Kostas Buraselis,

“Greeks and barbarians. Crisis and transformation of Hellenic Identity since Alexander and the Hellenistic period” (China, May ‘19)

Diogenes Laertius 1. 33 (end of 3^rdcent. AD): Hermippus in hisLives[3^rdcent. BC] refers to Thales the story which is told by some of Socrates, namely, that he used to say that there were three blessings for which he was grateful to Fortune: "first, that I was born a human being and not a wild beast; next, that I was born a man and not a woman; thirdly, a Greek and not a barbarian." (Loeb English Translation adapted)

῞Ερμιπποςδ'ἐντοῖςΒίοις(FHG iii. 39)εἰςτοῦτον(: Thales of Miletos)ἀναφέρει τὸλεγόμενονὑπότινωνπερὶΣωκράτους.ἔφασκεγάρ,φασί,τριῶντούτωνἕνεκαχάρινἔχειντῇΤύχῃ·πρῶτονμὲνὅτιἄνθρωποςἐγενόμηνκαὶοὐθηρίον,εἶταὅτιἀνὴρκαὶοὐγυνή,τρίτονὅτι῞Ελληνκαὶοὐβάρβαρος.

Aischylos,Persians,401 ff. (472 BC): …They [: the Greeks] rushed hard at us [: the Persian fleet at Salamis] with a great shout: “Charge! Greek men, set your country free! Save your children, your wives, the holy temples of your fathers’ gods, the sacred tombs of your ancestors! Now is the time to fight for all these things!” (ET by G. Theodoridis)

‘῏Ωπαῖδες῾Ελλήνων,ἴτε,

ἐλευθεροῦτε πατρίδ', ἐλευθεροῦτε δὲ

παῖδας, γυναῖκας, θεῶν τε πατρῴων ἕδη,

θήκας τε προγόνων· νῦν ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀγών.’

Herodot 5. 97 (5^thcent. BC): …these ships [: the support ships sent by the Athenians and the Eretrians to the revolted Ionians] have been the beginning of misfortunes for Greeks and barbarians.

…αὗταιδὲαἱνέεςἀρχὴκακῶνἐγένοντο῞Ελλησίτεκαὶβαρβάροισι.

Plutarch,Moralia329 B (ca end of the 1^stcent. AD):

For Alexander did not follow Aristotle's advice to treat the Greeks as if he were their leader, and barbarians as if he were their master; to have regard for the Greeks as for friends and kindred, but to conduct himself toward the other (the barbarians) as though they were plants or animals; for to do so would have been to cumber his leadership with numerous battles and banishments and festering seditions… (Loeb ET adapted)

οὐγάρ,ὡς᾿Αριστοτέλης(fr. 658)συνεβούλευεναὐτῷ,τοῖςμὲν῞Ελλησινἡγεμονικῶςτοῖςδὲβαρβάροιςδεσποτικῶςχρώμενος,καὶτῶνμὲνὡςφίλωνκαὶοἰκείωνἐπιμελόμενοςτοῖςδ'ὡςζῴοιςἢφυτοῖςπροσφερόμενος[: treating them],πολέμωνπολλῶνκαὶφυγῶνἐνέπλησεκαὶστάσεωνὑπούλωντὴνἡγεμονίαν…

Arrian,Αλεξάνδρου Ανάβασις1.16.7 (2^ndcent.AD): Alexander, the son of Philipp,and the Greeks except the Lacedaemonians, (as booty) from the barbarians who inhabit Asia…

Ἀλέξανδρος Φιλίππου καιοι Έλληνες πλην Λακεδαιμονίων από των βαρβάρων των την Ασίαν κατοικούντων.

Strabon 1. 4. 9 (from Eratosthenes, ca 200 BC):

Now, towards the end of his treatise — after withholding praise from those who divide the whole multitude of mankind into two groups, namely, Greeks and Barbarians, and also from those who advised Alexander to treat the Greeks as friends but the Barbarians as enemies — Eratosthenes goes on to say that it would be better to make such divisions according to good qualities and bad qualities; for not only are many of the Greeks bad, but many of the Barbarians are refined — Indians and Arians, for example, and, further, Romans and Carthaginians, who carry on their governments so admirably. And this, he says, is the reason why Alexander, disregarding his advisers, welcomed as many as he could of the men of fair repute and did them favours — just as if those who have made such a division, placing some people in the category of censure, others in that of praise, did so for any other reason than that in some people there prevail the law-abiding and the political instinct, and the qualities associated with education and powers of speech, whereas in other peoples the opposite characteristics prevail! And so Alexander, not disregarding his advisers, but rather accepting their opinion, did what was consistent with, not contrary to, their advice; for he had regard to the real intent of those who gave him counsel.(Loeb tr.n adapted)

ἘπὶτέλειδὲτοῦὑπομνήματοςοὐκἐπαινέσαςτοὺςδίχαδιαιροῦνταςἅπαντὸτῶνἀνθρώπωνπλῆθοςεἴςτεἝλληναςκαὶβαρβάρους͵καὶτοὺςἈλεξάνδρωιπαραινοῦνταςτοῖςμὲνἝλλησινὡςφίλοιςχρῆσθαιτοῖςδὲβαρβάροιςὡςπολεμίοις͵βέλτιονεἶναίφησινἀρετῆικαὶκακίαιδιαιρεῖνταῦτα.πολλοὺςγὰρκαὶτῶνἙλλήνωνεἶναικακοὺς [: useless]καὶτῶνβαρβάρωνἀστείους [: able to live an asty/polis-life]͵καθάπερἸνδοὺςκαὶἈριανούς[: Iranians]͵ἔτιδὲῬωμαίουςκαὶΚαρχηδονίουςοὕτωθαυμαστῶςπολιτευομένους[:whose political life is admirable] .διόπερτὸνἈλέξανδρονἀμελήσαντα͵ὅσουςοἷόντ᾽ἦνἀποδέχεσθαιτῶνεὐδοκίμων[: the worthy ones]ἀνδρῶνκαὶεὐεργετεῖν·ὥσπερδι᾽ἄλλοτιτῶνοὕτωδιελόντωντοὺςμὲνἐνψόγωιτοὺςδ᾽ἐνἐπαίνωιτιθεμένων͵ἢδιότιτοῖςμὲνἐπικρατεῖτὸνόμιμονκαὶτὸπαιδείαςκαὶλόγωνοἰκεῖον [: the feeling for the lawfulness and the familiarity with education and rational life]͵τοῖςδὲτἀναντία.καὶὁἈλέξανδροςοὖνοὐκἀμελήσαςτῶνπαραινούντων͵ἀλλ᾽ἀποδεξάμενοςτὴνγνώμηντὰἀκόλουθα͵οὐτὰἐναντίαἐποίει͵πρὸςτὴνδιάνοιανσκοπῶντὴντῶνἐπεσταλκότων[: he has adopted the logic and not the form of the advice received].

Isokrates,Πανηγυρικός50 (4^thcent. BC): Οur city, Athens, has left so much behind all other people in thought and speech that her disciples have become teachers of other people, and it [: Athens] has turned the name of the Greeks into a category of thinking and not one of descent, and effected thatthose should be rather regarded as Greeks who participate in our education and not those who share the same natural descent with us.

Τοσοῦτονδ'ἀπολέλοιπενἡπόλιςἡμῶνπερὶτὸφρονεῖνκαὶλέγειντοὺςἄλλουςἀνθρώπους,ὥσθ'οἱταύτηςμαθηταὶτῶνἄλλωνδιδάσκαλοιγεγόνασιν,καὶτὸτῶν῾Ελλήνωνὄνομαπεποίηκενμηκέτιτοῦγένους,ἀλλὰτῆςδιανοίαςδοκεῖνεἶναι,καὶμᾶλλον῞Ελληναςκαλεῖσθαιτοὺςτῆςπαιδεύσεωςτῆςἡμετέραςἢτοὺςτῆςκοινῆςφύσεωςμετέχοντας.

Ἕλληνεςἐγχώριοι(‘Greeks of thechora’) in Ptolemaic Egypt: see e.g. P. Tebt.Ι. 164, 1, 8 (the case of thekomogrammateusMenches). Cf. N. Lewis,Greeks in Ptolemaic Egypt, Oxford 1986, p. 106.

a Ptolemaic papyrus,UPZI.7 (163 BC):

To Dionysios, ‘king’s friend’ and strategos, from Ptolemaios son of Glaukias, Macedonian, a recluse in the Great Serapeion these ten years.

I am wronged by those who take turns serving as bakers in the said temple…On [12 November] they appeared at the little Astarte shrine in which I live in divine service, and forced their way in with the intention of dragging me out and driving me away, just as they tried to do also in earlier years, when the revolt was on – and thatdespite the fact that (or: because) I am a Greek! When I realized that they had taken leave of their senses, I locked myself in, but they found my associate, Harmais, in the entranceway and beat him with their bronze tools. I therefore ask you to order that instructions be sent to Menedemos, the chief of your police post in the Anubis shrine here, to force them to give me my rights, and if they do not abide [by his order] to send them to you, so that you, who hate wickedness, may render judgement about them. Farewell…

(transl. by N. Lewis, o.c., 85-6, slightly adapted)

Διονυσίωι τῶν φίλων καὶ

στρατηγῶι

παρὰ Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Γλαυκίου

Μακεδόνος τῶν ὄντων ἐν κατοχῆι

ἐν τῶι μεγάλωι Σαραπιείωι ἔτος

ἤδη δέκατον. ἀδικοῦμαι

ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν τῶι αὐτῶι ἱερῶι

καλλυντῶν καὶ ἀρτοκόπων

τῶν νυνὶ ἐφημερευόντων,

καταβαινόντων δὲ καὶ εἰς τὸ

᾿Ανουβιεῖον, ῾Αρχήβιος ἰατροῦ

καὶ Μυὸς ἱματιοπώλου καὶ

τῶν ἄλλων, ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα

ἀγνοῶ. τοῦ γὰρ 19 (ἔτους) Φαῶφι 11

παραγενόμενοι ἐπὶ τὸ

᾿Ασταρτιεῖον ασταρτιδειον, ἐν ὧι κατέχομαι

ἱερῶι, εἰσεβιάζοντο βουλό-

μενοι ἐκσπάσαι εξσπασαι με καὶ ἀλο-

γῆσαι, καθάπερ καὶ ἐν τοῖς πρό-

τερον χρόνοις ἐπεχείρησαν

οὔσης ἀποστάσεως,παρὰ τὸ

῞Ελληνά με εἶναι.ἐπεὶ ο[ὖ]ν

ἐγὼ μὲν συνιδὼν αὐτοὺς

ἀπονενοημένους ἐμαυτὸν

συνέκλεισα, ῾Αρμᾶιν δὲ

τὸν παρ' ἐμοῦ εὑρόντες

ἐπὶ τοῦ δρόμου καταβαλόντες

ἔτυπτον τοῖς χαλκοῖς

ξυστῆρσιν. ἀξιῶ οὖν σε συν-

τάξαι γράψαι Μενεδήμωι

τῶι παρὰ σοῦ ἐν τῶι ᾿Ανουβιείωι

ἐπαναγκάσαι αὐτοὺς τὰ δίκαιά μοι

ποιῆσαι, ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ὑπομένωσιν,

ἐξαποστεῖλαι αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ σέ,

ὅπως διαλάβῃς περὶ αὐτῶν μισο-

πονήρως.

εὐτύχει.

EvangeliumMarci7.25-6 (ca60-70AD):

25Instead, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit soon heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet. 26Nowshe wasa GreekwomanofSyrophoenicianorigin,andshe kept askingJesusto drivethedemonout ofherdaughter.(Berean Study Bible transl.n)

…ἀλλ' εὐθὺς ἀκούσασα γυνὴ περὶ αὐτοῦ,

ἧς εἶχεν τὸ θυγάτριον αὐτῆς πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον, ἐλθοῦσα

προσέπεσεν πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ· ἡ δὲ γυνὴ ἦν ῾Ελληνίς, Συροφοινίκισσα τῷ γένει·καὶ ἠρώτα αὐτὸν ἵνα τὸ δαιμόνιον ἐκβάλῃ ἐκ τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτῆς.