I’m a fan of the Showtime series The Tudors, and have observed with curiosity the many beheadings shown in the episodes. I found it surprising that parents brought their children to these “events” held five hundred years ago. Wouldn’t we label this barbaric behavior? Why would a mother bring a child to witness a beheading, watching the head fly off and blood shoot all over? Is this any different from gladiators in the Coliseum?
The word barbarian comes from “baba”, the Greek term for speech they couldn’t understand, particularly those of the backward tribes to their north. To the Greeks, barbarians were people who didn’t speak Greek and were, therefore, unrefined. A barbarian to them was an uncivilized person, or by our modern definition, a person lacking in moral or intellectual advancement - not humane, ethical, and reasonable.