Challenging the Majority

Entire lifetimes are spent on deciphering and analyzing ancient cultures and civilizations. Often, countless scientists, archeologists, and researchers will come together and form a team so that they can better come to a conclusion about philosophical ideas on these ancient civilizations. Martin Bernal author of the controversial book known as Black Athena would not be a member of such a team. Bernal’s 1987 book calls into question the legitimacy of centuries old conclusions in regards to ancient Greece. Created as a three volume work Black Athena challenges Eurocentric ideologies that claim that classical civilizations were born from those of European decent. Instead Bernal claims that civilizations, in particular ancient Greece can trace their origins to the people that lived in Egypt. In his book Bernal uses a number of facts, historical evidence, and quotes from other historians to back up his claim that there can be little doubt that the birth of ancient civilizations especially Greece must come as a result of expansion by the Egyptian people.
Calling into question one of the longest most supported conclusions for the birth places of classical civilization is a big task. A task in which Bernal immediately steps forward to take. Even though Bernal, as he states himself, “[is] not trained as a classicist or Egyptologist” (pg. xii-xv) he strongly believes that many historians have missed the point. He also does not appear to shy away from the true meaning of his book when he tells his readers, “Black Athena is focused on Greek cultural borrowings from Egypt and the Levant in the 2nd millennium BC or, to be more precise in the thousand years from 2100 to 1100 BC” (pg. 17). Bernal begins his introduction by describing two diff...

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...Black Athena itself seems to beg the audience to choose between what they think may be sound fact driven history and what may be cultural and ethnic bigotry.
In all, the large response Black Athena seemed to have generated in its debut is warranted. It is an excellent example of reasons why ancient civilizations, their cultures, origins, and development are still elements that are extremely interesting to many people. This means people outside of the academic world. Martin Bernal’s book is a good source of reading that will provoke the minds of his audience and convince them that not all may be as it seems. It will also give the audience a choice in what side they should take or how from this moment on they choose to believe the histories of their forefathers.

Works Cited

Bernal, M. (1987). Black Athena. 1st ed. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.