Reclaiming Eros: Zoe Terakes rewrites Greek Myth through a Queer and Trans lens

Ancient Greek myth, agelong sanitised by centuries of retelling, is being reclaimed arsenic defiantly queer and erotic successful the debut publication by actor, performer and writer Zoe Terakes.

In an interview with the ABC, the Greek-Australian creator spoke astir turning to past story to situation humanities erasure and re-centre stories that erstwhile openly embraced sex fluidity and same-sex desire.

Terakes’s Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers revisits 5 past Greek myths that were queer agelong earlier modern interpretations rendered them invisible. Since the 19th century, Terakes argues, antheral historians systematically minimised oregon excised queer and trans narratives from classical storytelling. Even the beingness of Hermaphroditus — a trans deity successful the Greek pantheon and the root of the word hermaphrodite — was recast done a modern lens that obscured its archetypal meaning.

“Queer and trans emotion has ever existed,” Terakes writes successful the book’s introduction.

“But our stories person been minimised, folded down by antheral historians into smaller and smaller pieces until they disappeared entirely.

“Because we person been erased, we indispensable excavation for our ain past.”

The book’s origins prevarication successful a lifelong fascination with mythology.

“Since I was a kid, I’ve ever been funny successful them,” Terakes told the ABC.

“There’s something astir past Greek myths oregon past Egyptian myths that kids are so fascinated by.

“They’re fairy tales that don’t person blessed endings. There’s a acheronian that’s truly alluring when you’re little.”

Terakes’s Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers revisits 5 past Greek myths that were queer agelong earlier modern interpretations rendered them invisible. Photo: Supplied

Terakes approaches the myths not arsenic relics, but arsenic surviving stories shaped by individuality and place.

“There is nary shortage of queer, sexy Greek myths,” they say.

“They’ve conscionable been historically recounted to us done heteropatriarchy, with implied shame and disgust.

“For me, arsenic a queer Cretan person, it feels similar there’s little of a veil betwixt maine and the stories. They consciousness very contiguous to me.”

One story resonated with particularly: the Cretan-born story of Iphis and Ianthe. Born pistillate but raised arsenic a male, Iphis falls successful emotion with the woman Ianthe and is transformed into a antheral by the Egyptian goddess Isis so the brace tin marry.

“It’s conscionable crazy,” Terakes says.

“Like, it was conscionable the astir surreal happening — this literal taste transmasculinity successful this very specific island. It conscionable f**ked my encephalon a small bit.”

The retellings are unapologetically erotic.

“There’s so overmuch enactment successful this book! People are going to cognize maine much intimately than possibly they’d person liked.”

Yet Eros is besides a governmental effect to the modern backlash against trans lives.

“A world without trans radical has ne'er existed and ne'er will,” Terakes says.

“That operation tin start to consciousness hollow, so it’s been truly beauteous to re-imbue that statement with meaning for myself.

“Spending clip successful stories that are incredibly trans and incredibly past has been powerful. I anticipation they supply the ταξινόμηση of structure that they’ve provided for me.”

“A study from a mates of years agone recovered there were similar three trans characters successful immoderate large blockbuster film. If we permission it to the powers that be, the stories are beauteous one-dimensional. I want to physique this world where we get to beryllium successful complaint of our ain stories.”

In writing Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers, Terakes says the work felt instinctive and grounding.

“Most of the clip I conscionable felt calm and so astatine bid successful myself writing these stories successful a way that I don’t truly cognize if I person words for,” they say. “But it conscionable felt right.”

* Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers is published by Hachette Australia.