Who Owns Greek Culture? Nolan's Odyssey & the Baklava Wars | Romaic Ruminations 18

Can Turkey trademark baklava? Should Helen of Troy be played by a black actress? And if you rebuilt the Parthenon, which of its thousand faces would you choose — the pagan temple, the church, or the mosque? Dean and Peter are back for Episode 18, and they're not interested in easy answers. This time they take on the growing war over who "owns" a culture — the UNESCO food fights, Christopher Nolan casting The Odyssey with no Greek actors, and the uncomfortable history of when Greeks weren't considered "white" at all. Expect the usual detours: the Greek roots of pasta, Gilgamesh, cancel culture, the Elgin Marbles, and one genuinely unhinged pitch for an AI film starring a samurai-lesbian-Viking. Eighteen episodes deep and still refusing to give you the correct opinion. Chapters 00:00 – Cold open: naming the show (and blaming the AI) 02:44 – Baklava, UNESCO & who "owns" a dish (feta & halloumi too) 12:00 – The Greek roots of pasta: lasagna, macaroni & spaghetti 14:50 – Why insecure cultures need to claim everything 17:21 – Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey: first reactions to the trailer 19:00 – Casting Helen & the DEI double standard 40:39 – Gilgamesh & the Odyssey's older roots 42:44 – Were Greeks ever "white"? Kalgoorlie & Roman orientalism 49:33 – Restoring the Parthenon: which version do you even choose? 1:06:22 – Cancel culture & the value of the devil's advocate 1:08:23 – Next time: Willem Dafoe's zeibekiko New here? Start with the argument, stay for the tangents. 18 episodes and counting.