"You should have married me," the lover said ruefully.

"Then I'd be doing this with him." 'This' being a sweaty steamy rendezvous on a yacht.

It is this post-coital exchange, and not the in-your-face geopolitical references and scenarios, that establishes Kaos as one of the most incisive commentaries on contemporary global affairs. A present-day adaptation of several stories from Greek mythology, this new Netflix series is being binge-watched for all the obvious reasons. There's sex, politics, violence, and a whole lot of family drama. And it all involves the gods. It can be easily seen as the Greek mythology version of The Godfather or Succession or even the homegrown Mirzapur. What is missed, hiding in plain sight, are the insights on international relations, particularly the equations between the Global North and the Global South.

According to Thucydides, Minos, the king of Crete, was the first man to build a naval force, and he ruled through a 'divine' decree. He offered peace to neighbouring kingdoms like Athens in return for sacrificial virgins. When he died, he became a judge of the Underworld. In the show, Minos is one of the minions of the gods, under the direct command of Poseidon, the king of the seas. His existence and influence depend on doing the gods' bidding without asking questions or being bothered........

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