Where are the Greek Authors in Greek Mythology Retellings?

This content material incorporates affiliate hyperlinks. When you purchase by means of these hyperlinks, we could earn an affiliate fee.

Lyndsie Manusos’s fiction has appeared in PANK, SmokeLong Quarterly, and different publications. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has labored in internet manufacturing and content material administration. When she’s not nesting amongst her books and tough drafts, she’s chasing the child whereas the canine watches in confused amusement. She lives along with her household in a suburb of Indianapolis.

View All posts by Lyndsie Manusos

Walk into any Barnes & Noble, and also you’re more likely to discover no less than one desk dedicated to Greek mythology retellings. Mythology retellings, particularly Greek mythology, are a scorching commodity in publishing currently, you’ll see them showcased on TikTook and throughout Bookstagram. Google “Greek Mythology retellings” or a variation thereof, and also you’ll see an abundance of “Must-Read” lists. Within publishing, literary brokers and editors will listing Greek mythology retellings on their wishlists, together with it amongst the “vibes” they’re searching for when discovering new initiatives. Think Madeline Miller’s Circe, Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne, Alexandria Bracken’s Lore, and so forth. All standard retellings primarily based on Greek mythology, and all beloved by many readers. This in itself is okay, particularly when retellings of any mythology are advised by means of the lens of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ voices. Yet amongst so many, or actually most, of those lists, there appears to be a significant half lacking, and other people are beginning to discover:

Where are the Greek writers?

They exist; numerous, proficient, and some of which are interviewed right here. Yet we not often appear them listed on “Must-Read” retellings, or included or invited to take part in Greek mythology retelling anthologies. This article doesn’t search to supply a single answer to the disconnect between Greek mythology retellings and Greek writers, significantly in publishing as of late. Rather, my hope is that this essay will do what we as readers so typically need and ask for of tales: to provide a perspective and a voice. To present a lens with which to view what we haven’t, and even knew to search for, earlier than.

I recall an 2021 Esquire article, the place the creator wrote “mythology is back, baby.” To many, particularly with whom any mythology is related to as a tradition, it’s not a pattern; it by no means left.

Of a Particular People: What is Mythology?

To begin, let’s preserve in thoughts that Greek mythology, like several mythology — Norse, Aztec, Celtic, Egyptian — originated from a tradition, compiled and handed down by means of millennia. That tradition is made up of people that not solely grew up with such tales however whose id and heritage have been formed round it inextricably. Merriam-Webster’s definition of mythology is: “the myths dealing with the gods, demigods, and legendary heroes of a particular people. The key phrase here: “of a particular people.”

In a time when so many mythology retellings present a large range of voices, particularly from folks of whom the mythology originates from, Greek writers are curiously absent.

World Fantasy Award winner and Nebula and Rhysling finalist Natalia Theodoriou mentioned that is what occurs if you’ve been so totally erased, folks don’t even register the absence.

“As everyone feels they already know (or even own) Greek mythology, while modern Greek history and culture are deemed irrelevant/extraneous to it, Greek writers are considered unnecessary (if we are considered at all),” he mentioned.

Greek Mythology vs. Western Mythology

When the exploration of id and diaspora by means of fiction is so vital for our society, there’s a fissure in relation to Greek mythology. Perhaps it’s as a result of it’s thought of a Western mythology. That is definitely true in that the United States and Western Europe has had (and continues to have) an obsession with Greek mythology.

Illustrator and designer Yorgos Cotronis mentioned it’s apparent why there’s a love for Greek mythology.

“It is to be expected that writers will be drawn to telling stories in this space
and remixing these myths,” he mentioned. “I do think that Greek mythology has been placed near the top of what ‘ancient western culture’ is, although I would argue that Greece is not exclusively Western. It’s also pretty extensive, with a lot of little tidbits and side characters to play with, plus there’s something for everybody, from tragic tales of sacrifice to macho bloodied heroism.”

Eugenia Triantafyllou — a Nebula, Ignyte, and World Fantasy Award finalist — additionally talked about how Greek mythology has been layered into Western tradition, and the way the connection to Greek authors from Greek mythology has been misplaced.

“I think exactly because it has been assumed that Greek Mythology belongs to the Western canon that nobody thinks to connect it with modern Greece and modern Greek writers, which is in and of itself denying an important part of our cultural continuity,” Triantafyllou mentioned. “Modern Greeks are not considered to have connection to their ancestors (although they very much do, especially in a deeply cultural way that cannot be easily understood by those on the outside). Modern Greek writers exist. Greek mythology also exists. It’s just that people didn’t think to draw a line from one to the other. It didn’t cross their minds.”

Rhysling and Elgin nominated poet and fiction author Avra Margariti, provides:

“My theory is that U.S.-born writers seek Greek mythology as an open source that belongs to no one (therefore, it belongs to everyone),” they mentioned. “So they claim this mythology as the shared creative world they crave.”

A Brief Summary of a Long History

The historical past of Greek mythology, its origins and sophisticated machinations is, fairly actually, 1000’s of years previous. Let’s bounce ahead a bit to the place we begin to see a few of the up to date disconnect.

Neoclassicism: A Western Obsession

The Neoclassical motion — a mode and artwork type impressed by Ancient Greece that started in round the 18th century after the rediscovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum — was primarily a Western cultural motion, vastly standard in Europe, and impressed by the writings of a white man, Johan Joachim Winkelmann. Europeans, significantly the English, thought Ancient Greek structure and artwork have been the pinnacle of sophistication, although they typically misinterpreted it. And as colonizers are wont to do, they took it as their very own. Now, as Theodoriou, Triantafyllou, and Margariti have touched on above, it’s turn out to be so ingrained in Western tradition that many neglect the place it got here from.

“Neoclassicism and Enlightenment were particularly obsessed with the ancients, and they were very influential in the young U.S. seeking its identity,” author and efficiency storyteller Eleanna Castroianni mentioned.

To go into the layered lengths, retellings, and (mis)interpretations that Greek mythology has been by means of, since earlier than Nazi-occupied Greece, Greek Independence, earlier than the Crusades, and earlier than that, can be to peel a really massive and really difficult onion. NC Kousis, historic fiction and fantasy author, wrote a particularly informative overview of this historical past in “Greek Myth and Western Hegemony.” In it, Kousis writes, “To many, we don’t need stories from actual Greek people; Greek myth is part of the fabric of the Western world, in their opinion.”

Contemporary Hype

To proceed on to at this time’s hype of Greek mythology retellings, Castroianni mentioned the exploding pattern is regarding, and factors to the blockbuster sequence with Greek mythology at its core, like Percy Jackson, as a variable to why many consider Greek mythology could be always mined.

“The readership and the gatekeepers are from the U.S., and the U.S. has not really made the connection that Greek mythology is someone else’s mythology,” Castroianni mentioned. “Maybe because of the connection the West feels with the ancients, it’s like Greek mythology is open source, free from copyright; go ahead, no one will sue you.”

Diversity and Community in Mythology Retellings

While most Greek mythology retellings in at this time’s standard pattern, and previous tendencies, have been advised primarily by white U.S. and UK authors, we do see numerous voices, particularly just lately. This is great. Every Greek author interviewed for this text agrees that the inclusion of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices is important. It’s additionally extraordinarily vital to notice that, as in Ancient Greece in addition to now, folks of colour existed in Ancient Greece and exist in fashionable Greece.

“I do think we need more work (and not just Greek myth retellings) by BIPOC authors, LGBTQ+ authors, disabled authors, non-Anglophone authors,” Theodoridou mentioned. “I just wish people wouldn’t forget that Greek myth retellings that foreground diversity don’t need to exclude Greek writers. We are a pretty diverse bunch, after all, and many of us are marginalized along multiple axes.”

“I personally enjoy the ones that offer a unique perspective based on experiences usually under-represented by publishing, or a combination of cultures — these are the stories written by marginalized authors, who I believe have something new to offer to a genre of mythological retellings full of white, cishet, anglophone writers,” Margariti mentioned.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Community

Marginalized authors, particularly in the science fiction and fantasy group, have seen the disconnect between Greek mythology retellings and Greek writers just lately, mentioned in boards and throughout social media. Some have taken to Twitter to voice their concern. Nebula and Hugo award finalist Shiv Ramdas posted the following:

If somebody revealed an anthology of Indian myths and retellings and the anthology featured zero Indian writers, I’d not be practically as good about it as Greek authors are at present being, js.

— Shiv Ramdas Traing To Rite Buk (@nameshiv) April 27, 2023

The dialog inside the SFF group displays a bigger concern throughout publishing, and never simply with Greek mythology retellings, however all mythology retellings throughout cultures. Discussion round this matter is about training and consideration.

“Personally, all I really need is for people to keep writing retellings but think very carefully about how they approach them (do you really need this myth to tell this story? whose story are you telling?), and for Greek writers to not be excluded but invited in those spaces (which should be obvious, to be honest),” Castroianni mentioned. “If SFF writers and editors keep these in mind and make an honest effort, it is a start.”

Theodoridou additionally hopes that discussions inside the SFF group and throughout publishing won’t solely invite Greek writers to the desk of Greek mythology retellings, however to additionally enable Greek writers to put in writing mythology retellings that don’t all the time comply with what many contemplate mainstream or standard.

“Some of us have been told that the mythological figures we’re interested in retelling are too obscure for American audiences,” they mentioned. “I hope publishers are brave enough to be willing to venture beyond the well-trodden occasionally. Perhaps we just need to have more faith in readers’ ability to cope with the unfamiliar.”

Greek Creators: Where to Start

One of the most vital factors of this essay is to highlight Greek writers who are publishing nice Greek mythology retellings. Below is an inventory of works throughout mediums, together with work by these interviewed right here and people they’ve advisable. All are nice work to discover and uplift.

Greek Mythology Retellings: Novels by Greek Authors

Cover image of Threads That Bind, a Greek mythology retelling

Threads that Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou

This Greek mythology-inspired thriller takes place in a world the place descendants of the gods inherit their powers. Io, a descendant of one in all the Fates, makes use of her powers to as a personal investigator. In the metropolis of Alante, somebody is abducting girls and mutilating their life threads to create harmful wraiths that are let free upon the metropolis. Io should use her powers and investigative expertise to search out the offender whereas additionally navigating feelings round a boy who shares a thread along with her, linking them as soulmates.

cover of Winter Harvest by Ioanna Papadopoulou

Winter Harvest by Ioanna Papadopoulou (November 2023

Forthcoming from Ghost Orchid Press, this story focuses on the goddess Demeter, daughter of Kronos and Rhea. A feminist exploration of a goddess’s function in a patriarchal hierarchy of gods, it is a e book that takes what we all know of Demeter and dissects its layers, the rage and emotion of being the mom of a lacking baby, and discovering our place in the extensive world.

An Odyssey: Echoes of War by Natalia Theodoridou

This is a singular longer work, as it’s a novel that can be an interactive sport. Readers embark on a retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey: Troy has fallen, and also you, the reader, are the topped sovereign of Ithaca. You should make your manner dwelling, however Poseidon has cursed your journey. This is an action-packed and poignant retelling of The Odyssey, a narrative advised inside a narrative, with the reader at the helm. This will not be Theodoridou’s first run at interactive gaming, both, having additionally been nominated for a Nebula award for his Choice of Games’ title Rent-a-Vice.

Greek Mythology Retellings: Short Stories by Greek Authors

“Notes from the Laocoön Program” by Phoenix Alexander in Metaphorosis, a retelling of the fantasy of Laocoön
“Darkness, Our Mother” by Eleanna Castroianni in Clarkesworld, a retelling of the fantasy of Ariadne and the Minotaur
“Bride of the Gulf” by Danai Christopoulou in khōréō journal, a retelling of the fantasy of Thessalonike
“Kairo’s Flock” by Avra Margariti in Lackington’s, a retelling of the fantasy of Icarus
“The Names of Women” by Natalia Theodoridou in Strange Horizons, a retelling of the fantasy of Philomena

Greek Artists and Filmmakers

Greek artists and filmmakers are additionally doing vital work increasing the definition and magnificence of Greek artwork. It’s not all the time what we predict, although cliches are typically leaned on.

“As an artist, the cover art I see for most of [Greek mythology retellings] (with some bright exceptions) usually follow the publishing rule of being ‘to market,’ “Cotronis said. “Some ancient Greek patterns, Greek pottery style paintings, orange and black hues, one of those awful “Greek” fonts that are unreadable to any Greek and switch “Cleopatra” to “KLSOPDTRD.”

You can discover Cotronis’s paintings on journal covers like The Dark, and e book covers, resembling Scott J. Moses’ Our Own Unique Affliction and the forthcoming Greek mythology retelling from Ghost Orchid Press, Winter Harvest by Ioanna Papadopoulou.

And as talked about earlier in this text, there are folks of colour all through Ancient Greece in addition to in Modern Greece. Filmmaker Adéọlá Naomi Adérèmí created I’m Afro Greek, a movie about the lived experiences of Black folks in Greece. In an interview with Contemporary And, a visible arts platform, Adérèmí describes the structural racism we see round the world current in Greece as nicely.

“Invisibility is a very double-edged sword, when you come from an allegedly homogenous white country, that is Greece,” Adérèmí mentioned in the article. “I say allegedly because it’s not true. Greece has always been a migration country. But when it comes to internalized structural white superiority, through media, through art, we as Black people have never been represented.”

Continuing the Conversation

To proceed to indicate new views in the creation of tales, no matter medium they’re in, is so vital in at this time’s world of rising hatred for marginalized folks. This overview may not present a transparent answer, however giving voice to it’s a begin. It’s about the dialogue, about asking questions. And it’s vital to maintain fixed vigilance in whose tales we’re telling or retelling, whose cultures we’re presenting, and why.

Triantafyllou notes that Greek populations and Hellenistic influences are seen in southern Italy, Cyprus, and Egypt. It can be nice to see interpretations of Greek mythology from writers related to these cultures as nicely.

“I think what is happening here is a good start,” Triantafyllou mentioned. “People don’t know the whole about how Greek mythology came to be so popular in the West. Just this article reaching and educating some people in some ways is a good thing.”

Part of my previous work for Book Riot consists of spotlighting literary magazines and presses that, in flip, highlight work from marginalized teams, resembling queer writers, Black speculative fiction writers, and immigrant and diaspora writers. As a privileged individual given a chance to put in writing, this work is so vital, and can proceed.

Source link