Full Circle?

[endlessrarities]

I finally got a chance to watch some telly last night.  I caught up with 'Lost Kingdoms of Africa' - Episode 2, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Once again, I found the presentation style difficult at times as it was a bit lightweight.  But it did reach some intriguing conclusions about Ethiopean architecture, and it further opened my eyes to the cultural diversity of the African subcontinent.  I've come across Ethiopean rock-cut churches in various programmes, but they were discussed more fully in this one.  There was also an incredible 16th century castle.  Thank goodness it's still intact and in good order!

Following on from that was a programme entitled 'Aristotle's Lagoon'.  It was all about Aristotle's contribution to the natural sciences, and it proved to be truly fascinating.

When I was eight or nine years old, I went through a phase when I was fascinated by the Ancient Greeks.  I soon moved on to the Romans, and hero-worshipped them for a while, mainly because Anthony Higgins was such a good-looking Marcus in the BBC's 1970's serialisation of Rosemary Sutcliffe's The Eagle of the Ninth.  Later on in life, as an undergraduate fascinated by native Iron Age culture, I learned to thoroughly dislike the Romans.  As far as the Gallic Wars were concerned, I was rooting for Vercingetorix. 

As for the Greeks?  Since they were based somewhere far away in the Mediterranean they were pretty much irrelevant.  They were a culture I'd forgotten, an area of history which would apparently be revisited.  I still liked the Elgin Marbles, though.  And the Vix Kratar.

It was my growing interest in the late medieval period that rekindled my interest in the Ancient Greeks.  Because I was writing novels peopled by wanna-be Renaissance intellectuals, some familiarity with Classical writing was inevitable.  My work in commercial archaeology was also leading me further into the realms of standing building survey.  This meant I was beginning to learn more about Classical architecture, and of course, that forced me to revisit our Classical past.

A year or so ago, I started writing a novel set partly in Ancient Greece.  I've since been reading translations of all sorts of primary sources, including Herodetus.  And the more research I carry out on the Greeks, the more I realise just how deeply our own society is rooted not in Roman, but in Greek culture.  There's obvious things like our democratic electoral system and of course our jury-based legal system.  My chosen discipline is also riddled with words derived from Greek, such as Neolithic and even the word archaeology itself. 

'Aristotle's Lagoon' brought our kinship with the Ancient Greek past into even sharper relief.  It showed how Aristotle was a forerunner in establishing a classification system for the natural world.  Classification was an issure that my thesis considered in depth; the classification of Bronze Age metalwork was based on the Linnean system, which can itself be traced back through the centuries to Aristotle's original observations. 

I'm signing off now.  With a beautiful example of a black-figure vase I spotted in Fiesole Museum a few years ago.  It's a lovely thing - I liked it because of the horses.  I've always had a soft spot for Greek-style horses.

I'm off on a site visit tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be good, so a fun time should be had by all.

Comments

[bellakara.livejournal.com]

That's a very nice vase. But I noticed you didn't make any controversial statements about what should be done with the Elgin Marbles. Send them back, that's what I say. Western museums are a disgrace, when you think about it - pure imperialism.