Berkeley Books: "Rethinking the Other in Antiquity" by Erich S. Gruen

Berkeley Books: "Rethinking the Other in Antiquity" by Erich S. Gruen

Image of an old vase shaped as two heads back-to-back, one with pale skin, the other completely black.

This month’s Berkeley Books selection, Rethinking the Other in Antiquity, by Gladys Rehard Wood Eneritus Professor of History and Classics Erich S. Gruen, is one of those rare works that—as the title suggests—radically challenges pervasive assumptions in its field: in this case, the prevailing consensus that Greeks, Romans, and Jews understood themselves primarily in contrast to the so-called Other. Gruen instead uses an impressive range of textual evidence to explore the manifold connections between cultures in antiquity. Moving beyond hostile stereotypes, distortions, and caricatures, Gruen paints a nuanced portrait of attitudes toward the Other, arguing that kinship relationships and shared roots with diverse peoples were fundamental to the ways in which ancients understood themselves.

The book is divided into two sections, “Impressions of the ‘Other’” and “Connections with the ‘Other.’” The first part, composed of eight chapters, examines Greek and Roman representations of Persians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Gauls, Germans, Jews, and people of color to find subtle characterizations and sympathetic appraisals of the Other. The four chapters that make up the second part, instead, explore fictive genealogies, foundation legends, and stories of multiple migrations that underscore connections between cultures rather than disassociation and estrangement. He writes: “This investigation brings into prominence the powerful ancient penchant (largely unnoticed in modern works) of buying into other cultures to augment one’s own. That feature complicated the sense of collective identity—but also substantially enriched it” (5).

Gruen’s work is remarkable not just because of its controversial thesis, but also because of the breath of textual evidence lent to its support—major and extended works from critical moments in antiquity. Though he describes the project as “illustrative, not exhaustive” (5), the broad historical and geographical range of Rethinking the Other in Antiquity produces a richly detailed illustration of inclusive aspects of ancient collective identities.

The scholarly community has responded with high praise for Rethinking the Other in Antiquity. David Potter, Arthur Thurnau Professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan describes the work: “Gruen has produced an original and learned book that gives fresh insight into the complex issues of race in the ancient world and offers a more nuanced understanding of the interactions of ancient cultures that will hopefully enable us all to view the interactions between cultures in today's world with greater sensitivity"; and Donald Lateiner, John R. Wright Professor of Humanities-Classics at Ohio Wesleyan University, writes: “The entire book is magnificently documented. The range of scholarship is very impressive."

In this week’s Biblio-file, Gruen recommends nine books that shaped his thinking while working on Rethinking the Other in Classical Antiquity. His suggestions include Edward Said’s Orientalism, of which Gruen writes: “Even if the thesis is overstated, the work has, for good or ill, informed everything subsequently written on the subject,” as well as Arnaldo Momigliano’s stimulating Aliens Wisdom: The Limits of Hellenization and Frank Snowden’s Blacks in Antiquity, which, Gruen writes, “irrevocably complicated the picture and, for the first time, undermined the notion of racial prejudice.”