The Truth of the Past

 The fascination with ancient Greek history has plagued western society for centuries. It was a time when people could be who they wished. Homosexuality was not only accepted, but normal. It was the start of democracy, and the philosophies discussed inspire even today’s great thinkers. The arts flourished and science bloomed. By all accounts, it was a progressive and idealistic age. Unless of course, you were unfortunate enough to be born a woman.

Sadly, this seems to be a common theme throughout history.

Like art and media, history too is corrupted by prejudices and injustices. Though men like Lord Henry and Dorian Gray may be able to look back on the Hellenistic age as a time of inclusion, the same can't be said for everyone. The women of this time were not given any of the benefits received by men and were forced to live their entire lives as property, their only value coming from their ability to create children. As we discussed this age in class, many of us wondered why today’s society couldn't be as open minded as theirs was about relationships. But as we did, we were ignoring the other, less progressive parts of society that went along with that. Though we can praise the ancient Greeks for their lack of homophobia, we can't proclaim them as paragons of equality when women were still treated as less than men. 

As in history, the beauty of art cannot be separated from the other factors that contribute to it, such as the artist. In the same sense that we cannot separate the misogyny of Hellenic society from their progressive views of sexuality, we also cannot separate J.K Rowling's transphobia and racism from her books. Or Elvis’s pedophelia from his music. Or Pablo Picasso’s misogyny from his art. Their views are part of who they are, and thus are also part of their creations. There are always other artists who are capable of making work just as good. Art, unlike history, is subjubjective. Therefore, we get to decide who gets remembered and who doesn’t.