How the British Buried a Suicide

We all know what a civilized society the U.K. has developed over centuries.

Their belief in a certain superstition in the 19th century is a good indicator of how far England still had to go at that time.

When a person committed suicide in England, the superstitious British buried a suicide at a public crossroads, with a stake through the heart. (Sounds a little like the Dracula myth, doesn't it?)

The practice continued until as late as 1823, about 180 years ago, when it was finally outlawed. 180 years is a blink of the eye in terms of history.

Source: The Old Curiosity Shop, Charles Dickens

Why Grooms Carry Brides Across the Threshold

The historical tradition of a groom carrying his bride across the threshold is over 3,000 years old.

It is based on the Rape of the Sabine Women. When you go back this far in history it can become hard to tell myth from history, but the story is an ancient one whose tradition has carried down to the present day.

As newly founded Rome grew in size, its founder Romulus discovered that he had many men but very few women, and that the male population of immigrants to the city was growing rapidly. The Sabines were a people who lived near Rome. They refused to let their daughters intermarry with Romans.

Romulus invited the Sabines to attend games in honor of Neptune in Rome. When they did, bringing their daughters with them, the Romans carried off the young Sabine women, on a pre-arranged signal given by Romulus.

A war between the Sabines and the Romans began. In order to stop the war that began over them the young, kidnapped women intervened. They convinced their Sabine fathers to cease their attack and allow their marriages to the Romans.

The Sabine women attached several conditions to their agreement to marry the Roman men, however. The most noteworthy was that the Roman husband had to carry his Sabine bride across the threshold of their new home.

The ritual was to symbolize that initially the Sabine women were forcibly taken by the Roman men against their will into their homes.

That is the historical reason why bridegrooms still carry their brides across the threshold today. The ritual still takes place after our modern weddings, though most people don't know why they do it. Now you know why.

Source: History of Rome, Livy

What Sacred Object is Located in The Dome of the Rock?

This is a Grant's tomb question. The sacred object is a Rock. Not just any rock, though. It is about 200 feet long. It is believed to be the rock upon which Abraham was to sacrifice his first born son, Isaac. It was also the site of Solomon and Herod's Temples.

It is now a mosque and sacred to the Moslem world because it is believed to be the rock from which Mohammed ascended into heaven. There he met with God and Jesus Christ and received the revelations revealed in the Koran. Moslems believe that the blessed can see the imprints of Mohammed's feet on the rock.

Why Sunni? Why Shia?

This post goes well beyond the trivial when we consider its significance in today's Middle East. Why and when did the great schism in the Moslem world between Sunnis and Shiites take place?

The schism took place not long after Mohammed's death on June 7, 632 a.d. The great prophet did not designate an heir.

He had chosen Abu Bekr, his friend, to conduct prayers in the Medina mosque. Abu Bekr was elected by the Moslem elders as the first Caliph (Khalifa) of Islam. It merely meant "representative" at the time. His official title was "Commander of the Faithful (amir al-muminin)". From this group came the Sunni faith, and the Caliphate of Baghdad.

Ali, cousin and son-in-law, of the Prophet, disagreed and withheld allegiance for six months. In 656 a.d. the Hashimite clan elevated Ali to the caliphate in opposition to the present Sunni caliph, Othman. Ali was 55. After his followers killed Othman, moved the capital to Kufa, near ancient Babylon in Iraq.

The new Sunni leader, Muawiya, eventually met Ali in battle to decide which should be caliph. Ali was killed by a soldier with a blow to the brain by a poisoned sword in 661 , during a truce, at An Najaf. It is now a sacred Shiite (followers of Ali) shrine in Iraq. After receiving clemency, Ali's son Hasan retired to Mecca and died in 669.

In 680 a.d. Mohammed's grandson, Husein, was persuaded by the Moslems of Kufa to come to Iraq from Mecca with a promise to make him caliph. His caravan was intercepted and Husein and his whole family was killed at Karbala in Iraq. That is the significance of the shrine at Karbala, to which the Shiites make pilgrimages each year worshiping the memory of Ali, Hasan, and Husein.

Source: The Age of Faith, Will Durant

Mongols Destroy the Baghdad Caliphate

The Mongols came from northwest Asia. They put Baghdad under siege in 1258. They were led by the grandson of Genghis Khan ("Great Chief"), a man named Hulagu.

After a month of siege, the Caliph of Baghdad sent Hulaga presents and an offer of surrender. Hulaga offered clemency in order to secure a peaceful surrender of Baghdad. The Mongols entered Baghdad without resistance on February 13, 1258.

Treacherously, the Mongols proceeded over the next 40 days to kill the 800,000 residents of Baghdad, one of the most notorious and largest massacres of all time.

A nomadic people, the Mongols pillaged the city and moved on, never trying to settle anywhere. They planned to eventually return to Mongolia.

The Baghdad Caliphate was one of the most advanced civilizations of its time, the result of Arab conquests during the rise of Mohammedanism. Its destruction marked the beginning of the decline of the Moslem world.

Source: The Age of Faith, Will Durant

Greek Myth #1-Prometheus Gives Man Fire

I thought it would be a good idea to add a Greek myth every once in a while. They are highly imaginative and, in additon to teaching a constructive lesson, they reflected ancient ideas of how the gods acted, how we were created, how the earth was formed, etc.

Zeus had Prometheus create humankind from mud and water. Man's existence was harsh and brutal since it had no protection from the beasts which Prometheus's brother had created. It was especially dangerous at night since man had no source of light.

Feeling sorry for them Prometheus stole fire from heaven and gave it to man. It allowed him to cook his food and have light at night for protection. Zeus was furious when he found what Prometheus had done. He chained him to Mount Caucasus where an eagle ate his liver. The liver would grow back and the eagle would eat the new one.

This was a constant source of torture for Prometheus until, according to another myth, he was freed by Hercules.

Source: Bullfinch's Mythology, edited by Richard Martin

Cleopatra was Greek, not Egyptian

Cleopatra was the last Queen of Egypt. She was a Greek by birth, however, not Egyptian. She was Cleopatra VII, part of the Ptolemy line of Macedonian rulers that ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 b.c.

She had an affair with Julius Caesar and bore him a son, named Ptolemy Caesar . After Caesars's death in 44 b.c. she took Mark Antony as her lover.

Mark Antony committed suicide some time after she and her fleet abandoned Antony at the critical naval battle near Actium in 31 b.c. The battle pitted Antony and Cleopatra against Octavian for rule of the whole Roman Empire.

Cleopatra committed her famous suicide, at the age of 39. Julius Caesar's son was murdered, as was customary in those times, on the orders of Octavian. This was to prevent any possible future hereditary challengers to Octavian's reign.

Octavian became Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor. He ruled until his death in A.D. 14.

Source: The Roman History, Cassius Dio

Caligula's Real Name

Caligula is the name of the most insane and bloodthirsty of the Roman Caesars. Caligula wasn't his real name, though. His real name was Gaius Caesar. His father was Germanicus, brother of Claudius (of "I, Claudius" fame).

Caligula actually is roughly translated in English to "Bootikin" or "little boots." It was an affectionate nickname given him by the Roman troops because he grew up among them during his father's military campaigns and wore a miniature uniform in the camp.

He was insane by the time he became emperor. He committed incest with his sister Drusilla and made his horse a senator. He would take a senators' wife out of a banquet, have sex with her, and then return to the banquet and describe her sexual attributes in front of the whole audience, including the humiliated senator.

He was eventually assassinated on January 24, 41 A.D. He had ruled for 4 terrorizing years. He was only 29 when he died. His uncle Claudius succeeded him as emperor.

Source: Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Suetonius

The First Novel Published in the United States

It was "Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded", written by English novelist Samuel Richardson and published in America in 1774. The publisher was none other than Benjamin Franklin. An excellent biography entitled 'Benjamin Franklin, An American Life" written by Walter Isaacson contains this and other fascinating facts about our greatest maxim-maker.

Examples: "Fish and visitors stink in three days;" "An ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure;" "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise;" "Three may keep a secret if two are dead."

The First English Dictionary

In terms of history, the first dictionary in English was relatively late in arriving. It was compiled by Samuel Johnson and published in 1755. Mr. Johnson was a leading figure in London intellectual society.

Johnson compiled his dictionary with the help of only 6 others. Not many when you consider today's modern dictionary publishers. Before its publication people had nothing but their memory to know the meaning of a word.

His dictionary was the definitive one for the next 150 years until the arrival of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Mr. Johnson was known to be strongly opinionated as well as sarcastic. He did not suffer fools gladly. His dictionary is very different from our modern dictionaries. He did not try to be objective in his definitions. One of the most famous was his definition of a "patron."

He defined a patron as "One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery." That was based on his personal experience with his own patron who backed out of financial support for Johnson's work on the dictionary.

His larger than life character is famously detailed in "The Life of Samuel Johnson, LLD." The author was James Boswell.

I'll sprinkle other humorous definitions from Johnson in future posts.