When I watched your (only) "In a minute" video I got an idea that these videos can be for shorter myths (like Demeter turning a boy into a Lizard) or more minor gods and characters that doesn't have myths of their own or didn't appear in a video (like Skadi)
I may be biased, but "I am now a big Greek dragon, I will go spend the rest of my days in the forest with my big Greek dragon wife" is probably one of the most adorable things I've heard out of this mythology
Yeah, with how awful most greek myths are, I was waiting the whole video for the shoe to drop... Follows magic cow? Does it lead him straight to hell? Followers killed by dragon? Is he next? Kills a dragon? Does he get smote? Creates murder happy magic army? Does he get got? Marries a demigoddes? Is this not Aphrodite's OTP? Dude calls out the gods for turning every family holiday into a trip to the graveyard? Do the gods invite him to join his relatives? Lad gets animorphed in his palace? Do his servants go skyrim on their newly dragoned boss? Does his wife go skyrim on her newly dragoned hubby?? The fact he slithered away happy as can be with his wife- who was so dang loyal she double dog dared the gods to pull that stunt again- is a surprise ending to be sure, but 100% a welcome one! What can I say? I'm a sucker for a happy ending
@ofthewilderwoods keep in mind, the Greeks used to think that male and female lions didn't mate with each other, and instead did the baby making with leopards, for some reason, so when couples in Greek myth were turned into lions it was supposed to be a kind of half punishment; you both lived, and can spend the rest of your days together, but you're no longer a true couple.
Well damn, Cadmus might end up taking Perseus' place as my new favourite Greek hero. Cares about his sister, avenges his men instead of forgetting them, clearly cares a lot about his children and grandchildren, doesn't cheat on his wife (as far as we can tell), AND gets to live out the rest of his days as a dragon with his super hot wife, who loved him so much she triple-dog-dared the gods to turn her into a dragon too. What a mad lad.
Avenges his followers, loves his wife, builds a large family, says "do it, no balls" to the gods, refuses to elaborate, presumedly dies with his loving dragon wife
@@juanreyna3852Honestly that makes complete sense! Aphrodite: "Why can't you be more romantic?!" Ares: Desperately avoiding the question until he remembers his daughter and hears her asking to be a dragon. *Turns his daughter into a kickass monster* Ares: "There you go kiddo! And I gave you venomous fangs too!" *Aphrodite completely misunderstanding Ares' priorities* Aphrodite: "Oh Ares! How romantic!"
@@dragonicdoom3772 Ares: I'm so sorry daughter. Would. . would you like me to put him out of his misery? Harmonia: No! no. This actually kind of does it for me. Did you know snakes have two Ares: Yeah fine. Still turning you into a dragon as well. I ain't having a repeat of Pasiphae.
When Aphrodite or Hermes or Zeus tell you to do something, they might have told you because they thought it would be funny. (You still do it, but only because they might get mad otherwise.) When Athena tells you to do something, she told you because it's good advice.
I always read Cadmus' transformation as less 'what are you gonna do, smite me?' and more 'screw it, just get it over with already'. But I've always felt a little bad for Cadmus: he did everything he was asked and still got suffered for it.
@@Archgeek0perhaps perhaps. At least going by what FGO taught me, Beowulf's biggest weapon wasnt his swords but his fists Also that he went shirtless everywhere, which considering its Sweden of who we are talking about I am bound to believe
Just the other day I thought it’s funny how mythical tales have these epic stories with a satisfying climax, the hero gets the reward and then “oh and btw the next year they slipped on a banana and fell off a cliff, ok bye”
ok but honestly anyone crazy enough to do all of those heroic things probably would be so complacent in retirement that they would just crack their head open on some stairs.
To be fair, that's how many lives end. You can be the best soldier, greatest scientist, a hero to thousands, just some cool dude - but you are never 100%-proof from one unlucky stumble shattering your skull/pelvis/ multiple of vital organs
Fate can be cruel to even the innocent, the fates themselves can weave one's life span like a spider weaving its web 🕸 but its their will to make once death peaceful or tragic. who is to argue with the work of the fates
Not-so-fun fact: In some versions, Hephaestus forged a necklace cursed to bring its wearer horrible misfortune and gave it to Harmonia as revenge for her being Ares and Aphrodite’s child (yeah it’s messed up), and that’s why so many horrible things happen to Harmonia and the family. She wears it, Semele was wearing it when Hera tricked her, and eventually Jocasta ended up with it during the whole Oedipus thing
@@johnnygyro2295doesnt greek mythology end by ares having ebough of everyone's bullshit and starting an all out war against olympus ending with zeus promising to cut all ties with humanity?
She’s also the Goddess of Harmony herself, so the next time you think “Harmony” means limp wristed compliance to threats of injustice, just remember her story.
Cadmus, up against an enormous fuck you dragon: "Ah yes. Time to deploy the greatest battle strategy known to man! *Throw rocks at it from a distance..."*
Him asking the gods to smite him seems more like a desperate act of self-sacrifice by a man trying to protect whatever family he has left than an act of foolishness or hubris.
3:47 WAIT WAIT WAIT, so Semele is the mother of Dionysus, so that makes him the grandkid of Harmonia, great nephew of Europe AND the great grandkid of Aphrodite and Ares?? I swear Dionysus has the most crazy family tree of all the gods!
0:10 FunFact: "…and they lived happily ever after," is an _English fairytale ending._ In the _German_ versions of the [Brothers Grimm's] fairytales, they all end with this: "…and if they're still alive today, then they still live like this." The "like this" being whatever happy status the protagonists were in at the very end. ----- _Edit:_ So, I've dug out my copy of „Kinder und Hausmärchen“ from the Brothers Grimm, and have looked at the endings of several of the fairy tales. It seems that _most_ of them just end, no "happily ever after." Another group end with something to the effect of, "and they lived happy/comfortable/peacefully/with good luck/satisfied until their end/death." There's one case with a very strange ending of, …"and if they haven't died, then they're still alive." There's also an ending that goes, "…and they may well still be alive today." Why I have that, "…and if they're still alive today, then they still live like this," ending stuck in my head, I don't know. However, it's been _35 years_ since I had to read Grimms' „Kinder und Hausmärchen“ and both volumes of Grimms' "German Legends" for a proseminar while I was in 1989 for a semester at the University of Mainz. So, who knows what my memory's doing. 😉
Extra FunFact: In Polish, "happily ever after" is translated as "they lived long and happy lives". Which does not imply that it was perfect, mind you, just that it was long and fortuitous overall. I never thought it was TOO unrealistic, especially with the implication that they DID probably die of old age eventually.
I like the ending that shows up in some Scottish fairy tales: "They lived happy and died happy and ne'er drank out o' a dry cappy" (never drank out of a dry cup). It implies happiness and prosperity for the rest of their natural lives.
Cadmus sister: gets kidnapped Cadmus dad: is so distraught about losing a child, he is more then ready to banish the other one… I think I know who the favourite child is
If I do remember correctly, Cadmus sworn an oath to the gods that he would be back with his sister or not be back at all. His father HAD to banish him or the whole people had to suffer.
The Gods: *ruins Cadmus's entire family* Cadmus: "WELL, YOU MIGHT AS WELL MAKE IT A FULL SET!" The Gods: "Okay, but we're not doing it just because you asked."
from his perspective His sister Europa is gone His daughters Ino and Semele gone His three grandchildren , Actaeon , Melicertes and Learchus gone His son in law Athamas mad His 4 sons alive
@@SirsasthNigam. ...huh, that is some list of names... You know people usually measure the Greek cycle by certain people and or events, but it would be fascinating to do the whole thing from Cadmos' pov.
Yesssssss, love the return of the "Get Wrecked, Boat Boy" frame, it's honestly one of my favourite OSP scenes of all time, and it has some strong competition in that video (Medea) 💜
Honestly, getting turned into a big fuck-off dragon in the first place sounds more like a reward than a punishment. And then your spouse gets the same treatment? As long as you don't mind packing up shop any time some doofus with a pointy stick finds your residence, that's a genuine "And they lived happily ever after until the end of their days" moment. Unless, of course, dragons are actually immortal until killed, at which point we can assume they're still Draggin' around somewhere.
1:02 Complete sidenote, but to this day it is amazing that the major moons of Jupiter have been named after the most notable women that Zeus boinked/abducted without his consent, couldn't have gone for anything better.
I just finished this video and I am surprised that Red Glossed over 2 things: 1. Cadmus is widely considered to be the first hero. DC Fans who remember Project Cadmus, the government program to make artificial superheroes to fight the Justice League; It was called that because they were the first heroes that the government can trust and because Cadmus was the first hero who was not also a demigod. 2. The giant snake monster was sacred to Ares the God of War. After Cadmus killed it, Ares demanded that Cadmus basically be his servant for 7 years. When he finished his service, Ares respected the heck out of Cadmus for taking the indentured servitude like a man and not being hubristic that he let her marry Harmonia, who was Ares' daughter with Aphrodite.
@@s0ph053 Hera was still mad about Europa (Since she couldn't be angry about his philandering husband), and the woman can carry a grudge harder than a Traitor Space Marine.
@@daviddaugherty2816I was just about to mention that. I wonder why Red only spoke about Hera and her issue with Zeus and Europa rather than just leaving this bit with Hephaestus as an Easter egg? Why the omission?
Turning into an enormous dragon to live out your days in peace with your also turned into a dragon wife is such a blissfully happy ending for a greek hero that I have to question how accurate it is.
Can you imagine the servants explaining how their day has been? Like oh yeah my boss dared the gods and boom he was a dragon and then his *goddess wife did the same and boom she was also a dragon and now idk if I still have a job
@@santiagovazquezvilarino6791If she is a Goddess, why isn't she on Mount Olympus or immortal and glowing in the video? She looks human. Meanwhile, Gods like Artemis and Apollo are half-God half-Human but live on Mount Olympus. It seems that 100% God doesn't mean you're a "true god" or something. But you can be a "true god" if you're 50% God. It probably depends on who was worshipped. And, lore-wise, who was most powerful. The weaker Gods didn't live on Mount Olympus.
@@HelloHamburgerMostly semantics. Mount Olympus is mostly home to Zeus and his closest allies and followers. Harmonia whilst being a daughter of Aphrodite, is still just a minor goddess
> sets out on a grand quest to find his kidnapped sister > immediately gets sidetracked and spends the rest of his life with city building and slaying monsters Cadmus, the world’s first Skyrim player
Honestly, Red is right. Dragons are just cats, but for godly entities. You know Mr Whiskers is like, 'in another life, I was chasing Greek heroes around on Hera's lawn, you better give me my treats'.
@@TheCBoysDotCom "We pushed too many important MacGuffins off Olympian cliff-sides, so now it's fragile human knickknacks off shelves for the rest of time :("
Don't forget about the cursed necklace! Hephaestus was so angry about Aphrodite and Ares' affair that he made a beautiful, bejeweled, golden necklace and gave it to Harmonia as a wedding gift. The necklace was enchanted so that any woman who wore it would appear young and beautiful, but it was also cursed to bring terrible misfortune on its wearer. It got passed down to Cadmus and Harmonia's descendents and caused tragedy and misfortune for them (like attracting Zeus to Semele's beauty). Most notably, it belonged to Queen Jocasta, and it was the reason why Oedipus didn't realize that she was old enough to be his mother.
@@fyraltari1889And Mandricardo from the Carolingian Cycle (in the translation I read), if that means anything. Edit: At least there was something similar? I might be Mandela-effecting myself.
@@noahberango6265 "Mandricardo, without replying, began to mow the harvest with his sword, but had scarce smitten thrice when he perceived that every stalk that fell was instantly transformed into some poisonous or ravenous animal, which prepared to assail him. Instructed by the damsel, he snatched up a stone and cast it among the pack. A strange wonder followed; for no sooner had the stone fallen among the beasts, than they turned their rage against one another, and rent each other to pieces." From Bulfinch's Mythology (on Project Gutenberg). It's not EXACT, but the part about them tearing each other to pieces was probably inspired by this.
That’s a common theme for all the Greek Hero’s who ended up with decent (ie not awful) endings, like Perseus, Odysseus, and Cadmus. They LISTENED when friendly gods (typically Athena and sometimes Hermes) gave them instructions, and they followed those instructions to the letter.
@@Leiliel1well now I need to get a suit of armor, a sword and lil cottage outside of their den so I can make sure anyone who wants to try it reads the sign
@@Leiliel1More like Aphrodite. She is into romance. Hera is mostly about jealously and rules over marriage. She might like the fact they're married and faithful but is not the romantic type.
The ending kinda makes me think of that Aladdin episode where Mirage turns Jasmin into a snake-woman and, when they unable to get the fruit to turn her back, Aladdin decides to become a snake-man too so they can be together.
Glad I'm not the only one who thought of that (and judging by the likes, we're not alone)! I definitely had a moment at the end where I had to pause and wonder if one of the writers for that old TV show was a big Greek mythology fan. XD
4:48 Freeza: "Oh please. If I'm really so bad, then let God strike me down where I stand!" *ZAP!!* "Ha! Nice try, jackass! Next time, give it your A game!!"
I was wondering "Why is the project where Superboy was created called Project Cadmus"? and then I got to the part where a bunch of soldiers were bred with the purpose of killing each other and I have to say that kinda makes sense. Nice one, DC.
Plus, in the meta sense, Cadmus really didn't do anything wrong and all of this shit happens to him and his family because of beefs other people have. Similar to how Kon essentially inherited other people's beefs and expectations.
@@cam7990 Cadmus the hero is also like the first Greek hero who *isn't* a demigod and is fully human, which also fits for an organization who feel like its fighting godlike threats.
Fun fact: As a wedding gift Hephaestus gave Harmonia a necklace that would give the wearer youth and beauty but also curse her because he was mad she was Aphrodite and Ares’ daughter. A notable later wearer was Jocasta, whose supernatural youth made it so Oedipus didn’t think it was suspicious this woman was old enough to be his mother.
@@syabilaazri7834 Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, and cheated him with any god, just to humiliate him, because she was married to him as a punishment for causing the Trojan War and other horny shenanigans with humans and others... Hephaestus was not one of Zeus' sons, and Zeus liked Aphrodite, so he ordered Hephaestus to make a proper gift to Harmonia, but Hera (Hephaestus mother) told him to curse the object, to insult Zeus for humiliating her son. Greek mithology can be summerized as "a divorcing couple of sociopaths, using theyr children to spite eachother, but never signing the separation because of the pre-nupcial".
TBF, He is *Hera's Son* at the wedding of his wife's daughter with another man. Like, of course it was bad. The apple didn't fall that far from the tree.
@@carloshenriquezimmer7543 the marriage between Aphrodite and Hephaestus had NOTHING to do with the Trojan War And based on the myths I found Hephaestus created the cursed necklace without outside influence
4:53 I think that Ajax the Lesser still beats everyone here. Calling out "I defy you, gods!" when one of those gods is actively protecting you from the wrath of another just takes the cake :D
Thing with classic heroes is, since there's no copyright controlling them, then even if their story didn't originally include their death, inevitably SOMEONE is going to write a story about how they die, and that story will be just as canon as anyone else's.
For the record, those familiar with this story might be wondering about the idea that the dragon-teeth soldiers killed each other for no reason. There are multiple tellings of the Cadmus story, and in some tellings, he tricks them into fighting each other by throwing a rock among them. However, in Ovid's version, the soldiers simply start attacking each other: in fact, they even request that Cadmus not fight them so that they can busy themselves with murdering one another.
Soldier 1: "You can just sit down over there, sir, we've got some stuff to resolve." Cadmus: "You were all TEETH a minute ago, what could you possibly--" Soldier 2: "Hey, right canine! You got all the top billing before and you were soooo proud of yourself, just because you happened to be right up front in the mouth! Well, now you've got top billing in my 'Get Fucked' list!!" Soldier 1: "Listen up, left rear molar, it's not MY fault that you barely even saw the light of day!" Soldier 2: "Year after year of doing all the chewing, pulling all the weight, getting none of the credit!" Soldier 3: "I HATE YOU BOTH" Soldier 1: "Oooh, no, the second right bicuspid's mad, everybody look out!" Cadmus: "--I withdraw my previous question and now just want to know how fast I can get blackout drunk and pretend this never happened."
Cadmus: Oh mighty and wise oracle I seek to find my lost sister, will you aid me on this quest? Oracle: Nah, but would you like a kingdom instead? Cadmus: Yeah I guess that could work too.
His only real hubris was him assuming that the other people were suffering because of what he did, ie that he and his actions were the important central factor in all the ongoing misfortune, when the truth was that he had already atoned and been forgiven for killing that dragon, and the reason behind the current misfortunes was something completely unrelated to him.
For those interested in variants of this story, in other versions the curse on Cadmus' descendants isn't caused by the Europa thing at all; it's actually kind of a sequel to the Aphrodite's Affair video. Y'see, Hephaestus was still salty about his wife cheating on him, so he swore revenge on any children of her and Ares' union. As luck would have it, Aphrodite and Ares DID have a few kids together, one of them being Harmonia. When she grew up and married Cadmus in THIS story, Hephaestus crafted a beautiful necklace (in some versions, also a robe) and gave it to Harmonia at their wedding ceremony. However, the necklace was cursed to bring despair to anyone who owned it. After Cadmus and Harmonia proved that they would, in fact, still love each other if they were worms, that necklace became a family heirloom for Theban royalty. Other famous owners include Jocasta and the Maenad from the Dionysus video who murdered her own son and cut his head off because she was struck mad and thought he was a lion.
@@raptormage2209 True but Cadmus was a mortal so not knowing about the curse, it probably seeemed a nice thing to give to descendants, who wouldn't be fully divine.
@@marhawkman303 OH! I GET IT NOW! Always thought they named themselve Cadmus because they thought themselves as the warrior that slayed a dragon. Which from their point of view is what the Justice League was.
@aaronthomson3639 They also created their soldiers using the DNA of supers, like how Cadmus used the dragon's teeth to create an army. So there's two reasons for the name. Fighting a dragon and creating an army from dragon parts.
@@dicyanoacetylene6220 Which is also another version of tempting fate. Cause making war monsters from things that can kill you with breathing harder never turned out bad for anyone . Ever
@@dicyanoacetylene6220 It also fits, as another comment in a different thread has pointed out, because Cadmus is one of the first great (Greek) heroes *and* the only one who *isn't* a demigod and thus is fully human. Cadmus the organization had issues with the godlike powers of the Justice League being turned against the (American) public, so it makes sense to name itself after one of the first heroes who did great things while still remaining fully human *and* was beset by unfair gods. (It arguably even references Cadmus the hero marrying a god himself given Cadmus the organization's tendency to be involved in the cloning of at least Superman regardless of universe.)
I have to say how excellent your art is, you can really see how it’s developed over the years it’s simple but really fun, the expressions are excellent and it’s super easy to “read”
HARMONIA MENTIONED LETS GOOOO She absolutely got the worst treatment out of all of the goddesses. "Oh you're the goddess of harmony and you're completely unproblamatic and are just living your best life? BOOM GET CURSED BECAUSE WHY NOT?!"
3:32 Hephaestus just sitting there thinking, "oh, you'll get yours......" after giving Harmonia that cursed necklace. Revenge is a dish best served indirectly.
To be honest I think fairy tail is overhated. It has excellent and natural foreshadowing, a lot of really cool fight scenes, and some very interesting characters. Oh wait you mean the myth format, not the anime
2:33 “There I was in the horrible cave, face to face with the horrible beast. And I threw a rock at him!” … … “So what happened with the lion Heracles?” “It was a big rock…”
3:50 this case wasn't just because of Europa. Athamas previous wife was Nephele a cloud nymph created by Zeus to look identical to Hera, not only he leaved her but also Ino tried to get the two kids from the first marriage killed Oh yeah, these two also helped to hide Dionysus in one version of the myth 🤷♀️
Europa then goes on to birth Minos and his siblings and she marries the Cretan king. Now, it is said that Zeus is Minos’ father, but I personally like to think they are Asterion’s (the Cretan king) sons and what Zeus doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
Iirc, in many versions of the tale, the Oracle flat out tells Cadmus “Abandon your quest. Your sister was taken by Zeus so retrieving her is impossible. But you have another destiny. Do that instead.”
Cadmus and Harmonia are honestly a really loving couple up there with Eros/Psyche and Hades/Persephone. Also it's cute that although they have a horrible mortal life, both reunite with their daughter Semele and grandkid Dionysus when they became gods.
Reminds me of the Aladdin cartoon in the 90s where Jasmin gets magically cursed into becoming a snake woman that Genies' magic didn't work to cure her. In the end, Aladdin curses himself as well so he can be with her. Which turned out thanks to that "true love" act was the only cure.
I think the resemblance is close enough at the key point (oh you've turned into a snake, well I love you so much I'll turn into a snake so we can be together) that whoever wrote the episode was inspired by the myth. Note it wasn't that true love was the cure it was that the whole situation was due to a sort of bet/challenge between the cat lady incarnation of evil Mirage and the mysterious white robed prophet Fasir over whether love can conquer/endure anything (Fasir obviously on the side that it can). [This is kind of like the framing device for the story of Job in the bible] With the curse and subsequently preventing Aladdin from getting a cure being the machinations of Mirage to destroy the Aladdin-Jasmine love. So when Mirage loses the bet (love endures) Fasir takes that as enough reason to restore Jasmine and Aladdin to human form.
I love the ways the curse on Cadmus’ family can be both Hephaestus’ fault and Dionysus’ fault depending on the teller of the tale. Because Hephaestus gives Harmonia a cursed amulet for a bridal gift to spite Ares in some tellings that she passes down to her children. And Dionysus just… inflicts madness on people and he happens to be of Cadmus’ lineage. And the gifts of the gods can be just as bad as the curses of the gods. Thebes had terrible luck.
@@Blokewood3 Fair, though Ares tends to get pretty immediate revenge and is pretty protective of his kids. So I think he must’ve gotten over it to allow the marriage of Harmonia in the first place. And Hephaestus is generally the one who gives her a cursed marriage gift as revenge for Ares and Aphrodite’s affair. But history is so long that legends have been told so many ways that I probably just have my favourite version I’m being biased towards, I fully admit.
@@seeminglyseph You know what could be cool? Telling this myth as a whodunnit mystery: "The Line of Cadmus has been cursed. Who is behind it? Could it be the belicose Ares, still sore over his pet dragon being slain? Could it be Hephaestus, upset that Harmonia was born out of Aphrodite's affair? Or was it Hera, out of misguided hatred against Cadmus' sister? Was it Dionysus, who was upset at Cadmus' grandson for rejecting his new cult? ...or did the butler do it?"
@@Blokewood3 Dionysus’ grudge against his cousin King Pentheus of Thebes, who denied his godly status and banned the practice of his worship definitely earned extra curses upon the house of Cadmus… that one’s on Euripides though. Not sure Ovid’s opinion on the matter. Honestly it might be having that much divine energy converging in your line at once.
Honestly "get you and your literal goddess of a wife turned into dragons to live out the rest of probably forever in the woods with no further obligations or responsibilities" is a downright good ending.
A new myth from Red! Balance has at last been restored to the Force! This one definitely feels like a frontrunner for "most lives ruined so Zeus could sleep with a mortal". This one lasted generations....
3:00 Are the Dragon Tooth Soldiers some sort of magical being? Or are they actual people? Do they have life? Will they go to the afterlife? What’s the difference between Teeth People and Born People? What is a man? Besides a miserable little pile of secrets.
I love how you can see how badly RUclips screwed up how the video/channel links in-video work thanks to the fact they show up *halfway* Good goin' Google.
Time to play my favorite Greek Mythology game: "How many times does one name intersect with the same family tree." Only twice. Zeus must've been restraining himself.
"Unto Greece, whose name live yet Cadmus brought the alphabet. Then men learned the written word Bites far harder than the sword..." That one always lives rent-free in my head whenever someone mentions Cadmus. It's from one of the Wizard In Rhyme novels by Christopher Stasheff, and I don't remember the rest of the poem
I just learned I have to give away my dog I've had for nine years and I'm very sad. Thank you for the dragon hijinks and the Greek heroes with worse lives than me. I've watched your videos for years and they always help, no matter the situation. Thanks.
I would also like to emphasize a few aspects of Cadmus - 1) His Phoenician heritage and 2) That he is acknowledged as the person who brought the Phoenician alphabet (ancestor of our own alphabet) to the Greeks. I’m currently working on a story which imagines a much darker version of Cadmus, one in an abusive relationship with his advisor Tiresias (who I think I saw sketched in one frame). I’m heavily playing up the Phoenician background in the story. Cool to get this video while I’m writing about Cadmus!
Love your rendition of 'Iris' at the end there! I'm loving how it's getting more attention since it was featured in Deadpool and Wolverine. I've been a fan of it since I was a kid when my mom would play it while she was cooking so I could 'ballet' dance to it in front of the mirror and NOT the hot stove or oven.
When you thought the main quest was soft locked and then you discover that it was never the main quest at all and, in fact, the devs never even finished building that quest. I sure hope they at least release it as a DLC later
"Shortest time from Birth to First Murder, with only some species of parasitic wasp coming close" is an outstanding way to describe the dragon's-teeth warriors.
It should also be noted that Haphaestus didn’t curse Cadmus. He cursed Harmonia. All the suffering Cadmus endured was just collateral damage from the curse acting on Harmonia, because he was her husband. Remember, all those children and grandchildren of Cadmus getting also those terrible things happening to them, were also Harmonia’s children and grandchildren. It’s just that Cadmus, being the noble hero that he was, assumed personal responsibility for all those misfortunes.
"They're going to name 20% of a continent after you!" 🤣🤣 I knew about Cadmus thanks to the dragon teeth instant army thing, but didn't know about the rest of the story, so a big thanks to Red for enlightening me.
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Have you guys thought of doing a folktales video on the Black Knight? I mean, you’ve already done Robin Hood and King Arthur, so might as well.
YOOO, new OSP myth drop, LES GOO
Hi! Could you please revise the video you did on the odyssey? That would be much appreciated!!!
You left out the really tantalizing question.... who told that Oracle to tell Cadmus to do that?
When I watched your (only) "In a minute" video I got an idea that these videos can be for shorter myths (like Demeter turning a boy into a Lizard) or more minor gods and characters that doesn't have myths of their own or didn't appear in a video (like Skadi)
I may be biased, but "I am now a big Greek dragon, I will go spend the rest of my days in the forest with my big Greek dragon wife" is probably one of the most adorable things I've heard out of this mythology
Agreed. Red's making it sound like a bad thing.
It’s a lot like Atalanta’s ending; she and her husband were turned into lions together.
Yeah, with how awful most greek myths are, I was waiting the whole video for the shoe to drop...
Follows magic cow? Does it lead him straight to hell?
Followers killed by dragon? Is he next?
Kills a dragon? Does he get smote?
Creates murder happy magic army? Does he get got?
Marries a demigoddes? Is this not Aphrodite's OTP?
Dude calls out the gods for turning every family holiday into a trip to the graveyard? Do the gods invite him to join his relatives?
Lad gets animorphed in his palace? Do his servants go skyrim on their newly dragoned boss?
Does his wife go skyrim on her newly dragoned hubby??
The fact he slithered away happy as can be with his wife- who was so dang loyal she double dog dared the gods to pull that stunt again- is a surprise ending to be sure, but 100% a welcome one!
What can I say? I'm a sucker for a happy ending
@ofthewilderwoods keep in mind, the Greeks used to think that male and female lions didn't mate with each other, and instead did the baby making with leopards, for some reason, so when couples in Greek myth were turned into lions it was supposed to be a kind of half punishment; you both lived, and can spend the rest of your days together, but you're no longer a true couple.
@@benjaminsmith3843 Probably because they were scared that any baby they had would be so badass they'd be able to go all Kratos on them.
Well damn, Cadmus might end up taking Perseus' place as my new favourite Greek hero. Cares about his sister, avenges his men instead of forgetting them, clearly cares a lot about his children and grandchildren, doesn't cheat on his wife (as far as we can tell), AND gets to live out the rest of his days as a dragon with his super hot wife, who loved him so much she triple-dog-dared the gods to turn her into a dragon too. What a mad lad.
Absolute legend
Avenges his followers, loves his wife, builds a large family, says "do it, no balls" to the gods, refuses to elaborate, presumedly dies with his loving dragon wife
A Wife who is the daughter of the goddess of Love and the god of war, which is like the extra jackpot. I wanna know how that romance started.
@@Florkl Their love story has got to be something legendary, I would read or watch the shit out of that
Cadmus is what we all aspire to be. Damn shame today's gods don't turn us into epic dragons anymore 😔
"Oh no! My husband is being turned into a dragon! It would just be *awful* if I were also cursed to turn into a giant awesome monster with him!"
It had been my understanding that Ares did that but aye, I suppose not.
Hera: "...y'know what, I'm gonna pretend I DON'T see the con job. *HOW DARE YOU TEMPT THE GODS WITH ACTUALLY CARING ABOUT MY DOMAIN!"*
"Oh no, exactly what i always wanted. This is the worse."
@@juanreyna3852Honestly that makes complete sense!
Aphrodite: "Why can't you be more romantic?!"
Ares: Desperately avoiding the question until he remembers his daughter and hears her asking to be a dragon.
*Turns his daughter into a kickass monster*
Ares: "There you go kiddo! And I gave you venomous fangs too!"
*Aphrodite completely misunderstanding Ares' priorities*
Aphrodite: "Oh Ares! How romantic!"
@@thedragonslibrary Yes! YES!
I've noticed OSP's anti-Ares propaganda for TO LONG
The chorus singing "Get wrecked, boat boy" will forever be my favourite Red animation scene.
I got to use it in a dnd session recently which is how I found out someone else in my party knows osp
@@hilburn- I’d love to hear the context behind that
"Would you love me if I was a worm?"
And Harmonia really said: "I'd _become_ one so we could never be parted."
Just with the "wyrm" spelling
Plot twist, she's a scaly and thought his dragon form was hot af
@@dragonicdoom3772 It's the ancient Mediterranean world. That tracks.
@@dragonicdoom3772
Ares: I'm so sorry daughter. Would. . would you like me to put him out of his misery?
Harmonia: No! no. This actually kind of does it for me. Did you know snakes have two
Ares: Yeah fine. Still turning you into a dragon as well. I ain't having a repeat of Pasiphae.
Clever.
"Cadmus obeys, because when Athena tells you to do something, you do it" TRUER WORDS HAVE NOT BEEN SPOKEN
Isn't that right, ODYSSEUS???? HMMMM?
If you don't listen to some of the most level-headed gods in Greece, you kinda chose your fate.
Isn't that right, Orpheus??
I mean she is the most consistently helpful Olympian other than Hermes, so trusting her is a pretty safe bet
When Aphrodite or Hermes or Zeus tell you to do something, they might have told you because they thought it would be funny. (You still do it, but only because they might get mad otherwise.)
When Athena tells you to do something, she told you because it's good advice.
It's almost as though the goddess of wisdom gives really good advise or something
Red, that IS a happy ending. Living out the rest of your days with your partner as a pair of MOTHERFUCKIN DRAGONS is the coolest fate imaginable.
😂😂😂Mfing dragons
lol the happiest ending imaginable
Not only that, but sentient dragons.
@@Wynner1
I always read Cadmus' transformation as less 'what are you gonna do, smite me?' and more 'screw it, just get it over with already'.
But I've always felt a little bad for Cadmus: he did everything he was asked and still got suffered for it.
Well that's the path of many heroes constantly. And it's life in general. But I agree, it is sad.
Cadmus: I THREW A ROCK AT IT!!!
Other Greek Heroes: *(stare unimpressed)*
Cadmus: It was a big rock...
Is that a Batman the Animated Series reference? Killer Croc?
@@DragoSonicMile It was
Even better since it ACTUALLY worked
Heracles: "No, no, let him cook."
I GOT THIS REFERENCE! =D
"How do you LOSE a PRINCESS?!"
... You forget to cherish her-
I love that reference 😂
You forgot that Zeus was around
Fantastic reference
@@coffeewolfproductions9113 Fair point
"Such cunning strategies as throwing a rock at it, and stabbing it real good."
Ah yes, the Beowulf approach to dragon slaying.
Or the Killer Crock approach to Batman Slaying...
To be fair, the beowulf approach to killing things is usually that or "punch it while screaming ora ora ora"
Don't knock it if it works! Wait until it fails, then you can get smug about it.
@@mysticpumpkin8520 Huh, secret origin of the Joestar line?
@@Archgeek0perhaps perhaps. At least going by what FGO taught me, Beowulf's biggest weapon wasnt his swords but his fists
Also that he went shirtless everywhere, which considering its Sweden of who we are talking about I am bound to believe
Just the other day I thought it’s funny how mythical tales have these epic stories with a satisfying climax, the hero gets the reward and then “oh and btw the next year they slipped on a banana and fell off a cliff, ok bye”
ok but honestly anyone crazy enough to do all of those heroic things probably would be so complacent in retirement that they would just crack their head open on some stairs.
To be fair, that's how many lives end. You can be the best soldier, greatest scientist, a hero to thousands, just some cool dude - but you are never 100%-proof from one unlucky stumble shattering your skull/pelvis/ multiple of vital organs
Ah, it's been so long since hearing about a poor Greek hero getting his life ruined because of the Fates
Hey it makes the hero relatable to show how a bad luck can throw a curve ball on us
The Greeks had a bad habit of believing you could never escape fate.
Fate can be cruel to even the innocent, the fates themselves can weave one's life span like a spider weaving its web 🕸 but its their will to make once death peaceful or tragic.
who is to argue with the work of the fates
It's not really a bad ending though, He stayed faithful and had a loving marriage to his wife (albeit in snake form).
Ruined, he is a DRAGON now, just a Hellenic drakon, but still, big upgrade from near furless ape whomst patron gods keeps getting his liver eaten.
Not-so-fun fact: In some versions, Hephaestus forged a necklace cursed to bring its wearer horrible misfortune and gave it to Harmonia as revenge for her being Ares and Aphrodite’s child (yeah it’s messed up), and that’s why so many horrible things happen to Harmonia and the family. She wears it, Semele was wearing it when Hera tricked her, and eventually Jocasta ended up with it during the whole Oedipus thing
It's bullshit like this why I'm surprised the Olympian pantheon never got their own ragnarok esque event. Unless you count God of War's Kratos.
@@johnnygyro2295doesnt greek mythology end by ares having ebough of everyone's bullshit and starting an all out war against olympus ending with zeus promising to cut all ties with humanity?
@@custodianguardofthemagyari216 No? Where did you get that from?
@@custodianguardofthemagyari216 Metal as fuck, but I've never heard of Greek mythology "ending" in any grand fashion.
@@custodianguardofthemagyari216 In some of the DC comics versions, yes, and it's not a bad ending if you ask me. In the original myths, not so much.
Cadmus: “So, how did you become a dragon?”
Prince Lindworm: “My mom disobeyed a witch. You?”
Cadmus: “I said “Come at me, gods! And they obliged.”
I KNEW I wasn’t the only one who thought of that!
Cadmus and Harmonia is the reverse Prince Lindworm.
Quetzalcoatl: “If you like, I can give you the power to switch between human and dragon at will.”
@@whathell6tQuetzalcoatl's a good god like that
Honestly, S tier move on Harmonia's part, like damn she really went all out for her husband. Respect. That is some epic love.
I mean, she was the daughter of Love and War so I'd hope for her to have at least a little badassery.
She’s also the Goddess of Harmony herself, so the next time you think “Harmony” means limp wristed compliance to threats of injustice, just remember her story.
He also typically fights the Justice League.
No no, schemes against them.
@@bthsr7113 Well also that weird Super-Boy thing....
And there was also that one time his army fought the Candy kingdom
Ok that’s a good one.
First thing I thought of lol.
Cadmus: "Would you still love me if I was a wyrm?"
Harmonia: "Bet."
Cadmus, up against an enormous fuck you dragon: "Ah yes. Time to deploy the greatest battle strategy known to man! *Throw rocks at it from a distance..."*
We didn’t evolve with the tools to do it for nothing,
AN ENORMOUS F*CK YOU DRAGON is one of my favourite references from this channel
“Face humanity’s greatest weapon!” *throws rock* “Nyeh!” *throws another rock* “NYEH!”
@@merrittanimation7721 “And in case id didn’t work out? Worry not, THROW THIRD ROCK”
That IS how a Roman Legion killed a dragon in the first Punic War.
Him asking the gods to smite him seems more like a desperate act of self-sacrifice by a man trying to protect whatever family he has left than an act of foolishness or hubris.
And fittingly, the “punishment” he got for it was actually a blessing in disguise.
harmonia and cadmus giving new meaning to "would you still love me if i was a wyrm?"
@@corvidkhaos Hang on, there's previous meaning to that? It's weirdly specific.
3:47 WAIT WAIT WAIT, so Semele is the mother of Dionysus, so that makes him the grandkid of Harmonia, great nephew of Europe AND the great grandkid of Aphrodite and Ares?? I swear Dionysus has the most crazy family tree of all the gods!
Honestly, the god of wine being the grandson of the goddess of harmony and great grandson of the god of war and the goddess of sex works pretty well
@@sabrinamcclain162 also being said War gods … sorta half brother?
Maaaan, Red's fight scenes have gotten super dynamic, even when they're two frames. Her posing is legit so good.
One of my favorite parts of following this channel for as long as I have is watching Red's art get better and better.
Probably from the experience gained from drawing and waiting aurora
@@a.morphous66so trueeeee, the background art also goes hard
Every drawing could be art in a story book
@@juliapazosmaidana2929 it is, when you think abt it
0:10 FunFact: "…and they lived happily ever after," is an _English fairytale ending._
In the _German_ versions of the [Brothers Grimm's] fairytales, they all end with this: "…and if they're still alive today, then they still live like this." The "like this" being whatever happy status the protagonists were in at the very end.
-----
_Edit:_ So, I've dug out my copy of „Kinder und Hausmärchen“ from the Brothers Grimm, and have looked at the endings of several of the fairy tales. It seems that _most_ of them just end, no "happily ever after." Another group end with something to the effect of, "and they lived happy/comfortable/peacefully/with good luck/satisfied until their end/death." There's one case with a very strange ending of, …"and if they haven't died, then they're still alive." There's also an ending that goes, "…and they may well still be alive today."
Why I have that, "…and if they're still alive today, then they still live like this," ending stuck in my head, I don't know. However, it's been _35 years_ since I had to read Grimms' „Kinder und Hausmärchen“ and both volumes of Grimms' "German Legends" for a proseminar while I was in 1989 for a semester at the University of Mainz. So, who knows what my memory's doing. 😉
Extra FunFact: In Polish, "happily ever after" is translated as "they lived long and happy lives". Which does not imply that it was perfect, mind you, just that it was long and fortuitous overall. I never thought it was TOO unrealistic, especially with the implication that they DID probably die of old age eventually.
I like the ending that shows up in some Scottish fairy tales: "They lived happy and died happy and ne'er drank out o' a dry cappy" (never drank out of a dry cup). It implies happiness and prosperity for the rest of their natural lives.
@@CalliopePony That sounds really cool actually!
In greek it's "...and they lived well, and we lived even better (than them)" 😂
Wouldn't be "und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, dann leben sie noch heute" just be "and if the haven't died, they still live today"
Cadmus sister: gets kidnapped
Cadmus dad: is so distraught about losing a child, he is more then ready to banish the other one…
I think I know who the favourite child is
If I do remember correctly, Cadmus sworn an oath to the gods that he would be back with his sister or not be back at all.
His father HAD to banish him or the whole people had to suffer.
*losing
@@carloshenriquezimmer7543 Why the fuck would someone ever swear an oath like that lmao
@@Reydriel
To prove to everyone his dedication.
@@Reydriel because people are idiots.
5:18 that and psyche, and perseus to some degree
The Gods: *ruins Cadmus's entire family*
Cadmus: "WELL, YOU MIGHT AS WELL MAKE IT A FULL SET!"
The Gods: "Okay, but we're not doing it just because you asked."
Harmonia: "You missed a spot!"
The Gods: "Did we now?"
Harmonia: "All according to plan..."
from his perspective
His sister Europa is gone
His daughters Ino and Semele gone
His three grandchildren , Actaeon , Melicertes and Learchus gone
His son in law Athamas mad
His 4 sons alive
And that not even going down with some of his future descendents alas poor Creon, Jocasta and Oedipus.
@@SirsasthNigam. ...huh, that is some list of names... You know people usually measure the Greek cycle by certain people and or events, but it would be fascinating to do the whole thing from Cadmos' pov.
@@mysticdragoon5789Oedipus is that one cocky Greek king who challenged the Gods and now rolls the rock up the mountain forever.
Yesssssss, love the return of the "Get Wrecked, Boat Boy" frame, it's honestly one of my favourite OSP scenes of all time, and it has some strong competition in that video (Medea) 💜
I mean… being turned into a big fuck-off dragon alongside your spouse who’s also been turned into a big fuck-off dragon?
Life goals, right there.
is it even a bad ending? is it really?
Honestly, getting turned into a big fuck-off dragon in the first place sounds more like a reward than a punishment. And then your spouse gets the same treatment? As long as you don't mind packing up shop any time some doofus with a pointy stick finds your residence, that's a genuine "And they lived happily ever after until the end of their days" moment. Unless, of course, dragons are actually immortal until killed, at which point we can assume they're still Draggin' around somewhere.
@@bluesbest1In other myths they attack the rest of Greece for awhile with an army of barbarians before being sent to the Isles of the Blessed
No taxes? Sign me up
Are both dragons sacred now?
1:02 Complete sidenote, but to this day it is amazing that the major moons of Jupiter have been named after the most notable women that Zeus boinked/abducted without his consent, couldn't have gone for anything better.
Did anything get named after Hera/Juno? (If not, no wonder she's mad all the time ...)
She gets a satellite that spys on Jupiter/Zeus
And Gannymedes
@@slwrabbits The probe that NASA sent to Jupiter is called Juno, they sent Hera to spy on Zeus.
@@TheSpearkan wow, who thought that was a good idea?! haha
I just finished this video and I am surprised that Red Glossed over 2 things:
1. Cadmus is widely considered to be the first hero. DC Fans who remember Project Cadmus, the government program to make artificial superheroes to fight the Justice League; It was called that because they were the first heroes that the government can trust and because Cadmus was the first hero who was not also a demigod.
2. The giant snake monster was sacred to Ares the God of War. After Cadmus killed it, Ares demanded that Cadmus basically be his servant for 7 years. When he finished his service, Ares respected the heck out of Cadmus for taking the indentured servitude like a man and not being hubristic that he let her marry Harmonia, who was Ares' daughter with Aphrodite.
Then why all the bad stuff happening Toto his family?
@@s0ph053 Hera was still mad about Europa (Since she couldn't be angry about his philandering husband), and the woman can carry a grudge harder than a Traitor Space Marine.
@s0ph053 Just Because the gods like you, doesn't mean they aren't assholes about it
@@s0ph053 being in Ares' good graces barely means that much in the pantheon as a whole-- have you SEEN Ares in the Iliad?
@@Daegul3 oh right, Hera was involved.
3:31 Love how Hephaestus is just sitting right there 😂
Insert “Cataclysmic internal screaming”.
It's okay, he cursed Harmonia's entire bloodline.
Well... not "okay", but it _is_ Greek mythology.
@@daviddaugherty2816I was just about to mention that. I wonder why Red only spoke about Hera and her issue with Zeus and Europa rather than just leaving this bit with Hephaestus as an Easter egg? Why the omission?
@oceanberserker Maybe she intends to do a video about the Necklace of Harmonia. That thing's been up to some stuff in Thebes.
Turning into an enormous dragon to live out your days in peace with your also turned into a dragon wife is such a blissfully happy ending for a greek hero that I have to question how accurate it is.
“The Bacchae” has Cadmus and Harmonia getting changed into serpents (but serpents and dragons are kind of the same thing in Greco-Roman mythology).
Hey, broken clocks, right?
After Harmonia turns into a dragon, I like to think that Aries reaction was, "At least she can kill better like this."
Harmonia is definitely is a daddy’s girl
Can you imagine the servants explaining how their day has been? Like oh yeah my boss dared the gods and boom he was a dragon and then his *goddess wife did the same and boom she was also a dragon and now idk if I still have a job
Godess wife, she has two divine parents
Well sounds like the coolest way to lose a job ever.
@@santiagovazquezvilarino6791 sorry I’ve been reading too much Percy Jackson 😞
@@santiagovazquezvilarino6791If she is a Goddess, why isn't she on Mount Olympus or immortal and glowing in the video?
She looks human.
Meanwhile, Gods like Artemis and Apollo are half-God half-Human but live on Mount Olympus. It seems that 100% God doesn't mean you're a "true god" or something. But you can be a "true god" if you're 50% God. It probably depends on who was worshipped. And, lore-wise, who was most powerful. The weaker Gods didn't live on Mount Olympus.
@@HelloHamburgerMostly semantics. Mount Olympus is mostly home to Zeus and his closest allies and followers. Harmonia whilst being a daughter of Aphrodite, is still just a minor goddess
> sets out on a grand quest to find his kidnapped sister
> immediately gets sidetracked and spends the rest of his life with city building and slaying monsters
Cadmus, the world’s first Skyrim player
Honestly, Red is right. Dragons are just cats, but for godly entities. You know Mr Whiskers is like, 'in another life, I was chasing Greek heroes around on Hera's lawn, you better give me my treats'.
I love the implication that for legal reasons or some other spiritual bureaucratic business dragons have to be cats now
@@TheCBoysDotCom "We pushed too many important MacGuffins off Olympian cliff-sides, so now it's fragile human knickknacks off shelves for the rest of time :("
The dragon was guarding a well sacred to Ares, the war God. Cadmus worked 8 years to pay for the offence of killing a god's servant.
@@maiaharlap Hera-coded fr
According to pseudo apollodorus the dragon couldve been Ares' offspring..yeah..think about that
Don't forget about the cursed necklace! Hephaestus was so angry about Aphrodite and Ares' affair that he made a beautiful, bejeweled, golden necklace and gave it to Harmonia as a wedding gift. The necklace was enchanted so that any woman who wore it would appear young and beautiful, but it was also cursed to bring terrible misfortune on its wearer. It got passed down to Cadmus and Harmonia's descendents and caused tragedy and misfortune for them (like attracting Zeus to Semele's beauty). Most notably, it belonged to Queen Jocasta, and it was the reason why Oedipus didn't realize that she was old enough to be his mother.
Oh so THIS is where the dragon teeth thing comes from
I think that happened to Jason as well.
@@fyraltari1889And Mandricardo from the Carolingian Cycle (in the translation I read), if that means anything.
Edit: At least there was something similar? I might be Mandela-effecting myself.
@@durandal_273 Uhm if you can, could you link that passage about Mandricardo sewing dragon teeth?
Edit: Oh, shit you're a FGO fan!
@@noahberango6265 "Mandricardo, without replying, began to mow the harvest with his sword, but had scarce smitten thrice when he perceived that every stalk that fell was instantly transformed into some poisonous or ravenous animal, which prepared to assail him. Instructed by the damsel, he snatched up a stone and cast it among the pack. A strange wonder followed; for no sooner had the stone fallen among the beasts, than they turned their rage against one another, and rent each other to pieces."
From Bulfinch's Mythology (on Project Gutenberg). It's not EXACT, but the part about them tearing each other to pieces was probably inspired by this.
@@durandal_273 Thanks! Also where did you get that passage online?
"Cadmus obeys because when Athena tells you to do a thing.. you do it." YEAH ODYSSEUS
That’s a common theme for all the Greek Hero’s who ended up with decent (ie not awful) endings, like Perseus, Odysseus, and Cadmus. They LISTENED when friendly gods (typically Athena and sometimes Hermes) gave them instructions, and they followed those instructions to the letter.
Cadmus literally went “would you stull love me if i was a worm” and his wife sad “YES ABSOLUTELY”
What a wholesome relationship these two have.
"love me if I was a *wyrm"
*Wyrm
Honestly, that alone probably got Hera to put up a SACRED DRAGONS, DO NOT SLAY sign in their den.
@@Leiliel1well now I need to get a suit of armor, a sword and lil cottage outside of their den so I can make sure anyone who wants to try it reads the sign
@@Leiliel1More like Aphrodite. She is into romance.
Hera is mostly about jealously and rules over marriage. She might like the fact they're married and faithful but is not the romantic type.
The ending kinda makes me think of that Aladdin episode where Mirage turns Jasmin into a snake-woman and, when they unable to get the fruit to turn her back, Aladdin decides to become a snake-man too so they can be together.
Glad I'm not the only one who thought of that (and judging by the likes, we're not alone)! I definitely had a moment at the end where I had to pause and wonder if one of the writers for that old TV show was a big Greek mythology fan. XD
"Lol. Lmao even." is quite possibly my favourite ominous prophecy.
4:08 wow one of the few moments where Aphrodite is benevolent and has humans ascend to oceanic godhood as a second chance of life
2:19 I laughed at seeing both the Yamcha death pose and the Family Guy death pose for the all important followers.
I didn't notice. Nice details
Well spotted!
4:48 Freeza: "Oh please. If I'm really so bad, then let God strike me down where I stand!"
*ZAP!!*
"Ha! Nice try, jackass! Next time, give it your A game!!"
I was wondering "Why is the project where Superboy was created called Project Cadmus"? and then I got to the part where a bunch of soldiers were bred with the purpose of killing each other and I have to say that kinda makes sense. Nice one, DC.
Back when DC made sense...
Plus, in the meta sense, Cadmus really didn't do anything wrong and all of this shit happens to him and his family because of beefs other people have. Similar to how Kon essentially inherited other people's beefs and expectations.
As another comment suggested, it's probably named after the fact that Cadmus is the first hero in most interpretations of the Greek cycles
@@cam7990 Cadmus the hero is also like the first Greek hero who *isn't* a demigod and is fully human, which also fits for an organization who feel like its fighting godlike threats.
You know Hera being the main antagonist of a show makes a lot of sense now.
If there's anything the Greeks hated... it's a woman with authority.
Fun fact: As a wedding gift Hephaestus gave Harmonia a necklace that would give the wearer youth and beauty but also curse her because he was mad she was Aphrodite and Ares’ daughter. A notable later wearer was Jocasta, whose supernatural youth made it so Oedipus didn’t think it was suspicious this woman was old enough to be his mother.
Man, the whole siblings really hate each other
@@syabilaazri7834 Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, and cheated him with any god, just to humiliate him, because she was married to him as a punishment for causing the Trojan War and other horny shenanigans with humans and others...
Hephaestus was not one of Zeus' sons, and Zeus liked Aphrodite, so he ordered Hephaestus to make a proper gift to Harmonia, but Hera (Hephaestus mother) told him to curse the object, to insult Zeus for humiliating her son.
Greek mithology can be summerized as "a divorcing couple of sociopaths, using theyr children to spite eachother, but never signing the separation because of the pre-nupcial".
TBF, He is *Hera's Son* at the wedding of his wife's daughter with another man. Like, of course it was bad. The apple didn't fall that far from the tree.
@@carloshenriquezimmer7543 the marriage between Aphrodite and Hephaestus had NOTHING to do with the Trojan War
And based on the myths I found Hephaestus created the cursed necklace without outside influence
@@carloshenriquezimmer7543 I thought she got married to him because Hephaestus used hera for ramsom.
4:53 I think that Ajax the Lesser still beats everyone here. Calling out "I defy you, gods!" when one of those gods is actively protecting you from the wrath of another just takes the cake :D
Thing with classic heroes is, since there's no copyright controlling them, then even if their story didn't originally include their death, inevitably SOMEONE is going to write a story about how they die, and that story will be just as canon as anyone else's.
"gotta contribute my fanfic to the fandom!"
thanks for that, cinaetheon.
rocks fall, roll dexterity save
Don't look up the play about how Odysseus dies they did ya mans dirty.
@@adroitws1367The bad one are now literally sacrilegious. The good ones gospel
For the record, those familiar with this story might be wondering about the idea that the dragon-teeth soldiers killed each other for no reason. There are multiple tellings of the Cadmus story, and in some tellings, he tricks them into fighting each other by throwing a rock among them. However, in Ovid's version, the soldiers simply start attacking each other: in fact, they even request that Cadmus not fight them so that they can busy themselves with murdering one another.
Soldier 1: "You can just sit down over there, sir, we've got some stuff to resolve."
Cadmus: "You were all TEETH a minute ago, what could you possibly--"
Soldier 2: "Hey, right canine! You got all the top billing before and you were soooo proud of yourself, just because you happened to be right up front in the mouth! Well, now you've got top billing in my 'Get Fucked' list!!"
Soldier 1: "Listen up, left rear molar, it's not MY fault that you barely even saw the light of day!"
Soldier 2: "Year after year of doing all the chewing, pulling all the weight, getting none of the credit!"
Soldier 3: "I HATE YOU BOTH"
Soldier 1: "Oooh, no, the second right bicuspid's mad, everybody look out!"
Cadmus: "--I withdraw my previous question and now just want to know how fast I can get blackout drunk and pretend this never happened."
0:02 Wait… there’s another kind of happy ending? I thought the fairy tale one was the only version.
I'm was lost at that too, so I looked up. Aparently is a term used for when a massouse makes the massage more..."intimate".
Oh, you sweet summer child….
May you ne-aaaaand someone went and told you…
Could be referring to real life happy endings that are seemingly impossible to basically everybody, and then there's the sexual kind
Same
The fact that she knows about the other "happy ending" surprise me really 🤭 for the once that don't know, stay innocent oh sweet summer child
Cadmus asked his wife sadly, "YES ABSOLUTELY," and he responded, "Would you still love me if I was a worm?" How healthy the bond between these two is.
Cadmus: Oh mighty and wise oracle I seek to find my lost sister, will you aid me on this quest?
Oracle: Nah, but would you like a kingdom instead?
Cadmus: Yeah I guess that could work too.
"would you still love me if I was a dragon?"
"love, I'll be dragons with you"
Omg, that ending text was glorious. "Maybe just keep Python inside." LMAO
You gotta hand it to Cadmus though, he saw other people suffering for something he did, and fully said, no, punish me instead.
His only real hubris was him assuming that the other people were suffering because of what he did, ie that he and his actions were the important central factor in all the ongoing misfortune, when the truth was that he had already atoned and been forgiven for killing that dragon, and the reason behind the current misfortunes was something completely unrelated to him.
For those interested in variants of this story, in other versions the curse on Cadmus' descendants isn't caused by the Europa thing at all; it's actually kind of a sequel to the Aphrodite's Affair video.
Y'see, Hephaestus was still salty about his wife cheating on him, so he swore revenge on any children of her and Ares' union. As luck would have it, Aphrodite and Ares DID have a few kids together, one of them being Harmonia. When she grew up and married Cadmus in THIS story, Hephaestus crafted a beautiful necklace (in some versions, also a robe) and gave it to Harmonia at their wedding ceremony. However, the necklace was cursed to bring despair to anyone who owned it. After Cadmus and Harmonia proved that they would, in fact, still love each other if they were worms, that necklace became a family heirloom for Theban royalty. Other famous owners include Jocasta and the Maenad from the Dionysus video who murdered her own son and cut his head off because she was struck mad and thought he was a lion.
At that point chuck the damn necklace
@@stevenhedge2850 It also provided its owners with eternal youth and beauty so long as they possessed it. The curse was less obvious.
@@daviddaugherty2816Kinda pointless when its for a literal goddess,what does it make her double immortal?
@@raptormage2209 True but Cadmus was a mortal so not knowing about the curse, it probably seeemed a nice thing to give to descendants, who wouldn't be fully divine.
@@BlueTressym Some sources like the euripedes have Dionysus tell Cadmus about his fate long before it happens, so he might de knew
1:23 Cadmus takes off his armbands between scenes
Ah Cadmus, best known now for being the name of Amanda Waller’s secret government projects.
I think the name choice was related to the idea of manufacturing soldiers... 'cause Cadmus kinda did that
@@marhawkman303 OH! I GET IT NOW!
Always thought they named themselve Cadmus because they thought themselves as the warrior that slayed a dragon. Which from their point of view is what the Justice League was.
@aaronthomson3639
They also created their soldiers using the DNA of supers, like how Cadmus used the dragon's teeth to create an army.
So there's two reasons for the name.
Fighting a dragon and creating an army from dragon parts.
@@dicyanoacetylene6220 Which is also another version of tempting fate. Cause making war monsters from things that can kill you with breathing harder never turned out bad for anyone . Ever
@@dicyanoacetylene6220 It also fits, as another comment in a different thread has pointed out, because Cadmus is one of the first great (Greek) heroes *and* the only one who *isn't* a demigod and thus is fully human. Cadmus the organization had issues with the godlike powers of the Justice League being turned against the (American) public, so it makes sense to name itself after one of the first heroes who did great things while still remaining fully human *and* was beset by unfair gods. (It arguably even references Cadmus the hero marrying a god himself given Cadmus the organization's tendency to be involved in the cloning of at least Superman regardless of universe.)
I have to say how excellent your art is, you can really see how it’s developed over the years it’s simple but really fun, the expressions are excellent and it’s super easy to “read”
HARMONIA MENTIONED LETS GOOOO
She absolutely got the worst treatment out of all of the goddesses. "Oh you're the goddess of harmony and you're completely unproblamatic and are just living your best life? BOOM GET CURSED BECAUSE WHY NOT?!"
Harmony is so, so fragile, so it's on-theme.
The curse of being related to Ares
0:27 The ship burns, everything burns!
Boat boys?
... double life?
Cadmus is honestly one of my favorite Greek heroes, so it's great that he finally gets his own video!
3:32 Hephaestus just sitting there thinking, "oh, you'll get yours......" after giving Harmonia that cursed necklace. Revenge is a dish best served indirectly.
Honestly, I generally dont fuck with Ovid’s vibes with the gods, but him holding Zeus accountable for kidnapping women?? Good move
This Ovid story is no different than the other versions of Cadmus.
To be honest, is not even the first time, and Ovid in general also makes up a lot of things about Zeus too
2:11 To add further insult to injury, they were all two days away from retirement. 😅
"The fairy tale trope, ya weirdos"
Hey you're the one who brought it up
Ill be honest, I have no clue whatever else she might be refering to and was mostly confused at that aside.
For a second I thought she meant "I'm talking about the trope not the idea of things going well irl"
And made me laugh at the very beginning of the video for it!
@@guggelguggel7491 Its a thing associated with "massages", quotation marks important
To be honest I think fairy tail is overhated. It has excellent and natural foreshadowing, a lot of really cool fight scenes, and some very interesting characters.
Oh wait you mean the myth format, not the anime
2:33 “There I was in the horrible cave, face to face with the horrible beast. And I threw a rock at him!”
…
…
“So what happened with the lion Heracles?”
“It was a big rock…”
I wasn’t expecting them to live happily ever after, together, as dragons in the woods. 10/10 best Greek myth ending
3:50 this case wasn't just because of Europa. Athamas previous wife was Nephele a cloud nymph created by Zeus to look identical to Hera, not only he leaved her but also Ino tried to get the two kids from the first marriage killed
Oh yeah, these two also helped to hide Dionysus in one version of the myth
🤷♀️
I just love the fact that after the oracle, Europa and Cadmus' quest to bring her back home is never mentioned again.
I... I thought Europa was the magical cow that ended up leading him to the dragon?
@@kjarakravik4837nah I thought so too. I even thought that was Io. But Europa is on Crete
Europa then goes on to birth Minos and his siblings and she marries the Cretan king. Now, it is said that Zeus is Minos’ father, but I personally like to think they are Asterion’s (the Cretan king) sons and what Zeus doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
Iirc, in many versions of the tale, the Oracle flat out tells Cadmus “Abandon your quest. Your sister was taken by Zeus so retrieving her is impossible. But you have another destiny. Do that instead.”
Cadmus and Harmonia are honestly a really loving couple up there with Eros/Psyche and Hades/Persephone. Also it's cute that although they have a horrible mortal life, both reunite with their daughter Semele and grandkid Dionysus when they became gods.
Reminds me of the Aladdin cartoon in the 90s where Jasmin gets magically cursed into becoming a snake woman that Genies' magic didn't work to cure her.
In the end, Aladdin curses himself as well so he can be with her. Which turned out thanks to that "true love" act was the only cure.
I think the resemblance is close enough at the key point (oh you've turned into a snake, well I love you so much I'll turn into a snake so we can be together) that whoever wrote the episode was inspired by the myth.
Note it wasn't that true love was the cure it was that the whole situation was due to a sort of bet/challenge between the cat lady incarnation of evil Mirage and the mysterious white robed prophet Fasir over whether love can conquer/endure anything (Fasir obviously on the side that it can). [This is kind of like the framing device for the story of Job in the bible] With the curse and subsequently preventing Aladdin from getting a cure being the machinations of Mirage to destroy the Aladdin-Jasmine love. So when Mirage loses the bet (love endures) Fasir takes that as enough reason to restore Jasmine and Aladdin to human form.
4:02 I guess I played Hades games too much. I immediately heard/read it in Aphrodite's game voice.
I love the ways the curse on Cadmus’ family can be both Hephaestus’ fault and Dionysus’ fault depending on the teller of the tale.
Because Hephaestus gives Harmonia a cursed amulet for a bridal gift to spite Ares in some tellings that she passes down to her children.
And Dionysus just… inflicts madness on people and he happens to be of Cadmus’ lineage.
And the gifts of the gods can be just as bad as the curses of the gods.
Thebes had terrible luck.
And it might even be Ares fault. He was really upset about his pet dragon being slain.
@@Blokewood3 Fair, though Ares tends to get pretty immediate revenge and is pretty protective of his kids. So I think he must’ve gotten over it to allow the marriage of Harmonia in the first place. And Hephaestus is generally the one who gives her a cursed marriage gift as revenge for Ares and Aphrodite’s affair.
But history is so long that legends have been told so many ways that I probably just have my favourite version I’m being biased towards, I fully admit.
@@seeminglyseph You know what could be cool? Telling this myth as a whodunnit mystery:
"The Line of Cadmus has been cursed. Who is behind it?
Could it be the belicose Ares, still sore over his pet dragon being slain?
Could it be Hephaestus, upset that Harmonia was born out of Aphrodite's affair?
Or was it Hera, out of misguided hatred against Cadmus' sister?
Was it Dionysus, who was upset at Cadmus' grandson for rejecting his new cult?
...or did the butler do it?"
@@Blokewood3 Dionysus’ grudge against his cousin King Pentheus of Thebes, who denied his godly status and banned the practice of his worship definitely earned extra curses upon the house of Cadmus… that one’s on Euripides though. Not sure Ovid’s opinion on the matter.
Honestly it might be having that much divine energy converging in your line at once.
@@Blokewood3He was but he calmed down and Cadmus served him for 8 years, after all he didn't protest to Zeus when he gave Harmonia to Cadmus.
Honestly "get you and your literal goddess of a wife turned into dragons to live out the rest of probably forever in the woods with no further obligations or responsibilities" is a downright good ending.
Rando: Excuse me sir, are you okay? Are you in need of help?
Cadmus: Cow.
...Rando: I must follow this man
A new myth from Red! Balance has at last been restored to the Force! This one definitely feels like a frontrunner for "most lives ruined so Zeus could sleep with a mortal". This one lasted generations....
3:00 Are the Dragon Tooth Soldiers some sort of magical being? Or are they actual people? Do they have life? Will they go to the afterlife? What’s the difference between Teeth People and Born People?
What is a man? Besides a miserable little pile of secrets.
A featherless biped - aka a plucked chicken
They are spartoi and they live to fight
Socrates is among us.
brb gonna write a novel about a Spartoi developing a sense of humanity
Sparthi or Spartans in some versions of the myth. They went on to found Sparta.
I love how you can see how badly RUclips screwed up how the video/channel links in-video work thanks to the fact they show up *halfway*
Good goin' Google.
5:08 Not to mention, Harmonia becomes the Goddess of Harmony.
She originally was, but became mortal to marry Cadmus.
@@arvinroidoatienza7082 No, I heard she became a goddess again after becoming a snake.
@@Hewylewis nah she did not
@@arvinroidoatienza7082 Yes.
@@Hewylewis source?
Aside from the "most of the family dying horribly" part, getting turned into a dragon with your spouse is like... ideal
Time to play my favorite Greek Mythology game: "How many times does one name intersect with the same family tree."
Only twice. Zeus must've been restraining himself.
Hes both of the father and grandfather of Dionysos
"Unto Greece, whose name live yet
Cadmus brought the alphabet.
Then men learned the written word
Bites far harder than the sword..."
That one always lives rent-free in my head whenever someone mentions Cadmus. It's from one of the Wizard In Rhyme novels by Christopher Stasheff, and I don't remember the rest of the poem
Ooh, a new book recommendation. My book-loving brain thanks you!
get you a girl who will double dare the gods to turn her into a dragon just so she can be with you. that's commitment fr.
I just learned I have to give away my dog I've had for nine years and I'm very sad. Thank you for the dragon hijinks and the Greek heroes with worse lives than me. I've watched your videos for years and they always help, no matter the situation. Thanks.
To be fair, I personally think peacefully living out your life as a dragon with your dragon wife sounds like a great time.
I would also like to emphasize a few aspects of Cadmus - 1) His Phoenician heritage and 2) That he is acknowledged as the person who brought the Phoenician alphabet (ancestor of our own alphabet) to the Greeks. I’m currently working on a story which imagines a much darker version of Cadmus, one in an abusive relationship with his advisor Tiresias (who I think I saw sketched in one frame). I’m heavily playing up the Phoenician background in the story. Cool to get this video while I’m writing about Cadmus!
Red: This was probably the closest thing to a happy ending that any Greek hero ever got.
Perseus: Am I a joke to you?
Didn’t he fall off his own flying horse?
@@s0ph053no, that was another hero, his name was Bellerophonte or something like that.
@@s0ph053 You're thinking of Bellerophon.
@@despinasgarden.4100 Ah, the killer of chimera.
The only wrong thing Perseus did was accidentally killing his grandfather at a discus competition
Love your rendition of 'Iris' at the end there! I'm loving how it's getting more attention since it was featured in Deadpool and Wolverine. I've been a fan of it since I was a kid when my mom would play it while she was cooking so I could 'ballet' dance to it in front of the mirror and NOT the hot stove or oven.
4:38 this panel has such "honey, would you still love me if I turned into a wyrm?"
I never realized that Dragon Teeth becoming warriors was an actual THING. I thought it was a one-off thing that Jason did one time.
When you thought the main quest was soft locked and then you discover that it was never the main quest at all and, in fact, the devs never even finished building that quest. I sure hope they at least release it as a DLC later
"Shortest time from Birth to First Murder, with only some species of parasitic wasp coming close" is an outstanding way to describe the dragon's-teeth warriors.
HURRAY ANOTHER MISCELLANEOUS MYTH VIDEO!!
The Greek gods when one of them commits a straight up war crime:😴
The Greek gods when a mortal kills one of their pets in self defense:😡
To be fair, it wasnt Ares who cursed Cadmus (btw the dragon was ares' pet)
It was Hephaestus for very hypocritical reasons
It should also be noted that Haphaestus didn’t curse Cadmus. He cursed Harmonia.
All the suffering Cadmus endured was just collateral damage from the curse acting on Harmonia, because he was her husband.
Remember, all those children and grandchildren of Cadmus getting also those terrible things happening to them, were also Harmonia’s children and grandchildren.
It’s just that Cadmus, being the noble hero that he was, assumed personal responsibility for all those misfortunes.
"They're going to name 20% of a continent after you!" 🤣🤣 I knew about Cadmus thanks to the dragon teeth instant army thing, but didn't know about the rest of the story, so a big thanks to Red for enlightening me.