Tea at Trianon: Tomb of King Midas

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

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Tomb of King Midas

From All That's Interesting:

During excavations in the ancient city of Gordion — which has its own connection to another famous Greek legend — archaeologists unearthed a wooden burial chamber full of grave goods that dates back to the 8th century B.C.E. They suspect that the tomb has links to the Phrygian royal family and perhaps Midas himself.
The tomb was found inside a tumulus (a burial mound made of earth and stone) at the site, dubbed Tumulus T26. Though the wooden burial chamber had been crushed over the millennia, archaeologists discovered human remains and dozens of grave goods inside, including a 2,700-year-old bronze jug covered with linen.

Archaeologists believe that the tomb dates back to the 8th century B.C.E. Its age, elaborate nature, and plethora of high-quality artifacts suggest that it once belonged to an elite, perhaps a member of the Phrygian royal family.

“During the excavations in the ancient city of Gordion, we unearthed an untouched wooden burial chamber that is thought to belong to the Phrygian royal family,” Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said in a statement on X. “The 88 metal artifacts found in the T26 tumulus, most of which are in good condition… provide unique clues about the burial traditions and social structure of the Phrygians.” (Read more.)