Marvel’s Eternals introduced us to the oldest group of superbeings on Earth, the alien Eternals who were created to battle Deviants, vicious predators preying on the earliest human settlements. Warriors of the mighty Celestial Arishem, each of the Eternals boast incredible powers and are nearly immortal, having lived alongside and helped shape humanity from the beginning. Many of the characters also have roots in ancient mythologies, especially ancient Greek mythology. While we know that the Eternals are inspired by our mythologies, in the world of the MCU many of the myths we’re familiar with were actually inspired by the Eternals themselves while they interacted with ancient people. Here’s everything you need to know about the mythological origins of the Eternals.
Thena
One of the Eternal’s strongest warriors, Thena (Angelina Jolie) has roots in the Greek goddess Athena. The movie even suggests that Thena was the model for Athena in the MCU, having inspired the ancient Greeks after spending time with them. The patron goddess for Athens, Athena was the Greek goddess of war and wisdom and one of Zeus’s oldest children. Thena’s ability to manifest weapons and her skill with using them makes her the perfect Eternal to embody Athena’s warrior side, while the sage advice she gives to Sersi in the final act of the film shows that she also possesses plenty of her own wisdom.
Gilgamesh
Another of the Eternal’s warriors is Gilgamesh (Don Lee), clearly drawn from Mesopotamian mythology and the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of humanity’s oldest recorded stories, telling of the mighty hero-king and his travels, including his hunt for immortality. In the movie, Gilgamesh proved to have the raw strength worthy of going down in legend but also proved to have a far more gentle and caring side to him as he cared for his partner Thena over the centuries as her mind crumbled under the weight of repressed memories.
Ikaris
Easily the strongest of the Eternals, Ikaris (Richard Madden) has a host of familiar powers, including flight, super strength, and laser vision. While a particular DC hero may come to mind as a blueprint for Ikaris, the movie indicates that he’s the inspiration for the myth of Icarus, son of the master inventor Daedalus. Icarus went down in history after taking Daedalus’s wings and flying too close to the sun, meeting a tragic end that’s long served as a cautionary tale about hubris. We saw a bit of Icarus’s story at the end of Eternals when Ikaris flew into the sun to repent for rebellion against his family.
Sprite
Sprite (Lia McHugh) is one of the Eternals who does have a clear god attached to their story. One might look at her ability to create incredibly realistic illusions and be reminded of Loki’s similar powers, which makes sense as Sprite seems to be based on the trickster archetype. This archetype is found across many mythologies, including the Norse deity Loki and the Indian god Shakuni. Tricksters are, by and large, intelligent and devious beings who use their intelligence to play tricks on others and are often at the crux of stories. We saw Sprite doing this when she created an illusion of Ajak, then stabbed Sersi in the back in the film's third act.
Ajak
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
While Ajak (Salma Hayek) is based on a figure from Greek mythology, she’s not inspired by a god. She’s inspired by Ajax, a human. That said, Ajax was truly an exceptional hero, considered the second greatest Greek warrior behind Achilles himself. Ajax was also known for being a skilled tactician, which is where his influence truly shines in Ajak. The Prime Eternal, Ajak was in charge of the group sent to Earth and the only member of the Eternals to know of their true mission: To cultivate humanity until they had enough energy to birth a Celestial.
Phastos
Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) is a less combat-oriented Eternal whose power allows him to manipulate small objects which, coupled with his incredible intellect, makes him one of the greatest inventors in history and one of the smartest minds in the MCU. He’s based on Hephaestus, a member of the Greek pantheon whose skill lay in forge work and making intricate machines. We see this clearly in Phastos, who supplied technology like the simple plow and the steam engine and was vital to humankind developing technology.
Kingo
Kingo is another of the Eternals without a clear parallel to a deity. One influence might have been Dionysus, god of theatre and wine. This influence can be seen through Kingo’s love of performance; he’s spent his time on Earth acting in movie after movie for a century, passing himself off as his own grandson to maintain the illusion of agelessness. This combined with a sense of flamboyance suggests Dionysus could be Kingo’s inspiration.
Druig
Druig (Barry Keoghan) is an Eternal who can control other sentient beings, a power he primarily uses to control humans and stop them from fighting as he sees fit. His inspiration may have come from the Greek deity Dolos. Dolos is a minor deity known for being a spirit of mischief and trickery capable of deceiving others into following his will and even tricking the other gods. While Dolos isn’t known to control minds, his trickery and skilled manipulation make it likely that he was at least partially the inspiration for the movie’s version of Druig.
Makkari
Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), the fastest of the Eternals and the MCU’s first deaf superhero, likely has roots in the Roman god Mercury. Mercury was the messenger of the gods, the overseer of travelers and messages, and the shepherd of souls into the afterlife. He had to be very fast, basically. (Mercury was also the lead character of Eternals creator Jack Kirby's earliest work, "Mercury in the 20th Century" from Red Raven Comics.) Makkari’s super-speed makes her a powerful foe, capable of running around the world in a few moments while also allowing her to strike hard as we see when she even subdues Ikaris for a few moments in the final showdown.
Sersi
Sersi (Gemma Chan), the de facto protagonist of the Eternal’s ensemble, has origins with the Greek sorceress Circe. Circe is another character from Greek mythology that was not a god but a human - but a powerful one. She famously turned Odysseus’ crew into pigs during the Odyssey, though Sersi can only transmute non-sentient objects, such as turning dirt into water. There’s also a nod to the idea of Sersi inspiring the legend of King Midas as in one of her first interactions with humanity, Sersi turns a stone dagger into pure gold.
Kro
Finally, we have a character who is not one of the Eternals but one of the Deviants they fought. Kro was one of the primary antagonists of the movie, an evolved Deviant who steadily grew stronger as he drained powers from the Eternals. Kro is based on Chronos, one of the Greek Titans and the father of many gods, including Zeus. Chronos famously ate his children out of fear of them rising against him. Kro is rather the opposite, feeding on the Eternals to empower himself and his Deviant family.