It might make us uncomfortable to think about death, but it gives us a space to connect with each other across the eons. Once we reach a certain age, the end of our lives is something every person considers. And that is exactly what the subject of this sculpture is doing.We all know about the […]
Ancient Egyptians Obsession With Death Read More »
This week’s posts examine attitudes towards death in ancient and Medieval cultures. This engraving of “King Solomon in Old Age,” reflects the most famous Jewish monarch of Israel as wizened but not cheerful. The portrait is entirely in line with the musings of the author of the Biblical book _Ecclesiastes_, who, unlike any other Biblical
Ecclesiastes and its Attitude Towards Death Read More »
Ah, this guy.Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BCE- 43 BCE) — the most famous speech-maker in the history of Ancient Rome — could be whiny, self-important, and blind to the way the powerful families of Rome enchanted him. But he is also truly sympathetic in the way he strived to uphold the political structure of the
Marcus Tullius Cicero and His Thoughts on Death Read More »
Zhuangzi (4th-c BCE) is one of the most famous philopsophers in Chinese history. In that oh-so-paradoxical-sounding way that Daoists often express themselves, Zhuangzi has a lighthearted and quippy way to think about death.The story he gives in the eponymously named _Zhuangzi_ tells of the sage’s response to his wife’s demise. After she passed away, a
Chinese Philosopher Zhuangzi and His Theories of Death Read More »
Dreams are universally experienced, but take on different meanings across time. In the Aboriginal cultures of Australia, “the Dreamtime” or “Alcheringa” in the Arandic central Australian language, refers not to an individual’s dreams, nor even to the images or narrations that come in sleep. Rather, it signifies an eternal space out of which comes creation,
Dreams in the Aboriginal Cultures of Australia Read More »
This Japanese sliding-door panel from about 1606 shows the allegedly immortal Liezi riding the winds. Although based on mythological stories, the flying figure also evokes a state of dreaming, since humans have recorded flying dreams across many civilizations. The Daoist text named after Liezi gives insight to a particular type of dream interpretation. In this
Immortal Leizi Riding the Winds Read More »
This is, most sadly, not a photo of my summer vacation — one can dream, though. And back in the Ancient Greek times, dreaming is exactly why people went to this place in Pergamon, which was a particular type of healing temple called an _asclepeion_.Named after the Greek god of medicine, asclepeions were visited by
The Ancient Greek Healing Temple – Asclepeion Read More »
Ancient Roman dreams weren’t just unlike our own because of the differences in physical environment, although that of course mattered. We probably don’t dream about breakfast foods made with fish oil, walking around in tunics, or bathing publicly in enormous baths (not usually, anyway). And cell phones, indoor lighting, and skyscrapers could never have been
Ancient Roman Dreams Read More »
Meet Aspasia of Miletus (d. about 400 BCE), a philosopher whose life illustrates that no matter how important and interesting a person’s ideas are, if no one records them, their impact fades. Certainly the most important female philosopher from the Ancient Greek past, Aspasia’s actual intellectual contributions are unknown to us. What we know is
Ancient Romans Aspasia of Miletus Read More »
Let’s embrace our 14-year-old selves and discuss the funniest toilet humor in Ancient history. Appropriately, it’s found in a bar — in a tavern room from the late first/mid-second century Roman port city called Ostia Antica. The entire space is taken up with jokes about shi*ting – patrons could order wine while reading the walls.Known
Ancient Roman “Room of the Seven Sages” Read More »
The Hebrew Bible or Christian Old Testament was averse to using vulgarity. This applied to basic human anatomy: instead of having the word penis, for instance, it might record “member,” “side,” or “flesh.” Women’s labia could be referred to as “hand.” Why?, you may ask? It had to do with the high-falutin’ genre of the
Old Christian Testament Averse to Vulgarity Read More »
Conspiracy theories abounded in Ancient Rome: court intrigues were constantly at play among the Senatorial aristocracy, since favoritism and personal alliances rather than a democratically based bureaucracy brought power. And thus we come to the sad end of Stilicho, the barbarian leader who served Rome in the waning days of the Western Empire.Stilicho was half-Vandal,
Conspiracy Theories of Ancient Rome – Stilicho Read More »
In our final conspiracy theory for the week, I feature early Christian cannibals!Not really. But partaking in cannibalism and sexual orgies were rumors that Ancient Romans persistently leveled at Christians. The Christians in this second-century Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome were not, in fact, devouring human flesh, but rather the bread in the ritual “agape
Christian Cannibals Conspiracy Theory Read More »
This picture is neither a coffee stain nor a bad tattoo, but rather a fossil from one of the most important places that evolutionary scientists study the emergence of complex life: the fossils of Burgess Shale in British Columbia.Burgess Shale fossils date from the period of the Cambrian Explosion (525-505 million years ago), when “all
Burgess Shale Fossil in British Columbia Read More »
Evolution brings a sense of humility like nothing else can. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to our ancestors? Featured on the first slide is “Kimberella,” probably the oldest of the “protostome” fossils, dating 255 million years ago – from before the pre-Cambrian explosion.“Aha,” you might be thinking. “That doesn’t look like even the
Kimberella – the Oldest Protostome Fossil Read More »
This week, I am looking at hair in Medieval history, and I am starting with the dudes. It turns out that the barbarians of the Early Middle Ages cared a great deal about styling their locks. Careful attention to cut and style announced a “je ne sais quoi” about masculenity and power.For instance, featured in
Early Middle Ages and Barbarian Men’s Hairstyles Read More »
In this third crossover history post on “fashion statements that made history” with Katie McGowan, I feature one of the most famous beards in history, worn by the Pharoh Hatshepsut, which means “foremost of women.” Yep, you read that right: Hatshepsut dressed in drag.Hatshepsut (c. 1503-1482 BCE) had been wedded to the powerful ruler Thutmose
Queen Hatshepsut and Drag Read More »
I am perfectly delighted to bring you this post about Vampire-babies and witches in Ancient Rome. The skull you see here is that of a 10-ish-year-old child, recently excavated in a 5th-century CE Italian graveyard known as “La Necropoli dei Bambini” (the Cemetery of the Babies). Notice the large rock jammed into its jaw —
Vampires and Witches in Ancient Rome Read More »
I don’t know why the central character in this Ancient Greek image is smiling: she is getting stabbed. Maybe because the artist was taking sides with the playwright Aeschylus, who thought Clytemestra deserved to die? Athens in the 5th c BCE was a civilization whose male citizens prided themselves on having a democracy with a
The Ancient Greek Story of Clytemestra Read More »
“There never was a greater crime against humanity,” wrote the famed Byzantine scholar Sir Steven Runciman, “than the Fourth Crusade.” And although unfortunately untold numbers of atrocities could easily compete for this claim, certainly the sack of the glorious city of Constantinople marks a horrifyingly violent chapter in the history of Christianity.The city had been
The Horrific Tale of the Fourth Crusade Read More »
