How did Europe come to be defined as a distinct entity, apart from, say, Asia or Africa?

The Creation of the West: Consider the formation of the geographical and ideological boundaries of Western Civilization. How did Europe come to be defined as a distinct entity, apart from, say, Asia or Africa? Consider both the political consolidation of Europe from ancient times through the Medieval period, and the ideological (and religious) constitution of European identity from the classical period through the Renaissance. To what extent was the idea of the West founded on an internal heritage, and to what extent did it depend upon the presence of populations defined as fundamentally alien?

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