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4,5

Greece is traditionally treated as a unique culture, more innovative than any of its predecessors. While there is truth in that viewpoint, it ignores the context that classical Greek civilization emerged in. As Burkert points out, Greece looks more unique than it was, partly because its tradition ended up being carried by successor cultures, while neighboring cultures gradually died out. In the 1990s, the Black Athena controversy challenged the assumption that Greece owed little to its neighbors. Burkert, a very influential classicist, wrote this book to reexamine outside influences on Greece in a much more sober way than Black Athena proponents.

The first, very brief chapter is on the alphabet, which was invented and used by West Semitic peoples before the Greeks picked up and adapted it. The alphabet is far easier to learn than the complicated cuneiform or hieroglyphic writing systems, which took years of training. It allowed for widespread literacy and exchange of ideas; it made Greece's subsequent innovations possible.

The second chapter examines parallels between Mesopotamian epic poems—mainly Gilgamesh and the early portions of Enuma Elish and Atrahasis—and those attributed to Homer. Although Homer's works are thoroughly a product of Greek oral culture, they do resemble the Mesopotamian epics on some basic points, and more importantly, specific passages closely resemble each other. Even the earliest and most fundamental of Greek texts borrowed from Near Eastern sources.

The next three chapters are about Near Eastern religions' influence on Greece. One examines the Egyptian, and to a lesser extent Anatolian, influence on Orphic mystery rites and beliefs about the afterlife. Perhaps the most important chapters are about the influence of Near Eastern wisdom literature and Zoroastrian religious beliefs on Greek philosophy, cosmogony, and cosmology. Philosophy is considered one of the Greeks' most fundamental and unique innovations, but Burkert points out that there was not much difference between the philosophical speculations of the Presocratic thinkers and the religious speculations of other peoples in the eastern Mediterranean. The Presocratics were often directly influenced by those foreign ideas. It was mainly the creation of formal schools by Plato and his successors that set Greek philosophy apart.

Burkert says little about the general process of cultural contact between Greece and its neighbors. The book is a sampler of Near Eastern influences on Greece rather than a systematic examination of them, but it does prove that those influences were profound. Greece had advantages: "no kings, no powerful priests, and no houses of tablets, which meant more mobility, more freedom, and more risk for mind and letters." But Greece's interaction with other cultures stimulated its creativity and made its innovation possible.

A small but intriguing set of what are apparently transcribed lectures, freshened up and rewritten as chapters that discuss some interesting questions. I found the chapter dealing with literacy fascinating. A good compliment to a reading of Hesiod or Homer.

35. Babylon, Memphis, Persepolis : eastern contexts of Greek culture by Walter Burkert
published: 2004
format: 172 page hardcover
acquired: borrowed from my library
read: Jun 11-16
rating: 3 stars

The title is itself a decent concise summary. The book originated as four lectures in 1996. Burkert added a chapter on the alphabet, updated all the lectures, and added in numerous citations. The topics are fascinating, but the book is very difficult to read and sometimes hard to follow. And, it seemed to get more difficult as it went along.

So, I'm reduced to a book report. Sorry. Below is my attempt at some summaries, chapter-by-chapter. Some are really difficult to summarize. Read at your own risk.

Chapter 1 - Alphabetic Writing
Eastern letters had meaning. Alpha means "ox" and Beta means "house", etc. Greeks found the letters useful by themselves, so they borrowed them. But the letters make no sense in Greek, they are only sounds.

Chapter 2 - Orientalizing Features in Homer
The point of this chapter is that all these civilizations, from Persia to Greece to Egypt were all connected and sharing ideas. In Homer, the main eastern influence is in the gods. The scenes with the gods have many parallels with eastern stories and mythologies, going back to The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bablyonian Enuma Elish: The Seven Tablets of the History of Creation.

Chapter 3 - Oriental Wisdom Literature and Cosmogony.
OK, bear with me and I'm just making a stab at this... The Persian empire, under Cyrus the Great, conquered Lydia in in 547 bce. This was the heart of the Anatolian Greeks, and it is also time equivalent with the documented Greek philosophical foundations. There must have been some kind of connection. Burkert argues there was regional connection in thought processes and that the Persian empire served as a catalyst, connecting people end-to-end along the Empire's kings road. Eastern cosmogony and wisdom has a lot of clear influence on Greek cosmogony and literature - namely on Hesiod. Greece proper was unique in that it was the most eastern non-conquered region (Egypt was conquered for a time). It was connected to the Persian areas, but maintained its freedom of thought in the key 6th and 5th century. This seems to have allowed this part of Greece to development their own, more modern philosophy - and our philosophical foundations. Hoping that all makes sense.

Chapter 4 - Orpheus and Egypt
This should have been the best chapter in the book. The information is wildly fascinating, but the actual content here is exhausting. And it's only about 30 pages. In sum, Osiris, Egyptian god of the dead connects with Dionysus, Greek god of wine, through the mysterious Orpheus cult. Confused yet?

The Orpheus mystery cult was widespread over a long period of time. But, it seems it was too secret, as all the key texts have been lost. So the discovery of the The Derveni Papyrus text was a bit deal. It was burned, but half the scroll was preserved. It's about the oldest text in existence, and, outside hints in writers such as Plato, and references to secret passwords here and there, it's about the only written thing we have got on the Orpheus cult. There is a whole lost world.

As for the details, well you can read the chapter. You will find lots about gods ejaculating all over the place. Seriously. That is an Egyptian and Ophean origin of our stars.

Chapter 5 - The Advent of the Magi
The Persian influence on ancient Greece, mainly as interpreted by tracing the word "magic". "Magi" is a Persian word from certain followers of Zoroastrianism. It's, of course, also the origin of our words "magic" and "Magi". Over time the word "magic" replaced the original Greek word for this meaning. By tracing the Greek use of this word, we can get a sense of the history of Persian influence on Greek culture.

An interesting little book. When Burkert (a German professor of Classics who specialized in Greek Religion) gave these lectures, his insights were new and intriguing. They're still good ideas, but I had already encountered most of them listening to lectures or reading more recent academic texts. Very thorough citations and references though.

After you finish reading this book, I highly recommend reading the Not Out Of Africa book and decide yourselves if the ancient Greek civilization was a copy of the Egyptian.