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The Double Standard in Depicting Greek Gods

It’s honestly baffling how people will bend over backward to justify changing the ethnicity of Greek gods while acknowledging that it would be wrong for other deities. The excuses? “The gods have many interpretations!” or “They’re universal concepts!” But here’s the thing—the Ancient Greeks never portrayed their gods as anything other than Greek. That’s a fact.

Now imagine if someone depicted Guan Yu, a major Chinese deity, as a Black man. Or if Thor, a Norse god, was drawn as a South Asian man. Or if Anubis, an Egyptian deity, was suddenly given blonde hair and blue eyes. People would immediately call it out as disrespectful, inaccurate, and erasing cultural history. And they’d be right. So why is it that when it comes to Greek gods, suddenly everything is up for interpretation?

1. "The Greeks themselves had different depictions!"

Sure, different regions had variations in how they portrayed their gods, but guess what? They were still Greek. Whether Athena was shown in Athenian or Spartan armor, she was never depicted as, say, Egyptian or Persian. Regional differences do not equal changing an entire ethnic identity.

2. "Gods are universal!"

Okay, let’s test that logic. Are Shinto kami “universal”? Would it be acceptable to depict Amaterasu as an Indigenous American deity? Of course not. Every pantheon belongs to a specific culture. The Greek gods were born from Greek mythology, created by Greek people, reflecting Greek values. They weren’t plucked from the void to be reshaped however anyone pleases.

3. "It’s just artistic interpretation!"

Sure, and if someone decided to "artistically interpret" African or Indigenous deities as white, it would be immediately criticized as colonialist erasure. So why doesn’t that same logic apply to Greek mythology? If people actually respected Greek culture, they’d represent its gods accurately instead of making them fit whatever aesthetic they prefer.

4. "Ancient Greece was diverse!"

Yes, Greece had trade and cultural exchanges, but Greek religion remained Greek. No amount of foreigners passing through Athens would make Zeus suddenly look Indian or East Asian. Just like how Egyptian gods stayed Egyptian despite foreign influences, and Norse gods remained Norse despite trade with other cultures.

Greek mythology belongs to Greek culture, just like every other pantheon belongs to its own people. It’s completely valid to call out inaccurate representations, and it’s frustrating that Greek mythology is treated as some open-source fantasy world while other cultures get to have their gods respected. If people genuinely admire Greek mythology, they should respect its origins instead of twisting it into something unrecognizable.

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What do you think of Joyofsatan.org ? They follow the Greek gods and they’ve become the largest Hellenic Pagan group in the world

I do not affiliate with this organisation in any way nor would I ever want to. Honestly, I haven't heard any good things about them. I don't fuck with none of that racism, antisemitism or nazi shit.

Here's an example of what was going on on one of their forums, at least a while back: LINK

Your question surprised me quite a bit, expecially the part about the Greek Gods. I have never heard nor found anything mentioning them in regards to Hellenic Polytheism or stating they have any ties to this religion. To my knowledge they don't have anything to do with Hellenic Polytheism nor do they worship the Greek Gods.

The largest organisations in the world that are associated with Hellenic Polytheism, at least the ones I know of, are Labrys.gr and Hellenion.org both of which I highly recommend to anyone who's interested in Hellenic Polytheism.

For a more thoughtful take on this matter I suggest you simply ask a satanist, since I am not one.

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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.

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Everyone always talks about Haides being demonized in media, but I feel like that hasn't been a part of his popular reception since the 90s??

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“Where are your pagan gods now?”

Gardening

Comforting your abandoned dead

Reclaiming

Rerooting

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zeus is amazing pass it on

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Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757-1822) The Three Graces, c.1814-17

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Hestia

Working on my collection of Olympians, here we have Hestia. I wanted to give her a very layered look for a cozy feel, and a lot of round shapes to make her seem welcoming and warm. I really like her outfit :D

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A message to newer Hellenic polytheists;

The gods do not hate you.

They are not going to hate you if you can’t pray every day.

They are not going to hate you if you can’t make offerings every day.

They are not going to hate you if you can’t make an altar for them.

They are not going to hate you if you do not dedicate every single thing you do to them.

They are not going to hate you if you do not light their candles every day.

They are not going to hate you if you step away from your practice for whatever reason.

You can breathe, the gods do not and will not hate you for being human.

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The gods are everywhere;

Every time someone falls asleep on your shoulder, that is Hypnos with you

Every time you have that random boost of self-love, that is Aphrodite with you

Every time you are courageous, that is Ares with you

Every time you find joy in music or poetry, that is Apollo with you

Every time you let yourself relax and drink, that is Dionysus with you

Every time you stand up for what is right, that is Zeus with you

Every time you travel, that is Hermes with you

Every time you remember a dream, that is Morpheus with you

The gods are everywhere, even if we cannot see them

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Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889), The Birth of Venus (1863), oil on canvas, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

The older accounts of the birth of Aphrodite link her to the myth of the Titan Cronos/Saturn castrating his father Uranus, whose severed genitals are thrown into the sea. There, they float past the islands of Cythera and Cyprus, giving rise to alternative epithets for Aphrodite of Cytherea and Cypris. On the shore of Cyprus, Aphrodite is then born from them, with allusions to semen as foam of the waves.

A later origin is given by Homer in his Iliad, in which Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus by Dione, a Titaness and Oceanid who was one of Zeus’s early wives. Subsequent accounts of the origins of Aphrodite are attempts to reconcile these two conflicting stories.

Depictions of the birth of Aphrodite are among the oldest European mythological paintings of which we have records. Apelles of Kos, one of the most renowned of the great painters of ancient Greece, is claimed to have been active around 330 BCE. Among the eight or more major works attributed to him is Aphrodite Anadyomene, in which the goddess Aphrodite rises from the sea. This achieved fame in part because his model for Aphrodite was a former mistress of Alexander the Great, Campaspe, according to the writings of Pliny the Elder.

Unknown, Aphrodite Anadyomenes (before 79 CE), fresco, dimensions not known, The House of Venus, Pompeii.

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Jules-Louis Machard, 1839-1900

Selene, 1874, oil on canvas, 265x160 cm

Private Collection

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The Iliad

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Cyanotype for Apollo

(Photo credit idk found images from Google and lightly adjusted)

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Crayon Drawing for Apollo

Today I had a very hard day that left me feeling very tense. I was very stressed and didn't know what to do and I was suddenly hit with the need to draw something for the gods both to alleviate this feeling and to create something because sometimes the only thing I can do when I feel like I can't do anything else is to create art.

Previously, Apollo has urged me to draw using crayons as it will force me to relax because using a tense arm to hold a crayon will cause it to snap so I felt him once again asking for me to draw him using crayons. So I'm posting both the reference and the drawing here:

It's not perfect because it was just a little quick drawing to get my frustration out since crying wasn't helping but it did make me feel better.

Thanks Apollo, I hope you like the crayon drawing I made for you.

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Portrait session with distraction from above.