Hello everyone. There was a sudden burst of questions on Thursday and Friday of last week. I think this was due to so many of you finishing up your research and being in the computer lab. I have approved all of the questions but I think I’ll answer all of them here in this blog…

1. How many Greek warriors’ could fit in the Trojan War Horse?

Great question and the answer is, I do not know. In truth, no one is sure. We only have stories written down many years after the actual battles. Some stories say it was a whole army, others say it was just a small force big enough to get the doors to the city open for a surprise attack.

2. Why would people leave their baby’s on a hill if they didn’t look like a Spartan warrior?

This was a practice exclusive to the Spartans. They only wanted the best of the best to be a part of their society. They held true to the idea that you are only as strong as your weakest member. As a result, anyone who did not pass inspection was left to die alone, rather than weaken the city as a whole, and risk everyone’s lives.

3. What is your favorite subject?

Of course, my favorite subject is Social Studies. However, I have had many classes I enjoyed over the years. I think the most important class anyone can take is English or language arts. Without the ability to communicate effectively, no other subject could be learned. I have always especially enjoyed English classes with a lot of creative writing.

My favorite math class was geometry. I always liked building things and designing things, and learning about how angles and measurements come together is extremely interesting.

One of the best classes I have ever taken was a science class on geology. I wanted to be a geologist for a while after that class.

4. How long have you taught social studies?

This is my fourth year teaching sixth grade social studies. I also taught ninth grade social studies.

5. If you could meet one of these people which one would it be?
Leonitus or Aristotle

I would want to meet Aristotle over Leonitus. Aristotle is one of the greatest minds ever to grace our planet. His works continue to influence our understanding of the natural world, and is the foundation for western political ideals. I would love to sit with him and talk with him in Socratic style, especially to find what he thinks about government today and how it compares to his original ideas.

6. What is the difference between the House of Representatives and the congress?

The House of Representatives is actually part of the congress. Congress is the legislative branch of our three branch federal system of governance. Congress is then further comprised of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. This came about as a compromise in the writing of the constitution to balance the demands of the larger more populace states and the smaller states at the start of our nation. The larger states wanted representation based on population, then they would have more influence, and smaller states wanted equal representation for each state so that they would not be ignored. The compromise was to make a congress with two houses. The House of Representatives is now based on population with a maximum of 435 members. The Senate has two representatives from each state. All laws must be approved by both houses of congress then approved by the president before they may become laws.

7. Mr. Irvin if you were to choose another favorite state what would it be? Have I been good in your class this week? How was your wife was she alright? Do you like the movie 300? There is a new movie coming up about the world ending in 2012? I hope that doesn’t happen in 2012. Well that’s all of the questions I can think of right now:)P.S. Do you believe in god or science?

Emmanuel, you have some good questions here.

My favorite states are Ohio and South Carolina. You have been good this week.

My wife is just fine, thank you for your concern.

I do like the movie the 300 except for the fact that the true story of the 300 is so amazing, I don’t think there was any cause to add all the make-believe stuff to the story. You will be learning the true story of the 300 after Thanksgiving.

The world is NOT going to end in the year 2012. I can think of at least five different occasions that the world was supposed to have ended in my lifetime, and we are still here. The 2012 prediction comes from the Mayan calendar. In most situations in life the most logical explanation is probably the correct one. Which do you think is more logical or likely? A: an ancient civilization that could not predict its own end could predict the end of all of mankind, or B: a civilization that had an advanced calendar based on the skies stopped making predictions after the year 2012, not because the world would end, but because their civilization ended, so there was no one left to keep making predictions? If you picked B you, like me, do not think the world will end.

For the last question, you know I will not answer that question as I am merely a purveyor of history, not of opinion.

8. What if you did not want TO Go through The Training to Become a Spartan Warrior?

If you did not want to go through the training one of three things would happen. You would starve to death because you were not willing to steal for food, you would be killed in combat training for refusing to engage, or you would be kicked out of Sparta to fend for yourself. None of which would end well for you.

9. What does the game chess have to do with medieval tactics?

That question will have to wait for my lessons on Medieval Europe when I teach you about the period by teaching you to play chess.

10. What would you have to do to become a Spartan warrior?

At the age of seven you would be taken to the barracks to begin training. You would live in the barracks and train until you were 30, even if you were married. The training was so harsh that many died training to fight before ever seeing any combat. Food was strictly controlled to force the young soldiers to have to steal their food. This was done to force the soldiers to be come not only strong, but stealthy and self-reliant (those caught stealing would be severely punished). We will be talking more about the Spartans after Thanksgiving.

11. How do you Make Your Own bog?

Get your parents permission and go to www.wordpress.com and follow the directions to make your own blog.

12. What is the main economy of Greece?

The main economy of Greece changed depending on which Greek city state you might be referring to. For instance, the main economy of Sparta was actually farming (different from most city states). Overall, however, the major economy for most of Greece was trade.

Olivia asked… “Mr. Irvin, as I was reading in my text book, it said that the first people drew paintings on cave walls.It was believed for religious reasons . Could that have the effect on our religions now, and why/how did the early civilizations create these religions?”

Great question Olivia, and it is a question with more than one answer. Everything that has happened in the past has influence who and what the world is today, and that includes religion. Religion developed out of Human-kind’s quest to understand how and why things happen that we could not explain. As time progressed religions became more and more complex as our society also became more complex.

A significant leap for religion came with the advent of writing. With writing, profits and religious officials could write down the lessons of the many world religions, prescribe different rules and established beliefs of their religion. Some of today’s religions developed before writing and historians are not sure of how or why the beliefs of that religion developed. Other religions developed long after writing was well established, and as a result we have an extremely accurate record of how, where, and why that religion developed.

How and when your religion developed depends a lot on what your religion teaches and this question could also be asked to your religious leaders for a more accurate portrayal of where your religion came from. I will never assume what religion you are or what you should believe. I am simply a purveyor of what peoples beliefs have been throughout history and today.

Thank you for the question, keep them coming.

You said in class that chess was illegal because it showed you exactly how to win a war. How long was it illegal, and who made it legal? Were people killed for playing it?   

Great question Haven but as with many good questions there is not one answer. Chess is one of the oldest games known to man. It originated in India and has slowly moved around the world evolving and adapting to each culture that adopts it. As it has moved across the ages (it is over 2,000 years old) it has taken on different pieces and rules causing it to be banned for various reasons. Kings and religious officials (especially the western religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam) have banned it for various reasons. Overall the reasons for banning chess have been because it was seen to encourage war and gambling. It has been banned from its beginnings in various ancient cultures all the way up to modern day in countries like Iran and by the Taliban in Afghanistan. I could not find any information as to the penalty for persons caught violating these rules, however I would venture to guess that in at least some of the circumstances, based on time and culture, that the penalty could possibly have been death, but that is purely conjecture on my part and cannot be confirmed by any source I could find. 

The following list was taken from Chess.com and shows the various times and places that chess has been banned… 

Chess (shatranj, the original name given to the game invented in northwest India) was a legal issue after Mohammad died in 642.  In 655, his son in law disapproved of the game for his sect of Muslims because of the graven images (carved figures of the chess pieces).

In 680, the 50th rule of canons was interpreted as forbidding chess.

In 780, the caliph al-Mahdi wrote to Mecca religious leaders to give up chess played with dice.

In 1005, chess was banned in Egypt and all the chess sets and pieces were ordered to be burned.

In 1061, Cardinal Damiani (1007-1072) of Ostin forbade the clergy to play chess.  He even wrote to the Pope complaining that chess was being played by some clergy and lay people.

In 1093, chess was condemned and forbidden by the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In 1125, the Eastern Orthodox monk John Zonares issued a directive banning chess as a kind of debauchery.

In 1128, St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) forbate the Knights Templar’s from playing chess.

In 1195, Rabbi Maimonides (1155-1204) included chess among the forbidden games.

In 1208, the Bishop of Paris decreed that chess be banned from the clergy.

In 1240, the Worcester Synod of England forbade chess to the clergy and the monastic orders.

In 1254, King Louis IX issued a religious edict forbidding chess as a useless and boring game.

In 1260, King Henry III instructed the clergy to leave chess alone.

Around 1280, chess moralities were written which began as sermons.  These chess moralities rivaled the Bible in popularity and number of printings.

In 1291, the Archbishop of Canterbury threatened to put the prior and canons on a diet of bread and water unless they desisted from playing chess.

Priests were forbidden to play chess up to 1299.

In 1310, chess was forbidden to the clergy in Germany in a decree from the Council of Trier.

In 1328, some Jewish leaders allowed chess to be played, but not for money or gambling.

In 1329, chess was banned by the clergy in the Synod of Wurzburg in Germany.

In 1375, King Charles V of France, under the influence of the church, prohibited chess.

By 1500, chess was a recognized pastime for Jews on the Sabbath.

In 1551, leading clerics of Russia compiled the Stoglav Collection which included the prohibition of chess.

In the 16th century, St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) was proclaimed patroness of chess players by church authorities in Spain.

In the late 16th century, clergymen in Russia associated chess with witchcraft and heresy.

The Puritans greatly disliked chess and discouraged any chess play.

In 1981, chess was forbidden in Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini.   It was allowed by the Ayatollah in 1988.

Chess was forbidden by the Taliban in Afghanistan for 15 years.  It was banned by Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Once again we can see how lucky we are and how easy it is to take advantage of something as simple as a board game. There are people in the world today who do not even have the right to play a game. Whenever times get tough or you think a parent or school rule is unfair, just remember how tough some children have it in other parts of the world and what they would do to be able to play a game.

Citations:

Zainab Mahmood. “Endgame? The Legality of Chess in Islam.” 2005 http://www.askasia.org/teachers/essays/essay.php?no=82  

Bill Wall.  ”Religion and Chess” 06/02/2007 http://www.chess.com/article/view/religion-and-chess 

If you look at the comments on the last blog Jessica asked, “How was farming in ancient Greece different from the farming in other river valley civilizations?”

This is a great question. The actual farming was not much different. They would have used irrigation, tilled the fields with bronze and later iron plows, planted the seeds and cared for the crops until harvest time. The difference lay in the soil. Due to the climate and rocky soil of Greece the farmers could not produce the same amount of foods that could be produced in the more fertile river valleys of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Harrapa, and the Huang He. Even with the same tools, technology, and knowledge the ground simply did not have enough nutrients to grow an equal amount of food.

The climate and soil did allow them to grow two very important crops. Those were Grapes and Olives. Grapes were important to make wine. Wine was a common drink in the ancient world but not for the same reason it is today. Back then people got their drinking water from the same place they threw their trash and sewage, where they bathed, and sometimes where they disposed of their dead. Needless to say the water was not exactly clean. By making wine the water was disinfected by the alcohol that was produced when the grapes fermented. The wine was not as strong as it was today, and was drunk as a source for liquids that did not contain bacteria that could make them sick. Olives were also grown and were an important crop because they could travel a long way without going bad, and could produce valuable oil called olive oil, which has had many uses throughout history. These crops were then traded for the foods that they could not produce, especially wheat, which you know from studying Egypt, is the cornerstone food on which civilization began.

So in reality the farming was not any different, but the soil that they had was. As a result the farmers of Greece had to find different foods to farm, especially ones that could be transported across the sea without going bad and could help drive their main economy of trade. Another solution was to set up colonies all around the Mediterranean Sea to give them access to areas that were more sutable to the crops or materials they needed. This way the Greeks were able to get things that were not available in Greece but did not have to trade with non Greeks, keeping the price down.

I hope this clears everything up for you. Keep the questions coming!

How did Egypt fall for the final time??? You said there was a kingdom in Egypt after the new kingdom. (I can’t remember that word) Or, did they never actually fall in the first place? Also, as I asked in class, who was the final pharaoh??? Who do you think was?
Thanks again!

This is a tough question, or I guess I should say questions. I’ll do my best to answer them as some of them have more than one answer depending on what criteria are used to determine what constitutes “Ancient Egypt.” Please also know that I never feel pestered by a student who wants to know more about history!!!

From the perspective taken by our book and most historians “Ancient Egypt” is divided into the kingdoms of the Old, Middle, and New. The distinction of these kingdoms is that they are ruled by Egyptians with Egyptian customs, religion, and general way of life. The last powerful pharaoh in the Old Kingdom was Ramses II. After him the Egyptian empire gradually fell apart until Egypt itself was finally taken over around 900 BC by the Libyans. Later the Kush (who we will talk about later in the year) and finally in 670BC the Assyrians took over. During this time many different groups controlled Egypt; sometimes people would take over and call themselves Pharaoh but they were not Egyptian.

Eventually a great man named Alexander the Great, who was Macedonian and educated by the Greeks, took over Egypt and other territories as far east as India (we will talk more about him when we get to Greece). When he did he did not have any children to take over so his empire was divided between his top generals. These kingdoms were called the “Hellenistic” Kingdoms (literally means “like the Greeks”). The general who was given the region of the Nile River Valley (which, by the way, was still referred to as Egypt) was the general named Ptolemy. Ptolemy then established rule and a dynasty of his family that ruled for about 200 years. This era of Egyptian history is called Ptolemaic Egypt. His family ruled in a manner that blended Egyptian and Greek Culture, though now all writing was done in Greek and Greek was the official language of the government. The last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt was Queen Cleopatra VII. She was eventually defeated by Octavian Augustus Caesar of Rome. After Augustus took over Egypt remained part of the Roman Empire for several hundred years. Later it remained part of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome. Egypt was then taken by the Islamic Moors which is how they adopted Islam as the majority religion. Later Napoleon took over for a short time. In more recent times (1801) the British took control during its time as the major world power. Finally modern day Egypt declared its independence in 1922 and was finally able to rule its self again in 1956. By the time Egyptians began to rule again so much time had passed and so many cultures had been in Egypt that modern day Egypt and Ancient Egypt are alike in name and location alone.

Throughout all of the time following the fall of the Old Kingdom, Egypt remained an important power in that region of the world. The reason it was always being fought over was for its precious farmland and the valuable wheat it produced to feed the entire region’s population (Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East). After the fall of the Old Kingdome, all rulers in that region knew if they controlled Egyptian grain, they controlled that part of the world.

One of my former students, Chloe, had a great question…

Hey Mr. Irvin, I know I don’t have you anymore as a teacher but I have a question for you … how come the U.S will count Hawaii as a state but not Guam and Cuba and other countries that are owned by the U.S as a state?

There are many requirements to becoming one of the states that make up our country. After the original thirteen states joined to create a union, they set aside rules for territories won by the new country, but not yet official part of the government. These new areas of land were called “territories” and every state outside the original thirteen colonies was at one time a territory or part of a territory. These new areas had to meet certain criteria to join the union and get the benefits of being a state; most importantly representation in our government by getting representatives in the congress. The two most important requirements were to have a required population within certain square miles. Once the population requirement was met the people could vote to join the union. If the majority of the people wanted to join, they sent a request to the national government. Congress would then vote to allow them in, once that bill passed the territory became a state and was awarded two senator seats and representatives in the house based on population (at least 3). The process is much more complicated but this is the bare bones of the process.

Hawaii met these requirements in 1959, becoming our 50^th state. Cuba is not a territory of the United States. After winning Cuba in the Spanish/American War we quickly allowed the Cubans to have their own freedom. Later, however, Cuba became communist and now is under a dictator and we are not on good terms. Guam is a military outpost, and I do not believe they have a high enough population. Guam does have three electoral votes in the National Election for President, however. One last territory is Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States since the Spanish/American War. They have voted every election year since then to declare independence, stay a territory, or start the process to become a state in the Union. Every year they have decided to stay a territory. You may wonder why they would want to stay a territory. Territories get a lot of benefits; such as, tax money from the federal government, but less taxes, they have electoral votes, but no congressional seats. As things stand right now Puerto Rico wants to remain a territory, though in recent elections the number of people voting for independence has been on the rise.

I hope this answers your question. Thank you for coming to the blog I hope to hear from more of my former students in the future.

Haven asked me… Why do religions die out? When do you expect a religion to die out? Do people just stop believing in these things suddenly? For example: How did the Greeks religion (When they believed in Zeus and Athena, and all the other gods on MT Olympus) just become a religion that people just stopped believing in??? Is it because of economy? I don’t know… Thanks!!!

That is a great question Haven! There are a lot of reasons religions die out. Sometimes people just stop believing in a religion, the people who once believed it are somehow wiped out and often time’s people are forced to change.

For Example, as the Romans fought the increasing influence of a new religion called Christianity, THOUSANDS of Christians were killed or forced to battle in coliseums. As people witnessed these Christians, who only had to renounce their god and be freed, they were struck by how many would rather die. This caused more Roman citizens to convert to Christianity, rather than scare people away as was intended. Eventually the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and it was then legal in the country. Later when Europe had plunged into the Dark Ages Christian kings turned the tables and executed anyone who would not convert and worship the Christian god.

The Mayan religion was forgotten when their civilization simply faded away. With no structure to keep the civilization moving, the religion was simply lost to history. Later, the Aztecs, who’s religion was similar, were converted to Christianity (some willingly, others forced) by the Spanish missionaries and their religion went away when people simply stopped believing.

Norse Mythology actually has an end. As people in Scandinavia (this is where the Vikings come from) began to convert the stories of their religions changed until eventually their gods all leave the earth and one mighty god to lead them all remains on earth to guide the people. This story simply allowed people to voluntarily switch to Christianity without fighting the loss of their old beliefs.

Fortunately for us we live in a country where people are not forced to worship any one god or religion, but we are allowed to have faith in what we believe.    

Great Question! Keep them coming everyone!

My first question of the New Year! Ripley wanted to know why the Rulers of Egypt are so young. Actually, everyone in the ancient world were younger, on average, than they are now. People did not have knowledge about things like nutrition, medicine, and other things that affect health. People did not have access to as many different kinds of foods filled with vitamins and minerals that have helped us raise the average life span. People of the ancient world usually lived to around 30-40 years old. As a result people were considered adults by 12-14 yeas of age, adults by 20 and old men or women by 40. King Tut was king of Egypt by age 8!!!

     Today, however, people live to about 72-74 years of age on average. Although, for the first time in history, our life spans may start going down as a result of childhood obesity and the next generations sitting around so much in front of TVs, computers, and video game consoles.

So the next time your Mom or Dad tells you to go outside and play, or eat your vegetables, remember, they’re not just doing it to be mean, it is to make sure you live long healthy lives. People back then did not know how important it was to be active and eat lots of vitamins and minerals and they paid the price with shorter lives. Eat healthy and be active, and you’ll live a long and happy life!!!

Justin asked, “If the countries of the Middle East can change the price of oil by how much they produce, then why can’t the United States make them change their price by changing the amount of oil we buy from them and using our reserves or our own wells?” This is an EXCELLENT question! This is a topic of hot debate in our country right now and is a prominent issue in the presidential race.

The countries of the Middle East (and Venezuela) have formed a conglomerate called OPEC or, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. They meet periodically to decide what price to set oil. Recently those prices have begun to rise and there are several reasons for that…

1. The US Dollar. Barrels of oil are priced in US dollars. With the recent slump in the economy here in the US the value of the Dollar, compared to other world currencies, is dropping. Thus, the price in US dollars goes up.

2. Newly industrializing nations. As highly populated countries rapidly develop their people are attaining more wealth than ever before. That is increasing the demand of oil to countries like India and China. As demand for something increases so does its price.

3. Natural disasters. Many natural disasters have occurred, such as Katrina, which has made the processing of oil to gasoline more expensive, making prices go up.

There have been many ideas put forth to solve this crisis.

1. Force. Your idea of making the countries make more would be difficult. Many of the countries are extracting oil at full capacity and are drilling in more places to attempt to extract more oil, it just takes time. It is also against international law to invade a country to force it to produce more natural resources and our military is already strained fighting in two wars.

2. Use our reserves. That will only last as long as our reserves last. Those reserves are also for emergencies. If our nation is attacked and our supply of oil is cut short, our military will still be able to function. If we use our reserves our nation will be more vulnerable than ever to attack.

3. Drill for more. Many have suggested we simply drill more oil here at home, especially in Alaska. One problem with that is environmentalists do not want to hurt the landscape. Another problem is the amount of time it would take to drill for and process the oil would not help us for 5-10 years. And finally Oil is a non-renewable resource. If we simply drill for more oil it will only delay the inevitable result of no more oil. Some experts predict that we are already at full capacity and will only maintain that for 20-30 years. After that the amount of oil the world can produce will drop, raising prices. Experts estimate that the world will run out of oil within 50-250 years, possibly in your lifetime.

3. Find alternates to oil. Both Democrats and Republicans agree we need to find an alternate to oil. Because no matter what we do, the world will (not might, WILL) run out of oil, and in the not too distant future. There have been several opinions on how to do that…

A. Hybrid Cars. Hybrid cars increase the mileage on the cars by using electric and gas power sources. That is great but it still just delays the inevitable of the world running out of oil by several decades at the most.

B. Ethanol vehicles. These vehicles use ethanol made by crops (corn in this country, sugar in others). I am sure you have seen the E85 gasoline at Spinx (it means Ethanol 85%). This has had some adverse effects lately that many were not ready for. As staple crops such as corn are used to produce gasoline the price of food has started to rise worldwide (along with the increased cost of moving it around using gasoline powered vehicles). This is the “food shortage” the news has been talking about. It is not really a food shortage, it is just that with higher demand comes higher prices (this is called inflation) and it hurts the poorest countries the most. As result warfare and riots have broken out in some of the poorest countries where people are starving. Another problem is that it is still burning fuel adding to environmental concern.

In addition to those problems Ethanol prices are deceptive. On the big board you see on the highway the ethanol gasoline looks less expensive. Priced by gallon it is cheaper, but it burns faster and thus you need to buy more, costing you more money.

C. Veggie Cars.Veggie cars use cooking grease. You know all that greasy food you eat at fast food restaurants and anywhere fries or fried food is made? Well, the oil that is used (an thrown away every day) can be used to power cars. The upside of this idea is that we are already producing the oil. All you need is a diesel engine. Filter the used vegetable oil (get out all the bits of food left over) pour it into the gas tank and voila! you can drive away not using any gas. The down side to this alternate is that it still involves burning fuel omitting pollutants into the atmosphere. In addition it would also continue to drive up food prices causing inflation.

C. Electric Vehicles. These vehicles are plugged in and charged at home. There is a down side to this as well. Our electric system is already strained as it is. Adding the amps that it will take to power an entire country’s worth of vehicles will take some major construction. If we build more wind power and solar power plants we will be alright. But if we simply stick to the old coal and nuclear power we will just continue to pump pollutants into the planet to power our cars, but it will come from power plants not our exhaust pipes. They also take a long time to charge and only have about a 400 mile range before needing a power up. That is a little too restricting to the lifestyle Americans are accustomed to.

C. Fuel Cells. Fuel cells produce electricity by combining liquid hydrogen with oxygen from the air. The result is power and the only omission is water vapor. This seems great but there is a dark side to fuel cells. As the technology stands right now the cheapest way to produce liquid hydrogen is by separating it from natural gas. Natural gas is a non-renewable resource, like oil, and the country with the largest natural gas reserves in the world is Russia, and many would not like to see that country get wealthy from gas sales. If we can find another, way to get hydrogen (and there are, just very expensive) then that would help the case for fuel cells. Another down side is that it would cost a massive amount of money to switch the entire countries system of gas stations over to liquid hydrogen from gas.

D. Solar Power. Another alternative would be to use solar powered cars. This would produce no pollution into the environment and would not cost anything to run. The downside to this right now is that we are not very advanced in our solar power generation. Solar powered cars do not go very fast right now, and they need a very large number of solar panels to power a minimal amount of weight. This does not work well for anyone that wants to drive a car with more than one seat. This is another technology that with more research and development we may very well see being used.

 Oil companies need to be held responsible as well as OPEC nations. Oil companies have seen record profits at a time when people are paying record prices. Both Democrats and Republicans are investigating oil companies right now to see if they have done anything less than honest during these hard times.

I hope this was helpful. I tried to show all of the arguments by both democrats and republicans to fix the problems, as well as the arguments against the proposed solutions.