"Review: How the World Made the West by Josephine Quinn" Topic

A radical new history of the ancient world that challenges modern chauvinism

The Guardian: link

Ditto.

The king with half the East at heel
Is marched from lands of morning.
His fighters drink the rivers up,
Their darts benight the air.
And he who stands will die for nought
And home there's no returning.
The Spartans on the sea-wet rock sat down and combed their hair.

It is of course correct to point out that the Mediterranean made cultural interaction relatively easy, and that does indeed account for some of the West's dominance. Sub-Saharan Africa, in contrast, is filled with barriers to inter-communication, and that is a big reason it has always been and remains backwards.

But there's far more to it. The Chinese invented paper and gunpowder, and used them to celebrate New Years with firecrackers. The West took their ideas and made the printing press and artillery.

And Mediterranean man was replaced by Atlantic man.

Of course Western Civilization is superior; we invented the idea of equality.