The study of religious or heroic legends and tales. One constant rule of mythology is that whatever happens amongst the gods or other mythical beings was in one sense or another a reflection of events on earth. Recorded myths and legends, perhaps preserved in literature or folklore, have an immediate interest to archaeology in trying to unravel the nature and meaning of ancient events and traditions.
But I find it hard to believe that they could assemble a multi hundred thousand man army in secret.
Nor could anyone else. The enormous numbers mentioned in many ancient sources (including the bible with its millions of Israelites freed from Egypt or 185,000 Assyrians killed by a plague while besieging Jerusalem) are vast exaggerations.
Logistics argues against such vast forces. The Romans put together a force of 80,000 by Herculean effort but they only marched them to Southern Italy and didn't have to feed them long as Hannibal killed most of them at Cannae. If Xerxes had a million man army at Thermopylae the tail of the column would still have been back in Turkey while the head of the column was fighting the Greeks.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Facinating article KB, but you tread on my toes when you repeat the bit about long and dangerous voyages. A round trip from the Med to the New World and back again, if you make use of the seasonal wind and ocean currents would not necessarily be either. The round trip could be accomplished in a lot less time than many of the voyages undertaken by European sailors, to the spice islands for example.
Arab traders regularly sailed from Africa to India and back again in voyages that took many months.
I suspect if these voyages were seen as suicide trips no amount of reward would have been sufficient to man the ships.
On the subject of manning ships, thought this might be of interest.
26 March 1726 Last week as a labourer was going over Black-Heath to work, he met 4 fellows who press’d the poor man, but he begging heartily, and telling them his family must starve, &c. they yielded to his intreaties, provided he would give them some money, which he complying, they marched off. In a quarter of an hour he falls into another gang, with a Lieutenant, who likewise stopp’d him, upon which he bemoans his condition, saying, it was very ill fortune to be press’d twice in a day, that he had not one farthing left, having given half a guinea and three shillings to the other press gang. The Lieutenant hearing the story, went in quest of those who had extorted the money from him, and found them carrousing at an ale-house, and that they were sham press-masters; upon which he order’d the labourer his money, set him at liberty, and carried off the other chaps. [Mist's Weekly Journal]
Arab traders regularly sailed from Africa to India and back again in voyages that took many months.
Even today, merchant ships do not make money while sitting in port. The idea, then as now, was to deliver one cargo and pick up a new one for shipment to the next port. One imagines that it would have been the ideal for these ships to have been continually in motion.
However, sailing somewhere unknown was something quite apart from basic trade routes.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Agreed Min, but even an established trade route must have started as somewhere unknown. Columbus set off into the unknown but traders soon followed. I know the suggestion is that he had maps, but if he had, why did he think he was heading for Cathay?
Could have been an improvement on land-based travel. Ships were faster and safer than pack animals on roads...such as they were. Once a destination was "known" it just seems logical that someone would try to improve upon land based trade by sending a vessel.
The Sumerians were located between India and Egypt. They seem like the prime suspects in any sort of trade network popping up.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Did you have to mention the Sumerians Min, you know what will happen now don't you?
unless you're sticking your head in the sand like a total twat you might learn something
What Min means is he doesn't read my posts because he prefers making claims based on only his hand picked and pre chosen evidence
and hes claiming theres a club that does that
ahahahahaha
heres something for you about Columbus Roy
Columbus made landfall on the Dominican republic claiming it was the first island he had sighted on his journey from the east
Last edited by marduk on Thu Jan 25, 2007 2:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.
which country was Columbus born in
and what language did he never speak
his claim to have worked out the earths circumference of 18,000 miles based on a stars perigee is as complete crap as his discovery that the earth is egg shaped
he was given that information
they both derive from an ancient source
pity the ancient source got it wrong
