Zoe Terakes and the mythic tales of gods, sex and magical transformations

You've written your book, Eros, which is your revisioning or retelling of...

these Greek myths, and you're seeing the kind of trans stories that are embedded in a lot of these stories.

Do you think that so many of these Greek myths are ostensibly about gods and goddesses and monsters, but they're really about humans

and

human feelings? There's something so human in all of these gods?

Mm-hmm.

I think that's what sets them

apart.

And I think that's why we keep coming back to them and we keep returning to them is because of their humanness.

You know, the sort of Abrahamic gods are so pious and virtuous and, I mean, they do some heinous things, but they're do-gooders, really, at the end of the day.

And the Greeks don't.

They give themselves permission, or the Greek gods give themselves permission to be as fallible, if not more fallible than humans.

And I think that's why we're so drawn to them, is because we can recognize in their incredibly often dark impulses.

impulses that we have that we can't act on as humans.

You're thinking about writing a version of Medea, the play by Euripides, whereby Medea, she loses her husband, Jason, as in Jason and the Argonauts fame, who wants to marry a powerful princess.

And so she conspires to murder this princess and this princess's father, who's the king, And then to make her revenge on Jason complete, she murders the two sons that they have between them.

What do you like about that story, Zoe?

I just think at a time where we're so quick to apply contemporary politics to everything, there's something to be said about telling stories where things just happen and They happen for a reason that is justifiable to that person and it doesn't matter if you agree or not.

I think we need to train that part of our brain, especially in an art space, particularly with marginalised work.

I think we're really pushing it into the boundaries of virtue and purity and joy.

And I think if we want to make... challenging, exciting, risk-taking art as, you know, marginalised folks that pushes beyond the boundaries of being didactic or educational.

We've got to get curious about these characters who commit crimes our contemporary society can struggle to understand.

And I think that's what's so exciting about Madea.

You know, she's a witch too.

She worshipped Hecate.

You've written your book, Eros, which is your revisioning or retelling of...

these Greek myths, and you're seeing the kind of trans stories that are embedded in a lot of these stories.

Do you think that so many of these Greek myths are ostensibly about gods and goddesses and monsters, but they're really about humans

and

human feelings? There's something so human in all of these gods?

Mm-hmm.

I think that's what sets them

apart.

And I think that's why we keep coming back to them and we keep returning to them is because of their humanness.

You know, the sort of Abrahamic gods are so pious and virtuous and, I mean, they do some heinous things, but they're do-gooders, really, at the end of the day.

And the Greeks don't.

They give themselves permission, or the Greek gods give themselves permission to be as fallible, if not more fallible than humans.

And I think that's why we're so drawn to them, is because we can recognize in their incredibly often dark impulses.

impulses that we have that we can't act on as humans.

You're thinking about writing a version of Medea, the play by Euripides, whereby Medea, she loses her husband, Jason, as in Jason and the Argonauts fame, who wants to marry a powerful princess.

And so she conspires to murder this princess and this princess's father, who's the king, And then to make her revenge on Jason complete, she murders the two sons that they have between them.

What do you like about that story, Zoe?

I just think at a time where we're so quick to apply contemporary politics to everything, there's something to be said about telling stories where things just happen and They happen for a reason that is justifiable to that person and it doesn't matter if you agree or not.

I think we need to train that part of our brain, especially in an art space, particularly with marginalised work.

I think we're really pushing it into the boundaries of virtue and purity and joy.

And I think if we want to make... challenging, exciting, risk-taking art as, you know, marginalised folks that pushes beyond the boundaries of being didactic or educational.

We've got to get curious about these characters who commit crimes our contemporary society can struggle to understand.

And I think that's what's so exciting about Madea.

You know, she's a witch too.

She worshipped Hecate.