Shouldn't Wonder Woman Be More Greek?

[Ajax]

Doesn't it seem like Wonder Woman is only greek in a very superficial way? I mean beyond saying things like "Hera Statement Here" and having a few Greek Mythology themed villains, she isn't very Greek. In fact she is kinda American. This is a woman who grew up on a mythical island of amazons where the Gods are real. So shouldn't she adopt the ancient Greek mindset? Shouldn't she believe in their concept of sacrifice? Fate? Fortune? When she accomplishes something great, should she not be fearful of Tyche and Nemesis?

Also, have they ever truly portrayed her as an Amazon? I mean for someone who lived on an island of nothing but women she was awfully quick to accept our world. Wouldn't it make sense for her to be a feminist to some degree? It wasn't till recent years they started to actually do something like that but it seems to only apply when it suits the writer. I've only started to read the Wonder Woman comics (because Gail Simone is writing it now), so I've only seen her in team books, events, and etc. In those books she comes off as the "female superman".

Lastly, (i know this is nit picking), why does she have the American stars on her costume? Yes she was created prior to WWII so there was an underlying patriotism surging then but shouldn't we change the costume? Or is it simply an issue of "it's iconic now". But like I said, nit picking and honestly I could live with it staying the same.

[Mystik]

normally I would ignore this , cause you obviously know nothing about wonderwoman, but let me suggest
keep reading gail's run most of your answers are in her run

[Protomorph]

While she did grow up on an island of women, many of them are such extreme feminists because of the insult and injury done unto them by men. Diana came after all of that, and didn't have anywhere near the amount of resentment towards them.

Maybe this wiki on Wonder Woman will serve as some illumination.

[Talavar]

No, I think Ajax has a real point.  Wonder Woman isn't particularly Greek, though it varies according to the writer of the day.  Like Thor over at Marvel, when the mythology she's based on is used, it's more 'Mythology for Dummies' than the genuine article, and the rest of the time it's largely ignored.

I think she is feminist to some degree, though that degree has clearly varied significantly with the writer and the time period.  She is portrayed as an Amazon, though again, the DC comic version has little in common with the Greek mythological version.

I've got no answer for her costume.  The eagle-ish breast piece may have been drawn from Roman iconography ('cause Roman & Greek are the same, right?) but aside from that, I've got nothing.

[lugaru]

While there is no NEED for her to be greek (carved out of clay) I do like the more frank miller style of illustrating her with the curly hair and slightly less caucasian features.

[doctorchallenger]

"The Tyranny of the Melting Pot Metaphor" by Matthew J. Smith, published in Comics & Ideology (Editors: Matthew McAllister, Edward Sewell, and Ian Gordon) addresses this very question. 

[Talavar]

I don't think the issue is that she doesn't look Greek, but that she has almost no meaningful ties to Greek culture or mythology.

[herodad1]

i like the way she's portrayed in the new dc animated movie.she's a true warrior woman there.like a female worf.always ready for battle.

[stumpy]

This topic has come up here a couple years ago. I don't recall the whole discussion, but I will reiterate at least one point I mentioned last time: Though the Amazons come to the modern West primarily as part of Greek legend, they weren't supposed to be Greek. They are from Greek legends about a foreign people. What I read indicates that the ancient Greeks placed the homeland of the Amazons (whether or not there was any real analog) likely near the north side of the Black Sea, which ancient Greeks certainly wouldn't have considered Greek.

[thalaw2]

While there is no NEED for her to be greek (carved out of clay) I do like the more frank miller style of illustrating her with the curly hair and slightly less caucasian features.

hehehe!  One of my favorite moments in the JLU cartoon was when Hades/Pluto (I forget his name) was trying to tell WW that he was her father and she went off about how she was carved out of clay...what naivety :D:D:D

[Ajax]

This topic has come up here a couple years ago. I don't recall the whole discussion, but I will reiterate at least one point I mentioned last time: Though the Amazons come to the modern West primarily as part of Greek legend, they weren't supposed to be Greek. They are from Greek legends about a foreign people. What I read indicates that the ancient Greeks placed the homeland of the Amazons (whether or not there was any real analog) likely near the north side of the Black Sea, which ancient Greeks certainly wouldn't have considered Greek.

The Greeks didn't consider the macedonians Greek. Plus the idea of there being a Greek people, is a fairly modern one, that probably didn't exist until Alexander, maybe even after that. More often than not it was, I'm Athenian, Spartan, or whatever city state the person came from. Also, the comics are playing the Amazons as if they are Greek. I'll say what the creators of Rome said when they were asked about the historical inaccuracies in the show, "We were less concerned with being pitch perfect with history and more concerned about creating an authentic Rome."

[doctorchallenger]

I'll say what the creators of Rome said when they were asked about the historical inaccuracies in the show, "We were less concerned with being pitch perfect with history and more concerned about creating an authentic Rome."

As a historian, the mind boggles at conceiving the notions of historical accuracy ("pitch perfect with history") and authenticity being opposed to one another. By what standards do these creators judge authenticity.  Did they iterview the residents of Rome, New York for their opinion?

As to Wonder Woman, based on any vision of DC Continuity, the Amazons were isolated from the currents of racial mixing and cultural blending for centuries, if not millenia.  My reading is that the Amazonian exile takes place in the Golden Age, the mythical time when Gods roamed the Earth, or maybe in the Silver Age, when the Gods were removing themselves from the affairs of man.  This is a time before the rise of what we think of as the age of the ancient Greek City-State civilizations.  Therefore, thwe Amzaons would be flies in amber, ethnically speaking, and far removed from what it means to be Greek at any time in human history. 

[Ajax]

The film-makers stressed that they wanted to portray a more accurate picture of Rome, a gritty and realistic city as opposed to what they call the "HollyRome" that appears in films like Gladiator. (from wiki) Also the series took some creative license with certain historical figures, events, and etc. Though for the most part they stayed fairly accurate.

Assuming they were flies in amber, wouldn't it make even more sense for them to be more ethnically close to how the ancients thought? Let's say they were a part of the "Greek" world up till the end of the Trojan War (since I recall the Amazons taking part in the war along side the Trojans). Doesn't that mean they should be more reflective of those times? (Culturally speaking) Also isn't the Bronze Age the setting for most of Greek Mythology?

I haven't gotten a chance to read the Comics and Ideology article yet. UMCP library says they have it but I'm waiting for them to find it.