Week 4b: Daily, February 28th

Could a force like Alexander the Great exist today? Why or why not?

            Alexander the Great was a great leader but I do not believe that a force like him could exist in our world today. For one, Alexander could almost be called war-crazy. He was always in battle with someone. Whether he was conquering a nation or fighting off another country, Alexander’s army was always fighting. Back then, the army loved fighting. With the war equipment we have today, I do not think his army could survive today with all the new technological advances we have had since Alexander’s time. The army wouldn’t be as big as it was in their time. I do not think Alexander could pummel cities and countries like he was used to doing. Nowadays, countries have allies. The United States is allies with several other countries. That means that if that country is in trouble, its allies could come in and help in the battle. This meant Alexander would have to defeat two countries, not just one. It is possible that a force like Alexander come rise up again, but I think that if that happens, they would be defeated immediately. It would be very difficult for a force like Alexander the Great to exist in today’s world. 

Week 4b: Daily 24th

What do you think should have been done after Alexander's death?

When Alexander the Great died, it was literally chaos. No one knew what to do, so all of his generals we retrying to take over. Alexander died unexpected so he did not have a plan for someone to take over. There are several theories to how he died. Some say that he was poisoned, he had a disease, or he got too drunk. After leaving no heir to take over for him, the city was crazy. If I was in that situation, I would have all the generals come together to take control over some things. Some generals would deal with the army and some would deal with the citizens. After that, there could be an election held to elect a new leader of Greece. Instead of everyone fighting for power, they needed everyone to be ready to communicate and agree on some things. People were fighting over who would become leader at this point. This did not help the situation at all. There needed to be union between people and there needed to be discussions about the next leader. If the people united and started to work things out instead of fighting, things would have been much easier. There would not have been half of the disagreements there were. After Alexander’s death, the citizens and generals needed to come together to work things out on the leader.

Week 4b: Daily, February 23rd

Was Alexander the Great a "good leader"? Compare/Contrast with Pericles.

I actually do believe that Alexander the Great was a good leader because of all the things he did in his lifetime. He defeated the greatest empire in the world, conquered uncountable amounts of countries, and made his country into the best in the world. If he was as bad as some of the critics of him say, why did he have the name “Alexander the Great”? He was a terrific leader who led his country into doing unthinkable things but coming out victorious. He trusted in his huge army to pummel any country he needed. His leadership skills were his biggest quality. He was able to make his country believe in themselves after they were just brutally defeated by the Persians. As soon as he came into power, he was ready to put Greece back on its feet again. After being defeated, the Greeks were actually ready for someone to do this. They needed a strong leader who would guide them on their way to get back at the other nations for what they did to them. Alexander was the perfect man for the job. He was ready the get revenge on Persian for putting his country into such a terrible time. Alexander was a great leader who lead his country into great success and achievement.

Week 4b: Daily, February 22nd

Do you think Alexander honestly felt like he was avenging Persian wrongs? Or was that just propaganda to mask his goal of conquest?

            I believe that Alexander the Great was avenging Persian wrongs when he went into war with them. I do not think that he wanted to just be praised for conquering all these lands. HE wanted revenge on what happened before he was in power. At times, people believed that Alexander the Great got sidetracked with conquering all this land. I believe that getting revenge was always in the back of his mind, though. He wanted to show the Persian Empire that no one could just walk all over Alexander. He was going to stand up and fight for what has happened to his country before he was in power. He was tired of sitting around and watching his city be demolished by the Persians and him not being able to do anything. Once he got his chance, he was going to definitely get revenge on them for what they put him and his country through. Alexander wanted his country’s honor back. He wanted them to be able to be called the greatest city in the world. He wanted to be the most powerful again. He wanted them to be like the Persians were when they were all powerful. Alexander wouldn’t stop until Persia knew he was seeking revenge on their empire.

Week 4b: Daily, February 21st

What compels someone to lead others? 

To me, there are several things that can make people want to lead and guide others. Sometimes, it just runs in the family for people to be in charge. Like Alexander the Great, people are sometimes just born into royalty and leadership. There are some people who are natural leaders. Some consider them bossy, but they really cannot help wanting to help out the people around them by trying to take care of them. When someone is a leader, they need to be dedicated to bringing people together and being able to listen to them. It’s one thing if you have a leader who is able to win all the wars but if they cannot keep control in their country, they cannot be a great leader. Great leaders bring their country together, listen to their people, and become a fellow citizen. Alexander the Great was one of these men. He was able to be the leader who could win just about all the battle she went into.  Even though he wasn’t as close with his country, he still kept in touch with being just like them. He was a fair leader who protected his country with everything he had. Great leaders really must love their country. If there is no love in what you are doing, then why are you doing it? There would be no point in doing that. Alexander had a great love for Greece and wanted to protect them and make them the best there ever was.

Weekly 4: February 18th

Movie Script

Question: Is History Created by 'the People' or by Individuals? Write a script for a movie about the events that took place in Athens during the Peloponnesian Wars. You should create a character that will live through some of the major events and you will tell the story through that character's eyes. Your character should be a common Athenian unknown to history. Scripts should be between three and five pages (longer is ok) and must include at least two major events. Be creative, but stick to the historical reality of what took place. Really think about what it would have been like to live in this time period and think about structuring your script so that there is some real drama.

Setting: Athens, between the walls built to protect Greece from the outside world attacks. It connects to its ports at Piraeus and Phalerum. They thought it was a brilliant idea to put up walls to protect them from the world around them. This ends up not exactly being the best idea...

Characters: Narrator

                Agnes- Woman, Athenian citizen

                Agatha- Young Athenian girl

                Alexius- Man; Athenian worker/citizen

                Elpis- Man; Athenian worker/citizen

                Hagne & Pelagia- Spartan guards

                Hercules- Athenian hero

(In the Athenian streets between work hours.)

Agnes: Well, good morning Alexius! How are you?

Alexius: I’m alright, thank you for asking. Aren’t you worried about these walls that our government has been attempting to put up? I do not know why but they give me an uneasy feeling.

Agnes: Oh, they’re fine! There’s nothing to worry about, I mean what could go wrong?

Alexius: Well, I guess you’re right. I have to head off to work now. Hopefully I’ll see you later!

Agnes: Have a good day!

(While working on building the Long Walls, two Athenian workers are discussing random things during work hours)

Elpis- Hey, Hercules, how is it going?

Hercules- I’m good, tired, but good. All this work is wearing me down; it’s too much for this short amount of time they are making us build these walls. I don’t even understand the point of these.

Elpis: I believe that these are for protection from the outside enemies and for us to still be able to get to our ports and everything without being ambushed.

Hercules- Ah, I see now. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling these won’t work…

Elpis- It’s possible. But before we start contemplating that thought, let’s build these walls so we don’t lose our jobs.

Hercules- I agree.

On the other sides of the walls, Spartan guards talk about the plan just devised by their leader)

Hagne- I cannot believe what we are planning to do!

Pelagia- Neither can I! It is so risky, but these Athenians don’t even know what’s coming. They will be so surprised.

Hagne- I’m still confused on how we are going to get our army into their land.

Pelagia- It’ll all work out, don’t worry. By the time you know what is going on, we will have conquered Athens.

(As you know, the Spartans come and surround the citizens of Athens inside of their walls. They are all trapped and do not have food, water, or supplies. The plague is going around, too. Soon enough, everyone will be dead, and Sparta will win. )

Hercules- I knew everything was totally wrong about building these walls! It just was looking for trouble!

Alexius- I said the same thing. What is your name young man? You look very tough and strong.

Hercules- My name is Hercules, and you are?

Alexius- I am Alexius, pleased to meet you, considering these terrible conditions.

Agnes- This is horrible! What are we going to do? How will we live? How will we eat? How will we sleep? Where is my daughter too?!

Hercules- Agnes, calm down. I am determined to help all of the people in danger here.

Agatha- Mama! There you are! I couldn’t find you for the longest time! I thought you had been killed by those nasty Spartan guards!

Agnes- Agatha, my dear! Good, you are safe! I also thought you had been killed! This man Hercules here says he wants to save us all, but I do not know how. Spartans are watching us everywhere. They are just waiting for us to die and then they will conquer our city.

Elpis- Hercules, you can’t do this. We can’t figure out how to conquer that great army in this little amount of time. People are already dying of starvation, just wait until this plague comes and hits us all! Then we are in big trouble.

Hercules- We can do this. We will find a way out and we will survive to redeem our city.

Agnes- I sure do hope so!

(On the other side of the walls, Spartan guards keep watch of everything they can see.)

Hagne- These worthless Greeks think they can overrule us? Ha! Now they do not know what hit them.

Pelagia- Of course they will never succeed over us again. Big mistake in overlooking us! We will always fight back.

Hagne- You’re completely right. Now stand guard.

(Back inside the walls)

Hercules- Elpis! You can’t do this! You must stay alive; we need you to help us defeat them!

Elpis- I just can’t… I’m too sick… They finally won over me… Don’t let them beat you…

Hercules- No, Elpis!

Agnes- (weeping) He is gone.

Hercules- He would want us to fight back for him. We must think of a way to get out of here!

Agatha- I know I’m just a little girl, but I might have an idea…

Hercules- Tell us Agatha! And We can modify your idea!

(After sharing her plan with Hercules and everyone that needed to know, Hercules got an even better idea from Agatha when they told them her idea. They actually, somehow rose up and beat the Spartans)

Hercules- I don’t know how we did it, but we made it! We defeated them and came back to claim our city that was rightfully ours! And we couldn’t have done it without you, Agatha!

Agatha- Well thanks, I think we could have gotten out of there with or without my help.

Hercules- No, we could not have, which is why we give you this award for your braveness in battle. Thank you Agatha!

Week 4: Daily, February 16th

Explain how the origins of theater in Athens are tied to both religion and politics. Check out this resource


Theaters in Athens were related to religions and politics in many ways. Theatre of ancient Greece flourished from 550 to 220 B.C.  Athens theatre was tied into religion because sometimes the plays and stories were based and evolved from religious beliefs. The things they performed were considered to be just like worshiping their gods. They had many gods that were related to many different things. Because there were so many, there were also stories about these immoral people. Some of the stories were interpreted into plays and tragedies. Religion was a huge part of Athenian lifestyles. There were people who dedicated their lives to their religion. These people enjoyed theatre because it related to the Greek gods and goddesses. Theatre was related to politics because the easiest way to get the attention of the public was through theatre. Mainly all of the citizens were into theatre and enjoyed it very much; so they went to watch plays. If the government were to be included in these festivals, it would be easier for the public to know more about their government. Theater can be tied between religion and politics in several ways. A lot of things were interconnected in Greece, actually. 

Week 4: Daily, February 15th

Was Athens really a 'democracy'?

A democracy is a government run by the people in a specific place. I do not believe that Athens was a true democracy. There are several reasons why I would say this. First of all, they never had a real set leader. Their leadership was always changing, especially during times of the Peloponnesian War. During the Peloponnesian War, Pericles ruled some of the time; and at other times, a group of about 400 people controlled the city. The 400 people would take on the issues in the city which were separating the citizens. Another reason that Athens wasn’t a democracy is because their disciplinary system was much unorganized. They would put people in jail or even put them to death for things that people were just accused for. There were many other flaws in the so-called democracy system. One thing, there were no set political parties, like plebeians. It was just that what you believe in was what you were. If there were groups, it would be easier to rule Athens. There were many disagreements among the Athenian citizens that the government couldn’t solve. These disagreements sometimes resulted in wars. I notice that people try to say that Athens was a democracy, but I believe that Athens was so disorganized, that it could not have been a democracy. 

Week 4: Daily, February 14th

Do you think Socrates got what he deserved?

Socrates was classical Greek Athenian philosopher that lived from 469 B.C. to 399 B.C. He was alive during the change of power in Athens. He was put to death and was forced to drink a poison. HE got in to trouble because he "mocked" the gods and goddesses, according to the leaders. That was a huge ordeal and Socrates got in big trouble with authority. At age seventy, Socrates was forced to drink the poison hemlock, which was made to kill him. I personally do not believe that Socrates got what he deserved. He was saying how he felt and that should be allowed. Not everyone was going to agree with things, so he just wanted to see and interpret every side of an issue. He would go around the city and start debates to see how other people in Athens felt. He simply was just studying the way of life in Athens. Socrates was able to choose two things when he was on trial. He could either be exiled from the country and never return, or he could be put to death. For some reason, Socrates chooses to die. He said that an unexamaned life wasn’t worth living.  Many critics say that Socrates corrupted the citizen’s minds by putting other ideas in their heads. But Socrates really was just curious about what others thought about the problems and disagreements in Athens and among the people of Greece. Socrates was a very wise man who was always on his feet, thinking of what else he could do. He did not deserve to be punished for that.

Weekly 3: Our John Carroll Megalith Project

Our civilization is called the Xobile civilization. They have lived in Bel Air, Maryland for thousands of years. This civilization was founded around 100 b.c. my the famous Myan explorer, Kimosabe. Our civilization prospered to to the areas high amount of fertile soil. The Xobile took off agriculture making new tools such as plows and domesticating local deer to pull the plows.
Our culture fell upon poor times when the climate dropped majorly. Many people died of starvation. All of our domesticated deer died. When the summer came around though due to the leadership of Kimosabe the leader rebounded. They population came back and they were able to create enough surplus to survive the winter. Thanks to Kimosabe our civilization was able to survive. When Kimosbe died everybody was very sad. They decided to build a massive burial tomb. They traded many of their valuables for these massive stones and dragged them to their holiest spot. They made a glorious tomb to recognize their leader. This tomb has survived for thousand of years even though the civilization was wiped out.

Week 3: Daily: Thursday February 10th

"Structures, both social and physical are continually improving." agree or disagree

Physical and social structures are continuing to improve majorly. The people who are the literal foundation of these structures are growing intellectually which causes the structures to be bigger and better. This allows them to exceed their limits before and do what they think they are capable of doing. People are becoming smarter and smarter each day because we learn new things every day. People who are smarter, can build better buildings for companies and other big agencies in our world. Humans no have the capability to build whatever they want without anything getting in their way. Yes, maybe sometimes they hit roadblocks but so does everyone. That just shows how much smarter these people are and how much they can achieve in life. Humans are becoming so much more intelligent that this enables them to build everything bigger and better. People learn of new ways to do things all of the time. People build buildings differently and learn what works and what does not work. Once they learn these things, they can advance even more in the race against themselves to be as smart and developed as you can be. No matter what year or millennium it is, people always grow. Whenever people grow, so does society. 

Week 3: Daily: Wednesday February 9th

What is the oldest human-created artifact that has mattered to you? Why/how does it matter?

The oldest human created artifact that has mattered to me is probably hospitals and medicine. I’m not sure if this is truly an artifact, but it does date back to very early times where they had medicines for ill people. These things are very important to me because without them, we would all be sick a lot and there would be no way to completely treat the sicknesses. It should matter to everyone else in the world too. Just think, if we didn’t have doctors and medicines to make us feel better, we all would not even want to live. We would be sick a lot more than we are now, because without all of this, we would not cure anything and diseases and viruses would just keep growing and growing. With nothing there to stop it, these diseases and viruses would take over our population and wipe out the human race entirely. You do not necessarily have to look at how it would affect you right now, but maybe later on in your life or early in your life. You wouldn’t even be born if it wasn’t for doctors in our hospitals to deliver you. Hospitals and medicines is the most important artifact to me because without them, we would all be gone.

Week 3: Daily: Tuesday February 8th

Why do you think so many conspiracy theories surround the pyramids and the megaliths? Give examples of a few and explain where you think they come from.

There are so many conspiracy theories surrounding the pyramids and megaliths because of the mystery behind them. These massive stone objects have been in these places for as long as people can remember. They were most likely there before people even knew what they were. I believe that there are so many of these conspiracies because no one really knows for sure what happened. They might have an idea of how these architectures got there, but there is no proof.  Most locations of these famous structures did not have languages when they were built. They could not record what was going on during the building of these mysterious structures. An example of one of these structures and conspiracy theories would be the pyramids in Egypt. There are many reasons that people believe these huge pyramids were built. Most people say they were tombs and burial grounds for important people of that empire. Others say that these were made to “confuse” people and send them through mazes. As crazy as any theory sounds, it is just a theory; it is not proven to be true. Many also believe that these structures were used to honor people, gods, or pharaohs. Whatever they were used for, these huge architectures are a mystery for now. 

Week 3: Daily: Monday February 7th

"War is a form of technology". Agree or Disagree.

I agree with the statement that war is a form of technology. War is caused by so many different things, from actual physical disagreements to ways of perceiving ideas. Technology is so popular now a days that everything is now done through technology. People don’t communicate using cave-drawings anymore. People use Skype and other forms of technological communication. Without technology, we would be stuck the way we were in the much earlier times. It’s possible that we could not even have a language. We could be communicating using hand signals or drawings. Technology allows us to do many new and highly advanced things that people had never even dreamed of before.  With war, countries are forced to reign on top of other countries. In order to do this, that certain country has to be advanced and ready to back up anything that comes their way. Advances in technology enable countries to do this. The internet allows the leaders or countries to research enormous amounts of information. Anyone could go out and find anything on the internet if they tried to. Technology enables countries to do anything they ever need to. They advance in war using technology, so I would say yes, war is a form of technology.

Weekly 2: February 4th

Weekly- Week 2, February 4, 2011

Question: Is 'Change' a Good Thing or a Bad Thing? (Relate to the origins of art, the agricultural revolution, architecture and urban planning in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.

               

According to www.dictionary.com, change is defined as a transformation, modification, or alteration. Change can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the situation. Sometimes change is needed to be brought about. Change has brought around several crucial things we need today, but they have also caused some problems we could deal without. Other times change can really mess up things and have people confused. Changes help us advance on bigger and better things. Several things changed in the Mesopotamia and Indus Valley area, so let’s find out about that.

In artwork, a lot of things change. The way you present things change, and your resources change.  These changes affect art in several different ways. The way they create art must become different if they don’t have the same materials that they would before.  Art made advances form the years when cavemen drew on the walls of caves to today where artists get paid billions of dollars for a painting that some people can’t even understand.

In agriculture, a lot of things have changed since ancient times. When we find new ways to grow things and make food, it helps our world become much better. Some of the ways of the ancient farmers are so out-dated that we don’t even know of them today. Finding new ways of growing seeds or harvesting a plant can affect our lives in the long run. If our farm workers make healthy decisions that benefit us and our health.

Urban planning, or architecture, has changes tremendously over time. You can look all around you and it is proven that ways of making buildings have definitely changed. There are the pyramids I Egypt and then the ancient cities in Rome. If you look at those architectures and then look at buildings made in the present time, there are some major differences. We have come up with better ways to make building run more efficiently and thoroughly.

In my perspective, change can be either a great thing or something that worsen situations. Through progressing, we can learn different things about life and apply it later. Change could also bring out the worst in some people and shouldn’t be used later on in life. Bad changes should actually be learned from. Good or bad, change can adjust people’s lives and the way they live.

Week 2: Daily: February 3rd

L's are R's; R's are L's

D's are N's; N's are D's

T's are S's; S's are T's

P's are M's; M's are P's

H's are J's; J's are H's

G's are B's; B's are G's

K's and W's; W's are K's

Y's are Q's; Q's are Y's

N's are V's; V's are N's

I- ya

She/he= ye

They=Yas

We=yos

you=yab

your=yabr

Hi, how are you?= Ji, jok ale yab?

What is your name? Kjas as yabr vape?

Yes=yut

No=na

is=as

go=bo

Sje ealsj lenonrnet alouvn sje tuv. = The Earth revolves around the sun.

Verbs:

Singular- same

Plural- add -ES

Past- add –O

Future= will is wab

Week 2: Daily: February 2nd

Which do you think is a better roadmap of history artifacts of the humanities (art, music, dance, theatre, literature, philosophy, architecture, etc) or political/military conflicts? Why? (from Twitter)

Answer:

I think that architecture is a good roadmap of history artifacts of humans. The buildings and houses have changed so much over the years, just like the people have. A great deal of history can be shown from just looking at a building from a certain time period. If you look at different time periods, there is usually a different type of architecture for each time in history. Buildings and houses show what they have been through and symbolize what that part of our history was like. You can tell when the pyramids were made just by looking at them. It’s easy to see what that period of time was all about just by looking at a structure of building or two. If you took all the different architectures from history and put them into a time line, you would see how much history progresses just through buildings. It shows that the people building the houses and other structures are progressing along with them. If you follow the way architecture was in the beginning of time up until now, you would see many different things. There are the pyramids to the White House. History can easily be seen through architecture.

Week 2: Daily: February 1st

 Describe the importance of water in the ancient world. (from Twitter)

Answer:

Water was extremely important to the living creatures of the ancient times. Just like there is today, they grew their own food and needed water in order to survive. Water was a necessity to live. People didn’t have Sprite or Pepsi back in the fourth millennium. Only richer people were allowed to have anything flavored. In the Andes Mountains in Peru, archaeologists found irrigation systems from the 4^th millennium. That long ago, they still need water to plant their crops and drink so they could have food and water. People think that back in ancient times they didn’t have basically anything and weren’t capable of doing anything. Obviously, they weren’t as advanced as we are now is present time, but they had basics like water and irrigation systems. They had to plant their own foods since electricity had not come around yet. They weren’t able to use a stove or oven so they had to have fruits or vegetables grown from their fields. If they weren’t too poor, they could possibly have a cow and eat that once it got to the point where they could eat it. Yes, they had fire so they could cook it. But all of these things basically all come back to water. Water was and still is one of the most importantly things in life for humans.