I'm currently reading a fascinating book by a French scholar named Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges. The book is "The Ancient City: A Study of the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome." It was published in 1874. In it the author traces the origin of patriarchal laws in Greece, Rome and India to ancestor worship, and he makes a very solid case for this. Has his argument been overturned?
Answers (1)
All such works must be regarded as the author's personal opinion, strongly colored by the society in which he/she lived. For instance, the word "patriarchal" would be considered obscene by many modern writers.
Another item to remember is that history is discovered a little at a time. Most people assume that the ancients made up their gods and gave their names to the planets. But the ancients insisted they worshiped the planets, which forces one to consider that the sky looked very different a few thousand years ago. Here is a very long book explaining that concept:
www.saturniancosmology.org/
Nevertheless, any modern discussion of history is going to focus on the patriarchal aspects of it.
You are somewhat unlikely to find a professional historian hanging out on the internet.
The author didn't use the word patriarchal, but that's the kind of culture he was describing. According to Wikipedia he was a highly respected scholar, and it's obvious he had a deep knowledge of Latin and Greek and the classics. I am looking for a specific examination of his work and the opinion of a professional historian.