2010 has been a renaissance of sorts for mythology. With Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief gracing theatres, and the remake of Clash of the Titans on tap, it’s almost fitting that the History Channel’s Clash of the Gods arrives on home video between the two films.
Exploring the mythos of the ancient world, and their connection to both reality and modern religion, Clash of the Gods takes the History’s Channel unorthodox approach to academia to what could be relatively dry material. It’s engaging and interesting, developing a narrative and finding interesting detours along the way of topics to keep it from being boring.
Mainly focusing on the more famous Greek mythology, with stops in Norse mythology sporadically, the first season focuses mainly on the more known myths and characters from classic Greek mythology. Bringing in experts from all across the spectrum, each show has a laser focus on its particular topic, mixing in recreations and animation of famous mythological events/characters to keep it from being merely a series of lectures and talking points from academic experts.
Exploring the myth itself in some detail, they discuss the historical aspects behind the myths and how they came to be. It’s interesting to hear how the myths came to be and how they relate to the atmosphere of the time they come from. It gives a unique perspective to the myths and their particular meaning in a cultural subtext.
Presented in a widescreen format with a Dolby surround, Blu-Ray is an excellent format for this show. This is a show that has a lot of animation and recreations that come through wonderfully.
None.
When it comes to exploring the legends that helped shape ancient society, nothing tops Clash of the Gods in sheer entertainment value for the educational set.
The History Channel presents Clash of the Gods. Running time: 7 hours, 50 minutes. Not Rated. Released on Blu-ray: March 16, 2010. Available at Amazon.com.
