How do I explain that while—yes—Greeks do exist, the vast majority (and of course I’m including the diaspora) either (a) don’t care about, or (b) even know modern Hellenic polytheism is practiced today.
I agree with the base sentiment that “when engaging with Greek culture (ancient or modern), it is good to be aware of + respectful towards Greek people.” That’s awesome! 👍🏻 It's so awesome that I encourage applying this same sentiment to all other cultures you’re able / invited to engage with! :)
That same base sentiment can be and has been twisted into a pretzel and salted with straight-up ethnonationalism, though.
Be aware of + respectful towards Greeks when engaging with Greek culture. But also be aware of the fact that there are ethnonationalists running in Hellenic polytheist spaces.
They will twist seemingly innocuous ideas in order to declare indigeneity and primacy over Greek culture. They will deny Greeks their ethnicity because—according to them—“true Greeks can’t be Christian/Muslim/Jewish/mixed/etc.” And they will deny non-Greeks the opportunity to engage with the culture, especially if it’s in a way that even slightly diverges from their very sad idea of ““““true”””” Hellenism.
Being aware and informed goes hand-in-hand with being respectful.
