In that sense, then, the Ancient Greeks were no more white or Western than the British are “Nigerian” or “Australian”.
You see that with Arabs: in the Middle East they are not seen as white by Americans, but if they come to America and take on White American ways, they are – like Steve Jobs and Ralph Nader. More: “White” is based not just on looks – it is based on culture too. The ancient Greeks certainly did not think of themselves as white: they divided the world not by race but by language: those who spoke Greek were Greeks, those who did not were barbarians. According to one DNA testing company Greeks are 5% black.Īnswer #3: Calling them white is anachronistic: “white” is a Western invention used to excuse slavery and colonialism during the last several hundred years. Some say that Egypt sent settlers or that the Pelasgians, the people who were in Greece before the Indo-European Greeks arrived, were from Africa. How white was Ancient Greece? There are at least three answers, two short and one long:Īnswer #1: They were white, just look at them: There is plenty of artwork from at least 600 BC onwards that clearly shows that the Greeks looked white – just like the people in Greece now.Īnswer #2: They were part black. Patroclus and Achilles from a Greek drinking cup, circa 500 BC
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