43) Europe Written by Rainer: rainer.lehrer@yahoo.com Learn languages (via Skype): Rainer: + 36 20 549 52 97 or + 36 20 334 79 74

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Europe Zeus, or rather the son of Kronos, that is Kronides, had once again fallen in love with a young, pretty king's daughter. The God, endowed with human qualities, had still not learned how to hide his love affairs from his rightfully jealous wife, the cow-eyed Hera (a cow has really beautiful eyes, but should a man dare to pay such compliment to a woman, he wouldn’t be very successful today), although he had cheated on her a thousand times before. And now, Hera was furious with this poor thing instead of trying to punish her husband. The Supreme God knew no other way to help but hide the girl where his frenzied wife would never have suspected, in the harsh north where the cold, stormy winter wind Boreas came from. Apart from barbarians, endless forests and snow, there was simply nothing at the time of the ancient Greeks. And since this youthful beauty happened to be called Europe, this inhospitable area got at least a good-sounding name. For ten thousands of years, ice ages alternated with eternal ice or glaciers, and subtropical climates. The first humans were Neanderthals, who drove huge bears out of caves and then took possession of those themselves. The physically weaker, but much smarter Cro-Magnon (Homo Sapiens) then drove them out around 80,000 years ago, before settling down 10,000 years ago and cultivating the fertile soil. In the Bronze Age, a few roughly worked stone blocks were placed on top of one another to gather there, and once one found a piece of iron or bought some from the more developed south, from a local dealer, one made jewellery out of this rarity. The Celts were the first Indo-Europeans who strayed to Ireland and later pillaged Rome and Delphi before disappearing without a trace in Asia Minor because they were slowly becoming mixed up with the people whose country they were crossing. The Romans called these giants "roosters" (gallus in Latin) because they topped their long, blond hair with clay, honey and everything that stuck up to a 20 - 30 cm high coiffure, which increased the already mighty size of 6 feet to 7 feet. They also had a huge, long shield and a 2 m long sword that they swung over their heads like a slingshot and yelled what their throats could take. The Romans brought the first culture to this rough area. They set up camps, which later became cities, and expanded a road network. Most of it was destroyed again during the Migration of the Peoples’ period in the 5th and 6th century. After the barbarians had settled down and had been persuaded to convert to Christianity, the Catholic Church brought some of the ancient architecture to the north, from which the Romanesque and then the Gothic emerged. Kingdoms arose and were destroyed, from which then countries were formed. After the Christian faith had split into Catholic and various Protestant directions, and the ancient Greek philosophy could be returned to Europe by the Arabs (Christianity had brought this higher level of culture down), because Europe was finally concerned with the Renaissance mature enough to appreciate this treasure, the ideal breeding ground for the ascent was created. The constant competition between the different countries brought rapid development of science and technology. Already in the 16th / 17th century, Europe was superior to almost everyone in the world and was now beginning to extend its power to overseas colonies. Of course, one of the positive aspects is the revisiting of Greek philosophy. When I was young I was fascinated by Asian culture and thinking. But this enthusiasm usually indicates little knowledge of the European one. Everything we find in Asia can also be found in Europe, only better structured and even more. Which cultural area can be proud of having an “oath of Hippocrates” (the vow to help everyone who is sick, even if they do not have the necessary funds) or the idea of ​​democracy (popular rule) or emancipation of women later in the 20th century? However, not everything should always go smoothly on the way. Competition very often meant war, and the worst ideologies were religious, nationalist, and racist in nature. Europe is the continent of great contradictions. How was something like inquisition, witch burning, pogroms and persecution of the Jews possible? In addition to extreme collectivism, how could an absolute individualism with great individual achievements, from which people like Gandhi, who had studied in Europe, later benefited, be made in the same environment. It is probably this level of development that makes people self-confident on the one hand and dissatisfied on the other (according to surveys / research, the happiest people are the Thai living in misery). Maybe the ability to integrate other cultural elements! At first, it was Buddhism that conquered half of Asia, of course not always by peaceful means. In ancient Tibetan fairy tales, for example, the Buddhist monk appears aggressive and violent. In the Middle Ages, Islam assumed the role of mediator. In his huge culture from Spain to Malaysia, for example, it brought the numbers from India to Europe. That it is lagging behind today is due to its dogmatism and intolerance. And then, Europe, which initiated globalization, came up. A lot of cultural assets have been destroyed by Christian superstition, but an incredible number of things have been adopted. Again and again, new fashion waves influenced by various elements from all over the world run through European and North American culture. The almost endless ability to renew itself, from clothing to French cuisine to jazz or the inclusion of Judaism and Freemasonry as a driving, economic force. Further to text 44! Back to list!

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