Tea at Trianon: Who Were the Cimmerians?

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Who Were the Cimmerians?

From The Greek Reporter:

The Cimmerians were a people who were active in Anatolia during the Archaic Era. They came into conflict with the Assyrians, the Phrygians, and the Lydians, among others. Within Greek mythology, they make an intriguing appearance in a very unexpected location, which has caused considerable debate. What conclusions can we come to regarding the Cimmerians of Greek mythology?
The earliest written reference to the Cimmerians within Greek literature comes from the Odyssey, written by Homer in the second half of the seventh century BCE. In this tale about Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca from Troy, the Cimmerians appear in a strange and mythological context.

After spending some time at the island of Circe, Odysseus journeys to the nearby mainland and reaches the entrance to the Underworld. This is just next to the Acheron River and the River of Lamentation. In this part of the Odyssey, Homer describes the fact that there was a kingdom and city of the Cimmerians in this area. (Read more.)