it's 3:19 a.m., on 2001-05-18 - ancient history at my back door.
~
Something to say before I start: Babylon five is like the Iliad, in epic. It's that huge. ;) I have very little respect for DS9 because I heard that it ripped off B5. I've seen some of DS9, and it was okay, but the plot is the same.
I'm in love with B5 the same way I'm in love with Homer, though. I admit it. The way that, you can't fall in love quickly, by watching one episode, or two or ten. You start, and you're kind of bored, and you wonder what's going on-- and you keep watching, and eventually somewhere, magic happens and it's a love affair.
But anyway. B5, you love it or hate it. Like Homer.
Today, in a very roundabout way, the ancient history professor taught us about the truth of the Trojan War. For a long time, they didn't know who these people were that destroyed the Bronze Age settlements in greece-- the places that Homer's Iliad was written about, all those palaces. They had no idea.
And then, there were these sea people. They were gypsies, yo. They travelled around and settled. But they weren't the ones to destroy Agamemnon's palace-- they didn't sack Troy.
They just moved, and settled, and moved. Nothing inherently destructive in that mentality.
Then there's the whole Dorian invasion theory-- that the sons and descendents of Herakles, something from the past, came south, stormed the place and divided it, and assumedly, sacked Troy.
But it wasn't them, either. That was just a legend to explain away the politics in Sparta-- there was no Sparta for Meleleaus to come from. It just didn't exist.
So then there's the whole earthquake idea-- a massive natural disaster, something from the outside, that crashed down these empires. As Doqz said yesterday, there were as many empires as stars in the sky. --something from the outside destroyed.
Only these palaces were fortifying, strengthening themselves, for a hundred and fifty years before that.
They were expecting it.
Then there's the economic collapse idea-- that these empires and palaces and cities were sick, couldn't support the people, and so the people went away.
But tablets found at all the sites record the grain supplies and food and wealth-- and there was nothing wrong with it.
So, we're left with two other options. One of them is an outside force that we haven't found any proof of yet-- which is pretty easily discardeble. The other is, trouble from within.
Civil unrest. In-fighting between empires. The Siege Mentality-- strengthen the walls around cities, dig escape tunnels, to ward off each other. Someone revolting on their back door.
This was the option that the professor supports the most. It tells of places full of gold and wealth and power, at the height of their lives, falling apart for nothing at all.
I believe in Homer. I mean, as much as any true archaeologist can believe in Homer, I believe in him. I want to think that Achilles and Patroclus, Nestor, Agamemnon, Hector, all those men were real. I want to think that there was a siege of Troy. I want to know who tore the walls down of such a city, who made it their personal mission to see that Troy would *never* rise again.
But the truth is, we have no idea. The Bronze Age just, disappeared.
~*~
Today, I got an IRC memo from Sue. Not that Sue, the other Sue. The sue that could be called, the descendents of Herakles.
Seven Mary Three just said, 'divine apathy, disease of my youth-- watch that you don't catch it'.
What's important about the sacking of Troy-- what I wanted to say was, we don't remember the history. We remember the story of Hector. The myth transplanted the reality.
Words have that kind of power.
I'm feeling lucky.
~*~
River just came online. I want to say desperately, 'I need you, don't go away.' Because it's true.
Herakles sent his sons to see me. And the Pelopenese weren't unhappy to see them-- they were good rulers. They set up the royal houses and all that shit. But they changed the map, and divided the pelopenese into three parts.
--River's online. Which means, sometimes when something unidentifiable is wrong, things end up making you okay even when you're not.
~
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