TIL black people in ancient Rome were not discriminated against because of their skin colour or physical features. They were not excluded from any profession and there was no stigma against mixed race relationships. Classical writers did not attach social status or degree of humanity to skin colour.

Ok everyone listen up. This is part of what I study in my Anthropology, the idea of 'RACE' is a relatively new concept, only founded when shipping ports were established where people skipped right from one continent to another and didn't see any of the phenotypic clinal gradation in between geographic regions. Marco Polo, who travelled the world before the concept of race, just described people in his travels based on what they looked like and didn't try to categorize them.

It wasn't really until Linnaeus wrote his system naturae where the idea of "subspecies" of humanity were divided into four major groups and ranked from most to least divine and favored by God. This same category also associated Orangutans and "men with tails" in the same species.

In 1859 when the Origin of Species came out people were confused and tried to implement the outdated Christian Science into Darwins notions of Natural Selection; exaggerated greatly by the Eugenist, Francis Galton; of whom the Nazi's employed his Methodology to their ideas of Race.

Which is the same idea we still employ.

So yeah, if you believe in Race you are the first step down the path to a Eugenist. If not a European ethnocentrist.

It's a myth.

/r/todayilearned Thread Link - en.wikipedia.org