It`s not always as it seems

[Viggen]

If we could be a fly traveling back in time and watching historical events......i bet we would be most of the time pretty much disappointed, I mean, there were no orchestra playing in the background when Caesar was stabbed to death, no different camera angles on any of the battles, no special effects, no make up, highly valued monologues of hour beloved orators would probably interrupted, by coughing, chit chat at the back seats...

 

on a site note...to the battle fields; i saw a documentary on the battle of Gaugamela, how different must have been the experience of the individual macedon soldier depending were his location during the battle was, compare the soldier who was fighing right from the beginning with Parmenion's forces on the flank, to the Peltasts who was hiding behind the cavalary getting engaged much later... i am sure both would have had told a totally different story about the battle, not even talking about Darius forces...

 

what do you think, would we all be pretty much disappointed being a fly back in time?

[Klingan]

what do you think, would we all be pretty much disappointed being a fly back in time?

 

Not as disappointed as shocked. The subject of how Rome really was under antiquity is a popular one and the dirt and colour is slowly moving down into the mind of people - yet, if we could indeed go back in time and see it with out own eyes, I believe that we could never be prepared in any way. We would most likely be nothing but confused unless we had considerable time to explore the past.

[Ursus]

Probably the thing that would hit me the most is the smell. No soap, shampoo, deodorant. Human feces and urine laying out on the street. Animals sacrificed at nearby temples.

 

 

However, I am sure one could become used to it. And then there is that whole world with which to interact ....

[caldrail]

I think we'd realise how undramatic and ordinary life would seem to be. Historical events would seem to happen quickly too. Battles however would be drawn out affairs where nothing much happens except a lot of milling around and noise.

[Formosus Viriustus]

Probably the thing that would hit me the most is the smell. No soap, shampoo, deodorant. Human feces and urine laying out on the street. Animals sacrificed at nearby temples.

 

 

However, I am sure one could become used to it. And then there is that whole world with which to interact ....

 

Hmmm, Yesss ! You bet you could get used to that. You're a fly, remember.

No soap, no shampoo, no deodorant, no insecticides. Plenty of excrement and carrion for everybody. Sounds like Paradise to me.

And don't say : 'It tastes like sh.. ' Ten trillion flies can't be wrong.

 

What was the question, again ?

 

Vale bene et nil desperandum,

[sylla]

Deep History's philosophy in a nutshell for less than a denarius; V's post is a bomb.

If we could be a fly traveling back in time and watching historical events......i bet we would be most of the time pretty much disappointed, I mean, there were no orchestra playing in the background when Caesar was stabbed to death, no different camera angles on any of the battles, no special effects, no make up, highly valued monologues of hour beloved orators would probably interrupted, by coughing, chit chat at the back seats...

It's easy to forget that we're actually always living and watching historical events; their historical magnitude is only given by years (or centuries) of perspective.

Playing the time tunnel would be incredibly boring for at least 99.9999.....% of the time; to begin with, Humanity has been sleeping for a third of History, not to mention other bodily functions. That's why the teaching of History has always required special effects, from rhetoric and footnotes to virtual perspectives and background music; Roman and Greek historians truly mastered this field.

on a site note...to the battle fields; i saw a documentary on the battle of Gaugamela, how different must have been the experience of the individual macedon soldier depending were his location during the battle was, compare the soldier who was fighing right from the beginning with Parmenion's forces on the flank, to the Peltasts who was hiding behind the cavalary getting engaged much later... i am sure both would have had told a totally different story about the battle, not even talking about Darius forces...

It's the Rashomon effect exponentially raised to infinity; well beyond the wildest fantasy.

what do you think, would we all be pretty much disappointed being a fly back in time?

Obviously, it would depend on our expectations.

Were we looking for breath-taking action & passion and profoundly didactic morals, the answer would most probably be

Edited April 26, 2009 by sylla

[Kosmo]

For sure reality was more colorful, noisy and smelly then how we can imagine it. At Gaugamela the size of the battlefield and the clouds of dust would make observation hard, at Phillipi telling who is on who's side would be difficult.

But still, my experience showed me that dramatic events will give goose bumps without any background music or different angles. It's the adrenaline...