This paper investigates the connections between Classics and issues of race by examining the function and reception of plaster cast collections of Greek and Roman sculpture in the colonial world. The sculptures of the Greeks and Romans were associated with racial theories during the period of colonialism. Scholarship about Greece, particularly in regards to art, focused on its originality and its superiority over other ancient artistic traditions. As inheritors of this tradition, white Europeans viewed themselves as superior to the indigenous populations of the colonial world. By studying plaster cast collections in the British colonies and in the United States, racial ideologies and inequalities can be accessed. The collections can affirm the classical heritage for the white community, set up contrasts between Europeans and indigenous peoples, and be challenged from within the indigenous community. These functions and receptions provide insight into the controversial history of the classical education worldwide.