> I am always fascinated when I hear other nerds describe the process of learning Western history as "begin with the Greeks." Why not start with the written wo

> I am always fascinated when I hear other nerds describe the process of learning Western history as "begin with the Greeks." Why not start with the written word[1]? It seems to me for the origins of today's "Western" civilization, one ought to look further northwest than Greece[2]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_first_written_accounts#Before_1000_BC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_first_wri... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_peoples#Origins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_peoples#Origins