Measuring the perception of a civilization: Explicit reference to Ancient Greek Authors in Arabic literature

Abstract

The influence of Ancient Greek culture on Arabic civilization is explored on the base of explicit references to Greek authors in Arabic texts in the period between the 7th and 20th centuries (as represented in the CLAUDia historical corpus of Arabic). Two sets of data are used, one based on the typical endings of Greek names (-os, -us, -es), the other consisting of a list of the most quoted Greek authors. The first set includes Greek science, drama and gods and heroes, while the other covers exclusively Greek science and philosophy. Both sets exhibit abundant evidence of references to Greek names in Arabic texts. The analysis of the first set reveals that while Greek science was referenced throughout the whole period, the representatives of Greek drama and gods and heroes appear almost exclusively in the 19th and 20th century and predominantly in the periodical literature. The second set shows that awareness of the Greek contribution in science, philosophy and medicine was constantly present in Arabic literature. Although there were a few Arabic authors who dealt with Greek cultural influence in greater detail, many others explicitly referenced Greek names in all the periods and relevant regions surveyed and not from science alone, but from a wide range of genres.