A Humanitarian Past

This book opens a window on our historical past. We find antiquity has drawn a blind over earlier and more humanitarian cultures, writing off their artistic and egalitarian practices – while antiquity’s social habits escalated stress. Psychologists have recently made us aware that stress has very negative results for community life. Simultaneously, archaeologists have uncovered information about Neolithic cultures and art that makes no sense seen beside ancient Greek descriptions. The more we learn about Old Europe, the more staggering and distorted the policies conveyed in ancient Greek myths, dramas, and epic poems become. Surprisingly, the Achaeans also show an intimate knowledge about their predecessor’s social values. Sadly, the Renaissance uncritically fell for the ancient Greek’s version of history, seeing it as the cradle of civilisation and our cultural heritage. They have even passed on these ideas to us today. Discovering A Humanitarian Past pitches us into an exciting and previously unexplored part of the human story.