Greek mythology usually involves gods, heroes, supernatural beings, and stories of the ancient world. Yet, Greek myths became weapons of political satire in the past two centuries, giving them relevance to current affairs of the time.
In the 18th century, cartoonists discovered that figures such as Hercules, Midas, Pandora, Scylla and Charybdis could be transformed into recognizable symbols of political power, greed, incompetence and corruption. By placing contemporary politicians inside familiar mythological stories, artists could make complicated political arguments both entertaining and insulting. Among the most successful practitioners of this technique was the British caricaturist James Gillray (1756–1815), whose prints demonstrate how classical mythology could be turned into a visual language of political satire.
The popularity of Greek mythology among educated 18th-century Britons made it particularly suitable for political cartoons. Classical education was an important part of elite culture, while neoclassicism had made ancient Greek and Roman subjects fashionable in art and architecture. A cartoonist therefore did not need to explain every reference. A politician represented as Hercules immediately suggested strength and heroic achievement; Midas suggested greed and an obsession with money; Pandora suggested the release of troublesome consequences; and the monsters of Greek mythology could represent political enemies or unsolvable problems. The myth supplied a ready-made story, while the cartoonist altered its meaning to suit a contemporary political satire.
Gillray’s Midas
One of the clearest examples is Gillray’s “Midas, Transmuting All into Paper” (1797). The cartoon transforms the ancient King Midas into a caricature of William Pitt the Younger, the British prime minister. In the Greek myth, Midas receives the power to turn everything he touches into gold. What initially appears to be a miraculous gift becomes a curse because material wealth cannot satisfy him. Gillray adapts this story to attack Pitt’s financial policies. Instead of turning objects into literal gold, his Midas transforms everything into paper money. The image includes references to Britain’s financial system, public credit and the national debt. Pitt is therefore presented not as a wise economic statesman but as a ridiculous ruler whose obsession with money has become pathological.
The power of this cartoon lies in the transformation of a complex political debate into a simple visual joke. Gillray did not need a long political argument explaining his opposition to Pitt’s financial policies. The audience already knew the Greek myth of Midas. Once Pitt was identified with the foolish king, the criticism became immediate: a politician who turns everything into money is greedy, foolish and ultimately destructive.
Hercules retires
A second striking example is “Hercules Reposing” (1799), part of Gillray’s New Pantheon of Democratic Mythology. Here, Charles James Fox, the leading Whig opposition politician, is represented as Hercules. At first this might appear flattering. Hercules was the great Greek hero, famous for his strength and twelve labors. Gillray, however, deliberately reverses the heroic meaning. Fox is shown resting rather than performing heroic labors. His weapons and heroic attributes have been damaged or rendered useless, while the lion skin traditionally associated with Hercules becomes the skin of an ass. His political retirement is therefore turned into a joke about weakness, inactivity and declining reputation.
The choice of the Greek mythical hero is particularly effective because the cartoonist takes an image traditionally associated with extraordinary power and makes it ridiculous. Fox had withdrawn from active parliamentary politics after political defeats, and Gillray presents this withdrawal as the behaviour of a supposedly great hero who has abandoned his labors. The symbolism is reinforced by the figure of Fame, whose statue appears to be falling in the background. In other words, Fox may imagine himself a Hercules, but Gillray suggests that history is already forgetting him. The British parliamentary collection records the print as part of Gillray’s New Pantheon, while historical commentary explains its connection with Fox’s political retirement.
Hercules kills the Hydra
Even more aggressive is the 1784 cartoon “The Royal Hercules Destroying the Dragon Python.” In this image, King George III is represented as Hercules attacking a political Hydra. The monster has three heads representing leading Whig opponents: Charles James Fox, Lord North and Edmund Burke. The image appeared in the aftermath of a parliamentary struggle and an election victory for the king’s supporters. Hercules therefore becomes a symbol of royal strength, while the Hydra represents the many-headed opposition that the king has supposedly defeated.
The Hydra was an especially useful mythological symbol because it represented an enemy that could appear to regenerate. In the ancient story, Hercules discovers that cutting off one of the Hydra’s heads does not necessarily solve the problem because more heads can appear. In political satire, this becomes a perfect metaphor for parliamentary opposition: defeat one political opponent and another appears. Gillray’s cartoon therefore does more than simply portray George III as strong. It presents a political conflict as a heroic battle between order and a monstrous enemy.
‘Pandora Opening Her Box’
Another fascinating example is “Pandora Opening Her Box” (1809). The ancient story of Pandora explains how human suffering and evil entered the world after Pandora opened a forbidden container. Gillray adapted this myth to a contemporary political scandal involving Mary Anne Clarke and Frederick, Duke of York, the commander-in-chief of the British army. Clarke had been accused of selling military commissions and appointments through her influence, leading to a parliamentary investigation.
In Gillray’s cartoon, Clarke becomes Pandora. Instead of a mythical box, she holds a container labelled the “Opposition Stink Box.” From it emerge snakes representing accusations such as lies, deceit, perjury and calumny. The image turns a complicated scandal into a familiar mythological narrative: Pandora has opened the container and released a collection of political evils into public life. The metaphor also allowed Gillray to attack the opposition’s motives, suggesting that the revelations were being exploited for political revenge.
The element of Irony
Gillray’s use of Greek mythology demonstrates an important characteristic of political cartoons: their meaning depends upon shared cultural knowledge. A modern reader may need a historical explanation to understand every figure, label and political reference. An eighteenth-century viewer, however, was much more likely to recognize Hercules, Midas or Pandora immediately. Mythology provided the cartoonist with a visual shorthand. Instead of inventing a new symbol for greed, Gillray could use Midas. Instead of explaining the consequences of a political scandal, he could show Pandora opening her box. Instead of describing a powerful political victory, he could portray the king as Hercules defeating a monster.
There is also an important element of irony in these images. Gillray did not simply illustrate ancient myths; he deliberately distorted them. Hercules becomes lazy, Midas becomes a politician obsessed with paper money, and Pandora becomes a political scandal-maker. The humor comes from the contrast between the dignity of the classical original and the absurdity of the contemporary politician. This contrast makes the satire sharper. A politician represented as an ordinary fool might be amusing, but a politician represented as a failed version of a legendary hero is humiliating.
The technique remains significant because it reveals that political satire is often most powerful when it combines the familiar with the contemporary. Gillray took stories that audiences already knew and gave them new political meanings. In doing so, he proved that an ancient myth could become a remarkably modern weapon—and that a cartoon could sometimes say more about a government, a politician or a political crisis than pages of conventional argument.
Thomas Rowlandson and the infant Hercules
Another British illustrator who used Hercules as a political satire figure was Thomas Rowlandson. During his time, the politicians Charles James Fox, William Pitt and Richard Brinsley Sheridan were recurring characters in Great Britain’s political affairs. Their personalities became familiar through years of caricature. Fox was portrayed as the socialite, gambler and womanizer. Pitt as serious, reclusive and stiff. And Sheridan as a failing, bankrupt politician with a fondness for drink.
The artists could then place these recognizable figures inside equally familiar myths. In “The Infant Hercules drawing”, Thomas Rowlandson depicts the young Pitt as Hercules, fighting off two serpents representing politicians Fox and Lord North.
At first glance, Pitt is the hero. But the joke is more complicated. By portraying him as an infant, Rowlandson also mocks his youth and inexperience. Pitt became prime minister in 1783 at the age of just 24. His shield hints at the protection afforded by his father’s political legacy: William Pitt the Elder had also been prime minister.
The American political illustrations
The American illustrators were not behind in using Greek mythology themes in political satire. In 1883, the political satire magazine Puck used an illustration of the Oedipus and the Sphinx myth to describe the difficult riddle of the 1882-1885 crisis that ravaged America’s economy. Artist Helmut F. Graetz drew a man standing in despair before the Sphinx. The mythical creature prepares to seize yet another victim who is unable to answer the great riddle of the age: the economic question.
The myth of Sisyphus, the man condemned by the Greek gods to roll a huge round rock on top of a hill only to roll back down when it was pushed high enough, was used by Puck magazine. The September 4, 1904 cover shows George Cortelyou – Chairman of the Republican National Committee in the president Theodore Roosevelt re-election campaign – as Sisyphus rolling a large boulder labeled “Majority for Roosevelt” up a steep hill. In this case, however, Sisyphus did manage to push the boulder up the hill as Roosevelt was actually re-elected president.
The survival of these illustrations involving Greek myths demonstrates their lasting power and their use in political satire. Their original political circumstances have largely disappeared, yet the mythological symbolism remains understandable. A modern audience may not know every detail of British parliamentary politics in 1797 or 1809, or American politics of the late 19th and early 20th century, but the basic associations of Midas with greed, Hercules with strength, the Pandora box with the troublesome consequences, and other myths remain recognizable.
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