What ancient cultures influenced Greek civilization? And influence the latter.

The communication between Greece and the two river basins is bounded by Alexander's eastward expedition, which can be roughly divided into two stages. The first stage began around 6500 BC; The second stage began after Alexander Crusade, and the two sides entered into direct communication. The influence of the civilization in the two river basins on Greek culture is mainly reflected in the following aspects: (1) language and writing. (2) literature. (3) Science and astrology. (4) history. (5) Religion. (6) architectural art.

As we all know, the splendid ancient Greek civilization is the cradle of western civilization. But in the childhood of Greek civilization, it once absorbed a lot of rich nutrients from the near east, the cradle of world civilization, especially from Mesopotamia and Egypt, thus forming its own unique civilization and laying the foundation for the rise of western civilization. This paper tries to make a brief analysis of the influence of ancient two river basins on Greek culture.

Throughout the ancient history of the old continent, we can see that the early human civilization mainly originated from the Mediterranean coast to the vast areas of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River basin. The above areas can be basically divided into three regions: Near East-Mediterranean, South Asia and East Asia. The east and west wings of South Asia (Ganges River Basin and Indus River Basin) are connected with East Asia and Near East civilizations respectively. In the civilized area of the Near East, the two river basins and Egypt are two major centers of civilization, especially the two river basins, which are the cradles of world civilization and have produced the earliest villages, cities and characters in the world, thus having a strong radiation influence on the surrounding areas. Greece, located in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean, is different from the Near East in many aspects, but it has long been influenced by the culture of the Near East, especially the two river basins, because of its late origin and close geographical location. Geographically, the west coast of the Greek Peninsula is relatively straight, and the east coast has many twists and turns, which is conducive to communication with the Near East. It is no accident that Athens, Corinth and other city-states are located on the east coast of the peninsula. The Greek colony Ionia facing the Aegean Sea (especially the capital of Milai) became one of the centers of Greek culture.

The main channels of cultural exchange between Greece and the Near East are Asia, Syria-Palestine and Cyprus, which are strongly influenced by the cultures of the two rivers. [1] Therefore, they have become the intersection of eastern and western civilizations, developed their own unique culture and become a veritable "golden coast". From the perspective of communication methods, there are immigration, trade, war, marriage, missionary work, travel and so on. As far as trade is concerned, one of the characteristics of ancient countries in the Near East is that they attach great importance to commerce. The ancient characters in the two river basins and Phoenicia are all derived from the needs of commercial accounting (while the Egyptian characters in China and Oracle Bone Inscriptions are closely related to religion in origin), which can prove this. Since the beginning of civilization, the residents of the two river basins have started long-distance trade with Afghanistan, Central Asia and Syria, and gradually developed to Crete and Cyprus. In addition, Assyrian countries established commercial colonies in Xiaoya in the early days and had a perfect organizational network. [2] Moreover, a large number of Greeks came to West Asia from the peninsula very early, or settled down to work or joined the army. For example, there are many Greeks in the Assyrian army. In the Hellenistic period, a large number of Greek cities, including Babylon, were established in the Near East, and Babylon and Seleucia on the Tigris River became the capitals of Alexander Empire and Seleucia Dynasty. During this period, many Greeks, including members of the royal family, intermarried with local people (for example, a king of Seleucid dynasty once made a Babylonian woman a concubine). As for travel, many famous Greek scholars, such as historians Herodotus and Xenophon, traveled extensively in the two river basins and recorded many local historical rumors and customs.

The communication between Greece and the two river basins is bounded by Alexander's eastward expedition, which can be roughly divided into two stages. The first stage began around 6500 BC, and a large number of West Asian residents moved to Aegean Islands and the Greek mainland, bringing developed agricultural culture in West Asia. Their houses still keep the habits of their hometown, using mud bricks as materials, and the old ones are replaced with new ones. Their foundation sites gradually accumulate to form square mounds (such square mounds are also widely distributed in the Near East, and Arabic is "Tel"). The square mound site in Knossos, Crete, was 7 meters high in the Bronze Age. Since then, Crete civilization and Mycenae civilization, which are very similar to the Near East, have gradually formed in this region. At that time, the Greeks maintained close ties with the Near East. After about 1200 BC, Dorians from the mainland immigrated to the peninsula in large numbers, and on the basis of partially absorbing the original civilization, a new Greek civilization marked by Homer's epic was formed. However, the new Greeks closed their doors for a long time and engaged in a "pure" agricultural economy. It was not until centuries later that they resumed contact with the Near East. [3] As mentioned above, the communication with the two river basins during this period was indirect. After Alexander's crusade to the East, the establishment of the Alexander Empire and the Seleucid Dynasty brought the two sides into direct contact. The influence of civilization in the two river basins on Greek culture is mainly reflected in the following aspects.

I. Language and writing

The two river basins first produced characters in the world, early hieroglyphics, and later cuneiform characters, whose letters were borrowed by many languages in West Asia and Central Asia. The earliest Greek script was the linear script of Crete and Mycenae, which was indirectly influenced by the ancient scripts of the two river basins (Sumerian and Akkadian), but the invasion of Dorian belonging to Indo-European language family made this script disappear. On the other side of the Mediterranean, a writing revolution is brewing. Influenced by the Egyptian script and the two rivers script, Sinai and Phoenicia produced a simple alphabet system, in which Phoenicia's Bible alphabet includes 22 consonants, which is more suitable for commercial activities. About 1000 BC, the Greeks borrowed the Phoenician alphabet and created the world's first alphabet containing consonants and vowels. Greek letters, like Semitic letters, were originally written from right to left (Arabic and Hebrew are still the same today), and later evolved from left to right, forming "the largest language of western civilization". [4] In addition to the influence of cuneiform characters between letters, Greek characters also absorbed some cuneiform characters because the Greeks introduced some technological inventions and biological species from the two river basins. For example, the Greek word hoe is marron and Akkadian is marru；; Flax is chiton in Greek and kitu； in Akkadian. Cherry is kerasos in Greek and karshu in Akkadian. [5] In addition, some Greek drug names are also derived from Akkadian. The following are the names of some plants and minerals used as medicines: [6]

Chinese Akkadian Greek English

Karob tree

Saffron

dill

Gypsum Gazu Gypsy Gypsy

Zupu Husop hyssop

myrrh

Naphthalene naphtha

Second, literature.

This field is manifested in three aspects: literary forms, materials, forms of expression and styles. The early literary works of ancient Greece include epics, proverbs and aphorisms, most of which are related to the literature of the two river basins. For example, Homer's famous epics Odessa and Iliad respectively describe the record of the Greek hero Achilles in Troy during the Trojan War and Odysseus' adventure story on his way home, in which the plot is obviously influenced by the world's earliest epic The Forgotten One, while the latter describes the legendary hero's forgotten story in two river basins. Robert graf, an American scholar, pointed out the similarities between the two sides in his book Greek Myth. For example, the Greek story mentions a snake with fairy grass, which is similar to the fairy grass that the forgetter finally found stolen by the snake; Orion Orion was stabbed to death by a huge scorpion at sunset, and the Forgotten met a scorpion-shaped man when he visited his late father at Tianya. [7] In addition, Patroclus, a close friend of Achilles, was killed in the battle, and Enkidu, a comrade-in-arms of the forgotten, also died because of the condemned God. Moreover, the famous Greek hero Heracles has many similarities with the Forgotten. For example, both of them are demigods and demigods, and they have defeated many monsters and ubers. Even their scores are 12 (according to the Forgotten's adventure). In addition, there are similarities between Greek and two river epics even in decorative language, duality and alternate ways of speaking and singing. [8] Finally, the two epics reflect the same flavor of the times. First, God decides everything. Both the process and outcome of the Trojan War and the fate of the forgotten are in the hands of the gods. Secondly, Agamemnon, the Greek commander who captured the slave girl of Achilles, was similar to the forgotten ruler of early uruk. Both of them represented the increasingly powerful and autocratic kings during the formation of the country and were attacked by epic writers. Third, the human spirit of challenging nature and divine power. This is reflected in the adventure stories of Odysseus and Heracles and the brave and dangerous search for immortal grass by the forgotten. The route of the two rivers epic spreading to Greece may be Xiaoya, because Homer's epic is written in Ionian dialect, and the versions of Gilgamesh epic in Akkadian, Hittite and Hurit are found in Hittite, and Hittite is also in Xiaoya. [9]

In addition to epics, there are also the earliest fables in the two river basins, which are related to the famous Aesop's Fables. Stories like "Elephants and Mosquitoes" may have originated in the two river basins. [ 10]

Third, science and astrology.

The mathematics of the two river basins is extremely developed, and digital value, decimal system and hexadecimal system are used first in the world, among which hexadecimal system is used to divide the circle and time, and the calculation is simple. The Babylonians divided the time of day and night into six sections, which (and Egypt's time division method) was also accepted by the Greeks, and the 24-hour system was born. The two river basins also produced the earliest lunar month and lunar week. In astronomical observation, the Babylonians accumulated long-term systematic observation data and formulated the zodiac, which was completely accepted by the Greeks, and some mythological images symbolizing the zodiac remained unchanged (such as the bull in Taurus, the crab in Cancer and the scorpion in Scorpio). [1 1] Thales, a Greek philosopher, successfully predicted a solar eclipse in 585 BC by using the astronomical observation results and methods of Babylon. At that time, the Lydians were at war with the Medes, and the shocked two sides immediately stopped fighting and made peace. Astronomical instruments in the two river basins were also introduced by the Greeks. For example, anaximander once brought a sundial to Sparta. Astrology, which was popular in Babylon, was also introduced to Greece, especially in the Hellenistic era. The difference is that Babylonia mainly used astrology to predict the good or bad luck of the king and the events of the country, while the Greeks greatly enhanced the aspects of Babylonian astrology used to predict personal destiny. As a synonym for astrologers, "Chaldeans" are widely known in the west (Chaldeans are the founders of the new Babylonian dynasty). In the medical field, as mentioned above, some drug names and prescriptions of Babylon were adopted by the Greeks, but ancient Egypt had a greater influence on Greek medicine.

In addition to the specific scientific fields, the contribution of the two rivers science to Greece is also reflected in the spirit and method of science. Jean Pautrot, a French scholar, pointed out that it is difficult for ordinary people to imagine how Babylonian astrology influenced secular Greek astronomy, but in fact Babylonian divination contains rich scientific spirit. Among a large number of cultural relics discovered so far, there are about 30,000 Oracle Bone Inscriptions written in cuneiform on clay tablets, which relate to all things in the universe and show the encyclopedic extensive interests of the people of the two rivers. Secondly, many omens are made after a lot of observation and summary. For example, the relationship between some shapes of sheep liver and historical events is obtained after many times of "verification", so divination has developed from initial empirical observation to transcendental reasoning knowledge. Third, the abstract and scientific attitude towards things. This is manifested in a strong systematic desire, such as the shape of human head and hair, 66 kinds of omens, and sometimes even completely fictional omens, such as animals with seven internal organs. Therefore, the means of divination in the two rivers is scientific and advanced. [12] In addition, a large number of divination "papers" have a strict system, and different contents are discussed in turn through a large number of conditional sentences and conclusions, which is the same style of writing in medicine, mathematics, dictionaries, grammar and law (like the famous code of hammurabi) in the two river basins. It fully proved the scientific spirit of the Babylonians, which the Greeks learned from.

Fourth, historiography

A large number of historical documents have been left in the history of the two river basins, including royal inscriptions, letters, documents and archives, treaties, chronicles and so on. And the official system of naming the year (named after the official) was implemented, so that people can roughly understand the names, ruling years and major "achievements" of monarchs in previous dynasties. Among them, the Assyrian Empire attached great importance to the inscription year from about 1300 BC, and recorded other activities except civil construction, mainly military battles to this day. By 1 millennium BC, a complete chronicle had been formed, which is the famous Annals of Assyria. It is not limited to the accumulation of historical materials, but also analyzes the motives of events, judges the course of actions, records political changes, summarizes the characteristics of regional history or nationalities, and the strategies and tactics of geography, climate and battles that do not directly belong to history. [13] The new Babylonian kingdom also formed a chronicle, which lasted until the Seleuc dynasty. The above traditions influenced Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon, who traveled widely in the two river basins. History, written by Herodotus, the "father of historiography", records the geography, history, nationality, religion, economy, politics, customs and habits of countries and peoples around Greece, such as Egypt, Babylon, Persia and Scythia, and appreciates the civilizations of these countries, pointing out that Greece has borrowed a lot from eastern countries. In the study of the Sino-Persian War, he showed the tendency of "explaining history from history itself", instead of attributing history to providence, which initiated a new era of Greek and even western historiography. [ 14] [ 15]

Verb (short for verb) religion

There are many differences between Greek religion and two rivers religion, but there are also many similarities. They are basically at the same stage of development, and they are all polytheists, but they have one god; The gods not only retain the remnants of nature worship, but also are local protectors. For example, Athena is both the patron saint of Athens and the god of wisdom, while Marduk is also the patron saint of Babylon and the god of war. In addition to these general similarities, their similarities include at least the following specific aspects. First, a strict religious system. Greek religion originated in Mycenae, and the political system at that time was absolute monarchy, which was exactly the same as that in the Near East. The system on earth is bound to echo the system in heaven, so the Pantheon in Greece has the characteristics of different levels, orderly and strict system. Like the religion of the two rivers, it is also a strict system led by the supreme god (Anu, the god of heaven in Sumerian times, and Marduk in Babylonian times). Second, the nature of the gods. Greek religion is famous for its theory that "God and man are the same", which is not only the result of Dorian invading and destroying Mycenae kingdom system, but also one of the characteristics of early religion. God has human form, and they also have gender differences, such as emotion, love, wife, children and friends. The only difference is that they can live forever. However, the religions in the two river basins (and Egypt) are similar. For example, Anu's wife is Antum, and their son is Enlil, the god of storms. He has also become the "father of the gods". Many gods are his heirs, and the love between gods is also common (such as the story of Hista, the god of love, and Talmuz, the god of hades, and Hista's love for the forgotten). In addition, there are fairy monsters and animalized gods in the myths of both countries. Third, the status of some gods. Alfredo, the Greek god of love, is also the god of Venus, while Hista, the god of love, is also the god of peace and war, and is respected by many ethnic groups in the Near East, including Hittites and Hulites in Asia. Zeus was the Greek god of war, and so was Marduk, the king of the gods. Fourth, some fairy tales are similar. Apart from the similarity of the above epic details, the Greek flood story is similar to Sumer's.

There are also many similarities between the creative stories of the two countries. Greek gods are divided into Titan and Zeus, which originated from Mycenae and Dorian respectively, so the story of creation describes the process of Zeus defeating Titan. The Titan gods representing primitive chaos were defeated by Zeus and imprisoned in the underground abyss, and the world returned to light. This is the re-creation after the separation of Gaia, the mother of the earth, and Uranus, the god. The battle between Zeus and Di Feng is another creation after defeating Titan, thus consolidating the system of gods headed by Zeus. This also reveals the concept of the cycle of everything. Cornford, a western scholar, pointed out that the above myth is similar to the story of Marduk's victory over Tilmatt in Babylon. Marduk was declared the king of the gods (indicating that Babylon became the capital of the unified kingdom of the two rivers). He cut Tilmat, the sea god who also represented chaos, into two parts, namely the earth and the sea, and the world was born. Archaeologists found similar contents in Phoenician clay tablets and Hittite documents containing divinatory symbols in14th century BC, thus verifying the correctness of Cornford's hypothesis, and explaining some seemingly irrelevant or incomprehensible details in Greek hesiod's divinatory symbols, as well as the channels and time when the creation myth of the two rivers spread to Greece. [16] During the Hellenistic period, the two river basins became the channels through which eastern religions, including Persia, spread to Greece, laying the foundation for the confluence of Greek religions and eastern religions, and heralding the rise of monotheism in the Mediterranean world.

Architectural art of intransitive verbs

There are great differences in geography, climate and products between Greece and the two river basins. For example, both river basins lack stone and wood, while Greece is quite rich in these two aspects. Cultural differences between the two countries will inevitably affect the architectural styles of both sides. However, Greek architecture is still influenced by the architecture of two rivers in some aspects. For example, some scholars believe that the Ionian column, as a symbol of Greek architecture, originally originated from the religious and artistic symbols in the primitive writing period of the two river basins, that is, a bunch of reeds tied together, and its top curled sideways due to binding, and developed into vortex decorations on both sides of the top of the Ionian column. The above-mentioned bundled reeds can still be seen among Arabs living in the swamp area of southern Iraq today. [ 17]

In fact, the influence of the two river basins on Greece is not limited to the above aspects. For example, the Greeks used the units of Mina and Tarant in the balance system, and 1 Tarant was equal to 60 meters. Politically, during the Hellenistic period, both Alexander the Great and Seleuci adopted the eastern theocracy and autocracy, and Alexander's title included the title of "King of Babylon" (Babylon was also the capital of the Alexander Empire). Of course, Greek civilization has been influenced by other civilizations in the Near East in many ways, such as Egypt, but the influence of the two river basins is even greater. It can be said that it is on the basis of absorbing the rich nutrition of the ancient and splendid civilizations in the East, such as the two river basins and Egypt, that the Greek civilization can be more perfect, and finally shining on you will lay a solid foundation for the future western civilization. Jean Boutros pointed out: "All aspects of our culture are basically formed by the Mesopotamian civilization that originated in 4000 BC and flourished in 3000 BC. This civilization is perhaps the oldest civilization in the world, and it is worthy of this title. In the whole process of its existence, it radiated to the surrounding areas and inspired its neighbors to enrich themselves: Israel was directly influenced by it, imitating its Semitic companions and doing things with the latter; The Greeks accepted its influence through the Hittites and the pre-Greeks in Asia (Mycenae and Crete) [18] In short, the influence of the two rivers civilization on Greek culture is of great historical significance, and the Greek culture and Jewish culture influenced by the two rivers constitute the source of western civilization.

The spread of culture to Greece not only greatly enriched European civilization, but also made the immortal heritage of the two rivers civilization last forever and benefit the world. A popular view holds that among all the ancient civilizations in the world, only Chinese civilization has survived from ancient times to the present, while other civilizations, such as the two river basins, Egypt, India (halaba culture), Greece and Rome, have all passed away and lost their glory. The author believes that the above views seem to be biased. In most parts of Eurasia, the development of civilization is characterized by small scale, numerous nationalities, frequent migration of nationalities, frequent and fierce conflicts between nomadic civilization and agricultural civilization, so ancient civilizations often collide with other nationalities. Because there is no room for manoeuvre, huge human reserves and climate change, they are inevitably doomed to extinction [19]. The ancient civilization made the invaders accept their own culture or form a mixed culture through ethnic mixed blood, religious communication and missionary work and cultural influence. In addition, the heritage of ancient civilization can be preserved indirectly through the influence on the surrounding ethnic groups, and the influence of the two river basins on Greece is an example. Therefore, although the above-mentioned ancient civilizations have perished in form, their rich cultural heritage has been preserved in various ways, which has profoundly affected all aspects of civilization in this region. For example, Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all inherited the heritage of ancient civilizations such as the two river basins, Egypt, Syria and Greece. The housing style of marsh Arabs in southern Iraq is almost the same as that of Sumerians thousands of years ago. Moreover, it is in this fierce clash and collision of civilizations that the development of all ethnic groups has accelerated, and the emergence of many ancient civilizations in this area is very telling.

As for China, although we have preserved the square characters of our ancestors and many other cultural heritages, the Chinese nation itself originated from many cultures (including Dongyi culture and Chu culture), and in thousands of years' history, it has also integrated many neighboring nations and absorbed their rich cultures in India, Central Asia, West Asia and Europe. Indian Buddhism is widely spread in China, and has a far-reaching influence on China's philosophy and religion. And the continuation of civilization is of course worthy of pride, but it also means a heavy burden, which we have deeply realized. In short, the continuation and interruption of civilization can only be relative, and "change" is the eternal law of the development of world history.