When I started reading the Greco-Roman literature, it was because I wanted to learn how much they stole from Africa and just how much of the rhetoric Black scholars said about them is true (ie they stole everything, they started Homo sexuality, they were racist, etc)
Now, I’ve grown a great love for Greco-Roman literature.
I’ve found little to NOTHING suggesting that the Greco-Roman culture was racist in any type of way. In fact, I find them very literal and accepting of people of ALL races (as long as you were a Hellen)
I’ve actually found that race did not matter, they glorified, allied, and was influenced by Egypt and Ethiopians. Whether you were white, Black, or brown didn’t matter; it only mattered if you were a citizen, ally, or a subject.
They were quite efficient for some time and their military prowess is definitely worth studying.
Now, I can go more in depth but to the point of the post, I believe Greco-Romans get a bad rep in the Black conscious community.
I think because they are seen in the framework of White Supremacy, that we associate them with the same racist policy and tactics as their colonial cousins. But that’s far from the truth.
Don’t get me wrong, slavery was a part of their society, but ANY one could be a slave. White, Black, Asian, ot didn’t matter if you were not a citizen. No different from many other societies. And that’s the thing, there’s not too many differences between them and others.
From my research, I’ve found every major ancient society had their quirks and weird traditions and behaviors. Every one of were influenced by their predecessors and the other major societies around them. And every super successful society were conquering nations.
The last great thing I’ve found while reading Greco-Roman lit, is the IMMENSE amount of information about Africa you can find within these pages. They are a MAJOR source on Ancient Africa and I love finding gems within their pages about great exploits of various nations.
The irony is, besides the obvious self depictions and artificers, Greco-Roman literature is a MAIN reason there is no doubt in my mind that the Egyptians were BLACK!! Why? Because they describe their features over and over and over again in a number of different manuscripts.
All of that just to say,
READ EVERYTHING!!
You may just find some wealthy gems! ✌🏿
