Banausic
Banausos (Ancient Greek: βάναυσος, plural βάναυσοι, banausoi) is a pejorative term from Ancient Greece applied to the class of manual laborers or artisans, such as blacksmiths, potters, or carpenters. The related abstract noun βαναυσία (banausia), defined by Hesychius as "every craft (τέχνη) [conducted] by means of fire," reflects a folk etymology linking it to "furnace" (βαῦνος, baunos) and "to dry" (αὔω, auō), though its true origins are unknown and it appears only in Attic-Ionic texts from the 5th century BC onward. In contrast, epic heroes in Greek literature called their smiths δημιουργοί (dēmiourgoi), a term for skilled public workers, highlighting a cultural distinction.
The term has been adapted into English as the rare word banausic, appearing around 1845 with the Victorian revival of classical learning. According to Dagobert D. Runes’ Dictionary of Philosophy, it means "vulgar and illiberal," especially for arts or occupations thought to "deform the body or the mind."
In Wilhelmine Germany and later, banausisch became an insult tied to the Kultur-movement, alongside myths that the German soul was Greek, ancient Greeks were blond, and modern Greeks were unrelated to them—ideas accepted by scholars like Edith Hamilton in her early career but challenged after World War II. Today, in German, Banause means an uncouth person indifferent to high culture, akin to the English "philistine."
In 1935, a colleague of Gilbert Murray extended the term beyond Greek usage, calling journalists, lawyers, or businessmen focused on profit rather than virtue "banausoi rather than men."
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- 2021-10-11T00:00:00.000000Z
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