It doesn't seem likely that the Greeks would depict their Gods as black.

[CEO of Cunny]

I'd rather the dev just say it's for inclusivity than to make up some convoluted excuse to justify their artistic decision. C'mon, if you're gonna do it then just admit it. The game is good, it's not like it's some deal breaker for me, it's just a weird thing to see because the Greeks would have never depicted their gods in such a way. The greeks had a term for Africans which is "aithiops" which means "burnt skin." They make this distinction because the skin color of the Africans was a very unique feature that the Greeks did not see in people around their civilization. Even in the Illiad and Odyssey Homer depicted the Ethiopians as having lived on the edge of the Earth close to the sun which "burnt" their skin.

The Greeks for the most part interacted with other Mediterranian people which is why their Gods have bodies, facial features, hairstyles, and weapons that would have had meaning or familiarity to their people. This is the same for any civilization that developed their own deities. It would be weird if Ixtlilton was suddenly asian or if Chang'e was suddenly depicted as white. At the end of the day it's your game so you can do whatever you want, but it just looks weird because it makes no sense. I'm not gonna make the argument that it's disrespectful because I support freedom of expression but it sorta comes out of nowhere seeing that the game isn't going full whacky like "Smite."

[Nullifidian]

https://youtu.be/fpo-htThpYI?t=282

[BIG E.]

How dare you ask for immersion in 2020 ?

Don't let social warriors catch you talk like that or they'll hang you for beeing racist.

Look, i define myself as an attack helicopter because apperantly i can be whatever i want in terms of "definition" in our day and i demand a Troy movie where achilies is "EXPRESSED" as an attack helicopter. Now it doesn't sound so well does it social warriors ? But truth is there is no difference in between what i said and what most publishers in any market today does.

[Nomad]

No different from making jesus a white dude tbh.

[BIG E.]

Първоначално публикувано от Isaac Clark:

OP is one of those people that doesn't know they're racist because everyone they grew up around is white and "doesn't see race".

Lol, in where i live there are a lot of different races around, black, asian you name it, most students, you americans might not know how to be a decent human beeing and see everyone equal to yourselves but here your race doesn't even matter, you won't get that annoying gaze around you when you sit in a coffe shop or in a buss.

So having a "black athena" in a video game doesn't send the same massage to me that you yourself recieve. You call it expression of some sort, an "idea", i call it lack of historical knowledge because we don't require such ideas around here.

Not only speaking about this game because it is fair to say art in this game sometimes is a little bit dark and i cannot even choose the exact skin colour and the game has some kind of "comedy" wibe in it so it is totally fine. But it happens all around us today. Mostly in TV side of things. There are really good black and asian actors that i like alongside with white actors. But when you make a historical drama with a black Achilies i will simply call it out "hey that is not accurate".

[BIG E.]

Първоначално публикувано от Astolfo:

No different from making jesus a white dude tbh.

It actually is because Greeks pictured gods in their own image. Just as Vikings, Picts, Romans, Chinese and many other.

[Ysen]

The Greeks also don't typically depict Poseidon as having bright green hair and a super-long goatee, and I definitely don't recall the myth where Hestia mows the Titans down with an assault rifle. None of the characters are meant to be literal representations of exactly how ancient Greeks would have depicted their gods.

Also, although the Greeks might not have depicted their gods that way, some Greek writers identified other regions' gods as being the same gods worshipped under a different name and appearance. For example, from Herodotus' Histories[www.perseus.tufts.edu]:

All that have a temple of Zeus of Thebes or are of the Theban district sacrifice goats, but will not touch sheep. [2] For no gods are worshipped by all Egyptians in common except Isis and Osiris, who they say is Dionysus; these are worshipped by all alike. Those who have a temple of Mendes24 or are of the Mendesian district sacrifice sheep, but will not touch goats. [3] The Thebans, and those who by the Theban example will not touch sheep, give the following reason for their ordinance:25 they say that Heracles wanted very much to see Zeus and that Zeus did not want to be seen by him, but that finally, when Heracles prayed, Zeus contrived [4] to show himself displaying the head and wearing the fleece of a ram which he had flayed and beheaded. It is from this that the Egyptian images of Zeus have a ram's head; and in this, the Egyptians are imitated by the Ammonians, who are colonists from Egypt and Ethiopia and speak a language compounded of the tongues of both countries. [5] It was from this, I think, that the Ammonians got their name, too; for the Egyptians call Zeus “Amon”. The Thebans, then, consider rams sacred for this reason, and do not sacrifice them. [6] But one day a year, at the festival of Zeus, they cut in pieces and flay a single ram and put the fleece on the image of Zeus, as in the story; then they bring an image of Heracles near it. Having done this, all that are at the temple mourn for the ram, and then bury it in a sacred coffin.

Herodotus compares the god Amon, worshipped by people from Egypt and Ethiopia, to the Greek god Zeus; saying that "Amon" is the foreign name for Zeus, and that in Egypt he is depicted with a ram's head. At the start of passage he also says the Egyptian god Osiris is identified with Dionysus. So, y'know. If an ancient Greek dude is saying Zeus can be a god with a ram's head from Ethiopia, doesn't seem like they'd have too much of a problem with their gods being shown with dark skin.

[BORN2DIE]

Първоначално публикувано от DE NIRO:

aTtAcK hEliCoPtEr!!!!1111

one joke. you guys have one joke.

[Mystic Myotis]

Ysen put it very succinctly. It's absurd that this is the sticking point for you when it comes to "immersion" and "historical accuracy."

[Wintermute]

Първоначално публикувано от Astolfo:

No different from making jesus a white dude tbh.

This guy gets it.

Anyway, there are numerous examples of greek art depicting gods and heroes with black skin. Usually it comes from amphoras, and can be attributed to materials and stylistic choice. But the "stylistic choice" also applies to Hades.

If there are OG greek depictions of black Theseus or Athena, why can't they have black skin in game? Neither she nor Ares have african faces by the way - just white people with coal-black skin. Remember wh40k jokes about Vulkan - "blackest white dude in the galaxy"?

[C4RNIVOR3]

"Constantly dying in comical ways, ancient sentient weapons, a three-headed dog and giant snake skeleton are fine but I draw the line at skin colour."

no one is ever going to believe the argument of "immersion" or "historical accuracy" because it's absolutely absurd.

[Idlemind]

We all living in a melting pot of races now so it makes sense to market entertainment to such. I don't think they are going for historical accuracy.

I know you are just making an observation. Some might say it's virtue-signalling which is pretty harmless on its own (everyone look at me).

If the main character wasn't a white male though, wow, then we'd have something spicy to argue about /s lol

[GLM]

Първоначално публикувано от ♪ Evarrice ♫:

I didn't care what they all looked like.

They're all hot!

Eh... I'm positively sure Aphrodite is cursed, she is more creepy than hot.

[sakcharat]

Greeks wouldn't depict their own gods as black, but SJW's would.

[Nullslayer]

Wait are people actually butt hurt that there are some dark skinned Greek Gods? Yall need to chill out, either you like the game or you don't.

[Punchy]

in case you haven't noticed this game wasn't made by the ancient Greeks so some amount of artistic liberty is taken

thanks OP great thread