Considerations about the three hills that shaped Europe´s cultural identity

Abstract

More than two decades ago, Pope Benedict XVI warned of the internal crisis that Europe was going through and offered a hopeful solution: for Europe to survive, it had to accept itself, for the Supreme Pontiff understood that multiculturalism called upon us to re-enter into ourselves so as not to perish. His visionary words seem to have taken on renewed relevance. The Europe referred to here is that understood as a cultural reality, as the civilization that has given rise to a way of life known as "Western" and which has transcended the other continents to varying degrees. The present work is a modest attempt to contribute to fulfill the fortunate suggestion of Benedict XVI through a synthetic review of the four most decisive factors of cohesion in the original shaping of Europe's identity: Greek philosophy, Roman law, Christianity and the Germanic factor. The purpose of this journey is to review the identity that Europe seems to want to forget, but whose knowledge may be vital for its survival.