Quote Originally Posted by Hurin_Rules
... But alongside the Jews we could also place the Greeks, Arabs, various Slavic and Germanic tribes, etc...
... except that the original criteria were that the culture be unchanged, religion unaltered, etc.; the modern day greeks, germans, slavs, et al are christians today because of the roman empire in one form or another.

also, if we posit that nothing happens in a vacuum, then the idea of the jews being 'unaltered' is flawed; even the famous statement which begins "give unto caesar...", used supposedly also by contemporaries of jesus, shows signs of stress and adaptation.

greek, hebrew, german, etc. all have names of latin derivation.

and one profound effect in greek culture was an elevation of the status of the common woman...

steph