal that somewhat resembles a jackal, an aardvark, a fox, or a combination all of the above. Not in SMT, however; here, he's depicted as a ''gigantic black dragon''. This is in contrast to all the other Egyptian gods in the series that are accurately portrayed (for example, Horus, Seth's foil, is portrayed as a falcon like in the myths).
153	** Horkos got hit with this twice as of ''[[Videogame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]''. In the Greek myths, Horkos was the personification of curses inflicted on [[TheOathbreaker oath breakers]] and people who make false oaths. Prior to ''Strange Journey'', he was depicted as a HellGate. (a result of his Roman counterpart, Orcus being the ruler of the underworld). ''Strange Journey'' however changed him into a glutenous [[MessyPig pig-like]] beast, who eventually came BackFromTheDead as the HellGate form (now being called Orcus). The two have since [[DecompositeCharacter became separate demons]].
154	** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' featured several unusual demon and boss designs. Of note is Lucifer. In IV he looks like a bald man with white skin (actually being a leather bodysuit) and a red outfit. In ''Apocalypse'', he resembles a man with very dark grey skin dressed in shining gold and residing on a golden sun throne. His wings are actually the twelve rays of light from his sun throne. He also lacks the empathy for Humanity and most of his ability to manipulate people. [[spoiler:the duology's incarnation is actually a part of Satan. In previous games and Judaic tradition, the two were considered separate beings, and in Christian tradition, Lucifer is believed to taken the identity of Satan after his fall.]]
155	** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' also has Odin, who is depicted as a Gold and Blue Ultraman-like humanoid without the beard (although [=MegaTen's=] other incarnations of Odin usually don't have facial hair to begin with, and would still fall under AmazingTechnicolorPopulation with his purple skin).
156	** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'''s version of Quetzalcoatl is visually accurate and appealing, it's his ''behavior'' that is diametrically opposite to his original myth: while the Quetalcoatl of the Mesoamerican cosmogony is a staunch defender of humanity (and its creator in the current universe), one of the few Aztec deities with an aversion for human sacrifice, and all around considered the nicest guy in a pantheon full of bloodthirsty gods and goddesses, ''Apocalypse'' depicts him as a merciless, human-eating OmnicidalManiac who wants to destroy the current humanity so he can regain his status as Sun God in the universe created by the Divine Powers.
157	** Also from ''Apocalypse'', the games version of the Celtic deity Dagda is pretty much unrecognizable from his mythological counterpart. In the myth, Dagda is pretty much the definition of BigFun, wanting nothing more than to drink, eat, fight and have lots of sex. The games version of him meanwhile is portrayed as a StrawNihilist who constantly spouts anti friendship speeches and the like while also sporting a very skeletal design.
158	** Some of the angels also play with the trope. While several of them go for the WingedHumanoid depiction, and others subvert it by using Talmudic depictions, Metatron and his twin Sandalphon are depicted as more machine than man. Symbolic of YHVH's desires for absolute control over humanity. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' extends the mechanical aspect to the four Archangels, but goes for a more [[EldritchAbomination eldritch aesthetic]], with faces not on their heads but on other parts of the body. All of them angelic demons are usually fanatical followers of YHVH and his [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill ideology]].
159	** The VideoGameRemake of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', on the other hand, [[WordOfGod deliberately tries to buck tradition]] with its new demon designs. For instance, Demeter, Mother Goddess, goddess of the harvest, and mother of Persephone, and who [[MamaBear once withheld the fertility of the soil and nearly starved humanity to death when her daughter was kidnapped by Hades]], is now a little girl in a floral dress and a bough decorated with a skull motif.
160	** Zeus has had... [[BrokenBase controversial]] interpretations. He [[VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII first showed up]] as a ball of lightning with a face on it. [[VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth Then he was]] a hulking HumongousMecha with a WingedHumanoid [[BishonenLine core]]. [[VideoGameRemake More]] [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney recently]], he's literally half-evil god, half-horrifying demon, on [[WordOfGod the designer's word]] that he saw Zeus' {{Jerkass}} side that way.
161	* In ''VideoGame/{{Spellstone}}'', the great titan Atlas is the immensely powerful god of the Wyld, a magical faction [[NatureHero in tune with nature]], and becomes a boss when he arises to "[[GaiasVengeance slay all enemies of nature]]". He is depicted as an enormous, green-skinned {{cyclops}} covered in tree bark that coils around him and forms parts of his body. In Myth/ClassicalMythology, Atlas has no such association with nature, and was instead punished with holding up the heavens for all eternity.
162	* In ''VideoGame/TooHuman'', the Jormungandr is a type of massive war machine created by Ymir, of which only one survives to the time of the game. In the original myths, Jormungandr is a gigantic serpent coiling around the world keeping it together, and Ymir is already dead by the time Jormungandr's parents are born.
163	[[/folder]]
164
165	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
166	* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Unlike some of the other Heroic Spirits, who were merely derived from their myths and were not the real figures (and thus are more subject to changes over time). Saber made a deal with the world to become a Heroic Spirit herself. [[spoiler:This means that in that universe King Arthur is female.]]
167	[[/folder]]
168
169	[[folder:Webcomics]]
170	* ''Webcomic/LoreOlympus'' changes up the characterization of a number of the Greek Gods. The most jarring would have to be Hestia: in the original myths she was a kind, motherly figure, while here she's a SlutShaming jackass.
171	[[/folder]]
172
173	[[folder:Western Animation]]
174	* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': Pandora. For one thing, she was turned by PandorasBox into a supernatural being who guards the Box from being opened. In the actual myth, Pandora is the first woman in the world, and she opens the Box because she can't resist the SchmuckBait.
175	* ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyHercules'': Daedalus was a skilled and cunning craftsman in [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]], not the flying sorcerer whose only motivation is [[ForTheEvulz the Evulz]] that the show would have you believe.
176	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SadlyMythcharacterized