Autochthonous

Ancient Sources
Claims by various peoples as to being autochthonous are examined and critiqued by authors such as Thucydides in his writings on Sicily, where he gives mention of the indigenous Sicanoi claiming to be autochthonous and the mention of the Cyclopes and Laistrygonians hints that these mythological beings were considered to be examples of autochthonous peoples who lived closely with the land from which they sprung. The idea of a people being autochthonous, and the glorification of those claiming to have descended from autochthonous lines are seen in the Ion of Euripides, when the character Creusa is assisted by Athena due to her (Creusa’s) being a descendant of Ericthonious and in the dialogue between Creusa and Ion where the birth of Ericthonious is discussed and Creusa’s status amongst Athenians because of her being related to Ericthonious.

Herodotus also mentions that the Athenians were considered a people which had never moved, while the Lacedaemonians were of the Doric race and therefore had wandered considerably before settling in the Peloponnese.

Concerning the Egyptians, Herodotus states, “But I do not think that the Egyptians came into being together with the land which the Ionians call the Delta, but that they always were from the time of when the race of men came into being.” Therefore, it seems that the Egyptians can be considered an indigenous people, however they were not considered indigenous of the Nile Delta but rather the area surrounding Thebes.

Modern Literature
Benjamin Isaac discusses the Athenian claim to being autochthonous and its effects within Athenian culture as well as autochthonic themes found in later Greek culture in his work The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity

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