Race and Ethnicity in the Classical World: An Anthology of Primary Sources in Translation

Lest we run with the delusion that all Romans were white, or at least citizens, this collection of translated excerpts on race and ethnicity covers the real conditions found in the classical world. Kennedy (classics, Denison U.), Roy (classics, Haverford College), and Goldman (Vanderbilt U.) examine the theories and practicalities of living as a minority in ancient times. They examine theories (such as those of foreignness by Homer and Hesiod, genealogies and origins, environmental theories, genetic theories, and custom or culture theories), and present the composition of the peoples of the ancient world (Egypt, Libya, Carthage and Numidia, Ethiopia, Persia, the Parthians, Judea and the Jewish diaspora, and China and the edge of the world), then analyze Europe's Black Sea region, Gaul, Germany and Britain. Annotation ©2014 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
By offering fluent, accurate translations of extracts and fragments from a wide assortment of ancient texts, this volume allows a comprehensive overview of ancient Greek and Roman concepts of otherness, as well as Greek and Roman views of non-Greeks and non-Romans. A general introduction, thorough annotation, maps, a select bibliography, and an index are also included.