Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity

An illuminating examination of ethnic groups in ancient Greece, now available in paperback.

Jonathan M. Hall (Author)

9780521789998, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 26 June 2000

248 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.345 kg

'Jonathan Hall's book is an event in classical scholarship.' David Konstan, Diaspora

In this book Jonathan Hall seeks to demonstrate that the ethnic groups of ancient Greece, like many ethnic groups throughout the world today, were not ultimately racial, linguistic, religious or cultural groups, but social groups whose 'origins' in extraneous territories were just as often imagined as they were real. Adopting an explicitly anthropological point of view, he examines the evidence of literature, archaeology and linguistics to elucidate the nature of ethnic identity in ancient Greece. Rather than treating Greek ethnic groups as 'natural' or 'essential' - let alone 'racial' - entities, he emphasises the active, constructive and dynamic role of ethnography, genealogy, material culture and language in shaping ethnic consciousness. An introductory chapter outlines the history of the study of ethnicity in Greek antiquity.

1. Phrasing the problem
2. The nature and expression of ethnicity: an anthropological view
3. The discursive dimension of ethnic identity
4. Ethnography and genealogy: an Argolic case-study
5. Ethnicity and archaeology
6. Ethnicity and linguistics
7. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], General & world history [HBG]