9 Star Trek Episodes Named After Greek Myths

Since its inception, Star Trek has included numerous references to Greek mythology, and several episode titles come directly from Greek myths. Star Trek: The Original Series even provided an explanation for the Greek gods themselves in TOS season 2, episode 2, “Who Mourns For Adonais?” When Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the USS Enterprise are held captive by the Greek god Apollo (Michael Forest), he explains that the Greek gods of Earth are actually powerful aliens who require adoration to survive. Although the gods themselves never make another appearance in Star Trek, several episodes take their titles from Greek mythological stories.

Homer’s epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, in particular, have inspired countless modern stories, including Star Trek. While it would be incredibly difficult to find every reference to Greek mythology scattered throughout the Star Trek franchise, several episodes have obvious parallels. Star Trek has always loved to pull episode titles from Shakespeare and other classics, so it makes sense they would find titles in Greek mythology as well. Beginning with Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “The Icarus Factor,” here are nine Star Trek episodes with titles borrowed from Greek mythology.

9
“The Icarus Factor”

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 14

In Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of the master inventor Daedalus, who constructed the labyrinth of Crete that housed the Minotaur. To protect the secrets of his labyrinth, King Minos sought to kill Daedalus and his son, and Daedalus built wings to escape. Because the wings were held together by beeswax, Daedalus told Icarus not to fly too close to the sun. Icarus ignored his father, the beeswax in his wings melted, and his wings fell apart, causing Icarus to plunge into the ocean and drown.

“The Icarus Factor” focuses on the complicated relationship between Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and his father, Kyle (Mitchell Ryan), who abandoned Will when his son was only fifteen. Having lost his mother at the age of two, Will Riker then had to grow up quickly, and he remained estranged from his father for fifteen years. Kyle visits the USS Enterprise-D when Will receives an offer of his own command, and the two eventually reconcile. While there is not an exact parallel to the story of Daedalus and Icarus, Riker turns down the promotion, perhaps out of fear that he will “fly too close to the sun.”

8
“Chimera”

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7, Episode 14

The Chimera of Greek mythology was a creature composed of elements from several different animals, often depicted with the head of a lion, a dragon, and a goat. The Chimera was a monstrous creature who was hunted by the heroes of Greek mythology. The word chimera has come to refer to any sort of hybrid creature that combines multiple animals’ features and can be many different things.

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the title of “Chimera” likely refers to the Changeling Laas (J. G. Hertzler), who surprises Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) and Constable Odo (René Auberjonois) by appearing on their runabout. As Laas knows nothing about the ongoing Dominion War, Odo determines that Laas is another one of the Changelings sent out by the Founders to explore the universe. Laas is dismissive and distrustful of solids, and he asks Odo to travel the galaxy with him. Despite being tempted by the offer, Odo stays with Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) on Deep Space Nine​​​​​.

7
“Daedalus”

Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4, Episode 10

As described above, the Daedalus of Greek mythology was an inventor and a father, and the wings he invented led to his son’s death. Star Trek: Enterprise’s “Daedalus” has several similarities with the Greek myth. The episode begins when the creator of transporter technology, Dr. Emory Erickson (Bill Cobbs) visits the Enterprise with his daughter Danica (Leslie Silva). Much like Daedalus lost Icarus, Dr. Erickson had lost his son, Quinn (Donovan Knowles), in an early transporter experiment.

By using the transporters on the Enterprise, Erickson hoped he could find a way to reconstitute his son’s transporter signal. With help from Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew, Erickson is able to retrieve his son from the transporter. Tragically, however, Quinn dies soon after he appears. Dr. Erickon now has the chance to lay his son to rest, and he willingly accepts any consequences he may face from Starfleet.

6
“Lethe”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1, Episode 6

In Greek mythology, Lethe referred to a river that flowed through the underworld of Hades. Anyone who drank from the waters of the Lethe would experience oblivion and forget everything they ever knew. Star Trek: Discovery’s “Lethe” follows two major storylines, both of which connect to the episode’s title. On the USS Discovery, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) senses that her father Sarek (James Frain) has been injured on an important mission, and she finds herself reliving memories from her past on Vulcan.

Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) agrees to search for Sarek, and Burnham eventually locates his damaged shuttle. Meanwhile, Admiral Katrina Cornwell (Jayne Brook) grows increasingly suspicious of Lorca and his odd behavior. The title of “Lethe” could refer to Burnham’s memories, as she discovers that there was more to those moments than she knew. It could also refer to Lorca’s attempts to shed his past and reinvent himself as his Prime Universe counterpart, despite being from the Mirror Universe.

5
“Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1, Episode 7

The quote “magic to make the sanest man go mad” comes from Homer’s The Iliad, and references a sash the goddess Aphrodite gives to Hera. Hera wishes to seduce Zeus to distract him from a war, and the magical love charm of Aphrodite’s sash will allow Hera to have whatever she wants. In Star Trek: Discovery’s “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson) traps the USS Discovery in a time loop while he works to understand the spore drive so he can sell the ship to the Klingons.

As the Discovery is repeatedly destroyed, Mudd gets closer and closer to his goal before his plan is thwarted by Michael Burnham, Lt. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), and Lt. Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif). Love is discussed often throughout the episode, which could be what the title is referencing. As Stamets is the only one aware of the time loops, he uses Burnham and Tyler’s attraction to one another to get Tyler, who is Discovery’s Chief of Security, to believe him.

4
“An Obol for Charon”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, Episode 4

According to Greek mythology, Charon was the being who ferried souls across the rivers of Hades to the Underworld. As part of ancient funeral rites, the dead were often buried with coins (such as an obol) in their mouths as payment for this passage. “An Obol for Charon” brings the USS Discovery in contact with a massive sphere that contains hundreds of thousands of years worth of history and data. As the sphere’s life was coming to an end, it sought out a means to transfer all of its stored information so that the history would not be lost.

As the sphere tries to transfer the data, it wreaks havoc on the USS Discovery’s systems, which triggers a fatal physiological response in Commander Saru (Doug Jones). Believing that he is dying, Saru asks Michael Burnham to catalog his personal logs so that his people, the Kelpians, can learn of the Federation and the existence of other worlds. Thankfully, Saru survives, revealing a new stage in Kelpian development, and cementing “An Obol for Charon” as one of Saru’s best episodes.

3
“Project Daedalus”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, Episode 9

Star Trek: Discovery’s “Project Daedalus” is the third Star Trek episode with a title referencing the myth of Daedalus and his son, Icarus. The myth celebrates ingenuity, while also warning of hubris and the risk of becoming overly ambitious. In this particular instance, the title could have multiple meanings, as Project Daedalus is the name of an in-universe research project conducted by the Starfleet’s secret intelligence agency Section 31 to understand time travel.

There was also a real world study called Project Daedalus conducted in the 1970s by the British Interplanetary Society, who were attempting to design a scientific interstellar probe. Both project titles are likely in reference to the mythological craftsman Daedalus and his invented wings. Discovery’s “Project Daedalus” focuses largely on Lt. Commander Airiam (Hannah Cheesman), who sacrifices herself after being taken over by Section 31’s AI known as Control. With her last words, Airiam tells Michael Burnham that she must find Project Daedalus.

2
“Calypso”

Star Trek: Short Treks Season 1, Episode 2

Calypso was the name of a nymph in Homer’s The Odyssey, who enchants Odysseus into staying on her island for seven years. While Odysseus enjoys Calypso’s company for a while, he eventually begins longing for his wife, Penelope, and the gods persuade Calypso to let Odysseus go. Calypso then provides Odysseus with the supplies he needs to build a boat and make the journey home. The Star Trek: Short Treks episode “Calypso” tells a similar story.

A lone soldier named Craft (Aldis Hodge) finds himself on the abandoned USS Discovery sometime in the far future. He bonds with Discovery’s sentient computer Zora (Annabelle Wallis), who has become incredibly advanced over the last one thousand years. As Craft dances with a projection of Zora, he questions whether he is being unfaithful to his wife. Seeing his sadness and despite her own feelings, Zora lets him go, providing him with a spacesuit and shuttle for the journey.

1
“Among The Lotus Eaters”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 4

In The Odyssey, Odysseus visits the so-called “land of the lotus-eaters,” where he encounters a group of people who forgot their pasts after eating from the lotus trees. As they eat the lotus fruits, the lotus-eaters lose any desire to go home or return to their families, and simply wish to remain among their fellow lotus-eaters. Strange New Worlds’ “Among the Lotus Eaters” has an obvious parallel to the myth, as the Enterprise visits Rigel VII, a planet orbited by asteroids that emit radiation that causes people to forget who they are.

Although Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) loses his memories, he retains enough of himself to fight for his crew and stop former Yeoman Zac Nguyen (David Huynh). While a castle on the planet prevents Nguyen and his guards from losing their memories, the laborers toiled away unaware of their true identities. Pike and his crew eventually encourage the laborers to revolt, and after they regain their memories, Pike orders the Enterprise to knock the main asteroid causing the memory loss effects out of orbit. Greek mythology has had a profound influence on Western literature and storytelling, especially in the Star Trek franchise.

Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, & Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are all available to stream on Paramount+.