Greeks And Barbarians

by Thomas Harrison

This work considers what the ancient Greeks thought of foreigners and their religions, cultures and politics, and what these beliefs and opinions revealed 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. As such the book shows the complexity of Greek representations of foreigners - or barbarians, as the Greeks called them - and how these changed over time.

Genres: History

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Kevin Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informed by an erudition and depth of knowledge that is without peer, the essays in "Greeks and Barbarians" by Thomas Harrison seek to explicate, explain, expand, and educate the parameters of understanding concerning the Greek views towards the outside world, from archaic times to the present. And in this endeavor the twelve efforts present here are (mostly) effective and successful. For the breadth of the authors included, the scope of their overview, and the depth of their comprehension lends itself to an understanding that is, as I suggested above, without peer. Divided up into f0ur sections ("Sources," "Themes," "Peoples," and "Overview"), Professor Harrison's work dives deeply into the relevant primary sources (Herodotus, Euripides, Aeschylus, and many others), as well as the history of the commentary that have arisen over time concerning this dichotomy between Greek and 'barbarians.' Born in the crucible of the Persian War, this idea animates writers as widespread as Plato and Herodotus, the latter of whose work is built upon this (false?) split between the affluent, indolent East (Persia) and the simple, 'masculine' Greeks. The work also goes into great detail concerning the influence of Egypt on the Greek view of the outside world, an influence which by its contrariness seems to assert that the earlier civilization (Egypt) had more than just a minor influence on the nascent Greek civilization. In fact, in Robert Browning's essay ("Greek and Others: From Antiquity to Renaissance") we get an overview of Greeks history from archaic times to the premodern world. And this is done in such a manner that one is left with deep admiration for the ability of such a strong culture to withstand the vicissitudes of history, with its profound changes, over such a long period of time. Indeed, it is in the ultimate section of the book ("Overview") that the writers expound and link this idea of 'othering' the foreigner to the whole history of the West's encounter with the soon to be colonized world that the importance of the whole book is set into relief. For here the effect of elements such as Aristotle's justification of 'natural' slavery, established in the Greek world's encounter with 'barbarians,' is linked to the West's (beginning with Colombus) need to subjugate the natives of the New World they found themselves ruling. The same tropes of cannibalism, lack of reason, and promiscuity that were thrown at the Persians and the outside world of the Greeks in early historical times were transferred to the New World, with injudicious results. This connecting of the somewhat obscure source material to our present world is what makes this book so completely relevant (and enjoyable).

Designed for the specialist, and the general historian, "Greeks and Barbarians" is also a book which can (and does) provide meaning for the general reader interested in the present world, for the lessons of the Greek experience of the 5th century, and our attempt to interpret it throughout the ages (which reveals so much about the time of the historian), directly impact how we view ourselves (and the 'others') that exist in the world today. This is a fine book, erudite and informed, and as such 'must' be read!