Quick PSA for the POW Creations / PanSMP fandom because I unfortunately do need to make this post.
Hello-hello! I’m Krash, I am half-Greek IRL. My dad’s side of the family is from Greece and Cyprus, and I live in America. I tend to avoid Greek mythology spaces online such as the PJ and Epic fandom because people are very… I hesitate to say racist, but very abnormal about how they interact with the Greek mythos, ethnicity, and overall culture. Unfortunately, the PanSMP community is starting to follow in that trend (and the server isn't even out yet, mind you).
Onto the point of this post- if you yourself are not Greek, it is not your place to be upset or offended by portrayals of the gods or myths- this is INCLUDING non-Greek people that converted to Hellenic Polytheism and well-read fans of the mythology.
People in these spaces tend to forget that this is a real culture that belongs to a real people, and that we are still around. Greek myths are still Greek, regardless of if the modern culture is identical to the ancient one or not. The modern culture is more centered on Eastern Orthodoxy, but the ancient culture and stories are very much still relevant! Modern Greeks (in my experience) generally treat the mythos more as folklore, but it is still something that holds a lot of our pride and ethnic identity- them being stories that survived for as long as they did.
It can be very upsetting seeing our old myths / gods taken entirely outside of their cultural context; non-Greeks policing what is or is not an “authentic” portrayal of them while erasing Greek features, mocking Greek names (“telemarketer” and “antibiotics” being recent examples), sexualizing the ancient clothing (often using SWANA and SEA aesthetics to do so), and using Hellenic Polytheism (the modern revival of the old religion) to claim a heritage that isn’t theirs and then use this to erase / talk over modern Greeks.
So far the PanSMP space has only had the “policing authenticity” part of the above issues, but I wanted to mention the rest to avoid a future headache.
TL:DR; You are allowed to dislike aspects of PanSMP, you are allowed to prefer different versions of the myths, but please remember that the majority of you are a guest in this culture- it is not yours.
That said, PanSMP has presented a very fun and engaging concept that is fully respectful!! I trust POW Creations and the CCs to handle it well and look forward to watching the SMP when it drops! :D
