## From Greek to Latin: the Moor in perspective  
In this essay I apply a linear approach to the understanding of ethnic identification based upon historical documents. I rely upon the records of the literature to define identity. Thus ancient Egypt is a colonial invention herein ejected in favour of Kmt (the State) and Kmtan/Kemite/Kmtu (the people). I utilise both the historical and art history approaches, as iconographic evidence is abundant and the artists testify to their perception of the subject of their art. Any other approach is a translation, subjected to personal interpretation, and thus prejudiced.  
The popularity of key adjectival words in the history of African representation locks the reader's perceptions into specific mental spaces. In relation to the African Moor, cultural theorists have offered explanations of specific instances of representation, but very few have provided a holistic perspective which located and derived key meanings from them. In order to better understand the meaning applied to the word 'Moor', one must begin by tracing its etymology. I begin with the Middle Ages and the presence of the African Moors in popular discussion of their expulsion from Christian Spain.  
Barthelemy (1987, p. 8), a cultural theorist, locates the etymology of the word 'Moor' in the Greek maupos, 'a proper noun that identifies the inhabitants