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by opportune
1797 days ago
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The problem here is that Egyptian culture/connection to the rest of the world changed in massive amounts over time. If you looked at really ancient Egypt you would not find much that could be extrapolated to the “Western civilization” compared to the Greeks. The period of time where Egypt produced many scholars who we still know by name, and their works and how influential they are, was in the Hellenistic period during which they essentially were culturally Greek. It was a result of conquest and increasing Greek economic/cultural influence across the Mediterranean. Yes it’s likely much of that knowledge was due to a kind of syncretization of Egyptian knowledge stretching back Millenia and it finally being recorded and disseminated across the Greek speaking world in a way that was preserved until know, but that’s what makes it history. We simply don’t have a lot of records about ancient Egyptian scholarship before the Hellenistic period. |
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Agreed. As robbiep mentioned, this is probably because of Alexander in general.
>>The period of time where Egypt produced many scholars who we still know by name, and their works and how influential they are, was in the Hellenistic period during which they essentially were culturally Greek.
It is interesting to me, how as soon as the Greeks came on to the scene, this process of identifying thought with individuals (the Socratic method, Platonic dialogues, Pythagorean theorem etc) becomes the standard in the West. I personally believe that this is one of the great achievements of Greece, but at the same time, it has blinded us to the ways that civs tended to create and maintain knowledge in a much more communal process.
>>If you looked at really ancient Egypt you would not find much that could be extrapolated to the “Western civilization” compared to the Greeks.
I agree in general it is easier to relate to the Greeks. I suppose I tend to find very deep civilizational roots from the period 6K~ BCE to about 2k~ BCE, an era which included the rise of the first mega civs like Egypt and Sumer among others. Its the broad outlines that fascinate me; mass religions, class structures, very long distance trade, massive monuments and urban environs, etc. I suppose I tend to see much in common in the broad outlines. (and for me, broad outlines always have a greater impact than any Homerian epic)