Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of BlacksIn this richly illustrated account of black-white contacts from the Pharaohs to the Caesars, Frank Snowden demonstrates that the ancients did not discriminate against blacks because of their color. For three thousand years Mediterranean whites intermittently came in contact with African blacks in commerce and war, and left a record of these encounters in art and in written documents. The blacks--most commonly known as Kushites, Ethiopians, or Nubians--were redoubtable warriors and commanded the respect of their white adversaries. The overall view of blacks was highly favorable. In science, philosophy, and religion color was not the basis of theories concerning inferior peoples. And early Christianity saw in the black man a dramatic symbol of its catholic mission. This book sheds light on the reasons for the absence in antiquity of virulent color prejudice and for the difference in attitudes of whites toward blacks in ancient and modern societies. |
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User Review - willshetterly - LibraryThingHighly recommended to anyone who thinks humans have always been racist, and to anyone who has to deal with people who don't understand that racism is a historically recent idea. Read full review
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according Aeschylus Africa ancient ancient world Antiquity appear army artists Ashurbanipal Assyrian attention attitude beauty Berlin black and white black-white Blacks in Antiquity called century B.C. characteristics Christian classical color considered dark death depicted Desanges described descriptions detail developed differences Diodorus Dynasty early Egypt Egyptian Empire Ethiopians evidence example fact figure foreign Greco-Roman Greek and Roman hair head Herodotus illustrate Image important included inhabitants interpretations Italy king Kingdom known Kush Kushites late later lips lived London Mediterranean mentioned Meroïtic military mosaic Moses Musée Museum Napatan Negro Negroid northwest Africa nose Nubia observed Origen perhaps period Persian Photo physical plate Pliny population prejudice Ptolemies queen Race racial record references region relations reported Rome scene sixth century skin slave Snowden societies sources southern suggests symbolism third century tion types writers York
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of Blacks |
| Author | Frank M. Snowden |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Harvard University Press, 1983 |
| Original from | the University of California |
| Digitized | Jul 23, 2008 |
| ISBN | 0674063805, 9780674063808 |
| Length | 164 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Ancient / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |