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Vous pouvez lire ce texte en français sur Twitter.It was probably not one of those planned buzz/fuss, but when Netflix unveiled the title of the documentary on Beyoncé’s Coachella show, it irritated a specific part of social networks… Classical ones (admittedly, not a very representative portion of the population). Either way, while most commentaries posted online were positive and excited, classicists vilified the announcement. Why? Because they can read Greek, and what Beyoncé has called her documentary is an abomination—or so it seems when you read them. The criticism is focused on the fact that the Greek alphabet is used as if it were just a special font for the Latin alphabet. Indeed, if you transcribe HΘMΣCΘMING from Greek into Roman, you get something that doesn’t make sense, like ĒTHSCTHMING. While it’s easy to argue that even native Greek speakers wouldn’t have any problem reading the title as intended, « Homecoming », I would like to go a bit further.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB8qvx0HOlI&#38;feature=emb_titleThis isn’t the first time Beyoncé has used the Greek alphabet: she did it during the Coachella show itself (read all about the Egyptian references of the show, and especially Nefertiti). On the outfits created by Olivier Rousteing (see my thread here on the whole egyptomaniac strategy behind it), her name and initials were written in Greek letters. The first occurrence is associated with the coat of arms embroidered on several outfits. Referring to a bee (as in “B”eyoncé), Nefertiti and Black Panthers, it is surmounted by a winged Oudjat eye. Just below is the inscription "20 18 ΒΣΥΘΝCΣ". Once again, if we try to transcribe this, it doesn’t make sense: "BSUTHNCS". The same goes for the word "BΔK", written on some outfits. I think it should not be read as "BAK" or "BDK", but as the initials of the singer's name, Beyoncé Knowles, separated by a pyramid.While I would like to think Beyoncé used Greek letters to write HΘMΣCΘMING as a reference to the wanderings of Ulysses on his way home, I don’t really think Classical Antiquity has anything to do with her choice (even though her video Apeshit was offering a speech on that matter). The use of Greek letters is a clear echo of American fraternities and sororities, also referred to as Greek letter organizations.  The form of the coat of arms is, in itself, a reference to this culture. But there is more: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (ΑΦΑ) was founded in 1906; it is the first African-American, intercollegiate Greek-lettered fraternity. While other fraternities traditionally referred to Ancient Greece, Alpha Phi Alpha utilized Ancient Egypt motifs, especially the Sphinx of Gizah and pharaohs. The association of Greek letters and Egypt by Beyoncé is, thus, nothing new if we put it in perspective with African-American history. As the show is conceived as a hymn to this history and to Africa’s influence, this must not be considered random, but as a political statement.[gallery link="file" ids="6861,6863,6862"]Other comparable political uses of the Greek alphabet can be mentioned. During the sixties in the USA, the Gay Activists Alliance used lowercase lambda (λ) as a logo. In this case, the lambda refers to the Unity of the Spartan phalanx and the initial letter of the word Liberation. The myth of the ancient Greek “gay utopia” is no stranger to this choice. But the lambda was also chosen so that it fits in the fraternities’ codes. More recently, you may have seen the lambda in a totally different setting. This letter, in capital this time, is often used by far right all around the world: in such cases, it is xenophobic Spartan imaginary that is put forward, in reference to the battle of Thermopylae, seen by far right as a founding confrontation between West (Spartans) and East (Persians). If this semiotic usage is not new, Frank Millers’ comic and film 300 contributed to the popularization of the motif and its “pop” transformation.[gallery link="file" ids="3606,6864,3598"]To conclude, even if the use of Greek letters were purely aesthetic or evocative, what would be the problem with HΘMΣCΘMING? As a matter of fact, people do this all the time (even Greek restaurants). Rather than complaining about Beyoncé, classicists could perhaps do better, criticizing and deconstructing the use of the Greek alphabet by political organisations in which the so-called humanism of classical culture is harmed and violently re-used.&#160;[gallery link="file" ids="6869,6870,6871"]&#160;[cite]