Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

The People 117
Queen: How then can they withstand an enemy invasion?
Chorus: Well enough to destroy King Dareios’ large and powerful
army. (lines 241– 44)
Despite the highly negative view of barbarian culture that many
Greeks held, there is no evidence to suggest that barbarians were
unwelcome or subjected to mistreatment if they traveled to Greece.
On the contrary, they figure prominently among Athens’s metic
population in the fourth century. The Sidonians, who were Phoenicians,
a Semitic people, actually enjoyed a privileged status that
was not extended to other metics: they were exempted from the
metic tax and other financial burdens.
Ultimate Monstrosity
The outermost reaches of geographical knowledge were thought
to be inhabited by monstrous races, descriptions of whom were
brought back by travelers. They include the Astomoi or Mouthless
Ones, who have holes in their faces instead of mouths; the Skiapods
or Shadowfeet, a one-legged people who lie on their backs
The blinding of the Cyclops Polyphemos by
Odysseus and his men. From Homer by Martin
Thorpe (Bristol, U.K.: Bristol Classical Press,
1973). Reprinted by permission of Duckworth
Publishers.