Grr...

Well, this is what the guy who ran Theoi.com had to say:

Hello,

Yes I have closed down the site because of the problem with Google. It was banned from the search engine two days after I received this email from a Prof. George Maroulis in Greece:

> Dear Sir
> Your Greek Mythology webpage
> is heavily contaminated with material
> of an extremely unpleasant nature.
> You should try to cleanse it
> Sincerely
> George Maroulis

It appears that Maroulis is the chair of a Greek government committee on cultural affairs, and I am assuming this email and the subsequent Google ban is somehow connected with the recent Greek government's campaign against cultural sites which saw the forced closure of a number of websites within Greece itself in November. Although it surprises me that they would also try to target websites outside of Greece.

Anyway, Theoi.com is just a hobby site. Since its no longer enjoyable to run, I'm calling it quits.

Thanks for your interest.

Best Regards,

Aaron Atsma
Theoi.com

I wonder what the unpleasant material was. Something that reminds people that the ancient Greeks practiced pederasty and considered certain kinds of rape acceptable? Something that reminds people that the Greeks weren't always either Orthodox Christians or virtuous pagans who founded democracy?

This is why I hate government. Honestly, revisionist history sucks. Who cares if your ancestors believed their chief god had a male lover? You don't even believe in that god anymore! No one thinks you do! Get over yourselves!

This reminds me of how the Greek government tried to control that movie, Alexander, because it contained homosexual overtures. ALEXANDER THE GREAT WAS PROBABLY A PEDERAST, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. Honestly. Our first president and war hero was impotent and kept slaves. But that's okay, because impotence wasn't his fault and the slaves were customary in that day. So if George Washington kept slaves, which is MUCH worse, Alexander could have had a boyfriend.

I love the Ancient Greeks, but I'm beginning to wish more of them had favored self-castration.