1. In Praise of Downtime -Yet another Op-Ed in the Atlantic that responds to and builds upon Anne-Marie Slaughter’s piece. Ellen Ruppel Shell instead focuses on the “system that increasingly relies on overwork–and underemployment–to pad the bottom line.” 2. In Praise of Idleness – One of the articles that Shell references is this one by [...]
Also tagged ACA, Bertrand Russell, books, college, Huffington Post, leisure, Romney, Thessaloniki, workHow often does a military defeat set a standard for excellence? How often does a defeat create an aura of invincibility? Even a defeat like The Alamo just became a rallying cry, and the Roman republican defeats showed both their weaknesses and their resiliency, not their invincibility. The only defeat with this result was the [...]
Also tagged propaganda, sacrfice, sayings, SpartaAs I tossed back at my advisor in my thesis defense, this question in short comes down to the eye of the beholder. To Greeks, the Argead king may have been Greek, but usually just when he insisted upon this right. To Macedonian kings they sure were Greeks, to the Macedonians themselves they were not. [...]
Also tagged Amphipolis, ethnicity, Macedonia, Olynthus, PhilipTwo of my most recent reads were A History of Modern Greece by C.M. Woodhouse and Alexander the Great by W.W. Tarn. Each has value; Woodhouse endeavours to document Greece from 306 C.E. up through 1977, while using just 300 page; Tarn almost single-handedly launched the modern study of Alexander III. They also have deficiencies. [...]
Also tagged Alexander, Hitler, Mussolini, Tarn, WoodhouseTypically the Hellenistic Age is defined as the years between Alexander’s death and the Battle of Actium. I humbly offer another definition. My own interpretation of Hellenistic is Greek-ish, Greek-like, Greek-esque, etc. Perhaps I am misguided in this definition, but there it is. The Hellenistic Age should be considered begun after the Battle of Chaeronea, [...]
Also tagged Alexander, Hellenistic age, Historiography, Macedon, PhilipThe series of Alexander Essays is taken courtesy of a course taught by Professor Waldemar Heckel at the University of Calgary. The list of topics may be found here Evaluate Darius III as a political and military leader. Is he rightly depicted as cowardly and incompetent? I feel obliged to preface this essay with a [...]
Also tagged Alexander, Bagoas, Darios, Egypt, Gaugamela, Historiography, Issus, Macedonia, Memnon, Parmenion, Persia, Philip, SpartaIn the post-Soviet world we live in, borders are largely static. The borders of the United States, for example, have been set since World War II; The borders of the United Kingdom have been consistent since then, Britain for longer. Since the second world war, the borders of all Western Europe have been stable. In [...]
Also tagged Alexander, boudaries, Hadrian, Lycurgus, Macedon, Rome, Security, StabilityIs what matters about history the narration of the events that came before or the interpretation of the events? Are the events themselves, or the historians’ perception thereof, more significant than the analysis of how the causes? Are there historical events with a deeper truth that are more valuable than those without? Is the true [...]
Also tagged Alexander, Herodotus, Historiography, PurposeFirst, I have been remiss in posting just because I have had a lot going on in life, almost none of which pertains to my study of history, but I hope to rectify this by writing about various things I pick up, mostly from the books I am currently reading. Second, I have been designing [...]
Also tagged Agrippina, Alcibiades, Ancient Authors, Caesar, Gibbon, Livy, Nero, Procopius, Purpose, Rome, Tacitus