Colour Symbolism in Rachel Smythe’s “Lore Olympus”

The use of colour in Lore Olympus is, first and foremost, an exercise in creating a vibrant aesthetic. But beyond that, the choices of colours in the narrative reveal additional layers of meaning that help to make Smythe’s world as detailed and nuanced as it needs to be. #LoreOlympus 1/11

In their 2022 article on colour symbolism in Lore Olympus, Afidah et al. suggest the following configuration: “It was found that the colors in the six characters of gods and goddesses had a general and specific meaning that were used to convey their personalities…” 2/11

“The blue color symbolizes Hades’s cold personality, the pink color represents Persephone’s kindness, the green color represents Demeter’s overprotective personality, the purple color represents Zeus as the king of the gods, the yellow color symbolizes Hera’s cheerful and jealousy…” 3/11

“…and lastly, the red color symbolizes Hermes’s extroverted and passionate personality.” These findings are subjective, of course, but as general observations on colourization-characterization, there’s at least some very interesting talking points in play here. 4/11

Equally important, however, is the various ways that the colours play off each other, such as in the lush contrast created between cool blue of Hades and the warm fluorescence of Persephone’s hot pink colour. 5/11

This pink effect is especially pronounced in the first scenes of Persephone’s visits to Hades’ realm. In a world that is either dark grey or blue (like its master) the contrasting colour of Persephone makes her, aesthetically and symbolically, both out-of-place and a breath of fresh air. 6/11

Interestingly the chief antagonist of the narrative, Apollo, is rendered in purple. The fact that he is rendered in a secondary colour (as opposed to primary) is longstanding comics parlance for indicating, subconsciously, the distinction between hero and villain. 7/11

More interestingly, though, purple is the colour that you get when you mix red and blue together, and thus the colour symbolism presents Apollo as an obstacle to the Hades/Persephone relationship by standing between them, so to speak. 8/11

Also of interest, potentially, is the complex historical entanglements of skin colour with racial identity (and racial visibility in particular). While we might expect more distinctive colours to create more pronounced racial difference, the effect is the opposite. 9/11

By using colour to represent individuals, rather than groups of individuals, Smythe effectively creates a deracialized – or even post-racial – environment for her fantasy universe. 10/11

All told then, colour can be seen to be working hard in Lore Olympus – rendering lush and striking worlds and characters – whilst also carrying a number of signifying burdens that contribute to the richness of Smythe’s narrative. 11/11