The Ancient Romans often anthropomorphasized abstract ideas, and the notion of “Rumor” was one of the most concrete examples of this. In the Late Republic, when politicians jockied amongst themselves to win the votes of citizen men of the assemblies, knowlegde about basic political ongoings was dependent upon oral transmission. Patrons worked to have their
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Human evolution shows that Homo Sapiens evolved physical features suitable to long-distance running. About two million years ago, the east African landscape entered a drying period, and many forested lands turned into grasslands or patchy open woodlands. These conditions would have favored our ancestors’ development of characteristics that could run after animals and scavenge prey
Human Evolution for Long Distance Running Read More »
Carved out of marble in the first century CE, this Ancient Roman sculpture is one of the world’s most famous works of art. It showcases a tragic moment in the myth of Lacoon and his sons, when, in revenge for trying to alert the Ancient Trojans about a giant horse armed with secret enemies of
The Tragedy of Lacoon and the “Snake Detection Hypothesis” Read More »
This coin dates to the age of the Germanic ruler Clovis I (d 511 CE), and should immediately strike us with its mythological imagery — angels with swords aren’t things we actually see. We realize that the figure on the coin cannot correspond with a real-life person. A tricky thing about studying Early Medieval history,
Germanic Leader King Clovis I Read More »
This fresco from the first-century ruins of Pompeii show that Ancient Roman physicians knew how to practice surgery. In a world without the scientific method, knowledge of germ theory, or antibiotics, doctors could get a lot wrong. However, they got enough right to establish some medical practices that endured for ages, and have influenced medicine
Surgery in Ancient Pompeii Read More »
Alright, my brainy friends: it won’t take you but a New York minute to look at this diagram and figure out what’s wrong here.That’s right! The earth is in the middle of the entire universe, and of course we know that’s just silly. But such was the model of the cosmos bequeathed by the Ancient
Ancient Greek Theory of Geocentrism Read More »
Lucky you, readers: you get to look now at a page of one of the most important texts in recorded history – the _Almagest_, by Ptolemy. I’d say go ahead and fight me if you disagree, but our times call for gentler interaction with each other, so instead I will just try to convince you.Although
Ptolemy’s “The Almagest” Read More »
We are likely familiar with the story of the Three Wise Men in the Christian cultural tradition — the visitors from the east whom the Gospel of Matthew says visited the infant Jesus to honor him with gifts. We might not realize, though, that the Gospel writer never indicated the number of _Magi_ (a Greek
The Wise Men of Christian Tradition Read More »
Ancient Hindu and Middle Eastern Islamic surgeons knew a lot about eye cataracts, relatively speaking, and one important medical text, called the _Sushruta Samhita_, exists from about 1500 years ago that detailed how a specialist might remove them from a suffering patient. As this manuscript illustration shows, the knowledge from India made its way to
Ancient Islamic Surgeons and Eye Cataracts Read More »
The bodhisattvas in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism are those who believe that until everyone is free, no one is free. Although enlightened, they willfully choose to forgo nirvana, and instead allow themselves to be reincarnated into this mortal coil. They do this of course, because beings of such great compassion would only want nirvana
Bodhisattva Guanyin Read More »
The dates of the objects in this composite image are far removed from the origin of their subjects: in the background is the Edwin Smith Papyrus, dating from the 17th-century BCE, but ultimately stemming from about 2500 BCE. In the foreground is a Greek Hellenistic statue of Imhotep, the Ancient Egyptian polymath whom many suspect
The Smith Papyrus and Medical Treatments Read More »
The Ancient Roman military brought the Empire into being, and its soldiers had far-reaching reputations for their discipline and skill. A look at the severity of punishments for wayward enlisted men goes a long way to explain this — the Roman officers could be as brutal to their own men as they were to their
The Brutality of the Ancient Roman Military Read More »
Hey, anyone down for some yoga? For me, it depends on the context.This illustration is from an early 17th-century manuscript and illustrates an _asana_, or yoga pose, that looks an awful lot like the one called _kukkutasana_, or “rooster pose” shown in the second picture. If this seems arcane and not very practical to you,
Magical Superpowers of Yogis Read More »
We don’t need to wrestle with our beliefs to look at this image of a man undergoing bloodletting (about 1675) to know that this medical practice seems like a bad idea. Sure, the Ancient Greeks might have thought it could cure illnesses, but they had a totally incorrect idea that sickness originated in an imbalance
The Extended Use of Bloodletting Throughout History Read More »
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
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