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I have been fascinated with symbols and their meaning as long as I can remember. I like to look for symbols and I gain pleasure when I pick up on a reference to a past literary work or moment in history. Understanding symbols and why they are used is a part of historical inquiry. It is also a mode of thought. One can become efficient, like an art historian or archeologist, at extracting the story from a visual scene. One investigates a scene like a forensic specialist, but not using science so much as knowledge of the humanities: language, culture, art, religion, philosophy, and law. Expert numismatists (people who study coins) can spend hours unpacking the meaning of a single Roman coin. Roman coins and architecture, in particular, are loaded with large amounts of visual symbolic content. Aside from ancient sources, using popular or retro imagery is a good way to train one's investigative skills.
Let us look at the Smurfs. One doesn't need to smurf very long to discover the symbols and allusions in the imagery and text. Nonetheless, there are many references to explore in the cartoon which the creator of the little blue species left behind for us to discover.
Fig. 1 The Smurfs
Take a look at the hat of the little blue creatures. They are wearing a distinct style that would have been recognizable to the ancients of the Roman-Greco world. The hat is known as the "Phrygian cap." It is a symbol of the free man and was eventually used to embody the principle of Liberty.
Fig. 2 A Roman coin
A Roman coin, commemorating the "Ides of March," depicts the Phrygian cap as a symbol of liberty from Gaius Iulius Caesar's dictatorship and a return to the old Republic. The coin above (Fig. 2) has a Phrygian cap without the characteristic arch of the top of the hat.
Fig. 3 Paris wearing a Phrygian cap
A Smurf as Free-Folk
Apropos, it would appear that the Phrygian cap wearing Smurfs are a free-folk. They all play a specialized role in society which is indicated by their name. I make it sound like pure social engineering, but some have names based on personality traits, not to be always based on functional roles in the tribal subsistence economy. An episode of the comic book explored what would happen if the village was ruled by a king. The character who called himself King Smurf made slaves out of the other Smurfs. Papa Smurf returned from his quest to find a potion ingredient and restored his own leadership by the end of the story. In the tale, the Smurf is originally elected to be the leader in Papa Smurf's absence, after much bribing. Once he is elected he names himself king and begins to abuse his power. This has been considered by some to be a reference to those who win the trust of the public with hollow promises and become a dictator once they are in power, like Adolf Hitler. Hitler came to power with legal means. It wasn't until Hitler created a police state from the spread of fear, invoked emergency powers, and became dictator.
The "created" female
The "created" female is not new to myth. Eve was created from Adam's rib. Athena was created from Zeus' head. How about the False Maria of Fritz Lang's film "Metropolis?" Aphrodite was formed out of the seam foam created by Uranus' dismembered genitals.
Fig. 4 Gargamel and Smurfette
Would you like to know Smurfette's dirty secret? She was not originally blonde. As a matter of fact, she was created by Gargamel as a trick to lure the Smurfs, who were very powerful potion ingredients, to Gargamel.
Fig. 5 Smurfette as Gargamel created her
Smurfette, as she was created by Gargamel, was a force of discord. Not only was she dowdy and non-blonde, she got in the way and caused trouble, like non-attractive women do. Papa smurf re-created Smurfette into a blonde, with eyelashes, a nice dress, and high heels. No joke. She is an addition to the golem in literature, after the the False Maria. The Bride of Frankenstein, the female golem was so much an aesthetic improvement that the Female construct rejected the old male model by screaming in horror at his appearance. The monster then "goes ape." Interesting side note: the actress who played Maria/False Maria in Lang's Metropolis was a candidate for the part of the bride in Bride of Frankenstein, but was not chosen.
The Use of Names
Let us now look at some of the names in the cartoon that have historical or literary significance.
Fig. 6 The evil wizard Gargamel and his cat Azrael
Gargamel - The main antagonist of the story. The name Gargamel is found in Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel. The creature Gargamelle, was a female giant in the story by Rabelais; and Gargamel, in the Smurf cartoon, was a giant compared to the blue creatures who were less than a foot in height.
Azrael - Translated from the Hebrew the word means "helped by God." More appropriately, Azrael is the name of the Angel of Death in Jewish and Islamic text.
Fig. 7 Gargamel and his godfather, Balthazaar
Balthazaar - Gargamel's godfather. Also, the name for the famous Neo-Babylonian ruler in the Book of Daniel who saw the writing on the wall and the downfall of the empire.
Fig. 8 Father Time
Father Time - The scythe carrying great wizard in the comics and cartoon. The pairing of father time (Kronos) and the scythe are frequent indicators of Time's toll on each human, which is often personified as the Grim Reaper or Death with his sickle. In Greek mythology, Kronos (Lt. Chronus/Saturn) castrated his father Ouranos (Lt. Uranus, "sky") with just such a weapon.
Beelzebub - In one episode Gargamel evokes the demon Beelzebub and swears an oath to eternally serve the demon in exchange for his services.
Fig. 9 Drawing Fred Barnard, 1846-1896, John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. Engraving by Dalziel Brothers.
Some have claimed that the above coat of arms was an inspiration for the stars & stripes of the American flag. What family name would serve as an adequate inspiration for the national flag? Legend has it there was a man who could have been the first king of the United States, but he refused the title. This is his family crest. He was a famous general from the American Revolution and became the first president of the United States. He is the symbolic patriarch of the U.S.
Fig. 2 The Seal of the United States Senate
Look at the seal of the U.S. Senate above. The shield has the symbolic 13 stars and the bars of white and red like the Washington coat of arms. I like this seal, it has more going on the the regular regular seal of the U.S. It contains the Phrygian cap, which could be found on some Roman coins. The hat and its associated meaning of liberty was thought to have originated from Anatolia (modern day Turkey). The fascis (Latin) at the bottom of the seal, the axes tied with many planks of wood, was also used by the Romans. The Latin noun is often translated as "bundle." It eventually became the word "fagot" in English or a similar sounding word in other European languages. The image became the eponymous symbol of Mussolini's Italian Fascist Party. The meaning has to do with the unified effort of the many controlling the actions of the axe. The implications of the fascis on certain types of government are obvious. Unified action is an appealing ideal for forms of democracy and communism alike. There are other fasci-nating symbols to discuss on this seal, but I will leave it at that.
Fig. 3 1869 U.S. postage stamp. Similar to Washington coat of arms
Let's keep following this historical thread in the realm of art history. Above, is an image of good ol' Cap "the first Avenger," with one of his first shield designs. Captain America's shield is actually closer to the Washington coat of arms than the shield on the U.S. Senate seal. I grew excited when I discovered this image. Cap's topmost banner, called the "chief" in heraldry, contains three stars like the Washington coat of arms! The stripes of his shirt are more similar to the Washington crest than those of his shield. Check out 'Cap's cap. His mask has little white wings on it. This is similar to the wings found on the helmet and ankles of the messenger god known as Hermes to the Greeks and Mercury to the Romans. The wings of Hermes symbolized his magical sandals which were able to transport him quickly with the ability of flight. Perseus, the slayer of Medusa the Gorgon, was gifted a pair of winged sandals as well. A great subplot Marvel could create is a story of how Steve Rogers was selected to become Captain America because he is a descendent of General Washington, which unveils the Masonic oligarchic connection to the U.S. government, and their preservation of the Washington legacy. It would be a dark series. Marvel may hire me to write the story.
Fig. 5 Miss America Comics #1 (1944).
Miss America, from the Golden Age of comics, is a superhero of the Marvel universe. Her shield image is even nearer in appearance to the Washington coat of arms than the above Captain America shield. Her image contains the red and white stripes instead of red, white, and blue like Cap'. The chief (top banner) of Ms. 'Merica's symbol contains three stars like the Washington shield. The differences include the direction of the stripes (vertical instead of horizontal), the color combination of the chief, and the number of stripes. Miss America is, appropriately, bearing 13 stripes which symbolize the 13 colonies that broke away from the British empire. Check out the date of the publication of the first issue of Miss America (Fig. 5). That was the year the Allies liberated Western Europe from Hitler. Prior to this victory, it was thought that Germany and the Axis powers were winning WWII.
I have been thinking about ideas I would like to express regarding one of the latest History Channel and cyberspace fads, the topic of ancient aliens. Just to be clear, I think we will one day discover some form of alien life, but I do not think aliens are responsible for early human civilizations and all the technologies needed to create such a society. I think humans in certain geographical zones will eventually develop a basic civilization given time and stability. I will talk more about ancient alien arguments some other time, but I wanted to lay out some very basic ideas regarding one idea which ancient alien apologetics like to proclaim. It is the idea that homosapien exists because ancient aliens came to earth and bred with hominids which resulted in the formation of our own species. The movie 'Prometheus' uses this idea, but it is difficult for many, from what I read, to understand the backstory at the beginning of the film. I thought it was quite clear, but I already knew about the theory, and I was able to make the connection. Ancient alien enthusiasts like to theorize that the aliens created us, a sub-species, in order to make slaves out of us or for some biological reason.
The one area where ancient alien ideas are noticeably real: the entertainment and book industry.
Here are my recent Tweets on the subject:
If #AncientAliens bred w/ earth hominid, they would have related DNA, which means they were not alien. The argument requires genetic-sci.
The Ancient Alien argument seems to attempt to fill the gap necessitated by the question "why are we the only ones like ourselves?"
Anthropology answers the question "why are we the only ones like ourselves" by showing that there were other species similar to us.
Other species like us existed in the past. They bred together until homosapien became the dominate type - others died out.
Plato Republic, Book X 614-621.Translation by Benjamin Jowett
Well, I said, I will tell you a tale; not one of the tales which Odysseus tells to the hero Alcinous, yet this too is a tale of a hero, Er the son of Armenius, a Pamphylian by birth. He was slain in battle, and ten days afterwards, when the bodies of the dead were taken up already in a state of corruption, his body was found unaffected by decay, and carried away home to be buried.
And on the twelfth day, as he was lying on the funeral pile, he returned to life and told them what he had seen in the other world. He said that when his soul left the body he went on a journey with a great company, and that they came to a mysterious place at which there were two openings in the earth; they were near together, and over against them were two other openings in the heaven above.
In the intermediate space there were judges seated, who commanded the just, after they had given judgment on them and had bound their sentences in front of them, to ascend by the heavenly way on the right hand; and in like manner the unjust were bidden by them to descend by the lower way on the left hand; these also bore the symbols of their deeds, but fastened on their backs. He drew near, and they told him that he was to be the messenger who would carry the report of the other world to men, and they bade him hear and see all that was to be heard and seen in that place. Then he beheld and saw on one side the souls departing at either opening of heaven and earth when sentence had been given on them; and at the two other openings other souls, some ascending out of the earth dusty and worn with travel, some descending out of heaven clean and bright.
And they told one another of what had happened by the way, those from below weeping and sorrowing at the remembrance of the things which they had endured and seen in their journey beneath the earth (now the journey lasted a thousand years), while those from above were describing heavenly delights and visions of inconceivable beauty. The story, Glaucon, would take too long to tell; but the sum was this:—He said that for every wrong which they had done to any one they suffered tenfold; or once in a hundred years—such being reckoned to be the length of man's life, and the penalty being thus paid ten times in a thousand years. If, for example, there were any who had been the cause of many deaths, or had betrayed or enslaved cities or armies, or been guilty of any other evil behaviour, for each and all of their offences they received punishment ten times over, and the rewards of beneficence and justice and holiness were in the same proportion. I need hardly repeat what he said concerning young children dying almost as soon as they were born. Of piety and impiety to gods and parents, and of murderers, there were retributions other and greater far which he described. He mentioned that he was present when one of the spirits asked another, 'Where is Ardiaeus the Great?' (Now this Ardiaeus lived a thousand years before the time of Er: he had been the tyrant of some city of Pamphylia, and had murdered his aged father and his elder brother, and was said to have committed many other abominable crimes.) The answer of the other spirit was: 'He comes not hither and will never come. And this,' said he, 'was one of the dreadful sights which we ourselves witnessed. We were at the mouth of the cavern, and, having completed all our experiences, were about to reascend, when of a sudden Ardiaeus appeared and several others, most of whom were tyrants; and there were also besides the tyrants private individuals who had been great criminals: they were just, as they fancied, about to return into the upper world, but the mouth, instead of admitting them, gave a roar, whenever any of these incurable sinners or some one who had not been sufficiently punished tried to ascend; and then wild men of fiery aspect, who were standing by and heard the sound, seized and carried them off; and Ardiaeus and others they bound head and foot and hand, and threw them down and flayed them with scourges, and dragged them along the road at the side, carding them on thorns like wool, and declaring to the passers-by what were their crimes, and that they were being taken away to be cast into hell.' And of all the many terrors which they had endured, he said that there was none like the terror which each of them felt at that moment, lest they should hear the voice; and when there was silence, one by one they ascended with exceeding joy. These, said Er, were the penalties and retributions, and there were blessings as great.And arriving ever and anon they seemed to have come from a long journey, and they went forth with gladness into the meadow, where they encamped as at a festival; and those who knew one another embraced and conversed, the souls which came from earth curiously enquiring about the things above, and the souls which came from heaven about the things beneath.
Now when the spirits which were in the meadow had tarried seven days, on the eighth they were obliged to proceed on their journey, and, on the fourth day after, he said that they came to a place where they could see from above a line of light, straight as a column, extending right through the whole heaven and through the earth, in colour resembling the rainbow, only brighter and purer; another day's journey brought them to the place, and there, in the midst of the light, they saw the ends of the chains of heaven let down from above: for this light is the belt of heaven, and holds together the circle of the universe, like the under-girders of a trireme. From these ends is extended the spindle of Necessity, on which all the revolutions turn. The shaft and hook of this spindle are made of steel, and the whorl is made partly of steel and also partly of other materials. Now the whorl is in form like the whorl used on earth; and the description of it implied that there is one large hollow whorl which is quite scooped out, and into this is fitted another lesser one, and another, and another, and four others, making eight in all, like vessels which fit into one another; the whorls show their edges on the upper side, and on their lower side all together form one continuous whorl. This is pierced by the spindle, which is driven home through the centre of the eighth. The first and outermost whorl has the rim broadest, and the seven inner whorls are narrower, in the following proportions—the sixth is next to the first in size, the fourth next to the sixth; then comes the eighth; the seventh is fifth, the fifth is sixth, the third is seventh, last and eighth comes the second. The largest (or fixed stars) is spangled, and the seventh (or sun) is brightest; the eighth (or moon) coloured by the reflected light of the seventh; the second and fifth (Saturn and Mercury) are in colour like one another, and yellower than the preceding; the third (Venus) has the whitest light; the fourth (Mars) is reddish; the sixth (Jupiter) is in whiteness second. Now the whole spindle has the same motion; but, as the whole revolves in one direction, the seven inner circles move slowly in the other, and of these the swiftest is the eighth; next in swiftness are the seventh, sixth, and fifth, which move together; third in swiftness appeared to move according to the law of this reversed motion the fourth; the third appeared fourth and the second fifth. The spindle turns on the knees of Necessity; and on the upper surface of each circle is a siren, who goes round with them, hymning a single tone or note. The eight together form one harmony; and round about, at equal intervals, there is another band, three in number, each sitting upon her throne: these are the Fates, daughters of Necessity, who are clothed in white robes and have chaplets upon their heads, Lachesis and Clotho and Atropos, who accompany with their voices the harmony of the sirens—Lachesis singing of the past, Clotho of the present, Atropos of the future; Clotho from time to time assisting with a touch of her right hand the revolution of the outer circle of the whorl or spindle, and Atropos with her left hand touching and guiding the inner ones, and Lachesis laying hold of either in turn, first with one hand and then with the other.
When Er and the spirits arrived, their duty was to go at once to Lachesis; but first of all there came a prophet who arranged them in order; then he took from the knees of Lachesis lots and samples of lives, and having mounted a high pulpit, spoke as follows: 'Hear the word of Lachesis, the daughter of Necessity. Mortal souls, behold a new cycle of life and mortality. Your genius will not be allotted to you, but you will choose your genius; and let him who draws the first lot have the first choice, and the life which he chooses shall be his destiny. Virtue is free, and as a man honours or dishonours her he will have more or less of her; the responsibility is with the chooser—God is justified.' When the Interpreter had thus spoken he scattered lots indifferently among them all, and each of them took up the lot which fell near him, all but Er himself (he was not allowed), and each as he took his lot perceived the number which he had obtained. Then the Interpreter placed on the ground before them the samples of lives; and there were many more lives than the souls present, and they were of all sorts. There were lives of every animal and of man in every condition. And there were tyrannies among them, some lasting out the tyrant's life, others which broke off in the middle and came to an end in poverty and exile and beggary; and there were lives of famous men, some who were famous for their form and beauty as well as for their strength and success in games, or, again, for their birth and the qualities of their ancestors; and some who were the reverse of famous for the opposite qualities. And of women likewise; there was not, however, any definite character in them, because the soul, when choosing a new life, must of necessity become different. But there was every other quality, and the all mingled with one another, and also with elements of wealth and poverty, and disease and health; and there were mean states also. And here, my dear Glaucon, is the supreme peril of our human state; and therefore the utmost care should be taken. Let each one of us leave every other kind of knowledge and seek and follow one thing only, if peradventure he may be able to learn and may find some one who will make him able to learn and discern between good and evil, and so to choose always and everywhere the better life as he has opportunity. He should consider the bearing of all these things which have been mentioned severally and collectively upon virtue; he should know what the effect of beauty is when combined with poverty or wealth in a particular soul, and what are the good and evil consequences of noble and humble birth, of private and public station, of strength and weakness, of cleverness and dullness, and of all the natural and acquired gifts of the soul, and the operation of them when conjoined; he will then look at the nature of the soul, and from the consideration of all these qualities he will be able to determine which is the better and which is the worse; and so he will choose, giving the name of evil to the life which will make his soul more unjust, and good to the life which will make his soul more just; all else he will disregard. For we have seen and know that this is the best choice both in life and after death. A man must take with him into the world below an adamantine faith in truth and right, that there too he may be undazzled by the desire of wealth or the other allurements of evil, lest, coming upon tyrannies and similar villainies, he do irremediable wrongs to others and suffer yet worse himself; but let him know how to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on either side, as far as possible, not only in this life but in all that which is to come. For this is the way of happiness.
And according to the report of the messenger from the other world this was what the prophet said at the time: 'Even for the last comer, if he chooses wisely and will live diligently, there is appointed a happy and not undesirable existence. Let not him who chooses first be careless, and let not the last despair.' And when he had spoken, he who had the first choice came forward and in a moment chose the greatest tyranny; his mind having been darkened by folly and sensuality, he had not thought out the whole matter before he chose, and did not at first sight perceive that he was fated, among other evils, to devour his own children. But when he had time to reflect, and saw what was in the lot, he began to beat his breast and lament over his choice, forgetting the proclamation of the prophet; for, instead of throwing the blame of his misfortune on himself, he accused chance and the gods, and everything rather than himself. Now he was one of those who came from heaven, and in a former life had dwelt in a well-ordered State, but his virtue was a matter of habit only, and he had no philosophy. And it was true of others who were similarly overtaken, that the greater number of them came from heaven and therefore they had never been schooled by trial, whereas the pilgrims who came from earth having themselves suffered and seen others suffer, were not in a hurry to choose. And owing to this inexperience of theirs, and also because the lot was a chance, many of the souls exchanged a good destiny for an evil or an evil for a good. For if a man had always on his arrival in this world dedicated himself from the first to sound philosophy, and had been moderately fortunate in the number of the lot, he might, as the messenger reported, be happy here, and also his journey to another life and return to this, instead of being rough and underground, would be smooth and heavenly. Most curious, he said, was the spectacle—sad and laughable and strange; for the choice of the souls was in most cases based on their experience of a previous life. There he saw the soul which had once been Orpheus choosing the life of a swan out of enmity to the race of women, hating to be born of a woman because they had been his murderers; he beheld also the soul of Thamyras choosing the life of a nightingale; birds, on the other hand, like the swan and other musicians, wanting to be men. The soul which obtained the twentieth lot chose the life of a lion, and this was the soul of Ajax the son of Telamon, who would not be a man, remembering the injustice which was done him in the judgment about the arms. The next was Agamemnon, who took the life of an eagle, because, like Ajax, he hated human nature by reason of his sufferings. About the middle came the lot of Atalanta; she, seeing the great fame of an athlete, was unable to resist the temptation: and after her there followed the soul of Epeus the son of Panopeus passing into the nature of a woman cunning in the arts; and far away among the last who chose, the soul of the jester Thersites was putting on the form of a monkey. There came also the soul of Odysseus having yet to make a choice, and his lot happened to be the last of them all. Now the recollection of former toils had disenchanted him of ambition, and he went about for a considerable time in search of the life of a private man who had no cares; he had some difficulty in finding this, which was lying about and had been neglected by everybody else; and when he saw it, he said that he would have done the same had his lot been first instead of last, and that he was delighted to have it. And not only did men pass into animals, but I must also mention that there were animals tame and wild who changed into one another and into corresponding human natures—the good into the gentle and the evil into the savage, in all sorts of combinations.
All the souls had now chosen their lives, and they went in the order of their choice to Lachesis, who sent with them the genius whom they had severally chosen, to be the guardian of their lives and the fulfiller of the choice: this genius led the souls first to Clotho, and drew them within the revolution of the spindle impelled by her hand, thus ratifying the destiny of each; and then, when they were fastened to this, carried them to Atropos, who spun the threads and made them irreversible, whence without turning round they passed beneath the throne of Necessity; and when they had all passed, they marched on in a scorching heat to the plain of Forgetfulness, which was a barren waste destitute of trees and verdure; and then towards evening they encamped by the river of Unmindfulness, whose water no vessel can hold; of this they were all obliged to drink a certain quantity, and those who were not saved by wisdom drank more than was necessary; and each one as he drank forgot all things. Now after they had gone to rest, about the middle of the night there was a thunderstorm and earthquake, and then in an instant they were driven upwards in all manner of ways to their birth, like stars shooting. He himself was hindered from drinking the water. But in what manner or by what means he returned to the body he could not say; only, in the morning, awaking suddenly, he found himself lying on the pyre.
And thus, Glaucon, the tale has been saved and has not perished, and will save us if we are obedient to the word spoken; and we shall pass safely over the river of Forgetfulness and our soul will not be defiled. Wherefore my counsel is, that we hold fast ever to the heavenly way and follow after justice and virtue always, considering that the soul is immortal and able to endure every sort of good and every sort of evil. Thus shall we live dear to one another and to the gods, both while remaining here and when, like conquerors in the games who go round to gather gifts, we receive our reward. And it shall be well with us both in this life and in the pilgrimage of a thousand years which we have been describing.
Hundreds of children's bones fill an ancient Athenian well. Some might immediately recall the use of infant exposure among the ancient Greeks. But wait, the bones in the well are filled with the bones of children of all ages, not merely newborns. Also, the bones of the children are mixed with the bones of dogs. How does this tell us this was unrelated to infant exposure? And, what does this tell us about ancient Greek ideas about dog sacrifice?
From the video: "The Myth of Er is a warning to maintain balance in life, much like the idea of the Middle Way of Buddhism. In conclusion, I am able to extract three rules from Plato’s telling of the myth. These rules will allow you to find balance in life, but more importantly to help you avoid eternity in Tartarus*. 1: Avoid the excesses of life, they lead to folly. This is the simplest form of moderation.
2: Avoid the one sidedness of assigning absolute qualities to things and people. Life is an inseparable mixture of what we consider good and evil.
3: Avoid the ignorance of underexposure: Those who go through life existing in a comfortable, infantile bubble are not developing the skills for the soul to find balance on its journey." *Tartarus: The depths of Hades where tyrants spend eternity in torment.
Video: "The Myth of Er" Ancient Light live, June 12, 2016
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"Where do bad folks go when they die? They don't go to heaven where the angels fly. They go to a lake of fire and fry. Won't see 'em again 'till the Fourth of July."
The UK has decided to leave the EU. #Brexit trends on Twitter. After weeks of the Clash song "Should I Stay or Should I Go" going through the minds of headline readers across the English speaking world, the votes have been cast, and we are in the wake of the separation. We will see what this all means as the next two fiscal years unfold, but perhaps now we just need some grounding. History is a good place to go to search for context.
Do you know the Brits have a history of isolation from the continent? By continent I mean, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, and the others. Keep in mind, the Brits have been a major naval force in early modern history, allowing aggressive trade policies and dominance at sea. A policy of isolation in this era was of benefit to the UK, staying unentangled by the major Euro powers. Good or bad. Smaller nations in the Americas could spark up their own trade agreements with the Brits and become market competitors, with all their slave labor, and raw goods. After the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte (both times) the UK stayed out of many proposed alliances, even the vaguely worded ones requiring very little tangible obligation. After the Corsican was doubly exiled, Austria and Russia were among the major powers wrestling for monarchical stability in Europe during the Council of/at Vienna. While the continent sought a Balance of Power, the UK desired to avoid trade restrictions. The period after Napoleon I, also known as the Age of Metternich, was a time when the British empire was on the ascent. That should be taken into consideration. Here is a look at the history of British foreign policy
A show about Plato's Forms and the Personification of human traits into a deity. Pictured above, the Statue of Liberty, given to the United States from France. I am in the process of writing an Ancient Light episode on "Lady Liberty" and her place in both ancient and modern history.
Fig. 1 Anatolia or Asia Minor, part or modern day Turkey.
This is a 15th century map showing various regions and names by which the Greeks knew them. Along the west coast you can see the well-known Greek areas and cities. The Ionian Greeks settled a large part of the coast. Athenians identified themselves with the Ionian tribes.
In the central south west you can see Pamphylia. Plato writes that Er came from this place. Here is my show on "The Myth of Er": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQAGtHNoqRE
North of Pamphylia you will see Galatia. This place is named after Celtic Gauls who settled there. Many are surprised to know that Celtic peoples settled in this area.
The area of Phrygia gives us the name of the "Phrygian cap," a symbol of liberty. This hat imagery is used on some Roman coins, it is associated with the French Revolution, and is included in the Seal of the U.S. Senate, just to name a few places it can be found. Once you begin looking for it, you will begin to notice it is a well-used image in western culture. Even the cartoon classic, the Smurfs, uses Phrygian caps on their little blue subjects, or most of them. Click here for a fun look at symbols used in the Smurfs cartoon.
Fig. 2 Mithras wearing a Phrygian cap 2nd-3rd century CE (CIMRM 641, Louvre).
Luke 3:28 "the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er" Some early Christians thought that an ancestor of Joseph was a man who died and came back to life to reveal a message to mankind about the afterlife. Listen to "The Myth of Er" here: https://youtu.be/GQAGtHNoqRE
