Cultural Diffusion

     Cultural diffusion is the spreading of cultures from their point of origin into other cultures. This can occur via conquest, immigration, or trade.



     A prime example is how the Greek culture spread into the Middle East, Egypt and other parts of the former Persian empire via the military conquests of Alexander the Great. Rome was also greatly influenced by the Greek culture. Roman architecture mimicked the Greek. Roman gods, Zeus became Jupiter, Aphrodite became Venus, Hermes became Mercury, were versions of Greek ones. Also, Greeks were in the habit of setting up colonies and there were several Greek city states in Italy before Rome began to gain ascendancy.

    The Greeks also diffused these cultural ideas in Iberia and the islands of Sicily and along the coasts of the Aegean Sea. Another ancient Greek City state was located in what is now France.

     Roman conquest of Iberia transformed the Language spoken there from Celt-Iberian into a Romance Language based primarily on Latin. Further conquest by the Visigoths introduced Germanic words. A final invasion introduced Arab words. 

Spain's conquest of the America's diffused that Language which largely replaced the indigenous ones. It also diffused religion since most people in Latin america are Catholics. 

The idea of the stirrup and pants was introduced into Europe by the Mongol invasions. Gunpowder, cannons, rockets and the printing press diffused into Europe from China.





     Then there was the regular contact via trade which carried ideas back and forth. The Silk Road kept a steady contact between China and Europe provided a regular contact for centuries. Monsoon winds carried goods and ideas from India to the Red Sea and to Egypt and took ideas back to India.  



 Then there is immigration. Italian immigrants to the USA introduced the Pizza, Germans introduced the hot dog or Frankfurter. Mexicans introduced the burrito, tamales and other culinary treats.  Today these seem as if they were always part of USA culture but they were not. During a good portion of my childhood I had never heard of a pizza. First time I did it was referred to as Tomato Pie.  I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Newark NJ and there was not one Pizzeria to be seen. So cultural diffusion takes time. 

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