Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of Blacks

In this richly illustrated account of black-white contacts from the Pharaohs to the Caesars, Frank Snowden demonstrates that the ancients didn’t discriminate against blacks because of their color. For 3000 years Mediterranean whites intermittently came in contact with African blacks in commerce & war, & left a record of these encounters in art & in written documents. The blacks–most commonly known as Kushites, Ethiopians or Nubians–were redoubtable warriors & commanded the respect of their white adversaries. The overall view of blacks was highly favorable. In science, philosophy & religion color wasn’t the basis of theories concerning inferior peoples. Early Christianity saw in blacks a dramatic symbol of its catholic mission.
This book sheds light on the reasons for the absence in antiquity of virulent color prejudice & for the difference in attitudes of whites toward blacks in ancient & modern societies.