barbarian
barbarianSocial groups frequently assert their cohesiveness by emphasizing the differences between themselves and ‘outsiders’. Individuals belong to a range of groups, and which they choose to emphasize will depend on particular historical situations. While we associate Classical culture primarily with emphasis on citizenship (membership of a polis), Classical Greek literature also assigns considerable importance to defining a common Greek identity and creating the figure of the ‘barbarian’ in contrast.
That contrast was not important in Archaic literature. The factors that brought it to the fore were (a) the imposition of Persian control over western Asia Minor from the mid-6th cent. bc and the successful armed resistance to Persia by many Greek states in 480/79 BC (see Greece (history)); (b) justification of...
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