Passionate about History

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Classic Trial of Orestes for Matricide slated for January 29 in Chicago

Orestes and Elektra by Menelaus after Praxiteles
1st century CE. Photographed at the Palazzo Altemps
in Rome, Italy by Mary Harrsch © 2009

I see that a group of attorneys in Chicago are planning to put Orestes on trial for matricide on January 29th, 2014. They're only a few thousand years late! Talk about how slow the wheels of justice turn!

Following the tremendous success of the National Hellenic Museum’s Trial of Socrates in January 2013, Patrick Fitzgerald, Dan Webb, Patrick Collins & Bob Clifford take on another ancient Greek in the Trial of Orestes, son of Agamemnon, of the cursed House of Atreus.

The Trial will take place at the UIC Forum – 725 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60607, Wednesday, January 29th, 2014 from 6 to 9pm. Reception to follow immediately after the trial. Tickets available through TicketMaster: $100 per ticket; student tickets: $50 (must present valid Student ID).

Judges Richard A. Posner, Presiding, Charles P. Kocoras, William J. Bauer, and a jury of distinguished citizens of Chicago, will decide the validity of these charges. Orestes will be defended by Dan K. Webb (Winston & Strawn) and Robert A. Clifford (Clifford Law Offices). Counsel for the prosecution will be Patrick J. Fitzgerald (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP) and Patrick M. Collins (Perkins Coie).

A bronze sculpture of Aeschylus from the
Archaeological Museum of Florence, Italy.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The trial is based on The Oresteia, by Greek playwright Aeschylus (525-456 BC), a foundational literary work that examines the crucial place of law in society, depicting the movement from primitive retaliatory vengeance to civilized justice and a hopeful new order under the rule of law.

Consisting of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides, the trilogy constitutes a deeply affecting study of crime and punishment, probing such irresolvable and vexatious issues as the nature of justice, the frequent conflicts between love and duty, the torments of moral decision making, our obligations to the gods, society, and ourselves, and the spiritual consequences of irremediable actions. Above all, the Oresteia shows us the burdens of a culture based on the lex talionis—an eye for an eye—and the blessings of a jury trial in a court of law.

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Sunday, December 22, 2013

What is the basis for the claim that the tomb of Atahualpa has been found in Ecuador?

Mixed media sculpture of Altahualpa by artist-historian
George S. Stuart. Photographed at the Ojai Valley Museum
in Ojai, California

by Mary Harrsch © 2006 The last couple of days there has been several news postings about the possible discovery of the tomb of Atahualpa, last independent Inca ruler, in the highlands of Ecuador. Unfortunately, after reading the articles I found the claim was not particularly substantiated by more than just a statement by a group of researchers that a formation 260 feet tall by 260 feet wide has been discovered in the Llanganates National Park in Ecuador and "might" somehow be the tomb of Atahualpa. Of course the article also says the researchers admit the "structure" may just be an unusual rock formation.

After looking at the images, I do think the formation looks man-made but how they connected this find with Atahualpa is a mystery to me.

The article points to "artifacts" that have been recovered but there was no explanation about their purpose, how they were determined to be Incan or any attempt at dating them. Looking at the pictures of the "artifacts" included with the article,they appear to be extremely primitive in nature - more neolithic looking than pre-Columbian.

Stone formation found in in the Llanganates National Park
in Ecuador proposed to be Atahualpa's lost tomb. Image
courtesy of KNS.

I'm also wondering what sources they are using that may have claimed Atahualpa's body was stolen by his followers and whisked off to the highlands of Ecuador. According to Spanish sources, Atahualpa's body was partially burned then interred in a "Christian" burial after he was strangled by a garrote following a mock trial at Cajamarca in the Peruvian highlands in 1533. Of course I must admit Atahualpa is thought to have been born in what is now present day Quito, Ecuador so it is at least plausible that remaining clan members may have sought to return his body to the region of his birth.

If the structure is a tomb, it is of such monumental size that you would think it would have had to have been built before the Spanish conquest then repurposed as I doubt the activity needed to quarry and transport the stone then build a structure of the size reported would have gone unnoticed by the Spanish. Perhaps it was the tomb of Atahualpa's father, Huayna Capac, who engaged in a number of monumental building projects before he contracted smallpox and died in the epidemic of 1527. Maybe it is one of Huayna Capac's food storage silos that he purportedly built around his empire. I've got to admit, as someone who lives in the Pacific Northwest who has frequently visited Idaho, the structure sort of resembles a big potato cellar!

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Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Replica tomb of King Tut to rise again in Luxor

An ancient history resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2013

I see the committee presently overseeing Egyptian antiquities is planning to re-erect a dismantled replica tomb of King Tutankhamun, placing it beside the former residence of

Howard Carter opens the innermost shrine of King Tutankhamen's tomb near Luxor, Egypt which one of carter's water boy discovered. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

discoverer Howard Carter on Luxor's west bank. The replica, built between 2009 and 2012 by Madrid-based Factum Arte, was constructed using 3D scanners to accurately capture the structural features of the tomb.

It was one of three tombs reconstructed as part of a project to provide an alternative to tourists when the tombs of Tutankhamun, Nefertari and Set I are closed to the public in 2014 because of damage from the respiration of the high number of visitors each tomb receives.

The project was apparently delayed by the recent civil unrest. I had always hoped to travel to Egypt and see Tutankhamun's tomb for myself but it is looking more and more unlikely as the social upheaval there continues and travel becomes increasingly difficult for me due to health issues.

Life-size composite replica of rock cut tombs near Beni Hasan Egypt
built from 2100 to 1100 BCE. Photographed at the Rosicrucian EgyptianMuseum in San Jose, CA by Mary Harrsch. © 2006

At least I had a chance to explore a life-sized replica of an Egyptian rock cut tomb when I visited the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California in 2006. The replica is a composite of tombs of Egyptian governors and nobles discovered near Beni Hasan, Egypt and were built from 2100 to 1100 BCE.

The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum also exhibits one of only three known remains of Apis Bulls in the world. The Apis bull, a black beast with distinct markings, was the most important of all the sacred animals in Egypt and his worship, instituted by Raneb in the Second Dynasty, began in Memphis about 2740 BCE. The bull was thought to serve as an intermediary between humans and the great god Ptah (later Osiris).

Anyway, if, like me, you can't make it to Egypt anytime soon, maybe you can visit the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, CA instead or, at least, for the time being. If you'd like to see more of the marvelous artifacts and museum-quality reproductions on display there, check out my image set on Flickr.
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