A conversation on the meaning of peace

During the Copper Age in Old Europe, there was an era of peace which lasted for about 2000 years. This peaceful life enabled rapid cultural development, and several groundbreaking inventions were first created during this period of world history. Based on archaeological evidence, it seems that the shift from the Copper Age to the Bronze Age saw a rise in social hierarchy. This caused vast societal changes, and the era of  war began.  

We spoke about peace with Harald Haarmann, director of the Institute of Archaeomythology's European branch. Research on Old Europe opens up numerous discussion topics. Reflecting on the idea of peace is ever more current today, and it is one of the most important themes in Old European research. What made peace possible, and what did peace itself facilitate? 

In this picture Harald Haarmann.

How does the concept of peace form, and in relation to what? Which was more prevalent in Old Europe – war or peace?

Harald Haarmann:

”In our times, the importance of peace continues to grow. When people talk about peace, I've noticed that for many it is enough to say that peace exists when there is no shooting. But that is a very fragile concept. Before long, someone will get offended and start shooting, and wars will go on. That is not peace – the concept of peace is more profound than that. It must take root in something deeper. In my view, there are numerous indications of how peace prevailed in Old Europe for such a long time, paving the way for cultural development and inventions. Inventions aren't created with a mere snap of the fingers. We can't just say, ”invent now.” The process of invention requires a peaceful, stress-free state of mind. Then suddenly there is a flash and one's thoughts are set into motion. 

People always ask how can we be sure that peace really did exist in Old Europe? Archaeologists discover weapons all the time. But no weapons have been found in Old European graves, as they weren't needed. Neither were there any defensive walls or fences around the villages and cities. The only barriers found are light ones, such as hedge fences. These were used to fend off wild animals and prevent them from eating people's crops, herbs or vegetables. Apart from those, the living quarters were open. People today can hardly imagine such a thing, since we're so used to reading in history books about how humans have always fought, defended themselves and gone to battle. War has always existed. Yes. This great shift occurred during the Bronze Age. We now know that the peaceful era in Old Europe lasted for at least 2000 years.

Before Covid, there was a presentation in Belgrade in Autumn 2019 where the translations of two of my books were presented. There were a lot of scientists present, and we had a roundtable discussion. One speaker, an archaeologist working on Vinča and Old Europe, is in charge of the excavation work at the Serbian sites. One could say that they had turned over every stone. When this archaeologist gave their speech, they said it out loud: ”Imagine – we had 2000 years of peace.” Much to their surprise and contrary to their expectations, no indication of war was found. This heavyweight archaeologist spoke of these conditions and emphasized the difference. This was a weighty and important argument.

A state of permanent peace is one reason why so many inventions were made in Old Europe. Among the most important of these was metal casting, first of copper and then of gold. The potter's wheel, as well as the wheel and wagon, were born out of the cooperation between farmers and the steppe nomads. The technicians of Old Europe had a great deal of  know-how, but they lacked a certain raw material – the sturdy pinewood that grows in the Steppe. It was suitable for building the first wheels, because the wood was durable and didn't break easily. Since the steppe dwellers and the farmers were not embroiled in conflict or war, they were able to cooperate and their invention at last succeeded. The Old Europeans got the right material for making wheels, and both groups benefited from the new invention. The wheel and the wagon transformed world history. Read more about the invention of the wheel and the wagon (Blog, 29.03.2024).

Old Europe had a non-hierarchical communal system. The lack of hierarchy can be seen in graves. The graves of men and women were equipped with an equal amount of grave goods, given to people for their last journey. Bigger differences between graves were found only later, for example in Varna's necropolis, but they are dated to a period when the Indo-Europeans had already arrived and established their dominant culture. A long era of peace is proven to have existed in Vinča. There are no signs of conflict. There is always pressure and conflicts in hierarchical societies. The era of peace enabled the birth of inventions, and it also explains why the number of inventions did not grow in proportion to the younger societies governed by the Indo-Europeans.”

How would you explain the concept of becoming rooted in peace?

Harald Haarmann:

“When conditions are favourable and a sense of peace can be born without having to think of war as its opposite, a society is peaceful. The idea of peace has survived in spirit in Olympia, as the ancient Olympic state of mind was one of peace. During rituals, weapons were put aside and playful competitions were held. Cities did go to war with each other during that time. But the Greeks understood the meaning of peace, and the Olympic rituals had their purpose. Olympia was originally established by the Old Europeans.

Before Jupiter, the goddess Hera was the patroness of her temple. Hera is a pre-Greek name, borrowed into Greek from Old Europe. You might remember an image from ancient art of a young, half-nude woman running. The Olympics were originally a women's celebration, where women competed in honour of Hera. Over time, Old Europe's peaceful state of mind was artificially sustained. Women were banned from competing, and Hera's worship was pushed aside. As we know from the history of the Olympics, only men competed during the ancient era. In that way the idea of peace was disregarded. But consider the Ancient Greek word ”eirene” – it means peace and is a loanword from Old Europe. This implies that the concept of peace was not familiar to the Greeks. They had to borrow both the idea and the word for it from their predecessors. This is a lesser known detail from Olympic history. The torch of peace is still lit in front of Hera's temple, not Jupiter's. Peace still lives on symbolically in Olympia. Hera was a guardian of peace even before the Greeks, and the flame of peace is still lit in front of her temple (read more about Hera and Olympia in the blog 30.09.2023: Peace contemporary signs of Old Europe's most lucid value. “

Before the ancient Olympics, women celebrated festivals in honor of Hera in Olympia. At the party, the women playfully competed with each other. This picture shows the commemorative coin of the Paris Olympics 2024.

What can we learn from Old Europe's peace?

Harald Haarmann:

“ When we turn on the television, it's just war, war, war. The idea of a culture in which peace was conceptualized as a time and condition in itself, without the opposite of war or conflict, is a comforting message to people today. There has been a long era of peace in European history, which enabled several inventions, cultural development and progress. The idea of peace also includes one's own inner peace. The teaching is there – it is not merely fantasy, idealism or a utopia. A coin has two sides. If we only look at one side, we won't see the image on the other. We have to dig in and brush away the ruins obscuring the original idea of peace. This way, the meaning of peace will deepen and take root, signifying a more permanent state of being.”