• Latest

Max’s View

June 29, 2015
African Queen (1951)

Exodus (1960)

March 21, 2023
Just Some Thoughts

“Don’t Worry”

March 21, 2023
Job Training Well Done

Job Training Well Done

March 21, 2023

ACLU, Partners Call on Legislators to Oppose Plans for Prison Expansion

March 21, 2023

Conservation Supports New Farm In Central Vermont

March 21, 2023

Vermont Hunter Education Courses

March 15, 2023

Vermont Philharmonic and Green Mountain Youth Symphony Present “Awakenings: Music of Young Composers”

March 15, 2023

Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) Joins in Month-Long March for Meals Celebration with Communities Nationwide

March 15, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Divorce, Italian Style (1961)

March 15, 2023

Following Successful Public Pressure Campaign to Lower the Cost of Eli Lilly’s Insulin, Sanders and Bush Introduce Bill to Finish the Job and Cap the Price at $20 Per Vial

March 15, 2023
Udderly Crazy 4-H Club Members Take Part In 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl

Udderly Crazy 4-H Club Members Take Part In 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl

March 7, 2023
Hunger Free Vermont Receives $36,090 Nourishing Neighbors Grant from Shaw’s Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbor Campaign

Hunger Free Vermont Receives $36,090 Nourishing Neighbors Grant from Shaw’s Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbor Campaign

March 7, 2023
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
Monday, March 27, 2023
The World Online
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The World Online
No Result
View All Result

Max’s View

vt-world by vt-world
June 29, 2015
in Max's View
0

Alexandria
***1/2
We live in a world of luxury and comfort and technological advancement.

It would be logical to think that progress is the natural order of things. It seems like the story of history should be a tale of ever-expanding knowledge and scientific know-how.

Nope. Not even close. History isn’t a straight-line toward anything. History is a myriad of stories of amazing progress and shocking regress.

Take Greece, for example. Twenty-five hundred years ago, the Greek city/states were world leaders in military discipline, democratic civility, and philosophy. Today, Greece is a pathetically weak backwater being kept financially afloat with charity from Germany. In contrast, 2500 years ago, the Germans were nothing more than an unorganized band of semi-nomadic barbarian tribes.

Take Mesopotamia, for example. Twenty-five hundred years ago, Babylon was a rich, proud, beautiful empire. Today, Iraq is close to being a failed state. Mesopotamia was home to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Now it’s a desolate desert war zone in part due to the recent invasion/occupation by a powerful North American army. In contrast, 2500 years ago, North America was still 2000 years away from even being part of human civilization.

And then there’s Alexandria: the subject of a short, educational documentary on Netflix. There is no better example of man’s ability to create astounding achievements but also our tendency to ultimately destroy everything we create.

Today, Alexandria is just a mid-sized port city in the unstable military dictatorship of Egypt. Two thousand years ago, Alexandria was arguably the greatest and unarguably the most learned city in the world.

In 331BC, Alexander the Great conquered the wealthy and culturally rich Egyptian empire and founded a new capital city on the Mediterranean coast. His plan for the new city that bares his name was almost impossibly ambitious: to transform a rocky fishing village into the world center of commerce, culture, and knowledge.

Different peoples and religions were welcome. Soon Greeks, Egyptians, and Jews were living side by side as equals. Alexandria was a true melting pot of ideas. For example, the narrator shows us some uniquely Alexandrian art – like a sculpture with the head of the Egyptian god Anubis and the body of a Greek soldier.

The real achievement of Alexandria wasn’t its ludicrous hybrid sculptures, however; it was its scientific discoveries. In a city of unequaled liberty, the one peculiar prohibition was the law that punished anyone who left town with a book.

Alexandria housed the largest library, the most prestigious university, and the longest list of scientific discoveries.

In the 2nd Century AD, Claudius Ptolemy not only proved the earth was round mathematically, but he also made an accurate prediction about how large the globe is.

About 1800 years before Galileo, Alexandrian astronomer Aristarchus published his observation that the earth revolves around the sun.

The documentary spends the most screen time singing the praises of Alexandria’s greatest woman: Hypatia.

In the early 5th Century, Hypatia was the city’s leading academic. She taught mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy at Alexandria University. She invented a metal astrolabe that could tell time, latitude and longitude, and the positions of heavenly bodies.

Hypatia was possibly the most accomplished great scholar in the history of Alexandria. And she was definitely the last. In 415, the Archbishop of Alexandria accused her of paganism and divination. Hypatia was publicly humiliated and flayed alive.

Not long after, the University was closed and the library was destroyed. For 700 years, Alexandria was the intellectual capital of the world. Since the 5th Century, it has been just another Mediterranean coastal town.

The interesting thing about humanity is that we are as good at destroying as we are at creating. That is why our history will never be just a simple story of progress.

Previous Post

Senate Report: Vermont’s Major Role in Our Independence

Next Post

Please Don’t Miss This!

Next Post

Please Don’t Miss This!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This Week’s Ads

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
The World
403 US Route 302
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: (802) 479-2582

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

No Result
View All Result
  • Art Exhibits
  • Audit and Reader Surveys
  • Births
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Daily Horoscope
  • Fall Guide
  • Food & Recipe
  • Home
  • Obituaries
  • Ongoing Events
  • Pay Your Bill Here
  • Senior Living Edition
  • Showtimes
  • Submit Birth Announcement
  • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
  • Submit Engagement Announcement
  • Submit Listing to our Local Directory
  • Submit Sports News/Photo
  • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Testimonials
  • The World Coupons
  • Weather Forecast
  • World Deadlines
  • World Distribution Map
  • World Rate Card
  • World Rates and Ad Sizes
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Vermont Lottery
  • Advertising Information
  • The World Staff
  • Advertising Inquiry
  • Submit Letter To The Editor
  • Local Directory
  • Poll Results
  • Local Deals
  • Classifieds
  • Submit An Article To The World
  • Events
  • The World – This Week’s Online Digital Edition
  • The World Auto & Sports

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In