Cécile Steenman

 

At World’s End: Othering Nubia in Greek literary sources

 

Abstract: The Shabti of King Senkamanisken is a Nubian artefact. Nubia covered an area in the upper Nile region, currently known as Sudan. During the eighth and seventh century BC, the Greeks established Naucratis, an important Greek settlement in the Nile delta region. At Naucratis, it has been argued that Greeks were in direct contact with Nubians. Furthermore, in the seventh and early sixth century BC, Greek mercenaries from Ionia and Caria served under the Egyptian pharaohs Psamtik I and II. Psamtik I ruled between 664 and 610 BC, contemporaneous with King Senkamanisken, who ruled from 640 till 610 BC. In this essay, Greek literary sources on Nubia will be analysed. The Ancient Greek climate theory will be discussed, as well as sources depicting Nubia as a dystopia and/or utopia. The focus lies mainly on three authors, while they have written the oldest known Greek texts on Nubia: Hippocrates (460-370 BC), Herodotus (484-425 BC) and Homer (8th century BC). Through the analysis of these authors' texts it becomes clear how Nubians effectively were placed in the role of an “Other” to the Greeks: Depicted as strange superhuman peoples, located on what the Greeks regarded as the world's end. 

 

Bio: Cécile Steenman received her BA in Art History, specialising in art before 1850, at Utrecht University. She is currently following her MA in Museum Studies at the University of Amsterdam.