Black Odysseus, White Caesar: When Did "White People" Become "White"? Author(s): James H. Dee Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 99, No. 2 (Dec., 2003 - Jan., 2004), pp. 157-167 Published by: The Classical Association of the Middle West and South Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3298065 . Accessed: 10/01/2014 10:38 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. The Classical Association of the Middle West and South is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Classical Journal. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 140.141.14.5 on Fri, 10 Jan 2014 10:38:29 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions BLACK ODYSSEUS, WHITE CAESAR:WHEN DID "WHITE PEOPLE"BECOME "WHITE"? Nil nimium studeo, Caesar,tibi velle placere, nec scire utrumsis albus an aterhomo. Catullus' poem 93 is a famous and cryptic invective against Julius Caesar which concludes with the pointed remark, "I don't care to know whether you are a white or a black man." The phrase is a well-attested proverbial expression for complete in- difference about someone; most of the parallels cited by moderns are already gathered in Erasmus' Adagia at Chilias I, Centuria 6, No.