Greeks And BarbariansEdinburgh University Press, 2019 M07 30 - 288 pages How did the Greeks view foreign peoples? This book considers what the Greeks thought of foreigners and their religions, cultures and politics, and what these beliefs and opinions reveal about the Greeks. The Greeks were occasionally intrigued by the customs and religions of the many different peoples with whom they came into contact; more often they were disdainful or dismissive, tending to regard non-Greeks as at best inferior, and at worst as candidates for conquest and enslavement. Facing up to this less attractive aspect of the classical tradition is vital, Thomas Harrison argues, to seeing both what the ancient world was really like and the full nature of its legacy in the modern. In this book he brings together outstanding European and American scholarship to show the difference and complexity of Greek representations of foreign peoples - or barbarians, as the Greeks called them - and how these representations changed over time.The book looks first at the main sources: the Histories of Herodotus, Greek tragedy, and Athenian art. Part II examines how the Greeks distinguished themselves from barbarians through myth, language and religion. Part III considers Greek representations of two different barbarian peoples - the allegedly decadent and effeminate Persians, and the Egyptians, proverbial for their religious wisdom. In part IV three chapters trace the development of the Greek-barbarian antithesis in later history: in nineteenth-century scholarship, in Byzantine and modern Greece, and in western intellectual history.Of the twelve chapters six are published in English for the first time. The editor has provided an extensive general introduction, as well as introductions to the parts. The book contains two maps, a guide to further reading and an intellectual chronology. All passages of ancient languages are translated, and difficult terms are explained. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 25
Page 1
... opposition especially to the French, see Colley, Britons; see also McDonald, 'We Are Not French!'. 3 Southern, 'England's first entry into Europe', at p. 141. 4 Orientalism, p. 78. 5 Hall, Inventing the Barbarian, p. 99; for this and ...
... opposition especially to the French, see Colley, Britons; see also McDonald, 'We Are Not French!'. 3 Southern, 'England's first entry into Europe', at p. 141. 4 Orientalism, p. 78. 5 Hall, Inventing the Barbarian, p. 99; for this and ...
Page 19
... oppositions between Athens and Persia. The same tension lies at the heart of the interpretation of Edith Hall16 (the author, more than any other, who has emphasised the chauvinism implicit in the play and Aeschylus' contrast of Greek ...
... oppositions between Athens and Persia. The same tension lies at the heart of the interpretation of Edith Hall16 (the author, more than any other, who has emphasised the chauvinism implicit in the play and Aeschylus' contrast of Greek ...
Page 31
... oppositions. The most striking example occurs in the account of Egypt; just as the Egyptian sky and † The principle of the extraction of retribution in kind. river are different from those elsewhere so also the Egyptians Herodotus the ...
... oppositions. The most striking example occurs in the account of Egypt; just as the Egyptian sky and † The principle of the extraction of retribution in kind. river are different from those elsewhere so also the Egyptians Herodotus the ...
Page 32
... oppositions (2. 35–36), of which I quote only the first four: Among them the women shop and sell in the markets; the men stay home and weave. Others weave pushing the wool upward; the Egyptians downward. Men carry burdens on their heads ...
... oppositions (2. 35–36), of which I quote only the first four: Among them the women shop and sell in the markets; the men stay home and weave. Others weave pushing the wool upward; the Egyptians downward. Men carry burdens on their heads ...
Page 33
... opposition. Cremation, the heroic funeral, was never the universal Greek custom, but the epics wrote it into Greek consciousness as the ideal type. By cremation the dead body, the natural man, was annihilated, leaving nothing behind but ...
... opposition. Cremation, the heroic funeral, was never the universal Greek custom, but the epics wrote it into Greek consciousness as the ideal type. By cremation the dead body, the natural man, was annihilated, leaving nothing behind but ...
Contents
1 | |
15 | |
PART II THEMES | 125 |
PART III PEOPLES | 187 |
PART IV OVERVIEWS | 229 |
Intellectual Chronology | 311 |
Guide to Further Reading | 313 |
Bibliography | 314 |
Index | 328 |
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Common terms and phrases
according Aeschylus ancient appears argument Asia Athenian Athens authors Barbarian become Cadmus called century classical common concept context contrast course culture customs dialect discussion divine early Egypt Egyptian empire especially ethnic Euripides evidence example existence fact fifth foreign further give gods Greece Greek Hall hand Hellenic Herodotus human idea identity important instance interest interpretation Isocrates Italy king land language later less linguistic matriarchy means mentioned myth nature never nomoi opposition oriental origin Paris particular period Persian Persian Wars Phoenician Plato play political possible present problem question reason refer regard relations religion Roman rule Scythians seems seen shows society sources speak speech story theory thought tradition tragedy turn University various whole women writing