On Nov 4, 2012, at 1:53 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
There's some confusion here. Around 1000 b.c.e. civilizations from the
Mediterranean to China all disappeared, leaving no heirs. When new
civilizations grew up they were often in different river valleys
from those
which had disappeared. It makes sense to speak of the middle of the
first
millennium, but it doesn't make sense to link that to 800-2000 b.c.e.
Linear B & the Greek alphabet, for example, are wholly unrelated.
Cadmus brought the Phoenician alphabet to Greece (Thebes). But the
language written alphabetically was the same language as the linear B
Greek. Orthodox history puts a 5-century "Dark Age" between the two,
even though the absence of significant linguistic change (as well as
the absence of archaeological strata) over such a huge time span makes
that conclusion ridiculous. And it's an exaggeration to talk of the
"disappearance" of civilizations. Egyptian civilization was disrupted
by the "blast of heaven's displeasure [Manetho]" at the time of the
Israelite exodus/Hyksos invasion, but the New Kingdom (and indeed the
Hyksos) had no doubt that they were the heirs of the Middle and Old
Kingdoms. It was the same in Mesopotamia (Sumerian/Khaldean continued
in use up to the Macedonian conquest), in India (the Vedas date back
well beyond 1000 bce) , and in China (where the "Yellow Emperor" was
always revered).
Shane Mage
This cosmos did none of gods or men make, but it
always was and is and shall be: an everlasting fire,
kindling in measures and going out in measures.
Herakleitos of Ephesos
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