An interesting passage in Adamantius

Adamantius the Sophist (Adamantius Judaeus Med.) wrote a physiognomical treatise in the 4th c. AD. While the work deals primarily with individual variation, it does however present some useful ethnographic information. The passage in question comes from Book 2, section 31:

ta de mesa tês oikêseôs mesên echei tên idean kai summigê sêmeia kai tas gnômas. hoi de heôioi kai hesperioi, katho mesêmbrinô- teroi kai arktikôteroi eisin, autoi heautôn diapherousin. (20) echousi gar diaphoran Libuôn hoi ta akra tês Libuês ta hesperia nemomenoi kai Ibêrôn hoi eis tên exô tha- lassan kathêkontes, kaitoi amphoteroi hesperioi eisin: alla hoi men Libues Aithiopsin homoioi, hoi de Ibêres @1 Keltois.

Translation:

Those who inhabit the middle region of the Earth have a medium type of appearance, having intermediate characteristics and mentalities. But, Easterners and Westerners, inasmuch as they are either more southern, or more northern, these differ from one another. In fact, Libyans (*) who dwell in the western end of Libya and Iberians who dwell in the outer sea (**) are different from one another, even though both of them are Westerners: but the Libyans are similar to the Ethiopians, and the Iberians are similar to the Kelts

Adamantius is basically saying that those who dwell in the middle region (between East and West) have an intermediate type of appearance and mentality, while those who dwell in the western and eastern fringes of the world are more differentiated on a north-south axis, with northerners (Iberians) being similar to Kelts, and Libyans being similar to Ethiopians.

In another passage (section 37), the Kelts and the Scythians as typical northern people are described as having agan xanthê and hupoleukos hair (very fair, and whitish), while the southerners are described (section 31) as melanophthalmoi (=dark-eyed), melanotriches (=dark-haired) and oulotriches (=curly-haired).

This interesting description seems to fit quite well modern knowledge about the preservation of more extreme characteristics in the "edge" of habitation, and of intermediate characters in the "center". It thus complements on a longitudinal basis the well-known latitudinal differentiation of peoples (northern-intermediate-southern) found in ancient literature.

(*) Libya = Africa
(**) outer sea = Atlantic Ocean

Posted by Dienekes at June 26, 2004 01:14 AM | PermaLink