Some Greeks are disturbed by Fox’s animated series Krakopolis set in a mythical Ancient Greece which they say is demeaning to the ancient civilization.
The show is set in mythical Ancient Greece and centers on a flawed family of humans, gods, and monsters trying to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.
AHEPA, the largest Greek-American fraternity organization, took particular exception to the series. Its president Savas Tsivicos wrote a letter to Jean Guerin, Fox Entertainment Executive Vice President, requesting that the network halt production of Krapopolis. Tsivicos said the show is “demeaning to the contributions gifted to Western Civilization by the Ancient Greeks.”
He requested a meeting with the producers of the series “to discuss why we believe this satirical depiction of our Ancient Hellenic roots is offensive.”
“This show attacks our 5000-year history and demeans what it means to be a good citizen,” the President of AHEPA wrote in the letter to Fox. “It may seem humorous to some, but it is certainly not the values, history, legacy which Ancient Greece should be accredited with.”
How Krapopolis depicts Ancient Greeks
Krapopolis rests on the foundation of a family sitcom that spins off into adventures our heroes narrowly survive and barely learn from. It has a quailing youth as its semi-relatable center: the ironically named Tyrannis, voiced with bratty nasality by British comedian Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd).
Although Tyrannis dreams of uniting Krapopolis with neighboring cities to form an empire, he doesn’t really have the brains or brutality to pull it off. Therefore, he must rely on his motley family of gods and monsters—who couldn’t care less about civilization.
Tyrannis is constantly competing with his half-siblings. Stupendous (Pam Murphy) is a dim-witted, musclebound cyclops who lives to fight and kill.
Half-mermaid Hippocampus (Duncan Trussell) rolls about in a wheeled baby chair with a glass globe on his head. A scientific genius and socially awkward megalomaniac, Hippocampus is the brains of the family.
“I didn’t become a scientist to make normal people smarter,” he says, scoffing at Tyrannis’ request that he create a written language. “I did it to make them terrified of my god-like power!”
Krapopolis was created by Dan Harmon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. In October 2022, ahead of its premiere, the series was renewed for a second season.
In March 2023, it was renewed for a third season ahead of the first season premiere. The series premiered on September 24, 2023, on the Animation Domination programming block.
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