Mimesis, according to the Silva Rhetoricae, is “The imitation of another’s gestures, pronunciation, or utterance.” It’s a part of delivery, which is one of the Canons of Rhetoric, which according to Silva Rhetoricae, “concerns itself with how something is said, rather than what is said.” While the definition of mimesis has changed since the days of Plato and Aristotle, the way it is used in rhetoric has also changed, to the point that people have debated what the correct use was (going through that research was not easy). However, does mimesis still have any usage in modern times? I plan to explain how mimesis is used in our day and age, by explaining how it is used as a way of adapting myths and legends in both print and digital texts.

Since mimesis is a fancy way of saying imitation, you would think that this would be used in spy films like James Bond or Mission Impossible. While in a sense, that’s true, mimesis is not the main focus of those franchises (especially if you have read the original James Bond novels from Ian Flemming; Bond is definitely more likable in the films). This paper focuses on mimesis as it takes one text and adapts it into a similar form for a different medium. Take for example, Heracles, or Hercules, depending on if you are using Greek or Roman mythology (Everyone gets the two confused, even me). While the stories of this legendary warrior have had multiple print and digital adaptations, including a version that came out recently that starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of the most famous stories is how Heracles having to complete twelve labors to be forgiven for killing his wife Megara and his children in a murderous rage. This story has been retold in a variety of formats, including Disney’s animated version, which of course toned down a lot of the more violent aspects of Heracles’ life. This tale is one of the most famous and has been retold multiple times, but adapting Heracles in a digital medium was a little bit harder to find, as many of them change certain aspects of Heracles. Then, I remembered the video game franchise Fate/Stay Night, which is story about how masters call upon servants to fight each other for the Holy Grail (Some of which have no connection to the Holy Grail). In Fate/Stay Night, Heracles is a “Berserker” class servant, meaning he is strength incarnate, which follows the multiple stories about Heracles being super strong. Heracles is also in the murderous rage, like he was when he killed Megara and his children. In this way, mimesis is used to adapt Heracles into a digital medium.

Another character from mythology that has been used in print and digital texts is Gilgamesh. According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, Gilgamesh’s story, The Epic of Gilgamesh, “pre-dates Homer’s writings by 1500 years and, therefore, stands as the oldest piece of epic Western literature.” Like many myths and legends, The Epic of Gilgamesh was told orally for many years, until someone wrote them down. However, due to the nature of oral storytelling, what was said and what was written can vary, this is especially true when translating text from one language to another. An aspect of Gilgamesh that has stood the test of time is that Gilgamesh is “too arrogant and proud” (we all probably know someone like that). This aspect carries over to how Gilgamesh acts in the game Fate/Stay Night; Gilgamesh wears a golden suit of armor, always shows how powerful he is, and tells everyone in earshot that if you do not listen to him, he will kill you on the spot. Plus, even when you follow Gilgamesh, he will still find a reason to kill you. This aspect of Gilgamesh in Fate/Stay Night mimics the arrogance of the Gilgamesh from the original epic poem. Another aspect that the story and the game talk about is that Gilgamesh is not evil. Arrogant, yes, but not evil. The reason Gilgamesh acts the way he does is because in the original poem, Gilgamesh is a demi-god, born from the relationship of a god and a human (which, if you have kept up with Greek history, is not always a good thing; ask Zeus). Gilgamesh just thought that he had the divine right to rule the land of Uruk, like his father. This aspect is mimicked in Fate/Stay Night, but instead of conquering Sumeria, Gilgamesh will have to conquer Japan (since that is where the game takes place, in the fictional Fuyuki City).

The final myth I plan to talk about for mimesis is how King Arthur is used in print and digital texts. While the story of King Arthur has been popular throughout the years; however, the where the reality and how the legend ends is difficult to pinpoint. One of the first stories that mentions King Arthur is the Vulgate Cycle. While the Vulgate Cycle does contain many aspects of King Arthur, it is focused more on the story of Lancelot and his affair with Arthur’s wife, Guinevere (this has continued through the ages in different adaptations). The Vulgate Cycle was the inspiration for Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, which tells of how King Arthur returned Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake (what is it with people wanting to tell the death of a character). This story mimics what was already introduced in the Vulgate Cycle, while adding a few changes to the story. Many stories of Arthur also talk about the famous “Sword in the Stone”, which has been used in films and novelizations, including Disney’s animated adaptation called The Sword in the Stone, which covers many of the stories of a young Arthur Pendragon, but with a few changes to add comedy to the film (no wonder many people do not find that adaptation endearing). However, the digital texts that talk about King Arthur get interesting when we start to talk about Fate/Stay Night, as it has one big change to the previous stories.

In Fate/Stay Night, the major change to King Arthur is that Arthur becomes Arturia (when I found this out, it was odd). While the famous King’s gender has changed, the aspects of Arturia’s personality are consistent with the print texts previously mentioned. Arturia is a fair ruler of England, puts everything she has in defending her country, and is chivalrous in everything she does, similar to the Arthur of legends old. However, this also causes Arturia’s downfall; as Arturia goes off to fight for England’s glory, Arturia’s son, Modred (if you ask how that works, we’re not going to get this paper finished), usurps Arturia’s throne in his abscense, which causes England to go into anarchy. When Arturia returns, she notices that even though she was protecting England from the outside, she didn’t notice what was happening closer to home. Besides the gender change, this mimics what happens in the earlier Arthur stories.

In Fate/Stay Night proper, Arturia is summoned for the Holy Grail War (which makes sense because in many versions, Arthur is looking for the Holy Grail). Arturia’s main weapons are Caliburn and Excalibur; Fate/Stay Night decides to use the version of Arthur from Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, where Arthur both gains and loses Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake, and Caliburn is the titular “Sword in the Stone.” Just like in the stories, Arturia continues to be chivalrous, just like her male counterpart. When Arturia wins the Holy Grail War, she is able to have her wish granted, which is that she wishes that she was not the King her people wish her to be. While this changes the ending of how Le Morte d’Arthur turns out, it’s an interesting idea; if Arthur had a second chance to fix what happened to England, would he?

In this paper I wanted to see if mimesis works in our world today, using how mythology can be adapted from their initial incarnations to modern print and digital texts. I wanted to use the digital text of Fate/Stay Night as the basis for this paper as it made look up many of the characters in the franchise and see what they were based on. While mimesis might give writers the ability to embellish on the original text or adapt it as they see fit, this can either be a cause for celebration or it backfire in the writer’s face. Thankfully, most of the characters in Fate/Stay Night are mostly similar to the mythological characters they are based on (I do not want to have to tell you why King Arthur was made into a woman; really, you do not want to know).

The term mimesis has had its definition changed throughout the years, the concept of mimicking something has stayed the same. Books, films, comics, and video games have adapted multiple stories to fit their mediums (whether or not they are good is another story, and could be another paper entirely). Problems can arise from adapting one medium to the next, however nothing is perfect. I think that mimesis is still something that is viable in our world today, as there are multiple adaptation of mythological characters, including the Guy Ritchie directed King Arthur film (again, whether or not it was good is another story). I think there will still be more adaptations of mythological characters in the future; they are easy to pull off (relatively speaking), people know of these stories or have a certain knowledge of them, and they usually do not need anything else added to them. Whether or not aspects are removed or added are usually more behind the scenes issues that I’m not going to get into. Having a video game that lets King Arthur, Gilgamesh, and Heracles in the same setting sounds fun to me. This is a way mimesis is able to be shown in the modern world without having to change too much of the characters backstories. If there is one thing I can say about mimesis is that there is a lot more that can be said about it, but that will have to be for another day.