Why is the Appropriation of Greek Culture OK?

“If you want to talk about cultural appropriation, we have to go back to the Greeks” — Frances McDormand

I left Greece to study in the United States about four years ago without any expectations about my experience. When I arrived, I found a community that accepted me for who I was and included me in its functions. It was all I could have asked for.

Sports may not be as integral to our school as they are other places (which is a shame because our student athletes are amazing people), but two years ago one of the teams managed to become the most discussed topic in our community. They had used stereotypes about Mexican culture to advertise their games, and the portrayal — which consisted of mustaches, sombreros, and Spanish greetings — offended quite a few people. That is when I learned that what they were doing was Cultural Appropriation.

If you’re new to this term, Cultural Appropriation is when a ‘dominant’ culture adopts or uses elements of a ‘minority’ culture in a way that is disrespectful, insensitive, ignorant, or hypocritical. Since becoming aware of this concept, I’ve started to observe something that makes me uncomfortable. While some minorities (rightfully) receive community support when their identity and culture has been repurposed, others are virtually invisible to activists.

Believe it or not, modern descendants of the Ancient Greeks exist. They use the same alphabet, share the same history, and live on the same land. Because of the cultural significance of Greece, it is often assumed that the distinct elements of its culture are somehow co-owned with the rest of the West. That is not the case. The West may have borrowed all kinds of byproducts of Ancient Greek civilization, but they own none of the original culture. Any such act that does not seek to respect the Greeks’ culture in the same way it would like to respect other groups is appropriative.

The following is an anecdotal account of this double standard from my four years in the United States.