November 2011

More Less Than Brilliant Moments in Congressional History

Here we sit in our living rooms and offices watching as our current Congress continue to make a mockery of our Constitution and our system of checks and balances. We watch as they decide that they can’t decide. We watch as they look for more destructive ways to cover their own backsides while making sure that the people who are in need carry the burden.

Roman Temple Getting New Old-Home

For nearly 50 years, the remains of a Roman Temple of Mithras have sat in Walbrook Square in London, though not exactly in the same spot it was built in.  When archaeologist and director of the Museum of London W.F. Grimes found it by accident in 1952, the whole thing was dismantled and placed in storage.  The more mobile artifacts were placed in the Museum of London and the temple was eventually reconstructed a short ways away from where it had originally stood around the 3rd century.

The site that the temple was placed at in 1962 was a little more than 250 feet away and about 30 feet higher than the original site.  It was also mounted in cement mortar, a slight difference from the original foundations of the building.

"I Am Spartacus!"

Gladiator And Rebel

These days, a lot of people have at least a vague idea of who Spartacus was because of the TV show, or possibly the old movie. (“I am Spartacus!”) The TV show, however, is shot in the style of 300 and highly fantasized, with lots of slow-motion action and strange colors and textures. It doesn't look anything like reality, so I'm not sure a lot of the viewers connect this fictional treatment with a real man who suffered and fought against real injustices.

 

Spartacus was a Thracian gladiator who was one of the leaders of a slave rebellion now known as the “Third Servile War.” Because many of the slaves were escaped gladiators, Spartacus led an army of experts at hand-to-hand combat, easily capable of thrashing the professional Roman army- which they did on several occasions.

Mes Aynak Versus the Almighty Dollar

Just south of the city of Kabul, in Afghanistan, a discovery was made of an ancient Buddhist temple complex that has the potential to change our historical understanding of the origins and purposes of the Silk Road.  The site of Mes Aynak is a treasure trove of artifacts and information.  So far excavations have yielded manuscripts, multiple carved Buddhas and several structures.  Archaeologists believe that, if given time to fully excavate the site, they might find evidence of occupation dating back as far as the 3rd century BCE.

Secession of the Plebs

The Occupation of Ancient Rome!

Continuing on with my theme of the great Occupations of history, we have the Secession of the Plebs, an event that actually occurred several times in the early history of Republican Rome. The plebs or "plebeians" were the free citizens of ancient Rome, as distinct from the patricians or aristocratic class.

 

The social structure of the ancient world was highly stratified, so the plebs weren't actually the lowest class, since the slaves were below them. However, they were the 99% of ancient Rome, the ordinary common people without aristocratic privileges. At first, they had no political rights and no representation in the Senate, and the patricians used every tactic within their power to prevent them from gaining any.

Rewriting History for Fun and Profit

The records of history have always been a distorted thing.  History is, and always has been, written by the victors as they say.  Therefore, what comes to us in the form of documents and other literary records is colored by the perspective of the cultural trends of the time, the viewpoint of the writer and even the political ramifications that writing about a subject could carry.  Many things could not be written simply because they might displease those in power and bring punishment down upon the head of the scholar who chose his words poorly.

Less Than Brilliant Congressional Moments

"There is no doubt that history does repeat itself."

Approval for Congress has reached an all time low. This in and of itself is history in the making. Congress takes great enjoyment in behaving badly while frowning on the improper form of others. That being said, this, the 112th Congress, is not nearly as incorrigible as members of prior Congresses whose actions certainly speak louder than words echoing through history.

Did you know that on January 30, 1798 the Honorable Representative of Vermont, Matthew Lyon (Democratic-Republican), was charged with “disorderly conduct” by the House of Representatives? After exchanging several insults with the Honorable Representative of Connecticut, Roger Griswold (Federalist), Mr. Lyon then proceeded to spit tobacco juice on him.

Not long after being charged with “disorderly conduct” the Honorable Mr. Lyon acquired an additional charge of “gross indecency of language in his defense before the House”. This was the result of another confrontation with the Honorable Mr. Griswold on February 8, 1798.

Learning From the Remains of the Queen Anne’s Revenge

In the 1700s, a vicious pirate roamed the seas of the Caribbean, pillaging and capturing ships and sending his victims to a watery grave.  His name was Edward Teach, though most new him by the title of Blackbeard.  He managed to have one of the most successful careers of any pirate, accumulating a horde of wealth in just two years of unlawful activity.  In 1718, Blackbeard’s famous ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge sank beneath the seas.  While Blackbeard was not on the ship at the time, he would meet his own end shortly afterwards.

Researchers May Have Discovered The Viking "Sun Stone"

Viking folklore describes a sun stone that Nordic sailors would use to navigate overcast days. Researchers may have discovered it.

The Vikings of the North Atlantic were known far and wide as adept sailors, as well as ferocious fighters. In their voyages they are known to have sailed as far as Greenland and, many say, even to modern-day Canada. Most evidence points to the fact that Vikings used the sun to navigate their ships. However, in the far northern climates it is often over-cast, particularly around the British Isles. How did they manage these setbacks and still arrive at their destination?

"When Adam Delved and Eve Span, Who Was Then the Gentleman?"

John Ball and the Peasant Rebellion of 1381

In light of current events around the world, it might be a good idea to look at the story of John Ball, the radical priest who was one of the leaders of the peasant rebellion of 1381. When I say “radical priest,” I don't mean that any of his ideas were all that extreme, but they did appear that way to the rulers of England. In the words of John Ball himself:

 

“When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman? From the beginning all men by nature were created alike, and our bondage or servitude came in by the unjust oppression of naughty men. For if God would have had any bondmen from the beginning, he would have appointed who should be bond, and who free. And therefore I exhort you to consider that now the time is come, appointed to us by God, in which ye may (if ye will) cast off the yoke of bondage, and recover liberty.”