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Chapter 5 - From Greek Scythians to Black Greeks

A Spectrum of Foreignness in Lucian’s Satires

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2022

Sarah F. Derbew
Sarah F. Derbew
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
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Summary

In Chapter 5, Lucian (c. second century CE) presents a complicated model of difference that relies unevenly on skin color, attire, and language as determinants of identity. His trio of Scythian satires features characters who rework the relationships between race and identity within their specific contexts. The categories of “Greek” and “foreigner” become muddled as Greeks and Scythians share their impressions about black people in their midst: Greeks conflate blackness with Aithiopians or liken it to their own appearance with ease, while one Scythian man marvels at the sight of black Athenian athletes. These varied observations lead to a collective questioning of blackness in relation to Greek identity under the guise of humor.

Keywords

LucianSecond SophisticsatireSyriaScythiablackathletes
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Chapter
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Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity , pp. 129 - 157
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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