G l i t t e r i n g G a t e w a y t o t h e A n c i e n t W o r l d
What is Byzantium? This last phase of the Roman empire has never really become a part of the of the popular imagination in the West. Once Rome was conquered, that was it until the European Renaissance. Well, of course this is wildly incorrect. The empire persisted in various forms until the sack of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. It was the first Christian nation, and preserved the intellectual legacy of the classical world, passing it on to scholars in the West. And of course it Christianized and civilized the surrounding the slavic nations. The cultural stamp of Eastern Orthodoxy and Byzantine culture on Russia and her neighbours is at the very core of who they are today.
In essence Byzantium is the the final distillation of ancient culture. It is the closest point in the stream of time that the immediate heirs of Odysseus, Socrates, Cicero, and Marcus Aurelius can be to us. And of course Byzantine history is in itself absolutely fascinating. The Byzantines loved and lived, destroyed and despaired as much as any of us today, and their story deserves a prominent place in the pageant of our history.
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One of the best gateways on the web to the ancient world is The Ancient World Web, above left. Nicely organized and wide-ranging, you can't go wrong visiting this site.
The Greeks are the West's most direct cultural ancestor in the ancient world. What we think, the way we say it, the way in which we govern ourselves all mark us as their legacy to the world. Today we talk of Oedipal complexes and Trojan Horses, we practice - however imperfectly - demokratia and attend public theatre. For that matter we still watch their theater. And of course our most basic assumptions of an individual's place in society at large stem from the Greek experience. Tufts University in Boston has a fascinating ongoing, online study of ancient Greek history and culture, the Perseus Project, above. And from Sweden a simply superb site - easy to navigate, utterly comprehensive - is Carlos Parada's Greek Mythology Link. Don't miss it!
Surrounding this space are links to some other ancient world sites. If you are aware of some sites which you think are superior to the ones presently selected, please e-mail me and I will certainly consider using your recommended link.
On this page I have tried to highlight some lesser known aspects of the West's cultural heritage. For example, the Hittites link at left is worth exploring. The Hittites formed what may plausibly be called the world's first empire, suprisingly advanced for its time, and utterly lost to us for millenia. As well, the Minoan and Mesopotamian links take you back to a time when some of the most basic elements of our society were just being conceived of, indeed, by men and women who had so few resources to start with.
Below are some more links which may be of interest. The House of Netjer is a site for those who worship ancient Egyptian gods(!). I present it as an interesting contrast to the Patriarch of Constantinople site at the top of the page. The other two are my own sites, and reflect my other interests - politics as an opportunity for every citizen to wield power, and the amazing world of space exploration unscientifically coupled with science-fiction. Enjoy!
This page was created by Nick Van der Graaf, Toronto, Canada. You are visitor number: