National Geographic's Roman Empire: A Review

National Geographic's Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire is a 126-page special publication filled with photos and a brief overview of the empire.


Most of the emperors and major events are touched upon covering many areas from running the empire to the the rise of Christianity to slavery to daily life.

However, if you are very interested in Roman military strategy and details of specific battles, this publication does not cover them.

I think Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire is a great overview of the empire. It identifies different areas that you may want to explore in depth in the future.

Unlike Edward Gibbon's six volume The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the authoritative tome on Rome, you can read National Geographic's Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire within a week and you'll have beautiful pictures to enjoy along the way.

National Geographic's Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire was available in stores in December and January and is still available on National Geographic's website here.

Secret of Kells Review

"The Secret of Kells" combines history, mythology and beautiful animation to create a fascinating movie about one of Ireland's national treasures.

Thomas Moore used 2-D animation for "The Secret of Kells" to depict one of the best known origin myths about the Book of Kells. The animation was bright and fresh compared to so many movies nowadays.

Moore's use of suggestion, cutaways, and reveals allows the audience's mind to work and guess at what will happen next with payoffs that happen shortly thereafter.

Is "The Secret of Kells" okay for children? "The Secret of Kells" has a PG rating, but there are scenes of death. So for very young children or those sensitive to death you should preview the movie. Amazon Prime and most video streaming movie services provide free two-minute trailers. If you are okay with the trailer, you should be fine with the movie.

After the movie I looked up the Book of Kells on the internet and was extremely pleased to learn the book is real and that many of the incidents in the movie correspond to the book's real history. My sons,  11 and 13, both enjoyed the movie and seeing pictures of the actual book online made them appreciate the movie more.

The Book of Kells, also known as Book of Columba, currently resides at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. It has been there since 1661. It was created between 570 and 800 A.D., over 1200 years ago! It is a manuscript of Gospels of the New Testament containing extravagantly decorated pages of Christian and Celtic Art. It amazes me that we can still see this book today.

I highly recommend this movie for anyone who likes animated movies and history.

Actual Book of Kells,
image  from Wikipedia Commons

For more information about the book: Wikipedia Book of Kells
Images of book: Trinity College Dublin
Article on Tomm Moore: Animator Tomm Moore

Banned historical movies

"The Ministry of Culture bans the film 'Egyptians: Gods and Kings' for historical inaccuracies," the Egyptian agency said in a statement.

I initially thought, yet another case of censorship by a country that feels its people can't tell truth from fiction.

But as I thought about it more, movies have been banned for a number of reasons by a number of countries since movies have been invented.

Movies from "Birth of a Nation" to "Monty Python the Life of Brian" have been banned in towns and cities throughout the U.S.

"Alexander", "Ben Hur", "The Last Temptation of Christ", 'Noah", and many others have all been banned by one country or another for a multitude of reasons. "Battleship Potemkin" was banned in France and Germany for fear it could incite a revolution in the 1930's and 40's.

"'(Egyptians: Gods and Kings)' shows history from a Zionist viewpoint," according to state news agency EGY in explaining why the film was banned.

Movies are a powerful way to send a message. A movie has an audience's undivided attention for two hours to deliver its story, lessons, point of view, etc. It may be about a subject your audience knows little about, thereby becoming their sole reference point for making all judgments on that topic about the past and the future.

If there is a movie that lambastes a government program the government is trying to gain support for or if it might cause serious dissension within the community that could lead to violence, I can see why a government would ban a movie.

I am not saying that it is right, just that I can see why it might be done.


*Quotes from Susanna Capelouto's article, Egypt Bans Movie 'Exodus'.

Ancient New Year's Celebrations

Until the widespread incorporation of the Julian calendar, cultures throughout the world, including the Romans, each had their own day to start the new year.

The Romans new year's celebrations used to coincide with the vernal equinox - March 20th this year. 

The Babylonians celebrated the rebirth of the natural world following the first new moon of the vernal equinox - March 30th this year.

The Egyptians tied their new year's celebrations to the Nile's annual flood-typically in July.(1)

The recent Chinese New Year started over 3,000 years ago as a celebration of the spring planting season-February 19th this year.

Nowruz or Persian New Year started around the 6th century B.C. under the Achaemenid Empire coinciding with the vernal equinox-March 20th this year.

So if you fall asleep before the drop of the ball in Times Square, you have a number of other dates during the year in which you can celebrate the start of a New Year.

For more information on these customs and festivals, click on the link to History.com's:
 5 Ancient New Year's Celebrations

(1) Synonym.com, Traditional Ancient Egyptian Celebrations, Michelle Lee

The History of Christmas

The History Channel's interesting 5-minute video discussing Nordic, Roman and Christian traditions as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. The History of Christmas

Roman Aqueduct Hunters

Ever since I saw the 93-foot tall Roman Aqueduct in Segovia, Spain, I have always been fascinated by the ingenuity of the Roman water system.

In 2008, Robert Harris in Pompeii wrote in great detail about the water works of the doomed city through the eyes of his protagonist, a hydraulic engineer for the city. The level of knowledge, math and engineering that went into water system was eye-opening.

It's no wonder Europe entered the dark ages after the Western Roman Empire fell - all of those centuries of knowledge lost.

Today I came across a video from AqueductHunter.com on their research and exploration of the Roman aqueduct, Aqua Traiana.

Enjoy!

A scientific theory to Moses' parting of the Red Sea

A very interesting essay in The Wall Street Journal about how Moses may have parted the Red Sea without divine intervention. I found Napoleon's similar experience fascinating.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-did-moses-part-the-red-sea-1417790250

A scene from ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ 20TH CENTURY FOX

Alexander the Great's Tomb

Archaeologists have found a large royal tomb in Greece from the time period around Alexander the Great's death. Some hope it is the tomb of Alexander the Great, while many are skeptical. Watch the short videos and judge for yourself.
(For the first video by AFP News Agency, after clicking on the play button, click on the Watch on YouTube link.)



by AFP News Agency




by MLordand God

Underwater Pompeii Found

Underwater Roman city recently discovered on the island of Greek island of Delos. Actually, I found the facts about the island's customs before and after the Romans more interesting than the Roman city itself.

Article on Underwater Pompeii Discovery

Delos, located in the center of the Cyclades archipelago near the island of Mykonos, is where the sun god Apollo was born, according to Greek myth.

Photo and Caption by ROSSELLA LORENZI

Book Review: The Big Burn

I found the The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan to be a fascinating book about a defining moment in America.

It discussed the founding of the U.S. Forest Service, and how it became the institution it is today and how the fire changed it's original mission.

We follow Teddy Roosevelt and the first Chief of the United States Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot, and their fight to protect what was left of America's forest for future generations to enjoy against the railroad and timber barons and the hordes of settlers flowing into former Indian lands for scrupulous and unscrupulous purposes.

Egan's profiles not only of national figures, but also of settlers, timber barons, gold miners, black soldiers, and rangers really brought about a well-rounded story showing just how diverse a people were living in the American West at the turn of the century.

The first half of the book deals primarily with Roosevelt and Pinchot's relationship and the setting up of the U.S. Forest Service, but the second half really kept the pages turning with the first sparks of the big fire and the stories of heroism, bravery, and death. Egan's descriptions put me right on the hills with the men protecting the towns and each other.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in American history.

War of 1812

1812: The War that Forged a Nation by Walter Borneman was a very interesting and well put together read. Nothing like relearning one's American History.

Byproducts of the War of 1812 included the composition of the Star Spangled Banner, the USS Constitution being nicknamed 'Old Ironsides', the American victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans, the burning of Washington DC by the British, discussion of secession by the Northeastern United States from the Union. A few of the notable Americans during the war were Andrew Jackson, the Pirate Lafeyette, Winfield Scott, Admiral Perry, Dolly Madison, James Monroe and many others. The subjects I mention above are only a few of the events and people the average American vaguely remembers from grade school - like me. Borneman does a good job fleshing out these iconic events and names, and relating them to the modern reader as to why these people and events were so significant. His discussions of battles and their imports were my favorite parts. They were well described and Borneman had plenty of maps throughout the book.

My only gray comment is a couple of the backstories were placed awkwardly just before a few of battles, while at other times, a general's or commander's name would be thrown out there and I had forgotten if the man was British or American and would have to go back a few pages to find out. But these were very minor flaws that happened very infrequently.

A very good book for anyone wanting a refresher on one of the most important events in our young nation's history.