History & Mythology

Did you know that during the #Renaissance the word 'clean' was not the opposite of dirty?

In 17th c. France, clean was defined by dictionary as synonymous with the Latin 'ornatus' = ornate.

Cleanliness therefore wasn't the absence of dirt, but the presence of elegance!

#linguistics #history

04.01.2025 06:25 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 2    📌 0

You can find out more about Palaeo-philosophy at my page on Academia .edu or Research Gate. And yes, I'm looking at Stone Circles with the same questions in mind. My guess is that the answers is found in the searching, not the actual stones found; halfway thru writing a book on that.

10.12.2024 10:39 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

This is a photo of one of the original palms collected and grown. It stands in the Durban Botanic Gardens. We see a huge palm tree with a thick light brown trunk and very many palmate leaves. The leaves are a bright healthy green and extend well beyond the crown of the tree, casting nice shadows. The background shows stone stairs enclosed by thick hedge plants, smaller palms and other greenery. The sky is a cloudless summer blue.

This is a black-and-white [photo of the botanist and the horticulturist who discovered the Wood's Cycad in the wild. It shows two men, John Medley Wood & Henry Sander, in colonial outfits standing in the African bush. Wood on the right is a tall man in his forties or fifties with a great moustache, wearing an explorer helmet hat, a white dress shirt and black trousers. He appears to also wear a thin black tie. He smiles. Next to him stands Mr. Sanders who is significantly shorter than Mr. Wood. Sanders wears a simpler bowler-type hat, a white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black trousers. His hand leans against the trunk of one of the large Wood's Cycads. The cluster of palm trees can be prominently seen in the photo, surrounded by other vegetation. Due to the graininess of the photo it is hard to make out more.

Did you know about one of the world's loneliest #plants?

The Wood's Cycad (Encephalartos woodii), cannot be found in the wild.

It was found in 1895 & 2 original trunks can still be viewed in the Durban Botanic Garden!

No other specimen was found & the known one can't naturally reproduce alone.

22.12.2024 05:31 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

This is an oil painting by Rembrandt called "Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee from 1633. It shows a small ship with multiple men struggling against a raging storm at sea. All the men are pulling on the flapping sails or clinging to the wooden edges of the ship. The only person calm and undisturbed is the figure on the lowest place of the boat, closest to us, the viewer. When looking closely, it becomes clear that this man is Jesus, as he is adorned with a halo. The colours are gloomy to indicate the storm.

This is a sketch by Edgar Degas called 'La Sortie de Pesage'. It shows a street scene during the Victorian Age. There are two buildings which flank a narrow alley. There are various gentlemen, some with great coats and top hats, others with simple work jackets and bowler hats. Two men are on horseback. The sketch is rudimentary and unfinished. All is in sepia tones.

This is an oil painting by Johannes Vermeer called 'Het concert' from 1664. It shows three people, two women, one playing the harpsichord in a yellow and white dress, and one standing, wearing a double-layered blue dress and singing. The third person is a man with shoulder-length hair, whose back is turned to the viewer. We see a large wide strap around his back and just a bit of his left hand, indicating he is playing the flute. The trio sit in a white-washed room with two very large paintings on the wall, a chessboard-patterned floor and a heavy wooden table to the left, which has an expensive rug and another flute draped over it. A contrabass lies on the floor in front of the table. The colours are soft and muted.

Do you know about the highest-value museum robbery in #history?

In 1990, 2 policemen corresponded to a call at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston...in which they subdued the guards, & stole 13 irreplaceable works of #art.

The robbery took 81 min & had a value of $600 mil.

10.12.2024 05:15 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

This is a drawing of the Eddystone Lighthouse. It was the first off-shore lighthouse & utterly destroyed and swept away by the Great Storm. All six inhabitants were never seen again. The drawing shows a sepia-coloured tower with octagonal sides at the base. Various windows and doors are visible, and the base is topped with a viewing platform. This platform has weights and a flagpole hanging from it. Above the platform is a rounded roof, then a higher, narrower tower. This one appears to contain many small windows and seemingly a metal wind pane in the shape of a flag. The whole tower stands upon a rocky outcrop. The date of completion on the drawing states 1699.

Did you know that the Brits used to be right for complaining about the weather?

On 07 Dec. 1703, the British Isles were battered by a Cat 2 #Hurricane. Some 10k people died.

Queen Anne had to shelter, & 4k great oaks were uprooted.

Some windmills were driven so fast that they caught fire!

05.12.2024 05:32 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Hoard of Roman coins found during building work in Worcestershire The discovery of 1,368 Iron Age and Roman coins is expected to be valued at more than £100,000.

#numismatics #news

A remarkable discovery in Worcestershire: 1,368 Roman and Iron Age coins, including the largest collection from Nero's reign, have been unearthed. 🏺✨ #History #Archaeology

www.bbc.com/news/article...

02.12.2024 20:00 — 👍 79    🔁 23    💬 2    📌 0

Palaeo-Philosophy? Sounds intriguing!

Are you still writing (maybe about the Stone Circles)?

03.12.2024 07:09 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Did you know that during the 17th c., a Swede was sentenced to death for having sex with nature spirit?

Peder Jönsson was promised luck if he slept with a water spirit.

It was his wife who brought the case to court.

He was the only confirmed person executed for the crime.
#mythology #history

03.12.2024 07:01 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

‘Would you survive 72 hours?’ Germany and the Nordic countries prepare citizens for possible war Apps and booklets are offering advice on how to build a bunker, stockpile food and live without electricity in case the worst happens

This is a thought-provoking article concerning #war preparedness in #Europe.

The Nordics have published info for their citizens, Poland (& soon Germany) has made building bunkers with new homes mandatory.

Are you concerned?

www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...

29.11.2024 06:57 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

2/ His magi saw his dreams as her giving birth to a son who would steal his throne.

He ordered a hit on the future child, but the general tasked gave the baby to a shepherd instead.

The child would later overthrow his grandfather.

#history #persia #dreams

29.11.2024 05:19 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

1/ Did you know that kings should trust their dreams?

The last king of Media, Astyages, had a dream of his daughter Mandane urinating so much that it flooded his cities.

Then he dreamed again of her having a vine grow from her back, enveloping all of Asia.

🧵

29.11.2024 05:19 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0

This is a statue of the Emperor. It shows a very young male's head, with short hair and mutton chops. He is sporting a patchy moustache.""His eyes are large and hooded, his nose and mouth of average size. The statue is made from 221 AD and made from marble.

Did you know Emperor Elagabalus epitomised "live fast, die young"?

He came to power at 14 & forced the senators to worship him.
He married & divorced 5x. He also had 2 male lovers & was transgender. He prostituted himself too.

He was assassinated at age 18.

#ancientrome #history #lgbtq

28.11.2024 04:56 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

This is a photo of a granite statue of a mouse on a stone pedestal. The mouse wears glasses and a cloak and is intently knitting a DNA helix. The background is a forest.

Did you know that there's a monument to laboratory mice?

In Akademgorodok, Russia, a monument of a mouse knitting DNA was erected in 2013.

It honours the sacrifice lab mice have made in the development of drugs to cure disease!

#science #mice

25.11.2024 05:47 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Did you know that to be considered wealthy in Ancient Rome, you had to have a minimum of 1500 roof tiles?

➡️In other news: Hello everyone! I post about history, mythology and occasionally philosophy.
Because it's fun😄

Nice to meet you all!

#history #mythology #philosophy

25.11.2024 02:15 — 👍 7    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0