Greek History - Blog Posts

this website’s easy watch. *dangles a bunch of greek gods like keys*

If you think about it, the Emperor of Mankind from Warhammer40k is very similar to Alexander the Great.

1. The Emperor fought the Unification Wars to unify the humans on Earth and together start the Great Crusade across the stars to conquer the galaxy.

Alexander unified the Hellenic City states and together started the campaign against the Persians and conquer the east.

2. The Emperor faced some rebellions while in his Great Crusade

Some City States like Athens rebelled against the rule of Alexander while he was in his campaign

3. The Emperor brought in his crusade Historians, cartographers, scientists and explorers (the Mars mechanicum) to find and reserve new technologies, to conduct researches etc.

Alexander also brought in his campaign historians, cartographers, scientists and explorers.

4. The Emperor died (kinda) right before his crusade was over.

Alexander also died right before his campaign was over (he had plans to head for the west after he went to India)

5. They both left an empire of great scale that was fragmented into smaller peaces with different rulers each (Alexander's land was fragmented to the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the kingdom of Pergamon, the Seleucid Empire and the kingdom of Macedon. The Emperor's Imperium was divided to Segmentums: The Segmentum Ultima, Tempestus, Obscurus, Solar and Pacificus).

6. Finally both were powerful figures with great strategic skills and unmatched wisdom and sometimes were viewed as gods (the Egyptians viewed Alexander as a god and Lorgar with his legion viewed the Emperor as a divine being).

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𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝑔𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓂𝓎 𝓂𝒾𝒹𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉,

𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝓀𝒾𝓈𝓈,

𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝓊𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓈

𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼’𝓂 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓈

𝓎𝑜𝓊’𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈, 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇𝓈,

𝐼’ 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝑜𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝓅𝓈,

𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝓊𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒 “𝒪𝒽 𝒵𝑒𝓊𝓈, 𝒹𝑜𝓃’𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝑒”

𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓃𝓈𝓌𝑒𝓇 “𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇, 𝓎𝑜𝓊’𝓇𝑒 𝒶 𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓈”

𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝒶𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝒶 𝒹𝑜𝓏𝑒𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑜𝑒𝓈, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓅𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝑒𝓈

𝓎𝑒𝓉 𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝒾𝒹𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊’𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓇

“𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉, 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈”

𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒𝑔 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝑔𝑜𝒹𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓈,

𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 𝑜𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝑒𝓈

𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓈𝓀 𝓂𝑒 “𝑜𝒽 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒜𝓅𝒽𝓇𝑜𝒹𝒾𝓉𝑒,

𝓌𝒽𝓎 𝓈𝑜 𝒸𝓇𝓊𝑒𝓁 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓁𝒾𝓅𝓈?”

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Written by Persephone.

• 𝐼 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 — 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝓊𝓅 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓋𝑒

𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝑔𝑜𝒹𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑒𝓁𝑜𝒹𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝓌 𝒷𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓈𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝒻𝓉.

𝐼 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 — 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔

𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒷𝒾𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒾𝓇 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝑒𝓁𝑜𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓂𝓈.

𝐼 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 — 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝓊𝓃 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝓊𝓅 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓋𝑒

𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝒾𝓇 𝒾𝓈 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝑜𝓉, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓃𝒾𝒷 𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝓀𝒾𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈

𝐼 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 - 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒’𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃𝑒𝒹

𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂 𝒾𝓃 𝓎𝑒𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝒾𝓁𝓈.

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔’𝓈 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝒹 — 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝓇𝒾𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝓌𝓈 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝓇𝑜𝓅𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝒾𝓁𝓈.

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔’𝓈 𝒽𝑜𝓉 - 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝓁𝑜𝓌𝓁𝓎 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒾𝒻 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈.

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒’𝓈 𝒶 𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀, — 𝑜𝒻 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹, 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒’𝓈 𝒶 𝓁𝒾𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓇𝓎 - 𝑜𝒻 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓁𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽, 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓇𝑜𝓉

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒’𝓈 𝒶 𝓈𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 - 𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝓁𝑒𝑒𝓅 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝒾𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔,

𝑜𝒻 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝒶𝓃𝓀𝑒𝓉𝓈 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓂.

𝒲𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈, 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓉, 𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉 “𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔”

𝒲𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔

𝒲𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓃’𝓉 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓁𝓎 𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔

𝒲𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓌𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝓃𝑒, 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓈𝓉

𝐼 𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑒. 𝒪𝒻 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒. 𝒪𝒻 𝒻𝓁𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇𝓈.

𝐼 𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒾𝓁𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉.

𝐼 𝒸𝓇𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊 - 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇, 𝑜𝒽 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝒹.

𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓇𝓊𝓁𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹, 𝐼 - 𝓇𝓊𝓁𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹. •

Written by Persephone.

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓃 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒾𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝒹𝒾𝒹 𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓈𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓈 𝒾f 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒𝒹

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓃𝓎𝓂𝓅𝒽𝓈 𝒹𝒾𝒹 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓅𝑜𝓀𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝒷𝒾𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈

𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒢𝑜𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝒾𝒸 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝓁𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓈

𝐻𝑒 𝒷𝓁𝒶𝓂𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝓈𝓊𝒻𝒻𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈’

𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑒𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒸 𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽

𝐻𝑒 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓉𝓈’ 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝓊𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈

𝐻𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝒻𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓅𝒶𝓉𝒽

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓃 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓌𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓊𝓃𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔

𝒾𝓉 𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒹, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝒶𝓏𝑒, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝓇𝒶𝑔𝑒

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓀𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃, 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓃 𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝓊𝓃𝒷𝒾𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓈 “𝐹𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈”

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒹𝑜𝓃𝑒 : 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓇𝑜𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝒸𝓇𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈

𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝒜𝓅𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑜 𝓁𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝓇𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈 𝒹𝒾𝒹 𝒹𝑜𝑜𝓂, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓊𝓃𝓁𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔

𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝑔𝑜𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝒮𝓊𝓃 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓇 𝓇𝒶𝓎𝓈

Written by Persephone.

Stop Treating Greek Mythology Like Just Another Fictional Franchise

I am honestly tired of seeing people lump Greek mythology into the same category as DC Comics, anime, or any other modern fictional universe. There’s this frustrating trend where people discuss figures like Odysseus or Achilles in the same breath as Batman or Goku, as if they’re just characters in a long-running franchise rather than deeply rooted cultural and literary icons from one of the most influential civilizations in history.

Yes, myths contain fantastical elements—gods turning into animals, heroes slaying monsters, mortals being punished or rewarded in ways that defy logic. But that does not mean Greek mythology is the same as a modern fantasy novel. These myths were part of an entire civilization’s identity. The ancient Greeks didn’t just tell these stories for entertainment; they used them to explain the world, explore human nature, justify traditions, and even shape their religious practices. The Odyssey isn’t just an adventurous tale about a guy struggling to get home—it’s a reflection of Greek values, an exploration of heroism, fate, and the gods' role in human life. When people treat it as nothing more than “fiction,” they erase the cultural weight it carried for the people who created it.

Greek mythology functioned in antiquity—these were their sacred stories, their way of making sense of the universe. And yet, people will still argue that the Odyssey is no different from a DC Elseworlds story, as if it was just an early attempt at serialized storytelling rather than a cornerstone of Western literature.

Part of the problem comes from how myths have been adapted in modern media. Hollywood and pop culture have turned Greek mythology into a shallow aesthetic, cherry-picking elements for the sake of spectacle while stripping away any historical or cultural depth. Movies like Clash of the Titans or games like God of War reimagine the myths in ways that make them feel like superhero stories—cool battles, flashy gods, exaggerated personalities. And while those adaptations can be fun, they’ve also contributed to this weird idea that Greek myths are just another IP (intellectual property) that anyone can rewrite however they want, without considering their original context.

This becomes especially frustrating when people defend radical reinterpretations of Greek mythology under the “it’s just fiction” excuse. No, Greek mythology is not just fiction! It’s cultural heritage. It’s part of history. It’s literature. It’s philosophy. If someone drastically rewrote a Shakespearean play and justified it by saying, “Well, it’s just an old story,” people would push back. If someone did the same to the Mahabharata or The Tale of Genji , there would be outrage. But when it happens to Greek myths? Suddenly, it’s “just fiction,” and any criticism is dismissed as overreacting.

I am not saying mythology should be untouchable. Reinterpretation and adaptation have always been a part of how these stories survive—Euripides retold myths differently from Homer, and Ovid gave his own spin on Greek legends in his Metamorphoses. The difference is that those ancient reinterpretations still respected the source material as cultural history, rather than treating it as some creative sandbox where anything goes. When people defend blatant inaccuracies in modern adaptations by saying, “It’s just a story, why does it matter?” they are ignoring the fact that these myths are a major link to an ancient civilization that shaped so much of what we call Western culture today.

Ultimately, Greek mythology deserves the same level of respect as any major historical and literary tradition. It’s not a superhero franchise. It’s not a random fantasy series. It’s the legacy of a civilization that continues to influence philosophy, literature, art, and even modern storytelling itself. So let’s stop treating it like disposable entertainment and start appreciating it for the depth, complexity, and significance it truly holds.

unpopular opinion but with the new tide of Greek mythology stories and retellings, Greek Cultural Sensitivity Readings are absolutely necessary. We are in 2024, with thousands of fics and retellings out there!! How is this not a thing yet?? There's vast improvement one can achieve by working professionally on their text with a Greek. I've seen it so many times!!

Also, duh, I'm offering the service BUT I want you to know that the situation with the inaccuracies of SERIOUS works is so dire that initially I didn't even do it for money. As a writer I just wanted to... fix things, to set a new standard for writers and the industry that sells us the most heavily Americanized pop-culture material and passes it as "authentic vibes of Greek mythology". (And of course there were writers who wanted to do right by their story and they had reached out to me. So kudos to them as well!)

Okay, but why does Cultural Sensitivity Reading make a vast difference and it's not just smoke and mirrors?

As a Greek, I am tired of well-meaning writers and authors butchering very basic elements of my culture. It's not their fault exactly, since they were raised in another culture with a different perspective. And nobody clued them in on how different Greek culture is from theirs, so writers sometimes assume that their culture is the default and they project that into ancient Greece. (Even published professionals like Madeline Miller have written "UK or US in antiquity" (with a very colonialist flavor) instead of writing "Ancient Greece". (Looking at you, Circe!)

Even writers who researched a lot before coming to me still had a lot of misinformation or wrong information in their text, easily verifiable by the average Greek. Again, not their fault. They can only access certain information, which does not include Greek scholarly work and scientific articles that DO offer valuable context.

Translation, accuracy, and meaning: If you ever wondered what a word means or how to pronounce it, here's your chance! There are Greeks like me who are knowledgeable and have a keen interest in antiquity and they will be able to read and compare ancient texts, and dive deeper into the work of Greek scholars regarding those texts.

If you want to create new words, you can do that as well! (It doesn't always work, but we can try. Greek is a really rich language and has a word about everything) If you use existing words, I can help you separate reality from fantasy in the context of your story.

(Do not assume we Greeks are ignorant of our heritage, or that we don't know how to research! Our archaeology sector is huge and archaeological museums are closer to most of us than your local Target is to you)

I guarantee there are things you never thought about Greece and the Mediterranean - from the ancient to the modern era. Sprinkling elements like phrases, types of interactions, customs, songs, instruments, dances, etc , into your text will make your text absolutely rich in culture.

Names matter!!! The genders of the names matter, diminutives matter (If I see one more "Perse" for Persephone I will claw my eyes out along with a few thousand Greeks), naming traditions matter!!! In many cases you should not even use a diminutive!!

You will be able to write about a foreign culture easily! Because of the continuity of Greek culture, you can even write a few more recent Greek elements to fill in the gaps. I can make sure they are not mismatched, and they will complement your ancient setting. I have observed a few things I didn't know we had since antiquity, but they make sense because our land has certain characteristics.

Non-Greek writers often miss the whole context of Greek culture! Do you know how Greek respect towards deities and parents looks like? What tones we use when we talk to our elders? When to use honorific plural - if your setting is more modernized?

Oh, and please let's avoid caricatures when describing Greeks?? (even fantasy Greeks) There can be heavy exotisation and odd descriptions of Greeks, as if we are another species. Even in published works. For many western writers it's difficult to catch, unfortunately.

The whole process is actually way easier than you think. You send me a text, I make notes and then we have some discussion on your vision.

It's always okay to seek guidance from the locals! You are not "guilty" when you admit you don't know! How can you know if you don't ask?? You can't imagine what relief and "πάλι καλά!!!" I read/see from other Greeks when I tell them another foreigner is using me for cultural sensitivity? Greeks want you to seek help and will NOT shame you for it!

(On the contrary, you have no idea how many eye-rolls Greeks do when they see a blatantly wrong thing in a story... Which has happened pretty often for many years now. Can we do better as an industry?? Please???)

You can send me a personal message to share your story, or ask what this whole cultural sensitivity thing is all about, or ask about what I have done so far and how I can help. But for the love of all that's good, don't let your story be another "generic greek myth retelling"! And don't let others sell you their generic greek myth retellings!!