DOI

10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199595006.003.0003

Abstract

This chapter provides a discussion of Martin Bernal's third volume of Black Athena, published in 2006, with a view toward Bernal's continued relevance in a changing social, political, and intellectual landscape. Previous criticisms of Bernal's work to the contrary notwithstanding, I argue that Bernal examples the scholarly methods for historical inquiries about the past, particularly as they concern cultural heritage and cultural appropriation. The case of an African Apollo might resonate to those interested in African heritage, and even in a postcolonial context where hybridity trumps “origins,” the study of Apollo's African analogs leads us down many productive paths. The chapter examines Bernal's arguments for an African "origin" of Apollo, like a "Black Athena," and the attendant sociocultural and scholarly problems associated with such a claim.

Document Type

Book Chapter

ISBN

9780199595006

Publication Date

2011

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press. This book chapter first appeared in African Athena: New Agendas.

Please note that downloads of this book chapter are for private/personal use only.

Purchase online at Oxford University Press.

Share

COinS