The word "barbarian" has been around for a very long time. It can be found in the Old Slavonic language, Old Russian and modern. The history of the origin of this term is extremely interesting. The article will consider the meaning of the word "barbarian" and how it has changed over time. Each epoch made its own changes to this concept and interpreted it to its own advantage.
Where does the word "barbarian" occur?
It is ubiquitous and used by many nations. This is due to the fact that the word has an ancient origin and over time began to be used not only in the area of \u200b\u200bits appearance, but throughout the world.
The birthplace of the word is Ancient Greece
It was this great country, the cradle of modern civilization, that gave the world a new word. The Greeks, thousands of years ago, called all outsiders that. For them, a barbarian is any foreigner who lived outside the Greek, and then the Roman state. The etymology of the word is still debatable. It is believed that this is an onomatopoeia of languages \u200b\u200bthat are incomprehensible and alien to the Greeks - var-var. The word had a contemptuous connotation, since other Greek tribes considered lesseducated and cultured. However, many scientists do not agree with this version and believe that this term had a neutral meaning.
Moreover, initially the ancient Greeks called this concept everyone who spoke a different language, and only then they began to use it to refer to other peoples.
The word later passed to the Romans, but got a different meaning. For the inhabitants of the Roman state, a barbarian is a rude, uneducated person. So they began to call the northern peoples, who, in terms of cultural development, lagged far behind the population of the Balkan Peninsula and Italy.
The Greek word for barbarian was barbaros. The Latin name is barbarus in the same meaning (foreigner, stranger). Interestingly, modern French has the word barbare. It means "cruel, barbaric" and is very similar to another word - barbe (beard). According to linguists, the similarity is not at all accidental. The ancient Greeks preferred to wear neat little beards that were curled and smeared with fragrant oils. The northern tribes who lived in the neighborhood did not care about the beauty of their hair and beards, so they looked untidy.
First mention of the word and change of attitude towards barbarians
If you believe the written sources of those years, for the first time this concept was applied at the end of the VI century. BC e. Greek historian Hecateus of Miletus. The Hellenes did not accept many habits and customs of their neighbors, for example, the noisy feasts of the Scythians and Thracians. The poet Anacreon wrote about it. The philosopher Heraclitus in his writings applied such a metaphysicalconcept as "barbarian soul". Thus, over time, the word began to take on an increasingly negative connotation. A barbarian is a foreigner who is characterized by a general low level of cultural development and who lacks the norms of morality and rules of behavior acceptable to the Greeks.
The turning point was the Greco-Persian wars, which were hard on the Hellenes. A negative image of a person of non-Greek origin began to form and a stereotype of a barbarian was created - cowardly, treacherous, cruel and hating Greece.
Then there was a period when there was interest in foreign culture and even admiration for it.
In IV-V centuries. n. e., during the era of the Great Migration of Nations, the word again acquired a negative assessment and was associated with cruel tribes of savage invaders who destroyed Roman civilization.
Who are barbarians: tribes and occupations
What kind of peoples were named so by the ancient Greeks? As mentioned above, these were northern tribes: Germanic, Slavic, Scythian, as well as Celts and Thracians.
In the I c. BC e. Germanic tribes tried to occupy the Roman province of Gaul. Julius Caesar gave them a rebuff. The invaders were driven back beyond the Rhine, along which the border between the Roman world and the barbarian lay.
All of the above tribes had a similar way of life. They were engaged in cattle breeding, agriculture and hunting. They knew weaving and pottery, knew how to process metal.
Answering the question of who the barbarians are, you need to touch themcultural level. He did not reach such heights that the Greek civilization achieved, but these tribes were not ignorant and wild either. For example, products of Scythian and Celtic craftsmen are considered valuable works of art.
The history of the word in the Middle Ages
The ancient concept was borrowed from the Greeks and Romans by Western Europe and Byzantium. It has changed meaning. A barbarian is an atheist, as the Christian and Catholic clergy believed then.
Many values
The word "barbarian" boasts that its meaning has changed over the centuries. For the ancient Greeks, it denoted a stranger who lived outside the country, the Romans so called those tribes and peoples who invaded the territory of the empire and destroyed it. For Byzantium and Western Europe, this word has become synonymous with pagan.
Today, this concept is used in a figurative sense. In the nominal sense, a barbarian is a cruel, ignorant person who destroys cultural monuments and values.
It is interesting that the word has not lost its relevance and, despite the age of origin, is still used today.
