Saturday Snapshots - April 22, 2017

Saturday Snapshots is a meme hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. The rules of the game are:

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Personally, I find that this is one of the most fun memes that I've participated in. Not to mention that it's a bit of an incentive to get out and take more photos every week!

For this week I'm not posting new shots, but older ones - much older. I had a bit of fun over the last week scanning some photos from a trip I took fifteen years ago. These three were the best of the lot.

The temple of Athena Pronaia in Delphi.

A row of Corinthian style column capitals I found in Athens.

And, an iconic portion of a Venetian/Byzantine fortress. My notes says simply "Methoni" for this one, along with the fact that it's near Pylos.

The Aeneid - Virgil

The Aeneid
Virgil
Trans. Robert Fitzgerald
Vintage
Copyright: 1990
978-0679729525

The amazon.com product description:

Virgil's great epic transforms the Homeric tradition into a triumphal statement of the Roman civilizing mission. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald.

Okay, I've seen some non-descriptive descriptions before, but this one's pretty near the top. Still, I guess it does sum things up fairly neatly.

Although The Aeneid is written in the Homeric style, it dates from much later - the time of Augustus. The poem is also unfinished, or so the postscript says, because Virgil died. This is one of the most famous of the Roman poems too.

The Aeneid deals with the story of Aeneas' travels from the conquered city of Troy after the Trojan War as told in The Illiad and The Odessey, when he journeyed to Italy to found a new city on the commands of Venus. As to this particular translation? I can't say anything about the translation from my own experience, not having enough latin to even attempt the original. But, the Fitzgerald translation was the one we had in class at college. Also, there's a review from Bernard Knox on the back cover, who's written the introduction to the Fagles translation of The Aeneid IIRC. I can definitely say that this is a very readable book.

On the other hand, I felt like I needed a detailed map of the Mediterranean with all the old names in order to follow the route that Aeneas takes. That's one thing that this book lacks: a good map. I would have said also that I needed a glossary to the names, but I discovered that hiding at the very end of the book after I finished the read last night. Otherwise, I'd likely have found myself resorting to hoping the Oxford Classical Dictionary had them. I'm still thinking of doing that anyway.

Reading this with my notes (such as they were) from class was definitely interesting. They reminded me of the use of simile and elaborate naming conventions which are rife throughout the poem. There's also the traditional invocation of the Muses, both at the beginning of The Aeneid and then again several times throughout.

This poem drops names left, right and center. Especially during the battle scenes of the final two or three books. I kept going "who's that?" and "which side is he on again?". Because of that, I felt that they went on too long and I found myself skimming. Admittedly, that's because I was completely lost.

There are also quite a few references to events that happened after the time of Aeneas but up to the time of Augustus. The scene in the underworld and also the scenes depicted on Aeneas' shield were two of the best examples of those, and that's why I'm thinking of resorting to the Oxford Classical Dictionary. I shouldn't admit this, given that I went to University for Classical Studies, but I missed a lot of those references.

Overall though, I quite liked the read. I read The Aeneid for the Pre-Printing Press Challenge, and also because I was inspired by my read of Jo Graham's novel based on the poem: Black Ships.

The Golden Mean - Annabel Lyon

The Golden Mean
Annabel Lyon
Random House Canada
Copyright Date: 2009
978-0307356208

The Amazon.com blurb:

What would it have been like to sit at the feet of the legendary philosopher Aristotle? Even more intriguing, what would it have been like to witness Aristotle instructing the most famous of his pupils, the young Alexander the Great?

In her first novel, acclaimed fiction writer Annabel Lyon boldly imagines one of history’s most intriguing relationships and the war at its heart between ideas and action as a way of knowing the world.

As The Golden Mean opens, Aristotle is forced to postpone his dream of succeeding Plato as the leader of the Academy in Athens when Philip of Macedon asks him to stay on in his capital city of Pella to tutor his precocious son, Alexander. At first the philosopher is appalled to be stuck in the brutal backwater of his childhood, but he is soon drawn to the boy’s intellectual potential and his capacity for surprise. What he does not know is whether his ideas are any match for the warrior culture that is Alexander’s birthright.

But he feels that teaching this startling, charming, sometimes horrifying boy is a desperate necessity. And that what the boy — thrown before his time onto his father’s battlefields — needs most is to learn the golden mean, that elusive balance between extremes that Aristotle hopes will mitigate the boy’s will to conquer.

Also at stake are his own ambitions, as he plays a cat-and-mouse game of power and influence with Philip, a boyhood friend who now controls his fate.

Exploring a fabled time and place, Annabel Lyon tells her story, breathtakingly, in the earthy, frank, and perceptive voice of Aristotle himself. With sensual and muscular prose, she explores how Aristotle’s genius touched the boy who would conquer the known world. And she reveals how we still live with the ghosts of both men.

The Golden Mean was listed as a finalist for the Governer General's Literary Awards this year, and also for the Giller Prize, so it's definitely got some impressive qualifications.

I got my copy through a Random House promotional event back in September, and finally got it finished last night. I liked the book, though there were times when I wondered where the story was going. It's very well written, and Annabel Lyon has a knack for description - both of character moods and of scenery/setting.

This is a story that's set in the ancient world, so the attitudes are quite different from those of our time. As a result, the book is a bit gruesome at times - but not overly so. It all rings true in my mind for the period. Aristotle is the same way. I don't know much about him - only what I've read in my textbooks, so I don't know how factual the author's description of him is personality-wise, but again, it feels true, and it works for the story she's telling.

I'm noting this a lot about historical fiction: this is another book where there's a note at the end discussing sources for characters and place, which is something I really like.

Overall, this was a good book, and one I enjoyed reading, although I don't feel it's for everybody. I'd say The Golden Mean is a four out of five star read.

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows And Scorpion Bombs - Adrienne Mayor

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows And Scorpion Bombs
Adrienne Mayor
Overlook Press
Copyright Date: 2009
9781590201770

According to the cover of Greek Fire, Poison Arrows And Scorpion Bombs:

Flamethrowers, poison gases, incendiary bombs, the large-scale spreading of disease... are these terrifying agents and implements of warfare modern inventions? Not by a long shot. Weapons of biological and chemical warfare have been in use for thousands of years, and "Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs," Adrienne Mayor''s fascinating exploration of the origins of biological and unethical warfare draws extraordinary connections between the mythical worlds of Hercules and the Trojan War, the accounts of Herodotus and Thucydides, and modern methods of war and terrorism.
"Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs" will catapult readers into the dark and fascinating realm of ancient war and mythic treachery-and their devastating consequences.

You don't have to be an expert in classical and early medieval history to enjoy this book. Adrienne Mayor has written a book that anyone who likes history can enjoy reading and learning from.

Although the main thrust of the book is centered on the Classical era and the world of the Greeks and the Romans, there are also incidents from Chinese, Indian and Middle-Eastern sources discussed as well. In terms of time frames, the incidents go all the way up to the early to mid fourteenth century, alhtough most of them, as I already said, come from Greek and Roman sources.

For each of the incidents described, whether it be from Thucydides, Dio Cassius etc. or legends and myths, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs describes the incident, then gives archaeological evidence backing up the author's conclusions along with any modern experiments proving or disproving her opinion. At the same time, she goes into detail about the mindset of the time towards these weapons of mass destruction, their problems for either side and also looks at similar modern issues, especially in the U.S.A.

We think of weapons of mass destruction, be they chemical or biological as being relatively new things in the scope of history. However, as proved by Adrienne Mayor, clearly they were not. Poisons, fires and disease have been around for thousands of years. Of course people were going to figure out ways to use them for their own purposes.

Some of the examples, though clearly 'low tech' were still extremely ingenious, and I'd bet, if used today, would still cause problems and distractions, such as the scorpion and snake bombs. Other ideas though, are just strange to the modern mind set, such as some of the recorded recipes for poison. Still, when broken down the way they are in this book, they make a sort of sense.

There are times though, when I wish the author had gone into more detail, such as the section on Hannibal using vinegar to crack rocks, along with the other uses mentioned. I wouldn't mind knowing why it worked.

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs is an interesting book on history, and one, frankly, that I wish I'd had while classes were still in session. If only because of the above mentioned incident with the vinegar on heated rock. The books I was using for a term paper disregarded the whole thing, and here's one saying that the ancient authors were right. Would have been helpful for said term paper.

One thing's for sure. This book is going to make me think a bit differently about the ancient world and their attitudes towards warfare. I'd gotten the traditional background in my classes on ancient heroism and beliefs, and here's a completely different perspective.

The Athenians And Their Empire - Malcolm McGregor

The Athenians And Their Empire
Malcolm McGregor
University of British Columbia Press
Copyright: 1987
9780774802697

From the cover of the book:

Malcolm McGregor draws on a life-time of scholarship to write a comprehensive account of the most celebrated period in classical Greek history - "The Golden Age" - in which military and political advances of the Athenians coincided with their greatest achievements in art, literature, philosophy and social theory. McGregor explains how democracy was nurtured in Athens and how effective government was achieved by a balance of open public debate and the role of individual decisive statesmen such as Pericles. This genuinely democratic government brought peace and prosperity to the Athenians and their allies and, as McGregor asserts, contributed to the extraordinary cultural ascendancy of fifth-century Greece.

In this straightforward but colourful narrative, McGregor avoids the detailed complexities of scholarly controversy. The Athenians And Their Empire is the only critical study of its kind and will be of equal interest to students, teachers, general readers and travellers with a keen desire to understand the most crucial and fascinating period of ancient Greek history and culture.

Malcolm McGregor is a professor of classics emeritus, University of British Columbia. At present he is a lecturer in ancient history in the Langara campus of Vancouver Community College.

First off, this was a textbook and the teacher didn't appear to have the highest opinion of the book, so some of that may have helped me in forming my opinions. With that caveat in mind...

One of my biggest issues with the book is the decision McGregor has made to not include any footnotes for his sources, not even when he quotes them directly. Granted that most of the sources used are from Thucydides and Herodotus, but still... The most they get is something like "Thucydides says" prefacing the quote. But where did he say it? I've never seen another history book do that before (at least not one I'd buy and trust as reliable).

Also, the book tends to skim over things, such as opposing sides and views. For example, at the start of the Persian Wars, the Athenians had done quite a bit of destruction to Persian cities. That is skipped, more or less, while the damage the Persians did in return is discussed in much more detail.

As with the above example, the author's biases are very visible in the words he's chosen. Still, my noticing that may come from the teacher's pointing a lot of the examples out in class. Essentially, McGregor is working from the opinion that the Athenian Empire was a good thing for Greece and for history.

Despite all of this, the book is quite readable, and doesn't take too long to get through. It's good as an overview of the period, but counter it with some other books as well. I preferred the other textbook: Raphael Sealy's A History Of The Greek City States 700-338 B.C. although it is nowhere near as readable.