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TheCollector
What Makes the Nag Hammadi Library So Significant? Not long after the founding of Christianity, the Christian faith spread throughout the Roman Empire....
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Not long after the founding of Christianity, the Christian faith spread throughout the Roman Empire. As Christianity developed, the 27 books of the New Testament were recopied and distributed, along with other books, written later, which claimed false apostolic authorship. Many...
TheCollector
10 Important Sites of the Celtic World The Celtic people, who occupied large areas of Europe during the Iron Age, have left their mark...
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The Celtic people, who occupied large areas of Europe during the Iron Age, have left their mark across the landscape. Surviving Celtic sites include villages, sanctuaries, burial mounds, and natural wonders considered sacred. This article looks at ten of the most important Celtic...
Dreams of Space -...
My Weekly Reader April 30, 1962 Here is your My Weekly Reader for April 30, 1962. This is stuffed full of cool articles so let's get...
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Here is your My Weekly Reader for April 30, 1962. This is stuffed full of cool articles so let's get started! Do you understand the mysteries of the Moho? Does the Moho exist? People want to know!
TheCollector
How the Seljuks Rose from Steppe Nomads to Rulers of a Vast Empire In the 10th century, a group of nomadic Turks called the Seljuks began a migration through Central...
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In the 10th century, a group of nomadic Turks called the Seljuks began a migration through Central Asia, searching for pasture for their herds. By 1071, this tribe had formed a mighty empire that encouraged the Turkic migration and settlement of Anatolia. This would ultimately...
TheCollector
The Assyrian Conquest of Babylon (What Really Happened?) The Assyrian conquest of Babylon took centuries, with successive Assyrian kings committing to the...
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The Assyrian conquest of Babylon took centuries, with successive Assyrian kings committing to the cause. Babylon’s kings fought hard for their autonomy but could not resist the continuous onslaught. However, while the Assyrians wanted to dominate Babylon, they also respected the...
TheCollector
The Jōmon Period: Japan’s Mysterious Origin Story Long before the age of shoguns and samurai, before the Japanese people even arrived in what is now...
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Long before the age of shoguns and samurai, before the Japanese people even arrived in what is now considered their homeland, the islands were already inhabited in what is known as the Jōmon period. While the people of the Jōmon period had no written language, archaeology reveals...
A Collection of...
Fireside Friday, June 27, 2025 (On the Limits of Realism) Fireside this week! Originally, I was thinking I’d talk about the ‘future of classics’ question in...
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Fireside this week! Originally, I was thinking I’d talk about the ‘future of classics’ question in this space, but I think that deserves a full post (in connection with this week’s book recommendation and the next fireside’s book recommendation), so instead this week I want to...
TheCollector
The 6 Foundational Shinto Myths Shinto, “the way of the Gods,” has been the folk religion of Japan for thousands of years, even...
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Shinto, “the way of the Gods,” has been the folk religion of Japan for thousands of years, even after being partially subsumed into Buddhism. It resembles Taoism in many ways, with a focus on harmony with nature and ancestor veneration. Another key part of Shinto is the worship...
Flashbak
Snapshots of Kids Bike Jumping in the 1970s Back in the 1970s (and before), parents didn’t stress about our health and safety as much as they do...
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Back in the 1970s (and before), parents didn’t stress about our health and safety as much as they do today. It’s not that they cared less – they just didn’t worry obsessively about it. It’s a far guess to say that some of the kids seen bike jumping and being bike jumped (which is...
TheCollector
The Story of Kösem Sultan Who Ruled the Ottoman Empire With an Iron Fist Kösem Sultan, initially a concubine, then the wife of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I, was a...
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Kösem Sultan, initially a concubine, then the wife of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I, was a controversial figure even in her own time. She not only exercised power through three different sultans but influenced court politics in her own right. She had her son Ibrahim deposed from...
TheCollector
What Can Marcus Aurelius Teach Us About Resilience? When we encounter challenging obstacles in our lives, we instinctively tend to fight against them,...
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When we encounter challenging obstacles in our lives, we instinctively tend to fight against them, escape them, or simply freeze. Marcus Aurelius, however,  responded to obstacles in a different way. Armed by the wisdom of Stoic philosophy, he considered barriers on his journey...
Flashbak
Hubert Hilscher’s Trippy Circus Posters It seemed to me that a person who goes to the circus to see a trained lion will also want to see it...
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It seemed to me that a person who goes to the circus to see a trained lion will also want to see it on the poster: a lion that is real but different from the one that can be seen in the zoo.” – Hubert Hilscher   Hubert Hilscher (25 October 1924 – 19 September … Continue reading...
TheCollector
Discover the Land of the Moche in Northern Peru Most people traveling through Peru head south, enticed by big-ticket highlights like Machu Picchu,...
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Most people traveling through Peru head south, enticed by big-ticket highlights like Machu Picchu, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, or the Amazon. But in the north, hidden treasures abound. This dry, coastal region was once home to the Moche, a powerful pre-Inca culture known for its...
TheCollector
The Puzzling Origins & Meaning of the Nazca Lines The Nazca Lines in southern Peru fascinate history enthusiasts worldwide. Since these glyphs first...
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The Nazca Lines in southern Peru fascinate history enthusiasts worldwide. Since these glyphs first began to be studied in the early 20th century, the theories for their origin and purpose have ranged from astronomical markers to representations of the Nazca people’s mythology and...
TheCollector
The 3 Most Infamous Praetorian Plots That (Un)Made Roman Emperors The Praetorian Guards were the personal bodyguard of the Roman Emperors from the reign of Augustus...
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The Praetorian Guards were the personal bodyguard of the Roman Emperors from the reign of Augustus through to the rise of Constantine. From the first century CE to the early fourth, these soldiers had an unrivaled proximity to imperial politics. This made them incredibly...
Flashbak
Vintage Posters for The Royal Court Theatre Founded by the English Stage Company (ESC in 1956, London’s Royal Court Theatre focuses on...
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Founded by the English Stage Company (ESC in 1956, London’s Royal Court Theatre focuses on contemporary theatre. The building on Sloane Square has put on plays since its completion in 1888. The venue truly arrived when on 8 May 1956, John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger opened – a...
TheCollector
The First Punic War: A Clash of Cultures The story of the Punic Wars is usually told from the perspective of the victors, the Romans, for...
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The story of the Punic Wars is usually told from the perspective of the victors, the Romans, for whom it was the first step towards dominating the Mediterranean. For the Carthaginians, the conflict with Rome initially seemed like a third-party dispute that would be resolved...
TheCollector
Amaterasu, the Mercurial Goddess of the Sun in Japanese Mythology When something is 100% certain, we often say that it’s “as sure as the sun rises in the east.”...
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When something is 100% certain, we often say that it’s “as sure as the sun rises in the east.” That’s because the sun is the most dependable thing in all of human history. Except perhaps in Japanese mythology. Personified by the goddess Amaterasu (lit. “Heaven Shining”), one of...
TheCollector
What Is Egyptian Blue? From Ancient Art to Modern Science Egyptian blue, the world’s first synthetic pigment, is so much more than just a color. Its...
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Egyptian blue, the world’s first synthetic pigment, is so much more than just a color. Its incomparable radiance was revered by pharaohs, and its complex chemical properties have long mystified researchers. Nearly 5,000 years later, it continues to captivate us with its ancient...
TheCollector
5 Famous Operas Based on Greek Mythology Love, jealousy, vengeance, and a multitude of other thrilling emotions give lasting intrigue to the...
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Love, jealousy, vengeance, and a multitude of other thrilling emotions give lasting intrigue to the tales of ancient Greek mythology. With such passionate feelings and magical allure, it is no wonder that many of these stories have become muses for some of the world’s most famous...
TheCollector
Plutarch & His Parallel Lives: The Biographer of Greece & Rome Every student of ancient history has heard the name Plutarch, whose extensive collection of...
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Every student of ancient history has heard the name Plutarch, whose extensive collection of biographies of important figures from Greek and Roman history has become part of the standard curriculum. While he was a prolific writer, his most famous work is his Parallel Lives, in...
TheCollector
How Did Genghis Khan Die? Theories and Mysteries We know the ferocious and ruthless yet able Mongol Khan died in August 1227 aged 65. August 18 is...
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We know the ferocious and ruthless yet able Mongol Khan died in August 1227 aged 65. August 18 is often given as the date. However, the reasons for his death are still shrouded in mystery. His rise from Temujin to Genghis Khan just two decades prior marked an empire-building...
TheCollector
Exploring the Sacred Valley Before the Incas When people think of Peru’s Sacred Valley, they picture Inca ruins, royal estates, and sun temples...
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When people think of Peru’s Sacred Valley, they picture Inca ruins, royal estates, and sun temples carved high into the impossibly beautiful Andes. But this fertile corridor has a much older story. Before Cusco became a capital, other civilizations were building, farming,...
TheCollector
9 Myths About the Greek God Hephaestus Hephaestus, the god of smithing and fire, was counted among the twelve Olympian gods. He does not...
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Hephaestus, the god of smithing and fire, was counted among the twelve Olympian gods. He does not feature as prominently in Greek myths as the rest of his family, but he is credited with creating all the divine tools used by gods and heroes, from Zeus’ aegis to the armor of...
TheCollector
8 Myths About the Greek God Ares Ares was the Greek god of war and battle frenzy. He numbered among the twelve Olympian gods who...
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Ares was the Greek god of war and battle frenzy. He numbered among the twelve Olympian gods who ruled over the cosmos. While his sister Athena was a goddess of war, representing strategy and temperance, Ares represented battle lust and the horrors of war. He was often followed...
TheCollector
Battle of Andrassos: Byzantine Empire vs. Sayf al-Dawla’s Jihad During the 10th century CE Sayf al-Dawla, Sword of the Dynasty, ruler of the Emirate of Aleppo...
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During the 10th century CE Sayf al-Dawla, Sword of the Dynasty, ruler of the Emirate of Aleppo became the most prominent antagonist of the Byzantine Empire. Taking up the call of jihad, he launched devastating raids year after year across the Taurus mountains into the lands of...
TheCollector
Who Were the Desert Fathers (& Mothers)? The Desert Fathers appeared on the Christian historical scene in the third century CE. Saint Anthony...
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The Desert Fathers appeared on the Christian historical scene in the third century CE. Saint Anthony is often considered the most notable among them, though he was not the first. The Desert Fathers were committed and dedicated believers who chose an ascetic lifestyle that would...
TheCollector
The Metaphysics of Stoicism: 4 Key Tenets One of the most fundamental questions examined by most philosophical schools of thought is the...
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One of the most fundamental questions examined by most philosophical schools of thought is the nature of existence. According to Stoicism, everything in the universe is matter, created, animated, destroyed, and recreated by divine fire, logos. Consequently, everything is...
Trying to Understand...
Digging Deeper. Because the alternative is worse.
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TheCollector
8 Important Norse Symbols From the Viking World While many stories survive about Norse mythology and legendary Viking warriors, these mostly come...
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While many stories survive about Norse mythology and legendary Viking warriors, these mostly come from later Christian accounts, as the pagan Vikings wrote very little about themselves. But symbols were powerful in the Viking world. They could be used as shorthand for important...
TheCollector
How Did People Track Time Before Clocks? Humans’ age-old desire to tell time has helped propel the rise of more advanced time-telling tools....
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Humans’ age-old desire to tell time has helped propel the rise of more advanced time-telling tools. The need to track the different parts of the day and night led people in ancient civilizations, such as those in Greece and Egypt, to develop water clocks, sundials, and other...
TheCollector
The Forgotten Son of Claudius Who Never Became an Emperor Britannicus was the son of the Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Messalina. The infant boy...
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Britannicus was the son of the Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Messalina. The infant boy was proudly named Britannicus by his father following his conquest of Britain, and as Claudius’s only living son, Britannicus was his presumed heir.   But when Messalina fell from...
TheCollector
Francisco Goya’s Descent into Madness: The Disturbing Black Paintings Francisco Goya grew up to be a vibrant young artist in late 18th-century Spain, yet he is known for...
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Francisco Goya grew up to be a vibrant young artist in late 18th-century Spain, yet he is known for some of art history’s darkest works. The Black Paintings were a series of dark, pessimistic subjects that an elderly Goya painted on the interior walls of his private home, never...
TheCollector
10 Masterpieces of Ottoman Architecture In its early years, the Ottoman Empire was inspired by Persio-Islamic and Byzantine culture. This...
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In its early years, the Ottoman Empire was inspired by Persio-Islamic and Byzantine culture. This affected the style of Ottoman architecture, and Mosques, madrasas, hospitals, bazaars, and palaces reflected this rich cultural blend. Learn about ten architectural marvels from the...
TheCollector
7 Great Medieval Cities That Thrived on Trade In medieval Europe, trade was a key part of the day-to-day economy. Great trading cities would see...
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In medieval Europe, trade was a key part of the day-to-day economy. Great trading cities would see hundreds, if not thousands, of merchants pass through their city gates every year, selling wares from lands as far away as India and China. It is hard to fathom in today’s...
TheCollector
4 Historic Sites in Arizona Arizona, home to Phoenix, the fifth-largest city in the United States, maybe one of the youngest...
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Arizona, home to Phoenix, the fifth-largest city in the United States, maybe one of the youngest states in the nation, but its history runs deep. Beyond its reputation for spring training games, vibrant universities, and record-high temperatures, Arizona offers a wealth of...
Flashbak
The Lives of Stray Cats In Gay Talese’s New York: A Serendipiter’s Journey, 1961 “When street traffic dwindles and most people are sleeping, some New York neighborhoods begin to...
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“When street traffic dwindles and most people are sleeping, some New York neighborhoods begin to crawl with cats.” – Gay Talese, Serendipiter’s Journey   Written in 1961 when he was 29 and working for Esquire magazine, Gay Talese’s New York: A Serendipiter’s Journey.is an...
TheCollector
How Frida Kahlo Transformed Pain Into a Timeless Artistic Legacy Characterized by deep symbolism and vibrant color palettes, the works of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo...
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Characterized by deep symbolism and vibrant color palettes, the works of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo have been described as introspective and deeply personal. Best known for her powerful self-portraits, Kahlo’s works reflect lifelong health struggles, including her chronic pain...
TheCollector
Who Is Lilith and Did Adam Have a Wife Before Eve? Although medieval folklore abounds with demonesses, none is more prominent than Lilith. Her origins...
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Although medieval folklore abounds with demonesses, none is more prominent than Lilith. Her origins trace back to Mesopotamian myths older than 2000 BCE, and similar spirits appear in even earlier traditions. Apart from one vague reference in Isaiah 34, Lilith is absent from the...
History Today Feed
‘The Writer’s Lot’ by Robert Darnton review ‘The Writer’s Lot’ by Robert Darnton review JamesHoare Tue, 06/24/2025 - 08:09
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TheCollector
The Life & Death of John (Son of Zebedee) of the Twelve Disciples John was the youngest among the Twelve Disciples. Throughout church history, Bible scholars have...
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John was the youngest among the Twelve Disciples. Throughout church history, Bible scholars have known him as John the Beloved, John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, John the Elder, and the Beloved Apostle. He seems to have been a two-sided character, on the one hand “a son of...
TheCollector
Thor’s Adventures in Jotunheim (The Norse Myth of Utgard-Loki) The Prose Edda preserves a strange story that sees Thor, Loki, and two servants traveling to...
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The Prose Edda preserves a strange story that sees Thor, Loki, and two servants traveling to Jotunheim. But when they get there, nothing is as it seems. They encounter a world of illusion. Overall, it feels a bit like the Norse version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Many of...
TheCollector
Anne of Cleves: The Wife King Henry Loved Most? Anne of Cleves is often characterized as Henry VIII’s least favorite wife. The infamous womanizer...
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Anne of Cleves is often characterized as Henry VIII’s least favorite wife. The infamous womanizer had his marriage to her annulled on the basis that her looks were so unappealing that he could not consummate the union. But the evidence of Henry’s treatment of Anne after their...
TheCollector
Bayezid the “Thunderbolt”, the Ottoman Sultan Who Died in Captivity In the late 14th century, Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I annexed several Turkic emirates to ensure the...
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In the late 14th century, Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I annexed several Turkic emirates to ensure the political unity of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). The lords who had their principalities usurped by Bayezid requested the aid of Timur, founder of the Samarqand-based Timurid dynasty,...
TheCollector
The Iconography of Augustus’s Ara Pacis in Rome Rome’s first emperor Augustus erected the Ara Pacis, an altar dedicated to Pax Romana, in 13 BCE. It...
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Rome’s first emperor Augustus erected the Ara Pacis, an altar dedicated to Pax Romana, in 13 BCE. It celebrated that Augustus had brought peace to Rome following years of war, and its dedication coincided with a period during which Augustus promoted the importance of family and...
TheCollector
Meet Henry the Navigator, the Man Who Began the Age of Exploration The late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period saw the “Age of Exploration” really come into play,...
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The late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period saw the “Age of Exploration” really come into play, from a Eurocentric viewpoint. Some of the biggest names in history are to be found in this period: Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama, Marco Polo, and perhaps a man that you’ve...
TheCollector
How Many Children Did Genghis Khan Have? Separating Myth from Reality Genghis Khan’s genetic legacy has never been doubted. The question is, how many kids did Genghis...
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Genghis Khan’s genetic legacy has never been doubted. The question is, how many kids did Genghis Khan have? According to historical records, Khan’s official heirs numbered four through his primary wife Börte. Married to Temujin, later Khan, at age 17, Börte’s original tribe...
History Today Feed
Marcus Garvey Meets the KKK Marcus Garvey Meets the KKK JamesHoare Mon, 06/23/2025 - 08:06
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TheCollector
Was Camelot Inspired by a Real Location? In the legends of King Arthur, the famous capital city of the king is Camelot. Yet despite the fact...
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In the legends of King Arthur, the famous capital city of the king is Camelot. Yet despite the fact that the Arthurian legends are based in a historical setting, Camelot itself is widely regarded as fictional. It is considered to have been an invention of the French writers who...
TheCollector
How Virgil Made Aeneas an Epic Hero Originally a minor figure in the Homeric epic The Iliad, Aeneas is cast by Virgil as the hero in his...
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Originally a minor figure in the Homeric epic The Iliad, Aeneas is cast by Virgil as the hero in his epic The Aeneid. This is an appropriate choice for Augustan Rome when Virgil was writing. Aeneas displays important virtues and an expedient bloodline, but he does not always meet...