Scholars often times accredit a broad association to Egyptian influence on Greek civilization. However, the Nile Valley Civilization has had a profound impact on the philosophy, science, and medicine of the Greeks that is only a general accreditation amongst academia.
PURPOSE STATEMENT
After thorough research and analysis the Nile Valley Contributions to Greek civilization are evident.
INTRODUCTION
Ancient Greece is frequently regarded as the beginnings of advanced sciences, philosophies, and other fundamentals of the western world. For years, Greek culture has been taught in schools and held in a high esteem. Egyptian sciences are not deemed with the same respect and often times critical rediscoveries of the Greeks are exclusively …show more content…
(Bernal Vol II, 103) Many believe it was written shortly after Isokrate’s Bousiris. Plato’s work was centrally concerned with Egypt, but unlike the Bousiris, Plato refuses to mention the Egyptian name. This is considered rudimentary because Plato was not only studying in Egypt, but teaching Egyptian teachings and taking the credit. It would only have been just to cite the source of teachings. Many of his contemporaries mocked his writings, such as Crantor of Soli, and claimed he was copying the institutions of the Egyptians. Pressure among Plato’s peers could have made him willing to refuse to give Egypt credit. Plato’s republic has been incontestably glamorized by historians in the past years. Modern scholars have gone as far to say it is “merely an Athenian idealization of the Egyptian castes.” when questioned on it’s influences.(Bernal 106, 153). The egyptian socio-political class structure was common amongst the elite of Athens, and repeated throughout history as later Herodotus mentions the same class constructs. (Diop, …show more content…
This gave Greece access to 700,000 volumes of scientific papyri and able to take the credit. It is no wonder that suddenly discoveries in anatomy and physiology and much else were made along with the Alexandrian School of Greek Medicine. Advancements for Greece came by the fall of Egypt.
The mere fact that ⅔ of Greek scholars went to study in Egypt demonstrates Egypt teachings were what eastern Europe wanted their hands on. (Diop, 232) The Greek world was also heavily encompassing of the slavery regime. In Greek cities of Antiquity, free men only constituted one-tenth of the total population. (Diop 232). This makes a majority of this small elitist class inclined to learn from Egypt. “In reality, it can be said that, during the Hellenistic epoch, Alexandria was the intellectual center of the world. Assembled there were all of the Greek scholars we talk about today. The fact that they were trained outside of Greece, in Egypt, could never be overemphasized.” (Diop, 232). So why is it that Greece is known for constituting and creating knowledge that predated their empire over two centuries? Information they not only had to leave the “Western Imperium” to learn, but also had to conquer an empire to assure their classical age and