The Irish PM said he’d be Boris Johnson’s ‘Athena’ and it’s the subtlest, most savage burn you’ll hear this week

John Plunkett. Updated September 9th, 2019

There was no shortage of things to enjoy about Boris Johnson’s visit to see Irish PM Leo Varadkar in Dublin on Monday.

There was the fact Varadkar totally schooled his British counterpart on all things Brexit. There was the weird fidgeting that Johnson got up to while he waited for his turn to speak.

But best of all was this most subtle and most savage of burns which might have passed some of us by. The bit when he said this.

“Negotiating FTAs [free trade agreements] with the EU and US and securing their ratification in less than three years is going to be a herculean task for you. We want to be your friend and ally, your Athena, in doing so.”

And just in case, like us, you didn’t immediately know who Athena was or what the Irish PM was alluding to, help was at hand.

Varadkar to Johnson:

“Securing the ratification in less than there years is going to be a Herculean task for you.

But we do want to be your friend, your ally, your Athena”

When Hercules went mad and killed his children , Athena stopped the disaster from getting worse . pic.twitter.com/dS5RC0IInd

— John McGahon (@John_McGahon) September 9, 2019

Hercules went mad, due to the gaslighting of his stepmother, Hera. He murdered his own children, but before he could murder his mortal father, Athena knocked him out, limiting the damage. That's some classical dig by Leo. And Johnson just nodding like a dog. https://t.co/a7PAY8QF07

— Cathal Malone (@cathalmalone) September 9, 2019

The Athena/Hercules reference is brutal, esp for Johnson. For those refreshing their memory re Greek mythology, Athena rescued Hercules repeatedly, including when he went mad and killed his own children. Hercules was about to kill his dad, but Athena knocked him out & stopped him https://t.co/E1oigbVt0m

— Sarah Beattie-Smith (@SBeattieSmith) September 9, 2019

Quite a loaded “Athena to your Hercules” jab from Irish PM. She helped Hercules when he went mad by knocking him unconscious, preventing him from killing more people than he already had (including his children). https://t.co/mIqeGTATcv

— NickdMiller (@NickdMiller) September 9, 2019

I mean, yes, Athena helped Hercules with his labours, but she also knocked him unconscious when he went mad and started killing his children…

— Nathaniel Tapley (@Natt) September 9, 2019

For the benefit of those of us not classically-educated…

Hercules went mad and killed his wife and children but Athena stepped in, knocked him out and stopped his killing spree.

She then helped him through the rest of his 12 labours to atone for his streak of lunacy. https://t.co/U7j75ua6LU

— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) September 9, 2019

To conclude …

That “Athena to your Hercules” jab from Irish PM summed up in a GIF… pic.twitter.com/6BBs6X9lD9

— Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) September 9, 2019