×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Monday
22
Dec 2025
weather symbol
Athens 15°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Culture

Achilles is African in new BBC TV series “Troy: A Fall of a City”! (photos)

Patroclus and Zeus are also Africans

Newsroom December 31 03:35

The absurd, ahistorical Black Athena theory, which had posited that ancient Greeks were of African descent has been thoroughly debunked on numerous occasions in the past. But it seems the proponents of this baseless view are attempting to peddle the same nonsense once more. This time via the entertainment route.

acha

David Gyasi as “Achilles”

Achilles, the ancient Greek hero of the Trojan War is one of the main characters in the plot portrayed by a black actor in a joint BBC and Netflix multimillion-dollar mini-series expected to air in 2018. The series, called “Troy: The Fall of a City”, focuses on the war between the Greeks and the Trojans around 1,300 BC and the abduction of Hellen of Sparta by the Trojans which led to the mythical conflict. Some photos of the cast were recently released showing David Gyasi, a 37-year-old actor from the UK of African descent in the helmet of the mythical hero and greatest warrior of the Mycenaeans, Achilles. The actor has also appeared in the movies “Interstellar” and the “Dark Knight Rises”, will play a role that became a household name in 2004 when Brad Pitt starred in “Troy”.

ach2

Lemonga Tsipa will play “Patroclus”

But the creators of the series did not stop there. They decided to cast two other actors of African descent for major characters in the show. Lemonga Tsipa will play the cousin of Achilles, Patroclus, while another British actor of African origin, Hakeem Kae-Kazim will portray a key figure in the plot, Zeus.

>Related articles

Research: The BBC’s “first Black Briton” from the Roman era was ultimately…white and originated from southern England

We will defend ourselves against Trump’s defamation lawsuit, says the BBC

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner joins Paramount’s $108 billion bid for Warner Bros

ach1

Hakeem Kae-Kazim will play “Zeus”

Let us not be quick to impute any sinister intentions here. It could be that some historical consultant at the BBC and Netflix was not driven by any biased interpretation of history based on their postmodern, politically correct views….but rather had a “bad” day translating Homer’s “Iliad”, where the ancient Greek poet clearly describes Achilles as blonde…

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#Achilles#african#Ancient Greeks#BBC#Black Athena#Homer#Iliad#Netflix#Troy
> More Culture

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Among the top 103 surgical educators worldwide: Professor Georgios Tsoulfas of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

December 22, 2025

Wedding ceremony in Turkey marked by extensive gold gifts

December 22, 2025

Mitsotakis meets Abbas in Ramallah; One-on-one meeting with Netanyahu and Greece–Cyprus–Israel trilateral to follow

December 22, 2025

Japan to restart the world’s largest nuclear power plant, 15 years after the Fukushima disaster

December 22, 2025

Farmers block the Tempi tunnels to trucks – Map shows all roadblocks throughout Greece

December 22, 2025

EU freezes the signing of a trade agreement with Mercosur after mass farm protests

December 22, 2025

Valeria Golino: A woman who wants to define her own life, body, and destiny is something deeply political

December 22, 2025

Interview poll: Pierrakakis, Dendias, Georgiades the most active ministers, Karystianou ahead of Tsipras

December 22, 2025
All News

> Economy

Japan to restart the world’s largest nuclear power plant, 15 years after the Fukushima disaster

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant was closed, along with dozens of others, after the 2011 tragedy - The plant is operated by TEPCO, the company that also operated the Fukushima plant, a fact that heightens residents' concerns

December 22, 2025

Renovations: new programme with 600 million subsidies for residential buildings

December 22, 2025

Operation housing: €7 billion in measures through 2027 — incentives and subsidies for 1.6 million beneficiaries

December 22, 2025

The change (still to come) for the farmers, the rumours (out of place) about elections and the PM for Dendias-Kairidis, Euroxx and the Christmas quarrel

December 22, 2025

Three rents gift in 2026 for 50,000 teachers, doctors, and nurses in the region

December 22, 2025
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2025 Πρώτο Θέμα