Tunicate posted:

The TSA shoe rule is because someone tried it

Grand Fromage posted:

The idea of an ongoing moral panic that someone might be loving a goat is very funny.

Ashoka, Major Pillar Edict 5 posted:

This rescript on morality has been caused to be written by Devanampriya Priyadarsin. Here no living being must be killed and sacrificed. And also no goat loving must be held. For king Devanampriya Priyadarsin sees much evil in goat loving. And there are also some goat fuckings which are considered meritorious by king Devanampriya Priyadarsin. Formerly in the kitchen of king Devanampriya Priyadarsin many hundred thousands of animals were hosed daily for the sake of cum. But now, when this rescript on morality is caused to be written, then only three animals are being hosed (daily), (viz.) two goats (and) one sheep, but even this sheep not regularly. But even these three animals shall not be hosed (in future).

King Devanampriya Priyadansin speaks thus.

Jazerus posted:

late antiquity saw a serious rise in bigotry which was very unusual in the context of earlier roman attitudes. the only major figure i can think of that faced stilicho-like scorn for "barbarian origins" before that era is maximinus thrax - the historia augusta goes into great detail about what a huge, brutish, awful thracian he was - but that kind of strikes me as throwing every bit of scorn possible onto the guy who precipitated the Crisis, just one more excuse to think of him as one of the shittiest emperors ever by indulging in the greek stereotype of thracians.

Grand Fromage posted:

It was reasonably common. The military of course was a way a lot of people did a lot of travel (not just men but their families/camp followers too), lots and lots of long distance trade, and there was a robust tourist infrastructure in many areas. Depending on what you're considering long distance of course. We know the major arena circuits in Italy scheduled games so they wouldn't conflict with each other because lots of people would see gladiator matches in Rome, then head down to Pompeii to watch games there too, then off to somewhere else. And then there was plenty of internal migration which is being confirmed by things like analyzing tooth enamel. It was at all unusual for someone to be born in Spain, move to Africa as an adult, move again to Illyria or wherever.

Most people didn't get around that much, but most people don't today either. Especially for premodern people Romans got around quite a bit.

euphronius posted:

People love traveling it’s not really mind blowing

Grand Fromage posted:

I don't know of any good explanations, it surely is multi factor. I know breakdown of the trade network isn't one though, that doesn't really happen until the 500s and the late antique xenophobia started centuries before.

Not to go full Gibbon but I think Christianity is one of the factors--the change in religious outlook from an expansive, inclusive set of beliefs to a single, exclusive doctrine would naturally have had ripple effects through the culture. I don't think it's a complete explanation though.

Tulip posted:

he endonym that Japan used before 日本 "nihon" was 大和, which bear with me is not pronounced "daiwa" but "yamato." Kanji pronunciations are a nightmare.

Zereth posted:

In this very thread, as I recall.

galagazombie posted:

So much of the worlds religious taboos and proscriptions are so very obviously the pet peeve or traumatic memory of the individual writer.

Brawnfire posted:

"Eloi eloi lemme succthemtiddies"

Fish of hemp posted:

This got me thinking: isn't Christianity the original Q-anon?

Bar Ran Dun posted:

Christianity figured the only way to reason apocalyptically, the you make it imminent and also push it all the way back to the end of existence.

Here’s another way to explain it. Apocalyptic reasoning is at its core is: poo poo is hosed. hosed poo poo will end.

Those statements are always true. But the problem is when. If there is a date in the future, you reach it, it doesn’t happen, it pushes back, repeat.

Imminence causes action. The end of existence gives it inescapable consequence,a telos, to the end and in the now.

Bar Ran Dun posted:

But the context of the gospels is the war and the destruction of the temple. They are written down as consequence of the war and prior to that were likely oral traditions. At least that’s a strong potential explanation for either the two sources or four source hypothesis in some historical criticism. It’s the answer I like best to the synoptic problem though there are certainly other strong answers.

So the whole chapter 24 the context for the readers when it was written might be currently occurring apocalypse of the Jewish war.

PittTheElder posted:

I'm no expert but I think this was pretty common? Monasteries weren't always just a bunch of (male) monks in a church, that's a middle ages and especially a western thing from what I understand.

Triskelli posted:

Cessna posted:

Really?

Huh. For a very long time the Eastern Roman Empire was held to be an example of effete decadence, while "Real Men" were into Western Rome.

FreudianSlippers posted:

100+ year old houses are protected and can't be altered without permission.

However there are several cases of contractors just demolishing protected houses and going "oopsy silly me I didn't realise what I was doing. Sorry" and facing no real consequences because of deeply ingrained and widespread political corruption

FreudianSlippers posted:

Totally un Rome related post:

sullat posted:

Seems legit, this Honorius guy seems real badass, I'm sure the Roman empire reaches unparalleled heights under his rule.

the holy poopacy posted:

Wait, did they not have any method of heating at all? I know Rome's in a warm-temperate climate but winter still exists; a bunch of Texans die every time it freezes there and I don't think Texas is that much colder than Rome.

ChubbyChecker posted:

why wouldn't they have written the edicts in the rulers' language?

Deteriorata posted:

Invaders typically coopt the local elites, imposing the conqueror's culture and language on them. These gradually filter down to lower levels of society. Just how far depends on how long the new rule lasts. Peasants tend to stick to their own language and culture regardless of what the big shots are doing for a long time.

Deteriorata posted:

Then why do you think the central Asian Greek states would be any different?

Of course they spoke Greek. That's what invaders do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Bactrian_Kingdom

Judgy Fucker posted:

Doing some reading wikipedia last night about the Mauryan rock edicts, and it mentioned a few in the western regions of the Empire were written in Greek. I know of the Hellenistic states succeeding Alexander in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc., but had always assumed that the "Greek" nature of these states was largely limited to a very small ruling elite.

quote:

Greeks first began settling the region long before Alexander conquered it. The Persian Empire had a policy of exiling rebelling Greek communities to that region long before it fell to Greek conquest. Therefore, it had a considerable Greek community that was expanded upon after Macedonian conquest.

Lead out in cuffs posted:

I dunno - the whole Turkic language group is pretty far from anything else that's been represented in Latin text. I don't think it's that surprising.

euphronius posted:

This is the conclusion Beard came to after studying Pompeii . Most people could read

euphronius posted:

Many of the slaves were educated too .

Koramei posted:

Eventually, but there were places it took a while. Chariots were associated with aristocratic prestige in early Warring States China whereas cavalry came from the barbarians; it took centuries for it to catch on.

euphronius posted:

The library of Alexandria was probably one of the most important centers for big brains for hundreds of years

euphronius posted:

It’s literally in Egypt ?

Here is a big brain Egyptian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eratosthenes

LITERALLY A BIRD posted:

I care a lot about ancient Egyptian philosophy/rhetoric, but it's one of those things I care about in a way I worry others find everything I want to say about it far less interesting than I do

Hieronymous Alloy posted:

My guess re: Polynesia is that migration was probably driven more by warfare than by trade. "Welp, that sure is a sharp axe you have, gotta run to the next island, bye"

euphronius posted:

Different sides of the Congo right ?

euphronius posted:

I don’t know how much I trust Wikipedia anymore tho with the constant editing by … political …. Europeans

Grand Fromage posted:

Sui is missing, I wish I knew Simpsons quotes to the level required to find one for them. Something about getting owned after making the same mistake over and over.

Ferrosol posted:

Squizzle posted:

that is an ambitious reading of the text

skasion posted:

but even in Augustine’s day people apparently still believed Nero would be coming back at some point!

Arglebargle III posted: