2013-05-18
Explanation
This comic imagines Zeus as a rapper. In the single panel, Zeus (depicted as a muscular, bearded figure) is rapping to a woman: "Drop your thong, hop in a pond, I'm gonna turn into a duck and we gon' get it on." The caption below reads, "Sometimes I remember that Zeus never rapped, and I get sad."
The joke is a reference to Greek mythology, specifically the myth of Zeus and Leda, in which Zeus transformed himself into a swan to seduce Leda. The comic reimagines this mythological encounter as a rap verse, with Zeus using hip-hop bravado to announce his plan to shapeshift into a waterfowl for romantic purposes. The humor comes from the absurd collision of ancient mythology with modern rap culture, and from the narrator's tongue-in-cheek lament that this mashup never actually happened.
The votey panel shows a thong (sandal) being thrown, with the word "THONGS!" -- playing on the double meaning of "thong" (the ancient Greek sandal versus modern underwear) from Zeus's rap lyrics.