Are 'western' people a combination of germanic genes and Mediterranean foundations ?

Question

e.g most european americans/australians/anglo-saxons etc look far more germanic and less Mediterranean but claim the Mediterranean culture [greek/roman civilizations] which they invaded as something of their own design? With less interest in their germanic/tribal origins.

Answer 1

Actually, Rome invaded England. The Romans influenced Anglo-Saxon culture while they were in control, not the other way around.

But genetically, European countries are a mix of whatever populations surround them, because people were constantly invading their neighbours. Thus, England is a mix of Celtic, Norse and Germanic populations, and French more recently.

Answer 2

To answer your question you have to look at how Western civilization was built.

The Celts and Greeks were contemporaries and had far too much crossover of ideas to have not had regular contact with each other and influences on each other.  The Greeks also had Indian and Arabic influences as well. Especially after they conquered Egypt and set up a land of scholars there.

The Romans built their army to fight Celts who were a constant invader.  The Romans borrowed heavily from Greek culture as a basis for their society.  Carthage was their enemy and Carthagenian culture was eschewed.

The Romans however soon found themselves relying heavily on Germanic, Celtic and Eastern Steppes peoples as the bulk of their army. Spain for example saw few actual Roman citizens. The Romans did however export first Latin and second Christianity to the rest of Europe.  Roman culture however was not exported with great success. Remember Roman culture was a brutal culture. To be considered weak was the ultimate insult to a Roman man. What was exported was the devalueization of women. Celtic culture held women as equals. They could own property, even command a nation. Roman culture saw women as slightly above property.

Germanic and Norse culture took the forefront in the vacume left by the demise of Rome. Vikings roamed freely colinizing parts of England, Russia, Ireland, France and Germany. The Germanic tribes ran wild into central and southern Europe even getting as far west as England.

So the marraige of Celtic, Germanic, Norse and Roman became English culture. Ireland was the same minus the Roman influences. France also sprang from the same base of influences but had much stronger Roman influences. As such French is Latin based while English is Germanic based.

To see Celtic influences you merely need to look at the US constitution. It is heavily based on English common law, which was the left overs of Celtic law. To too is the ideas of Democracy which started with the Celts long before the Greeks and Romans adopted it.  Likely Democracy was an exported idea to the Greeks from the Celts.  To see Germanic influences you can see it in languages like English, in martial customs and traditions,  Western culture, to see the Latin influences, all Western language bear at least some Latin words. The judicial system in the West is directly descended from Roman and Greek ideas.

So you really have the viewpoint out of focus. It was Roman invasions that carried  Mediterianian culture to the rest of Europe and which also carried back Celt and Germanic culture back to the Mediterianian. The Norse which you forgot through invasions exported ideas and culture all over Europe. There were even Viking serving as guards and a small Norse colony in Constinople.  Normandy was a Viking colony. Ireland and England had many Viking colonies established. The Norse were just as influential as the Celts, Germanic tribes, Romans and Greeks in what has become Western civilization.  It is the blend of these base cultures that is Western culture. Not a layering as you suggest.  There was quite a bit of adoption of ideas and exportation of ideas between the various groups as well as subtle influences from the East. Western culture for example borrowed heavily from Arab and Indian culture for it's math as an example. Goths brought many Asian influences to Europe as another example.

Answer 3

Westerners are full on mongrel bred.

its impossible to tell our backgrounds because how far we can trace our families back is so limited.