Greek Mythology AU Anyone? Alright, I Need To Get This Out Of My System, So... I Know I Don't Share Much

Greek mythology AU anyone? Alright, I need to get this out of my system, so... I know I don't share much of my personality on this blog and that's on me and my anxiety (I swear y'all are so cool and talented and I love your stuff, I'm just too chickenshit), but there's a little bit of info about me - I love mythology of any kind. I even took a Greek mythology course at uni, as any self-respecting finance graduate does... That being said, I've been playing with this myth-inspired idea for a while.

Have you heard about the story of Ganymede? A Trojan prince whose looks captured the eye of Zeus, who then decided to swoop in, snatch the youth and take him to Mt. Olympus to become his new cup-bearer? You might see it framed as a love story. I'm more inclined to see it as a tragedy - a young person being objectified and preyed upon by someone much older and then subsequently losing their mortal life for it. I would say the myth in itself is actually pretty dark. Ganymede doesn't ask to be taken to Mt. Olympus or to be made immortal. In most versions of the myth that I've read, he's not given any choice at all.

Anyway, I couldn't help but see sort of a parallel with Billy's story, as he's also heavily objectified and his looks seem to play a pivotal role in his arc, from all of the adult attention he gets to Neil's obvious disapproval. It could also be argued that it's this objectification that at least partially leads to his end (because no one can tell me that goddamn Karen was interested in his personality). All in all, another tragedy. You see where I'm going with this?

Anyway, rant over. Sorry for the long post. The painting itself was inspired by Pierre Julien's Dying Gladiator (1778). A closeup of the face is under the cut.