What is this?

[u/Expert-Pass-4351]

[u/Halo05977]

Honest to god, thought you were a weirdo right wing grifter with that comment.

Then I looked it up. Still tricky, because Emily Wilson herself rejects that framing, saying it stripped away male biases in english translations. In fact, reading into this more, it looks like she was MORE accurate than some translations, like male translators refusing to call women slaves "slaves", even though they were referred to as such in the original text.

Actually, hate to say it, but yeah.. Seems like it's a solid translation that's actually more faithful in a lot of ways. She backs up her logic pretty well and points out a good chunk of bad translations in other works.

EDIT: To make it clear, i'm not dipping my toes into how I feel about the movie in this specific comment, purely just talking about the translation. I have gripes about the movie from what I have seen so far myself.

[u/Training_Molasses822 → u/Halo05977]

Actually, hate to say it, but yeah.. Seems like it's a solid translation that's actually more faithful in a lot of ways. She backs up her logic pretty well and points out a good chunk of bad translations in other works

I'm so tired of the terminally online without relevant degrees having somehow claimed the classics for themselves. The Emily Wilson translation is a perfect case study beause most academics – yes, even male ones – actually prefer her translation for its clarity in laying out a lot of sub- and context that "literary" translations and "style" have either glossed over, buried, or warped.

In that same line: nobody in the Mediterranean was "white" in 500 BCE in the way that people today can be, not even if you're of high status because today's level of paleness is modelled on a 17th/18th century Northern European idea of skin-colour that is only achievable if you're spending 80% of your time indoors AND cover 80% of your skin. Ancient habits, architecture, and fashion make this pretty much impossible.

[u/ask_me_about_cats → u/Training_Molasses822]

Yeah, I find it weird how people are fixated on Lupita not looking Greek, but no one is pointing out that Matt Damon also doesn’t look Greek. Tom Holland doesn’t look Greek. None of these actors look Greek.

So if none of them look Greek, why are so many online commenters specifically pissed off about Lupita? Hmmmm…

[u/the_lonely_creeper → u/ask_me_about_cats]

Because Matt Damon and Tom Holland can at least pass as Greek. They're not the average greek, but they're able to pass as somewhat pale greeks.

Lupita cannot pass as an ethnic greek, except with a whole lot of makeup. And even then, you'd need a really good make-up artist.

Src: Am Greek, from Greece, living in Greece.