Inspiration for The Hunger Games Essay Example

The Hunger Games, by Suzzane Collins, is a selected dystopian country made up of twenty-four selected tributes to fight to the death for amusement. It is a series about post-apocalyptic North America, which is now named Panem. In Panem, a woman named Katniss Everdeen will be sabotaged by the Capitol. When she enters the games, there will be many obstacles created by the gamemakers to escalate the game. This book was so well written that people began wondering what inspired the author. Some inspiration was drawn from the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, the Goddess Artemis, and the Roman Empire.

One inspiration for The Hunger Games is the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The myth inspired characters, events, and places in The Hunger Games. The Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur is about a Minotaur who stays within a maze. King Minos rules over a city named Crete and wants seven people from every city in Greece to feed his son the Minotaur every year. When the city of Athens' turn came, they refused to give up seven innocent people, so the King retorted with force and took seven princes from Athens as subjects to death. Every day, one person gets sacrificed, and within these seven days, Theseus finds love with the King’s daughter, Ariadne, and uses the daughter to survive the maze. On Theseus’s day as subject, he slays the Minotaur and escapes with the use of a sword, a crown on fire, and some gold string. As Theus goes on a ship with Ariadne, he leaves her for dead and tells her she was only used for his survival. 

Theseus and the Minotaur were so ideal in The Hunger Games that many aspects of the story are similar to the ones in the myth. Such as, Greece represented Panem and within Greece you have Crete, which represented the Capitol. It represents the capitol because it is where the king resides, just like the capitol, where President Snow resides there. One of the more noticeable similarities is that King Minos needed seven young men to feed his son every year, and he did this to show his power and to feed his son. Similar to how in The Hunger Games, President Snow has a hunger game every year and twenty-four tributes will be selected. The capitol did this to show that they have power and as a reminder to never try and rebel against the capitol. While also to be entertained. Additionally, the Minotaur itself is similar to the muttations in the Hunger Games, and the labyrinth is more like the arena for the Games. Lastly, Ariadne’s fiery crown is also like the fiery costume that Kat and Peeta wore during the ceremony.

Another inspiration for The Hunger Games is Rome and the important people, traditions, and entertainment of Imperial Rome. Rome inspired characters and events in The Hunger Games. Rome’s government was an autocracy type of government, and by this I mean that only one person was in charge of the whole Roman Empire and that person ultimately dominated; think of a title such as "king." The Roman Empire had many traditions for entertainment, and one of the most popular ones was the gladiator games. Gladiator games are games where fights are held to the death for entertainment purposes. Many gladiators were slaves or condemed to fight. Some gladiators were trained all their lives just to compete in the games, while others were forced to play against their will. Gladiators before the game wore their pretty colorful armor to please the crowd. The Romans were another main reason for the inspiration for The Hunger Games. Some noticeable similarities are the chariots the Romans used, which were also used in the Hunger Games during the opening ceremony. The main inspiration was the gladiator games the Romans had. The gladiator games were slaves chosen by their will to fight and entertain Romianins. It is exactly the same thing as the Hunger Games, where people are chosen by force to fight in an arena to their deaths for entertainment purposes. 

The final inspiration for The Hunger Games was the goddess Artemis. The characteristics of the goddess Artemis inspired the character traits of Katniss in The Hunger Games.

The goddess Artemis is Apollo’s twin sister and is known as the Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and the moon. Artemis was a very independent goddess who strived for young women to reach their full potential. Symbolically, Artemis is known as the bringer of light. Artemis was also known for protecting the vulnerable, especially women and children. Although she is known for many of these great things, she has also been known to pass judgment on mortals or other gods when she gets angry. Many people saw it as vengeance. Artemis also never wanted love or marriage to come so easily to her. Artemis was also known as Diana to the Romans. The difference is that Artemis is a Greek Goddess and Diana is a Roman Goddess, but not to be confused, they are the same person. The Goddess Artemis is a lot more like Katniss. Artemis is the Goddess of the hunt, who uses a bow and arrow to kill deer. They’re the independent District 12 girl who uses a bow and arrow to hunt and kill deer. They are the exact same with inspiration. Another similarity between them is that they both have an inclination to help the unfortunate or vulnerable, especially women and children. When her father died, Katniss took care of her family, and she decided to step up and become the "mother" and take care of Prim.Another example with Katniss is during the Hunger Games, she sees a little girl named Rue and takes care of her. Even though they are supposed to be enemies, she cares for her as she would Prim. Artemis does not want to find love or have love come so easily; she wants to wait. 

In conclusion, The Hunger Games, by Suzzane Collins, were inspired by many things. It was inspired by the Romanian gladiatorial games. They both had an arena where people fought for the spectators' entertainment. Artemis also inspired the Games, like how Artemis and Katniss both used the same weapon to hunt. The Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur inspired the book even more than the others. Such as, the labyrinth and the arena are similar, and the seven men required yearly are similar to the twenty-four tributes required yearly for the Games.