MYTHIC
WARRIORS: GUARDIANS OF THE LEGEND
(CBS, November 7, 1998-January 22, 2000)
Nelvana, Ltd., Marathon Media, Hong Guang Animation
(Su Zhou) Co., Ltd.
MAIN CAST:
James Blendick – Narrator, Hermes (2nd
time)
The 90s were an interesting time for
Greek Mythology. Renaissance
Pictures was producing three shows incorporating it, Hercules: The
Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior
Princess, and Young Hercules, and
Disney had spun off their Hercules movie into the prequel series Hercules: The Animated Series. They
would soon find themselves joined by yet another series based on the material: Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend.
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The fourth book focusing on Andromeda. |
Produced by Nelvana, Ltd. and Marathon Media, the series was based on
the award-winning Scholastic book series Myth Men: Guardians
of the Legend. Written by Laura
Geringer Bass with illustrations from Peter Bollinger, based
on an original concept by Mireille
Chalvon, the eight books were retellings of Greek myths in an easy-reader
format as a way to get kids interested in the subject matter. Bass gave the
stories a modern flair; such as alterations that depicted the female characters
in a more positive light as heroic characters unto themselves and not merely
damsels in distress or prizes to be won as initially portrayed. And, of course,
some of the content of the original stories (rife with murder, adultery,
betrayal and so on) was softened for the intended reading audience. The books
were released between 1996 and 1997.
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Pegasus takes to the sky. |
Like the book series, Mythic Warriors was presented in an anthology
format with a different set of characters each week (in some instances, the
Roman version of character names were used rather than the Greek versions). Amongst
the featured mythological characters was strongman demigod Hercules (Lawrence Bayne) and his
companion, Iolaus (Daniel DeSanto); Jason (David Orth) and the Argonauts and their quest to
retrieve the Golden
Fleece; Ulysses
(Roger Honeywell) and his
escapades in the Trojan War;
Helen of Troy (Kristina Nicoll), whose
abduction by Prince Paris
of Troy (John Ralston)
led to the Trojan War; Andromeda (Caroly Larson), whose mother’s
boasts about her beauty led to her to become targeted by the gods; Atalanta (Larson
& Natalie Brown), who
was abandoned in the wild at birth for not being the son her father, King Iasus,
wanted; Pandora (Terri Hawkes), keeper of the
box of evils; wrestling brothers Castor (Rod Wilson) and Pollux (Jonathan Malen) who often
donated their winnings to the poor; and King
Midas (Benedict Campbell),
who was granted the ability to turn whatever he touched into gold, amongst
others. The only being featured in every episode was the narrator, voiced by
James Blendick.
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Poseidon in his realm. |
The gods were depicted in the show
as being giant-sized humans, possessing immortality, the ability to fly and
teleport, magical powers, and the ability to change their appearance and shape
at will. An echo would be present whenever they spoke in their true forms.
Amongst those featured were Zeus
(Gary Krawford), king of the
gods; Hera (Janet-Laine Green), his queen
and goddess of the sky, marriage and childbirth; Hades (Norm Spencer), ruler of the underworld; Demeter (Linda
Sorenson), goddess of fertility and the harvest; Poseidon (Francis Diakowsky), ruler of
the sea; Hermes (Richard Clarkin,
Stephen Bogaert &
Blendick), the messenger of the gods; Athena (Wendy Thatcher & Lally Cadeau), goddess of
wisdom, warriors and reason; Ares (Rick Bennett & Allen Stewart-Coates), the god
of war; Apollo (Jesse Collins), the god of
light, art and medicine; Artemis
(Elizabeth Hanna), the
goddess of the hunt; Hephaestus
(David Hemblen), blacksmith
of the gods; Aphrodite
(Wendy Lands), the goddess of love and
beauty; Dionysus (Stephen Ouimette), the god of
wine and intoxication; Helios
(Bob Zidel), the sun god; Eros, the god of lust,
and Persephone (Meghan Black), the goddess of
Spring and queen of the underworld. The eternal enemies of the gods, the Titans, were also
featured, as was a variety of monsters such as the cyclops, the sirens, Medusa (Jennifer Dale) and the Minotaur.
![]() |
Perseus vs. Medusa. |
Mythic
Warriors: Guardians of the Legend debuted on CBS
on November 7, 1998 as part of the Nelvana-run programming block, CBS Kidshow. It was
supposed to debut two months earlier in September with the traditional start of
the new television season, but was delayed due to “complicated animation
techniques”. Despite not being a ratings success, the show was renewed for a
second season. The entire series was written by story editor Kathy Slevin and Peter Colley, with music provided by Varouje. Dr. Miki Baumgarten
served as the educational consultant, ensuring that the show met the network’s FCC requirement for educational programming. Along with
adapting the eight books, 18 additional adventures were also crafted for a total
of 26 episodes across both seasons. At the end of each episode, a 30-second
informational segment was shown where the characters would talk about solutions
to modern day problems facing the viewing audience. Hong Guang
Animation, Co., Ltd. handled the animation duties.
![]() |
Athena season 1 (top) vs. season 2. |
For the new season, several changes were
made to a couple of the gods. Hades’ attire was slightly altered, Persephone
was aged from a teenager to a fully-grown woman, Aphrodite was changed from a
giggling teenager to a mature woman with an entirely different voice and
manner, and Athena went from a blonde wearing silver armor to a brunette
wearing a red dress with a cape, arm bands and shin guards.
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Zeus in Olympus. |
Mythic
Warriors continued on in reruns throughout 2000 until September
9, when Nelvana’s agreement with CBS came to an end and CBS’ agreement with Nickelodeon began for the Nick on CBS
programming block. The first season was made available to stream on Amazon
Prime Video.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“Andromeda:
The Warrior Princess” (11/7/98) – Andromeda turns to Athena when her father
won’t permit her to join his army.
“Hercules
and Iolas” (11/14/98) – Iolas seeks to become a hero like Hercules and begins
to follow him on his adventures.
“Ulysses
and the Journey Home” (11/21/98) – Ulysses just wants to return home from the
war in Troy, but there are plenty of threats he must overcome on his journey.
“Perseus:
The Search for Medusa” (11/28/98) – Perseus is goaded into retrieving the head
of Medusa to prove that he’s a demi-god.
“Jason
and the Argonauts” (12/5/98) – Jason launches an expedition for the Golden
Fleece in order to reclaim his throne from the evil King Pelias.
“Persephone
and the Winter Seeds” (12/12/98) – When Persephone is tricked into remaining in
the underworld, her mother Demeter tries to rescue her from Hades’ clutches.
“Daedalus
and Icarus” (12/19/98) – Daedalus and Icarus work towards freeing themselves
from prison after failing to achieve fame and fortune.
“Ulysses
and Circe” (12/26/98) – Ulysses and his men take a respite on a mysterious
island where the evil sorceress Circe turns his men into animals.
“Atalanta:
The Wild Girl” (1/2/99) – When Atalanta and Prince Meleager meet and begin to
fall in love, a jealous Artemis sends the Calydonian Boar to destroy her.
“Prometheus
and Pandora’s Box” (1/9/99) – Prometheus is chained to a rock by Zeus for his defiance
in giving man fire, and Pandora is given a box she can never open.
“Bellerophon
and Pegasus” (1/16/99) – Athena gives Bellerophon a golden saddle in order to
allow him to get Pegasus to help him defeat the fire-breathing Chimera.
“Theseus
and the Minotaur” (1/23/99) – Learning that his father is forced to feed people
to the Minotaur, Theseus vows to kill it and save the people.
“The
Labors of Hercules” (1/30/99) – After Hercules accidentally destroys a village,
Iolas tries to reignite his heroic spirit.
Season 2:
“Psyche
and Eros” (9/25/99) – Falling for Psyche, Eros attempts a test to see if she’ll
love him for him rather than his beauty.
“Ulysses
and the Trojan Horse” (10/2/99) – King Menelaus tasks Ulysses and his army to
retrieve his unfaithful wife Helen from Prince Paris of Troy.
“Ulysses
and Penelope” (10/9/99) – Ulysses returns home only to discover that his family
has decided him dead and have seemingly moved on.
“Hercules
and the Golden Apples” (10/16/99) – Hera has Hercules’ love poisoned and he
must journey to Hera’s garden to retrieve the Golden Apple to save her.
“Cadmus
and Europa” (10/23/99) – Cadmus is tasked with watching over his sister Europa,
who believes that a white bull would take her away to find her destiny.
“Jason
and Medea” (10/30/99) – Medea has Jason’s mentor Chiron killed in order to
crush his spirit and foil his quest to obtain the Golden Fleece.
“Damon
and Pythias” (11/6/99) – Damon puts his life on the line so that his friend,
Pythias, can say goodbye to his family before his execution.
“Castor
and Pollux” (11/13/99) – The brothers are torn apart when King Pelias convinces
Castor to go after Jason for the reward.
“The
Hounds of Actaeon” (11/20/99) – When ruthless hunter Actaeon hunts Artemis’
prized white stag, she turns him into one until he can learn to love and
respect the helpless.
“Phaeton:
The Chariot of Fire” (11/27/99) – Phaeton is convinced to “borrow” Helios’
sun-chariot for a race, despite Helios’ warnings that he wasn’t ready to drive
it yet.
“Androcles
and the Lion” (12/18/99) – Enslaved Androcles learns the ways of the lion in
order to maintain his freedom once it’s acquired.
“King
Midas: The Golden Touch” (1/15/00) – Dionysus gives Midas the golden touch to
reclaim his fortune and hunt down its thief, which turns out to be his own
daughter.
“Hercules
and the Titans: The Last Battle” (1/22/00) – Angered over not being allowed in
Olympus, Hephaestus frees the Titans to reignite the war between them and the
Gods.
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