Emma Stone’s New Film ‘Bugonia’ Revives A An Ancient Myth Of Rebirth From Decay

While it sounds like a forgotten indie band or a rare disease, Bugonia is, in fact, one of humanity’s most persistent and poetic myths—a belief that decaying animal carcasses could spontaneously generate life in the form of bees. And now, thanks to Stone’s provocative new film and her own personal beliefs, this 2,000-year-old idea is crashing into modern culture with a fascinating, alien twist.

Prepare to delve into the secret history of Bugonia, from its origins in ancient rituals to its stunning Hollywood debut and its unexpected connection to the search for extraterrestrial life.

What is Bugonia ? The Myth of Life From Death

Long before modern science explained the intricacies of pollination and bee colonies, ancient civilizations were obsessed with the mysterious appearance of bees. They seemed to materialize from nowhere, a gift from the gods. The most widespread explanation for this phenomenon was the concept of Bugonia (from the Greek bougonia, meaning “ox-born”).

The myth is vividly detailed in texts by the Roman poet Virgil in his seminal work, Georgics, and by the Greek scholar Varro. The ritual was as macabre as it was precise:

1. The Selection: A young, healthy bull or ox was chosen.

2. The Sacrifice: The animal was ceremonially killed, not by a simple blow, but by a specific method often involving “bruising” or suffocation to keep the hide intact.

3. The Entombment: The carcass was placed in a sealed, airtight chamber or vessel, often with its horns protruding from the ground.

4. The Transformation: After a prescribed period (often 30 days), the practitioners would open the chamber. Instead of a decaying bull, they would find a thriving swarm of bees, born directly from the putrefying flesh.

This was not seen as a grotesque anomaly but as a divine miracle—a powerful symbol of resurrection, cyclical rebirth, and the hidden generative forces of nature. Life, the ancients believed, could and did spring forth directly from death and decay.

From Ancient Ritual to Silver Screen : Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia”

The myth lay dormant for centuries, a curious footnote for classicists and historians. That was until visionary director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite, Poor Things) and his muse, Emma Stone, decided to resurrect it.

Their new film, simply titled Bugonia, premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival to immediate acclaim. While the plot is shrouded in typical Lanthimos mystery, reports from early screenings suggest it uses the ancient myth as a jumping-off point for a darkly comic, surreal exploration of creation, belief, and the boundaries of life.

The film doesn’t just tell the old story; it re-contextualizes it. It asks a modern question: if the ancients could believe something as seemingly impossible as an ox birthing bees, what wondrous and terrifying possibilities might we be overlooking today?

Emma Stone, Aliens, and the Modern Bugonia

This is where the story transcends a simple film promo and becomes a cultural moment. In press conferences for the movie, Emma Stone made a stunning connection. When asked about the themes of the film, she stated her belief in the possibility of the Bugonia myth—not in the literal sense of bees from bulls, but as a metaphor for the vast unknown.

“The point is that they believed in something that seems impossible to us now,” Stone explained. “It makes you wonder, what are our own ‘Bugonia’ myths? What do we dismiss that future generations will see as obvious? For me, the existence of extraterrestrial life is a modern Bugonia. It seems fantastical to some, but the universe is simply too vast for me to believe we are the only decay that gave rise to something new.”

Her comments, as covered by The Guardian, were not a glib soundbite but a sincere reflection. She argued that our current skepticism about intelligent alien life might one day look as quaint as our skepticism about the spontaneous generation of bees. In her view, we are the decaying ox, and the emergence of contact with another civilization would be our swarm of bees—a terrifying, beautiful, and transformative rebirth of our understanding of the cosmos.

This elegant parallel instantly made “Bugonia” a trending topic. It was no longer just an ancient word or a film title; it became a shorthand for open-mindedness, for the possibility of paradigm-shifting discovery hiding in plain sight.

The Science Behind the Myth : Why Did They Believe It ?

While we now know bees come from the eggs of queen bees, the ancient belief in Bugonia wasn’t entirely without a basis in observation. It was a case of profound misidentification.

Entomologists and historians suggest that the “bees” emerging from the carcasses were almost certainly not bees at all. They were likely other flying insects, such as the hoverfly (Eristalis tenax), also known as the “drone fly.”

• Mimicry: Hoverfly larvae are aquatic and thrive in incredibly foul, decaying liquid—precisely the environment found inside a sealed, rotting bull carcass.

• Appearance: The adult hoverfly bears a striking resemblance to a honeybee, a mimicry evolved to deter predators.

An ancient person sealing a bull carcass and returning weeks later to find it swarming with bee-like insects would have had no reason not to believe the ritual had worked. They had visual “proof” of a miraculous transformation. This fascinating intersection of observation and superstition is a classic example of ancient natural philosophy attempting to explain a complex world.

Why “Bugonia” is More Relevant Than Ever

The resurgence of this term speaks to a deep, collective yearning in our modern, hyper-rational world. Bugonia is more than a myth; it’s a concept with powerful resonance today:

1. A Symbol of Environmental Hope: In an age of climate anxiety and species decline, the core idea of Bugonia—life eternally resilient, finding a way to regenerate from destruction—is a potent metaphor for ecological hope and renewal.

2. The Embrace of the Unknown: We live in a time of breathtaking scientific advancement, from AI to quantum computing. Yet, the more we know, the more we realize how much we don’t know. Bugonia represents the humility to accept that not all mysteries are yet solved and that future discoveries may shatter our current realities.

3. A Narrative of Transformation: On a personal level, everyone understands the concept of rising from the ashes. Bugonia is the ultimate story of personal transformation—of something beautiful and productive emerging from a period of personal decay or hardship.

The Swarm of the Future

The journey of the word “Bugonia” is a remarkable one. It has traveled from the pages of Virgil’s Georgics, through the hidden rituals of ancient priests, into the creative mind of a visionary filmmaker, and onto the global stage through the voice of a Hollywood star. It has evolved from a literal instruction for beekeeping into a philosophical framework for discussing aliens, hope, and the limits of human knowledge.

As the AP noted from the Venice red carpet, the buzz is undeniable. Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos haven’t just made a film; they’ve reintroduced a ancient symbol for our modern anxieties and aspirations. So the next time you see a bee buzzing from flower to flower, remember the myth of the ox. Remember that our understanding of the world is always evolving. And perhaps, ask yourself: What is your Bugonia?