Reading Time: 3 minutes OnlySky · Tracing the sacred origins of wine | Becky Garrison While many in the Western world might associate the sacred origins of wine with Christian and Jewish rituals, the actual history of wine and biodynamic wine in particular can be traced to Persia. Here, a Persian folktale illuminates wine’s mythical origins: When a lady […]
ancient history
Posted inReligion
A brief prehistory of Hell
Reading Time: 7 minutes Today, let’s talk about the prehistory of the Christian notion of Hell.
Posted inScience
Facial reconstruction: Meeting the faces of our past
Reading Time: 5 minutes One of the most potent ways historians connect people to our past is through facial reconstruction. As the technology to reproduce those ancient faces progresses, we’re discovering that we need to be aware of how we use it. Our biases can accidentally shift the appearance of those faces and distort the understanding audiences gain from […]
Posted inGeneral, History, Religion
Filling in the Blanks in Our 1st-Century List (#11)
Reading Time: 9 minutes Hi and welcome back! For a while now, we’ve been exploring the world of 1st-century writers in the Roman Empire. Our goal has been to see what those writers said — if anything at all — about Jesus, early Christians, or the goings-on in Judea during Jesus’ supposed lifetime. And now, we have come nearly […]
Posted inHistory, Religion
The Silence of Pamphile of Epidaurus (1st-Century Fridays #10)
Reading Time: 7 minutes Hi and welcome back! It’s Friday, and that means our attention turns to history. Specifically, we focus on a voice from the 1st century to see if they said anything about Jesus or Christianity during Jesus’ supposed lifetime. This time around, that voice is female. Pamphile of Epidaurus wrote some excellent histories, so let’s see if […]
Posted inEvolution
Where the Denisovans are 2021
Reading Time: 5 minutes Today, Lord Snow Presides over the way one ancient human species, the Denisovans, reached the present day through our DNA.
Posted inScience
Where the Denisovans Are 2021 (LSP #206)
Reading Time: 5 minutes Today, Lord Snow Presides over the way one ancient human species, the Denisovans, reached the present day through our DNA.
Posted inHistory, Religion
The Silence of Pliny the Elder (1st-Century Fridays #7)
Reading Time: 7 minutes Today, our focus rests upon Gaius Plinius Secundus, more popularly known as Pliny the Elder. As he lived between 23/24 CE – 79 CE and was good friends with Emperor Vespasian (who ruled from 69-79 CE), he was very well-placed to know all about this stuff. Let’s see if he did.
Posted inHistory, Religion
The Themes of Seneca the Younger (1st-Century Fridays #6)
Reading Time: 9 minutes Hi and welcome back! It’s Friday, and that means it’s time to meet another writer on our 1st-century list. Today, our lucky winner is Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, aka Seneca. This illustrious Roman lived between 4 BCE and 65 CE and spent his life as a philosopher, statesman, writer, and satirist. People regard him […]
Posted inHistory, Religion
The Silence of Velleius Paterculus (1st-Century Fridays #5)
Reading Time: 9 minutes Hi, y’all! Welcome back. It being Friday again, let us turn our attention to another 1st-century writer. This time, our subject is Marcus Velleius Paterculus (19 BCE – 31 CE). This Roman historian lived through the wildest years of the early Roman Empire. Thus, he wrote during those critical years (from our perspective) of 1-35 […]