Tea at Trianon: Bactrian Gold

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

Friday, November 29, 2024

Bactrian Gold

From The Greek Reporter:

What is referred to as Bactrian Gold is a collection of approximately 20,600 artifacts. Gold offerings, gold and silver coins, ornaments, medallions, exquisite jewelry, and a crown were discovered in six graves of five women and one man. These date back to between the first century BC and the first century AD.

Other than more obvious influences in the region, the particular findings had elements of Greek, Indian, and Chinese culture. Experts have compared the Tillya Tepe treasure and the findings therein to Tutankhamen’s tomb in terms of value.
The renowned archaeologist Sarigiannides claimed that the ancient Greek gold findings indicate the influence of Hellenism in the area. According to his theory, there is evidence that connects the Oxus civilization with the Minoan-Mycenaean civilization.

At the same time, he theorized that Zoroastrianism first appeared in the region in palaces and altars accompanied by evidence of pyro-worship. During rituals, a narcotic substance made of opium, hemp, and ephedra was used. (Read more.)