Anthropology, 210 (Pre-Darwin View of Natural Theory)

Much of the driving force behind man is to understand and define how and why they exist. Many have tried to answer this question, ranging from the spiritual to the literal in reason, often trying to find a compromise between the two schools of thought. The spiritual quest began with the Zoronastrians of the Persians, monotheistic worshipers who questioned why they existed were the precursors for Judeo-Christian religions that would shape the field of science. The religious perspective thought the world was fresh and would end soon. There were varying views on the natural order of humans, flora, and fauna.

The Greeks believed the world was old and unending. They followed a philosophy developed by Plato called essentialism, believing that each species had specific traits which all members of that species would share and define them. In contrast, Aristotle believed that traits could overlap between species, not making them the same but showing a close relation between the two. He arranged organisms from most primitive to most advanced, based on how much they deviated from what they viewed as the divine ideal. This process, called the Great Chain of Being, expressed how all organisms were connected and was the framework for modern biological taxonomy, or classification.

Carolus Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist who expanded taxonomy from his predecessors, he viewed his work as a documentation of the order of life as created by God. This system did not account for changes or evolutions amongst species members for during this time in Europe, the mid 1700s, as the traditional view followed essentialist requirements for species classification and that no new species could exist as all species were created by God all at once.

In the early 1800s catastrophism was a theory to understand the abrupt disappearance and emergence of different species via natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, or acts of God. This theory conformed to the traditional view, but caused issue by suggesting new species could be created. The same theorist, Cuvier, also suggested that not all organisms were in a succession of hierarchy, but actually in four separate groups with each group being unconnected to the other. These theories eventually lead to uniformtarianism, which allowed for change but argued that change was part of God's plan.

Inconsistencies continued to rise leading into the 1900s, many scientists including George Louis Leclerc, Charles Darwin's grandfather Erasmus Darwin, and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck tried to link together the information eventually leading to transformational evolution. The basics of transformational evolution was an organism's ability to adapt to a changing environment. The key was an individual's ability to change instead of an entire species becoming something new. Lamarck hypothesised that an organ becomes stronger with use and weakens by disuse, and that this trait would be inherited by offspring. This would eventually be debunked, but opened the door for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

History of Civilizations, 111 (Compare/Contrast Sparta and Athens)

Ancient Greece was a conglomerate of different city-states, with two of the bigger factions being Sparta and Athens. Both are very proud of their nation, holding strong to the foundations of their society and their individual strengths. Both cultures allegedly practised pederasty, although there are writings countering this as commonplace in Sparta, it was well encouraged in Athens. Overall, the two were very contrasting in what they believed would forge a strong and everlasting society.

 The Spartans were a military powerhouse, beginning the training of their militia at a young age. All male Spartan citizens were required to be a member of the military, being unable to live with their family until age 30 and are active reserve until age 60. With the men fighting battles, women were given more respect, status, and power than any other culture of the time. They were educated, allowed freedom to go in public and compete in sports. Although it is said Spartans were only focused on war, they were also required to study more liberal arts such as reading, writing, music, and dance.

 Athens was a very different society. They focused on freethinking and the arts. Athenians believed that every male citizen should be active in political affairs, bringing every issue to be debated and voted upon by the public. Many famous philosophers emerged from this city and time, with many different approaches to pondering the world around them. Architecture, poetry, sculpting and dramatic arts from this period are still in use in the modern world. Although they were a more enlightened society, they were also a very misogynistic. Their women were mostly kept indoors and often were not educated.

History of Civilizations, 111 (The Olympic Games)

Competition has always been an aspect of human interaction. Ancient Greece thrived in this condition, driving them to flourish in intellectual, political, and economic success. Not only would they work hard, they would play hard. The Olympic Games were created to honour Zeus through athletic competitions between the city-states. Held every four years in Olympia, the games featured running races, boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, and the pentathlon. They began as the Heraea Games, featuring women in running races to become the priestess for the goddess Hera. Over time, the games evolved to include men then later be restricted to men only.

Other ancient cultures held organised sport events to foster competition, co-relations and entertainment. The Scots held the Highland Games which featured many strength events and artistic expression. Smaller scale sporting events have been used for God worship and political unity in all cultures.

Originally the Olympics were a religious festival to honour the Greek God Zeus, spread across multiple days featuring animal sacrifice and artistic competitions. During the Peloponnesian War, the games were used as a time to announce alliances between city-states along the borders and pray for victory from the Gods. During the Games, a time of truce was observed to allow athletes and visitors to travel safely to the games.

The Olympic tradition was suppressed in 394 AD by the Roman Emperor to strengthen the presence of Christianity in Greece, but was revived in 1896 for the modern era. Held in Athens, the spirit of peace among now International Countries instead of city-states. More events were added to the line up and often the Games were used as a guise for political agendas. The adaptation for modern day use has been a positive addition to international relations and social progression for civil rights.

History of Civilizations, 111 (Compare/Contrast Mesopotamia and Egypt)

Civilizations have the same essential components; cultural beliefs, writing system, and cities. The make up of these components are what define and separate one from another. To truly see the differences, one must first asses the similarities. The ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia both had pictographic writing systems, polytheistic religious belief systems, pyramidal structures, and an organised social class.

Both civilizations dealt with environmental, economic, and social issues, and invasions by other cultures. Each existed on the banks of large rivers, Egypt on the Nile River and Mesopotamia on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers.

The Egyptians used hieroglyphics for writing, using small images to represent words, sounds, or ideas, often relying on context for translation. They also had a less formal version called hieratic for quick scribing and daily life. Their Pharaoh was originally viewed as the voice of the gods, but during the New Kingdom, direct worship of the loving gods was more emphasized. Egyptians believed the heart was the holder of thoughts and emotions, and focused heavily on the afterlife. Living a worthy life to become a blessed spirit on Earth after death. Pyramids in Egypt were used for burials as well as for worship, shaped in a complete pyramid made from either stone or mud. Women were given more regard in Ancient Egypt than in many other socities, their focus was more on class and economic position, although the law recognised all as relatively equal excluding slaves who still had basic rights.

Mesopotamians wrote using cuneiform, also developed from pictograms for writing Sumerian. Their religious system is similar to Greek and Roman structure with a group of finicky Gods under one leader. Philosophy was more important to their culture, asking why they exist and from where they originated. Ziggurats are the Sumerian version of pyramids, with more of a boxy structure made from brick used as shrines and safe strongholds for priests to perform rituals. Although women had rights in Mesopotamia, it was a patriarchal society benefiting those with a better economic status. Even their laws followed that bias.

History of Civilizations, 111 (Roman Bath Houses)

Roman bath houses were not the first incarnation of bath houses, some date back as far as 2500 BC, first with naturally warm waters from volcanic activity. Once they developed hypocaust, a system for transporting hot or cold water to different areas, every Roman city had an extravagant bathing facility. Bath houses were a social hot bed for the Romans, often becoming dens of stagnant hot water where hedonistic socialites would drink, have sex, and make merry.

Versions of these bath houses still exist all around the world, ranging in use from recreational to healing. In Asia, gender separate bath houses are used for relaxation and bonding. For example, Koreans will go in groups together and as a show of friendship, they will scrape the dead skin from each other's backs. The Szechenyi Baths in Budapest, Hungary is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. It is supplied by natural thermal springs below ground and has 15 indoor pools with different minerals to treat varying ailments in each bath.

Regular swimming pools are another modern evolution from ancient bath houses. As they were in ancient times, bath houses and swimming pools serve as modern day watering holes for people to cool off and socialise in a relaxed setting. Luckily, we've since upped the sanitation standards.