History, politics, and culture articles and forum discussions.
The pilgrimage site of Croagh Patrick lies on a mountain some 2500-feet high in County Mayo, which is on the northwest coast of Ireland. The site serves as the modern pilgrimage destination for those who wish to take the penitential journey to and vigil at the summit at the end of each July. The terrain […]
Some people don’t like it, but I enjoy it when DST arrives. The idea of being able to do things at night time when it is still light outside appeals to me, and provides a stark psychological contrast to the winter when darkness pretty much pervades your entire day. This article states that although Ben […]
I came across a blog which posed the question of which was the more important period of Greek history: Classical or Hellenistic? I think the author came to the only reasonable conclusion one could reach: The Hellenistic era is fascinating to itself with arts, exploration, literature, theatre, architecture, music, mathematics, philosophy and science being spread […]
There was a renewed interest in Snow White over the years with a movie about the fairy tale with Charlize Theron and another one starring Julia Roberts. But who was Snow White? As described in this article on the possible historical origin of the tale, the Brothers Grimm wrote the story in the nineteenth century […]
We live in interesting times. Not necessarily the safest, or best, or hopeful, but interesting nonetheless. There have been no other times in my life when so many storylines have emerged that could have played out in some work of fiction. Is that a good thing or bad thing? I guess it all depends on […]
I first heard about the usage of BCE and CE to signify historical dates around 1990, and I imagine the idea must have gathered steam in academia well before that time. If it was supposed to replace usage of BC and AD it hasn’t entered the mainstream quite as well as may have been planned. […]
Soren Kierkegaard, one of my favorite philosophers, lived in Denmark during the Nineteenth Century when Danish Christianity became less of a spiritual experience and more of an exercise in routine life. Kierkegaard criticized the way his fellow citizens in Copenhagen practiced their religion, one in which comfort removed the challenge of interior faith. As Kierkegaard […]
Originating in eighth century Wessex, the Anglo-Saxon shire system would replace the Roman Provinces as the British standard of local government. Throughout the eighth and ninth centuries the system gradually expanded to cover the whole of England. A Shire which usually took its name from its principle city was governed by an Eldorman, a noble […]
I knew that the Egyptian pyramids were pretty precise in their footprint measurements, so I was surprised when I came across an article entitled, “Great Pyramid of Giza Is Slightly Lopsided“. My previous research, and what I had told students in the past, was that the measurements of the base of at least one of […]
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