Greek myths with diversity. Indian, East Asian, Polynesian/Tahitian Black characters
@paulinainbookland said:
Hi!My question is pertaining to my upcoming YA contemporary fantasy series that's gonna be modern retellings of certain greek myths. The series takes place in a fictional fantasy country called Olympius. I want my series to be diverse, especially with the characters. For example, even though race doesn't technically exist, Hera is portrayed as an Indian woman, Hecate as an east asian woman, Amphitrite as a polynesian/tahitian woman while Persephone, Psyxhe, Demeter, and Aphrodite are all black as examples. I also want to integrate Greek culture into the stories. My question is, can this be done even with racially diverse characters??
I think a better way to think about this question is to ask yourself “Who were the Ancient Greeks?” Research the histories and economies of those city-states and empires, as well as the other civilizations they would have interacted with in the Mediterranean, Central Asia and South Asia. I notice that you are mixing racial coding with nationality and ethnicity, which I advise against.
There was no “India” 2500 years ago.
Tahiti similarly wasn’t inhabited until the 11th century
Ask yourself what kind of people you are picturing when you use these descriptors and why? Thus, your problem is twofold:
Shedding notions conflating race with ethnicity and nationality
Doing actual research to better understand what level of diversity in physical appearance one could reasonably expect for a setting where the Olympus of Ancient Greece is transposed onto a modern setting.
- Marika.