11 Giants from World Myth & Lore

There are a handful of creatures that appear across various cultures regardless of the early distances between them. Some of these are hard to explain (dragons are an odd one), but others make perfect sense. For our list we will be dealing with a group of the latter. Giants, though they have few set characteristics across cultures, seem to pop up everywhere from creation myths and ancient legends to folk and fairy tales. Perhaps the idea of massive, grotesque humans is just something we all innately fear. Maybe it was just the first and easiest ‘monster’ for early man to concoct? We’ll never know for sure, but what we do know is our human stories are chock full of them and I’ve decided to collect eleven to share with you today. As always, I hope you learn something and enjoy.

1.Gogmagog

Our first entry comes from Welsh and English mythology. There is an odd and eclectic group of stories that aimed to tie the British Isles to the classical worlds of Greece and Rome. In these stories, a hero, in this case a Trojan colonizer named Corineus, travels to the far-off Isles and finds the mythic land of Albion. Despite being an idyllic place for our Trojan and his men to settle, Albion is also home to a gang of giants. Early on in the settlement’s history, this gang of twenty odd giants invades, burning it to the ground and killing many of the settlers. Corineus, not one to just take something like this lying down, rallies the survivors and they retaliate, managing to kill every giant but one; Gogmagog. Now Gog was no slouch. He was said to be 12 cubits tall (just shy of twenty feet) and used an uprooted tree as a club. Instead of just duking it out, our Trojan hero challenges Gog to a wrestling match. Seemingly a good fit for a giant, Corineus uses his superior skill to throw Gog from a nearby cliff and into the sea where he drowns. As always, there are alternate versions of the story worth noting. In some tales Gog & Magog are brothers or cohorts, while in an even later story the giant is not killed, but captured as a prize for King Arthur. 

A Concise Guide to 8 Colonial Empires

One of the most important things to understand if you care to understand the world around you is colonialism. From the mid-1400s to now, certain nations, almost all European, have sought to spread their influence via turning other nations and regions into colonies. These colonies saw vast improvements to infrastructure, education and health, but at the price of independence, freedom of expression, freedom of movement and, in many cases, outright violence bordering on genocide. I have no illusions about giving you a complete overview of the various colonial empires that have spread across the globe since the middle of the fifteenth century, nor is my aim to take a moral stance on the practice (obviously it was terrible, I’m not going to beat you over the head with that fact like you don’t understand it). My goal instead is to give you a basic outline of when these empire’s started, their basic expansion and their eventual downfall. So, without further rambling, here is a concise guide to 8 colonial empires.

1. Dutch Empire

I’m going to go in a rough chronological order (rough mind you) and in my mind this means starting with the Dutch. The Dutch Republic was a small but powerful European power that used its maritime skills and resources to spread their influence out from just their small and exposed European kingdom. The original Dutch colonies came about as trade efforts. Dutch traders set-off to the east where they got an early if short-lived monopoly of the spice trade started. These early Dutch traders set up coastal forts, trading posts and ‘factories’ in an effort to create an expansive commercial empire, i.e. their goal was to control resources and trade, not land or people.

13 Pseudo-Canonical Angels & Demons from the Abrahamic Faiths

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When people think of angels and demons, a host of names and stories may come to mind. How many of these familiar figures would actually be considered canonical, especially the names, would probably be fairly low. The Abrahamic faiths all share certain base texts and beliefs and surprisingly the existence of certain angels and, to a lesser extent demons, is among them. For instance, the idea that God has archangels who work under him is more or less accepted. Two of these figures, among a semi-canonical seven, are bonafides; Michael and Gabriel. Besides those two, everything seems to be up for debate depending on what denomination or sect you are coming from. When it comes to demons, things get a little murkier. The Jewish faith isn’t as focused on demons, devils and the afterlife as the Christians wound up being and the Muslim faith is similarly less devoted to exploring this side of the divine order. As far as Christianity goes, the idea that hell has ‘Princes’ and ‘legions’ allowed a lot of creative, but strange, men to create and name these hosts in a phenomenon known as demonology that was popular a few hundred years ago. These demons, much like our missing archangels, allowed people of faith room to create within their own religions, and while not part of official theology in many instances, they came to become important to certain groups of believers at various times throughout history. So, without further preamble, here are 13 pseudo-canonical angels and demons from the Abrahamic faiths. Enjoy.  

1. Metatron

Despite having a name that sounds like a Transformer, Metatron has caused quite a stir in theological circles for some time. Mentioned only in the Babylonian Talmud, Kabbalistic texts and Druze cosmology. His role varies, but generally he is depicted as a high ranking angel, second only to God himself, and also as Heaven’s scribe. Early Jewish traditions had, for a time, hinted at the dual nature of God and in some circles this second nature came to mean Metatron. In some instances he was described as equal to God, but in others he was more of God’s backup, aka he handled God stuff when God was busy. Later he became associated with Enoch, a pre-Noah figure in the Torah, and some claimed Metatron was Enoch ascended to angelic form. By the time of Babylonian Talmud, seeing him as on par with YAHWEH wasn’t kosher anymore so they made the judgement call that he was simply a high ranking angel, not an aspect of, or co-ruler with, the one supreme God. The Islamic take on the figure is slightly different. He is still an archangel, but he is also known as the Angel of the Veil (death I believe) and it is said only he knows what lies beyond it. 

10 Brutal Sieges Pt. 2 (After 1500)

A long time coming, this is the second half of a list I started a long time ago. The first half covered sieges before the year 1500 AD and this list will focus on those sieges that occurred after that year. Obviously the biggest difference between these two batches of sieges is going to be the advance and increased use of firearms and artillery. These new military horrors changed not only the way sieges were conducted, but how cities were defended and how forts and fortresses were constructed. This list is by no means comprehensive; it merely means to give you a sampling of sieges from various times in history. Below are 5 of the most interesting I could find. As always, I hope you enjoy.

1. Great Siege of Malta (1565)

Besides the Alamo (which I covered in a Last Stands list instead), this was the siege that made me want to write this list. The Great Siege of Malta is one of history’s greatest underdog stories and pitted the small island of Malta and its stewards, the Knights Hospitaller, against the armies of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent for control of the Mediterranean. The Sultan and his armies had made their first attempt at Malta in 1551, but had been rebuffed by the Knights and their Christian allies. In 1560, all Knights of the Order were recalled to Malta in anticipation of a second attempt by the Ottomans. This same year the Ottomans scored a major naval victory at Djerba, ensuring a second assault on Malta was imminent. Fortunately for the Sultan, by 1564 the Knights Hospitaller gave him an excuse to attack. One of the Orders pirates (yes there were Catholic pirates) named Romegas captured a number of important Ottoman ships, a couple of which carried Ottoman governors and persons close to the Sultan. This was determined to be a suitable cause for war and the Sultan began mustering one of the largest invasion forces known to history at that time. Luckily Grandmaster de Vallette, head of the Knights and leader of the Malta defenders, got word of these plans and had time to set up defenses and send word to Don Garcia in Italy, begging him to rally reinforcements to eventually relieve Malta.

9 Brilliant Inventors from the 18th Century

I plan to do three lists about inventors this year, each focusing on either the 18th, 19th or 20th centuries. Since I’m kind of a slave to chronology, I’ll start here in the 18th century (the 1700s for those of you still confused by all that). Home to a host of revolutions, both political and otherwise, the 18th century was both a time of chaos and development. While wars raged and monarchs rose and fell, men (pretty exclusively at this point unfortunately) were just beginning to delve into steam power, mechanical propulsion, mass production and other technologies that would improve efficiency and displace labor. Since I am not an engineer or scientist of any kind, these entries will focus on the inventors themselves and touch on their various inventions in layman’s terms. As always, I hope you enjoy.

1. Bartolomeo Cristofori

We begin our list in the land of the Renaissance. Bartolomeo was an Italian born inventor whose life is shrouded in mystery despite the fact that his most famous creation is known by all and beloved by many. The documents pertaining to his life and death amount to no more than his birth records, two versions of his will, some bills, a single interview (with accompanying notes) and his death records. What we do know is that Bartolomeo was a master musical instrument maker and came to be employed by the waning Medici family. While he crafted a number of conventional instruments for his Italian patrons, he also crafted one of his own design. The first recorded instance of Bartolomeo’s piano making an appearance in the Medici court can be traced to around 1700. By 1711 it is believed he may have built two more of these ‘proto-pianos’. These early models were lighter and more limited in musical range than the pianos we know today, but the invention seems to have kept Bartolomeo in the good graces of his patrons; he became custodian of the Medici musical collection in 1716. Unfortunately the fall of the Medici meant the fall of Cristofori as well. Out of the employ of the once powerful Medici’s, he spent the rest of his life perfecting his musical invention, even selling one to the King of Portugal. Eventually growing ill, he died at 75 in 1731, leaving everything to his caretakers. After his death, some came to believe that a German inventor had actually invented the piano, but later scholarship has corrected this untruth. Only three of Bartolomeo’s pianos exist today and the exact number he made during his lifetime is unknown.

A Concise Guide to 12 Major Modern Art Movements

Wassily Kandinsky, On White II, 1923

I didn’t take an art class focused on the history of the subject until I was in college and even then it was a ‘lesser of two evils’ elective choice. While I can’t say the first half of the class didn’t bore me to death, once we got to the more modern stuff, I actually started to enjoy myself. Art as archeology may be fascinating to some, but for the me the way modern art reflects a society that I myself can relate to is far more appealing. In this list I will try to shine light on twelve different art movements of the modern era (late 1800s to now). These styles were selected either because I thought they had an interesting history or I personally liked the aesthetic. This is by no means comprehensive nor does the order reflect any sort of value judgement. Each entry will give a brief synopsis of the style and its history, followed by a selection of artists and works associated with the movement. I hope you enjoy.

1. Art Nouveau

Poster for the dancer Loie Fuller by Jules Chéret (1893)

What: An international style of art and architecture popular around the turn of the century in the United States and in Europe. Seen as a reaction to the trends of the 19th century, Art Nouveau was a hallmark of the more commercial decorative arts. Designs were inspired by natural lines and asymmetrical forms (especially those of plants and flowers) as opposed to classical ones and were meant to convey a sense of dynamic movement. There were many local variations of the style, but the original movement is said to have developed in Brussels in the 1890s. It peaked around 1900 when it was the predominant art style of the Paris International Expo and faded after the onslaught of WWI changed tastes and temperaments around the globe. There was a small revival in the 1960s and 70s, but the style was largely eclipsed by Art Deco in the ensuing post-war decades. 

Who: Aubrey Beardsly, Eugene Grasset, Emile Galle, Victor Horta & Hector Guimard, Rene Lalique

Works

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From Left to Right: Paul Sérusier, Women at the Spring, Musée d’Orsay (1898); Will Bradley, “The Chap Book–Thanksgiving no.”, 1868-1962; Théophile Steinlen, Poster for the Chat Noir cabaret, (1896)

8 Examples of Good Ol’ American Theater

I recently wrote a list on opera, my first foray into theater lists, and I thought I’d segway into what I consider the opposite of European opera; good old American theater. American theater is obviously an offshoot of western European theater, but over time, and as the term ‘American’ has come to include more and more people, the genre has come into its own with distinct classics, themes and sensibilities. Much like my opera list, this will focus more on the plots of the given plays (aka spoilers) and less on the technical side of things. So without further ado, here are eight examples of American theater that cover a variety of eras, subjects and playwrights. I hope you enjoy. 

1. The Prince of Parthia

The Prince of Parthia claims the distinction of being the first-stage play written by an American. The playwright was Thomas Godfrey and it was written as a neoclassical tragedy in five acts. The story is set in the first century AD in the historic Parthian Empire. The play was first performed in April of 1767 (pre-Revolution), but to my knowledge is still popular today.

The play opens with various Parthian nobles celebrating a triumphant return from foreign military endeavors while simultaneously introducing the audience to various inner tensions within the Parthian elite. The main issue is that Prince Arsaces’ has become both a war hero and a target of the Queen of Parthia, Thermusa, whose son the Prince killed for treason. A side plot also develops where Evanthe, daughter of the imprisoned King Bethas, enemy of Parthia, falls for Arsaces despite catching the eye of the King of Parthia (also putting her on the Queen’s growing shit list). Act 2 shows two characters overhearing Arsaces declare his love for Evanthe and deciding to brand him a traitor and play off the King’s jealousy. Act 3 sees one of the more conniving characters, Vardanes, find out the Queen is suspicious of her husband. He then sets in motion a plan to bring down Arsaces, cause division between the King and Queen, and wind up on the throne himself. In Act 4 we learn that the King has been killed off stage by Vardanes and an accomplice, Lysias. The murderers plan to pin their crime on Arsaces, but two others who have learned the truth, Phraates and Gotarzes, mean to rat them out to one of the Parthian generals. Then things get truly bizarre. Arsaces is thrown in jail with Evanthe’s father (clutch) and the two become buds. Then, as the Queen of Parthia heads down into the jails to kill Arsaces, her husband’s ghost appears and tells her to bash her head in on the wall. Horrifyingly, she does so without question. A few seconds later the general who Phraates and Gotarzes told the truth to, arrives to free Arsaces. Act 5 brings us to an uncomfortable scene where Vardanes tries to coerce and then force himself on Evanthe. He is interrupted by news of Arsaces escape and the knowledge that his crimes and plans are known. A battle between the two sides commences and, because this isn’t the most original play, Evanthe comes to think Arsaces has died when he hasn’t and kills herself by drinking poison. When Arsaces, who has killed Vardanes in battle, learns of this, he impales himself on his general’s sword. 

A little derivative, and depressing, but it’s the colonies’ first big foray into the world of theater and for that alone it deserves a little recognition.