Percy and the Cliff Notes

So went and watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief while visiting Mom; it's a kid's movie so Mom was interested in seeing it, and there's no talking animals in it so it's easier for me stomach. Mostly, though, I was curious as to how it handled Greek mythology. Overall, pretty good, but there were a few things I found a little annoying.

1: "Hercules"
Learning Greek myth in the museum Mr. Brunner talks of heroes in Greek myth including Hercules. Close, but Hercules was the Roman version of the Greek hero Herakles. I'm just going to attribute that one to not wanting to confuse ignorant Americans who only know Greek myth via the Disney animated movie.

2: Athena's daughter.
Athena was one of the three Virgin Goddesses of Greek myth, so no kids ever. Pretty self-explanatory my problem with that one.

3: A burning hell?
Greek mythology varies over time from author to author about the exact makeup of the Underworld (whether it's just one area or divided into three; whether it has one river or five rivers). But the one consensus is that there is not burning punishment; that is a Judeo-Christian belief. Not saying that some aren't punished in the afterlife, but those who are punished are sent to Tartarus, a deep, dark pit/abyss. Likewise the burning, winged and horned form that Hades himself uses, not present in any representation of Hades; this is much closer to the Judeo-Christian view of demons or Satan. Again, I think the fiery hell/demons are used to not confuse Americans who view the underworld as being solely a fiery hell.

4: Where's Cerberus?
While we're in the Underworld, where is Cerberus (the multi-headed dog that keeps souls from escaping). We get "hell hounds" but no Cerberus. This makes me sad 'cause I wanted to see how they would portray a multi-headed dog and how it would compare to the Harry Potter version. Alas, I feel that they avoided making Cerberus for fear that they would be accused of stealing it from Harry Potter.

5: Attributes?
In Greek imagery each God was given attributes because there was no other way to tell them apart visually. So when we're presented with the pantheon at the end of the movie we're presented with eleven (only eleven not twelve as Hades is not there) similar figures with no attributes. I assume that the only female who speaks would be Hera, since she interrupts and counters Zeus. Nope, it's Athena because there has to be a tie back to her daughter. Would it really kill them to have put some attributes in the costume design though?

Not saying that it got everything wrong, there were some things that I enjoyed.
1: The Lotus Eaters, an often overlooked/forgotten portion of Odysseus's return home, so nice to see it referenced.
2: The real lightning thief was the son of the trickster of Greek myth; very fitting.
3: The lecherous satyr.

Of course there are issues I had with the overall plot and reveals, but that is another list. And this just makes me more concerned about the Clash of the Titans remake scheduled to be out in April.

Anyone else find any disparities between Percy Jackson and Greek myth?

But for now, "I'm telling you, you're messing up the story, now get it right!" (The Princess Bride)