Maty's blog
| 2022-10-03 |
| History … of what? |
The other day I was annoyed yet again by the idea that 'history' is somehow a sexist word because – after one inserts an extra 's' - it can be read as 'his story'. The word actually comes from Greek and means 'inquiry'. Should we also excise or amend 'helix', 'hegemon' and 'hemisphere' because they are words from Greek that begin with 'he'? Nevertheless, what stops this from being another loony idea from the far shores of political correctness is the sad fact that history often is 'his story' – written by males about men who made the record by demonstrating why 'toxic' masculinity also is not just a wokey buzzword. Now I'm not arguing that this sort of history is unimportant – events in Ukraine show that this toxic mentality still exists among world leaders and the implications and consequences need to be studied. However, there's another kind of history that seems to me more interesting. The development of Roman swords is doubtless fascinating – gory instruments of destruction always have a morbid appeal. Yet even in the Roman legions some soldiers spent an entire career without drawing a gladius in anger. But (for example) how about the development of Roman toothbrushes – implements that they probably wielded every day? How much do we know about them? We know an awful lot about Roman attitudes to warfare, but how did the Romans feel about oral hygiene? This is the sort of thing that is actually fundamental – you can't understand Romans without understanding their society and a society starts with the minor details. Even if you are a 'big history' enthusiast who prefers to read about the deeds of great men, these details matter. It's the trivial things that shape who we are, how we think and our concepts of the world, and these feed through into how we take decisions and act. If we do not understand the Roman concept of things like honour, love and death, we run the risk of assuming that Romans thought just as we do today – and they most definitely did not. |
| 2022-09-04 |
| Global or Local? |
| Recently I've been debating globalization with an economist friend of mine. He argues that 'comparative advantage' means that we get cheaper goods from – for example – China than can be produced locally. To which I respond that those cheaper goods enrich American billionaires and the Chinese but don't do much for people locally. And since 'supply chain issues' have become an excuse for all types of commercial failure, his argument is currently looking somewhat weaker. As a historian I point out that over ninety percent of what was consumed by an ancient city was produced by that city, and that proportion went up, not down as the Roman empire became more established. Why, when our neighbours can grow plums in their back yard, does our local supermarket import them from California? In short I'm something of a localist – indeed, much of what we eat is grown in our garden or baked my my oven. A lot of our energy comes from solar panels on the roof, and my clothes are sourced locally (from the thrift shop – fortunately sartorial elegance is not a social requirement hereabouts). Nevertheless, as my economist friend points out, my own position is somewhat hypocritical. After all, my books sell in over thirty countries in over a dozen languages. You can't get much more global than that. |
| 2022-08-04 |
| Vote for Democracy! |
| Lately I've been following a debate about whether the dysfunctional democracy of the Late Republic was better or worse than the (relatively) efficient autocracy of the early empire. The word 'freedom' is thrown around a lot, though there's a counter-argument that no-one in a civilized society is truly free. If you want roads, some safety from violence and health care you need to submit to a degree of coercion - usually manifested by police and taxes. The best you can do is pick your masters - and in a dysfunctional democracy the choice is limited. (For example between an octogenarian in cognitive decline and an unstable demagogue.) The issue is not driven by just ancient history either - at present countries such as China are making a strong propaganda pitch for the 'efficient autocracy' model. The problem is that efficient autocracies never stay that way. Eventually an Augustus becomes a Nero, and then succession issues get involved. In the end one is forced to agree with Churchill's comment that 'Democracy is the worst form of government ever invented - with the exception of all the other kinds that have been tried from time to time.' Also, democracies are built to be messy. There are demonstrations, and even riots at irregular intervals. Periodically the government ends up in the hands of people you wouldn't trust with a toy train set. That's not a problem with the system - it IS the system. So in the end it boils down to whether or not you believe that people are capable of governing themselves. And equally importantly, if you don't think so, what's the alternative? (Before you decide, read Plato's 'Republic', where he and his fellow philosophers decide that the best people for the job of running what seems like a totalitarian nightmare are 'good men' like themselves.) |
| 2022-07-04 |
| Modern Mythologers |
| Enough is enough? After watching a few Hollywood abominations describing the world of Greek myth, it is understandable that anyone with an interest in the subject would want to sign a petition begging the illiterate morons who pen some of this garbage to Just. Stop. Yes, you folks who wrote 'Hercules' for Disney, and 'Clash of the Titans' I'm appealing particularly to you. And yet … when you get past people who should never be allowed within a mile of a Greek or Roman myth, you'll find some intelligent and interesting takes on the topic. Most of these are the written word and unlike big-screen effluent, they approach the myths sympathetically and respectfully. Some of these stories fill in the background by enlarging on the lives of minor characters. Usually these are women, though we should be wary of the trope that Greek myths are invariably about overly-macho males. More of the plays of Euripides have female protagonists – and strong protagonists - than they have males. Nevertheless, writers like Madeline Miller ('Circe' and 'The song of Achilles') and comedian-mythologist Stephen Fry are producing highly-readable texts in the genre, and I heartily recommend Spurling's 'Arcadian Nights'. There are also some good modern translations about for those who prefer their Greek characters not to sound like Shakespearean actors. Try John Dolan's 'Iliad' for example. Overall it is fascinating to see how generation after generation still engages with the Greek myths – at least in part because these are stories which cut directly to the heart of the human condition. The myths won't get old until the human race itself changes. Achilles eternally demands his rights from a powerful and selfish boss. The prize of their power struggle, Briseis, refuses to be just a pathetic victim and instead schemes and manipulates others as she struggles to improve her lot. There's egotistical, bombastic Ajax and coolly vicious Athena, and that's just a sample from one work -'The Iliad'. By all means read some of the modern derivations – even Percy Jackson, if you really must. But don't forget the raw power of the original texts. |
| 2022-06-05 |
| Libris et Orbis |
After the gratifying news from my publisher that another of my books is being published in Turkish it occurred to me to check my book case to see what other foreign language editions I have. (It is considered polite for publishers to send the author at least one copy of any books for which they sell the foreign rights.) In no particular order, there are versions of my books in: Serbian, French, Dutch, Greek, Slovak, Turkish, Mandarin, Spanish, German, Estonian, Korean, Finnish,Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Japanese, Siamese, Russian – and English. What is impressive about this - apart from the energy and dedication of the foreign rights departments of British publishers – is the interest in the classical world by peoples who have never had a legionary come within a thousand miles of their ancestor's doorstep. One can understand an interest in Roman history, for example, from the Italians in whose country reminders of ancient Rome are never far away, from the manhole covers in Roman streets marked SQPR to temples re-purposed as churches still serving congregations 2000 years later. Yet there is also considerable interest in the classical world (and also apparently in the ancient Egyptians) in China, while the Japanese and Koreans seem particularly taken by the myths and religion of the Greeks and Romans. I'm all for this. Recently I've been studying the Late Bronze Age and the Helladic era, and it's fascinating to see how ideas were spread and developed by a common Mediterranean civilization which was not just Greeks and Romans but also Phoenicians, Egyptians, Thracians and Etruscans (and also Assyrians, Hebrews, Babylonians … the list goes on). The same thing is happening in the modern world through books, TV and the internet. Whether we like it or not (and some governments definitely don't) the world is developing something of a common culture. Certainly I'm biased, since I get paid every time a foreign publisher buys the rights to one of my books, but adding a tiny bit to international mutual understanding can only be a good thing. |
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