Does anyone else think that many ancient Greek writers were racist, arrogant and blatantly self-serving? They refferred to nearly everyone who wasn't Greek as a Barabarian, including the Macedonians (Alexander the Great's people) and the Romans. Common sense proves that the number of people involved in most Greek battles are always disturbingly exxagerated to have a tiny Greek force against hundreds of thousands and sometimes over a million adversaries. (rougly 1/10 of the world according some historians)
2007-01-22 07:49:55 · 7 answers · asked by 29 characters to work with...... 5 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
1/100 of the world sorry.
300 vrs. 1,000,000? How did the Persians feed them and the pack animals I wonder? That would be a wagon severaly hundred miles long just for a couple days.
2007-01-22 07:55:05 · update #1
As far as the 300 men vs. 1,000,000 the Persians actually had about 100,000 I believe and the Spartans actually had the help of a number of small allied armies so that the Greek army numbered about 5,000 (I think). Modern day historians have confirmed that much of the totals given for that battle were acurate. You must remember that Persia was still a pretty powerful empire at that point. So as far as the logistics of supporting a large force they did have a pretty good taxation system to call on at that time and warfare only took place part of the year. Also the majority of the persian army was either mercanaries or slaves by that time. Also remember that Roman writers continued the practice of refering to others as barbarians. And even today in the U.S we refer to some nations as being third world countries. (I have a hard time believing that it is an economic term) Personally I am proud to be a barbarian.
2007-01-22 08:07:12 · answer #1 · answered by West Coast Nomad 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Dont confuse the word barbarian with its modern offensive meaning. In the ancient times barbarian was anyone who didn't speak and didn't look Greek. The Romans and Persians were called liked these because of the different language and culture. Macedonians weren't considered barbarians as they were of Greek origin as well and spoke Greek just like Spartans and Athenians with their own accent.(they werent easilly accepted as equals though due to their ''mountaineer'' habits) Alexander the greats army fought the Persians at a 1 against 8 rate at least and this is accepted by many modern historians as a true fact. Same case with the battle of Thermopylae were the 300 Spartans faced the Persians. i do not oppose to the fact that there could be an exxageration at some point but the truth is that in almost all the cases the Greeks were enormously outnumbered by their enemies. While the Persian soldiers were fighting for money and because of fear to their ruler , the Greeks were fighting for freedom, ideals and their way of fighting is still admired. Alexander the Greats techniques and the discipline of the Spartan soldiers are still being taught in modern combat schools.
2007-01-22 22:44:24 · answer #2 · answered by iguana 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You're right about the ancient Greeks thinking they were the best, but to their defence, they're not alone about this. The Romans also thought they were better than everyone else. The Egyptians even though Egypt was Heaven and any other country was Hell. Not to mention how Europeans/Causasians have thought about native Africans, Americans, Australians etc.
2007-01-22 07:57:55 · answer #3 · answered by furienna 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Barbarian comes from "bar-bar," which has 2 possible origins in ancient greece.
The barbar could be "barber," due to foreigners having longer beards.
Another reason for bar-bar is the Greeks didn't understand the language of the foreigners, so "barbar" is what the foreign languages sounded like to the Greeks' ears.
So "barbarian" is not actually an insult in the terms of the Ancient Greeks. They weren't being racist, etc. They were just using their word for foreigners.
2007-01-22 07:57:54 · answer #4 · answered by willow oak 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
While your comment about the Greeks being arrogant racists is correct (and who wasn't, then?), the battle referred to is the battle of Thermopylae, which is a well-attested historical event. Basically, the Greeks caught the Persians at a pass they had to get thru. So while storms were sinking the Persian fleet at sea, the Greeks were ambushing the Persians from a VERY well defensible position.
2007-01-22 08:11:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Men in Athens ruled. They could vote. The rest had no rights.
2016-05-23 22:22:31 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You got that right!!! They call MACEDONIANS Barbarians because MACEDONIANS are NOT Greek!!! The MACEDONIANS are MACEDONIAN!!! The MACEDONIANS conquer Greece(Which were city state then) Here are websites for you!!!
2007-01-23 11:39:32 · answer #7 · answered by SOLUN macedonia 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋