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Mythology was probably not meant to be this funny. But here we are... Greek gods behaving badly, Norse deities flexing their drama, and ancient Egyptians making today's soap operas seem mild.
Petty squabbles, chaos and over-the-top plot twists are the stuff that myths are made of. Add a modern spin to the mix, in the form of a meme, and suddenly, centuries-old becomes comedy gold.
These bite-sized bits of content aren't just entertaining, they're educational too. If you ever found yourself zoning out during a boring mythology class, now's your chance to catch up, while laughing your way through the lesson.
There's a whole online community dedicated to, and aptly called, Mythology Memes - and we're here for it. Bored Panda has put together a list of their best posts for you to scroll through when that reality show you're currently watching becomes a bit too boring. So grab your ambrosia, kick back like a god or goddess, and keep scrolling. Let the drama begin!
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The word Mythology comes from the Greek words "mythos," which means story-of-the-people, and "logos," which translates to speech. Basically, it's the spoken story of a people.
Myths weren't really meant to be funny. The stories were created to teach people about something important and meaningful. Often, concepts that were hard to understand. Like illness and death, or earthquakes and floods. Good and evil; the meaning of suffering; human origins; the origin of place-names, animals, cultural values, and traditions; the meaning of life; the afterlife; and of course, celestial stories of the gods or a god.
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The Ancient Greeks believed that gods and goddesses controlled every aspect of every person's life. And therefore, they prayed to the gods for help and protection.
They also offered up gifts for them, always trying to stay in the good books. If the gods were unhappy with someone, they would mete out punishment. Or so the Greeks thought.
#6
Rip
Dan | Play Solo D&D:
It figures it would take a cat statue to find a way around the whole can’t move unless they blink rule.
In case some of the memes have flown over your head, or you've forgotten who is who, here's a quick refresher:
Zeus was the leader of the gods, and believed to be in charge of rain and the sky. Hera was his wife, and the goddess of marriage and childbirth. Poseidon was the god of the sea. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and Hades was the god of the Underworld, where the dead lived. Ares was known as god of war and battle.
One of the most well-known Greek myths is that of Demeter, goddess of grain and the harvest, and her daughter Persephone, the Queen of the Dead.
"In this story, Persephone is kidnapped by Hades, god of the underworld, and brought down to his dark realm. Demeter searches desperately everywhere for the maiden but cannot find her," explains the World History site.
"During this time of Demeter's sorrow, the crops fail and people starve and the gods are not given their due. Zeus, king of the gods, orders Hades to restore Persephone to her mother and Hades obliges but, because Persephone has eaten a certain number of pomegranate seeds while in the underworld, she has to spend half the year below the earth but could enjoy the other half with her mother in the world above."
If you read between the lines, the story explains how the seasons change in Greece.
"When it was warm and the fields were bountiful, Persephone was with her mother and Demeter was happy and causes the world to bloom; in the cold and rainy season, when Persephone was below the earth with Hades as his queen, Demeter mourned and the land was barren," the site explains.
The myth also breaks down how people learned to cultivate the earth.
#14
90% Of Slavic Mythical Creatures Are Basically Old Men And Women
ReformedYordle:
To be fair, there are lots of great mythical creatures, you just have to delve deeper into the mythology.
#15
Egyptian Myths In Five Words
EnFulEn:
Set, the god of b**ching, whining, and taking things a bit too far.
Some other well-known myths include that the one about a woman called Pandora, who opened up a box full of all the bad things in the world, and let them out. That's where the "Pandora's box" phrase comes from.
The Theseus and the Minotaur myth is about a prince who chases a monster through a labyrinth to save the woman he loves. While the one about two inventors called Icarus and Daedalus follows them as they try to build wings in order to fly away from prison.
Then, there's Perseus and the Gorgon. This myth is about a man called Perseus who has to deal with a woman who has the ability to turn people into stone, just by looking at them.
#18
Narcissus
tycho-42:
My favorite joke comes from the Disney Hercules movie. The gods are all on Olympus for Herc's birthday and Hermes says "I haven't seen this much love in the room since narcissus discovered a mirror"
#20
Hephaestus Deserved Way Better Than Hera Tbh
That-Brain-Nerd:
Clearly she isn't the goddess of functional family.
#22
Based Prometheus
Anon:
Now that you mention it, I think Jesus also stole my Pringles. There weren't a lot left so he probably thought I wouldn't notice. Wellp, I noticed...
#23
I Like Hades, He Is Just Chilling Around With His Wife And His Doggo
AfricaByToto3412:
Most underworld Gods get this treatment, regardless of actual alignment. (The main culprits are usually Hades, Anubis and Hel).
#24
What Are This Sub's Thoughts On Good-Boyification?
Fremen-to-the-end-05:
Cerberus was always a good boy, he made sure the living and the dead were properly separated and obeyed his owners without question.
#25
Thor Goin To Niffleheim What He Gonna Do
Marvins_creed:
I mean yeah, mythological Thor could wipe the floor with marvel's Thor.
#26
Someone Failed Their Religion Check
hexidemos:
This is fine, he's off fathering basterds, and she's plotting their downfall.
MrS0bek:
To be honest without divine stakes it is much less awesome. Like imagine a small town where she is a teacher at the only school or so and he fathers kids with the local baker, barrista, gardener, tourist guide etc.pp.
#29
You Need To Work Hard To Get Something For Free
probablyblocked:
Just wait until they find the skeletons of an extinct species of bird people.
#31
Greek Mythology Be Like
FerretAres:
Except Dienekes. The gods know not to f**k with him unless they want to get stabbed.
#32
Mind-Blowing
SamuelCish:
I'd never forgive my daughter if she was born not only from my head, but also wearing full armor. She'd be grounded before her feet touch the ground.
#33
The Asians Need More Love
Anon:
There's probably a meme in Korean or mandarin out there somewhere complaining about how little they are exposed to Norse mythology.
#36
Sisyphus, The Boundless. He’s Done With His Punishment
AsexualPlantMain:
Nah man, this thing's trying to tell you you're fated to die soon.
#37
LOL
Cloakbot:
There's a happy ending, folks. He gets pay back by cursing Hera in the timeout chair while the rest of the gods got to play Musical Chairs!
#38
Stumbled Across This Gem
jubtheprophet:
Pretty sure he's meant to hold up the sky/celestial sphere not the earth but aye maybe he switched to using his legs cause his shoulders hurt and now he's regretting his not easily reversible decision.
#45
Great Artemis, Goddess Of The Moon
Phoebus-Apollo:
They better not be lesbians or I would have to k*ll them all like I did to Orion.
#47
Athena Wise Odysseus Pet Liar
I-cant-do-that:
Athena with Achilles: 'hey buddy, it's not a good idea to k**l the most powerful king in Greece in his own tent surrounded by his soldiers. Let's try and think through our actions first.'
Athena with Odysseus: "Dude, this is a crazy idea but I totally think you could pull it off..."
#48
Isn't This Like The Opposite Of What Simp Means
freckledcas:
He did cheat on her, but only once.
#49
I Don't Think There Was A Literal Equivalent To Satan In Greek Mythology, Maybe Eris But Still That's Not It
#52
Do We All Agree On This?
EntranceKlutzy951:
No. Only Ovid explicitly paints Medusa an innocent victim. No other version explicitly states she was innocent. No other version explicitly states Poseidon raped her. We in the modern read that into the other versions because of Ovid.
Athena has no reason to be mad at Medusa unless Medusa betrayed her. Athena is not Artemis. She is not inherently offended by women losing their virginity. She is not only the wisodm goddess, she is a justice goddess to boot, and the justice deity who proclaimed rape a crime. Athena is also the goddess who aided Perseus to k*ll Medusa.
In order to call Medusa a victim, in order to call Poseidon a rapist, you also have to call Athena unjust. You also throw a massive wrench in the story of Perseus.
About a century before Ovid wrote Metamorphosis, Athens rebelled against Rome. This left a bad taste in the mouth on both sides of the conflict. Ovid may have been commissioned to frame Athens as horrible, and one way to do that would be demonizing two of their most significant deities (Athena and Poseidon). Ovid did eventually get himself exiled, but the evidence that Metamorphosis played a role in that exile is weak. It was most likely his abrasiveness with authority and Octavian's short fuse that got him exiled. It seems like it must have been Ovid's poor attitude, as even Tiberius wouldn't lift his exile.
#53
No? Just My Friend Group Then
MonkeyTail29:
I guess I would be the Atropos in this metaphor.
#57
Damn
Thatzflow:
And then he accidentally k**led his dad years later. Damn, drama really did help me learn some Greek mythology.
#62
Pointing My Finger At The Headline Like A Sleeper Agent Seeing A Vague Codeword And Coming Out Of The Woodwork
#63
I Was Going To Make An Oedipus Meme But Then I Realised That This Applies To Basically Everyone
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What do you think ?
Ellinor she/they/elle 7 months ago (edited)
I know it's all humour but quick fact, us Hellenistic Polytheists actually don't believe in the literal myths. They were written by humans as moral tales but they aren't the absolute truth (but these posts were still very funny)
Shoopyfloop Roundbird 7 months ago
One of the best lists in a while. Absolute bangers all the way. 🤣🤣🤣
Ellinor she/they/elle 7 months ago (edited)
I know it's all humour but quick fact, us Hellenistic Polytheists actually don't believe in the literal myths. They were written by humans as moral tales but they aren't the absolute truth (but these posts were still very funny)
Shoopyfloop Roundbird 7 months ago
One of the best lists in a while. Absolute bangers all the way. 🤣🤣🤣
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