The Roots Of Ancient Greece Analysis

Was ancient Greece the epitome of European culture and all its glory, or a culmination of Ancient Egyptian cultural influence? In Martin Bernal’s article “The Roots of Ancient Greece,” he argues that ancient Greece was not a result of influences from Hellenes, but actually Egyptian culture that was a result of the interactions between “Greek statesmen, scientists and philosophers who had studied in Egypt.” Through these interactions ancient Greece adopted Egyptian and western Asian principles into their own. This notion is contrary to the beliefs by European scholars that held the notion that Greece was in fact a product of northern European influence and not African and Asian. The theory held by European scholars is what Martin Bernal labels …show more content…
This theory Bernal presumes is upheld by what he claims, eighteenth century scholars also believed to be true. He claims that the ancient model is what many scholars maintained as the origin of Greek culture. What changed about this model, to Bernal’s supposition is the notion of racism. Around the early nineteenth century, German and British scholars adopted the Aryan model to explain the pinnacle of European civilization. At this time it was held by many Europeans that they the superior race to that of African and Asian origin. As a result of their racism, they created this model that isolated any influence that Asian and African cultures may have made onto ancient Greece, and instead conjured this theory that showed European cultural superiority. Bernal believes that the idea, or fact, that Greek culture is not purely European base would sully not only their accomplishments but also create an atmosphere that would imply that European civilization is not apex of world