Here are some of the soldiers of the famed terracotta army, constructed on the demand of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, as part of a grand mausoleum dedicated to himself.Qin Shi Huang was known for many achievements — standardizing weights across his lands, unifying China, beginning new construction of the Great Wall, […]
Qin Shi Huang’s Terracotta Army Read More »
Oh those crazy Ancient Maya . . . They sure knew how to have a good time. In these two photos we see a terracotta figurine and a sculpture in relief, respectively, showing people happily getting enemas. The first statuette shows a woman giving herself one: she twists her face upwards, smiling in delight. The
Ancient Mayans Love of Enemas Read More »
In this last post for the week to focus on great moments in immunology, I feature a rare time when biologists actually got their naming system right.Featured here is an Ancient Roman copy of a Greek statue featuring Artemis. Although usually known as the Goddess of the Hunt and wilderness, the moon, and female chastity,
Scientists Despina Moshous and the Artemis Protein Read More »
Tonight on December 21 we have a conflation of two celestial events: the winter solstice and the much-rarer conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. Although the fact that these events are both happening at the same time is super awesome, they are not causally related. Hundreds of years ago in the fourth century during
Relationship of Sol Invictus and the Christian Birth of Jesus Read More »
My topic for the turn of the year is the history of naming ceremonies. Such traditions have been important parts of human culture at least as long as recorded history, and this makes sense: naming children marks them as part of their communities, and much about a society can be understood from how folks went
Aztec Goddess Cihuacoatl and Naming Ceremonies Read More »
No surprise, much more documentation survives regarding naming ceremonies for the wealthy versus regular people in Ancient and Medieval societies. This is certainly the case with Japanese history. Isn’t it fantastic, though, that amidst the paucity of evidence — I mean, we know *so* little about Japanese childbirth and naming practices — we at least
Japan’s “Scroll of the Hungry Ghosts” Read More »
I hope yunz’ all can appreciate baby-killing demon-goddesses as much as I do. They appear in so many cultures, and explain so much about women’s fears (like being the worst sort of woman — a) one who murdered children and b) hadn’t been able to manage her love affairs with a man in socially-acceptable ways.).
Protection from Lilith in Traditional Jewish History Read More »
The story of the Tower of Babel from the Hebrew Bible’s _Genesis_ is a famous myth that explains the origin of the world’s multiplicity of languages. Surprise surprise, there are a whole lot of interpretations about the meanings of this story. But the human fascination about why there are so many languages cuts across many
Multiplicity of Languages From the Tower of Babel Read More »
Today we use the word “scurvy” as a general adjective for something that is corrosively destructive, like “religious bigotry was a scurvy of the Medieval Church.” Of course, these were the attributes of the OG disease, which blighted many people — but notably sailors — until a cure was found in the 1700s.Many of us
James Lind and Curing Scurvy in the 1700s Read More »
If you haven’t seen the photos of the recently excavated “fast-food” counter from the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii, buried wholesale from the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE, here’s your chance.Located in what archaeologists call the “Regio V” section of the city, this is the first completely intact “thermapolium” or “hot snacks”
Excavation of the “Fast Food Counter” in Pompeii Read More »
Whenever a new leader assumes power, the transition sparks anxiety typical of human nature’s concern about the liminal, of boundaries and unpredictablity. One of the ways people have dealt with this unease is through the observance of rituals. Repeated ceremonies bring continuity, and are laden with symbolism that gives meaning to the authority of the
Byzantine Rituals During Transitions of Power Read More »
You are looking at a detail of contemporary artist Peter Booth’s painting, “Apocolyptic Landscape” (1983) — the shapes are jagged and random; the red, black, and brown coloring evokes filth; and the black and white streaks appear flattened next to some penetrating rondels in red and yellow. It is a fitting accompaniment to discuss another
The Apocalypses by Apostle Peter and Peter Booth Read More »
What can anal fistula teach us about Medieval life? A great deal, tuns out.The first image you see here is a 15th-century illustration of one of the most important medical treatises of the Middle Ages, the “Practica of fistula in ano.” It is all about how to cure diseases of the colon and rectum, including
John of Arderne and Medieval Anal Fistulas Read More »
Yesterday I wrote about a certain physician, John of Arderne, who wrote an amazingly forward-thinking text about how to perform a surgery on anal fistula. Unique for his time in the 1300s, he emphasized the importance of hygiene and correct methods to prevent blood loss during the painful operation. Lest you think that anyone, even
The Zodiac Man and Medieval Surgery Read More »
Just how important is a single book? In the case of the one featured here, _De materia medica_, the answer is 1500 years: that’s how long this text dominated the genre of applied medical textbooks. The most important description of plants and their uses for over a millennia and a half, it wasn’t rediscovered in
Medicinally Used Plants in “De Materia Medica” Read More »
The Byzantine Empire had a good run, from the move of the Roman capital from Rome to Constantinople in 330 CE to the takeover of the illustrious city in 1453. The individual emperors, however, frequently were not as lucky in their reigns. Here you see an 11th-century manuscript showing the murder of Emperor Romanos III
Mutilations of Byzantine Emperors Read More »
If you wanted to get ahold of the most important book of magic in the Middle Ages — I mean, inspire-the-most-fantasy-Buffy-the-Vampiresque sorts of spells magic, replete with demons, charms, incantations, arcane use of astrology, etc., then you would have to look no further than the _Picatrix_.It sounds like the name of a Pokemon, but Picatrix
“Picatrix” the Middle Ages Book of Magic Read More »
Today begins the Chinese New Year for 2021, when many rituals and celebrations welcome in the future in hopes that it will bring happiness, health, and prosperity. One of the traditions is shown in the image here: the drinking of a sort of wine called “Tusu.” Of course, it was specially important for the Emperor
Chinese New Year and Drinking “Tusu” Read More »
To me, this is a comical picture showing a bunch of men climbing up a ladder while devils try to grab them or shoot them down — kind of like a *very* old-school Donkey Kong. To the 12th-century Byzantine artist who painted this icon, known as “the Ladder of Divine Ascent,” it was a true-to-life
Byzantine Painting “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” Read More »
Here is Terry Jones of Monty Python fame in one of the very best comedic moments in film IMHO — he’s performing as a desert hermit whose vows of silence and harsh lifestyle are broken after the man called Brian accidentally leads a crowd of people to the shallow pit he had been dwelling in
Monty Python and Symeon the Stylite Read More »
