Thesis: Death was an important staple in the Ancient Egyptian religion as they believed that each person went on to another life; the Egyptians seemed to be death obsessed because of the care they took in making sure a deceased person had what they needed for the afterlife.
Primary Source #1:
"SURVIVAL AS BA - Death, Afterlife and Eschatology - Egyptian Conceptions of Death - Mircea Eliade, "From Primitives to Zen"" Mircea Eliade. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.mircea-eliade.com/from-primitives-to-zen/169.html.
"Thou shalt come in and go out, thy heart rejoicing, in the favour of the Lord of the Gods, a good burial [being thine] after a venerable old age, when age has come, thou assuming thy place in the coffin, and joining earth on the high ground of the west.
Thou shalt change into a living Ba(1) and surely he will have power to obtain bread and water and air; and thou shalt take shape as a heron or swallow, as a falcon or a bittern, whichever thou pleasest.
Thou shalt cross in the ferryboat and shalt not turn back, thou shalt sail on the waters of the flood, and thy life shall start afresh. Thy Ba shall not depart from thy corpse and thy Ba shall become divine with the blessed dead."
"SURVIVAL AS BA - Death, Afterlife and Eschatology - Egyptian Conceptions of Death - Mircea Eliade, "From Primitives to Zen"" Mircea Eliade. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.mircea-eliade.com/from-primitives-to-zen/169.html.
Primary Source #2:
The mode of embalming, according to the most perfect process, is the following:- They take first a crooked piece of iron, and with it draw out the brain through the nostrils, thus getting rid of a portion, while the skull is cleared of the rest by rinsing with drugs; next they make a cut along the flank with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and take out the whole contents of the abdomen, which they then cleanse, washing it thoroughly with palm wine, and again frequently with an infusion of pounded aromatics. After this they fill the cavity with the purest bruised myrrh, with cassia, and every other sort of spicery except frankincense, and sew up the opening. Then the body is placed in natrum for seventy days, and covered entirely over. After the expiration of that space of time, which must not be exceeded, the body is washed, and wrapped round, from head to foot, with bandages of fine linen cloth, smeared over with gum, which is used generally by the Egyptians in the place of glue, and in this state it is given back to the relations, who enclose it in a wooden case which they have had made for the purpose, shaped into the figure of a man. Then fastening the case, they place it in a sepulchral chamber, upright against the wall. Such is the most costly way of embalming the dead.
"Ancient History Sourcebook: Herodotus: Mummification, from The Histories." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/herodotus-mummies.html.
Primary Source #3:
The Company of the Gods rejoice at thy rising, the earth is glad when it beholdeth thy rays; the people who have been long dead come forth with cries of joy to behold thy beauties every day. Thou goest forth each day over heaven and earth, and thou art made strong each day be thy mother Nut. Thou passest over the heights of heaven, thy heart swelleth with joy; and the Lake of Testes (the Great Oasis) is content thereat. The Serpent-fiend hath fallen, his arms are hewn off, the Knife hath severed his joints. Ra liveth by Maat (Law), the beautiful! The Sektet Boat advanceth and cometh into port. The South and the North, and the West and East, turn to praise thee. O thou First, Great God (PAUTA), who didst come into being of thine own accord, Isis and Nephthys salute thee, they sing unto thee songs of joy at thy rising in the boat, they stretch out their hands unto thee. The Souls of the East follow thee, and the Souls of the West praise thee. Thou art the Ruler of all the gods. Thou in thy shrine hast joy, for the Serpent-fiend Nak hath been judged by the fire, and thy heart shall rejoice for ever. Thy mother Nut is esteemed by thy father Nu.
"Ancient History Sourcebook: Hymn to Ra, from Book of Ani." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/ra-ani.html.
Explanation of Argument:
The first primary source shows the importance of the Ba or the spirit that lives on in you after your body has died. It explains the belief that all people have the ability to move on to eternity with the gods. This is also shown in the third primary source, a Hymn to Ra. The hymn is praising Ra because he has brought out the the dead and made them see beauty. These primary sources show the importance that people go to the afterlife and get into "heaven" with the gods. The second primary source shows how precise and careful they were while dealing with the bodies. These bodies were sacred objects after they died because they housed the spirit of the deceased, taking this extra care and expressing it through writings gives the impression that they were death obsessed when really they were only trying to respect.
Question: Do you think Alexander honestly felt like he was avenging Persian wrongs? Or was that just propaganda to mask his goal of conquest?
Thesis: Alexander the Great continued his conquests far beyond what would be classified as "avenging the Persian wrongs" and would have continued had he had the supplies and ability to.
Primary Source #1:
If you have any complaint to make about the results of your efforts hitherto, or about myself as your commander, there is no more to say. But let me remind you: through your courage and endurance you have gained possession of Ionia, the Hellespont, both Phrygias, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Lydia, Caria, Lycia, Pamphylia, Phoenicia, and Egypt; the Greek part of Libya is now yours, together with much of Arabia, lowland Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylon, and Susia; Persia and Media with all the territories either formerly controlled by them or not are in your hands; you have made yourselves masters of the lands beyond the Caspian Gates, beyond the Caucasus, beyond the Tanais, of Bactria, Hyrcania, and the Hyrcanian sea; we have driven the Scythians back into the desert; and Indus and Hydaspes, Acesines and Hydraotes flow now through country which is ours. With all that accomplished, why do you hesitate to extend the power of Macedon--yourpower--to the Hyphasis and the tribes on the other side ? Are you afraid that a few natives who may still be left will offer opposition? Come, come! These natives either surrender without a blow or are caught on the run--or leave their country undefended for your taking; and when we take it, we make a present of it to those who have joined us of their own free will and fight on our side.
"Ancient History Sourcebook: Arrian: Speech of Alexander the Great, from The Campaigns of Alexander." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/arrian-alexander1.htm
Primary Source #2:
Philip and all his court were in great distress for him at first, and a profound silence took place. But when the prince had turned him and brought him straight back, they all received him with loud acclamations, except his father, who wept for joy, and kissing him, said, "Seek another kingdom, my son, that may be worthy of thy abilities; for Macedonia is too small for thee..."
"Ancient History Sourcebook: Plutarch: Selections from the Life of Alexander." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010.
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/plutarch-alexander1.html
Primary Source #3:
With the conquest of Thrace our situation changed: we controlled the whole of the western coast of the Aegean; but our mastery of the Aegean was threatened by the maritime power of Persia. Fortunately I struck before Darius was ready. I thought I was following in the footsteps of Achilles and should have the glory of conquering a new Ilium for Greece; actually, as I see today, it was absolutely necessary to drive the Persians back from the Aegean Sea; and I drove them back, my dear master, so thoroughly that I occupied the whole of Bithynia, Phrygia, and Cappadocia, laid waste Cilicia, and only stopped at Tarsus. Asia Minor was ours. Not only the old Aegean basin but the whole northern coast of the Mediterranean was in our hands.
"The History Sourcebook: The Need for Source Criticism: A Letter from Alexander to Aristotle?"FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/alexfake.html
Explanation of Argument:
In each of these sources Alexander The Great tells of his conquests. The extensive conquest that Alexander and his men performed was magnificent, but it was not necessary to "revenge the Persians". In the first source he reminds his men of how far they've come and how much they have conquered. This is inspiring but it shows the greed that Alexander had. he continued his conquest even after the threat of Persians in the Mediterranean was gone, as he told Aristotle in the last source.
Question: Who is a better model for modern historians: Herodotus or Thucydides? Why?
Thesis: Herodotus and Thucydides were both excellent hostorians that had their own personal style of writing and telling history about two very different time periods.
Primary Source #1:
Of the other lower officers I shall make no mention, since no necessity is laid on me; but I must speak of a certain leader named Artemisia, whose participation in the attack upon Hellas, notwithstanding that she was a woman, moves my special wonder. She had obtained the sovereign power after the death of her husband; and, though she had now a son grown up, yet her brave spirit and manly daring sent her forth to the war, when no need required her to adventure. Her name, as I said, was Artemisia, and she was the daughter of Lygdamis; by race she was on his side a Halicarnassian, though by her mother a Cretan. She ruled over the Halicarnassians, the men of Cos, of Nisyrus, and of Calydna; and the five triremes which she furnished to the Persians were, next to the Sidonian, the most famous ships in the fleet. She likewise gave to Xerxes sounder counsel than any of his other allies. Now the cities over which I have mentioned that she bore sway were one and all Dorian; for the Halicarnassians were colonists from Troizen, while the remainder were from Epidauros. Thus much concerning the sea-force.
"Herodotus: Artemisia at Salamis, 480 BCE." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/480artemisia.html
Primary Source #2:
For instance, it is evident that the country now called Hellas had in ancient times no settled population; on the contrary, migrations were of frequent occurrence, the several tribes readily abandoning their homes under the pressure of superior numbers. Without commerce, without freedom of communication either by land or sea, cultivating no more of their territory than the exigencies of life required, destitute of capital, never planting their land (for they could not tell when an invader might not come and take it all away, and when he did come they had no walls tostop him), thinking that the necessities of daily sustenance could be supplied at one place as well as another, they cared little for shifting their habitation, and consequently neither built large cities nor attained to any other form of greatness. The richest soils were always most subject to this change of masters; such as the district now called Thessaly, Boeotia, most of the Peloponnese, Arcadia excepted, and the most fertile parts of the rest of Hellas. The goodness of the land favoured the aggrandizement of particular individuals, and thus created faction which proved a fertile source of ruin. It also invited invasion. Accordingly Attica, from the poverty of its soil enjoying from a very remote period freedom from faction, never changed its inhabitants. And here is no inconsiderable exemplification of my assertion that the migrations were the cause of there being no correspondent growth in other parts. The most powerful victims of war or faction from the rest of Hellas took refuge with the Athenians as a safe retreat; and at an early period, becoming naturalized, swelled the already large population of the city to such a height that Attica became at last too small to hold them, and they had to send out colonies to Ionia.
"The Internet Classics Archive | The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides." The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature. Web. 10 June 2010. http://classics.mit.edu/Thucydides/pelopwar.1.first.html
Primary Source #3:
[1.1] Now Persian story-tellers declare that Phoenicians were the cause of the difference. For they say that the Phoenicians, having come from what is called the Red Sea into this sea and having inhabited that land which they even now inhabit, immediately set themselves to long voyages, and that, bringing as freight both Egyptian and Assyrian goods, they used to come upon various places, including Argos, which at that time surpassed in every way the poleis in the land now called Hellas.
So some Phoenicians, having arrived at Argos, set out their freight. On the fifth or sixth day after they arrived, almost everything being sold, there came down to the sea—among many other women—the king's daughter. And her name (according to the way the Hellenes say it) was Io daughter of Inachos. While these women were standing by the prow of the ship buying whatever of the freight they most desired, the Phoenicians, after encouraging one another, attacked them. Although most of the women got away, Io, along with some others, was caught; embarking them into the ship, the Phoenicians sailed off to Egypt
"Herodotus (selections), U. of Sask." Homepage. Web. 10 June 2010. <http://homepage.usask.ca/~jrp638/DeptTransls/Hdt.html#intro
Explanation Of Argument:
Neither Thucidydes or Herototus are better role models for modern historians, as each has a distcint way of telling th history that they are recording. Herodotus makes it sound as if he is sitting there talking to you and explaining what had happened in the war or battle. Thucydides is a strict history writer who tells what happened and gave all the names and dates. In perspective of having just the information there for a textbook, Thucydides is better but it is much more enjoyable to read Herototus' work.
Question: Were the Vikings barbarians?
Thesis: The Vikings had a distinct culture, religion, and civilization where there were scholars and literature; the Europeans were the victims of the Vikings and so classified them as "barbarians".
Primary Source #1:
Eventually it happened that the Danes came with a ship-army, harrying and slaying widely throughout the land, as is their custom. In the fleet were the foremost chieftans Ivar and Ubbi,5 united through the devil. They landed warships in Northumbria, and wasted that country and slew the people. Then Ivar went [south-]east with his ships and Halfdan6 remained in Northumbria gaining victory with slaughter. Ivar came rowing to East Anglia in the year in which prince Alfred--he who afterwards became the famous West Saxon king--was 21.7 The aforementioned Ivar suddenly invaded the country, just like a wolf, and slew the people, men and women and innocent children, and ignominiously harrassed innocent Christians. Soon afterward he sent to king Edmund a threatening message, that Edmund should submit to his alliegence, if he cared for his life. The messenger came to king Edmund and boldly announced Ivar's message: "Ivar, our king, bold and victorious on sea and on land, has dominion over many peoples, and has now come to this country with his army to take up winter-quarters with his men. He commands that you share your hidden gold-hordes and your ancestral possessions with him straightaway, and that you become his vassal-king, if you want to stay alive, since you now don't have the forces that you can resist him."
"Medieval Sourcebook: Abbo of Fleury: The Martyrdom of St. Edmund, King of East Anglia, 870."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/870abbo-edmund.html
Primary Source #2:
There was a man named Thorvald, the son of Asvald, the son of Ulf, the son of Yxna-Thoris. His son was named Eirik. Father and son removed from Jadar (in Norway) to Iceland, because of manslaughters, and occupied land in Hornstrandir, and dwelt at Drangar. There Thorvald died, and Eirik then married Thjodhild, daughter of Jorund, the son of Atli, and of Thorbjorg the Ship-breasted, whom afterwards Thorbjorn, of the Haukadalr (Hawkdale) family, married; he it was who dwelt at Eiriksstadr after Eirik removed from the north.
"The Project Gutenberg EBook of Eirik The Red's Saga:, by The Rev. J. Sephton." Main Page - Gutenberg. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17946/17946-h/17946-h.htm.
Primary Source #3:
They sailed toward this land, and came to an island which lay to the northward off the land. There they went ashore and looked about them, the weather being fine, and they observed that there was dew upon the grass, and it so happened that they touched the dew with their hands, and touched their hands to their mouths, and it seemed to them that they had never before tasted anything so sweet as this. They went aboard their ship again and sailed into a certain sound, which lay between the island and a cape, which jutted out from the land on the north, and they stood in westering past the cape. At ebb-tide, there were broad reaches of shallow water there, and they ran their ship aground there, and it was a long distance from the ship to the ocean; yet were they so anxious to go ashore that they could not wait until the tide should rise under their ship, but hastened to the land, where a certain river flows out from a lake. As soon as the tide rose beneath their ship, however, they took the boat and rowed to the ship, which they conveyed up the river, and so into the lake, where they cast anchor and carried their hammocks ashore from the ship, and built themselves booths there. They afterward determined to establish themselves there for the winter, and they accordingly built a large house. There was no lack of salmon there either in the river or in the lake, and larger salmon than they had ever seen before. The country thereabouts seemed to be possessed of such good qualities that cattle would need no fodder there during the winters. There was no frost there in the winters, and the grass withered but little. The days and nights there were of more nearly equal length than in Greenland or Iceland. On the shortest day of winter, the sun was up between "eykarstad" and "dagmalastad." When they had completed their house, Leif said to his companions, "I propose now to divide our company into two groups, and to set about an exploration of the country. One-half of our party shall remain at home at the house, while the other half shall investigate the land; and they must not go beyond a point from which they can return home the same evening, and are not to separate [from each other]. Thus they did for a time. Leif, himself, by turns joined the exploring party, or remained behind at the house. Leif was a large a powerful man, and of a most imposing bearing¬a man of sagacity, and a very just man in all things.
"Modern History Sourcebook: The Discovery of North America by Leif Ericsson, C. 1000 from The Saga of Eric the Red, 1387." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1000Vinland.html.
Explanation of Argument:
The Europeans thought that the Vikings were barbarians because of the invasions that took place as they were looking for land. This apparent in the first source as a European author tells tales of how the Vikigs ruthlessly killed men, women and children. However the vikings had their own literature, as seen in the second source, Erik the Red's Saga, and they performed amazing feats of discovery as they pushed westwards as show in the third source.
Question: What would St. Benedict have thought of the monasteries that followed his rules by 800 AD? (from A.B. Watt)
Thesis:
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