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june-sunsets · 2 months

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Decolonization and the recognition of imposed standards upon cultures from Europeans and Americans is great. That being said, if you see “Greek mythology” and your mind goes to North Americans and Northwestern Europeans, you haven’t decolonized your mind yet.

Ancient Greek culture has been misinterpreted and used by Northwestern Europeans and North Americans for various purposes. You might have been conditioned to believe that the ancient Greek culture is the same as what colonizers and imperialists have spread around. But it’s not. It’s just a mockery they have made of ancient Greek culture.

Using it as a tool on other nations was already bad enough (and, thankfully, this has been addressed by many other posts in this site), but let’s not forget they first misappropriated it from somewhere and that’s bad, too. By viewing the ancient Greek religion and architecture as Northwestern European and North American, you make their actions seem credible.

Colonizers and imperialists sold you colorless marbles, pretty columns and gods “fucking around” and they made you believe this is what ancient Greek culture was. They dressed up in chitons and togas, they decorated their houses with Corinthian styled pillars and Hellenic style busts and they believed they had a claim to the heritage. They treated Greek culture like it died after the Romans and they are the ones that can and should continue it.

Meanwhile, Greeks have been preserving stories, the language, the dances, the food, they have been copying and studying their ancient philosophers and scientists, they have been fighting so their antiquities won’t be stolen by others.

I deeply understand the need to shake off and attack colonizers and colonizing mindsets. And there are many ways to do that. But if you think that by offending ancient Greek culture you offend colonizers and imperialists, you are, sadly, mistaken. You offend the people who are growing up in the Greek culture.

Yes, we are still here. Yes, we are connected to our past, we are still preserving it. Our history is long and our evolution continuous. We have a culture one thousand times richer than what they briefly showed you in school and the aesthetics you like. We are happy when people are partaking in it but it hurts when others treat it like a free-for-all product and ‘promote’ it without respecting the standards of the culture. And then they turn around and ask us “Why aren’t you satisfied? Don’t you see we have made you famous?”

We are saddened and enraged by what was stolen from us and misused. We feel helpless when our voices are never heard when it comes to our ancient culture, because now people consider it property of richer nations. Most foreigners are taught to see us as “people called ‘Greeks’ who live in the place where ancient Greece was” and nothing more. Sometimes we also hear “those are some new, mixed people, they are not like the ancient Greeks”, implying that we don’t have a right over our own culture. (I don’t have the time to analyze all the reasons this sentence is wrong). And we are already too powerless, too numb, to say anything. Sometimes, we, too, are conditioned to believe this all makes sense.

Please, take some time to consider this. This is something beyond my personal blog. It’s something all Greeks discuss and it would be great if it got more recognition. (Heck, copy and paste it on your own blog, if you don’t want to give me the notes. I really don’t care).

This post was written in March, the “Hellenic (Greek) heritage month” 💙

#ελλάδα #greece #ancient greece #greek mythology #γρεεκ #greek culture #ancient greek culture #greek heritage

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june-sunsets · 2 months

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The kind of mythology flex it is to be able to say "Hey! I'm a Real Alive Person and I was born and raised in mountain Πήλιο (Pelion), the actual mythical home of the Centaurs (and birthplace? If I'm not mistaken?)"

Because hey. I exist :)

And xenoi still think they're the rightful inheritors of Ancient Greek culture. Maddening to consider.

No bc back when I was reading Percy Jackson as a kid, I was so hurt to read the line where it said that the Greek Gods follow the path of "Πρόοδος" to the West and have "relocated to the US" or whatever. As a lil kid, my immediate reaction was

"WHY?! We're still here aren't we? Is Greece empty now? Is Olympos vacant? Why would Our Gods abandon us? What about the demigods born in Greece?"

It's a special kind of rage pain when you take into account ALL OF THE FUCKING STOLEN ANCIENT ARTIFACTS. That our culture often depicts them as being abducted. I've cried in frustration about this.

Haha, is that why everything's burning down? Because the Nyphes were (stolen?? again????) "relocated" and are no longer roaming the Greek forests? Is that why everything's flooding, because Poseidon is no longer here to regulate the Seas and Waters? Are we really Dying Off?

It's like plucking a beautiful flower from it's birthplace and trying to get it to get used to an environment it was not made to grow in. It's this level of absurdity. What the fuck.

That's why I'm a Greek Person studying Archaeology. We need more of us. Desperately.

My hands are shaking as I'm writing this and I'm slowly losing my mind about it :DDD

But to leave on a positive note. Hehe, mythology flex. I could have been born a Centaur if I really wanted to. Happily galloping away in the fields in the comfort of my own ignorance of our culture being ripped apart, dismembered and depicted as the gnarly bloody soulless mess the xenoi have made it be in mainstream media.

Ah, there's always next life. ^-^

I feel you, anon, and I've often felt the same as you. Our cultural heritage is rich and we are still here, a long line of people passing the Greek culture down. No matter what xenoi say, they will be eventually humbled by the truth if enough of us let the world know.

The PJO series did a big damage to us, matter how innocent it seems to the Westerners. If you check my #pjo and #rick riordan tags you'll see discussions about the books and of course the bigoted line "the gods abandoned Greece for the modern pillar of Western civilization, aka the US".

Hold on και καλή δύναμη!!!

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If my posts have helped you in any way consider buying me a ko-fi 💖

#anti pjo #pjo #percy jackson

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june-sunsets · 2 months

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no, Rick, it's not

Like what do you mean Mount Olympus is the Empire State Building?? Last time I ckecked, Mount Olympus is a MOUNTAIN and it's in GREECE. 'Many of the locations of Greek mythology have also moved with Mount Olympus and can be found all over America'????? These are locations, not furniture!

Greece is a country that still exists, by the way, so why exactly would the Greek Gods (Greek, Rick, Greek) abandon it? Why would they leave their homeland?? Every time I remember that passage where Chiron is like "haha, Percy, western civilization is a liViNg fORce and it started in Greece" and "ohh it's a fire and the Gods follow wherever the flame is brightest uwu" I just- it's so stupid, it makes me want to pull my hair out. How on Earth did Riordan think that was okay to write? Did he really think it was valid justification for basically disconnecting the Greek gods and Greek culture from Greece and Greek people?

You know what this 'justification' reminds me of? This. They're both part of the same narrative.

Not even the camp- the goddamn camp for children whose parents are Greek Gods- is set in Greece. Riordan just made a US-flavored cake and sprinkled some Greek Mythology on top. Delicious.

#not that this is anything new #*cough* fallmerayer *cough*#the cake analogy also works for rachel smythe #anti pjo #pjo #anti rick riordan #rick riordan #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #greek mythology #greek gods

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june-sunsets · 2 months

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I'm Greek and I'm fed up

#greek mythology #tsoa #anti tsoa #madeline miller #achilles #patroclus #thetis #circe #helios #odysseus #i hear it's persephone's turn now #oh no

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june-sunsets · 7 months

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Περσεφόνη/Persephone

#persephone #greek mythology #greek myths #greek gods #goddess of spring #queen of the underworld #art

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june-sunsets · 2 years

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Stranger Things 4: a Review

So no hellcheer? *stomps on tv remote*

#i mean #yes i did enjoy a lot of this season #but cmon #you can't just give me the adorable forest scene in the first episode #and then be like PSYCH #THAT'S ALL YOU'RE GONNA GET #what the heck duffers #stranger things 4 #stranger things #hellcheer #eddissy #eddie munson #chrissy cunningham

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june-sunsets · 2 years

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#hi i'm basic #watching smnwh #smnwh #spiderman no way home #norman osborn #mcu spiderman #spiderman nwh

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june-sunsets · 4 years

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This is so much fun.

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june-sunsets · 4 years

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I still feel like the movie slapped me in the face, so I decided to post a meme.

It didn’t help.

#at least reylo is canon #reylo #rey #ben solo #kylo ren #tros #star wars #the rise of skywalker #star wars 9 #tros spoilers #sw spoilers #star wars the rise of skywalker #star wars tros #bendemption #ben solo x rey #kylo ren x rey #ben solo redemption arc

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june-sunsets · 4 years

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The Rise of Skywalker: a Review

what the what

#I mean #excuse me #excuse you #huh #what happened #how dare you #why would you #four years #i waited four years for rey and ben #how dare you tros #reylo #tros #star wars #the rise of skywalker #rey #ben solo #kylo ren

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june-sunsets · 5 years

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

#i watched it a month ago #what a movie #it changed me as a person #beetlejuice #they don't make movies like that anymore #betelgeuse #beetle breakfast #beetlelyds #lydia deetz #barbara maitland #adam maitland #beetlejuice x lydia #ehehe oops #beetlebabes #just in case it wasn't clear #i ship them

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june-sunsets · 5 years

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His father is away, and so is his mother, even if she rarely leaves the palace.

It rains a lot when he's young, and no one tells him why.

---

She needs to be objective. Impartial. Unwavering. She needs to be.

And so she tries. She tries hard and when she looks into his eyes, she locks her heart away. She knows that, if she leaves it on plain sight, she will stop and think of how brilliant his eyes seem underneath the fire torch light; she’s staring at two pieces of burning coal.

His voice, low and gruff, reaches her ears. "Athena..."

She almost winces. You are just too much, she thinks, ashamed.

---

His hand is bleeding. As he lazily wraps a piece of cloth over his golden stained knuckles, facing the wall that just met his wrath, he's trying to deny it all.

Their father gave her a thunderbolt.

Their father, who has always been on and on about how lethal a weapon his thunderbolt was, passed such a weapon on to his daughter.

Not his son. Never him. He doesn't deserve it.

As if his thoughts could be read, he hears a sharp crack of lightning in the distance. He looks out his window.

That's her. He chuckles. When Zeus throws his thunderbolts, it's a long, low rumble that shakes the earth. He wants everyone to feel his anger, that prick.

What he just heard however, was different.

In many ways, he thinks, she's like a crack of lightning. She is the thunderclap he hears in the distance when he's caught in a rainfall.

#wip #writing #writeblr #writblr #writers on tumblr #fic #ares #athena #greek gods #greek mythology #ares x athena #athena x ares

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june-sunsets · 5 years

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11-year-old me: *ugly sobbing* SearCH FOR YOUR LOVE

#sailor moon #sailor stars #sailor moon sailor stars #usagi tsukino #seiya kou #usagi x seiya #otp #fanart #art #90s

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june-sunsets · 5 years

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Ariadne & Dionysus

#ariadne #dionysus #greek mythology #greek myth #greek gods #art #sketch #ship #ariadne x dionysus #dionysus x ariadne

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june-sunsets · 5 years

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Apollo and Artemis

#Greek mythology #mythology #greek myth #greek gods #apollo #artemis #art

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june-sunsets · 5 years

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Tethys: Titaness, daughter of Uranus and Gaia, wife of Oceanus and mother of the Oceanids. She was also Hera’s foster mother during the Titanomachy.

Styx: Oceanid, Zeus’ ally in the Titanomachy, mother of Nike, Zelus, Bia and Kratos. She’s the river that separates the Underworld from the living, and the one Gods swear their oaths upon.

Metis: Oceanid, the embodiment of wisdom and cunning, Athena’s mother by Zeus. She helped Zeus free his siblings and was his counsellor during the Titanomachy.

Electra: Oceanid, she married the sea god Thaumas, and one of her kids was Iris, the messenger of the Gods. I drew her hair like that because her name derives from the word ἤλεκτρον, which means amber, and amber can acquire a static electricity charge.

#greek mythology #mythology #oceanids #tethys #styx #metis #electra

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june-sunsets · 5 years

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Person: Christina, why does teen Kraken look like a woodland creature?

Me: I don't know, Person; why did I have to spent half an hour sketching the perfect expression for teen Kraken's face, only to have the whole thing ruined by my unsteady hand later? Huh? Huh? Why do such things happen?

I was really excited for this one, and messing up the inking was NOT a happy accident.

However, I liked how mini Kraken turned out, so here you go.

#and who is he smiling at #hmm #he looks drunk #is he drunk #maybe he's not drunk #maybe he's high #maybe he found some of klaus' stash #we'll never know #tua #the umbrella academy #the kraken #number two #diego hargreeves #fanart #anywhere but here

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