Support Group Olympus (2023)

"Support Group Olympus" (10).

Support Group Olympus

    Directed and written by Jimmy Francis, Support Group Olympus follows the lives of a few Greek gods and goddesses as they are "now living among the rest of us in modern day society bereft of the former powers, a handful of the ancient Greek Gods are forced into joint group therapy sessions in order to qualify for continued welfare support" (10).

Classic Greek Mythology of the Characters:

Aphrodite: She is one of the Olympian goddesses and represents beauty, love, and desire (1). 

Ares: He is one of the Olympian gods and is the god of war. Ares is occasionally referred to as the 'unloved god' as he represents destruction and is known for his brutality and violence (2). 

Athena: She is another one of the Olympian goddesses and is the goddess of war and wisdom. She is very well liked by others and was never swayed by passion or love (3).

Atlas: He is one of the most well known Titan and is represented as a globe (4).

Dionysus: He is another one of the Olympian gods and represents fertility and wine. It has been said that Dionysus created wine and that he is a god that was not worshipped (5).

Hermes: He is another one of the Olympian gods and is the messenger of the gods. He is also known to be a trickster and a god of flocks, commerce, thieves, and roads. Due to his messenger ability, he was the only Olympian that could visit both the living and the dead (7).

Poseidon: He is another one of the Olympian gods and is the god of the sea. He is known to be ill-tempered and violent (9).

How does this film adapt these stories to current times?

In order from left to right: 
Aphrodite, Hermes, Ares, and Athena (10).

Ares: 

    The film opens up with Ares speaking on the phone with a man named Jeff and is quite rude with the man; using derogatory and curse words to talk to him. He later is found in the gym and is called a 'normal man' by one of the other gym goers which results in him saying "Don't call me that" (10). He then heads over to one of the benches to begin working out, but adds too much weight to it. Someone jumps in to help him lift the weight off of his body as it looks as though he is about to crush himself. Once the weight is returned to it's original place, he gets up from the bench and begins fighting with the man, the scene then cuts to Ares in prison. I would have to say that this part does a pretty good job at depicting how Ares is as a Greek god. He uses violence to express his emotions and in this moment, he is very angry with the person. 

    Any time that Ares is on screen, he has a very angry demeanor and is quite aggressive. He raises his voice, makes awful comments to and about others and overall does not seem to have a positive bone in his body. This can be tied into his story as he is known for his brutality. Others seem to be offended, scared, and distant from him which also ties into the theme of Ares being an "unliked god'.

Hermes:

    In the film, the next person that we are introduced to is Hermes. Hermes is found in an office sorting male and when offered a higher up position, he asks if he can continue to deliver the male. He is told no as his supervisor did not understand why he would continue to be concerned with the mail if he was being offered a higher position; he is then fired from his job. I feel as though this is an accurate representation of Hermes in Greek mythology as he is referred to the messenger of the gods. Being a messenger is any setting typically has something to do with sharing of news and in some cases that involves the mail.

    In a later scene, Poseidon is in the hospital due to him passing out in his home. When Hermes, Ares, Athena, and Aphrodite go to the hospital and we can see that due to Ares's hostility, Hermes becomes the main form of communication between the nurse and Ares. This again brings up the idea of Hermes being the messenger of the gods. 

    When in one of the first group therapy scenes, Hermes is asked a question regarding what is most important, he responds with "Gift of messages, communication. It's the most important thing people have ever received" (10).

Aphrodite:

    We are introduced to Aphrodite a bit after and is in not the best place. In order to get money, she is paid by a man to have sex with him. As she is the goddess of love and desire, this makes sense. 

    When in a group therapy session with Ares, Athena, and Hermes, she is asked a question and responds with believing that love is "the emotion that connects your consciousness to your soul. Love is the only thing that can make the world survive" (10). This goes hand in hand with what Aphrodite stands for as a goddess.

    I would say that beside the scenes of the therapy sessions, the scenes that only show Aphrodite are ones where she is getting ready for a sexual act. I feel that this plays into the part of Aphrodite being the goddess of love and desire.

Atlas:

    We are introduced to Atlas in a few scenes; one in which is a conversation between Ares and himself. In this scene, we see Atlas holding a globe on his back. This is fitting as he is represented by a globe. 

Athena:

    In one of the therapy sessions, we see Athena sitting amongst Ares, Aphrodite, and Hermes. When the therapist poses a question to the group, Athena responds with "Athena knows that more important to any emotion is knowledge, wisdom" (10) . This goes to show what she stands for as a goddess.

Poseidon:

    When introduced to Poseidon, he is sitting in his home staring at a fish tank. This is fitting as he is the god of the seas. All of the other times that we see Poseidon, he is bed ridden in a hospital as he fainted in his home in front of Ares. When Ares goes to visit Poseidon's home, the fish tank that housed his fish, the fish are found to be dead. I find that quite interesting as he is in the hospital which in turn makes his fish sick. This can be tied to the fact that Poseidon is the god of the sea and when things happen to him, things also happen to the sea/sea life.

Dionysus:

    When we are introduced to Dionysus and anytime that he is on screen, he can be seen drinking a bottle of wine. This is accurate to his character as he is the god of wine.

Does the film do an accurate representation of each god and goddess's symbols?

"Olympian Gods Symbols"

    In the movie, the therapist requests that Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, and Hermes bring an item that is of importance to them. Athena brings an olive branch that was placed in Athens and is the reason that the city is named after her, Aphrodite brings wedding invitations, Hermes brings letters that are meaningful to him, and Ares brings his 'trust avenger' which is covered in the blood of Halirrhothius. The fact that it has dried blood on it startles the therapist, but Ares talks about it with pride.

    Taking a look at the picture on the right, this shows each symbol that are associated with the Olympian gods and goddesses. Knowing this, the movie does not use the exact same symbols that are more commonly known, however, the symbols shown in the movie still correspond with what each of them stand for. I feel as though this could still represent each of the characters.

    To learn more about the importance of symbols in Greek mythology, please click this link.

What do I believe this adaptation add to the representation of Greek Mythology?

    I feel that this movie does a great job at showing an accurate representation of each god and goddess discussed. Although there are some differences from the classic myths, this movie shows main components of the characters. 

    During one of the therapy sessions, the therapist brings out a book that explains the god and goddesses stories. They all seem to be pretty turned off by it and state that it does not give an accurate interpretation of what they stand for. I find this to be quite interesting and it brings together the big picture of Greek Mythology; there are many variations of the stories and the characters which I feel is accurately portrayed in the film. 

    I found the concept of the film to be fascinating as it was very interesting to see the was things could be if these great gods and goddesses are to be made human. Seeing them experience daily struggles that we do as humans is very interesting especially what they are capable of doing. It allows viewers to have a different perspective of them and gives them struggles that we face on a day-to-day basis; ones that are not experienced by the gods and goddesses.

    While this movie is quite 'under the radar' and there are not many sources about it, it is still a great film to watch. Being able to see a few of the gods and goddesses become human, it gives it more of a real-life idea and allows viewers to put themselves in the shoes of the characters. The movie is available on Amazon Prime, so if you have the chance, I highly recommend that you check it out. Thank you for reading.

Works Cited

1. "Aphrodite: Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty." Greek Mythology, https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Aphrodite/aphrodite.html. Accessed 26 March 2025
2. "Ares: Greek War God." Greek Mythology https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Ares/ares.html. Accessed 26 March 2025
3. "Athena: Greek Goddess of Wisdom and War." Greek Mythology https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Athena/athena.html. Accessed 26 March 2025
4. "Atlas: Titan." Greek Mythology https://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Atlas/atlas.html. Accessed 26 March 2025
5. Dionysus: Greek God of Fertility and Wine." Greek Mythology, https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Ares/ares.html. Accessed 26 March 2025
6. Francis, Jimmy, director. Support Group Olympus. 2023.
7. "Hermes: The Messenger of the Gods." Greek Mythology, https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Hermes/hermes.html. Accessed 26 March 2025.
8. Ng, Alan. "Support Group Olympus." Film Threat, 31 January 2025 https://filmthreat.com/reviews/support-group-olympus/. Accessed 26 March 2025.
9. "Poseidon: Greek God of the Sea." Greek Mythology, https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Poseidon/poseidon.html. Accessed 26 March 2025.
10. "Support Group Olympus." IMDb, 2023, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8027910/. Accessed 26 March 2025.