Roots of Ancient Greek Civilization

German linguist and cultural scientist Harald Haarmann is vice-president of the Institute of Archaeomythology and director of its European branch. He has written more than 50 books in various languages, including numerous studies on cultures and languages. He lives in Finland.

• Table of ContentsIntroduction. Athens: Cradle of Democracy?1. European Tradition Versus Afrocentrism: The Reality Behind the Myth of “Black Athena”2. What the Greeks Learned from Their Predecessors: Wine and Olive Cultivation, Pottery and Metallurgy3. Greek Immigrants and Native Europeans in Southeastern Europe: Contact of Cultures, Fusion of Languages and Ways to Remember the Past4. Seafaring, Trade and Commerce: Trade Networks in the Early Greek World5. Ingredients of ­Pan-Hellenic Identity: Sacred Places, Rituals and Festivities6. Pre-Greek Origins of the Arts: The Muses and Their Doings from Old Europe to Classical Antiquity7. Old European Bases of Social Egalitarianism in Greek Society: Social Networking and the Making of Democratic GovernanceEpilogue. The Long Trail of Old Europe and Its Aftermath in Western CivilizationBibliographyIndex