- Paperback: 390 pages
- Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press; New edition edition (Jan 1 1970)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0674076265
- ISBN-13: 978-0674076266
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15 x 1.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 544 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #635,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
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Here's a book to raise the spirits of anyone of African descent who feels that he or she has nothing to do with the making of Western civilization. Frank M. Snowden Jr., a world-renowned scholar on ancient Greece and Rome who taught at Howard and Georgetown Universities, details with encyclopedic and painstaking scholarship and research the undeniable presence of Africans in the Greco-Roman world. "The experiences of those Africans who reached the alien shores of Greece and Italy constituted an important chapter in the history of classical antiquity," he writes. Using evidence from terra cotta figures, paintings, and classical sources like Herodotus and Pliny the Elder, Snowden proves, contrary to our modern assumptions, that Greco-Romans did not view Africans with racial contempt. Many Africans worked in the Roman Empire as musicians, artisans, scholars, and generals as well as slaves, and they were noted as much for their virtue as for their appearance of having a "burnt face" (from which came the Greek name Ethiopian). --Eugene Holley Jr.
Review
This book, by reason of its scrupulous, balanced scholarship and quietly reasoned argument, will be of lasting value not only to scholars but to anyone interested in questions of race and historical and social perceptions of race.
--Michael Thelwell (Boston Globe )
The novelty of this book, the fruit of a lifetime's labor of love by a distinguished black classicist, lies in the exhaustive, impeccable scholarship with which it documents and illustrates its conclusion, that there is no evidence for racism or color prejudice in Greco-Roman antiquity.
--Paul MacKendrick (American Journal of Philology )
Solid, important reading, and a landmark in the writing of history. [Snowden] skips secondary sources for the ancient evidence: writings, coins, epigraphs, papyri, pottery, etc. With data gleaned from these, he draws conclusions about the Ethiopian's (black's) place in the Greek, Roman, and early Christian eras, the white man's attitude toward him. What emerges from Snowden's painstakingly thorough study is that it was not a confrontation--that skin color was no obstacle to harmony in the ancient world. (Publishers Weekly )
Professor Snowden has assembled an impressive amount of evidence of contacts which Greeks and Romans had with black Africans throughout the classical period; this evidence comes from archeological and literary sources, and in considering it, he has also combed much modern scholarship on individual bits of evidence. The result is a handbook which should prove useful to anyone who is at all interested in social or cultural attitudes in antiquity. (Classical Philology )
Snowden has amassed an impressive amount of evidence proving that "Ethiopians" were not regarded mainly as slaves, but were also widely known as warriors, diplomats, athletes, and performers.
--Lorna Hahn (Saturday Review )
One very effective way to expose the irrational in present-day attitudes is to recall the realities of the past. This is precisely what Frank Snowden has done in this book, a thoroughgoing, scholarly and beautifully illustrated study of the recorded contacts in the ancient world between the Greeks and Romans and that mysterious race of dark-skinned Africans whom they called the Ethiopians...The author is to be congratulated on having made manageable such a mass of pertinent information within the covers of one compact, extremely readable and timely book.
--Alan M. G. Little (Washington Star )
--Michael Thelwell (Boston Globe )
The novelty of this book, the fruit of a lifetime's labor of love by a distinguished black classicist, lies in the exhaustive, impeccable scholarship with which it documents and illustrates its conclusion, that there is no evidence for racism or color prejudice in Greco-Roman antiquity.
--Paul MacKendrick (American Journal of Philology )
Solid, important reading, and a landmark in the writing of history. [Snowden] skips secondary sources for the ancient evidence: writings, coins, epigraphs, papyri, pottery, etc. With data gleaned from these, he draws conclusions about the Ethiopian's (black's) place in the Greek, Roman, and early Christian eras, the white man's attitude toward him. What emerges from Snowden's painstakingly thorough study is that it was not a confrontation--that skin color was no obstacle to harmony in the ancient world. (Publishers Weekly )
Professor Snowden has assembled an impressive amount of evidence of contacts which Greeks and Romans had with black Africans throughout the classical period; this evidence comes from archeological and literary sources, and in considering it, he has also combed much modern scholarship on individual bits of evidence. The result is a handbook which should prove useful to anyone who is at all interested in social or cultural attitudes in antiquity. (Classical Philology )
Snowden has amassed an impressive amount of evidence proving that "Ethiopians" were not regarded mainly as slaves, but were also widely known as warriors, diplomats, athletes, and performers.
--Lorna Hahn (Saturday Review )
One very effective way to expose the irrational in present-day attitudes is to recall the realities of the past. This is precisely what Frank Snowden has done in this book, a thoroughgoing, scholarly and beautifully illustrated study of the recorded contacts in the ancient world between the Greeks and Romans and that mysterious race of dark-skinned Africans whom they called the Ethiopians...The author is to be congratulated on having made manageable such a mass of pertinent information within the covers of one compact, extremely readable and timely book.
--Alan M. G. Little (Washington Star )
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Ethiopians were not the only Black Race is Antiquity,
By Lu "homeylu" (Alexandria, Egypt) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blacks in Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience (Paperback)
The so-called "negroid" features this author attributes to the Ancient Authors views of the races of Blacks in antiquity is a modern defined term. Ancient authors were more simple, as they did not consider themselves anthropologists as we know anthropology today. The term "black-skinned" or "wooly-haired" was much more significant in describing this race, rather than anthropological terms such as thick lips, broad noses, etc. These ancient authors knew as we know today, that physical features of Africans varied, and instead focused of what was more prevalent-skin color.In his critique of Cheikh Anta Diop's Black Egyptian the author states: "One of the passages which Diop cited is a much disputed account of the Colchians and Egyptians by the historian Herodotus, the meaning of which is uncertain. Of the other passages quoted, one does not necessarily refer to an Egyptian, and the others do not support Diop's statement about 'thick-lipped, kinky-haired Egyptians'; in fact, the authors cited do not even mention hair or lips". This passage alone tells me that this Author obviously does not cross-reference his work, as anyone that has read The History by Herodotus, there can be no confusion that when the author stated "black-skinned and wooly hair" in describing the Egyptians, there could be no mistaken as to what the author meant. As he did not state, dark-skinned, brown-skinned, tanned, etc., he clearly stated the color he observed on the skin of the Egyptians, Ethiopians and Colchians-Black. The worst quote from this author criticizing Diop's work was "Further, Diop overlooks the fact that classical authors regularly differentiated between Egyptians and Ethiopians." I am entirely embarrassed that such as statement could be used by a so-called scholar, as this author must have overlooked the fact that the classical authors "regularly differentiated" between the Greeks and the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans, The Greeks and the Assyrians, and so on..yet we know that the Greeks and the Romans were both from a white race with different customs, why would it not be comprehensible to the average reader that the Egyptians and the Ethiopians were also from the same race with "customs" that differentiated them. Is it not known that even in modern times Africans differ in their customs. In conclusion its sad to think that this author confined the Black race only to the area of Ethiopia without citing the fact that Herodotus also affrims that the Ethiopians colonized Egypt and gave birth to their civilization. I would highly suggest "The African Origin of Civilization" by Cheikh Anta Diop instead.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Back to School,
By Herm the Worm (Willingboro NJ) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blacks in Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience (Paperback)
In my opinion this book was written for college students. It is much more of a lesson plan layout than a narative on Africian history. The author takes each issue in sections and I find that in doing so there is quite a lot of repeation in his information. He also use words spelled in the Greek alphabet that I could not understand. At the early stages of the book many of these words are used with English counterparts but as the book goes on it seems as though you were suppose to remember them. It was Greek to me and not necessary.I had to dig out some old maps I had in order to put locations on many of the areas he was writing about. The book would be a lot better if there were maps included. The artifacts pictures in the book, some ninety-nine pages, were a great aide to my understanding and there are plenty of them. There are about eighty-two pages of reference notes and only about one hundred and forty-three pages of text. In the end result I put myself in a classroom receiving a lecture from my professor. Did my homework (research of names and places I was not familure with) and was able to follow the information over an extended period. It took me almost a month, during my free time, to finish it. The information is there. The arguments are there. With all the negative comments I've mentioned above I found the book serving the desire I bought it for. Knowledge. That made it's reading and content worth while to me.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 24 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An outstanding piece of research,
By Baltic Books "Vic" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Blacks in Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience (Paperback)
Snowden is not an Afro-centric writer, he is a well qualified professor of classics, an accredited expert in his field."Blacks in Antiquity" presents a comprehensive history and analysis of ancient Ethiopian "black" culture. In the 18th and 19th centuries, some American anthropologists and theologians have attempted to rewrite Ethiopian history to show this advanced culture as one not truly black. The roots of that go into the very heart of the origin of western racism in Colonial America and can be found to affect our implicit views of race even today. Snowden shows from historical, textual and archaeological evidence that the Ethiopians were indeed a "black" race. He also establishes their position of respect and complete equal acceptance with other ancient cultures of the time. In essence, it shows, while perhaps not explicitly stating it, that racism is a much more recent invention than many have supposed-- especially those hold to a "Black curse" or "inferiority" theory in physiology or theology. If you want a volume that presents evidence in a straight foward and empirically supportable manner, this is an excellent choice. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
AN IMPORTANT HISTORICAL STUDY AND CORRECTIVE,
By Steven H. Propp - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Blacks in Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience (Paperback)
Frank M. Snowden, Jr. (1911-2007) was an American Professor Emeritus of Classics at Howard University, and one of the foremost authorities on blacks in classical antiquity. He also wrote books such as Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of Blacks.He writes in the Preface to this 1970 book, "I have attempted to set forth the facts as precisely as possible on the basis of the ancient evidence---literary, epigraphical, papyrological, numismatic, and archaeological. The material has been presented topically, each topic chronologically as far as practicable when such an arrangement was necessary for the most effective presentation of my findings." Here are some quotations from the book: "Long ago E. Babelon observed that a comparison of different classical monuments depicting the Negro would demonstrate that the ancients were portraying no uniform type. He believed that a comparative study would be interesting from an anthropological view and would result in an identification of different groups of Ethiopians and subdivision of these groups." (Pg. 23) "Unfortunately the plays involving Ethiopian themes or topics have been lost and are known only through fragments, titles, and the depictions of vase painters. The fragmentary evidence is sufficient, however, to indicate that as early as Aeschylus Ethiopians were presented as black, and speaking a different tongue, and as living in Africa." (Pg. 156) "In the modern world the crucial test of the white man's acceptance of the Negro is the attitude toward miscegenation. Greek and Roman accounts of race mixture between Ethiopians and Mediterranean whites reveal no repugnance at the idea of racial crossings between whites and non-whites." (Pg. 192) "The Ethiopian was the blackest and most remote of men. Yet his blackness gave rise neither to a theory of racial superiority not to an inferior treatment." (Pg. 196) "There is nothing in the evidence, however, to suggest that the ancient Greek or Roman established color as an obstacle to integration into society." (Pg. 217-218) 21 of 31 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A well-written discussion of Greek-African contact,
By carsonja@egr.msu.edu - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Blacks in Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience (Paperback)
Snowden seems to really know what he's talking about. To someone as ignorant in the subject as I was, it was a great read to learn all about the contact between the ancient Africans and Greeks. The pictures and explanations of artifacts are especially interesting.
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