Category Archives: (09) Ethnic groups or peoples

Parthians and Scythians: Julius Africanus on barbarian military techniques (early third century CE)

Parthians, Celts and Iberians or Germans: Scenes on the breastplate of the “Augustus of Prima Porta” (early first century CE)

Parthians, Libyans, Egyptians and others: Acts of the Apostles on legends of Judean migration (early second century CE)

Parthians, Medes, and Babylonians: Pliny the Elder (first century CE)

Parthians: Arrian on their Scythian origins (second century CE)

Parthians: Curtius Rufus on their Scythian origins (first century CE)

Parthians: Kneeling colossal support statues in eastern garb (first century CE)

Parthians: Panamara inscription on Zeus’ miraculous actions against invading Parthians (ca. 39 BCE)

Parthians: Poseidonios on royal banquets (first century BCE)

Parthians: Scenes from the Arch of Septimius Severus (early third century CE)

Parthians: Strabo on Scythian origins and military success (early first century CE)

Parthians: Trogus on the origins and developments of an empire (first century BCE)

Pelasgian diasporas: Ephoros on legends of migration (mid-fourth century BCE)

Pelasgian diasporas: Hekataios of Miletos and Herodotos on legends of migration, language, and influence (mid-fifth century BCE)

Pelasgians: Strabo on a legendary migrating people (early first century CE)

People on an idyllic island in the Atlantic off Libya: Diodoros on their natural resources and on Carthaginian colonization plans (mid-first century BCE)

Peoples of Arachosia and Ariana: Pliny the Elder on peoples between Baktria and India (first century CE)

Persian wisdom: Ammianus Marcellinus on Zoroaster, Hystaspes, and the Magians (late fourth century CE)

Persian wisdom: Aristoxenos of Tarentum on Pythagoras and Zoroaster (fourth century BCE)

Persian wisdom: Eudemos of Rhodes on Magians (fourth century BCE)

Persian wisdom: Lactantius and others on the Oracles of Hystaspes the Mede (third century CE)

Persian wisdom: Plutarch’s story about Kleombrotos’ journeys (early second century CE)

Persian wisdom: Theopompos of Chios and Plutarch on Magians and Zoroaster (fourth century BCE and later)

Persian, Babylonian, and Scythian wisdom: Diogenes of Laertes refutes Magian and Chaldean origins for Greek philosophy (early third century CE)

Persian, Egyptian, Indian, and Celtic wisdom: Dio of Prusa on philosophers’ roles in leadership (late first century CE)

Persian, Indian, and Judean wisdom: Klearchos of Soloi on Magian precedence (fourth century BCE)

Persians and Egyptians: Pseudo-Clementines on the origins and nature of Magian skill (second-fourth centuries CE)

Persians and Medes: Herakleides of Kyme, Klearchos of Soloi, and others on royal banquets (fourth century BCE)

Persians and Medes: Herodotos on customs (mid-fifth century BCE)

Persians and Medes: Thucydides on Medizing (late-fifth century BCE)

Persians and neighbouring eastern peoples: Ammianus Marcellinus on Persian territories and lifestyles (late fourth century CE)

Persians, Hyrkanians, Armenians, Derbikians and others: Curtius Rufus on the mixed composition of the army of Darius III (first century CE)

Persians, Spartans, and Athenians: Platonic author on the superiority of the Persians (fourth century BCE)

Persians: Acts of Archelaos on Mani’s foreignness (early fourth century CE)

Persians: Apuleius of Madaura’s defence against the charge of harmful Magian actions (ca. 158 CE)

Persians: Clement of Alexandria [IV] on the elements among Greek philosophers and Persian Magians (late second century CE)

Persians: Curtius Rufus on Alexander of Macedon’s supposed decline into eastern ways (first century CE)

Persians: Curtius Rufus on military processions and royal luxury (first century CE)

Persians: Dio of Prusa on a supposedly Zoroastrian myth (late first century CE)

Persians: Emperor Diocletian on strange and monstrous Manicheans (ca. 300 CE)

Persians: God Mithras as a Roman representation of a Persian (second century CE)

Persians: Heresy-hunters on Simon Magus and other Magians (second-third centuries CE)

Persians: Irenaeus on Marcus the Valentinian Magian (late second century CE)

Persians: Matthew and Luke-Acts on two contrasting approaches to Magians (late first century CE)

Persians: Maximus of Tyre on “barbarizing” and the excesses of royal pleasure (late second century CE)

Persians: Plato on Persian decline into effeminacy and tyranny (early fourth century BCE)

Persians: Pliny on the dissemination of Magian skill to the peoples of the world (first century CE)

Persians: Suda on Zoroaster and on expertise in Magian practice, wailing incantations, and potions (tenth century CE)

Persians: Trogus on Alexander of Macedon’s acculturation to eastern ways (first century BCE)

Persians: Vitruvius theorizes about Greek depictions of enemies in architectural contexts (first century BCE)

Persians: Xanthos on the Magians’ supposed incest and on Zoroaster’s date (fifth century BCE)

Persians: Xenophon and an anonymous author on royal customs and Cyrus (early fourth century BCE / second century BCE)

Phoenician diasporas: Ephoros on Kadmos and legends of migration to Boiotia (mid-fourth century BCE)

Phoenician perspectives: Philo of Byblos on “Phoenician Matters” (early second century CE)

Phoenician wisdom: Ampelius on Mochos of Sidon (early-third century CE)

Phoenician wisdom: Damascius on Eudemos of Rhodes and Mochos of Sidon (fourth century BCE)

Phoenician wisdom: Strabo and Poseidonios on Mochos of Sidon (first century BCE)

Phoenician, Egyptian and Babylonian wisdom: Porphyry of Tyre and Antonius Diogenes on Pythagoras (third century CE)

Phoenician, Egyptian and Persian wisdom: Iamblichos of Chalkis on Pythagoras (fourth century CE)

Phoenicians and Sardinians: Cicero’s ethnic invective in defending Marcus Scaurus (mid-first century BCE)

Phoenicians: Gospel of Mark on Jesus and a Syro-Phoenician woman (late first century CE)

Phoenicians: Herodotos on customs and colonizing efforts (fifth century BCE)

Phrygians: Alexander Polyhistor, Hermogenes, and others on Phrygian Matters (first century BCE on)

Pontic peoples: Tertullian on the Pontic “barbarian” Marcion (late second century CE)

Romans, Egyptians, Persians, and others: Minucius Felix’s ethnographic defence of the Christian people (early third century CE)

Romans: Ammianus Marcellinus on the danger of decline into uncivilized lifestyles (late fourth century CE)

Romans: Diodoros on Herakles’ journey to Rome before Rome (mid-first century BCE)

Romans: Dionysios on Roman origins and legends of Greek and Pelasgian migrations to Italy (late first century BCE)

Romans: Dionysios on the supposed Roman refusal of barbarian and Phrygian customs (late first century BCE)

Samaritans and Judeans: Belonging to Israel in the Gospels (first century CE)

Samaritans: Josephos on Chuthean origins and relations with Judeans over centuries (late first century CE)

Sarmatians and others: Pliny the Elder on peoples of northwestern Asia (first century CE)

Sarmatians, Marcomannians, Quadians, and Iazygians: Reliefs on Marcus Aurelius’ column including women and children (176-193 CE)

Sarmatians: Tacitus on ferocity and laziness in military situations (early second century CE)

Scythian and Thracian diasporas: Inscriptional evidence

Scythian wisdom: Curtius Rufus on the Scythian elder’s speech about Alexander the bandit (first century CE)

Scythian wisdom: Letters of Anacharsis (mid-third century BCE)

Scythians and barbarians: Colossians and others on ritual recitations (late first or early second century CE)

Scythians and Ethiopians: Agatharchides and Diodoros theorize about the effects of climate (second-first centuries CE)

Scythians and Getians: Dio of Prusa on inter-ethnic encounters at Olbia and on Getian Matters (late first century CE)

Scythians and other northern peoples: Ephoros (mid-fourth century BCE)

Scythians and other Pontic peoples: Herodotos on the “most ignorant peoples of all” (fifth century BCE)

Scythians, Amazons, and Hyperboreans: Diodoros on some northerners (mid-first century BCE)

Scythians, Amazons, and Persians: Isocrates on the superiority of the Athenian people (early fourth century BCE)

Scythians, Germans, and others: Pliny the Elder on peoples on the western and northern coasts of the Black Sea (first century CE)

Scythians: Adventures of Andrew and Matthias among the Man-eaters as ethnographic fiction (third-fifth centuries CE)

Scythians: Aischines’ ethnic invective against Demosthenes (mid-fourth century BCE)

Scythians: Clement of Alexandria [I] on the example of Anacharsis (late second century CE)

Scythians: Greek depictions of Scythian archers on Attic pottery (sixth century BCE)

Scythians: Klearchos of Soloi (fourth century BCE)

Scythians: Lucian on a competition between Toxaris and Mnesippos about ethnic superiority (mid-second century CE)

Scythians: Lucian on Anacharsis and Solon’s dialogue about the superiority of Greek customs (mid-second century CE)

Scythians: Lucian on Toxaris’ and Anacharsis’ differing encounters with Greeks (late second century CE)

Scythians: Trogus on Scythian superiority (first century BCE)

Serians (Chinese), Ottorokorians and others: Pliny the Elder on the savage silk people (first century CE)

Sicilians and other Greeks: Cicero’s praise for Sicilians in the prosecution of Verres (mid-first century BCE)

Sikanians, Sicilians, Sardinians and Iolaeians: Diodoros on ancient migrations and local customs on Sicily (mid-first century BCE)

Sikanians, Sikelians, Phoenicians and Greeks: Thucydides on settlement of Sicily (late fifth century BCE)

Sogdians: Curtius Rufus on Alexander’s assessment of their noble and courageous character (first century CE)

Spartans and Judeans: First Maccabees’ and Josephos’ claims about kinship ties (ca. 100 BCE / ca. 90s CE)

Syrian and Phoenician diasporas: Inscriptional and archeological evidence

Syrian perspectives: Lucian of Samosata on The Syrian Goddess in full (mid-second century CE)

Syrian perspectives: Lucian self-identifies as “barbarian” and “Assyrian” (mid-second century CE)

Taurians and Greeks: Clement of Alexandria [III] on human sacrifice (late second century CE)

Taurians and Kolchians: Diodoros on the origins of human sacrifice in the Black Sea area (mid-first century BCE)

Thracians and Odrysians: Thucydides on Thracians, power, and violence (late fifth century BCE)

Thracians and other Black Sea peoples: Ammianus Marcellinus on their “savage” character and on Roman control (late fourth century CE)

Thracians, Getians, Paionians, and others: Herodotos (mid-fifth century BCE)

Thracians: Attic vase paintings depicting Thracian women with tattoos, warriors, and Orpheus (sixth-fifth centuries BCE)

Thracians: Tacitus on their uncivilized and wild nature (early second century CE)

Troglodytes: Graffiti and inscriptions from the Red Sea area thanking Pan / Min for rescue from Cave-dwellers (second century BCE)

Trojans, Lelegians, and Kilikians: Homer and Strabo on legendary peoples and migrations in the Troad (early first century CE)

Trojans, Teukrians, and Dardanians: Diodoros on their origins (mid-first century BCE)

Tyrrhenians: Diodoros on Etruscan inventions, lifestyle, and decline (mid-first century BCE)

Various peoples: Polybios on the mixed composition of Ptolemy IV’s and Antiochos III’s armies (second century BCE)

Western peoples beyond the pillars of Herakles (and up): Lucian’s “A True Story” and ethnographic fiction (late second century CE)