There are problems with the Netflix so called “documentary” and this is how I think we, in the Greek diaspora, should come together to correct. I write as a Greek American who stands with Egypt — a country I love. What Netflix did involve three unacceptable historical and cultural no-nos — presentism, historical negationism, and appropriation. This is the core of the backlash — not racism as some say. Presentism is defined when people see the past, not as it was, but through a kaleidoscope of their present culture. Historical negationism is defined as falsifying and distorting history.

Appropriation is defined as taking someone’s identity without permission. Can any of these be a good thing? Yes.

The good and the bad in negationism and presentism

In regard to historical negationism and presentism, I would say yes only for artwork. Some artworks, such as film or visual art, speak of today through the veil of the past. Sometimes that is the best way to explore our contemporary society.

Like good historical negationism and presentism, there is good appropriation. That is when you join others in love and friendship. We Greeks have philoxenia which means hospitality and a welcoming culture. You, who are not Greek, want to dance Greek dances, eat Greek food, dress like a Spartan for Halloween, learn our language, and so on, DO IT.

But Netflix’s “Cleopatra” is not fiction or art. It is advertised as a “documentary” and therefore, supposedly factual. Yes, historians often disagree about various past events. Yet, truth is always the goal for history. Presentism and historical negationism are not the search for truth but based in the agenda driven present. Therefore, it is not history but contemporary commentary and fake.

Likewise, there is bad appropriation which is simply disrespect, theft, and erasure of a culture and history. This happened with the Cleopatra documentary and why people are so angry.

Hellenes have a long history of others imposing their outsider impressions on us (presentism, historical negationism, and appropriation). It’s literally a smorgasbord of everybody but us from the outside telling us who we are/were.

For more, I recommend following Angelo Nassios’ substack. In his discussion on neo-pagan appropriation, he explains,

Hellenism “refers to our entire ethnos and the diaspora. Hellenism expresses our arts, aesthetics, language, customs, lived historical and daily experiences, actions, and tragedies. We are, collectively, the only ones who can or should be able to define or alter it. We are its generators and carriers.”….Allowing non-Greeks to impose their views or interpretations on it is to relinquish control of our narrative and part of our sovereignty.”

Kathleen Martinez director of a Dominican-Egyptian archeological mission holds an alabaster statue of Queen Cleopatra as she poses for photographers, in the Temple of Taposiris Magna in a western suburb of Alexandria, Egypt 19 April 2009. Photo: AAP/Khaled El-Fiqi

Some historical examples of presentism, historical negationism, and appropriation are:

(1) The 19th century racist German writer Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer wrote that we modern Greeks weren’t related to the ancients. He considered us an inferior mix of people from the Slavic north and Turks. His ideas had lasting consequences. Hitler was influenced by Fallmerayer and the Nazis massacred us.

(2) Today, reminiscent of Fallerayer, random people on social media tell me ancient Greeks were Black people. Or they say, ancient Greeks stole everything from Black Egyptians. I don’t know how widespread these untrue related concepts are?

(3) People to the north claim a star found in Vergina Greece as their own and place it on their flag. They say that their language is Macedonian. Meanwhile, the only language spoken in Hellenistic Macedonia was Greek. Unfortunately, because of this, people who could have been friends became polarized. No I don’t want to fight with you if you are reading this from up there. The fight was started by our political leaders and now, unfortunately, is what it is. I wish it wasn’t so.

(4) Turkey claims the Armenian/Greek/Assyrian genocide never occurred. It did.

(5) In the 19th century America and Europe were full of Neo-Classical art and architecture. Think of Greek Ionic columns on buildings, Greek mythologically themed paintings, and white marble sculptures. This was made by others and not us. In my opinion, the Neo-Classical age was flattery. I actually appreciate all those American Ionic columns on architecture. So I say it was respectable appropriation.

(6) Western Europeans believed that Ancient Greek sculptures and temples were white. Fortunately, the Met Museum is attempting to correct this misconception with their “Chroma” exhibition.

(7) There has been an increase of Neo-Paganism by non-Greeks who worship the 12 Olympians. I find this recent phenomenon to be reminiscent of Non-Native Americans who look for meaning and spirituality among Native people. Or it’s like non-Indians who fly to India looking for gurus and answers to spiritual questions. I think it’s weird. It’s hard to explain.

(9) Look at the cast of the 1981 film “Clash of the Titians”: Harry Hamlin as Perseus, Judi Bowker as Andromeda, Burgess Meredith as Ammon, Maggie Smith as Thetis, Siân Phillips as Cassiopeia, Claire Bloom as Hera, and Ursula Andress as Aphrodite, and Laurence Olivier as Zeus. Where were the Greek actors? Why were we not telling our mythological story in 1981? It was typical of Hollywood to make films with Greek themes and no Greek actors. That said, I loved “Clash of the Titians”.

Back to Netflix’s Cleopatra

It is important to understand is that this Greek and Egyptian reaction is to centuries of presentism, historical negationism, and appropriation. The people who think the criticism is just about skin color don’t understand the deep seated cultural and historical issues at hand.

On race: The first Egyptian petition that was removed by change.org said, “Egypt was never black and it was never white, Egypt is just Egypt.” In the same light, Greece was never Black or White, Hellenes were just Greek. To see our modern perception of race is to view history through presentism.

Culturally, the Cleopatra story has become tangled within our worldwide discussion on race. We Hellenes are talking because we are searching for where we fit into the race conversation. Our experiences are not uniform.

How Greeks are disrespected

We know we are being disrespected once more and struggling to put our finger on how to explain it to others.

Non-Greeks say stuff like, “Greeks are European so they are White”. To that, I say, “Greeks are Eurasian and some from Egypt”. They say, “No they aren’t”. I say, “Find a map of Anatolia and Cyprus and tell me where that is”. They say, “Turks are POCs and Greeks are white”. I say, “Turks look like Greeks” and in circles we go.

On the other end, I have conversations with Greeks in the diaspora who say, “We are White”. “We aren’t White”. My daughter looks Latina”. “Cypriots are dark”. “We are Olive”. “Most Greeks don’t define themselves as White”. “Of course, Greeks are White”. “Greeks have White privilege”. “Are we White?” And the beat goes on.

We live in the diaspora within countries who invented race and do not understand us. To be clear for non-Greeks, we come in skin shades from sort of light to sort of dark. That said, there aren’t POC Greeks and White Greeks. We must end this conversation internally among ourselves. It’s division. It doesn’t matter if your Hellenic homeland is in Asia, Africa, or Europe. If you are Greek, you are Greek.

Pick your race box

Or don’t pick a box. That’s your choice and you are still Greek. Furthermore, instead of saying, “She was White”, we should explain to others that Cleopatra was a Hellenistic Greek Macedonian Egyptian — And a Ptolemy. Leave it there.

Back to the film, imagine alternate scenario where Jada Pinkett Smith hired an Egyptologist and Hellenistic Greek historian to work together.

Now imagine she chose an artistic path with an actress who was half Greek and half any other race/ethnicity (Egyptian would be best). After all, we Greeks are sometimes half Greek in today’s modern world. Instead of outrage, we would have seen a positive imaginative portrayal. Let this hypothetical actress speak some Greek and be fluent in Greekness. Let her appear on TV and Tik Tok and say Cleopatra was a Hellenistic Greek Macedonian Egyptian Queen. Let her love Egypt. No matter her skin color, Greeks would feel respected.

Netflix removed us

But Netflix didn’t do that. Instead, Netflix removed us (Greeks and Egyptians) from our shared history and beloved story. Netflix made the same mistake as the Western European orientalists and Hollywood of yesteryear.

Has good come of the Cleopatra documentary? Yes. It got us talking. Also, it brought the Egyptian and Greek people together in mutual respect. Has bad come of this? Yes. The Cleopatra documentary divided us down skin color lines once again. This is unacceptable.

It’s time for our stories to be told by us who made them. Egyptians should tell their stories. Native Americans should tell their stories. Chinese should tell their stories. Ethiopians should tell their stories. Greeks should tell our stories. And so on for all people around the world. And if you plan to tell another’s story, fine. Just do it thoughtfully.

Cleopatra has been told for film by everyone but Egypt and Greece. It’s time to change that.

For us from ancient lands, our history is under our feet and all around. We respect the ancients who are with us in our ancient stones. We can’t escape the past. We know and feel the past in our hearts, our minds, and our homeland. History is history. Truth is truth. It just is what it is.

Meanwhile, from NYC or Hollywood, it’s easy to imagine anything about anywhere. That’s fantasy. That’s fiction.

What the diaspora and Greece need to do

There is a need for an organisation whose mission it is to correct inaccurate history in popular culture and beyond. The Greek ministry of culture should join with the Egyptian ministry of culture to develop and present a historically accurate history of Cleopatra for the world. Where is the Greek government on this? Sleeping? Egypt is awake. Much respect to Egypt.

There need to be more films about us, coming from us, to enter the world stage. Netflix will be airing “Smyrna My Beloved”. That’s a start.

There need to be more books about our journey. Included in topics would be, the 20th century Asia Minor catastrophes, 1974 Cyprus and beyond, the immigrant experience in foreign countries such as the USA, Canada, and Australia, and of course, our ancient history from the Bronze age to Byzantium (the Minoan Cycladic Bronze age and Byzantium are left out of USA history curriculums). We need to continue to push for worldwide recognition that our homeland is Eurasia.

And in the U.S/ we need a permanent museum of the Greek America Immigrant experience in Astoria NY.

For now, let the conversation continue.

Penelope Eleni Gaitanis-Katsaras is a graduate of history from

Rutgers University, and holds a fine art degree from Alfred University, and a a masters in fine art from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

She is a former educator, mother, studio artist, storyteller, blogger,

and dancer with the Greek American Folklore Society and lives in Queens New York City.