Spartans- The Great Fighter of Greece

In the history of the world, very few civilization have gained interest of the individuals, Sparta was one of the few which is known for its great fighters in history. The history of this civilization is not quite like others, it was an ancient Greek polis that was surrounded by many enemies, and so Spartan citizens began preparing for war at birth. Unlike other Greek city states Spartans valued strength and simplicity. It was located on a plane between the mountains and the see which is known as Peloponnesus. They grew much of what they needed as they were very suspicious of outsiders. F they short anything they need they take it from their neighbors through their military powers.

Sparta was one of the most important city states of Greece. It was the worrier society of ancient Greece. It was famous for its military skills and bravery. Spartan culture was mainly focused on loyalty to the state and military service. This worrier society in ancient Greece reached heights of its power after defeating Athens in Peloponnesian war (431BC-404BC). After Sparta being defeated by Thebes in the battle of Leuctra in 371BC ended Sparta’s prominent role in Greece.

Sparta in Greek mythology:- In Greek mythology Sparta was the daughter of Eurotas by Clete. Lacedaemon was the son of Zeus, who gave his name to the region and his wife’s name to the city which was Sparta. Sparta and Lacedaemon had two kids- Amyclas and Eurydice of Argos. Sparta was a fair and beautiful maiden worth defending and protecting at all costs. The armies and villagers would often shout her name before entering battle field representing what they were fighting for.

Spartan government and army:- Spartan government was different from others as it was an oligarchy. It had two hereditary kings from two separate families. They were the priests of Zeus. The important decisions were on the hands of gerousia; the Council of Elders. The members of the gerousia were men at least of 60 years age and must be from a noble family. The 28 member council had the real authority. On the other hand the assembly had very little powers in their hands.

Spartan’s entire culture was centered on war. Spartan boys at age of 7 entered a strict state sponsored education, military training and socialization program known as Agoge. This system emphasized duty, discipline and endurance. They wanted to build up a race of great warriors and for that they used to take care of the individuals from their birth itself. Their present a team of experts who used to visit a house where a baby was born and examined the health and physic of the baby. If he or she found to be weak then the team of experts recommended abandoning him or her to a deserted place. The Spaterns women were also well built and also mastered fighting skills like man.

Women in Sparta:- Spartan women lived as simple life as Spartan men. They did not wear jewelry or use cosmetic or perfume. Like men Spartan women also were strong and healthy and ready to fight. A woman was expected to be look after her husband’s property and guard it against invaders and revolts from slaves at the time of war. They were free to spend nights with their husband’s friends. They were also allowed to marry another man in case their husband is away for very long time from home for war. They could own and control their own property. They enjoyed more status than any other Greek women.


Referance:-
movies-300 (2006)
              Meet the Spartans(2008)
              Troy(2004)
              The Odyssey(1997)
Series- Spartacus(1960)
Book-Gates of fire(1999)
           The Spartans: An epic history(2002)
           The history of the Peloponnesian war(1848)

Museum- past & present

Everyone must have heard of museums and many of you may have visited one. So, the question is- what is a museum? What is it meant for? And what is the history behind it? Let’s go a little deeper.

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical or scientific importance. Museums generally aims for satisfying human desire, provide materials for researchers and providing information to public. Museums are of various types-
1.art museum
2.science museum
3.war museum
4.natural history museum
5.children’s museum

•History of museum- Museums have a long history’ starting from human desire and curiosity to know and collect and interpret everything. The word museum origins from the Greek word ‘mouseion’ meant “seat of the muses” which was a philosophical institution or a place of contemplation. The very first museum was situated at Alexandriya founded by Ptolemy in 3rd century BC was more of a prototype university. By 17th century museum was being used in Europe to describe collection of curiosity. In 19th and 20th century museum used for a building housing cultural material to which public had excess. But later on the emphasis on ‘the building’ became less. Museum like ecomuseum which means ‘museum without walls’, virtual museum which is a digital entity that draws on the characteristics of a museum totally changed the definition of museum.

•Then and now- The concept of preservation and interpretation formed the base of museum. The evidence of collections of objects has been found in Paleolithic burials like the caves and mobiliary art of that period. In 2nd millennium BC at Larsa of Mesopotamia, copies of old inscriptions were used in the schools.  Later ion some findings evident that Babylonian kings may have collected antiquities in their day. In the Greek and roman empires work of art and natural curiosities, as well as exotic items brought from various parts of the empires were displayed to the public often upon payment of a small fee.

•The modern museum can trace some of its origins to private collections maintained by individuals during the Renaissance. Over time a developing spirit of enquiry brought to collecting a different meaning and purpose. The first body to receive a private collection, erect a building to house it and make it publicly available was the University of Oxford. The resulting building, which later known as Ashmolean museum opened in 1683. During industrialization process in Europe two museums- in London the British Museum and in Parish the Louvre opened. Before the end of 18th century the phenomenon of the museum had spread to other parts of the world. By the early 19th century the granting of public access to private collections had become more common. Along with the identification of a clear role for museums in society, there gradually developed a body of theory the study of which known as museology.
In this way the development of museum occur over time. It has a broad history, whose journey start from ancient institution of philosophy to recent age high-tech museums. This is a topic of many interests.

Thank you,
Aliza

El Dorado- the mysterious city of gold

              You must have heard this name many times in many fictional movies, in history books and from others. If you don’t know then El Dorado is a mythical city believed to be in somewhere on earth. It’s a city of many interests. Literally its meaning is ‘the golden one’. There are myths and believes that El Dorado is the golden city where everything is of gold present in between dense forest and mountains.

Stories and legends:-

•There are many legends behind the existence of this city. There are many accounts about the legend that Muisca people used to perform some kind of ceremony where the new king who would cover himself in gold dust during festivals and dive into Lake Guatavita from a raft and golden jewels were thrown into the lake to apprise a god that lived underwater. Originally El Dorado means ‘the gilded man’ referred to an individual but over time the myth changed and it became ‘the city of gold’.

Location:-

•Europeans believed that a place with immense wealth known as El Dorado. The mythical city of El Dorado was supposed to be located in the interior part of South America. When some Spanish explorer reached South America they heard stories about some tribe in the heights of Andes Mountain of now Colombia.

Search of the city:-

•When Francisco Pizarro conquered the mighty Inca Empire in 1530 and looted them, after him some adventurers followed the rumors of gold.The Spanish explorer Gonzolo Jimenez De Quesada discovered the Muisca people in 1537 the Spanish searched for the gold according to the legends but didn’t find much of gold but they refuse to believe that it was just a myth. Between 1530 and 1650 or so thousands of Europeans searched the South America and many of them lost their lives during their search.
•However, this may be true or only myths we can never know, but still the stories behind the city and the search mission creates strange feeling of excitement whenever I thought about the mysterious El Dorado.

A lots of movies were made, adventure books are written based on this mythical city. But it's still to discover it's only a legend or its for true.

Please comment and follow if you like my blogs.

Thank you,

Aliza