Is there any support within the scholarly community for Cyrus Gordon's "Common Background of Greek and Hebrew Civilizations"?
score:6
Mycenaean Greek is an Indo-European language. Hebrew is a Northwestern Semitic language. This by itself makes the notion a non-starter.
Gordon makes the case in the book that Minoan and Hebrew have the same roots, and Minoan culture preceded the adoption of Greek in Mycenaea in his speculative Eastern Mediterranean civilization, but this is unfounded in science - as Minoan remains untranslated and unclassified. If it were as closely related to Hebrew as he claims, it would be translated or at least classified into a language family by now by tracing back language features to Northwestern Semitic or its precursors in the Afroasiatic family.
In short, Gordon could not prove Minoan was related to Hebrew in any meaningful way. Without a shared language, it's unlikely the cultures developed from the same source.
More, he was invested in other questionable historical beliefs that receive regular debunking - such as precolumbian trade with the Americas by many of the ancient Mediterranean civilizations.
Upvote:0
Going back that far (to Mycenaean Greeks) seems kind of unnecessary (and tenuous) to me. When Alexander invaded and conquered the Levant it ultimately resulted in a fusion of Greek and Hebrew culture under the Laomedon Satrapy. For example, a synagogue was originally a Macedonian town hall, but this custom became general under the Hebrews. Many other such institutions and cultural combination occurred.
Upvote:1
To me this sounds all a bit too contrived. I haven't read the book but there is a contemporary review by Marvin Pope. Pope points out many flaws in Gordon's arguments and concludes by saying that
[F]or all the intermingling and syncretism in the Amarna age, it appears likely that Gordon has overstated the case for cultural and linguistic uniformity.
That said, this is not a subject I am deeply familiar with so I might be missing something (e.g. I don't know what's the current scholarship on whether the Minoan language was "Northwest Semitic", as Gordon had claimed, or not).
On the other hand, if one is looking for interaction between Greek and "Oriental" cultures, the much latter Orientalizing Period is something more solid. Check out especially the Pyrgi tablets.
More post
- 📝 Why America waged war against Vietnam?
- 📝 How many Mendeleyevs there were?
- 📝 Why did the Protestants in Ireland in the 1800s not want Home Rule?
- 📝 Has any war in recorded history ever resulted in the complete annihilation (civil and military) of an enemy - all of them killed with no survivors?
- 📝 What were the six Mubarak assassination attempts?
- 📝 Why was Oslo I Accord so harsh or controversial?
- 📝 Did Japan make a contribution to World War II way out of proportion to its nominal relative GDP?
- 📝 Did Johann Tetzel really claim to be able to give indulgences even for the sin of violating the Mother of God?
- 📝 Was it uncommon to see an Englishman with a cane or walking stick during WW1? Specifically, in Europe
- 📝 During the Siege of Alesia, why were certain Roman forts located outside the circumvallation lines?
- 📝 How many were "deliberately" killed after Stalin's rule in Soviet Russia?
- 📝 How were German soldiers chosen to be flown out of Stalingrad?
- 📝 When did humans develop the ability to sail any direction regardless of wind direction?
- 📝 What did the Emancipation Proclamation exactly do?
- 📝 What were the EMP effects, if any, of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
- 📝 Context for peace between UK and Germany around the Fall of France
- 📝 The history of toys: Who invented the first porcelain dolls?
- 📝 Was Islam really responsible for the Italian Renaissance?
- 📝 What was the size of the British East India fleet at the end of the War of 1812?
- 📝 How many U.S. Founding Fathers knew about Baruch Spinoza?
- 📝 How common was cannibalism in Christian Europe until the 17th century?
- 📝 Did Age of Sail fighting vessels have any anti-spall technology?
- 📝 Why did Argentina invade the Falklands when they did, rather than wait for the pending sale of the UK aircraft carriers to complete first?
- 📝 Who actually paid for the American State Visit Brooch?
- 📝 In multimember constituencies of the House of Commons, how many votes did each voter have?
- 📝 Did the "unexpectedness" of key events argue against a "third strike" at Pearl Harbor?
- 📝 What was the conspiratorial name of Roman Stanislaw Dmowski?
- 📝 If the UK received the highest amount of Marshall Aid, why was it broke?
- 📝 In the past were there gifts on the days leading up to Christmas instead of them all being on the one day?
- 📝 Diaries or writings of Cathar Perfecti in 12th Century France
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Is there any support within the scholarly community for Cyrus Gordon's "Common Background of Greek and Hebrew Civilizations"?
- 📝 Was there ever support for any persons outside of the empire to be elected Holy Roman Emperor?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that the United States was "suckered into WW1" by Zionists, made by Benjamin Freedman in his 1961 speech?
- 📝 Are there any documented examples of wooden ships which were in active service for 100 years or more? If not, what is the longest?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that the US Strategic Defense Initiative played any significant role in undermining the USSR?
- 📝 Was there a pre-determined arrangement for the division of Germany in case it surrendered before any Soviet forces entered its territory?
- 📝 Are there any scientific estimates for the population of Mycenaean Greece?
- 📝 Is there any archaeological evidence for the Dorian Invasion of Greece?
- 📝 Were there any political checks on the U.S. executive during their covert support of the military junta of Pinochet?
- 📝 Are there any historical sources that support the claim that ancient high-speed archers held multiple arrows in their hand?
- 📝 Is there any science behind this graph that suggests we'd be exploring new galaxies if not for the dark ages?
- 📝 Is there any verifiable ancient source for the etymology of βάρβαρος?
- 📝 Were there any other systems which resemble the complex election procedure for the doge of Venice
- 📝 Are there any independent historical records of ancient Persia allowing freedom of worship for the Jews?
- 📝 Is there any evidence for dual-wielding in the 12th Century?
- 📝 Are there any good sources on the history of the name for Kazakhstan?
- 📝 Are there any records of ancient people looking for the misdirect in a prophecy?
- 📝 Was there Western tactical air support during the Battle for Berlin?
- 📝 Is there support for the theory that the 1918 influenza resulted from churning up microbe-laden French soil?
- 📝 Is there any historical basis for the red/white color scheme of the Assassins?
- 📝 Were there any abolitionists imprisoned for being critical of the Congress or the President during the American Civil War?
- 📝 Are there any Ancient Greek texts showing concern for the fate of their slaves?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that Richard Burton told John Speke he would return home via Jerusalem after their Nile Quest?
- 📝 Were there any watermills within sailing distance of the sea?
- 📝 Is there any corroborating evidence for the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?
- 📝 Are there any images within the time period of contemporary history (1945 to the present) that had different interpretations by historians?
- 📝 Is there any valid basis for this claim that German Emperor Wilhelm II and the Hohenzollern family had Jewish blood?
- 📝 Were there any tests or prerequisites for Blacks and Indians to be admitted to the University of Cape Town during Apartheid?
- 📝 Are there any documented cases where a society was capable of large scale selflessness for the benefit of future generations?
- 📝 Is there any historical evidence to support the existence of the Patriarchs outside of the Old Testament?