How barbarian were the Barbarians?

[Theodosius the Great]

All the Gauls in Caesar's day, writes JFC Fuller, were semi-civilised, practiced agriculture and cattle-breeding, carried on a considerable commerce either by road, river, or sea, and were aquainted with money and the Greek alphabet.

The Germanic tribes are another story though...

About classical use of the term barbarian, like Titus, I'm not so sure it simply meant foreigner. The Romans, IIRC, did NOT consider the Greeks barbarians and they were the only exception. So, that exception alone, if true, disproves the word was simply a synonym for foreigner. (There must be a real word for foreigner since the all the Greeks considered themselves somewhat foreign to one another !) The term doesn't seem to be a neutral one, it carries a negative connotation, IMO. Otherwise, why did the vanquished Greeks label Philip II 'the barbarian' ? At best he was only half foreign and did his best to appear as a native Greek.

You're right about the meaning of the word changing over time. Remember, the Achaemenid Persians were considered "barbarians" too.

Of course, the Achaemenids didn't help their image when they burned Athens, the most advanced city-state in Europe, to the ground. :wink:

~Theo