List Of Common Misconceptions About History
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List Of Common Misconceptions About History
Each entry on this list of common misconceptions is worded as a correction; the misconceptions themselves are implied rather than stated. These entries are concise summaries; the main subject articles can be consulted for more detail. Ancient history * The Pyramids of Egypt were not constructed with slave labor. Archaeological evidence shows that the laborers were a combination of skilled workers and poor farmers working in the off-season with the participants paid in high-quality food and tax exemptions. The idea that slaves were used originated with Herodotus, and the idea that they were Israelites arose centuries after the pyramids were constructed. * Galleys in ancient times were not commonly operated by chained slaves or prisoners, as depicted in films such as '' Ben Hur'', but by paid laborers or soldiers, with slaves used only in times of crisis, in some cases even gaining freedom after the crisis was averted. Ptolemaic Egypt was a possible exception. Other types of ve ...
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Egyptian Pyramids
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt. Most were built as tombs for the pharaohs and their consorts during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old and Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom periods. At least 138 identified pyramids have been discovered in Egypt. Approximately Nubian pyramids, 80 pyramids were built within the Kingdom of Kush, now located in the modern country of Sudan. The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are at Saqqara, west of Memphis, Egypt, Memphis. Step-pyramid-like structures, like Mastaba 3808 attributed to pharaoh Anedjib, may predate the Pyramid of Djoser built   during the Third dynasty of Egypt, Third Dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding complex are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of ashlar, dressed masonry. The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza Plateau, Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramid complex, Giza pyrami ...
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Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He influenced all the major areas of theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in History of Athens, Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism. Plato's most famous contribution is the theory of forms, theory of forms (or ideas), which aims to solve what is now known as the problem of universals. He was influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself. Along with his teacher Socrates, and his student Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of Western philosophy. Plato's complete ...
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Scipio Aemilianus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185 BC – 129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the Numantine War in Spain. He oversaw the final defeat and destruction of the city of Carthage. He was a prominent patron of writers and philosophers, the most famous of whom was the Greek historian Polybius. In politics, he opposed the populist reform program of his murdered brother-in-law, Tiberius Gracchus. Family Scipio Aemilianus was the second son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, the commander of the Romans' victorious campaign in the Third Macedonian War, and his first wife, Papiria Masonis. Scipio was adopted by his first cousin, Publius Cornelius Scipio, the eldest son of his aunt Aemilia Tertia and her husband Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the acclaimed commander who won the decisive battle of the Second ...
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Vomitorium
A ''vomitorium'' is a passage situated below or behind a tier of seats in an amphitheatre or a stadium through which large crowds can exit rapidly at the end of an event. They can also be pathways for actors to enter and leave stage. The Latin word ''vomitorium'', plural ''vomitoria'', derives from the verb '' vomō, vomere'', "to spew forth". In ancient Roman architecture, ''vomitoria'' were designed to provide rapid egress for large crowds at amphitheatres and stadia, as they do in modern sports stadia and large theatres. Modern examples Smock Alley Theatre in Temple Bar, Dublin, has two ''vomitoria'', one stage left and one stage right, as does the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, for instance, has ''vomitoria'' in two of its theatres, the outdoor Elizabethan Stage and the Angus Bowmer Theatre. The "voms", as they are called, allow actors to mount the stage from halls cut into the amphitheatre. The Guthrie Theatre in Minne ...
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University Of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It publishes a wide range of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', numerous academic journals, and advanced monographs in the academic fields. The press is located just south of the Midway Plaisance on the University of Chicago campus. One of its quasi-independent projects is the BiblioVault, a digital repository for scholarly books. History The University of Chicago Press was founded in 1890, making it one of the oldest continuously operating university presses in the United States. Its first published book was Robert F. Harper's ''Assyrian and Babylonian Letters Belonging to the Kouyunjik Collections of the British Museum''. The book sold five copies during its first two years, but by 1900, the University of Chicago Pr ...
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Ancient Roman Cuisine
The cuisine of ancient Rome changed greatly over the duration of the civilization's existence. Dietary habits were affected by the political changes from republic to empire, and Roman economy#Trade and commodities">Roman trading with foreigners along with the empire's enormous expansion exposed Romans to many new foods, provincial culinary habits and cooking methods. In the beginning, dietary differences between Roman social classes were not great, but disparities developed with the empire's growth. Archaeology Most organic foods decay under ordinary conditions, but ashes and animal bones offer some archaeological details about the ancient Roman diet. Phytoliths have been found at a cemetery in Tarragona, Spain. Imported figs were among the charred foods preserved when Boudica and her army burned down a Roman shop in Colchester. Chickpeas and bowls of fruit are known from Herculaneum, preserved since Vesuvius destroyed the town in 79 AD. Remains of small fish bones, sea urc ...
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Nazi Salute
The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened hand. Usually, the person offering the salute would say "Heil Hitler!" (), "Heil, mein Führer!" (), or "Sieg Heil!" (). Inspired by the Fascist salute used by members of the Italian National Fascist Party, the Nazi salute was officially adopted by the Nazi Party in 1926, although it had been used within the party as early as 1921, to signal obedience to the party's leader, Adolf Hitler, and to glorify the German nation (and later the German war effort). The salute was mandatory for civiliansKershaw (2001), p. 60 but mostly optional for Wehrmacht, military personnel, who retained a traditional Salute#German military, military salute until the 20 July plot, failed assassination attempt on Hitler on 20 July 1944. Use of this salute is ille ...
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Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward classical austerity, severity, and heightened feeling, which harmonized with the moral climate of the final years of the Ancien Régime. David later became an active supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794), and was effectively a dictator of the arts under the French First Republic, French Republic. Imprisoned after Robespierre's fall from power, he aligned himself with yet another political regime upon his release: that of Napoleon, the First Consul of France. At this time he developed his Empire style, notable for its use of warm Venetian school (art), Venetian colours. After Napoleon's fall from Imperial power and the Bourbon revival, David exiled hims ...
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Oath Of The Horatii
''Oath of the Horatii'' () is a large painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and 1785 and now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The painting immediately became a huge success with critics and the public and remains one of the best-known paintings in the Neoclassical style. It depicts a scene from the story of the Horatii and Curiatii, a Roman legend about a seventh-century BC dispute between two warring cities, Rome and Alba Longa, and stresses the importance of patriotism and masculine self-sacrifice for one's country. Instead of the two cities sending their armies to war, they agree to choose three men from each city; the victor in that fight will be the victorious city. From Rome, three brothers from a Roman family, the Horatii, agree to end the war by fighting three brothers from a family of Alba Longa, the Curiatii. The three brothers, all of whom appear willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of Rome, are shown stretching their hands towards ...
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Roman Salute
The Roman salute, also known as the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out parallel to the ground. In contemporary times, the former is commonly considered a symbol of fascism . According to an apocryphal legend, the fascist gesture was based on a customary greeting which was claimed to have been used in ancient Rome. However, no Roman text describes such a gesture, and the Roman works of art that display salutational gestures bear little resemblance to the modern "Roman" salute. Originating from Jacques-Louis David's painting '' The Oath of the Horatii'' (1784), the gesture quickly developed a historically inaccurate association with Roman republican and imperial culture. The gesture and its identification with Roman culture were further developed in other neoclassic artworks. In the United States, a simila ...
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Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first edition in 1884, traces the historical development of the English language, providing a comprehensive resource to scholars and academic researchers, and provides ongoing descriptions of English language usage in its variations around the world. In 1857, work first began on the dictionary, though the first edition was not published until 1884. It began to be published in unbound Serial (literature), fascicles as work continued on the project, under the name of ''A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by The Philological Society''. In 1895, the title ''The Oxford English Dictionary'' was first used unofficially on the covers of the series, and in 1928 the full dictionary was republished in 10 b ...
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