Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Monday, July 28, 2014

Thermopylae


Last week we took a bus trip tour back in time to North Dakota.  To be exact we checked out Theodore Roosevelt’s ranch in the Bad Lands, visited George Armstrong Custer’s home at his last post in Fort Lincoln and looked down on the Missouri River from the Mandan Villages where Lewis and Clark wintered on their epic journey more than two hundred years ago.  More on all this and the Medora cowboy musical when I get my pictures organized.  And going even further back in time I brought my Nook reader on the bus where in 480 B.C., the mighty Persian king Xerxes led a massive force to the narrow mountain pass called Thermopylae, anticipating no significant resistance in his bid to conquer Greece and perhaps The West entire. But the Greeks, led by Leonidas and a small army of Spartan warriors and allies, had taken the battle to the Persians and nearly halted their advance.

  Paul Cartledge's riveting, authoritative account of King Leonidas and the legendary 300 illuminates this valiant endeavor that changed the way future generations would think about combat, courage, and death.  Our history books have given full credit to the Greek, particularly the Athenian underpinnings of Western culture.  The brave but seemingly dull Spartans very little.  While I don’t believe all cultures are equal in value Thermopylae certainly broadened my horizons on the ancient Greeks.  Well done King Leonidas.  And well done Paul Cartledge.  I thoroughly enjoyed your book

 


 

16 comments:

  1. sounds like a great way to spend bus time. :)

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  2. Looks like a great trip. We spent a day in South Dakota --but want to go back sometime. We saw Rushmore, Custer State Park ---and went on the Needles Highway.. There's so much more to see there. Sounds like you had a great trip.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  3. Nothing like a good bus tour in and air conditioned bus at this time of year. I visited the Mandan village in 1967!

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  4. Sounds like an interesting day delving in history.

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  5. Fun area to visit, I worked over in the Badlands for a week last time there.

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  6. Nice juxtaposing of two historical events.

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  7. How very cool! I'll have to look up that book. :-)

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  8. Nice day wallowing in history. Both Nook style and visual style.
    Thanks, I may check out that book. Sounds interesting.

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  9. Sounds like you had a good trip - better than the one Xerxes had at any rate!

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  10. Sounds like a good summer trip! That is some heavy reading:)

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  11. Hi troutbirder: totally unrelated to your post (sorry!), but I wanted to answer your question on my blog in regards to the decline of songbirds. Yes! I am very concerned about the decline of many of our natural species! I have many birdfeeders, birdbaths, a pond where ALL animals may come to drink, and I plant milkweed in my garden for the monarch butterflies--ALL in my tiny yard in the suburbs of Chicago. I help any and all creatures. I can tell you that my two, VERY well fed cats have NO idea how to hunt and have never caught a bird in my yard. And yes, they are allowed outside when we are home. Those feral cats are going to exist whether I am here or not. I try to make sure that human beings do not kill them...or any other creature on this good green earth. And for what it is worth, there are coyotes nearby who do their own hunting on those ferals. It is the circle of life. There are no easy answers for the feral cat population in our cities, but I will not allow any animal to be poisoned, shot, or terrorized on my shift.

    I hope that helps you understand where I come from. But, if not, it's okay to disagree. :)

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  12. That looks like a great trip. I have only been to South Dakota - never made it to North Dakota.

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  13. I have a huge hole in my knowledge. I did not recognize Thermopylae. I've got some reading to do.

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  14. ereaders are the best for travel. I'm impressed but not surprised that you are reading serious history on yours.

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  15. I did not know what a nook reader was -- looked it up online. I am a bit rusty in some technologies. I'm an addicted (real) book reader. Maybe someday I will change??? Quite an impressive trip you and your wife are taking. Now I do know about the Mandan Native Americans. Looking forward to that part of your trip.-- barbara

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  16. We made it back from Montana. We had a great trip as well. Great weather for exploring.
    I will be posting my photos next week.
    Have a great weekend.
    Carla

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