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A type of fantasy film which is set amongst the gods and heroes of ancient literature, primarily Greek and Roman. Stories of ancient heroes, especially Hercules and Ulysses, fighting monsters like the Cyclops and the Gorgons, had always been very popular, but it wasn't until the modeling effects of Ray Harryhausen that the subgenre really came into its own. Harryhausen's ground-breaking techniques made these monsters real in Jason and the Argonauts. Gods who are more on the level of superheroes, the omniscient entities remained popular as film subjects right up until the '70s, when mythological fantasy all but vanished from sight. Aside from the European peplum films, mythology was dropped in favor of the more medieval, sword-and-sorcery storyline.