Blacks in Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience

by Frank M. Snowden Jr.

Book Overview

The Africans who came to ancient Greece and Italy participated in an important chapter of classical history. Although evidence indicated that the alien dark- and black-skinned people were of varied tribal and geographic origins, the Greeks and Romans classified many of them as Ethiopians. In an effort to determine the role of black people in ancient civilization, Mr. Snowden examines a broad span of Greco-Roman experience--from the Homeric era...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674076265
• ISBN13: 9780674076266
• Release Date: January 1971
• Publisher: Belknap Press
• Length: 390 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An outstanding piece of research

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.

A well-written discussion of Greek-African contact

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.