Fascinating History

It is incorrectly assumed that the ancient Greeks and Romans did not know of the existence of sugar. The first reference to sugar is made by the Greek general Nearchus of Crete. He commmanded Alexander the Great's army in 327 B.C. and while he was in what is now known as the Punjab area, he came across sugar. Additionaly, Strabo, the Roman geographer describes "a reed in India [that] brings forth honey without the help of bees..." . He also mentions sugar in solid form, describing it as "stones the colour of frankinsense, sweeter than figs or honey" . The Greek naturalist and physician Dioscorides spoke of it as "...a kind of solidified honey, called saccharon [Greeks still call sugar sakharo or zahari] found in reeds in India and Arabia Felix, of a similar consistency to salt..." . Indeed, it was thought that sugar was a type of salt and we see that even in Medieval times when it was sometimes referred to as "Indian Salt" . Despite th

One of my readers has kindly sent me his thoughts on the Roman Emperor Tiberius. I have to say that my personal view of Tiberius does not coincide with this one, but I nevertheless felt that the writer has researched his subject well and his enthusiasm is almost contagious. For this reason I am publishing the essay below . The writer wishes to be identified by the pseudonym "Light". Once more, I find myself reasonably bored. So, in the interests of keeping me sane, I'm going to tell you a story... This is the story of the Poor Oppressed Victim and the Big Bad Roman Emperor. Just to somewhat confuse matters, they're both the same person. Tiberius (or to give him his full name, Tiberius Claudius Nero; bit of a mouthful...) gets something of a shitty deal in the history books. He's now known (when remembered at all) as an Olympic standard sexual pervert and sadist. And I suppose there's a grain of truth in that, but in the interest of striking a blow (or taki

Stays were the corsets worn by women in the 18th century. They were worn from infancy and were made of thick linnen onto which long, thin pieces of cane or whalebone were sewn vertically. This made the garment very rigid. The stays would end in a point, just above the abdomen and would be laced up at the back as tightly as possible. The garment was so tight around the waist and rib-cage, that movement and breathing was made difficult. (This explains why women fainted so easily..) Stays would be worn over a white shirt-like garment, which was usually almost knee-length, (knickers had not been invented yet) and the skirt would be fitten under the bottom part of the stays, with the pointed part on the outside. The front panel was meant to be seen and so was often beautifully embroidered and colourfull. Over the skirt, another shirt-like garment would be worn, which would be open in front so you could see the panel and it would be tied to the stays with silk ribbons or just pinned on. Thi

If you are dreading a trip to the dentist think again. In 17th century London you had very good reason to. In those days you would be seen to by a man called the "Teeth Inspector", who could be found in fairs and market-places. He had absolutely no academic qualifications and firmly believed that cavities were caused by a worm that made it's lodging in your teeth. If you had a very bad toothache he would usually suggest cauterising the offending nerve with acid, which would also kill both birds with one stone by destroying the tooth as well. If your toothache was so bad that you were howling with pain he might consider extracting the tooth via the use of several grotesque-looking instruments. All this "treatment" was administered in public view and one can say it was seen as a kind of spectacle for curious passers-by. If you complained that too many teeth had been extracted over the years and you wished you could replace them, the Teeth Inspector had a solution

Restoration London is the period between 1660 and 1670. This period of history witnessed among other things, the Restoration of the monarchy with Charles II, the Great Fire of London and the building of St. Paul's Cathedral by the great architect Christopher Wren. Perhaps the most well-known document of the time is the diary of Samuel Pepys, which provides us with a wealth of information on the everyday life in London of that time. His diary spans almost a decade, from 1660 to 1669, when he had to stop writing because he was losing his eyesight. Probably one of the most unpleasant times in a person's life in those days, was when they got ill and had to be treated by a surgeon. These were not to be confused with the doctors of the time who were called physicians . Chirurgeons (pronounced 'surgeons') were not especially learned and not regarded as gentlemen, unlike physicians. Their training consisted of a seven-year apprenticeship. They did not attend a university

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was born in A.D. 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. His parents died young and he was subsequently adopted by his grandfather and at the age of 17 by the emperor Aurelius Antoninus, who was also his uncle and had no sons of his own. Marcus married the emperor's daughter, Faustina, who bore him five children out of which only one survived, the future emperor Commodus (the tyrannical, sadistic, cruel one we see in the film 'Gladiator'). When Aurelius Antoninus died, Marcus succeeded him and made Lucius Verus (another adopted son of the deceased emperor) his co-ruler. It was thus that for the first time ever there were two emperors ruling Rome. Their rule was marked by various natural disasters and also the invasions of Germanic tribes from the north. In A.D. 167 Marcus joined his legions who were fighting these tribes, in the Danube area. He was not happy there and to console himself wrote his thoughts down, which we now know as Meditations

Women in ancient Rome, were allot fussier about their morning "toilette" than the men. (This would apply particularly to the rich ladies.) They would awake of course at the same time (sunrise or before). Like the men they would go to bed at night almost fully dressed. However, in the morning unlike the men who were practically ready to step out of the house like that, they would make several additions to their attire, which usually involved a colourful tunic, an elaborate fabric belt around the waist, jewellery (including bracelets, anklets, necklaces and earings). Before the Roman matron was ready to do this though she would have to "put her face on". This consisted of applying what we would call make-up, only unlike modern make-up this was made of chalk, lead and other such unpleasant and unhealthy ingredients. The chalk and lead were used to whiten the skin, herbal dyes would colour the lips red and ashes mixed with charcoal were used to intensify the eyebr