As for the purloined philosophical teachings themselves, the key Afrocentrist text regarding them is Stolen Legacy, by George G.M. James, a work which has enjoyed a wide readership since it was first published in New York in 1954. According to James, the Egyptians had from earliest times maintained an elaborate “mystery system” which in turn provided the basis for a sophisticated educational system. It was from these sources that the Greek philosophers filched their ideas.

Alas, there was no such thing as the Egyptian Mystery System. It is a fantasy, although not one invented by George G.M. James himself. It had its origins in a forgotten French novel called Sethos, published in 1731. The myth expounded in Sethos was taken up by 18th-century Freemasons (it is echoed by that enthusiastic Mason Mozart in The Magic Flute), and elements of it live on in Masonic ritual. But by the early 19th century, once Egyptology had been established as a serious subject, it was clear just how much of a myth it was.

Among the general public, the best-known proponent of the “stolen legacy” thesis is the British-born but American-based historian Martin Bernal. (He was until recently a professor of government at Cornell.) Bernal’s multivolume study Black Athena bristles with scholarly detail, or speculation. It also has a catchy title, and it has never lacked publicity. In Britain, for instance, extracts from the first volume were published in the Observer.