Barbarian Tribe: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

 

This is [[Truth in Television]] to an extent, since one of the main thrusts of history in Eurasia (until the advent of gunpowder weapons) was the periodic invasions of urban areas in China and Europe by [[Born in the Saddle|mounted steppe tribes]]. Many other groups of people, such as the ancient Germanic peoples, Native American tribes and [[Darkest Africa|tribal Africans]], could also be considered this.

On the other hand, Claude Levi-Strauss said the only real barbarians are the ones who believe in barbarians. The Ancient Greeks, who invented the term, applied it pretty liberally to anyone they didn't like, including peoples who were quite civilized by any reasonable standard (like the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]] and the Persians) and even other Greeks who didn't live up to Athenian ideals. A modern work that applies [[Character Development]] to its barbarians may quickly find them to be [[Not So Different]].

 

 

The [[Sufficiently Advanced]] often compare those "below" them to this.