So Pygmies and Rome

Therefore, pygmies in Roman life is no small matter. They may just have been an aspect of Nilotic scenes or side notes in the works of ancient authors. But the matter touches on how Romans view foreigners, especially the exotic. They did not know very much for sure from Greek literature and whay they did know was folk lore or something other than first-hand knowledge. But some of the Roman writing, such as parts of Pliny, exhibited Roman imperialism It lowers the pygmies in the eyes of the Romans' as they are not fully in control of their environment. They have to endure a comical battle with cranes. This reinforcement of foreigners' place in the world made the Romans feel better about themselves as it stressed that they were at the top. No one had power over their empire. Also much of the literature create an air of exoticism around pygmies.

The artwork, especially of the early empire, creates a similar view of pygmies. They still are not in control of their surroundings and now they face more violent threats, crocodiles and hippopotami. The imperialism towards the pygmies in the artwork holds true for the Greek dwarves as well. In both cases, Romans were stressing how they were above everyone else in the power structure of the ancient world. Even if you were more civilized to the Romans than pygmies, you were still a conquered person and therefore suitable to be depicted as a lesser person. At the same time, though, these frescoes and mosaics emphasized the fertility of the Nile and the prosperity it brough Rome. But this again is a depiction of imperialism as it is Roman wealth and not Egyptian in the end. Thus the literature and the artwork of the time made pygmies the exotic other and reinforced the division of power in the ancient world such that Romans were always ahead of everyone else.