Witness what the gods do after dark in the sixth volume of a stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of the best-known stories in Greek mythology, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes content from creator Rachel Smythe.
“We have to make an example of her.”
Chaos reigns in Olympus as Zeus publicly declares Persephone a traitor and issues a warrant for her arrest. But Hades defies his brother’s decree, sheltering Persephone in the Underworld—and as the pair spend more time together, they are able to speak openly about their pasts. The goddess of spring admits the truth behind the bloody secret that led to Zeus’s ire, and the king of the Underworld shares the trauma he suffered at the hands of his power-hungry father, Kronos.
But as Hades and Persephone’s relationship grows stronger, others begin to fall apart. The bond between Hades and Zeus is stretched to its limit, threatening to fracture the peace between their realms. Persephone and Artemis’s friendship hangs by a thread as the goddess of the hunt slowly uncovers the vile truth about her twin, Apollo. A line is being drawn in the heavens, putting everyone’s loyalties into question as all the gods are forced to choose sides.
And as the cracks in the foundation of the pantheon spread, something darker and more earth-shattering might soon be released. . . .
This edition of Smythe’s original Eisner Award–winning webcomic Lore Olympus features exclusive behind-the-scenes content and brings the Greek pantheon into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.
This volume collects episodes 127–152 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus .
Rachel Smythe | #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Rachel Smythe is the creator of the Webtoon phenomenon Lore Olympus. Debuting on Webtoon Originals in 2018, Lore Olympus captured hearts and minds with its glamorous setting, razor-sharp comedic timing, complex characters in messy relationships, and above all else, its breathtakingly beautiful visuals. Rachel’s craftsmanship and storytelling have seen the series rise to greater and greater success, winning many industry awards, including an Eisner in 2022 & 2023 and an animation adaptation with Jim Henson Studios currently in development.
"IF EYES COULD EAT, LORE OLYMPUS WOULD BE A FEAST." —NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
FINALLY the bit between Minthe and Persephone I’ve been waiting for has happened. Take that, Minthe. No spoilers, but if you know the old myths you know what’s coming. Which is sort of how I feel about this volume in general. After starting to think the series was dragging it’s feet a bit, Lore Olympus Volume Six really kicks it back into high gear and starts with more direct forward progress than kind of floating around in the plotlines. This volume particularly captures aspects of healing and what that might look like for the various characters. This series deals with some heavy topics—she provides a rather warm trigger warning blurb in each because of this—and I felt like this volume does well in addressing the effects of childhood traumas and how to look at coping with them as well as addressing the necessity of healthy barrier and consent. Because people have been trampling alllllllll over consent at any opportunity they see. These are the Greek Gods, what did you expect?
But also this is just a rather adorable series and its nice to see people start to get called out for their shit behavior **cough cough Apollo cough** As always, I love Hecate and wish she had more page time but I’ll take what I can get. And I’ll never not love Persephone. So all in all, a real high point in the series and I will continue to read these as long as they keep on a’coming.
wow, i think this was my favorite installment yet. this sixth volume was all about different journeys healing from different types of trauma, and how sometimes others can make that journey a little easier for you (or with each other, even)! this has such good themes of consent and boundaries and overcoming (unwarranted) embarrassment when something happens to you that was not your fault. this one also has a very big theme of motherhood, where we get to see the different mothers of these different gods, which also started to open up stories about the titans, which was really cool.
rachel smythe just really created something very different and very powerful. the art is so gorgeous, and flipping each page truly feels like a treat. and the story is just getting more and more complex and layered, while discussing important themes that inherently are more complex and layered. and while we see persephone finding safe spaces for herself, and safe spaces for her to create what she wants to create, this story also feels like a safe space of creation for the reader, and i just really am happy this exists in the world.
also, daphne, i love you so much.
cws from the author at the start of this book: physical + mental abuse, sexual trauma, + toxic relationships
other tw/cw i wrote down: trauma depiction, depression depiction, anxiety, a plot of sending and taking photos without consent, loss of friends in past, captivity, alcoholism mention, infidelity mention (not mcs), nightmares, debt depiction, talk of infertility.
♡ buddy reading this series with Penny ✰ read for free on webtoon
The way Persephone lives rent free in Apollo’s head all the while she is LIVING her BEST LIFE with Hades!!! 😍😍😍.😂😂😂. Oooh this series just keeps getting better and better!!!
Lore Olympus: Volume One ★★★ 1/2 Lore Olympus: Volume Two ★★★★ Lore Olympus: Volume Three ★★★★ 1/4 Lore Olympus: Volume Four ★★★★ Lore Olympus: Volume Five ★★★★ Lore Olympus: Volume Six ★★★★ 1/4
Although I enjoyed all of the volumes, I think this one is my favorite so far. I thought the last two volumes were very good, but the story wasn't progressing very much. In this one, it was the opposite as a ton of important things take place and there's a lot of discussion about trauma and Persephone keeps growing and growing (Maybe a bit literally with this one).
⸺ 4.5 stars 💎 ⟢ ⤿ Hecate on the cover? That’s literally all a girl needs.
⟡ ⋮ ₊✎⋆. my thoughts ꒱
Just as I suspected, volume six brought back all the heat we've been missing in volume five. Similar to a foreboding snowball effect, Rachel took her sweet time evading the inevitable, distracting me with the rest of the cast and piling-up issues, before Pandora's box, which I was idly fiddling with on the couch, like some twisted version of a Rubik's cube, suddenly exploded in my face. Cute. But coughing fits, filled with black smoke aside, 152 chapters in, and I still, for the life of me, cannot tell you I ever've been bored while reading. This series feels like a drug - you get a small fix, think it's harmless, sniff another portion, and before you even realize, you're addicted to the point of being unable to function like a normal human being. I wish I could read anything else and stop being glued to my phone, but I can't help it. Lore Olympus is haunting my dreams.
I mean, I don't very often find a series where a couple's second kiss is even more impactful and heartfelt than the first. When you think about it, romance, especially slow-burn romance, is all about tension and bubbling-up intensity, right? It forces you to wait, teaches you patience, and makes you appreciate the love aspect, before the dream of a proper relationship even forms. It's almost like watching your favorite sport-team run across the field for ninety minutes straight, unable to score a single point. You sit there, holding your breath, observing the match while holding your hand-painted banner in a white knuckle grip, until... Just as you lost all hope, they suddenly find the perfect, tiny opening and win, making the whole stadium erupt in a deafening cheer.
Still. Rachel stop throwing crumbs at me and let me enjoy a proper meal for once! Who am I? A sick, victorian child?
Hades and Persephone's relationship means the world to me. I find the differences between them so tender and fascinating. Despite her lack of experience and trauma-induced fears, Persephone receives nothing but patience from Hades, who thrives in helping her in any way he can. Don't get me wrong, this arrangement isn't easy by any means. As I said, Persephone lacks fundamental experience in life, courtesy of her mother, her only example of intimacy is fucking Apollo of all things, and there's a significant age-gap between her and Hades but, and this is a purely personal opinion, I never found Hades predatory or disrespectful. In fact, it irks me a bit when people assume Persephone is infantilized. I understand this type of relationship is a grey area for some; we all have different boundaries, but with dozens of dark romance books under my belt, Hades and Persephone can't be even considered vanilla. They're white bread with unseasoned chicken breast on top.
Like, after six volumes they still call each other friends. Just get a room already! You're gods not saints!
⟡ ⋮ ⚠️ spoiler segment ⚠️ ꒱
1. The entirety of chapter 128. So... Remember when I said Persephone was missing and I specifically told something along the lines of: good for her? Well, she wasn't having the best of a time after all, my bad. But listen! How was I supposed to know she was having a mental breakdown inside an abandoned car, pushing her power into an uncontrollable frenzy and almost putting herself into a hibernating state? Mistakes happen. Thankfully, with Hecate and Hades' help, she didn't end up in a vegetative state for decades to come. Zeus is still searching for her, but being under Hades' jurisdiction as a guest of the underworld managed to put a pause on the inevitable.
2. Persephone explained what happened during her unauthorized act of wrath. And I mean, duh? No one in their right mind would ever believe a cinnamon roll like her could commit slaughter out of pure rage. Yes, she has a dark side to her, and her power can be wild and terrifying to witness, but she acted on pure grief and being openly disrespected by humans who killed her beloved flower nymphs. When she grew large, she panicked. It was an accident. An unfortunate accident, but other gods went into rampages for less, and Zeus is a butt-hurt child who wants to make an example out of her. Grandpa, get a grip and go home.
3. Persephone admitted what happened with Apollo to Hera. And god bless her heart for doing so. I'm glad she's slowly finding enough courage to share her wounds with other people. He'll get what he deserves, eventually. Not that the situation is exactly better by any means: he's still trying to marry her (and I suspect it has something to do with him wanting to overthrow Zeus and use the power of a fertility goddess against him), and now his scheming mother has joined the party too. Great. Artemis tried to confront him as well, but she's still oblivious to what exactly happened, so her confusion is quite understandable. I mean, what would you do if your friend told you she hates your brother and can't stand him for some unknown reason, while he refuses to give you a real answer as to why?
4. The zoom call. Also, Ares wearing 'team Persephone' shirt. He should start selling copies, I need one too.
5. Persephone turned Minthe into a plant.*Silence* I- Bruh. What am I even supposed to say? I can't simply write five paragraphs of 'HAHA' and call it a day, right? Darling, you reap what you sow. She should've took a massive step back eons ago, stay silent, graciously accept Hades' offer to transfer into a different building, and be miserable amongst her friend group. But no, she just had to barge into the office, try to seduce Hades, and then scream at the top of her lungs about what she did and how she ratted Persephone to Zeus. I'm not saying turning someone into potted decor was the right play, but Persephone is gaining more confidence recently, and Minthe found the worst moment to test her anger. She can only blame herself.
ok so I remember the first time reading this, I found the portrayal of hephaestus being so genius and interesting. like him having prosthetics and being a computer geek and socially awkward totally is a fresh look to his description in real Greek mythology, bc Hephaestus is described in mythology as a god with an ugly appearance and TBH the "ugly" translation is only via the fact he was born disabled, not that he was actually ugly. Gasp, Ancient societies being ableist? Who would have thought!
but I read somewhere that apparently the issue in this hephaestus is that those prosthetics are for running and would actually severely harm his back in his low-energy lifestyle as a computer geek that clearly doesn't want to go out much. and I kind of think now the author just added this as something "cool".
Also something I noticed, he has the same exact coloring as Metis, who created Hera and who totally ISN'T her mother, and it is also confirmed via Rachel that Hera also 'created' Hephaestus, not birthing him, yet Metis somehow isn't his grandmother despite having the same coloring?
Ohh, I love Volume Six. The love story between Hades & Persephone develops rapidly. Zeus, Hermes, & Apollo really help moves the storyline along. I love the last part of this book where we find out what happens to Minthe, Persephone’s competitor… Looking forward to Volume 7.
I'm always so excited when a new volume of Lore Olympus is published. I truly love this series and the artwork. The characters are beautifully drawn and developed. The conflict is ramping up and the relationship between Hades and Persephone is blooming into such a beautiful garden of love, respect, and support. The story speaks to a very modern audience, but also an audience which loves the original Greek myths. I love the blending of modern stories with the classic ones - Rachel Smythe is so good at what she does.
یه ذره بنظرم دیگه زیادی کش اومده و هیچ اتفاقی نمیفته.
پی نوشت بی ربط به کتاب: کتاب نبرد من رو هم امشب تموم کردم. گودریدز نه میذاره ریتینگ بدی نه چیزی بنویسی. این صهیونیستهای بی شرف سانسورو تا کجا کشوندن. خلاصه در مورد نبرد من، من توی ۶۵ درصد دی ان اف کردم. میشد تا آخرشم خوند ولی من از لحاظ روحی نمیتونستم هندل کنم. ولی یه قسمتهایی داشت که در مورد صهیونیستها میگفت که حتی الانم درسته. برای همسرم خوندم و هردومون تعجب کردیم. خیلی تکان دهنده بود شناخت درستش از صیونیستها. گودریدز هرچقدرم سانسور کنی ما بازهم حرف میزنیم.