#Italian of Greek heritage

[saltynachobeliever]

A Bond With Marisa: 4

[conformi]

Ancient Theatre, Epidaurus, Greece, 4th century BC VS Giorgio Morandi, Shell and other objects, 1948

[bunnyplots]

Wow. That native language post really got me. As I said, I've been up in my feelings for my whole life. It did lead to appropriation of ky friends' Hispanic and Mexican heritage unfortunately, as they were the only people who understood me and my struggle. It was not okay, and I recognize that. Really I'm just making my own post since I'm white so I don't take over the other numerous ones made by BIPOC people.

It's a terrible place to be in, knowing an entire part of yourself has been cut out purposely, without your input, to fit in. No one deserves that, whether it's cultural or otherwise. We're beings of identity and community and the western mindset says that pure individualism and independence are the only way that's acceptable. I don't want to get into hiw this is capitalist and fascist propaganda at the moment. I'm typing this while crying when I should be sleeping. Perhaps I'll have more posts in me. Silence around the issue is another policing of culture and ethnicity after all.

Anyway, my blog is likely to be filled with this for a while, if that's not your jam I understand.

[doberbutts]

I was to talk briefly about Chronic Bad Take Havers and this sort of logic. Deliberately anonymous screenshots, found in the trans guy tags, posted by known jerks.

Not only am I very tired of the logic that gender is somehow synonymous with race (and frequently said by white people ofc) but also like.

"White history month" doesn't exist because the ethnicities regarded as white have their own individual history months already that are specific and unique to them. "Anti-white racism" doesn't exist because the ethnicities regarded as white that do experience specific and unique oppression have words to describe their own experiences. Trans mascs don't currently have an agreed-upon term for discussing their issues that is specific and unique to them.

"White history month" isn't a thing. That is correct. But Irish heritage month is March, as is Greek. Italian heritage month is October, as is Polish. There *are* months specifically dedicated to those specific experiences.

"Anti-white racism" isn't a thing. However anti-Irish and anti-Italian (also called italophobia) are. Anti-Greek sentiments are so strong that just over a hundred years ago we were still having race riots targeting Greeks IN CANADA. Slavophobia is also a known and discussed term for the continued hatred of slavs to this day.

There *are* words to describe the specific and unique oppression faced by these peoples even if they may have some privilege in other ways.

Trans mascs also experience oppression in specific and unique ways. The comparison falls apart when you know that these groups do indeed have words to describe their experiences.

So why is it that us having ours is so uniquely terrible? Why can we not have space to talk about ourselves?

[amorinarose]

Looking for Alibrandi, Italians and poetry

Looking for Alibrandi, Italians and poetry

Mt Etna – Sicily These days, I have so much happening that blogging and my timeline fail to connect. This particular post is a good example. This is the twentieth time I have sat down to write it (not kidding). Each time I get so far and then read it and don’t understand a thing I have said. I finally figured out the topic is so important to me I can’t put it into words. Not good for a writer.…

[ehliena]

Seeing people bitch about DC "whitewashing" characters and I'm all what? Look at the Bats

Dick was WHITE. Him being of Romani descent is a retcon from the late 90s early 00s. He was created in the 1940s.

Barbara is white. She's a red head. That's a 2% incidence worldwide. She was made in the 60s.

Jason is white. I haven't seen retcons for him. He was made in the early 80s.

Tim is white. He was made in the late 80s.

Steph is white. She was made in the early 90s.

Cass is half asian, half white. I love Cass. She's been my asian rep in the batfam ever since I knew she existed. She was made in the late 90s.

Damian is a half asian (chinese, arabic, possibly with italian and greek <- from Ra's). I see many people complaining about him being coloured pale, but in his first comic appearance (named as the Damian character we know) he was coloured as pale as Tim. He was made in the 00s.

Duke is half black, half immortal being (Gnomon). Although I'm not sure if Gnomon is a retcon. I'm not really sure what exact descent his mom is from. He was made in the 2010s.

Luke Fox is black. Son of Lucius Fox (created 1979). He was created in the 2010s.

Bruce is white. I'm not sure about the percentage, but he has some Irish and Scottish apparently. He was made in 1939.

Kate is also white. Her current iteration came out in 2006. Her being Bruce's cousin is a retcon from this time. The original Kathy Kane (black haired Batwoman) was also depicted as white with no notes as to her heritage. She was made in the mid 50s.

Alfred is british. He was created in the early 40s.

Tl;dr: the bat family is diverse. If you think they're being whitewashed, check which version of the character they're interpreted as.

[blueiscoool]

Archaeologists Find Pompeii Fresco Depicting Greek Mythological Siblings

In a remarkable discovery at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, archaeologists have unearthed a fresco depicting the Greek mythological siblings Phrixus and Helle.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of Pompeii Archaeological Park, described the find as a poignant reflection of history unfolding once more.

“History has repeated itself,” said Zuchtriegel, as he gave an update on excavation and restoration work. “It is a beautiful fresco in an excellent state of conservation. The myth of Phrixus and Helle is widespread at Pompeii but it is topical too. They are two refugees at sea, a brother and sister, forced to flee because their stepmother wants rid of them and she does so with deception and corruption. She [Helle] fell into the water and drowned.”

The fresco showcases vibrant colours and exquisite artistry, with Helle depicted on the verge of drowning, her face obscured by waves as she reaches out to her brother.

Zuchtriegel expressed optimism about making these meticulously preserved homes accessible to the public in the near future, highlighting the cultural and historical significance of this latest uncovering.

The ancient city of Pompeii was destroyed in AD79 by an eruption that killed more than 2,000 people. The ruins have become one of the most visited archaeological sites in the world.

The city, which attracts almost 4 million visitors a year, has come a long way since 2013, when Unesco threatened to place it on its list of world heritage sites in peril unless Italian authorities improved its preservation.

Surprises unearthed in recent months include 13 Nativity-style statuettes that provided evidence of pagan ritual traditions in the ancient Roman city and, last June, a striking still life fresco resembling a pizza that includes an item that looks suspiciously like a pineapple.

By Lorenzo Tondo.

[icanseethefuture333]

PAC: What your fp/fs looks like but make it actually diverse 🌅

Feel free to leave a tip as well if you enjoyed this pac! $$$ 😌🌺

Pile 1:

Physical appearance

Hair color ranges from dark brown, light brown , ginger, & blonde highlights (Their natural hair color is mostly brown but they could dye it or a few of them are actually blonde/ginger). Their hair texture is coily, curly, or wavy. They are most likely light skinned or mixed race (I'm seeing mostly black, white, or middle eastern. This message could only be for a few but I heard someone's fp/fs could be Somalian, Moroccan, or Israeli to be specific). They have hazel eyes (eye color is a mix of green, aqua, gold, or amber). They have freckles and moles. Skintone is warm and medium or medium deep (tawny, olive, or brown). Your fp/fs's body could be more bottom heavy. If they are more feminine I'm seeing a pear shaped figure and if they are more masculine I'm seeing that they have strong legs. This person could like to workout or they are in involved in sports because they have strong lower body muscles (wide hips, big butt, thick thighs, toned calves, etc). Sagittarius & Leo could be prominent in their birth chart. Sun or Jupiter dominant.

Pile 2:

Physical Appearance

This pile's fp/fs is pretty unique! For some people in this pile, their fs/fp could have vitiligo. It's as if they have two skintones for some reasons. So either this person could have vitiligo, they either get very pale in the winter and dark in the summer, or they could have used tanners or skin bleaching creams growing up. I'm also seeing that this person could strictly only wear black, gray, and white - no colors. They like to be like a panda 🐼. For their hair color I'm seeing its gray, white, silver, platinum blonde, or bleached. They could like to wear wigs or their head is shaved at the moment. If the fp is a feminine they like to wear their hair very long while the masculine likes their hair very short, almost like a buzzcut. They also have dark brown almost pitch black eyes. Your fp/fs could have some type of scar on there face or body, perhaps from a burn, fight, or some sort of accident. Their body is angular, lean, and toned. This person likes to include stars in their aesthetic ☆. They could like y2k fashion or subversive fashion. I'm thinking of the brand "Chrome hearts". This person could be alternative or like being involved in that culture. They could be goth specifically which would explain why their skin color varies (some goths like to paint their face white). I'm seeing piercings and tattoos as well. There isn't a specific race for this pile but they could have almond eyes, a low nose bridge, and small lips (they like to wear lip liner so it looks fuller or red/black lipstick so they can appear as a "vampire" lol). So for some of you your fp/fs could be black, asian, or "other". I'm seeing that this person has Scorpio placements and a Pluto dominance.

Pile 3:

Physical Appearance

This person is white and their cultural heritage could either be Greek, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian, Portuguese, or Argentian. They have dark brown hair and it's straight with a slight bend of wave or curls. Their hair is very voluminous and shiny. Their skin ranges from pale to medium. Their eye color could be blue, brown, or green. For some other physical features they could have a prominent nose, dark circles, red lips, and a beauty mark either under their eye or next to their mouth. If feminine, their body is hourglass shape with hip dips. If masculine, they have wide shoulders, and have more of a inverted triangle shape. Your fp/fs' style is very refined and posh. It's giving "old money" vibes. Rolexes, white Polo shirts, khakis, linen blouses, diamond necklaces, etc. They could have Taurus placements as well as a Venus dominance.

Pile 4:

Physical Appearance

I feel for most people in this pile their fs/fp naturally has ginger, reddish hair or they have brown hair with reddish undertones. They have dark brown eyes, pale skin, freckles, rosy cheeks, and heart shaped lips. They could look like a cat or have features similar to cat. Their eyes are big and upturned. Your fp/fs is either east asian or "wasian" (half white half east asian). Their style is grunge with warm autumn tones or they dress very colorful (they could wear a lot of primary colors with brown and green). They could like to wear khakis, cargo pants, converse sneakers, and striped sweaters. This person gives off obvious Gemini energy 😂 but I'm also picking up that they could have Virgo placements. They have a Mercury dominance.

Pile 5:

Physical Appearance

This person has a very rich, deep skintone. If your fp/fs was a man they would remind me of the saying "tall, dark, and handsome". I'm seeing that they are either Black or South Asian. They have thick curly/coily hair and it's the color onyx. Their eyes are the color chocolate brown. They have a balanced and proportionate body type. I feel that this person really embodies having Venusian energy and could have Libra prominent in their birth chart. Their style is casual with a touch of luxury. They like to wear black blazers, white shirts, sundresses, gold hoops, pearls, and jewels. I'm seeing purple, red, and green (sapphires, rubies, emeralds, etc) so they could like to wear very regal colors as well or they could just look like royalty.

Pile 6:

Physical Appearance

I channeled a few different people for this pile so this might not resonate for all of you but only for some! So for those who are attracted to people with a feminine appearance. Your fp/fs could like to have their hair very colorful and it's always changing. They either wear wigs or dye their hair blue. I'm getting a "2014 tumblr girl" vibe from them. They are just naturally beautiful. As for those who are attracted to people with a masculine appearance. Your fp/fs could have short to medium length blonde hair. Their hair is very shaggy and they like to style it in a messy, carefree, tousled way. They could have slight wavy hair as well. They could look like a "surfey boy" or a "skater boy". Both feminine and masculine fp/fs could have blue eyes, a button nose, and pink lips. Their body type is petite and thin with a narrow waist. I'm not seeing a specific race being stated for your fp/fs but I wanna lean towards for most people who picked this pile that they will have a white partner. While for a few of you, you will date/marry someone who will be considered racially ambiguous. They could have Aquarius placements and a Uranus dominance

Pile 7:

Physical Appearance

This person has black or dark brown hair. Their hair texture could be straight or wavy. They could have siren eyes as well. Something about their eyes are very captivating. Their eye color ranges from light brown to dark brown. While their skin color is like copper. They are average height and their shoulders and collarbones could be very beautiful. Your fp/fs could be of West & South/Southeast Asian descent, this message might only be for some but I'm hearing that they could be possibly be Sri Lankan, Tamil, Iranian, Saudi Arabian, Bengali, Malaysian, Singaporean, Pakistani, Thai, and Indonesian (very specific, I know 💀). I feel like you would meet then while they are in their cultural attire or during a special holiday. If you are not from these countries perhaps you go there for a vacation and meet them there (how cute!🥺). I feel like their faith or beliefs are very important to them, so they might wear some sort of necklace to represent that. Capricorn could be prominent in their chart and they could have a Saturn dominance.

Pile 8:

Physical Appearance

For your fp/fs I feel that they could have a duality to them, so it is possible that they are mixed, have two cultures, or they have a dual citizenship somewhere. I believe that they are Aboriginal, Pacific Islander, and for a few, South East Asian (I'm getting the Philippines to be specific). They have thick wavy, curly hair. They might like to switch up their hair a lot by either straightening it or curling it sometimes. They could even do perms on their hair or use relaxers. The skin color varies from person to person. Their body type will be more fleshy and muscular, some of them have a prominent tummy. They could have Cancer placements or the Moon is dominant in their chart.

Pile 9:

Physical Appearance

Your fp/fs is indigenous or Latin indigenous descent. They have straight, dark brown hair. Their skintone varies from medium to dark skintones. Some of them have a hooked nose or will have a upturned nose. The corner of their lips could be downturned or when they smile it looks like this ^~^ (adorable 😭). I feel that these people have a very loud but infectious laugh. They could brighten your day when you are sad. For some of you these people could be a cowboy/cowgirl or work at some sort of ranch or farm (I'm not from the South so idk how all that works but you get what I mean 😅). They have a natural connection to animals. They could wear stetson hats, beaded necklaces, bolo ties, flannels, boots, bone shells, and silver or turquoise jewelry. They could have Aries placements and a Mars dominance.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

https://www.tumblr.com/cardassiangoodreads/722229585723424768/im-just-going-to-say-right-now-that-i-dont-think?source=share

Just curious about your thoughts

The post and the tags because this person has blocked me preemptively - and they're lucky cause I wouldn't shat all over them. This person is a USAmerican very removed from Italian culture.

My Answer:

Ooooo coloniser rhetoric in the 21st century! That's a sight for sore eyes! (Which became sore cause they see such takes all the time).

Funny how this person talks about how objects belonging to Greece right after saying that our heritage figures (like our gods and heroes) don't belong to us. If Greek culture is a global culture why can't foreigners keep the objects? Hmmm I wonder…. They still put the "Greek" or "Roman" to characterise the stories but the moment Greeks and Italians speak up, then all of a sudden "the stories akksuually have no culture, they belong to all of us!" 😂😂😂

I wonder if this person understands what the term "heritage" means, because gods and heroes are definitely part of one's heritage and we never stopped preserving the texts that spoke about them, and they are still part of our living culture.

I'm all for listening to the members of the diaspora but when we are at the point when one of them is regurgitating imperialist points, not only there's a big divide with current opinions in Italy, but I also cannot leave such points unanswered. Also, many Italians, like Greeks, are sick of how their myths are treated but this person didn't even check, they just spoke over them. Because they didn't bother to ask people, obviously.

Ancient Greek heroes and gods still mean a lot to us. They always meant. They were born from visions, dreams, and other sacred methods, or oral traditions from our ancestors, reflecting specifically the ancient Greek culture. It's good that foreigners can access them and relate to a degree but divorcing any folk story from its origin is always negative. Especially when this culture is still ongoing.

Our Christianity is revamped ancient Greek religion, I wonder, does this person know that? Our temples have the same parts. We still have home altars, and divinities presiding over domains. Our hagiography is how we used to paint our gods and creatures. We still have almost the same nature creatures. The customs have remained and have persisted, and I won't have someone who clearly ignores this say "They gave the religion up". Ftou.

Also when it comes to our gods and their symbols (and yes btw we call them "our" gods lots of times), we can deduce things from our local tradition and environment, whereas an Anglophone who worships the gods or is interested in them but doesn't know stuff about the country of origin of those gods has no idea about our history, methods and environment. Example: Foreigner refuses to accept that there's a pine cone on Dionysos' thyrsos (although it looks like a pinecone) because "it doesn't make sense" and very excitedly suggests another plant instead. Greek lets them know that it is actually a pine cone not only because it looks like a pinecone but because the pinecone has been used in our winemaking process forever, and Dionysos also presided over this process. Guess Greece and its environment and it's people are still relevant to the religion, and it also turns out that the symbols of the gods derived from the Greek reality. Who knew!

Now onto another point. Op says that the Greek stories became "global culture" because they got shared everywhere. Them being shared is not a bad thing! However just studying them and be taught about them is not culture. By this logic, and since Egyptians "gave their old religion up", ancient Egyptian gods are now MY ancient gods because I can find books about ancient Egypt at my local bookstore. woww 😂 What about this? Almost every Greek knows 100 and 1 nights. We have made it into a play also. SOO... these are our cultural stories now, right? West Asians and Arabs in general shouldn't speak if they ever see us and other nations being ridiculous about the stories, and stereotypes and changing the characters a lot but still claim we are doing great, right? Got it.

The way this post is written it's like Germans and Brits kept the ancient Greek myths alive since ancient years or something. Greeks themselves never stopped preserving their own ancient texts, and they escaped with them in Europe after the fall of Constantinople, so NW Europeans REDISCOVERED them 1500 years later. They had lost interest by then.

Funny they mention different nations that were Hellenized or became Roman territories because people living in these nations are exactly those who don't speak about Greek and Roman culture as "a global culture". It's always North Westerners who start these discussions, I wonder why…..

People from the aforementioned nations already interact healthily with their ancient heritage - which is not Greek or Roman culture but always a local version with Greek or Roman elements, and that's great too. I haven't heard a Pakistani say "Theseus is our hero too!" or a Tunisian say "Zeus is our local ancient father of the gods!" Because they know exactly how the mix happened and what their national identity is. And I'm getting more and more tired of seeing Westerners erase these experiences too, and just make assumptions for other nations.

I swear I mostly see USians getting butthurt about other people getting conquered 2.000 years ago. The nations themselves don't give a shiiit. Guys, I know our antiquities are the only interesting thing about us in your eyes but Please Make An Effort to understand people from ancient cultures and how we don't give a shit about these conquests cause they happened Two Thousand Years Ago, and we had other tragic stuff in the meantime. Thanks

Also, as I said, these conquests are not why Greek myths are popular today. The conquests were so incredibly old that the average person in these countries (Balkans, the Mediterranean, West Asia) - and Greece - had no idea who built the ancient ruins they saw around! Does this person think Greek myths were handed down from Moroccan grandma to Moroccan grandchild from 300 BCE to 2024 continuously or something?

Greek myths are very popular in most parts of the world today because the West (meaning not Greece, especially at the time when we were "cattle") popularized them non-stop the last few centuries. And they did a shitty job, at that. In fact, Greeks abroad have been cringing about this treatment of our myths since the 15th century but, as usual, we were not being heard.

And what does "global culture" even mean?? As if you see any culture to how the US (because OP focuses on the US and the retellings there, from the looks of it) interacts with our stories. As if they care about the meaning of the story. (There are a few notable exceptions ofc but they remain FEW) People with such arguments just want to feel guilt-free when using our myths out of context. That's why Western academic cycles often run in circles about "what the myths mean" while Greeks have told you exactly what they mean.

The US audience is still not free of the coloniser WASP approach. They see our myths STILL as a product of modern White Supremacy instead of an ancient Greek product, and they often condemn the myths and "better" them by completely pushing them into USian lens to the point they don't look or feel like the original myths anymore. (All the above you don't dare to do with cultural stories and figures from nations you want to respect, by the way.) Is this the cultural "exchange" they're talking about?

I'm done hearing in the international spaces that my culture is "boring" because USians have seen horrible adaptation after horrible adaptation. I'm tired of USians making wild assumptions about how "horrible" our gods are because whoever told them the myths didn't give a simple explanation about our ancient societies. (Don't start crap about accessibility, there are very accessible ways to talk to kids, teens, and adults about other cultures and teach them age-appropriate tales) I'm tired of my heritage being commercialized to that degree. All Greeks roll their eyes in USAmerican movies about our culture and we call them Amerikaniés. And don't worry, I'm getting to the real stuff.

How our ancient culture is treated and how we are sidelined has real consequences on our lives abroad AND inside our culture, on how we are perceived, on how our surnames are perceived, on how we "don't look like Greeks", on how our Greek myth retellings don't get published abroad! They speak in front of us about our own words as if they are magical and mythical and strange! The opinions and perspectives of Greeks are not sought abroad, and you are a masterclass on why this happens. We make y'all uncomfortable. You feel better if you forget about us.

Another exhibit: All the hurtful comments of foreigners who centered the HUGE milestone of same-sex marriage in Greece because all they could imagine - while queer Greeks suffered a lot these last few months - was their wedding in Gay Mykonos and Lesbian Lesbos. This was their first reaction. They didn't possibly think that Greeks were seeing that because we are far away and irrelevant, right?

Obviously culture-mixing is not bad but the West didn't mix our culture with theirs. They just took it for entertainment and their popular culture never saw the depth or the meaning of it. OP speaks about how our stories were spread while actively avoiding speaking in depth about the problematic elements of that spread. They recognize to a small degree how Greeks feel about the matter but they dismiss most of our concerns in such a nonchalant way that all that comes to my mind is "privilege".

And speaking of power… Greeks have less systemic power than the countries of the West. We are the US' puppet, are you kidding me?? Our armies get deployed wherever the US wants. Our politicians don't even fart without a telephone from the US. We are the whores of the German, Belgian and French governments. Greeks abroad still face discrimination for their customs and how they look, and how their food smells, and how our religion is and how our hymns sound, and other ridiculous stuff. Our infrastructure is slowly being bought out by Germans and USians to various degrees. There are different scales to exploitation and bigotry, I agree, but that doesn't mean that only the roughest bigotry cases are worth discussing.

"We could also talk about the additional level of exploitation in how imperial powers used Greek mythology as an argument for the "superiority of the West," while at the same time plundering Greece's resources and treating it like it exists only as a tourist site" They are SO close to getting it, and yet their post says otherwise.

Fetishism of a culture makes the members of the actual culture feel alienated and hurt. As a person of Italian ancestry you should know how this specific "global culture" argument has been used to strip Greeks and Italians of any claims, so the "dirty Greeks" can be separated from the "pure WASP" USian upper class of the time who deemed themselves more suitable to engage with the material.

"Greeks spreading their culture through military force all over (eventually) most of Europe" what the hell?? Sorry, guys, (side-eyes the other Greeks) we conquered Romania??? wow!

Plus, this person doesn't know the difference between the Greek colonisation of Italy and Sicily and the recent European colonisation, and - to say it very politely - they should open a book.

By The Way

You can still interact with the Greek culture without having a colonial attitude! Nobody is barring you! I want to make this abundantly clear!

Most importantly, you don't have to make arguments for "global culture" when it's simple to place the myths inside their original context while interacting with them! You just have to read a bit more books that are on the internet and your library for free! Recognising that a foreign culture is not yours, and that you engage with it because it's just popular, doesn't stop anyone from interacting with it. You simply refuse to interact with them at the proper, deeper level, because you always want to center them around yourself. You want to interact with foreign stories just how the colonisers did it. Congrats.

I'm talking about the majority of cases. Of course people in the US can take all sorts of inspiration from foreign myths and adapt them to their reality. And it's a good result when they're being respectful and have studied the stories beforehand.

All we ask is to engage with the material in context so you can understand what our ancestors wanted to express. If your only view of Greek myths has come from other Americans and NW Europeans then you see them through coloniser lens. That's non-negotiable. I had people from other countries recite to me USAmerican viewpoints about the Greek gods, as if they were fact. Cause it's the only exposure that's happening worldwide right now.

You can interact with Greco-Roman myths whether Greece and Rome touched your country or not, we don't care. But please don't get your source from the pop US culture. These people think that it makes sense for nymphs to look like trees (that's an Anglo-Saxon and Celtic nature creature depiction. Ancient Greece was very anthropomorphic). It's not a crime if you change some stuff in a retelling but why willingly ignore the original depictions and what they have to show you for the ancient people who created them?

Pfff... Thank you anon for bringing this trash to me. I needed to - metaphorically - throw something in the trash. It took me a few hours to answer this but well... I do write a lot and this post was full of shit I had to shovel.

[calabria-mediterranea]

Calabria, the toe of southern Italy is one of the country’s least-known regions and probably the most underrated one.

Calabria is best known for its beautiful sandy beaches along the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian Sea, and its dramatic cliffs, coves, and rock formations: 800 km of coastline, stunning turquoise waters and green hills adorned with olive, orange, and lemon trees.

The heart of the region offers a pure and unspoiled scenery, comprised of thick forests, dotted with canyons, streams, and waterfalls and three national parks: Aspromonte, Pollino (UNESCO heritage site), and Sila.

The warm weather, the wild and mysterious nature, the strong and genuine flavors of local food and the vestiges of its ancient origins, when it was a colony of Greece, make Calabria an ideal destination all year around, without the long-haul flights of more exotic destinations.

Art lovers cannot miss the famous Riace bronzes, that were found in the Ionian Sea near Riace in 1972 and exhibited in the National Museum of Reggio Calabria. These beautiful statues, probably two warrior heroes larger than life-size, are a fine example of classical Greek sculpture.

Reggio's ancient history predates the Greeks, who settled this strategic location at the exact center of the Mediterranean in the 8th century BC. They called their colony Rhegion, which was subsequently Latinized by the Romans and transformed through the ages under the area’s various rulers.

In Reggio Calabria, the lungomare or waterfront is a great place for a stroll, either down at beach level or along the upper promenade, which flanks what is commonly referred to as Via Marina, a pair of north-south coastal roads laid out in boulevard style. The approximate two-kilometer strip of land between serves as a lovely city park the length of the downtown area.

Stately mansions face this public garden and the strait beyond.

The seafront elegant, panoramic promenade lined with palm trees, with its views across the Messina Strait, which divides the Italian peninsula from the island of Sicily, to Mt Etna is one of the most atmospheric places for a walk.

Capo Vaticano is considered one of the 100 most beautiful beaches in the world: a long beach of fine sand with crystal clear waters, surrounded by ancient trees.

Tropea, a puzzle of lanes and piazzas, is one of Calabria’s most attractive towns. It is set in a dramatic spot on a cliff where the houses seem to blend into the rock. Tropea is famed for the spectacular sunsets, between the cliff and the rocky promontory with the church of Santa Maria dell’Isola.

Stacked high up on a sea cliff, there is Pizzo with its unique Church of Piedigrotta, entirely carved out of tuff stone.

Chili pepper, ‘nduja and Tropea onions are the first ingredients that come to mind when talking about Calabrese cuisine.

Calabrians love chilli peppers and they add it in everything, from pasta to ice-cream! Every September, the “peperoncino” festival takes place in Diamante to celebrate its locally produced food.

‘Nduja is the Calabrian version of salami. A spicy, spreadable cold cut with chilli peppers (of course) and spices.

Tropea’s red onion is known for its mild, sweet flavour. In fact, these onions are so famous that cipolla di Tropea has become a Calabrian symbol.

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

[yamishika]

have any other ethnicity headcanons for fairy tail characters?

Fairy Tail Characters Ethnicity HCs

I don’t have as much extensive proof as I do for my Erik headcanons post but I will explain my thoughts for why I think certain ethnicities.

Natsu Dragneel : Japanese + Greek? (Because of the clothing style in his past flashback with his biological family)

Erza Scarlet : British + ? - I say British because she reminds me of Lara Croft who in her older days had reddish hair, also English history is big on knights, which Erza is. The other half I can’t tell as I don’t actually know what to think of her father Rung as. He seems like a POC though. (Maybe Mexican?)

Lucy Heartfilia : British / American - Because Lucy’s heritage as a noble it reminds me more of English nobility, but then her characteristics remind me more of american for some reason (it doesn’t help that Lucy looks a lot like Ashley Graham from the original RE4 and she’s American so I am kind of biased there)

Gray Fullbuster : Canada or Serbia (I think that’s mainly because I am making the link of cold countries though). Also if with Serbian I can see Ultear and him coming from similar places)

Gajeel Redfox : Native American (His hair and features remind me of Native Americans and I don’t know he kind of reminds me and looks like of Ratohnhake:ton / Connor from AC3) Juvia Lockser : Spanish + Russian (Spanish as the name Juvia is Spanish origin and Russian since the ushanka she wears and her clothing style in general)

Jellal Fernandes : Mixed ethnic - Mixed Arab (mainly Levantine Arab) + Brazilian, but then in my HCs he’s also part Desi too since the name Jellal is most prominent in India (And I want Erik to have a desi bro in CS). And the Arab/South asian idea came from him wearing Kohl/Surma in S1 in the anime. 

Ultear Milkovich : Serbian with mixed Central Asian or Kazakh (Again cold countries but since Ultear looks Eurasian but with dark features these countries came to mind. Serbia because apparently the name Milkovich is Serbian origin)

Macbeth/Midnight :  English w/Scottish + Irish + Japanese - English/Scottish/Irish is a given since his name ‘Macbeth’ but since his aesthetic is alike to Visual Kei, I see Japanese influence. But I don’t know, I just can see Macbeth with a british accent, maybe that’s just me.

Sorano Aguria : French and Korean/Japanese (I don’t know why I have the French, it just fits me when discussing with my friend @acutemushroom. Korean/Japanese because despite having a Japanese name (her and Yukino) due to her features she gave me kind of Korean vibes for some reason)

Sawyer : English (I can’t explain other than the name. But I thought of Romanian too for some reason, so English + Romanian?)

Richard Buchanan : South African + Scottish? (My only thought for this was because Buchanan I knew it as a last name big in South Africa, and Scottish is probably because of the red hair and ruddy complexion that I know scottish people can have)

Meredy : Irish (I don’t know why, it was hard to think of anything for her)

Kinana : Desi (Since the name Kinana is an urdu name apparently - So Pakistani) 

Cana Alberona : Irish + Italian (Guildarts gave me tanned Irish vibes for some reason and Alberona is I believe an Italian name)

Minerva Orland : Chinese + Latina (She wears a Cheongsam and her hair reminds me of Chinese culture but then I see Latina too) BUT, maybe she has Egyptian too and Italian since Minerva (Italian/Latin) but the blue eyeliner/eyeshadow she always has is alike to Malachite powder that was used by ancient egyptians 

Laxus Dreyar : Ukrainian + Russian (He gives me eastern europe vibes and also his features) but also since he's Makarov’s grandson he’d have Russian in him 

Makarov Dreyar : Russian - (I think his full name is of Russian origin but I can't be sure.) These are the HCs I have off the top of my head, hope this answers your question!

[saltynachobeliever]

[inhale-and-out]

I just had a 20 minute argument with my brother about the PJO characters being greek. My question was "does that make the romans italian? Cause there isn't a country Rome anymore. But also Rome covered the whole Mediterranean, so the gods would be Mediterranean?"

His answer was that romans would also be greek because the gods came from there and that's their heritage.

I then argued that then some of the gods would be mesopotamian because most theories point to gods like Aphrodite being an adapted version of Ishtar.

I think I'm settling on "if names and spheres of control are different; then they're different gods" So the romans are securely not greek.

This all came from me realizing that none of the characters introduce or even think of themselves as greek. Percy is a greek american. Piper is native american/greek. Leo is mexican/american/greek. Nico is italian/greek (I'm not actually sure if they even got american citizenship, given that he and Bianca were near smuggled into the Lotus Casino in the 40's where immigration might've been hard)

I'm now very confused by myself. Please help.

[olderthannetfic]

The level of Blood and Soil nationalism that people are trying to claim is somehow “progressive” in the replies of that Greek mythology appropriation post is bizarre! Outright claiming an Italian-American can’t possibly know what it means to be “invested in one’s heritage” simply because they mention their home state in their blog description?!?

It is tbh really disturbing how many people don’t recognize that investment in genetic ancestry + living in a place continuously for thousands of years (the combo of the two) as a marker of identity = an inherently right wing ideology. It doesn’t matter who is saying it — though hopefully it coming from Greece, a European country with a past and present history of violent fascist movements, makes it more obvious. Their ideology is literally used to deny that Asian and African immigrants have a right to be in Greece. Ancient Greek mythology is regularly imposed on other cultures as propaganda attesting to the greatness of “Western culture.” All the blogs of the people posting about that are obsessed with the idea that their ethic Greek identity living continuously in Greece somehow gives them some mystical connection to a religion their ancestors haven’t practiced in nearly two millennia. But a descendant of immigrants in the US can’t have a connection to the culture of relatives in living memory, apparently. I definitely don’t feel some kind of way about this as a black person who had their ancestors’ culture forcibly stripped from them. Being able to know that shit and have that unbroken line backward is a privilege, frankly. No wonder a lot of us over the years have had to find solace in other mythologies.

I just hope that people are using their critical thinking skills and not falling for how people are abusing the language of cultural appropriation and diversity and sensitivity to sell an inherently right wing ideology (and let’s not even go into how a lot of investment in pre-Christian European paganism, especially coming from these kinds of nationalists, is based in the antisemitism of Christianity “coming from a Jew.” Specifically when it’s coming from ethnonationalists, I’m not saying other kinds of pagans are like this). This is why I think it’s important to name specific problems when talking about cultural appropriation. When you just make it about “taking from a culture that’s not your own” without tying it into larger power structures then it just opens the door for ethnonationalist weirdos like this, claiming that people with objectively less power than them are somehow doing them harm. Or even when they claim “you can do it just do it right!” they manage to claim that people with graduate degrees in Ancient Greece are somehow “doing it wrong” purely because they have the wrong ethnicity, like Madeline Miller. How does that not reduce it to blood and soil yet again? It’s saying that only people with that blood and soil (maybe I should use the original German, Blut und Boden — I just think that makes it more obvious for people what this ideology is, you know?) can “really know,” that there’s no amount of expertise those of us of different ethnicity and geography can acquire. It’s ethnonationalism, pure and simple.

And I don’t care if I make those right wingers sad. At some point just like with stuff like “white women’s tears” you have to recognize that people’s claims of hurt feelings aren’t the most important thing when they’re furthering oppressive ideas. Maybe it’s easier for me to do this as a black woman, but I hope other people (including white people) can learn to recognize these rhetorical games so they don’t fall for it either. Someone can be sad and also wrong, even offensively wrong! Blut und Boden ideology in every country (including Greece) has a high body count.

--

[traxanaxanos]

Re-watched the first 20 minutes of Caretaker to see Lieutenant Stadi and her minute and a half of screen-time, as you do, and I’m trying to contextualize her scene with Tom within the conversations I’ve been seeing on my dash recently about both Tom’s treatment of B’Elanna and the show’s treatment of B’Elanna as always angry and unjustifiably so, and that the anger is because she’s a Klingon, who can only ever be angry.

The first half of Tom’s conversation with Stadi is:

"Stadi, you're changing my mind about Betazoids." "Good." "Oh, that wasn't a compliment. Until today, I always considered your people warm and sensual."

So Tom here is using a base stereotype of Betazoids to inform his interactions, and specifically his sexual advances with a Betazoid woman, and then later repeats this pattern with a different set of stereotypes in his interactions and sexual advances with B’Elanna, where he continually reduces her to his (and the show’s) base stereotype of Klingons and Klingon women specifically. I’m not really sure that the writers knew they were making this a reoccurring trait of Tom’s, given that the Stadi interaction is basically nothing and was all the way back in episode 1, but it still is then a reoccurring trait of Tom’s in that he interacts with women with alien heritage by reducing them to whatever stereotype about their species is most convenient and sexually alluring to him.

Betazoids as a fictional species mainly suffer from the misogyny in their writing; they’re at the nexus of many of Roddenberry’s sexual interests. They can read your deepest desires, they become bonded to a partner, they don’t have cultural taboos around nudity, they have looser sexual mores than the average American viewer. I think they also tend to be exoticised, not so much with the few Betazoid men we’ve seen, but when they’re women. Specifically between Deanna (played by an British-American woman of Greek descent) and Stadi (played by an American woman of Italian descent), there are these occasional attempts at coding Betazoid women as vaguely Mediterranean, exotic and different, but not too exotic. Different in a way that is sexually alluring but “safe” to a White gaze. 

Tom notes that Stadi is not performing his stereotyped version of a Betazoid correctly to try and bait her and shame her for not being receptive to his advances. He uses a similar tactic in many of his interactions with B’Elanna, only instead tells her that she is performing his stereotyped version of a Klingon correctly to shut her down, belittle her, and minimize any conversation she tries to have that may be a little uncomfy for him. B’Elanna is just being angry which is how all Klingons are. B’Elanna just has a violent personality, like all Klingons do. B’Elanna is flying off the handle over nothing, just like a Klingon would.

This stereotyped version of Klingons is rooted in the racism that is frequently present in depictions of Klingons, which is rooted in the creators racism towards people of color. B’Elanna is explicitly Latina, and the way the show and Tom positions her as being too angry pulls from the “fiery Latina” stereotype. Klingons are also either explicitly or implicitly Black, and the anger and hostility Tom reads onto B’Elanna maps onto a white racist stereotype of Black people being inherently violent or destructive.

I don’t think the show is aware that Tom has this racist essentializing tendency, and if it is, it doesn’t necessarily think its a bad thing. Trek is a series whose reach exceeds its grasp - Infinite diversity in infinite combinations has become a cornerstone of the show (or at least in the imagined truly utopian version of the show), but Trek so often uses broad stereotypes to talk about groups of people, and frequently seems unaware that this is reductive at best and outright racist at worst. At the end of the day most of the people in charge of Voyager had the most in common with Tom Paris.

[vaveyard]

Hi Victoria!

Corayne and Mare are some of my absolutely favorite fantasy heroines of all time. Bit of a niche ask, but is Corayne's surname an-Amarat inspired by Arabic? Seeing possible Arab rep in the YA fantasy space is so refreshing when written well, and I was just curious if this was your intention! I remember seeing that you see Mare as biracial white and Hispanic; would you envision Corayne and/or Mare as Arab/Middle Eastern descent as well? I think their strength and resilience really stands out in these representations, and I really appreciate your portrayals (of female heroines in general, regardless of ethnicity!)

Great question!

Regarding Corayne - yes, I very much see her as having a mixed race background from her mother's side. And I was thinking about Arabic surnames when naming her (as well as other characters). Her mother, Meliz, notes that she has ancestry throughout the Long Sea (which I see as Mediterranean coded). Specifically, Meliz is of Siscarian, Tyri, and Ibalet descent (Italian, Greek, and Arabic coded respectively).

But race isn't exactly a construct in Allward as it is in our modern day world. Heritage, skin color, or ethnicity aren't tools of division or oppression, so much as simple facts. I.E. A person of color in a predominately white court might be noticed as not hailing from the same kingdom, but won't be looked down upon or othered. I see Allward as being extremely multicultural with an emphasis on travel and trade linking the kingdoms together. I really did not want to write a world where racism existed and did that to the best of my ability.

So I wouldn't identify Corayne as having anywhere near the same experience as a POC!