Rethinking on the Evolution of the Concept of “Barbarian” in Archaic Greece: From the Trojan War to Greco-Persian Wars
In the surviving texts from the classical period of Greece, we come across a common word-especially in reference to the Achaemenid Persians-that is still used in the political literature of the contemporary world: Barbarian, derived from the Greek word βάρβαρος. This word, first used in the second b...
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Alzahra University
2022-12-01
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| Series: | تاریخ اسلام و ایران |
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| Online Access: | https://hii.alzahra.ac.ir/article_7002_d50c6bb031b82b1f20adbab1d66f0c07.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827915731314933760 |
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| author | Amirhossein Moghaddas Morteza DehghanNezhad Esmaeil Sangari |
| author_facet | Amirhossein Moghaddas Morteza DehghanNezhad Esmaeil Sangari |
| author_sort | Amirhossein Moghaddas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the surviving texts from the classical period of Greece, we come across a common word-especially in reference to the Achaemenid Persians-that is still used in the political literature of the contemporary world: Barbarian, derived from the Greek word βάρβαρος. This word, first used in the second book of Homer's Iliad as βαρβαρόφωνος (= speaking a foreign language), indicated only linguistic heterogeneity and meant stranger. Between the 7th and 6th centuries BC, the use of this word increased and it was used not only for linguistic "othering" but also to refer to cultural differences and appreciation of the social system of non-Greeks. In the upcoming study, the authors aimed to analyze the semantic implications of the word βάρβαρος and highlight the turning points of its development by scrutinizing Homer's Iliad and other preserved fragments from the 6th century BC (Archaic period). The results of the present study, based on library sources, show that the word βάρβαρος has been associated with negative connotations (implicit or explicit) since the beginning of its existence in Homer's poetry. Moreover, with Solon's reforms in Athens and the increasing enslavement of non-Greeks in the Greek world of the 6th century BC, the boundary between the two terms "barbarian" and "slave" was gradually erased, and the humiliation of barbarian slaves led to the emergence of the idea of "Greek superiority over non-Greeks." |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T03:04:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd8f8455649a4ab0a464807db15472d4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2008-885X 2538-3493 |
| language | fas |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T03:04:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Alzahra University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | تاریخ اسلام و ایران |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd8f8455649a4ab0a464807db15472d42023-06-27T10:31:08ZfasAlzahra Universityتاریخ اسلام و ایران2008-885X2538-34932022-12-01325611914210.22051/hii.2023.42214.27217002Rethinking on the Evolution of the Concept of “Barbarian” in Archaic Greece: From the Trojan War to Greco-Persian WarsAmirhossein Moghaddas0Morteza DehghanNezhad1Esmaeil Sangari2PhD Student of History of Ancient Iran, Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, IranProfessor, Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, IranAssociate Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.In the surviving texts from the classical period of Greece, we come across a common word-especially in reference to the Achaemenid Persians-that is still used in the political literature of the contemporary world: Barbarian, derived from the Greek word βάρβαρος. This word, first used in the second book of Homer's Iliad as βαρβαρόφωνος (= speaking a foreign language), indicated only linguistic heterogeneity and meant stranger. Between the 7th and 6th centuries BC, the use of this word increased and it was used not only for linguistic "othering" but also to refer to cultural differences and appreciation of the social system of non-Greeks. In the upcoming study, the authors aimed to analyze the semantic implications of the word βάρβαρος and highlight the turning points of its development by scrutinizing Homer's Iliad and other preserved fragments from the 6th century BC (Archaic period). The results of the present study, based on library sources, show that the word βάρβαρος has been associated with negative connotations (implicit or explicit) since the beginning of its existence in Homer's poetry. Moreover, with Solon's reforms in Athens and the increasing enslavement of non-Greeks in the Greek world of the 6th century BC, the boundary between the two terms "barbarian" and "slave" was gradually erased, and the humiliation of barbarian slaves led to the emergence of the idea of "Greek superiority over non-Greeks."https://hii.alzahra.ac.ir/article_7002_d50c6bb031b82b1f20adbab1d66f0c07.pdfancient greeceotheringbarbarianslavehomer |
| spellingShingle | Amirhossein Moghaddas Morteza DehghanNezhad Esmaeil Sangari Rethinking on the Evolution of the Concept of “Barbarian” in Archaic Greece: From the Trojan War to Greco-Persian Wars تاریخ اسلام و ایران ancient greece othering barbarian slave homer |
| title | Rethinking on the Evolution of the Concept of “Barbarian” in Archaic Greece: From the Trojan War to Greco-Persian Wars |
| title_full | Rethinking on the Evolution of the Concept of “Barbarian” in Archaic Greece: From the Trojan War to Greco-Persian Wars |
| title_fullStr | Rethinking on the Evolution of the Concept of “Barbarian” in Archaic Greece: From the Trojan War to Greco-Persian Wars |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rethinking on the Evolution of the Concept of “Barbarian” in Archaic Greece: From the Trojan War to Greco-Persian Wars |
| title_short | Rethinking on the Evolution of the Concept of “Barbarian” in Archaic Greece: From the Trojan War to Greco-Persian Wars |
| title_sort | rethinking on the evolution of the concept of barbarian in archaic greece from the trojan war to greco persian wars |
| topic | ancient greece othering barbarian slave homer |
| url | https://hii.alzahra.ac.ir/article_7002_d50c6bb031b82b1f20adbab1d66f0c07.pdf |
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