Hi folks! The goal this week is to get us started on the responses and into the rhythm of interacting with each other here as well as in class. What are you curious about when it comes to history? Is there anything about studying history that makes you wary or concerned?

How does Umberto Eco’s quote and what we’re talking about in class relate to how you see the cultures and interactions of our collective past? How do you think the understanding of evidence might relate to the understanding of cultural gender expectations in particular?

• Why do you think humans told stories of the gods misbehaving so often?

I believe humans told stories of the gods misbehaving so often as a way of justifying their own behavior and actions. To be more specific, the Greeks had told stories of their gods to be more humanistic as a way to relate to them. The gods in ancient Greek mythology commit acts such as rape and have moments of petty pride so as to show that the gods are more like the humans that worship them. For example, Zeus' terrible "habit" as well as the vanity of the other Olympians against mortals that wronged them. If the gods were committing these acts, it would make the actions of humans all the more justified.

For this week"s response, I have chosen the primary source, "The Rape of Lucretia" by Livy. I have chosen this particular reading as it is a key piece of Roman literature that exemplifies what the Ancient Romans had expected from their women. The story goes that a noblewoman named Lucretia (wife of Tarquinius Conlatinus) had been raped in her own home after having caught the attention of Prince Sextus Tarquinius (who had been brought into her home by her husband as a way to "show her off") son of the last of Rome's seven kings, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. After the unfortunate tragedy, Lucretia takes her own life, saying, " I will absolve myself of blame, and I will not free myself from punishment. No woman shall use Lucretia as her example in dishonor.”

This rape had been the final straw that broke the camel's back, as King Tarquin would be deposed from his throne under the leadership of Lucius Brutus, a friend of Tarquinius Conlatinus'. The importance of this writing lies in Lucretia herself, as she is seen to be the "perfect" Roman matron Prince Sextus had, in a way, violated every Roman woman.

For your online response this week, write a post that includes the following:

• What interests you about history? 

what interest me about history is I love to learn how things once were.I love trying to understand how life was once like.I like knowing and learning where we come from and where we are going .

• What kinds of things get in the way of understanding history—particularly ancient history?

I belive many things get in the way of understandij history. I think that sometimes history gets lost or missunderstood.I think everything is just about perspective.

• What strikes you as most important about the Greeks and how they influence us?

what strikes me most about bthe greeks and how they influence us is how they are still influencing us today.

• What would you like to find out more about?

I would like to know more about womn in antiquity .

I am interested in how ancient societies were structured back then and the parallels that has to our society today. To understand history back then, you have to not think about how society is in the modern age. You have to try and understand how that specific time period was. I am very interested in the progression of women's role in ancient societies and how that translates to women's role today. The quote above really tells us that people, a lot of the time, do not consider the time period or the needed context of that in history. People often compare it too closely with today's society or often have that in mind while trying to understand other historic time periods.

The Greeks are important and influential to us today because with them we see a prime example to history repeating itself in other regions. It also helps us understand the importance in women's roles and how it was dealt with at the time. I have also always been fascinated by Greek Mythology which I am very excited to touch on in this semester as well.

Gerineldo Solano Rojas

• • What interests you about history?
  • One of the main reasons I got into history and became a history major was to be able to have discussion or argument about facts or believes with older people. As time went on it became a passion to me to understand why things are the way they are today and why we are here today, what changes cost the effects of today’s livelihood and what are we to expect in the future,
  • What kinds of things get in the way of understanding history—particularly ancient history?
  • Lack of factual resources, there is a lot of information out there that can fact what we are studying, a lot of it is truth, most if not so much. Being able to get information and it be believable is key to be able to understand history.
  • What strikes you as most important about the Greeks and how they influence us?
  • The Greeks profoundly shaped Western civilization through their advancements in philosophy, democracy, and the arts. Their emphasis on reason and inquiry laid the foundation for modern science and education.
  • What would you like to find out more about?
  • The history as is going right now and what would be the changes that relate to the past greeks that can potentially affect us now.

whats interest me about history is learning about the things that went on before we was born and the information. i would say theres alot to the history and changes you need to remember. what was important about the greeks was how they lived and their lifestyle on how they was going on about thier life. i would like to find more about the history of greek itself.

I’m curious about how different cultures and societies developed and how they interacted with each other throughout history. It interests me to learn how big events and small moments shaped the world. I’m especially interested in the stories of people who don’t always get talked about, like women or indigenous groups. I want to understand how cultures stayed unique while also sharing ideas and customs with each other. At the same time, studying history makes me cautious because the information we have can be biased. As Umberto Eco’s quote suggests, people can easily misunderstand history. Those in power often wrote history, so the stories of others may be missing or twisted. This can especially affect how we understand gender roles in the past. It's important to look closely at the evidence we have and think about what might be missing to get a fuller picture of how gender and culture were really understood and practiced.

History interests me because, is the way we can travel to a place in time and that has been forgotten, and it makes us feel as if we are living in it. 

Things that get in the way of understanding history particularly in ancient history are finding credible sources. Men/women, tend to tell a story the way they understand it or that it best suits them.  

What strikes me as more important about the Greeks is their art, their structures. Also, how they influenced our modern world with their pursuit of creating the perfect society and how there is always room for improvement. 

I would like to know more about the women's role in ancient Greece and how this influenced modern women in our current time. 

What interests me about history is how standards, problems, and beliefs are constantly evolving with each generation. Similar to what was said in class, the perspective of these factors are heavily influenced by personal biases, which is usually the determining factor for how history is told and written. I think the most important thing about the Greeks and how they influenced us was their way of living. This ranges from how they communicated to how they dressed and worked as a society. In this class, I would like to find out how the standards of women and of society as a whole evolved throughout time. More specifically, what were the important events that caused these standards to change and evolve in the first place. I think its interesting to review how these things happen since today, in my opinion, the internet has the biggest influence on how people act and dress.

It is fascinating how history constantly repeats itself. History provides insight into past cultures and human experiences. It's interesting to see how societies thrived without the technology and resources we have today. I know I wouldn't survive three days in ancient Egypt. As discussed in class, the lack of records is a major reason why many historical papers and artworks are lost over time, causing evidence to become fragmented. From what I know about the Greeks, they were extremely creative and artistic people. I believe their music, plays, and art have had a huge influence on us. Their most well-known philosophers, like Plato and Socrates, have shaped our modern society and politics with their ideas. Their mythology is so well-known in today's society that there are countless movies and books based on it. It's striking how their ideas and philosophies have persisted through the centuries and continue to mold human civilization. I'm curious about exploring the history of ancient Egypt, especially the royal dynasties. I'm also excited to delve into ancient Greece and its rich mythology, as I find the stories of gods and demigods incredibly captivating and entertaining.

What interests me about history is discovering the origins of people who once existed within a time period completely different from our current society. To be able to compare and also contrast of how society at a different time period may be differ and also still be the same in today’s society.

What kind of things get in the way of understanding ancient history is the lack of first hand encounters written to show proof of what may have existed with in the time or ancient history. As their may be physical proof to confirm what is written about Ancient history, what may have been written by word of mouth may create a bias and also may not have credibility to prove what is true.

What strikes me most about Greece and how they influence us is that we still see first had of their influences on a daily basis. The United States political system was influence by the Greece and also we still continue to have the Olympics every few years which was originated by the Greeks. Art , theatre, mathematics, writing are also things that the Greeks have influenced us and we see it still existing in today’s society all over the world.

What I would like to find out more about is how women impacted the Greek society in Ancient Greece. At this time period I feel like we mainly hear works from men but not from women so it would be good to learn about women who existed from that time, and their way of life and what they contributed.

• What interests you about history?

What I find fascinating about history is the evolution of us in society, culture and world that are documented. It is interesting how we could learn about the past and see how history reflects the modern days. 

• What kinds of things get in the way of understanding history-particularly ancient history?

 In one opinion what gets in the way is the limited data from ancient times, sources from current classes and how most ancient materials are preserved. 

• What strikes you as most important about the Greeks and how they influence us?

I believe the Greeks really influenced most of Europe from politics to science, art and philosophy. They were the example on how one should act or live by. 

• What would you like to find out more about?

I would like to learn more about the difference of each culture and how it could still be affecting modern day times. 

I enjoy the reading of history like closely to how I enjoy reading literature. My training as a reader has come down to me as that of a book wormish literature person more so than it has as a historically oriented academic. Notwithstanding I see a parallel in reading books for what they mean instead of say with my own approach to stories of any kind. Though I appreciate facts they come second to the story at hand, in most cases at least. I'd like to do research on world Epics in the near future and my understanding of Epics has led me to believe that they are fluid entities with life and tellings sometimes their own, sometimes other's. I look forward to learning about real people from antiquity so that I can use it to inform my own creative writing and expand my knowledge of the literature I have come to be familiar and fascinated with.

What interests me about history are the different theories and speculations that are consistently floating around about whether events we learn about in school, actually happened. Just like science, we learn knew things everyday about history and the possibilities of it repeating itself as well as patterns found within society and evolution as a whole. Things that can get in the way of understanding history is the lack of connection to modern day as ancient history can of course be the reason why life is the way is today, but today is why life will be what it is in the future. People lack understanding or enthusiasm for learning about things that already happened but also lack genuine reason for why things happened if they even did happen. What strikes me as most important about the Greeks is their art and architecture and how it has influence art in the US but also possibly around the world. I would like to find out more about their influences in general but also just the way they lived and why the gods and mythology was created/ important.

I find history Intresting because it provides a window into life before us, offering insights into how people lived and how times have changed. Reading about ancient times, where survival often meant hunting or migrating constantly, makes me wonder if our generation could endure such challenges. Although life today has its difficulties, it’s clear that we have it significantly easier compared to people in ancient times. The Greeks, in particular, have influenced us in such a huge way from clothing and poetry to the development of plays. I am eager to learn more about their daily life and society, as well as their approach to religion.

1) What interests me about history is how the (documented) story seems to repeat itself over the last 6,000 years. Throughout human history, we see a repeating pattern of human beings building civilizations that one way or another fall due to the same factors, be it war, corruption, or others. If science is a practice to describe why humans are the way they currently are, history is the practice to explain how.

2) The kinds of things that get in the way of understanding history—particularly ancient history, are

1. the passage of time, which leads to pieces of vital historical information (documents, artifacts, etc) to be lost and/or destroyed
2. The repression of certain groups of people to be able to record events, such as the poor, slaves, and women

3) What strikes me as most important about the Greeks and how they influenced us is the invention of vital practices that we still use to this day over 2,000 years later, such as Democracy, language/writing, theatre, and even more.

4) I would like to know more about how the civilizations of the ancient still affect us to this day.

Something that interests me about history is, why do I see history repeating its self slowly.I feel like we're traveling back in time instead of moving forward. Somethings that get in the way of understanding history especially ancient history is their language and how they spoke and wrote all their documents and translating that in modern language to get a grasp of what individuals were trying to say. Something that strikes me as important about greeks and how they influence us was their literature and their structure when it came to their government responsibilities.I would to know why they were so advance in architecture and overall their sense of living day to day, why were they successful ?

What interests me about history is learning how people lived in the past and how the world has changed over time. I like to see how events, inventions, and decisions from the past affect the way we live today. It's interesting to think about how different our lives could be if things had happened differently. History is heavily complex and some things that can get in the way of understanding history, especially ancient history, are that we need to have all the information. Much of what we know comes from old writings or artifacts that might be broken or missing. Sometimes the people who wrote the history were only sometimes telling the full truth, or they had their own opinions, so it's hard to know what happened. 

What strikes me as most important about the Greeks is their influence on modern government, philosophy, and science. They started the idea of democracy, where people could have a say in how they are ruled. Their philosophers, like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle still shape how we think about life, knowledge, and ethics. Greek art and architecture have also influenced many buildings today.

I would like to learn more about how ancient people thought about the world and how their discoveries helped shape what we know today. I also want to learn more about the daily life of regular people in ancient times, not just the kings or important figures.

I think that learning and understanding history is essential to learn and understand the world as we know it to be today. The cultures, customs, norms and society today cannot be fully understood by learning about it independently, understanding what led us to this point is important in understanding how to move forward. Aside from understanding the current world, I find history enriching and interesting, especially what seems to be universal for all people regardless of time such as the desire for love, entertainment, culture and eating habits. Though history is important and interesting, studying it has always been extremely difficult due to the lack of adequate resources available to study and how interpretations overtime may have altered the meaning of documents, and by proxy our understanding of documents. I think that in terms of Greece, their impact on modern day society is immeasurable as their early inventions and systems are still commonplace today. Their impact and influence are not limited to academics but on culture as a whole apparent in various forms of entertainment. I would like to learn more about Ancient Egypt, the culture and academics.

History has always interest me because it allows us to learn about human behavior and culture of the past. History is important because it can teach us about past issues that may still be current and how it was handled. One issue with documentation of historical events is bias. History is written by the superior groups often, and when an invention or incident occurs that doesn't fit the narrative of superiority it often times can be undermined. Other times books of conquered civilization are burned thus destroying their respected achievements. What I find most important about Greek culture is the level of understanding for a functional government. Greek government has influences US government in ways like freedom of speech, elections, and trial by jury to name a few. Throughout this course I would like to find out more about the achievements of women in history and hear their voices which are normally over shadowed by men.

What interest me most about history is gaining insight into how ancient cultures and civilizations started, and what their daily lives were like. There is much we will probably never know about human history but there are still interesting questions that can be asked pertaining to the evolution of humans and our societies. Why did humans first leave West Africa? How did humans first arrive in the Americas? Why was homo Sapien the only successful humanoid species? There are a number of factors that can hinder our ability to know the past and accurately chart human existence. The main problem, especially when studying ancient history is the lack of reliable evidence and data. There are many cultures and early civilizations that left behind little primary documents to give historians information. There is also a huge gulf in language, time, and culture that exists between present day civilizations and ancient ones. So even if we have the documents to study, we cannot be sure that they are analyzed in the correct context and way. One of the most important impacts from ancient Greek culture is the value they placed in the humanities. When compared to other disciplines and fields of study, the humanities can often seem like a soft option and a trivial. However, through the study of humanities we can reveal truths of the human condition and gain insight and perspective we may not have had before. I am interested to learn more about the "secret" or private role females played in building ancient cultures and societies.

History is super interesting, not only is it useful and practical but it's also quite entertaining. My favorite aspect of history is that it tends to repeat itself yet we hold the answer to prevent that. I also think history is interesting in the aspect of records, how we know things from years ago due to carefully documenting it. When it comes to documenting and understanding history especially ancient history often things like language barrier, missing context and our own beliefs and biases, one must go in with an open mind ready to give something multiple interpretations. The Greeks hold massive historical presence and I believe one of the most important things I believe that came from them was create foundations for a lot of ideas current society has now especially politics. I'm super curious to learn more about the roles women played in politics if they did any, it's hard to believe they completely didn't when you have Greek myths like Athena who was a god of war which is politics. I believe Umberto's Eco's quote show's some of this essence as during class I had to understand that although a lot of women were matrons and usually hidden from public eye I believe they played some part just behind closed doors, that is me making sense of what information I'm given. Understanding the evidence we're given relate to the understanding of cultural gender expectations as we're able to build and expand on the information and hopefully create a bigger picture of exploring gender.