Symbolic Blackness and Ethnic Difference in Early Christian L... - 9780415243698

Taylor & Francis

There has been growing interest in recent years in the presence and image of blacks and blackness in classical antiquity. However this pioneering and much needed work is the first to survey and theorise the black as seen by early Christian writers. > How were early Christians influenced by contemporary assumptions about ethnic and colour differences?Why were early Christian writers so attracted to the subject of Blacks, Egyptians, and Ethiopians?Looking at the neglected issue of race brings valuable new perspectives to the study of the ancient world; now Gay Byron's exciting work is the first to survey and theorise Blacks, Egyptians and Ethiopians in Christian antiquity.By combining innovative theory and methodology with a detailed survey of early Christian writings, Byron shows how perceptions about ethnic and color differences influenced the discursive strategies of ancient Christian authors. She demonstrates convincingly that, in spite of the contention that Christianity was tol