"Self-reflection, Egyptian Beliefs, Scythians and "Greek Ideas

This article addresses the debate between Afrocentrists like Martin Bernal and classical scholars such as Mary Lefkowitz and Robert Palter concerning the origins of ancient Greek civilization. Focusing on the first half of Herodotus’ Histories, I argue that, although Greek cultural developments can be attributed to the Greeks themselves, Herodotus indicates that the conditions that made these developments possible were due to the prior Greek absorption of important aspects of Egyptian religion. Herodotus shows that the Greeks learned from the Egyptians to individualize their gods and to appreciate the humanity of women. This Egyptian influence, Herodotus suggests, is what allowed the Greeks, in contrast to the Scythians, to become an object to themselves within the context of stable city life. I conclude that this habit of self-reflection is the source of the uniquely Greek contribution to the art, philosophy, science and politics of the West

Ancient Greece · Ancient Greek · Ancient history · Archaeology · Civilization · Greek art · Greeks · Humanity · Political science · Politics · Theology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Classics · History · Law · Philosophy · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought · Theological Perspectives and Practices

• Grekleri̇n Öteki̇si̇

  Open Access•Fatih Mehmet Berk•Selçuk Üniversitesi Türkiyat…•2022

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• The evergreen story of Psammetichus' inquiry into the origin of language

  Margaret Thomas•Historiographia Linguistica•2007

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