Introduction
This was the question set by our school for an essay competition in the classical civilisation section. Since we knew almost nothing about the topic, we decided that this would be the perfect chance to expand our learning and introduce us to a new topic that is both not on our syllabus and very relevant to the modern-day.
Essay competitions
As year 12 students, we have more time than year 13 and a great opportunity to take advantage of this is by doing essay competitions, to push us mentally and encourage us not to be constrained by the limited topics that appear on our syllabus. This is an experience we would highly recommend to everyone and anyone, there is nothing to lose from it and plenty to learn regardless of whether you win. The most vital thing is picking a subject you’re interested in, as your interest acts as an incentive for you to work as hard as you can.
Researching this topic (or any)
For this particular topic, simply typing in 'racism in the ancient world' into a search engine makes many articles come up, both simple and accessible, and highly academic and advanced. A good website to research any topic is jstor where you could also type in 'racism in the ancient world' and many academic articles will come up. However, we were lucky enough to find a book on the topic, called 'Before colour prejudice; the ancient view of Blacks' by Frank M. Snowden Jr. (highly recommend).
This was a slightly challenging question to research, however, because we had to look into racism in the modern world and in the ancient world; has our modern obsession with fighting racism stemmed from the days of the ancient world where one race ruled over the others? Are we simply manipulating history to justify our actions? Or, have we been blinded by our desperation to believe that the classical world was morally superior? And, as always, our lack of evidence does not help to demystify this topic.
Summary
Our essay rejects the idea of racism in the ancient world and criticises our modern tendencies to constantly project our societal guidelines onto those of the classical world or to manipulate their ideals to justify ours. Whilst we accept the idea that differences were noted between people, this is an inevitable human reaction which did not have any negative connotations. It did not introduce the idea of the inferiority of a race, and in fact, there were many respected figures in the public sphere who were not necessarily the same colour as the typical Greek or Roman. We highlight the misinterpretation of 'proof' for racism, and that much of this evidence is opinion-based, along with revealing the prominence of Ethiopians in religion, which in a polytheistic society would've been very important. Please keep in mind this essay is nowhere near perfect, and is simply our opinion!
The essay
It is anachronistic (belonging to a period other than that portrayed) to suggest that racism existed in the ancient world. To what extent do you agree?
In a modern society where racism is one of the most heavily disputed issues, the anachronistic tendency to project our morals onto those of the ancient world blurs the line between unbiased analysis, and our need for justification of today’s societal guidelines, since ‘nothing comparable to the virulent colour prejudice of modern times existed in the ancient world’. Whilst there were distinctions between various people, be it physical or intangible, these separations were merely observations made with no deeper intention of reshaping the nature of human relations, or placing one group, such as a certain race, in a superior position. Thus, it is passé to implement that racism was a predominant or even an underlying matter in the classical world.
The normality of hesitation and curiosity towards novelty is a justified reaction, albeit the initial shock has been manipulated throughout time to create a negative depiction of this first encounter. A commonly used rationale is the application of the generic name Aithiops (Aethiops) meaning ‘a burnt-faced person’ which could be negatively depicted when casting the shadow of our morals upon our condemnation of this term. In the Greco-Roman society, this was simply the white’s attempt at a scientific reason to explain the differences between skin colour, which reflected the environment and the intense heat of the southern sun. In addition, the argument that classical civilians therefore marginalised black people by using a ‘one-fits-all label’, can be deconstructed by exposing the various descriptions of blacks from other parts of the world; a slave’s body from Hadrumentum was described to be pitch-black whereas others were called lighter, like the Egyptians who were ‘mildly dark’. This unveils the ancients’ endeavour not to categorise the blacks as one group, alongside their lack of intention to vilify these people. In fact, Agatharchides’ surviving passage was the first to describe these southern tribes in detail, revealing that there was no tendency even upon first discovery to barbarise the Ethiopians. There is scientific evidence to explain the fear of the unknown, with the discovery by psychologists that children of around 3 years old are often the most racially curious, offering a scientific explanation for humans’ timeless curiosity of dissimilarities between people. And while it is normal for children to be racially curious and spot differences, studies have proven that they don’t attach stereotypes onto these observations, thus the suggestion that this affects their latter behaviour is wrong- they simply want an answer to their questions which is a core aspect of human nature.
This is further proved through Marsh’s investigation, showing that there are both mythological such as the story of Phaethon, who flew too close to the sun and scientific explanations, the idea that the sun blackened people, that would’ve satisfied the children but also general public. We can also see the impact of this novelty through the development of these myths in the Roman century; Pliny the elder wrote about Trogodytae, who had no voices but squeaked, and the Blemmye, who had no heads or eyes, with mouths attached to their chests. At first glance, this may appear negative, vis-à -vis the formation of African reputation as a ‘strange place’, yet our judgement is clouded by our lack of consideration for the plethora of deities and mythical creatures that the people believed were amongst them every day, and if anything this would’ve elevated their status. It is important to take into consideration that there is a big difference between being aware of distinctive traits that people have, and using these to discriminate against them, and by suggesting that the Greco-Roman world had any underlying discriminatory purpose is simply embodying the anachronistic inclinations we have when analysing the past, as this is an unsupported statement.
Furthermore, the argument of the perceived ‘ugliness’ of black figures in art or contrastingly the revered ideal beauty standards such as the white Aphrodite or Homer’s pale Penelope with her ‘white arms’ did not necessarily constrain one to being labelled as not beautiful or inferior, as modern scholars have suggested that the Greeks regarded the Negro’s physical appearance as ugly and that the Greeks saw something comic in many artistic representations of the Negro type. However, what needs to be noted is the presence of the ancients’ recognition of clashing ideals in beauty standards as each country regarded itself as superior and the criteria of beauty varied; there was a foreign type of beauty just as there was a Hellenic. The countless expressed preferences in classical literature for white skin outweighs the number of preferences for blacks, only just, which seems normal considering the Greeks’ need for advocating their state superiority. However, what is unusual, was the number of those in the Greco-Roman world who rejected the norm of whiteness and openly stated their rejection, due to individual preference. The beauty of the Ethiopians has been encapsulated by many poets and creative minds, such as the Greek Asclepiades who praises the beauty of Didyme, an Ethiopian woman, in saying ‘gazing at her beauty I melt like wax before the fire, and if she is black what difference is it to me? So are coals but when we light them they shine like rosebuds’. This homage to the woman’s beauty demonstrates the power of beauty, regardless of race further amplified by the reference to ‘fire’ and ‘melting’. The reversal of the connotations of fire in what was previously interpreted to be a negative message, the ‘burnt-faced person’, now sees the role of heat and burning become one of fire and passion, as well as overwhelming beauty, discarding ideas of prejudice. Similarly, Ovid’s Sappho conveys the same viewpoint by telling Phaon that she is not fair but reminds him that Andromeda, dark (fusca) with the hue of her native Ethiopia, captivated Perseus by her beauty. Even the highly influential poet, Virgil, rejected the prevailing aesthetic standard by including violets and hyacinths to symbolise dark beauty. This elevated the status of dark skin as comparison to a flower to encapsulate the undeniable beauty of a woman was very common in great literature. Theocritus, the creator of ancient Greek bucolic poetry, in analysing Virgil’s reference, says that violets and hyacinths are dark but are the first flowers chosen for nosegays.
In the art that has been recovered from the ancient world, portrayal of Ethiopians seems to be reasonably popular and more evident than one might think. This popularity could have arisen from a love of the different physicialities or simply from the technical challenge of the artist to depict unusual physical types, with different hair textures, colours, shapes and sizes etc, an impulse to realism and pure aesthetic delight. The colour black for the Greeks and Romans, and many others, evoked a negative image, and white a positive one; CN Degler explains, ‘black undoubtedly evokes recollections of the night- that time when men, with their heavy dependence upon sight, are helpless’. Whilst this perhaps has cause to justify our reasoning of racism today, (many have a habit of equating blackness as a race, together with evil), the ancients kept these two ideas separate and the appearance of black skin evoked no negative feelings. However throughout history, these values had been misinterpreted, and eventually using the basic (but wrong) understanding that black equates with evil, Deschamps finds in the blacks of classical art an astonishing diversity and vividness and a grace that bespeaks an absence of prejudice. Therefore, although ‘white’ as for many in the ancient world was a basic element in the somatic norm image, as it has been usually in predominantly white societies, black beauty was by no means discriminated against and even praised by many for their incomparable beauty, revealing the anachronism of the modern scholars who apply the current beauty standards to their interpretation of classical works. In a modern society where the ideal beauty standard is arguably still a white woman, and consideration for other beauty standards is less important, the application of our morals only serves to amplify the importance of the fact that the patriotic Greeks tried to advocate their own beauty standards and neglecting the overwhelming praise and appraisal for other cultures, especially the Ethiopians
Within a racist society, it’s impossible for the discriminated to flourish, demonstrated through the lack of opportunity, vis-à -vis education, politics, etc. Consequently, the ancient world should be no different, yet there were copious opportunities that many foreigners sought in classical civilisations for a better life and Henri Frankfort discloses ‘the talented and industrious were not frustrated by... by a colour bar,’ the most well-known being Olympius, the black animal fighter, who was ‘quick, pleasant, brave, daring’. Olympius’ prosperity epitomises the absence of social restrictions, and his freedom to ascend to the top of the social hierarchy further highlights the equality between races and cultures. Another large aspect of social life was Greek theatre, often reflecting public mood and influencing for the purpose of the state, a powerful tool and yet although the Greeks had encountered Ethiopians as enemies in the Persian wars, there was no specific anti black sentiment (even their presence in Greek drama suggests friendliness or at least recognition). In ‘the suppliant maidens’ of Aeschylus, the colour of the Danaids wasn’t an issue to the King Pelagius. Whilst there were some negative descriptions of Ethiopians as barbarians, this can be explained simply by the timeless selfish desire of glory for the discovery of the latest uproar- The 4th Century Historian, ephorus, has said that some only write about the savage scythians because they know that the terrible are startling. However, many gave the Ethiopians praise for giving the first doctrine of astrology to men and ‘being in all else wiser than other men’. Modern classicists have also used the evidence of blacks as slaves to suggest their oppression but this is a misconception; in antiquity, slavery was independent of race and the majority of the thousands of slaves were white; the ancient world never developed a concept of the equivalence of ‘slave’ and ‘black’. The association of these concepts progressed with time, and as racism actually became prominent, ‘black’ and ‘slave’ became synonymous. Westermann remarked ‘ when the definition of slavery was symbolised by the negro it spelled the death knell of slavery itself within the European cultural area’. However, the success and integration of Ethiopians into ancient Greco-Roman culture are evident proof that the ancient world was not racist.
In a polytheistic society such as Greece and Rome, religion obviously played a pivotal role, meaning the prominence of Ethiopians in aspects of religion allows us to see whether they were accepted throughout different eras. The fact that the origins of the Ethiopians themselves were mythical; Epaphus was the child of all mighty son of chronos (Zeus) and io (according to Hesiod) and from him sprang the ‘black Lybians’ and ‘ high souled Ethiopians’ gives them immediate celebrity status. This is reinforced by Homer’s suggestion that Olympian gods were fond of visiting the ‘blameless’ Ethiopians: Zeus and the other gods and feasted with them. The people who inhabited the island of Meroë and the region adjoining Egypt, according to Diodorus’ sources, were considered to be the first of all men and the first to honour the gods whose favour they enjoyed. In a society who were so devoted to the gods that they would sacrifice their own people for them, the gods’ admiration for the Ethiopians reveals the lack of discrimination since the gods’ morals reflected onto the people. Today’s society have also tried to justify the continuation of racism from the ancient world is through the colour symbolism in literature and religion as evidence for negativity surrounding black. This gives evidence for the reverence in which the Ethiopians were held due to their importance in religion, arguably on par with the whites which meant that there was equality in religion.
To summarise, our selfish attempt to exonerate the biased morals of society by insisting that we’ve simply inherited a belief handed down through the generations, only serves to magnify the corruption of a modern society. When analysing the societal guidelines and presence of racism in the ancient world, the importance or rather lack thereof, of this topic is proven by the glowering opinion of many classical civilians, evident in art and sculptures, or simply the disregard for the need to emphasise the difference in race beyond noting that there is, in fact, a difference. Thus, this ultimately allows us to conclude that it is entirely anachronistic to suggest that racism existed in the ancient world.
Feedback
Our feedback was all very positive, but a few learning points included;
Proof read! (an excellent idea)
Research into Septimus Severus
Use of more sculpture materials- paint, marble etc.
Expand on the idea of Greek/Romans vs. everyone else instead of racism
Hope this inspires you to join an essay competition or at least research into the subject a bit more!
Until next time,
Viola and Zoe