Need to say this as a Palestinian, too:
1) Where are Andromeda's Palestinian/Cana`an features and roots???
Her father was Ethiopian, her mom Palestinian/Cana`an from Jaffa (which is what Joppa is—we literally have the rocks where Andromeda was hung). Why is she dressed more like a Roman than a Cana`an, who'd also have some tatreez on her dress, since that's where Palestinians got it from (I know, a shocker we retained a tradition started by our ancestors)??? What she's wearing isn't even Tyrian purple! And where are her Stars of Ishtar if she's blessed by Astarte?
Guess the relationship is one-sided, which is ridiculous when you learn there is a theory that Andromeda and Astarte were the same person in earlier Palestinian depictions of the story!
First line is of Andromeda's Rocks in (now occupied) Palestine
Second is from a book on antiquity clothing in the Mediterranean
2) Astarte is literally a Cana`an goddess Aphrodite was inspired by, and one mainly characterized for repping love, war and hunting, not healing (which she and her sister did partake in, but was not her main mojo). She and her sister, Anat, goddess of war—and who Athena took inspiration from—were famous for being sister-in-arms!
How Astarte was depicted by the Cana`an and her followers
3) Why is some Greek dude her bodyguard and not a Levantine/Palestinian/Cana'an man? Makes no sense, in-world, if you're going with the Andromeda was an Afro-Palestinian route. We come in blonde, too, if you want to emphasize the golden retriever aspect! We literally don't look different from the Greeks, either, we're cousins 😭.
Fifty shades of Palestinian blonde
If you're going to make an OC to be more "diverse," why not actually go with diversity that makes sense??? Which brings me to
4) Why was the Afro-Palestinian heroine of the original story delegated to side character??? And to an OC love interest??? Who's also Greek, like her original love interest—what was the point of divorcing her from Perseus, if you're just giving to give her his inferior knock-off (and who's not even the main character!)? All so Perseus can be shipped with Medusa, which is the other thing...
5) Why make Medusa a white Greek (from what I've seen), when her roots are North African? If you're going to go with the Afro-Palestinian Andromeda, then why not North African Medusa? Because now, what you did is break up the canon biracial pairing of Perseus and Andromeda to center a whitewashed pair you made up. Like, what? You know this is worst, right? The original myth is more progressive than you!
Just 😭. If you're going to incorporate the whole "Greek Empire wasn't just the European Greeks" history of their myths (which was the reality! Since they were and are part of the Eastern and bigger Mediterranean; we've influenced, conquered and mixed with each other), why do it so half-assed, while also taking steps back from what was already progressive in the original myths?
