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Blacks in Greece and Rome
When some people learn that the Greeks and Romans had a high regard for
black intelligence and morality they assume it was because they had little
contact with black people. Greeks and Romans not only had contact with
blacks from Africa, but they had
contact with their black neighbors. Frank Snowden discovered that,
"The exact number of Ethiopians who entered the Greco-Roman world
as a result of varied military, diplomatic, and commercial activity is
difficult to determine, but all the evidence suggests a sizable
Ethiopian element, especially in the population of the Roman world….The
black population in Greece and Italy was larger than has been generally
realized."1
In the late 4th century AD
Church fathers Sophronius and St. Jerome even refereed to Colchis as a,
"second Ethiopia," because of its large black population. 2
Two accounts in the 4th century BC, one by Hanno and another by
Palaephatus, tell of the city of Cerne, located just outside the Pillars of Hercules, which was inhabited by
Ethiopians. 3
Cerne is described as a market town where the Carthaginians and Ethiopians traded elephant tusks and hides,
wine, perfume, Egyptian stones, Athenian pottery, and skins of deer,
lions, and leopards. 4
The sizable population of blacks in ancient Rome is demonstrated by the fact that
on one occasion, in 61BC, Nero allowed only blacks into the theater to
watch one hundred Ethiopian huntsmen perform. 5
Following the construction
of the city of Alexandria many more
blacks traveled to the Greco-Roman world--that
is evident by the growing numbers of Negro statues at the seaports of Rome and Greece. Blacks often
immigrated permanently. Snowden wrote, "whoever laid down arms
after having fought only yesterday against Rome was welcome, whoever
came to Rome was there, no one inquired after origins--all those with talent, industry, and good fortune had
chances to forge ahead." 6
Blacks--like any other
immigrants--found careers as craftsmen,
metalworkers, carpenters, entrepreneurs, soldiers, government
officials, politicians, actors, dancers, jugglers, boxers, acrobats,
animal tamers, gladiators, charioteers, bath attendants, bootblacks,
cooks, courtesans, divers, laborers, and lamp-bearers. 7
"Ethiopians," Richard Poe tells us, "were just as likely
to be philosophers, priests, athletes, warriors, or merchants in the
Roman world as they were servants." 8
As discussed before, the Isiac religion from Nubia-Meroe spread
throughout the Greek and Roman world. Many of the high priests in that
religion, as shown by the art, were black. 9
According to some accounts
Aesop was Ethiopian, and Terrence, the famous Roman writer and former
slave, was described as having dark and black skin. 10
A Nubian King, during the reign of Philadelphus, received a Greek
education and studied philosophy. 11
Odysseus's herald, Eurybates, was described as having black skin and
woolly hair. 12
On several occasions, landowners mentioned on the Pylos tablets had the
name Aithiops (meaning black), although this may have been just a
common Greek name of the time.
The Black population in Greece and Rome created regular contact between
Blacks, Italians, and Greeks. The contact did not lead to a disdain for
Black people, as many white supremacists would wish; rather it lead to
a very high regard for the intelligence and piety of blacks.
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