so-soHis book was on the stronger side of so-so. The information was interesting and it wasn‘t poorly written. The problem I had was that the author seemed to be trying too hard to fight against people glamorizing the games and gladiators, as a result he went a bit overboard describing and focusing on how horrific the battles were. I kind of wanted to say Ok, I get it. It also would have benefited from illustrations of some of the weapons and armor
pickGood bio of the short-reigned emperor who tried to revive paganism which avoids the trap of making him an Enlightenment poster boy and attempts to see him in his own terms. Some annoying clusters of typos towards the end, and it could have done with some maps and a family tree.
Julian and Education:
Unlike virtually every leader since, the emperor thought about it, encouraged it (Libanius comments that on his march from Constantinople to Antioch the emperor “was easy of access to teachers”) and wrote about it. But Julian went as far as to state explicitly that the brighter and better educated are more useful members of society.
*Litsy 😬🤷🏽♀️
pick5🌟
Just imagine what western society sacrificed - physical and mental health, healthy relationships, healthy sexuality - all for the sake of a philosophy.
After reading this book, I now understand why so many Christians fear history, and how so many Christians actively choose ignorance to their own religious heritage. The history, the facts, the truth is not pretty. It is reminiscent of other regions‘ extremists we now refer to terrorists.
What a tragic ending, and loss, for every single person on this planet.
#catherinenixey #thedarkeningage #theclassicalworld #classicalhumanism #religioushistory #philosophy #whyhistorymatters
This is interesting. I don‘t know if they purposely did this to give themselves deniability, or if it was just the way it happened. Nixey suggests it was on purpose because the term “Christian” was just too disturbing for them because of the actions perpetrated in its name.
#catherinenixey #thedarkeningage #theclassicalworld #classicalhumanism #religioushistory #philosophy #whyhistorymatters
![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png){kind=icon}
