Civilization Before Greece And Rome

For many centuries it was accepted that civilization began with the Greeks and Romans. During the last two hundred years, however, archaeological discoveries in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Crete, Syria, Anatolia, Iran, and the Indus Valley have revealed that rich cultures existed in these regions some two thousand years before the Greco-Roman era. In this fascinating work, H.W.F Saggs presents a wide-ranging survey of the more notable achievements of these societies, showing how much the ancient peoples of the Near and Middle East have influenced the patterns of our daily lives. Saggs discussesthe the invention of writing, tracing it from the earliest pictograms (designed for account-keeping) to the Phoenician alphabet, the source of the Greek and all European alphabets. He investigates teh curricula, teaching methods, and values of the schools from which scribes graduated. Analyzing the provisions of some of the law codes, he illustrates the operation of international law and the international trade that it made possible. Saggs highlights the creative ways that these ancient peoples used their natural resources, describing the vast works in stone created by the Egyptians, the development of technology in bronze and iron, and the introduction of useful plants into regions outside their natural habitat. In chapters on mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, he offers interesting explanations about how modern calculations of time derive from the ancient world, how the Egyptians practiced scientific surgery, and how the Babylonians used algebra. The book concludes with a discussion of ancient religion, showing its evolution from the most primitive forms toward monotheism.

Publisher description

Students learn about the rich legacy of the ancient Greeks in this beautifully illustrated book about Greek mythology and civilization and how these are intertwined. Greek gods and heroes emerge from the stories told in this book, as well as the many landmarks and artifacts that were made to honor these ancient figures. Various traditions about the Greek religion, culture, and people are revealed. Readers learn about the structure of Greek city-states and about different traditions and inventions, including those of clothing and jewelry, entertainment, warfare, science and education, agriculture, trade, and transportation.

The extraordinary story of the intermingled civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, spanning more than six millennia from the late Bronze Age to the seventh century The magnificent civilization created by the ancient Greeks and Romans is the greatest legacy of the classical world. However, narratives about the "civilized" Greek and Roman empires resisting the barbarians at the gate are far from accurate. Tony Spawforth, an esteemed scholar, author, and media contributor, follows the thread of civilization through more than six millennia of history. His story reveals that Greek and Roman civilization, to varying degrees, was supremely and surprisingly receptive to external influences, particularly from the East. From the rise of the Mycenaean world of the sixteenth century B.C., Spawforth traces a path through the ancient Aegean to the zenith of the Hellenic state and the rise of the Roman empire, the coming of Christianity and the consequences of the first caliphate. Deeply informed, provocative, and entirely fresh, this is the first and only accessible work that tells the extraordinary story of the classical world in its entirety.

Provides lessons and activities on the history, literature, music, geography, and art of the ancient Romans and Greeks.

The purpose of this book is to resurrect the truth regarding the original black founders and developers of Greek and Roman Civilizations from being buries by whitewashing which falsely accredited Indo-Europeans. The book, in doing so, examines the extent of the Global African Civilization which was plagiarized by Aryan Greeks and Romans. It dispels the myth that these foundations of Western Civilization were homogenous and white. They were multiracial and multicultural societies until their identities were transformed by the hordes of white barbarians who became a majority in Rome and Athens by the 4th century of the Christian Era (CE) or After the Death of Christ (AD). Black migrants from Africa brought Kemetian civilization from the Nile Valley out of Kush and Nubia (Modern day Sudan, Ethiopia, Somali, and Egypt) to establish Athens, other Greek city-states, and Rome on the Italian peninsula. The focal point of the growth of civilization in the Mediterrean region that would reach all continents was trade, commerce, and ensuing acquisition of wealth accrued by African maritime empires and that of Kemet (Early Egypt), both of which grew from colonies established by Kush. The latter empire mined gold used to finance ship building, exploration, building cities, employing mercenaries, and promoting reading and writing to cultivate invention, as well as record and codify business transactions and laws. The pattern for growth and spread of civilization began with trade between trading posts and empires with the latter their becoming colonies. These colonies would become independent city-states and grow into empires themselves by establishing markets for trade and turning them into colonies. The cyclical pattern of development was ruled by Black Africans and their direct descendants for more than 3,000 years before the onset of the Aryan-dominated Christian Era. The focus of this book is antiquity prior to the Aryan invasion of civilization which initiated the Middle Ages or Dark Ages and setbacks in the West that lasted a millennium until the Renaissance was built on rediscovery of the African Mystery System.The research unveiled demonstrates that Greece and Rome were multiracial societies. Their identity was stolen by Eurasian barbarians who flooded the empire during the era when Serapis was transformed from Horus to Jesus Christ and Christianity became the state religion of the Roman empire. This transformation at the end of this book began with the Council of Nicaea. This book focuses on antiquity beginning about 3,000 B.C., when Ancient African Empires ruled civilization on all continents building markets, trading goods, accruing wealth, spreading literacy, and building pyramids.

To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a 'classical Europe', using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past filled with great leaders and writers, emigrations and battles. Indeed, much of the reason we know so much about the classical past is the obsessive importance it held for so many generations of Greeks and Romans, who interpreted and reinterpreted their changing casts of heroes and villains. Figures such as Alexander the Great and Augustus Caesar loom large in our imaginations today, but they were themselves fascinated by what had preceded them. The Birth of Classical Europe is therefore both an authoritative history, and also a fascinating attempt to show how our own changing values and interests have shaped our feelings about an era which is by some measures very remote but by others startlingly close.

“This excellent survey . . . spans the rise and fall of the Greco-Roman world. This conversational yet erudite history is a treat.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) The magnificent civilization created by the ancient Greeks and Romans is the greatest legacy of the classical world. However, narratives about the “civilized” Greek and Roman empires resisting the barbarians at the gate are far from accurate. Tony Spawforth, an esteemed scholar, author, and BBC presenter, follows the thread of civilization through more than six millennia of history. His story reveals that Greek and Roman civilization, to varying degrees, was surprisingly receptive to external influences, particularly from the East. From the rise of the Mycenaean world of the sixteenth century B.C., Spawforth traces a path through the ancient Aegean to the zenith of the Hellenic state and the rise of the Roman Empire, the coming of Christianity, and the consequences of the first caliphate. Deeply informed, provocative, and entirely fresh, this is the first and only accessible work that tells the extraordinary story of the classical world in its entirety. “A welcome survey of the two greatest powers in the ancient Mediterranean world and their bound destinies.” —Kirkus Reviews “A sweeping, beautifully written story. . . . With Spawforth as our guide, we grasp a world less of myths and superheroes than of people who really lived.” —John Timpane, The Philadelphia Inquirer “With great agility, Spawforth mixes literary, inscriptional, and archaeological material and offers a nuanced understanding of how civilisations evolve.” —Professor Michael Scott, author of Ancient Worlds “Informed, informative and thoroughly enjoyable. . . . A book that brings the past back to life.” —Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads