The Birth of Athena, from
Attic Pottery, 540 B.C.

In an earlier posting, I mentioned astronomer Carl Sagan and his observation wherein human development shows that fortunate characteristic of humankind tending to associate and cooperate in ever larger numbers.  Unfortunately, there is often a state of warfare and subsequent oppression that unites disparate peoples in language, culture, and religion. 

Because China always has been a near homogeneous society, new peoples actually chose this culture outright, whether conquered by the Chinese or conquering the Chinese themselves.  In the Western Classical Era world, this was quite different.

In the Classical Era, the Greeks and Romans recognized this attribute of war as a uniting constituent.  Both Greek and Roman cultures recognized not one, but two very different gods of war:

Greek         Roman

Ares                 Mars

Ares - God of War

Male gods -- gods of war in the aspects of blood lust, cruelty, domination, and death.

Athena            Minerva

Female gods -- gods of war in the aspects of discipline, strength, military strategy, and warrior skill. Athena's birth tale involved an incredible trepanation event (see image above).

Additional aspects of Athena/Minerva regard the peace and administration of new people after a victory, to include assimilation of peoples into a greater society. 

In 2001, I stood on an abandoned road in County Galway, Ireland.  On this road were eighty-seven abandoned farms.  One hundred and fifty years has passed, but the population of Ireland is just now over half it was in the 1850s.  And so these farms are still vacant, the closest home over three miles away. One of these farms belonged to an ancestor of mine, but just which farm was his, I will never know.  What I can know is that English domination of Ireland had significant mark on why my ancestor left Ireland for America, at a time where the Irish deluged America, Canada, Australia, and a dozen other nations in search of a new homes.

So now I’m in America, joined by Indians, Pakistanis, Australians, South Africans, and many others that are, in effect, my colonial cousins.  As difficult and different are the many stories behind why we are here, there is a fascinating component behind each of our histories:

Without the English Empire, none of us would share some type of English heritage and language skills, helping us make it in a world where English is the language of computers and international commerce.

       

 Costumed British Actor as Caliban from "The Tempest" 


After becoming reacquainted with Enkidu last night, it occurred to me the regular theme of bringing one from a "savage" in Western and world literature, to an enlightened state probably had its genesis in The Epic of Gilgamesh (TEOG). Like many hallmarks we see in our civilization, they harken back to civilizations in the Fertile Crescent. Will and Ariel Durant began their series of historical works with a nod to this point by naming the first title in that series, Our Oriental Heritage.



Shakespeare's character of Caliban is a significant one in Western literature, albeit Caliban proves a "failure," incapable under Prospero of attaining this desired state like Enkidu, over Shamhat (sorry, just couldn't let that one go by) and is instead a slave off-and-on throughout  the scenes of The Tempest. During his trials, this half-man, half-beast displays his atavistic ties to nature through his pronouncements, not making the same break with his past as does Enkidu:

Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,

Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again; and then in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked
I cried to dream again.

-Caliban from Act 3, Scene 2

Onto a different theme.......


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General Jack Ripper

Another theme with ties to TEOG is the loss of manly strength by succumbing to female charms. Whether having "an utterly depleted body," losing strength and might by cutting of hair like Sampson, or suffering a "loss of essence," this theme is manifested many places in Western and world literature, including a modern example shown here. If you are unfamiliar with Stanley Kubrik's satirical masterpiece Doctor Strangelove, this video may seem out of place, but have a look at how this theme is revealed here and consider seeing this strange and hilarious film, available sans charge at Hulu.

All comments appreciated.

First Week Readings

Europe vs. California

I have no expert knowledge of paleolithic times, but do know of some situations that are oversights by Strayer regarding man during this time. Namely, there is little to celebrate or romanticize about man's egalitarian existence in Paleolithic Europe versus the Chumash in California, for whom he ascribed regular outbreaks of violence regarding trade and position.


In Trier, archaeologist friends of mine are working on paleolithic digs that contain the sad unifying feature of all human cultures over time -- large pits of human bones that are the mass graves of conquered or competing peoples, with most murdered by some type of blunt force trauma. These are mostly of men and boys, as its seems the females were taken into sexual bondage. Most of this is unpublished, so I will not say any more. Sadly, we have such developments close to our times (Cambodia, the Ukraine, the former Yugoslavia) but with evidence and the addition of high velocity projectile wounds. Progress.

Pacific Travels

I have traveled in South East Asia a lot by ship and ferry, and the thought of travelling by canoe in any expanse of open water, no matter how well designed the craft, is an extreme situation. Travelling from Cebu to Manila or Cagayan de Oro to Davao in the Philippines as I have done on a modern ferry is already quite an adventure in itself.  I was aware of the long journeys made by these people and their excellent navigation skills, but I feel deprived for having never heard of the "Kelp Highway."

Maize (Corn) in Europe

Not mentioned, but corn has migrated also to Northern Europe, areas where cobs do not develop. It is harvested as silage. 

The Size of Human Developments

In his series Cosmos, Astronomer Carl Sagan lamented, much as Strayer, the fact that more advanced societies and developments could sometimes come with the peril of dehumanizing the inhabitants. Strayer seems especially prone to giving into this line of reasoning, without accepting as heartily as Sagan the most fundamental benefit Sagan happens to promote: Through history, whether through war or peaceful assimilation, humankind tends to associate in ever larger groups and associations -- Sagan believed there is great hope in that observation, as do I.



E-Textbook version of Ways of the World

For those desiring information on an E-Textbook version of Ways of the World (combined, 1st Ed.), please see the publisher's site at:  http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/ .

As it happens, I was overcharged $4.00 at $49.95, but this is still much less than the $65.00 plus tax at NDNU bookstore. The tech support has submitted my request for an adjustment to my charge card.

Best wishes.

JFS

Persistence Hunting Technique....A high price to pay for obtaining protein



 http://www.wimp.com/oldesthunting/

When I was a boy in Wisconsin, my friends and I would chase deer on cross country skis similar to this for 2-3  hours, but we never killed any.

Testing, 1, 2, 3