Free Republic

Western governments seem to be driving their citizens towards “Lockdown II: The Delta Variant,” an unnecessary sequel that no one asked for but that most of us will be forced to endure. Resistance to these policies has been growing of late: France and Germany are currently dealing with large-scale protests against COVID mandates. Meanwhile, the Australian government has just enlisted the military to enforce a massively unpopular lockdown in Sydney. Things are not much better here in the United States. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has imposed a de facto vaccine passport for a variety of indoor...

The lost tomb of Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, has finally been discovered. Recent excavations in the Tomb of Korinos in northern Greece have resulted in what amounts to a massive historical discovery. Pontos News reported exclusively yesterday that Professor Athanasios Bidas recently presented a suite of hard evidence at a scientific conference suggesting this latest Korinos’ tomb was that of Olympias, wife of King Philip of Macedonia and mother of Alexander the Great. In 2019, Professor Bidas read a set of ancient inscriptions that led him to believe he had identified the Tomb of Korinos as the...

In 1948, the armies of seven Arab nations invaded Israel. They failed to wipe out the newly reborn nation, but Jordan occupied part of Jerusalem and ethnically cleansed its Jews. Among the former Jewish neighborhoods was a small area named Shimon HaTzadik or Simon the Righteous after a high priest who became famous for talking Alexander the Great out of putting up an idol in the Temple. The Arab Muslim colonists who had occupied the area however called it Sheikh Jarrah after an associate of the Iraqi invader Saladin. Saladin had invaded Israel some 1500 years after Shimon HaTzadik’s death....

By the ancient world’s tradition, it was on July 21, 356 — the night of Alexander the Great‘s birth* — that a theretofore forgettable man set fire to the wooden rafters of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. Situated on the Hellenized coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selcuk, Turkey, Ephesus was one of the great cities of the Mediterranean. It counted Artemis (Diana) its patron deity, and gloried in a jaw-dropping marble temple, bankrolled two centuries before by the Lydian king Croesus, that would have nearly covered a modern football pitch. Ephesians took their Artemis seriously: 400-plus years later,...

A former Green Beret has taken responsibility for what he claimed was a failed attack Sunday aimed at overthrowing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and that the socialist government said ended with eight dead. Jordan Goudreau’s comments in an interview with an exiled Venezuelan journalist capped a bizarre day that started with reports of a pre-dawn amphibious raid near the South American country’s heavily guarded capital. An AP investigation published Friday found that Goudreau had been working with a retired Venezuelan army general now facing U.S. narcotics charges to train dozens of deserting Venezuelan soldiers at secret camps inside neighboring Colombia....

The mysterious location of the tomb of Alexander the Great might finally have been confirmed. Alexander the Great was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 336–323 BC and after conquering the Greek city-states he rolled over Persia founding an empire with 70 cities across three continents covering an estimated two million square miles. Now, a piece of masonry from an ancient tomb discovered in the foundations of St Mark ’s in Venice matching the dimensions of a sarcophagus in the British Museum might confirm the location of the tomb of Alexander the Great, and what’s more,...

A world of ancient mystery is located in Iran, with some sites dating back over 7,000 years, far before the civilization of the Persian Empire and its capital, Persepolis. This archaeological site is the number one tourist destination in the country, and with good reason. Culture Trip takes a look into why this forgotten empire is one of the greatest wonders of the ancient world. Persepolis is no doubt the main attraction that lures tourists to Iran. Located about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) outside of the modern city of Shiraz, these ancient ruins served as the capital of the...

But what exactly makes one knot more stable than another has not been well-understood, until now. MIT mathematicians and engineers have developed a mathematical model that predicts how stable a knot is, based on several key properties, including the number of crossings involved and the direction in which the rope segments twist as the knot is pulled tight. With confidence in their model, Patil then simulated more complicated knots, taking note of which knots experienced more pressure and were therefore stronger than other knots. Once they categorized knots based on their relative strength, Patil and Dunkel looked for an explanation...

There are thousands of people who have made the world a better place to live. Many died before they were old and some would might be great to have around for a lot longer. Which three historic people do you wish could have lived another 30 years? Thomas Edison? Rod Sterling? Shakespeare? John Paul II? You get the point.

FULL TITLE: Alexander the Great ‘was ALIVE while his body was prepared for burial’ – after rare disease left him paralysed for six days ===================================================================== It has baffled boffins for decades, but we may finally know what killed one of history's finest military minds ====================================================================== HE mystery over the death of Alexander the Great may have finally been solved – and his passing was grislier than historians had ever imagined. The fearsome military genius succumbed to a rare disease that left him paralysed for six days, gradually robbing him of his ability to move, speak and breath, claims a new...

"The Recently Discovered Journal of Alexander the Great" by Henry Livingston, published in the New-York Magazine of February, 1793. Read by Byron Nilsson and illustrated with a wide variety of art and illustration. These stories were in the library of 13 year old Clement Moore, as his father subscribed to the magazine in which Henry published.

Alexander the Great, whose tomb has been missing for nearly 2,000 years, could be buried in Broome in Western Australia, a Perth man says. Macedonian-born Tim Tutungis told ABC Kimberley that he first heard the 'Broomer' from his old mate, Lou Batalis. "We just got onto the subject of Alexander The Great's tomb, and he said, 'They'll never ever find it, no matter where they look, because Alexander the Great is buried in Broome, in Western Australia'," Mr Tutungis said. "Approximately 50 years ago, some guy went into a cave in Broome and he saw some inscriptions in there and...

<p>The proverbial knot of Gordium was impossible to untie. Anyone clever enough to untie it would supposedly become the king of Asia. Many princes tried; all failed.</p> <p>When Alexander the Great arrived, he was challenged to unravel the impossible knot. Instead, he pulled out his sword and cut through it. Problem solved.</p>

Macedonia's left-wing prime minister said he is ready to renounce his country's claim to be the sole heirs of the legacy of Alexander the Great to help solve a 26-year-old dispute with neighboring Greece over the country's name. "I give up (the claim) of Macedonia being the sole heir to Alexander. The history belongs not only to us, but also to Greece and many other countries," Zoran Zaev, in power since the spring, said in an interview to TV station Telma late Friday. Since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Macedonia has claimed at least part of the heritage of...

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I...

The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord. And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise. And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. Ashkelon shall...

A number of Islamic associations have put a quick end to their collaboration with a professor -- and trainer of people who are supposed to teach Islam in German high schools -- who has expressed his doubt that Muhammad ever lived. Islam scholar Michael Marx spoke with SPIEGEL ONLINE about what lies behind the debate and the historical person of the Prophet.

Archaeologists excavate Indo-Greek and Saka-Parthian structures at Bazira, Swat. -- Dawn photo Indo-Greek coins discovered during the recent excavation at Bazira, Barikot, Swat. Courtesy Italian Archaeological Mission in Swat Indo-Greek coins discovered during the recent excavation at Bazira, Barikot, Swat. Courtesy Italian Archaeological Mission in Swat Terracotta baroque female figurine, circa 3rd-2nd BC. Courtesy Italian Archaeological Mission in Swat Indo-Greek coins discovered during the recent excavation at Bazira, Barikot, Swat. Courtesy Italian Archaeological Mission in Swat

NASA posted a photo of the border between India and Pakistan as seen from outer space on Facebook on Sunday. The photo was taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station and shows the familiar outline of the north-western segment of India picked out in glowing lights. The astronaut who took the photo was "looking north across Pakistan's Indus River valley." The thread of orange that separates the two countries is lit by security lights that glow orange. The brightest spot visible is Karachi which faces the Arabian Sea. The Indus Valley is also dotted with lights. This is...

An incomplete inscription might reopen the debate about the identity of the owner of a tomb from the Alexander the Great era, according to new research into blocks from the circular retaining wall of the mysterious mound. The tomb was unsealed in northern Greece 18 months ago. Dated to between 325 B.C. -- two years before Alexander the Great's death -- and 300 B.C., the tomb is located in Amphipolis, east of Thessaloniki, and is billed as the largest of its kind in the Greek world, measuring more than 1,600 feet in circumference. According to study author Andrew Chugg, a...