Video games sprang off the back of pinball machines which were very popular during the 1970s, when pinballs started using circuit boards and digital displays. The world record for the biggest pinball machine of all time still belongs to Hercules, the semi-divine hero from Greek Mythology. Greek Gods in video games were just around the corner from there.
In the 1980s video games became extremely popular and the rest is ancient history. This post will show you how the Greek Gods influenced computer and video game design from the beginning and how things have progressed up until the year 1999. At the end of this post you can then follow another link to another post which will show you newer video games based on Greek Mythology.
It’s good to know how things started out though, so you realise how good video games have become. Even so, I’m sure the pinball machines and many of the retro video games using Greek Mythology themes would still be awesome fun to play at anytime.
1970s – Greek Gods in Video Games
Eros One Pinball Machine (1979)
Hercules Pinball Machine (1979)
- The world’s largest pinball machine.
- Uses a cue ball for play, that’s as big as a small apple.
- Built by Atari in 1979 (1-4 players).
- 18 sq ft of playfield.
1980s – Greek Gods in Video Games
Mars, God of War Pinball Machine (1981)
Madness and the Minotaur (1981) [Dragon 32/64] [TRS-80 CoCo]
Minotaur (1981) [Apple II] [Atari 8-bit]
Ulysses and the Golden Fleece (1981) [ Apple II] [Atari 8-bit] [Commodore 64] [FM-7] [PC-88] [PC-98] [PC Booter]
Labyrinth of Crete (1982) [Apple II] [Atari 8-bit] [Commodore 64]
Theseus and the Minotaur (1982) [Apple II]
Atlantis (1982) [Atari 2600] [Atari 8-bit] [VIC-20] [Intellivision] [Magnavox Odyssey]
Atlantis 2 (1982) [Atari 2600]
The Return of Heracles (1983) [Apple II] [Atari 8-bit] [Commodore 64]
Zeus (1983) [Commodore 64]
Styx (1983) [ZX Spectrum]
Perseus and Andromeda (1983) [Atari 8-bit] [Browser] [Commodore 16, Plus/4] [Commodore 64] [Dragon 32/64] [Electron] [Oric] [ZX Spectrum]
No Escape! (1983) [Atari 2600]
Courageous Perseus (1984) [MSX]
Aegean Voyage (1984) [Commodore 64]
Magical Myths (1985) [Amiga] [Apple II] [Apple IIgs] [Atari ST]
Pegasus and the Phantom Riders (1985) [TRS-80 CoCo]
The Odyssey (1986) [Commodore 64]
Kid Icarus (1986) [Arcade] [Game Boy Advance] [NES] [Nintendo 3DS] [Wii] [Wii U]
Legendary Wings (1986) [Arcade] [Nintendo]
Argo (1986) [FM-7] [PC-88] [PC-98] [Sharp X1]
Hercules (1986) [Amiga] [Atari ST] [BBC Micro] [Commodore 16, Plus/4] [Commodore 64] [Electron] [ZX Spectrum]
Rygar (1986) [NES]
Athena (1987) [NES]
Minotaur (1987) [Acorn 32-bit]
Herakles no Eikō: Tōjin Makyō Den (1987) [NES]
Heracles: The Early Trials (1987) [Commodore 64]
The Labours of Hercules (1987) [ZX Spectrum]
Saint Seiya: Ōgon Densetsu (1987) [NES]
Tōjin Makyō Den: Heracles no Eikō (Glory of Heracles series) (1987) [NES]
Hercules: Slayer of the Damned! (1988) [Amstrad CPC] [Commodore 64] [MSX] [ZX Spectrum]
Phelios (1988) [Arcade] [Sega Genesis] [Mega Drive]
The Battle for Olympus (1988) [NES] [Game Boy]
Disney’s Hades Challenge (1988) [PC] [MAC]
Odysseus – Trojan Warrior (1988) [C64]
Saint Seiya: Ōgon Densetsu – Kanketsu Hen (1988) [NES]
Altered Beast (1988) [Amiga] [Amstrad CPC] [Android] [Arcade] [Atari ST] [Commodore 64] [DOS] [Genesis] [iPad] [iPhone] [MSX] [NES] [Nintendo 3DS] [Playstation 3] [Sega Master System] [TurboGrafx-16] [TurboGrafx CD] [Wii] [Windows] [ XBox 360] [Zodiac] [ZX Spectrum]
Myth (1989) [Amiga] [Atari ST] [Commodore 64] [DOS] [ZX Spectrum]
Myth: History in the Making (1989) [Amiga] [Amiga CD32] [Amstrad CPC] [NES][ZX Spectrum] [Commodore 64]
Ulises (1989) [Amstrad CPC] [Amstrad PCW] [DOS] [MSX] [ZX Spectrum]
Herakles no Eikō II: Titan no Metsubō (1989) [NES]
1990s – Greek Gods in Video Games
Jason and the Argonauts (1990) [Amstrad CPC] [Commodore 64] [ZX Spectrum]
Mythos (1990) [Amstrad CPC] [Amstrad PCW] [DOS] [MSX] [ZX Spectrum]
Robodemons (1990) [NES]
Caverns of the Minotaur (1990) [Atari]
Pegasus (1991) [Amiga] [Atari ST] [BlackBerry]
Gods (1991) [Amiga] [Atari ST] [BlackBerry] [DOS] [Genesis] [PC-98] [SNES]
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (1991) [Gameboy] [Nintendo 3DX]
Talking Cloze Technique: Greek Mythology (1991) [Apple IIgs]
Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods (1991) [Amiga] [Atari ST] [DOS] [FM Towns] [Genesis] [Macintosh] [PC 98] [Sharp X68000] [SNES] [Windows]
Heracles no Eiko 3: Kamigami no Chinmoku (1992) [SNES] [Wii] [Wii U]
Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete (1992) [Macintosh]
Myth (1992) [Amiga]
The Dark Fables from Aesop (1992) [CD-i]
More Dark Fables from Aesop (1992) [CD-i]
Day Dreamin’ Davey (1992) [NES]
Metamorphic Forces (1993) [Arcade]
Cal III (1993) [FM Towns] [PC-98] [TurboGrafx CD]
Zeus (1993) [Atari 8-bit]
Ancient Glory (1993) [Apple IIgs]
Sylthia (1993) [TurboGrafx CD]
Shinseiki Odysselya II (1993) (Super Nintendo]
The Labyrinth of Time (1993) [MS-DOS] [Amiga CD32] [Mac] [Linux] [Windows] [Apple iOS]
Wrath of the Gods (1994) [MAC] [Windows 3.x]
Hercules (1994)
Herakles no Eikō 4: Kamigami no Ocurimono (1994) [SNES] [Wii] [Wii U]
Loony Labyrinth (1995) [Macintosh] [Windows]
Labyrinth of Crete (1995) [CD-i] [Macintosh] [Windows 3.x]
Wishbone and the Amazing Odyssey (1996) [Macintosh] [Windows]
Herc’s Adventures (1997) [PlayStation] [Sega Saturn]
Disney’s Hercules (1997) [PlayStation] [PlayStation 3] [PSP] [PS Vita] [Windows]
Disney’s Hercules (1997) [Game Boy]
Final Odyssey: Theseus versus the Minotaur (1997) [Commodore] [Amiga] [CD32]
Disney’s Hades Challenge (1998) [Macintosh] [Windows]
Zeus (1998) [Windows]
Magic and Mayhem (1998) [Windows]
Theseus and the Minotaur (1999) [Browser]
Action Conquest: Quest for the Golden Fleece (1999) [Windows]
Click here for more modern Video Games with Greek Mythology themes.
