tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.comments2023-04-18T00:44:59.351+10:00A dead man fell from the sky...Gary Corbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comBlogger5375125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-32395599441820776322016-03-01T14:06:23.709+11:002016-03-01T14:06:23.709+11:00I am doing a project on greek houses and this real...I am doing a project on greek houses and this really helped me find info on bathrooms. Thx<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14389393589023611415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-15632969855308981092016-01-08T06:53:53.370+11:002016-01-08T06:53:53.370+11:00Wow, Lee, that's very erudite. I'm impres...Wow, Lee, that's very erudite. I'm impressed. Also that you're a former sister. So I take it that there were entry level jobs that everyone was happy to be done with?Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-73551720290760147962016-01-08T05:45:29.465+11:002016-01-08T05:45:29.465+11:00First of all, you are quite correct when it comes ...First of all, you are quite correct when it comes to racism in the Classical European world-there wasn't any. Black people existed,obviously since there were comments on why the Ethiopians were dark in the legend of Phaethon. Greeks were often dark skinned too.<br /><br />The problem of racism first came up with the rulers of Egypt and their enslavement of the Jews. Remember that they killed their young boys due to their fears that their population was growing dangerously large. This control was certainly racially tagged and motivated. The problem of the Jews comes up again in the story of Haman and his attacks these same people. We can argue all we like about the miracles of Exodus and such but the fact that the Jews are a distinct group with identifying DNA is accepted by just about everyone now. The fact that they were singled out and either lauded or hated is also a fact.<br /><br />As for Christianity being the start of racism, as they say Down South, "That dog don't hunt" The Church did not care about color for a thousand years and beyond. Examine the fact that EVERY European country revered Black Madonna statues and icons. Now some people want to argue that a) these are all statues of Isis and Horus. But that would not explain how they got these statues all in places where the cults never existed, (such as Poland) or why the earlier icons of the same subject were also dark skinned and b) that these statues and icons were all black because the could darkened by smoke. That would mean that the churches cleaned everything on the statue but their faces and hands. Why? I used to be a sister in the Roman Catholic Church and I regularly cleaned the statues for Eastertide. I doubt if a young novice sister cleaning the high up statues and brass started with me. So that explanation doesn't hold water either.<br /><br />The bottom line is that Black Madonnas were revered, Ethiopians like Prester John were turned into legends, and Saints like St. Maurice were lauded as Black as far north as Switzerland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Maurice) Color based racism came about to justify the economics of the modern slave trade. Black people were better able to work the fields than Caucasians. So they were bought, sold and snatched to be used like animals. How do you justify this? You simply start tagging black skin as cursed and Black people as being deserving of slavery. That is NOT Biblical. It is not anything in Christianity either East or West. It is simply what happens when greedy people want to excuse their greed for as Saint Paul says, "The love of money is the root of all evil." In other words, if there is not profit to be made by marking people and persecuting or exploiting them there would be no racism. <br /><br />The same could be said of sexism. If there was not profit to be made by exploiting, persecuting or controlling women there would be no sexism either.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001335449222374708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-50437879567540839332016-01-02T19:04:31.590+11:002016-01-02T19:04:31.590+11:00Many thanks for that view of the tripod (which loo...Many thanks for that view of the tripod (which looks so unlike a tripod) and I love to see where Nico and Diotima went about their daily lives, and the sights they saw.ThereseTaylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07371074569885310714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-14523366138903085912015-11-03T13:18:12.796+11:002015-11-03T13:18:12.796+11:00Ha! That's very observant of you, PT.
The t...Ha! That's very observant of you, PT. <br /><br />The title of the next book is THE SINGER FROM MEMPHIS. That's Memphis, Egypt, of course. We're doing the final copyedit review even as I type this.<br /><br />But the blog post about ancient music is because I happen to be an enthusiastic player of guitar and bass. Another bass player foolishly asked in my presence where the major scale came from. So I told him. After his eyes had completely glazed over, I realized I didn't have quite the right audience for a dissertation on ancient Greek tuning systems, so I moved the explanation to here.<br /><br />The Honey of Trebizond comes from talking to a fellow author who is a foodie. He was talking about a murder mystery themed restaurant. I suggested keeping Honey of Trebizond off the menu.<br /><br />The Hyperborean and graveyard moving posts are indeed book research! I'm 10,000 words into writing the book to come after The Singer From Memphis. The working title of the book to come out in 2017 is...<br /><br />DEATH ON DELOS<br /><br />I'm glad you liked Death Ex Machina, and thanks for making it a present! I had a lot of fun writing that one.<br /><br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-80469278225010602752015-11-03T11:57:03.033+11:002015-11-03T11:57:03.033+11:00Hi Ahmed, welcome to the blog!
Thanks for that,...Hi Ahmed, welcome to the blog! <br /><br />Thanks for that, I wasn't aware of the papers, nor the Khotanese jade. That is very cool.Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-27822003131064065312015-11-03T08:28:02.341+11:002015-11-03T08:28:02.341+11:00OK, now I'm getting very curious…
Your previo...OK, now I'm getting very curious…<br /><br />Your previous post was about poisonous honey. Now you are telling about tuning. And before the honey, a graveyard was moved. And not to mention the Hyperborean.<br /><br />In the early life of the blog you said it will be a place where you spill all the backstories. <br /><br />So, what is the working title of #5? <br /><br />Btw, enjoyed a lot #4, Death Ex Machina. Two of my friends work at a theater / opera – they'll get their copies as Xmas present.PThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01872295861539288086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-52771368793242261732015-11-03T06:38:19.188+11:002015-11-03T06:38:19.188+11:00A great collection of papers closely related to th...A great collection of papers closely related to this topic is "Contact and Exchange in the Ancient World", edited by the fabulous Victor Mair. The vignette in it about Khotanese jade being found in a Shang dynasty tomb knocked me down, and helped me come to the same conclusion as you: the ancients got around!Ahmed Aldebrn Fasihhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03509365845976121408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-11280404346038031652015-10-30T10:04:02.836+11:002015-10-30T10:04:02.836+11:00Marvellous detail from social and religious histor...Marvellous detail from social and religious history.<br /><br />In ancient Jewish lore, there were numerous restrictions around dead bodies, and rules of purification after coming into contact with a corpse. These are still part of the tradition, but not fully practiced. ThereseTaylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07371074569885310714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-51488905584677987202015-10-09T02:30:50.489+11:002015-10-09T02:30:50.489+11:00Wow!Wow!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05862730541454515454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-74850478585030639062015-09-26T10:12:04.952+10:002015-09-26T10:12:04.952+10:00How embarrassingly correct, Deven. Thanks for poi...How embarrassingly correct, Deven. Thanks for pointing that out. That's what I get for writing at one in the morning and from memory without checking my recollection against sources.<br /><br />Okay, corrected for actual accuracy. It was in fact Pompey's forces that were done in by honey of Trebizond and the source is Strabo.<br /><br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-71447414063096175352015-09-26T02:20:46.784+10:002015-09-26T02:20:46.784+10:00Err..Crassus was killed by the Parthians after Car...Err..Crassus was killed by the Parthians after Carrhae, not in Pontic Trebizond.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827703706974793876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-46385390837122359642015-09-21T19:08:30.932+10:002015-09-21T19:08:30.932+10:00Three years, one month, and eight days. Resa, you...Three years, one month, and eight days. Resa, you have set a new record. <br /><br />Also I'm very impressed you thought to come back!<br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-66481528940827063742015-09-21T00:35:47.699+10:002015-09-21T00:35:47.699+10:00I also have to say that omniscient is my favorite ...I also have to say that omniscient is my favorite POV, and it's used to great effect in many detective novels ("The Poisoned Chocolates Case" by Anthony Berkeley, for example). No omniscient narrator reveals every single thing that everyone thinks or does (this would be both impossible and undesirable), so I don't think there's a problem with it at all.Hunting Violets (Resa Haile)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03844308194471133943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-64568550053550094542015-09-21T00:26:57.603+10:002015-09-21T00:26:57.603+10:00Three years late, but you're welcome.Three years late, but you're welcome.Hunting Violets (Resa Haile)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03844308194471133943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-35194073739972170482015-08-29T10:36:12.813+10:002015-08-29T10:36:12.813+10:00It's funny you should mention that. I sent th...It's funny you should mention that. I sent the edits for book six back to the publisher just last night.<br /><br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-52584596117963880962015-08-29T00:42:59.917+10:002015-08-29T00:42:59.917+10:00Nicely done. It provides entertainment as I await ...Nicely done. It provides entertainment as I await your next book.Computer Tutorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00938856237984732342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-58933999672270640772015-08-25T12:12:38.856+10:002015-08-25T12:12:38.856+10:00Hi Karin. Yes, Greece is well stocked for visiting...Hi Karin. Yes, Greece is well stocked for visiting Hyperboreans these days. The challenge would be finding someone on Delos to accept the gift. The ruins are awesome, but I'm afraid the sanctuary has seen better days. <br /><br />Which puts me in mind of another blog post. Stay tuned...<br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-24016983735404495802015-08-25T04:24:05.226+10:002015-08-25T04:24:05.226+10:00Hyberborelian greetings from Sweden. What a nice s...Hyberborelian greetings from Sweden. What a nice story about the gifts being passed on. I wonder if we could perhaps revive that tradition... On the other hand, with all the Scandinavians going on charter trips to sunny Greece, it seem a bit too easy. Karinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17067145104578499160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-31519036794359021232015-06-27T14:44:07.994+10:002015-06-27T14:44:07.994+10:00Maybe it was the way they came on. Chadwick was i...Maybe it was the way they came on. Chadwick was impressed by Ventris's work and said so. Also, by then, he had actually done something.<br /><br />Kober visited Britain in 1946-7 and again in 1948, when she met Ventris. She seems to have put him down as a "rich dilettante". To be fair, Kober had to deal with a number of such people, including one man who wrote long letters full of assumption upon assumption promoting the theory that Linear B was a script for a <i>Polynesian</i> language. It could make one unwilling to tolerate anyone from outside the academic field.Major Majorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00517713211026600871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-46770029121211139002015-06-26T16:15:10.713+10:002015-06-26T16:15:10.713+10:00Thanks for letting us know about the book, Major. ...Thanks for letting us know about the book, Major. I'll be reading that!<br /><br />Why would Ventris be intimidated by Kober's qualifications, but not Chadwick?<br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-38073363560362257962015-06-26T16:10:19.962+10:002015-06-26T16:10:19.962+10:00The Ventris family seems to have been thoroughly B...The Ventris family seems to have been thoroughly British. Michael's father Edward was an Indian Army officer, his grandfather Francis was a British officer, and his great-grandfather Edward was a Church of England priest. Hard to get from Lithuania to England then.<br /><br />That table of Linear B characters looks like an enciphering table. Hence the comment on NSA and GCHQ.<br /><br />Since this was originally posted a fabulous history of the efforts of Evans, Kober, and Ventris has come out: <i>The Riddle of the Labrynth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code</i> by Margalit Fox Fox argues that Ventris was afraid of working with Kober because she was a professor in Classics with a doctorate and he was an amateur.Major Majorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00517713211026600871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-82251385200190656582015-06-26T00:43:03.549+10:002015-06-26T00:43:03.549+10:00I just thought of one more point. Homer thinks it...I just thought of one more point. Homer thinks it's his job to entertain people. <br />Hesiod thinks it's his job to educate them.<br /><br />Homer's a pro who feels secure in his own talent, but he knows he's only as good as his last panegyric hymn. If he wants to keep on eating he needs to keep producing good stuff. There's even one surviving hymn where he blurbs his services. It reads to me like classic marketing. <br /><br />Hesiod's an independently wealthy gentleman farmer who doesn't have to worry about sales. He's there to tell people how to Do Things The Right Way. He's probably incredibly dogmatic in real life.<br /><br />You're dead right of course that we can never really know, but I'd lay money on their personalities. One of the things that makes them both great writers is that they ooze personality.<br /><br />Now you can tell me I'm crazy!<br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-24113604611473155622015-06-26T00:17:53.177+10:002015-06-26T00:17:53.177+10:00Okay, challenge accepted! This is probably worth ...Okay, challenge accepted! This is probably worth it's own post, but here goes...<br /><br />I claim that if Hesiod were alive today, he'd be writing for the Dummy's Guide books. Works And Days is The Dummy's Guide To A Post-Mycanaean Gentleman's Life. It's clearly designed to tell people how to run their lives and their farms. (In a somewhat didactic manner, if I may say so.) It has no story structure and is full of detailed instructions and advice. <br /><br />Hesiod thinks Works And Days is straight truth. He says so early on. The Evelyn-White translation has the second paragraph as, "Attend thou with eye and ear, and make judgements straight with righteousness. And I, Perses, would tell of true things."<br /><br />Works And Days must go on the non-fiction shelf.<br /><br />Theogeny might be a bit more up in the air, but it reads to me like The Dummy's Guide To Why Do We Have All Those Gods And Goddesses, And What Do They All Mean. I'm pretty sure Hesiod would put Theogeny on the same shelf as the Bible. Most libraries have a shelf labeled Religious Texts, just to skirt the fic/non-fic issue. That's where Theogeny goes. In some sense Hesiod might be trying to write a Bible for Proto-Indo-European. The information is obviously very localized to his area, because he not only mentions Hecate but rates her very highly. <br /><br />As to whether Hesiod believes Theogeny, I can't imagine that he'd write something unless he thought it was true. Theogeny has story structure, but in the same sense that the Old Testament does.<br /><br />Homer's a completely different fish. He's full of story structure. You read Homer to find out what happens next. You read Hesiod for the instructions.<br /><br />I'm pretty sure if you invited them both to a party, Homer would dominate the popular end of the room where all the trendy people would hang on his every word. Hesiod would bail up a few people at the other end of the room to give them detailed advice on how to plant grain.<br /><br />I should point out everything I just said is the opinion of an amateur, of course! But that's the way it reads me to me.<br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-52431750344817943502015-06-25T22:23:24.643+10:002015-06-25T22:23:24.643+10:00In classic internet fashion, I'm going to igno...In classic internet fashion, I'm going to ignore the main substance of your post and question you about a mostly unimportant detail. ;)<br /><br />Hesiod as the first non-fiction author -- I understand why you would say that, and Works and Days (probably) does mostly qualify as non-fiction, but do you think the Theogony does? Is it any more 'non-fiction' than Homer? After all, Hesiod himself says that the Muses teach people to speak truth AND lies... so just because Hesiod apparently mentioned the Hyperboreans, do we have to assume he 'believed' in their existence? (This is an impossible question, I know. How can we talk about what Hesiod 'believed' with any degree of accuracy, and does the word even apply to an archaic Greek talking about myth?)AvenSarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11556589178527382426noreply@blogger.com