The Barbarian Dichotomy In Ancient Greece

The term “barbarian” refers to a group of uncivilized people that originated from the ancient Greece. This term referred to the people who did not speak Greek. Currently, the meaning of the term has changed with the current implication being significantly different from the original meaning. The term may be used to refer to evil deeds in the society and people have used the term to identify evil deeds among the individuals. In the ancient Greece, the term was used to refer to the Egyptians, Medes, Persians and other non-Greek speaking people due to fact that the language that they spoke appeared unfounded. Some leaders, however, rejected the barbarian dichotomy in Greece terming it an absurd act that led to division within the country. Over
Barbarians were considered to be like children, who were unable to speak or even reason properly. They were considered as cowards, cruel, effeminate, luxurious and unable to control their desires. They were also known to be poor politicians who would not govern themselves and therefore had to be ruled. Various writers featured these stereotypes with a key emphasis on how they affected the societal perceptions towards other groups of people. For instance, Isocrates called for a war against the Persia as a panacea for the problems facing the Greeks during the 4th Century. The Hellenic stereotypes, however, had not totally dominated the Hellenic
New categories of differentiation were introduced and accompanied by the disappearance of the Roman Empire as well as the disintegration of its powers and systems. The Germanic invaders started to transform Europe into a barbarian region. The Ostrogoth, the Burgundian and the Frank were among the most successful figures that had been despised as barbarians. Some authors considered the Barbarians as pagans. This showed the religious connotation which the word was referring to. The transition between the cultural and the religious implication was the key feature that was presented by the authors. The catholic Christians now became distinct from the barbarian who was considered the heathen or the Arian heretic. Meanwhile, the conventional morals and attributes of the barbarism including its ferocity, the brutality and the treachery were retained. On the other hand, the word had been assumed to have a religious meaning while being used retrospectively with no prejudice by the people as a way of describing the pre-Christian phase of their