Inventing the Barbarian

Inventing the Barbarian Greek Self-definition Through Tragedy

Edith Hall1989
Explains the reasons for the Athenian fascination with the barbarian world; the Greek plays set against the historical background of the Panhellenic wars, and the establishment of an Athenian empire based on democracy and slavery; the concept of the barbarian as the negative embodiment of Athenian civic ideals; the treatment of foreigners in Homer and in tragedy.
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