Yannis Aposkitis | Aeternox: A Meta-morphed Adaptation of Aristophanes’ “The Frogs”

“The Frogs” by Aristophanes was, in its time, an ode to endings: the end of Athenian democracy (following the Peloponnesian War), the end of great theater (with the death of Euripides), and the birth of black comedy itself. It is a descent into the Underworld that mourns and mocks the collapse of an era.

“Aeternox” is a meta-morphed adaptation of “The Frogs,” exploring the collapse of our own era—an age suspended between planetary decay and digital resurrection. On the one hand, we face the climate crisis, which threatens the planet’s green pulse and human survival. On the other, we witness the rise of artificial intelligence, promising a new synthetic reality—a digital, immortal, yet lifeless world.

In this transformation, humanity becomes both witness and worker in a global metamorphosis: from organic to artificial, from myth to algorithm. The planet is bombarded, overheated, and scarred, while we prepare to crown a new, soulless, electric Prometheus.

And Greece? Greece finds itself behind the reception desk of a planetary hotel—welcoming the weary workers of East and West, while trying to hide the fact that its pool is full of frogs.

That is why “The Frogs.”
That is why this meta-morphed adaptation.
That is why “Aeternox”—a word that means ‘eternal night.’

At the heart of the project is the surreal journey of Dionysis Dialektos, a playwright who visits the Aeternox Corporation to protest the unauthorized release of a book allegedly written by him—a distorted AI-generated version of “The Frogs.” Instead of an office building, he finds a luxurious all-inclusive hotel expecting his arrival, along with other mysterious ‘guests.’

Together with his loyal secretary Leonidas, Dionysis is drawn into a labyrinthine underworld populated by damned seasonal workers, bureaucrats, deranged hotel managers, and content-obsessed demons. As they search for justice, they encounter warped reflections of modern madness: climate apathy, cultural tourism, political correctness, and algorithmic afterlives.

Until they realize the guests were invited to Dionysis’ own funeral.
Until it’s revealed that Dionysis lies intubated in a private clinic operated by the Aeternox AI, to whom he had entrusted, via consent form and neuroscan, the task of finishing his adaptation in the event of unexpected death.

“Aeternox” is not a retelling. It is a meta-morphed adaptation of an ancient Greek classic, following the zeitgeist of the 21st century.