The following continues the serialization of the final chapter, 6, of SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:
GREEKS AND ROMANS
The early beginnings of Greece can be traced back more than 5000 years. Homer’s period, when Greece was more a tribal society, flourished around 1400 BC during the time of the Trojan Wars; Socrates, Plato and Aristotle arrived a thousand years later; and the end came with the Romans in 146 BC. Remember, the USA has been in existence for only a little more than two centuries. But some scholars say that Ancient Greece really began in 776 BC with the first Olympics and ended with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, a period of 453 years. From 800 BC to 400 BC, the population of Greece increased from less than a million to more than 10 million, and was the most advanced economy of the world. Greece is a tale of two cities: Athens and Sparta. Sparta won the war, but is today a city of around 20,000, compared to Athens, already 3000 years old, with a metro population approaching 4 million. Not unlike Egypt, what happened to Greece, and why did Sparta largely disappear? Aside from olive oil and the early culture, the legacy seems to be a blockbuster movie every decade or so. Athens can be stricken from the list of best places to live.
The Roman Republic was formed in Rome, Italy with the overthrow of the monarchy in 509 BC. The Roman Empire, a product of the 500 year-old Republic, became a superpower just before the birth of Christ. The Romans had already conquered Greece (146 BC) and Egypt (31 BC), and went on to control 2.3 million square miles—from Western Eurasia to northern Africa—by 106 AD, paltry by Genghis Khan standards. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, more popularly known as Augustus, was the first Emperor. His mother was a niece of Julius Caesar. Earlier in the book, mention was made of Gaius Flavius Valerius Aerelius Constantinus, or Constantine the Great, who ruled from 324 to 337 AD, and because he was the first Christian emperor, re-worked the Bible through the Council of Nicaea and, also, moved the Roman capitol to Constantinople, which was formerly known as Byzantium and Nova Roma, and in 1930 was renamed Istanbul. The end came in 476 AD when Romulus Augustus was deposed and not replaced, while the Empire fell to an assortment of invaders.
Tuscany is too hot in the summer, Rome is too crowded, northern Italy is too French and southern Italy…well, there is more crime. Then, there is the Mafia in Sicily. Hey, I’m kidding! Italy has great wine, spectacular food, art and opera and is actually a fine place to live, if you don’t mind train strikes, the stagnant economy, their government and the attitude of the Vatican. As you can imagine, I’m building the foundation for the best place in world today, and it will not be Rome or Athens or Baghdad or Cairo.
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The Dow Jones Industrials slipped 7 to 10,359, not bad considering it was down 126 in the first hour. World markets were mixed, but the Japan Nikkei sunk 136 to 9550. Gold was unchanged at $1209 and crude oil is at $77/barrel.
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Typhoon Conson, now at 85 MPH, is moving east, should begin to affect Hainan Island tomorrow and make landfall in Guangdong Province on late Saturday.
That tropical depression in the East Pacific is just easing West towards Hawaii, should first strengthen, then weaken in a few days, probably never justifying even a name.
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