Have you ever wondered who built the Sphynx in Egypt? Or who made Stonehenge in England? Or if the siege and destruction of Troy ever took place? If you have, then you’re not alone. I, for one, have a certain fascination with all things historical. From the very beginning of time, to as recent as the industrial revolution, my curiosity has almost turned into an obsession.
Throughout my childhood I had been exposed quite a bit to history, including my own. I learned about black history (something which is not touched on quite enough in schools these days) and American history in general. I grew up watching movies like “Jason and the Argonauts”, and I read books based on Greek Mythology. Although most books to me sucked back then, I did appreciate some of the more historically based novels and autobiographies such as “Kaffir Boy” and a novel by Upton Sinclair, the title of which I can’t recall. I guess my serious interest in history would’ve begun during my senior year of high school, after I had watched the first installment of greatest movie of all time, “Lord of the Rings.”
I know. You can call me corny if you’d like but that movie changed my life. After that I became obsessed with all things Tolkien, whose mythology is partly based on history and the mythology of England. My favorite work of his is the “Silmarillion.” While in college I began reading his works as well as Beowulf (a new movie coming out now that I will go see), which is partly historical (the part about the wars between Frisians and Jutes and Danes also shows up in other tales from that period).
From then on you could find me watching the History Channel, National Geographic, and Discovery Times. I had even contemplated buying a subscription to “Archaeology” magazine, but had decided against it to save money. Also I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the ‘world history’ section of Borders books.
Some books that I’ve read include the “Autobiography of Malcom X”, “They came before Columbus,” and the Illiad and the Oddyssey. I’m currently in the middle of a book about Alexander the Great titled “Alexander, the ambiguity of greatness,” whose tale reads almost like that of the Illiad. When I’m done (and I read slow) I plan on reading so many more books, and about all eras of History: European history, Mesopotamian history, Greek and Roman history, African history and Native America.
I believe that if God hadn’t given me the gift of music and I weren’t already a musician, I would’ve become an archaeologist, or some other type of scholar. I think it’s important to know about our past, but even more important to wonder about the past. I often hear about mysteries and vague facts that can only be deduced from archaeological data. I always ask, “Why didn’t these people write anything down for us to know?” And if they did write something down, I’d ask “Why didn’t they record it in further detail, like we do today?” Maybe people of the past didn’t find it as important to write things down in history books as we do today. But that’s not the point. The point is that without the mystery behind it, without anything left to be discovered, the past would lose its allure, and we would have nothing to wonder about. We would be left with nothing to fascinate us, and spark our imagination of what life would be like in a time long forgotten.
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