Cyprus-Forum.com

[Cap]

Sanctioned by the rest of the world because of apartheid, South Africa had to develop everything on their own.

Here's an example of the ingenuity and excellence of white South African people back in the 1980's.....

Not to mention mining technology developed locally, medicine (first heart transplant), cutting engine civil engineering (one had to only see the sheer brilliance of South African highways and roads), Nuclear power (Koeberg), etc etc Virtually isolated and self sufficient.

[Cap]

We Cypriots can learn much from Apartheid era South Africa (minus the politics of course).

[kurupetos]

We Cypriots can learn much from Apartheid era South Africa (minus the politics of course).

No, you should learn your Hellenic heritage.

[supporttheunderdog]

We Cypriots can learn much from Apartheid era South Africa (minus the politics of course).

No, you should learn your Hellenic heritage.

Yes it was the Hellenes who invented the concept of the master race and justified slavery over barbarians because they were innately inferior. Read your Harry Stottle.

[GreekIslandGirl]

We Cypriots can learn much from Apartheid era South Africa (minus the politics of course).

No, you should learn your Hellenic heritage.

Yes it was the Hellenes who invented the concept of the master race and justified slavery over barbarians because they were innately inferior. Read your Harry Stottle.

And it was the Britons who practiced slavery (for the longest time? over 2,000 years) but didn't know how to discuss and write about the ethics of this trade!

[GreekIslandGirl]

Early British slave trade ...


Although his life bears almost no resemblance to that of the “Cymbeline” in Shakespeare’s play, the pre-Roman Celtic king Cunobeline, who ruled in what is today southeastern England from about A.D. 9 until his death sometime before A.D. 43, was the original inspiration for the title character in Cymbeline. Although his existence and rule over ancient Britain has been verified by archaeological evidence (specifically his many inscribed coins) and the works of Roman historians (with awesome names like Suetonius and Dio Cassius), there is quite a bit of debate when it comes to the actual spelling of this king’s name. Popular variations include Cunobelinus, Cunobelin, Kynobellinus and Κυνοβελλίνος, in Greek.


Contrary to what you’ll see in Cymbeline, Cunobeline appears to have maintained good and peaceful relations with the Roman Empire. He used the title Rex, which is Latin for "king,” as well as classical motifs on his inscribed coins, and under his rule there was an increase in trade with the Roman Empire – which was basically all of continental Europe. Luxury goods imported into Britain included Italian wine and drinking vessels, olive oil and fish sauces (yummy), glassware, jewelry and tableware. Britain’s exports included grain, gold, silver, iron, hides, slaves and hunting dogs.

http://www.pcs.org/blog/item/the-real-cymbeline/

[Cap]

cutting engine

Apologies, it was late and I was tired.

[supporttheunderdog]

Slavery was common throughout the Ancient world. Indeed for Cymbeline to have been a seller of slaves the Romans must have been a buyer, all of course neatly justified by Aristotle who was writing about it being morally acceptable 300 years before Cymbeline.

[GreekIslandGirl]

No, his name was not Cymbeline (that's a Shakespeare character based on the actual King of the Britons). Although Britons hadn't learnt to write until the 6-7th century the Greeks and Romans first wrote his name for him. Aaahh

So you see although he freely caught people and sold them into slavery (to the Romans) he was unable to write/discuss the ethics of this practice of his.

Aristotle debated the ETHICS of "slavery" and did not practice a slave trade (neither did the Greeks - they never sold slaves, they kept in servitude those who lost wars against them, that's all.)

The other contextual factor with Aristotle that academics have only recently come to appreciate is that when he used the word for "slave" it was the word for what we now ascribe to someone who needs to be "taught", to "learn", unschooled, a child, etc so if you reread his ethics with that in mind, it all makes more sense.

The ancient Greeks had many words to describe slaves which need to be placed in context to avoid ambiguity. In Homer, Hesiod and Theognis of Megara, the slave was called δμώς / de-m-ō-s.[5] The term has a general meaning but refers particularly to war prisoners taken as booty,[6] in other words, property. During the classical period, the Greeks frequently used ἀνδράποδον / andrapodon,[7] literally, "one with the feet of a man", as opposed to τετράποδον / tetrapodon, "quadruped", or livestock.[8] The most common word is / doulosδοῦλος / doulos,[9] an earlier form of which appears in Mycenaean inscriptions as do-e-ro,[10] used in opposition to "free man" (ἐλεύθερος / eleútheros). The verb δουλεὐω (which survives in modern Greek, meaning work) can be used metaphorically for other forms of dominion, as of one city over another or parents over their children.[11] Finally, the term οἰκέτης / oiketēs was used, meaning "one who lives in house", referring to household servants.

wiki

So it's accepted now that Aristotle was debating (as a biologist) that some people are naturally gifted in learning (intelligent) and others less so and needed to be instructed more.

Opposing even the practice of keeping servants or POWs as workers were the great Stoics who condemned all thoughts of men being unequal - the precursors of Christianity.

But the fact remains, when the Classical Greeks had long debated the ethics of slavery and given up all such ideas - the Ancient Britons were happily trading their own people as SLAVES along with hounds etc...

[ So the question now becomes: are the Britons the ones who hold the record for the longest known practice of the slave trade, only abolishing it recently? Some 2,000 years of recorded history? ]

Poor Africa ...

[supporttheunderdog]

But the Greeks did buy and sell slaves. They were chattels. Aristotle indeed if he did not invent it developed the concept of the Hellinic master race and that (racist) concept was then used to morally justify slavery. I really can see little difference to how Aristotle was promoting the Hellenic right to rule the world With what Churchill Said about 1960 years earlier.