Month: January 2023

Ivan the Terrible Crowned Tsar of Russia (1547)

Following his parents’ deaths, Ivan IV became the first ruler of Russia to assume the title “czar” and to pursue a czarist autocracy by limiting the power of the Russian nobility. He also expanded Russian influence by conquering Kazan and Astrakhan, acquiring Siberia, and seeking better access to the Baltic Sea. A serious illness and the death of his wife, however, caused Ivan to become increasingly tyrannical and volatile. Why did Ivan murder his son—and only viable heir—in 1581? Discuss

The Lyre

The lyre is a stringed instrument of the harp family that has two curved arms connected at the upper end by a crossbar. The strings are stretched between the crossbar and the sound box and are plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum. In ancient Greece, the lyre accompanied poetry and song. Ancient Greece had two lyres—the kithara, which was used by the professional musician, and the lyra, the smaller instrument of the amateur. The lyre is typically associated with which Greek god? Discuss

The British Museum Opens (1759)

When the British Museum opened to the public in 1759, its exhibits were based largely on personal collections, including Sir Hans Sloane’s Cabinet of Curiosities, Robert Harley’s library, and Sir Robert Cotton’s antiquities. Today, the museum is home to more than 13 million historical items. Its assortment of prints and drawings is one of the world’s finest, and it houses such famous relics as the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. Why is the ownership of the latter collection in dispute? Discuss

Carmentalia

It was unusual in ancient Rome for a single deity to have two separate festival days only a few days apart (January 11 and 15), and a number of explanations have been offered for why the second festival in honor of the goddess Carmenta was instituted. The only thing that is certain is that it was primarily women who frequented her temple near the Porta Carmentalis, a gate at the foot of the southern end of the capitol. Carmenta had her own priest, or flamen, whose duties on her festival days were confined to the preparation of offerings of grain or cereal. Discuss

Edward Teller (1908)

Teller was a Hungarian-born physicist who worked on the first atom bomb and the first hydrogen bomb. After studying with Werner Heisenberg in Germany, Teller came to the US in 1935 to escape the Nazis. Six years later, he began working on the physics of the hydrogen bomb. He took the lead on that project and was instrumental in making possible the first successful US explosion of the device in November 1952. Soon after, he alienated much of the scientific community by speaking out about what? Discuss

The Ancient City of Susa

Located about 15 miles (23 km) southwest of modern Dizful, Iran, ancient Susa was the capital of Elam and of the Persian Empire. Destroyed in the 7th century BCE, Susa was revived under the Achaemenid rulers of Persia. Excavations at Susa have uncovered the stele of Naram-sin and the code of Hammurabi, which were among many objects carried off by the Elamites from Babylonia. An unusual tomb found in the area marked by a white stone cone is believed to belong to what Biblical figure? Discuss