The Netflix series Sirens, paints a fictional and frivolous picture of a cult community, run by the mistress in charge, Michaela Kell, alias Kiki, and her devoted followers, the sirens, yet beneath the superficiality of the series lurks a dark undercurrent.

To a new recruit, already inflicted with low self-esteem, total unconditional acceptance into a cult community may seem like manna bestowed from heaven. Climbing the stairway to heaven depends on compliance, loyalty, unquestioned obedience and currying the favor of the master or mistress, and yet the ladder can be pulled out from under one’s feet at the slightest whim of the master, or mistress.  The elation of being selected to enter the inner circle, to serve in the presence of the gods, is replaced by the fear of ostracism – who can survive being kicked out of heaven? Hephaestus was kicked out of Olympus, because he fell out of favour with Hera.

In Ancient Greece, the gods and goddesses possessed “charis’ the innate ability to captivate and attract people through irresistible charm and magnetism. If the gods favoured a person, they could bestow this divine favour of the gift of grace upon him or her, and the charismatic person would be able to charm and influence others.  Odysseus was favoured by Athena and was awarded the ‘gift of the gab’ and considered a man with the capacity to persuade others.  Odysseus was tasked by Agamemnon to persuade Achilles to join the Achaeans in the war against the Trojans. Achilles’ strength as a warrior tipped the scales, but Odysseus’ cunning delivered the Greeks their victory.

A cult of personality, or a cult of a leader originates by creating an idealized and heroic following of a glorious charismatic leader, often through unquestioning loyalty, flattery and praise. In his 2013-paper, “What is character and why it really does matter“, Thomas A. Wright says, “The cult of personality phenomenon refers to the idealized, even god-like, public image of an individual consciously shaped and moulded through constant propaganda and media exposure. As a result, one is able to manipulate others based entirely on the influence of public personality … the cult of personality perspective focuses on the often shallow, external images that many public figures cultivate to create an idealized and heroic image.” Thus modern social media influencers are shaped.

In her June 2024-article titled Sirens the dark psychology of how people really get drawn into cults, published in The Conversation, Joy Cranham of the University of Bath explains how cult leaders use authoritarian tactics, often portraying themselves as messianic figures with mystical powers. Questioning their authority is not tolerated and any concern is reframed as a personal failing, rather than a legitimate concern. Cranham discusses cognitive dissonance where followers convince themselves they are happy and cared for, in a setting that abuses and denigrates them. They sacrifice their own value systems to embrace a doctrine centred around a megalomaniac.

Apotheosis

Many charismatic leaders may have legitimate world-changing visions, but it is when superhuman or god-like traits are attributed to them, either by themselves, their spin-doctors or their inner-circle followers, that their megalomania overrides and hacks reason. 

The Greek word ‘apotheosis’ means ‘to deify’, referring to the practice of divinization or deification of a subject, to elevate a person or any living thing, or an abstract idea to the level of a deity. 

The Greek gods dwelled on Mount Olympus, far above the mere mortals on earth.  Tycoons run their business empires from air conditioned penthouse suites in skyscraper towers, with a view inviting their gaze to linger over distant horizons – they never bow their heads to look down.  They arrive by helicopter to avoid traffic, or they ride in chauffeured limousines with tinted windows, not to see or be seen. They travel by private jet and have vacations on their private islands, as to not run into the common crowds. 

Like the Greek gods on Olympus, from their ivory towers, the titan tycoons are distanced from the impact of their corruption and crimes on the faceless nameless victims.  Victims become dehumanized collateral damage – cannon fodder. Tycoons are literally and figuratively elevated – raised above the law, above reproach, above guilt or remorse.  Power erodes their judgement. Their hubris feeds their optimistic over-confident conviction that they are untouchable like the gods on Olympus.  Power is godly. Until they crash and burn.

Lord David Owen, a British neurologist and parliamentarian in his 2009-article, titled In sickness and in Power, published in ‘Brain’ discusses the hubris syndrome, a disorder of the possession of power, particularly power that has been associated with enormous success, held for a period of years, and with minimal constraint on the leader. The clinical features are a manifest contempt for others, loss of contact with reality, restlessness or reckless actions, (thrill seeking) and displays of competence.  Lord Owen instigated the Daedalus Trust, an organization founded for the prevention of hubris syndrome.

Daedalus was the brilliant engineer indentured to mythical King Minos, who designed the labyrinth, amongst other designs. But King Minos did not want to share his genius with anyone, so he kept Daedalus and his son Icarus captive in Knossos – his palace on Crete.  Daedalus designed and created wings held together by beeswax for himself and Icarus to escape.  He warned Icarus not to fly to close to the sun Helios, but Icarus thought himself greater than Helios, and the god punished him by directing his powerful rays at him, melting the beeswax. Icarus plunged to his death into the sea, today named the Icarian sea. 

Alan Greenspan referred to this phenomenon of a leader becoming too ambitious and attributing him- or herself godly powers, as “irrational exuberance”.  A neurological explanation is at some point the elevated testosterone levels of the tycoons, tyrants and titans of industry override the rational functions of the neo-cortex.  These men or women begin to believe themselves as invincible, omnipotent, and power giants.  They believe they can not only conquer the world but that they own the world.  They sleep less, become more and more driven and their over-confidence pollutes their business relations and leading to disastrous leadership.    They no longer entertain greed for the sake of money – it is for the sake of winning, for beating boredom, for becoming gods. Until they crash and burn spectacularly. 

Icarus in Corporate Settings

Enron’s chief executive, Jeffrey Skilling, who was implicated in one of the biggest bankruptcy filings in US history, dressed up as Darth Father, and called his traders ‘Storm Troopers’.  In 2006 Skilling was found guilty of conspiracy, insider trading, making false statements, and securities fraud. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison and fined $45 million. He was released in 2019.

Theresa Almeida in her June-2024 article titled Five signs you might be in a corporate cult published in LSE Business Review, states “when corporate culture turns into a cult, maintaining a monocultures is key, with implicit expectations or rules about how members should behave, speak, and even dress. (Skilling’s Storm Troopers is an exaggerated example.)  In contrast, healthy, inclusive corporate cultures foster diversity, encourage open communication and differences of opinion, and promote individuals expressing their uniqueness.”

Christian Rasmus Holmes IV, was a vice president at Enron, and the father of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the blood testing company Theranos. Holmes and her partner Ramesh Balwani jointly ran the company with a “dysfunctional corporate culture” of “secrecy and fear” and according to employees anyone who “raised concerns or objections” were “usually marginalized or fired”.  Holmes was indicted in June 2018, by a federal grand jury on fraud charges. In January 2022 she was convicted of defrauding investors and acquitted of defrauding patients. She was sentenced to serve 11 years at Federal Prison Camp, Bryan, and began serving her sentence on May 30, 2023.

Almeida points out that “corporate cults create a bubble of believers who, as they become indoctrinated, are more and more isolated from outside influences.” In cult companies, unquestionable devotion is expected and employees are isolated. Leisure time is spent with colleagues in ‘team building’ activities and weekends are scheduled with golf days, padel tournaments, triathlons, creating an emotional bondage that is punished with ridicule or sewerage, if questioned.  

Please listen to the accompanying podcast of my interview with Mr Angelo Agrizzi, former Chief Operating Officer of Bosasa, a company that became deeply embedded in the State Capture of the South African ANC government. Angelo Agrizzi stepped up to became one of South Africa’s most well-known whistleblowers. In this interview he shines a spotlight on how he became embroiled in a cult culture that formed around a Machiavellian personality in that company.

Top image: The Fall of the Titans by Cornelis van Haarlem (1596–1598) (Public Domain)

Suggested Books:

Angelo Agrizi 2020 Inside the Belly of the Beast, the Real Bosasa Story.  Truth be Told Publishing

Angelo Agrizi 2021 Surviving the Best, The Ugly Truth About State Capture and Why They Tried to Kill Me. Truth be Told Publishing