Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.
Tyrant Book Two (Storm of Arrows)will be out in a few days,and the paperback of Tyrant is out on Saturday, so I assume that this site will suddenly receive quite a few hits. Let me say again, please feel free to visit the forum. You will have to sign in. A Greek name is NOT required. Until you post at least once (for instance, an introduction!) you won't have any greater access. But I am easily swayed by reader input.
And YES I will have a story about Chaeronaea available in a week or two.
Even from the depths of near full immersion in the wars of the Diadochoi, it has become difficult to ignore the effects of the world-wide economy on the world of history--and on my friends. In addition to ill-considered lay-offs in service and industry, museums and historical sites are cutting personnel in Canada and in the U.S. Thousands of people are losing their jobs--at Christmas.
Will any corporation that is "laying off" people in the month before Christmas actually perish due to over-employment? Isn't this just knee-jerk cutting to marginally improve the bottom line for 4th Q.? And shouldn't these companies be punished for their lack of public spirit?
Personally (and what is a blog but personal?) I think that cutting away at our historical and cultural institutions is just as short sighted. History usually holds answers--the sort of answers that politicians are afraid to face. Anyone who knows the history of the rise and fall of Athens is assured of understanding where the current crisis could lead.
Finally, not even the coward Demosthenes ever demanded the suspension of the assembly. There is a reason why the Spanish say "May no new thing arise." Steven Harper has done a "new thing." And we will all pay for it in years to come.
This week, I finished reading both "The Other Greeks" by Hanson and "Traveling Heroes" and I'm re-reading Herodotus. And Satyrus is sailing away from Byzantium, looking to make a deal with Lysimachos. I hope that's an interesting clue for the future.
Was Athens a major power before the Battle of Marathon? That's become my current historical question.
Was there technological development of the Panoply within the late Archaic and Classical Greek period? Did hoplites change?
What did the Greeks use as tents? Herodotus and Thucydides both mention them. What were they? What did they look like? What were they made of?
I don't have answers to these questions--just more questions. But if you're interested, feel free to visit the forum. Sign up, send a welcome message, and then fire away.
Last weekend, my Rev War group and many of our friends spent three cold, wet days recreating early winter patrolling in the Adirondacks in 1782. We did an excellent job as experimental archaeologists of demonstrating why soldiers ended their campaign season in the fall. We were cold, wet, and often lost--water and lack of foliage changed the terrain to an amazing degree. Worth noting, however, that we ate well and slept warm--all in period kit. They knew what they were doing, back then--we're the ones who struggle! This week, I completed my mess gear for my Greek kit, and started writing Tyrant 4, king of the Bosporus (or whatever it may eventually be called.) As usual, a good immersion event fires me for further writing.
I took a week off to polish up the last text, tie up loose ends, pay bills, and make kit--my aspis nears completion and I have the basis of a tube-and yoke corselet cut out on the ping-pong table. Tomorrow is Halloween, and Bea will be resplendent as Athena. Photos to follow! And on Monday I'll start Tyrant IV--King of the Bosporus.
If you have a chance, take a look at the new covers which will be out next week. They certainly are different and full of action. I really rather enjoyed working with Steve Stone in Yorkshire on building the covers and trying to get the equipment into the right period. Hope that you all like them too!
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