The Inferno, A Field Trip Through Hell

The picture probably got your attention didn't it?

The Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, is the first book in a three part series called the Divine Comedy. The Divine Comedy is about a poet named Dante, who travels through the realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The Inferno describes his journey through Hell with his guide Virgil and all that he encounters within the fiery realm.

The class discussions this week have been about Christianity in Western Europe, so The Inferno is relevant, as it is a very descriptive view of how Medieval Christians imagined Hell. Hell was an important concept in early Catholicism as it kept people in line and enforced order throughout society. Many Christians during the Medieval times were afraid of the eternal punishments that awaited the wicked and strove to act like good Samaritans.

The Inferno describes Hell through the eyes of Dante, as a realm without hope and full of pain. The book goes into much detail, going so far as describing the geography of Hell, portraying it as an upside down mountain, divided into 9 circles, or levels. Each level housed a different kind of Sinner, with the first few reserved for either pagans or sins of excess, such as greed, lust, or gluttony. The next three housed the violent, the slothful, and the heretics. The last two were reserved for frauds and traitors that betrayed the trust of others.

Each level had specific punishments for the sins committed by those inside. An example would be that the greedy in the fourth level were forced to push giant bags of gold uphill for eternity, similar to Sisyphus's punishment in Greek Mythology. Initially, Dante felt sorrow and pity for the tortured souls, but he begins to see that no matter how harsh the punishment, the soul being punished had done something to deserve it. At the very bottom, in the depths of the ninth circle of Hell, Lucifer himself is trapped in a lake of ice and chewing on the three most prominent sinners of history. Cassius and Brutus both planned and carried out the assassination of Julius Caesar, who Dante the Author viewed as the man who was chosen by God to unify Italy. The third traitor is Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus to the Romans, which is the most evil thing Dante could envision.

Ultimately, The Inferno is an allegorical story of what awaits sinners in the afterlife. This tale shows the true horror of Hell as it was imagined by Medieval Christians and the influence of Christianity on Western Europe. Also, it shows a darker aspect of Christianity's Salvation promise. Sure, Heaven awaits the souls of the dead, but only if they have lead a virtous life. Otherwise, those impure souls are sent to a place of eternal punishment and pain, with no hope of redemption.

Emperor Justinian the Great or the Foolish

The most powerful and well known Byzantine Emperor was Justinian. His many accomplishments include building the Hagia Sophia, organizing the law code, and reconquering some parts of the old Western Roman Empire. However, Justinian was not only the greatest Byzantine Emperor he was also the worst, causing the beginning of the decline of the Byzantine Empire. This was done through poor decisions and his campaign to reconquer the west.

When Justinian ruled Byzantium (527-565 CE) he ruled the most powerful Empire in the Mediterranean, with vast amounts of mineral wealth and treasure. Justinian, believing he was the heir to the Roman Empire, wanted to reconquer the west. His opportunity came when, to protect the faith, set out to take over the Arian Christians who were considered to be heretics. The Arian Christians included the Vandals and the Ostrogoths. The Vandals were persecuting members of the Roman Church, therefore, as protector of the faith Justinian had cause for war.

Justinian first set out to retake North Africa from the Vandals. This was not difficult, due to the weakness of the Vandals in numbers and ability. The Conquest of the Vandals only took six months ending in 533 CE. Next Justinian set his eyes on Italy. Although he was able to wrestle Italy away from the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines were not able to hold it. Three years after his death in 565 CE a new group of barbarians, the Lombards, took over Italy. Why was Justinian not able to hold the reconquered territory? The most important reason was many of the Romans who lived in these areas did not support Byzantium, some even fought against them. Also in Italy the only reason why the Byzantium army survived was the strength of their navy. Their numbers were too few and many had to be recalled to protect the Empire against the Persians.

The most important reason why Justinian caused the beginning of the decline of the Byzantine Empire was before the reconquest Justinian paid the Persians for peace. With large sums of money going to the Persians and more money and manpower going to the reconquest, Byzantium declined in power. Due to the lack of money economy slowed down and the increased taxes caused the people of Empire to lose allegiance to Constantinople. All of these led to the slow decay and carving up of the once powerful Empire.

The Coronation of Charlemagne

My book review was in relation to the Dark Ages, period shorty after the Fall of Rome. While the book, The Dark Ages Reconsidered, makes the case for a less dark time, there is little dispute that civilization received a substantial boost when Charlemagne was crowned emperor in 800 C.E. I found an article, "The Crowning of Charlemagne," that gives a brief overview of the event. The author, Patrick Henry Reardon, relates how Charlemagne accomplished a remarkable feat on Christmas Day of that year. Actually, there are three results of his coronation. First is the fact that Charlemagne united much of Europe. "Although the political unity Charlemagne imposed on the greater part of that continent did not outlive him, the cultural unity of Europe did." Second, his relationship with the Catholic church afforded the church great influence and power in European politics for centuries to come. Finally, Charlemagne fought against the Eastern Orthodox tradition of Christianity, furthering the schism between the East and West, and changing the dynamics of religious tradition.

Charlemagne's objection to the Eastern Orthodox form of the Nicene Creed was especially troublesome. Two and a half centuries after Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, those doctrinal and canonical tensions between East and West finally became schismatic and tragic, when the legates of Pope Leo IX excommunicated the Patriarchof Constantinople in 1054.

The article seems to portray Charlemagne in an almost too flattering light, but it seems that if ever there would be a time to overlook a man's faults, it would be the day of his coronation.

Halloween Origins

Everyone remembers the holiday that was just celebrated last week, unless there was heavy drinking involved. Halloween is a big deal in America and it invokes thoughts of candy, costumes, and a cold night spent begging at strangers' homes. Almost everyone participates in it as children and even as adults, treat it as a day of celebration.

However, the concept of Halloween that we know today shares many differences and similarities with its Celtic and Christian origins. The name itself, Halloween, developed from Christian roots. In the 800's CE, November first was declared by the pope as All Saint's Day, or All-Hallows. The word Halloween developed from the old English word for the evening before All-Hallows.

For example, many people wear costumes during Halloween for fun, trick or treating, and for tradition. In the old Celtic traditions, costumes take on a more serious meaning. During the Celtic celebration of Samhain, it was believed that the barrier between the physical and the spiritual worlds would be at its thinnest as the world transitions from warm to cold seasons. At this time, spirits, both malevolent and benevolent, are able to move between worlds. In order to ward off evil spirits, the Celtic people would wear masks and disguises that made them look like the evil spirits. The evil spirits, seeing only other spirits and no people, would wander off in search of other victims. The reason for wearing costumes has obviously changed over the years, taking on a more light-hearted meaning.

The modern symbol of caramel apples in connection with Halloween has roots in both Roman and Celtic cultures. One reason is that, before the Roman occupation, Halloween was the end of Summer, the beginning of Fall, and the beginning of the apple harvest. The other reason is that after Roman Occupation, the Celtic celebration of Samhain was merged with two Roman festivals, the day of the dead, and the festival for the goddess of trees and fruits, whose symbol was the apple.

Halloween is a holiday with many meanings. It started as a religious festival and has evolved into a secular holiday that anyone from any religious background can participate in. The holiday has grown and changed along with Humanity to where it is now, incorporating fun and candy to appeal to the young and the old. It has a fun celebration of the change between season for any person, of any age, of any religion. Halloween is truly an accessible holiday.

For more information:
http://www.history.com/content/halloween/real-story-of-halloween>http://www.history.com/content/halloween/real-story-of-halloween

Britain and Greece Argue Over Stolen Sculptures

A few weeks ago, it was mentioned in class that Britain did a little bit of looting from Greece's Parthenon. Specifically, Thomas Bruce, the British ambassador to the area during the early 1900's, managed to make off with a sizeable amount of sculptures and architecture from the Acropolis and the Parthenon. The marble pieces were sent back to Britain and the British Museum, where they have remained for almost two hundred years. In class, there was a brief mention that Britain may not have legal ownership of the pieces and that they should be returned to their homeland of Greece.

Ever since then, Greece has advocated the return of the "Elgin Marbles", while Britain has refused to do so for almost two centuries. The British Museum has adamantly claimed that the pieces do not belong to Greece, as they are a part of history, and as such, should be viewed as part of the entire world history. Also, the British propped up their arguments with claims that if Greece receives its monuments back, what's to stop other nations from withdrawing their pieces from foreign museums? Another crucial British argument was that Greece did not have any measures of protecting the pieces and that pollution and weathering would have damaged them anyways.

Greece has its own arguments to get the Elgin Marbles back. One point is that the actions of Thomas Bruce were pretty close to vandalism and looting, as he defaced a historical site and damaged many of the monuments and sculptures. The other Greek point is that they have newly constructed The New Acropolis Museum, a state of the art museum is dedicated to the Acropolis. The New Acropolis Museum has many protective measures in place and claims to be safer for the Marbles than the British Museum.

So far, the only real British offer was a temporary loan of the pieces to the new museum. However, this only angered the Greeks, as they believe that by acknowledging the loan offer, they would provide legitimacy to British ownership of the Elgin Marbles. As the Greeks see it, only an owner can loan things out, and the British have no right to do so, because they are not the legal owners of the pieces. Greece is not the only country demanding artifacts from Britain, as that list extends from India to Nigeria.

More information can be found at:
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2009/06/12/parthenon-marbles-loan.html

Egyptian Lightbulb?

All history students are fascinated by strange things in history which are unknown or partially known to people today. As was posted in my last entry, I thoroughly enjoy such things.

This second 'mystery' points to a small ancient store room in Denderah, Egypt. On the wall, there is an inscription of what many historians and wishful thinkers see as a light bulb. Others believe it is a religious scene of a snake being born from a flower.

To evaluate the truth to the light bulb theory, one must look at the materials and skills needed to produce a lamp of this sort. The first is glass, the second is a vacuum, and the third is electricity.

While no one knows how far back glass was invented, we do know that the Egyptians made usable glass objects by dipping sand figurines in vats of molten glass. Could Egyptian scientists make a stable enough glass bulb to hold a vacuum?

Perhaps it wasnt necessary. According to some, this light bulb could have been filled with an inert gas heavier than oxygen. This is entirely possible yet it is equally unprovable that it was done. Assuming it was, they still need a sizable enough source of electricity.

For this, archeologists have found what is known as the 'Baghdad battery;' essentially, it's a jar that can be (and was) filled with a number of different substances. Throughout the ancient world, people were getting low-voltage results by combining acidic fruit juice with quiones (a chemical that can be harvested from common Egyptian scarab beetles - vinegar and other substances could also be used) while sticking a 1/4" thick, solid copper bar encircled by an approximately 1" in diameter iron tube vertically in the center. The currently accepted conjecture for the use of this battery deals with using this and a spatula to bind gold on the surface of silver objects. Naturally, this 'out there' suggestion of a light bulb demands a different interpretation.

The theory of this 'Denderah light bulb' has been stuck in my head for a while. The weakest point of the argument is the isolation of heavy gases or the creation of the vacuum. Perhaps this is just another mystery of the past that students can glaze over to make the memory of neoclassical and modern scientists seem more original. I leave you with these low quality videos (comment if you can find better) of a plasma lamp designed to prove the feasibility of the drawn design. In the latter video, it is a nonworking model where the location of the batteries can be seen.





Does this support the 'aliens help build the pyramids' theory?

Sources:
http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/Denderahlightbulb.html

http://www.kinsalecrystal.ie/history.htm

http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/bbattery.htm (among others for the battery...used about 15 of them)

Hadrian's Wall

Walls have been a permanent feature in world history. From ancient times up to modern day walls have been used. Originally used for defensive reasons, today walls are used mainly to keep people in. One of the best known walls in the world is Hadrian's Wall that stretches across the the border between England and Scotland. Hadrian's Wall was built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE) in 122. This project was part of Hadrian's goal to consolidate the Empires gains and create a stable border. Also the wall was built for protection from the barbarian tribes of Scotland.

Hadrian's wall stretches 73.5 miles across northern England, from the North to Irish Sea. The wall was built out of stone. It was fifteen feet high with a width of 8 feet. Every mile there was a small fort with two towers between each of them. Also there were 16 large forts that could house up to 1000 soldiers. On the north side of the wall there was a ditch that ran along the wall. On the south side of the large forts towns sprang up to provide for the Roman soldiers.

Emperor Hadrian died in 138 CE and his successor Antoninus Pius wanted to expand the empire. Therefore, the Antonine Wall was built across the narrow part of southern Scotland between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, in 142 CE. At this time Hadrian's wall was abandoned, and the northern border of the Roman Empire was the Antonine Wall. However, when Antonius Pius died in 161 CE his wall was abandoned and Hadrian's wall was refortified.

Hadrian's Wall was abandoned when the Romans abandoned Britain in 410, however, many of the towns by the forts continued on. Unfortunately, the wall fell into disrepair, with many stones being taken for other buildings. Today the main foundations of the wall and the forts remain. I have been to Hadrian's wall, and what surprised me the most was how well it was built. The wall was in a perfect straight line and the forts in symmetric distribution. What is left of the wall varies, some of it is gone completely, while some is over six feet high.

A great site for pictures of Hadrian's Wall
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/hadrian_gallery.shtml
For other information
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/rome/a/aa060600a.htm
http://www.hadrians-wall.org/page.aspx//About-the-World-Heritage-Site/Archaeology-