ACOTAR Is Secretly A Retelling Of Greek Myth, Explained
Cher Thompson is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, where she covers everything from explosive reality TV moments to cast interviews about the twists and turns of scripted dramas. With a background in creative writing, marketing, and teaching, Cher knows how to spot both the storytelling genius and the guilty pleasures in pop culture. Her work blends wit with insight, making readers feel like they’re chatting with a friend who just happens to know way too much about TV.
A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas has become a defining piece of the romantasy genre in the modern publishing era, and the heart of the story is secretly a retelling of a heart-wrenching Greek myth. Since the first novel of the series debuted in 2015, ACOTAR has helped push the romantasy genre into the mainstream and ensured that the genre continued to grow more popular. Blending epic fantasy, political intrigue, and a sweeping romance, the series has been one of the most popular and enduring in the genre, spurring a ton of discussion about romantasy.
While much of the discussion surrounding ACOTAR has been about the way the novels draw from fairy tales, with Maas openly discussing the fact that Beauty and the Beast had a heavy influence on the first novel of the series, there are other elements within the series that point to a different inspiration. Though readers can easily point to the influences of fairy tales, the books contain numerous connections to Greek mythology, especially as the story expands far beyond its original premise. The influences of the myths become far more clear when the breadth of Feyre's journey comes to light.
While A Court of Thorns and Roses isn't a direct retelling of a single myth, it incorporates enough recognizable elements of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone to draw a strong comparison. Bringing an intensely difficult Greek myth back to the conversation, ACOTAR uses the story as an inspiration.
Feyre & Rhysand's Story Shares Strong Similarities With Hades And Persephone
The most commonly cited myth said to influence A Court of Thorns and Roses is the story of Hades and Persephone. In Greek mythology, Persephone is taken to the underworld by Hades, and eventually becomes its queen. Originally the goddess of Spring, Persephone's story is a complicated one that involves her being taken to the underworld against her will, but modern retellings mostly focus on the relationship between Hades and Persephone, which is also quite complex. While the narrative isn't an exact match to that of Feyre and Rhysand's, it definitely shares parallels with the story between the ACOTAR leads.
Rhysand initially appears dangerous and morally ambiguous, much like Hades is often portrayed in popular media. Feyre enters his world reluctantly, finding herself drawn into a court that is incredibly different than the assumptions she had about it originally. The Night Court carries a dark reputation and seems dangerous to those outside, but in Feyre's experience, doesn't live up to its initially difficult expectations. The dynamic between the characters, as well as Feyre's misunderstanding of the world around her, mirrors interpretations of the underworld myth, challenging general assumptions about places and people who have been misunderstood for far too long.
Greek Mythology's Themes Shape The Entire ACOTAR World
The influence of Greek mythology within the scope of the ACOTAR series extends far beyond a single story, romance, or character. The entirety of the ACOTAR series feels mythic, as many of its central themes echo those found throughout the most famous of Greek myths. Characters repeatedly experience physical, emotional, and magical transformations as they move through the world and try to find their place. The role of fate within the novels also feels distinctly mythological. Greek myths often explore whether people can escape their destinies, despite them being foretold, and ACOTAR approaches the same question with a genuine curiosity.
Several creatures and magical elements within the series also draw from broad mythological traditions, making Greek mythology only one part of the series' DNA makeup. While many pieces of ACOTAR stem from Celtic folklore, fairy lore, and other long-standing traditions, Maas makes it clear that the books don't need to pull from just one resource. Instead, ACOTAR is able to blend its inspirations in a way that makes the world of the series a whole new space. While ACOTAR isn't a singular retelling or reimagination of a known story, it pulls elements from several different spaces into one phenomenal package.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.