Charles River

*Includes pictures *Includes an explanation of the action, what went wrong, and an analysis of who was to blame *Includes online resources, footnotes, and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "The Somalis were a curious bunch. For every armed person, there were fifty unarmed just standing around, often right next to the guy firing at us." - Michael Goffena, a Black Hawk pilot If it was the dawn of a new world order in the 1990s, it was one of American unilateralism. Throughout the decade, America's unrivaled power and the globalization of the world through technology like the Internet offered Americans a sense of security and a belief that the United States could accomplish anything. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States was the world's only remaining superpower, and communism around the world began to decline. Moreover, since communism in the Soviet Union was not defeated by outside military force but collapsed from within, its draw as an alternative system to western capitalism and democracy was seriously weakened. 10 years after American Marines were killed in the notorious barracks explosion in Beirut during Lebanon's Civil War, American special operations forces were sent to Somalia at the behest of President Bill Clinton as part of "Operation Gothic Serpent". The goal set for the American forces was to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and thus prevent him from continuing to perpetrate violence. There is an ancient and oft quoted Somali saying that in many ways sums up the outside perception of Somalia, a race that appears unchangeably wedded to warfare and internal conflict: "Me and my clan against my nation. Me and my family against the clan. Me and my brother against the family. Me against my brother." Somalia crept into the general global consciousness during the early 1990s as yet another distant and incomprehensible bout of African warfare began to generate news images of biblical famine, but even that conflict may have been lumped in with the others if not for an unexpected turn of events in October 1993. On October 3, 1993, a small force conducted an operation in Mogadishu to arrest two of Aidid's leaders, but they were pinned down as they sought their way out. In the attack, 18 Americans were killed, and the Americans lost two Black Hawk choppers, and as if that wasn't enough, footage circulated of a few soldiers' bodies being mutilated and dragged through the dust for a crime no greater than attempting to feed the hungry masses and protect a nation from itself. The attack later formed the basis for the movie Black Hawk Down, but in its immediate aftermath, President Clinton ordered the withdrawal of American forces days later. Somalia seemed to have taught Clinton a lesson in unilateralism, because he refused to stop the genocide in Rwanda the following year. It seemed he had learned that the U. S. could not intervene anywhere at any time. Black Hawk Down: The History of the Battle of Mogadishu chronicles the story of one of the most notorious events of the 1990s. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Black Hawk Down like never before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts of battles during the era *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading In the time period between the fall of Rome and the spread of the Renaissance across the European continent, many of today's European nations were formed, the Catholic Church rose to great prominence, some of history's most famous wars occurred, and a social class system was instituted that lasted over 1,000 years. A lot of activity took place during a period frequently labeled derogatorily as the "Dark Ages," and while that period of time is mostly referred to as the "Middle Ages" instead of the Dark Ages today, it has still retained the stigma of being a sort of lost period of time in which Western civilization made no worthwhile progress after the advances of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. In reality, this oversimplification of the Middle Ages overlooks the progress made in the studies of sciences and philosophy, especially during the High Middle Ages. It also ignores the fact that one of the most important inventions of the last millennium was created in Germany during the Late Middle Ages, the printing press, which allowed the Renaissance to move across the continent and help position Western Europe as the wealthiest region in the world. If anything, the one aspect of the Middle Ages that has been romanticized is medieval warfare. Indeed, the Middle Ages have long sparked people's imaginations thanks to imagery of armored knights battling on horseback and armies of men trying to breach the walls of formidable castles. What is generally forgotten is that medieval warfare was constantly adapting to the times as leaders adopted new techniques and technology, and common infantry became increasingly important throughout the period. Starting around 1000 CE, there was a gradual consolidation of power in the region after the fragmentation of the Early Middle Ages, and it brought about the rise of more centralized states that could field large armies. The Normans, one of the first groups to do this, were notable for their discipline and organization, and it's little surprise that they were the last foreigners to successfully invade Britain under William the Conqueror in the mid-11th century. Meanwhile, political and technological progress led to continuous change of tactics and equipment. Cavalry became ascendant, only to be later replaced by infantry as their weapons improved. By the end of the period, warfare was radically changing thanks to the rise of gunpowder weapons such as the handgonne and the bombard. However, medieval military tactics adapted sharply around 1550, in response to strategy changes that had been apparent for a solid century before that. By the middle of the 15th century, artillery was knocking down castle walls that had stood for generations, while infantry were also proving their worth with powerful longbows and tight formations of polearms that upset the long dominance of mounted, heavily armored knights. Handheld firearms such as the matchlock were becoming more common and changing the face of the battlefield by making armor obsolete. New types of soldiers had to be trained and developed, and new tactics had to take into account the emerging era of black powder weapons, ushering in a time of great change in military strategy, tactics, and technology. The era of pike and shot was one of rapid development and experimentation by generals, monarchs, and regular soldiers as they came to grip with the new face of battle. It was also a rather short period; by 1700, the flintlock, a more efficient weapon than the matchlock, had become universal among European armies, and its improved accuracy and faster rate of fire made the tight pike formations obsolete.

*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts of battles during the era *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading In the time period between the fall of Rome and the spread of the Renaissance across the European continent, many of today's European nations were formed, the Catholic Church rose to great prominence, some of history's most famous wars occurred, and a social class system was instituted that lasted over 1,000 years. A lot of activity took place during a period frequently labeled derogatorily as the "Dark Ages," and while that period of time is mostly referred to as the "Middle Ages" instead of the Dark Ages today, it has still retained the stigma of being a sort of lost period of time in which Western civilization made no worthwhile progress after the advances of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. In reality, this oversimplification of the Middle Ages overlooks the progress made in the studies of sciences and philosophy, especially during the High Middle Ages. It also ignores the fact that one of the most important inventions of the last millennium was created in Germany during the Late Middle Ages, the printing press, which allowed the Renaissance to move across the continent and help position Western Europe as the wealthiest region in the world. If anything, the one aspect of the Middle Ages that has been romanticized is medieval warfare. Indeed, the Middle Ages have long sparked people's imaginations thanks to imagery of armored knights battling on horseback and armies of men trying to breach the walls of formidable castles. What is generally forgotten is that medieval warfare was constantly adapting to the times as leaders adopted new techniques and technology, and common infantry became increasingly important throughout the period. Starting around 1000 CE, there was a gradual consolidation of power in the region after the fragmentation of the Early Middle Ages, and it brought about the rise of more centralized states that could field large armies. The Normans, one of the first groups to do this, were notable for their discipline and organization, and it's little surprise that they were the last foreigners to successfully invade Britain under William the Conqueror in the mid-11th century. Meanwhile, political and technological progress led to continuous change of tactics and equipment. Cavalry became ascendant, only to be later replaced by infantry as their weapons improved. By the end of the period, warfare was radically changing thanks to the rise of gunpowder weapons such as the handgonne and the bombard. However, medieval military tactics adapted sharply around 1550, in response to strategy changes that had been apparent for a solid century before that. By the middle of the 15th century, artillery was knocking down castle walls that had stood for generations, while infantry were also proving their worth with powerful longbows and tight formations of polearms that upset the long dominance of mounted, heavily armored knights. Handheld firearms such as the matchlock were becoming more common and changing the face of the battlefield by making armor obsolete. New types of soldiers had to be trained and developed, and new tactics had to take into account the emerging era of black powder weapons, ushering in a time of great change in military strategy, tactics, and technology. The era of pike and shot was one of rapid development and experimentation by generals, monarchs, and regular soldiers as they came to grip with the new face of battle. It was also a rather short period; by 1700, the flintlock, a more efficient weapon than the matchlock, had become universal among European armies, and its improved accuracy and faster rate of fire made the tight pike formations obsolete.

"Ite, inflammate omnia." (Id, incendiad el mundo.")-San Ignacio de Loyola La edad media sigue siendo una de las eras m s decisivas de la civilizaci n humana. Es una era caracterizada por monarcas ilustres, valientes caballeros en brillantes armaduras y una magn fica arquitectura g tica. Es tambi n una poca que se caracteriz por su ferviente fricci n, su brutal barbaridad, frecuentes hambrunas, plagas pestilentes y, por supuesto, muerte. Algunos dicen que la tasa de mortalidad en tiempos medievales no ha sido igualada; con aproximadamente un tercio de todos los ni os muriendo antes de los cinco a os, fue casi un milagro que alguien viviera m s de cuarenta a os. Como resultado de esto, la gente del medioevo pasaba toda su vida prepar ndose para lo inevitable: la muerte y la vida del m s all , con la esperanza de que alg n d a pudieran llegar al Reino de los Cielos. La Iglesia Cat lica hizo muy poco para aliviar el temor al infierno, tema com n de los sermones predicados por severos sacerdotes a lo largo de Europa. La nica manera segura de entrar al cielo, predicaban ellos, era por medio de un amor eterno y un seguimiento de Dios, con puntos adicionales disponibles de acuerdo con las cantidades de dinero y las contribuciones que uno estuviera dispuesto a dar a la iglesia. Naturalmente, el p blico enfurecido comenz a condenar a la Iglesia Cat lica por su dilatada corrupci n y el caos que ocasionaba. Fue en este per odo de tensi n tempestuosa en que aparecer a una legendaria orden religiosa. De todos los hombres y mujeres importantes que han sido venerados durante los ltimos 2.000 a os, uno de los m s populares e influyentes hombres de fe vivi tambi n una de las vidas m s excepcionales. Como el emperador romano Constantino el Grande, san Ignacio de Loyola (1491-1556) encontr a Dios tan lejos de la iglesia como era posible; fue durante su servicio militar que experiment una extraordinaria conversi n. Un caballero espa ol que proced a de una noble familia vasca, Ignacio parec a destinado a la gloria militar hasta el momento en que fue gravemente herido en 1521 durante la Batalla de Pamplona. Mientras convalec a, Ignacio empez a leer De Vita Christi de Ludolph de Sajonia, despu s de lo cual comenz una incansable carrera al servicio de la Iglesia Cat lica. Despu s de pasar varios a os estudiando la fe, Ignacio fund la Compa a de Jes s en 1539 y, como su superior general, envi a sus seguidores como misioneros por toda Europa para que crearan escuelas, colegios y seminarios. El 27 de septiembre de 1540, el Papa Paulo proclam una bula papal en la que reconoc a la m s reciente orden religiosa de la iglesia no como la Compa a de Jes s, sino como la Sociedad de Jes s (en espa ol, sin embargo, conserv el nombre de Compa a de Jes s). Todav a es poco claro el por qu decidi cambiar el nombre. Sin embargo, hay varias posibilidades. La primera, que el Papa Paulo pudo haber querido separar el grupo, y por lo mismo la iglesia, del recuerdo a n quemante de las cruzadas. Uno de los ataques dirigidos contra la iglesia cat lica por los protestantes era que ellos hab an financiado car simos intentos de recuperar la Tierra Santa para los cristianos imponiendo a los laicos pesadas cargas financieras, especialmente mediante la venta de indulgencias. No facilitar a las cosas el crear una orden religiosa cuyo nombre recordara el accidentado pasado militar de la iglesia. Otra raz n para el cambio de nombre pudo haber sido que Paulo III deseaba ver a los miembros m s enfocados en el estudio de la teolog a y de la doctrina b blica que yendo por el mundo para convertir gente. l estaba enfrentando internamente la amenaza de serias herej as, y ten a en medio 10 hombres muy inteligentes y bien educados que pose an todas las herramientas a su disposici n para emprender una defensa bien pensada de las ense anzas tradicionales de

"G es Gracia, la Estrella Llameante es la Antorcha de la Raz n. Aquellos que poseen este conocimiento son en verdad Illuminati." - Adam Weishaupt "La palabra misma 'secreto' repugna en una sociedad libre y abierta; y nosotros como pueblo, de manera natural y a lo largo de la historia nos opusimos a las sociedades secretas, a los juramentos secretos, y a los procedimientos secretos..." - Presidente John F. Kennedy El surgimiento de sociedades secretas ha sido siempre una de las facetas m s fascinantes de la civilizaci n, un fen meno que ha estado presente desde el nacimiento de la humanidad. Incluso siglos despu s de ser fundadas, algunas de ellas contin an siendo bien conocidas, como la sociedad de los Caballeros Templarios, un grupo de guerreros armados que proced an de Tierra Santa. La Calavera y los Huesos y los Francmasones son tambi n nombres que de inmediato hacen sonar la campana. Pero de todas las sociedades secretas de la historia, la leyenda detr s de una sobrepasa al resto: los Illuminati. De las innumerables sociedades secretas que se han levantado y ca do desde la aurora de los tiempos, ninguna podr a acercarse a la notoriedad de los Illuminati. En a os recientes sobre todo, la legendaria orden ha protagonizado miles y miles de libros, art culos, documentales, pel culas, m sica y memes en internet. Es uno de los principales blancos de los especialistas en conspiraci n, al igual que la supuesta responsable de los simb licos mensajes subliminales ocultos en los medios de comunicaci n. Sin importar la veracidad detr s de cualquier teor a de la conspiraci n, no se puede negar el profundo impacto del grupo durante m s de dos siglos. Incluso aquellos que no encuentran nada impropio en la historia de los Illuminati, comprenden la importancia del misterio alrededor de todo lo que concierne a la sociedad, desde sus or genes en Baviera hasta su fundador, Adam Weishaupt, pasando por aquellos que llevaron a la sociedad a su apogeo. Numerosas teor as de conspiraci n surgidas en torno a los Illuminati, han sido desde hace mucho fuente de especulaci n, y la tendencia contin a en la actualidad. Los Illuminati: la Historia de una de las m s notorias sociedades secretas del mundo examina la verdadera historia de la influyente fraternidad, la de su creador, y la de los miembros que levantaron la estructura de la afamada sociedad. Este trabajo se pasea tambi n por el destino de los Illuminati en la edad moderna, de lo rid culo a lo desconcertante pasando por lo convincente. Junto a im genes que muestran gente, lugares, y eventos, usted aprender sobre los Illuminati como nunca antes.

La frontera entre M xico y Estados se extiende a lo largo de poco m s de doscientos a os de historia y dos mil millas de terreno, equivalentes a 3,180 kil metros. Esta l nea creada por el hombre, protagonista de una complicada historia, se ha fortalecido y solidificado con el paso de los a os. Sus significados tambi n han cambiado. En un principio era una idea, el fin aproximado e inh spito de un vasto imperio espa ol y el inicio de la "tierra de nadie". Despu s fue un trazo en un papel, una raya porosa, sin barreras f sicas, que en tiempos de paz se convirti en sitio de intercambio y cooperaci n, y en pocas de conflicto en terreno de choque no s lo de dos pueblos distintos, sino del Norte y el Sur de la geopol tica internacional. Hace dos siglos la frontera de Estados Unidos y M xico estaba formada por vastos desiertos y regiones peligrosas donde nadie quer a vivir, una l nea vagamente definida y poco vigilada. Hoy, en la segunda d cada del siglo XXI, a pesar de estar situada en uno de los h bitats m s inclementes, es la m s transitada del mundo; un pa s en s mismo considerando el volumen de operaciones econ micas que se llevan a cabo en sus proximidades, sin mencionar que se trata de una de las regiones m s vigiladas del planeta, incluso una zona de "guerra de baja intensidad", como la han denominado algunos expertos. Habr a que considerar, tan s lo para comparar, la frontera entre B lgica y Holanda, donde el cruce puede realizarse simplemente yendo de un caf a otro, sin que nadie se d cuenta cu ndo se ha cambiado de pa s. O la de Polonia y Ucrania, cuya frontera abierta est formada por hermosas planicies verdes decoradas con figuras labradas en la tierra. C mo pas la de M xico y EE. UU. -en relativamente poco tiempo- de un desierto a una franja superpoblada, violenta, din mica, boyante, culturalmente din mica, por donde pasa toda clase de mercanc as, legales e ilegales, en ambas direcciones? Curiosamente, hubo un tiempo en que los dos pa ses ni siquiera eran vecinos. Francia estaba entre ambos, en posesi n del extenso terreno de la Louisiana, donde Napole n esperaba restablecer un imperio franc s en el continente. En esa poca M xico ten a el oficial pero artificioso nombre de Nueva Espa a -aunque ya desde el siglo XVI los atlas nombraban el territorio como "Am rica Mexicana"- y Estados Unidos era un pa s aproximadamente del tama o del actual Reino Unido e Irlanda combinados. Las convulsiones en Europa pronto pusieron lado a lado a los dos pa ses m s notables del continente, los que m s dieron de qu hablar en todo el siglo XIX. Pero as como los ciudadanos normales de ambos pa ses han descubierto a lo largo de la historia buenas oportunidades en la vecindad, tambi n los grupos criminales de ambos lados han explotado este potencial, ofreciendo y demandando bienes en un intercambio perverso que hace da o a las dos naciones. Esto es en parte lo que ha llevado a la radicalizaci n de las posturas, llegando a sugerirse, en 2015, la construcci n de un nuevo muro como el de Berl n, pero inmensamente mayor, separando ya no al Este y al Oeste, sino al Norte y al Sur. La historia de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y M xico est todav a escribi ndose. sta es, hasta 2017, la pel cula de esta frontera nica; no la m s grande del mundo (la de Canad es mayor), ni la que separa a los m s ricos de los m s pobres (lejos est de la situaci n entre Sud frica y Suazilandia, por ejemplo), pero s la m s peculiar porque ha sabido unir con eficacia lo que parec a imposible conciliar.

*Includes pictures*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "While nation-states have always desired boundaries, the significance and shape of those borders have changed over time." - Rachel St. JohnThe history of the border between Mexico and the United States extends alongside 200 years and 2,000 miles - the tortuous epic of a man-made line that has not only hardened and become more solid over time, but has changed meanings too. In the beginning, it was an idea - the approximate and inhospitable edge of the vast Spanish Empire and the beginning of no man's land. Then, it was a line on paper - a porous boundary with no physical barriers. In times of peace, it was a place of trade and cooperation; in times of conflict, it was the point where two different peoples clashed, as well as the meeting of the North and South of international geopolitics. Two centuries ago, the border was formed by vast deserts and dangerous regions in which nobody wanted to live - a vaguely defined and surveyed boundary. Today, in the second decade of the 21st century, despite being located in one of the most inclement habitats in the world, it is also the world's busiest. It functions like a country in itself considering the volume of economic operations carried out across the line, not to mention being one of the most monitored regions of the planet. Some experts have even called it a low-warfare zone. Consider, for comparison's sake, the border between Belgium and the Netherlands, where crossing means going from one pub to another, and it is hardly realized when one leaves one nation or the other. Or consider the open limits of Poland and Ukraine, which consists of beautiful green pastures decorated with all kinds of art. How did the border of Mexico and the United States transition from a wilderness to an overpopulated, violent, dynamic, buoyant, culturally dynamic land in such a relatively short time, where a plethora of legal and illegal goods cross in both directions? Curiously, there was a time when the two countries were not even neighbors. France was between them, possessing the vast land of the Louisiana territory, where Napoleon wanted to establish a French empire in the Americas. At that time, Mexico had the official but artificial name of "New Spain" - misleading, since atlases from the 16th century had already named it "America Mexicana"- and the United States was approximately the size of the present-day United Kingdom and Ireland combined. The disturbances in Europe soon put the two most conspicuous countries of the continent side by side, and these two North American nations garnered the world's attention in the 19th century. Certainly not everything has been bad in the relationship between the two nations. In fact, the border has developed its own traditions, history, and personality into one not entirely Mexican or entirely American. Timothy Brown, a scholar of the frontier and globalization, correctly points out that "to most Mexicans, their northern states, with half their nation's land but only one-fifth its people, seem too American, a bit alien, vaguely un-Mexican," and likewise, "to many Americans, their own Southwest sometimes seems similarly alien and terribly Hispanic." Thus, on numerous occasions, both countries have found along the line a way of helping each other for mutual benefit. By promoting the colonization of the far north from the late 19th to the early 20th century, President Porfirio D az helped the southern United States develop a thriving agricultural economy sustained by a Mexican labor force. The United States-Mexico Border: The Controversial History and Legacy of the Boundary between America and Mexico looks at the crucial boundary. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the border like never before.

"Yo pele diariamente, sin interrupci n, contra Tajarqa, rey de Egipto y Etiop a, el maldito de todos los dioses. Cinco veces lo impact con la punta de mis flechas infligi ndole heridas de las que no se recuperar a, y entonces entabl sitio contra Menfis, su residencia real, y la conquist en medio d a con minas, brechas y escaleras de asalto." Esarhad n "Captur 46 ciudades...fusionando rampas para subir arietes...con ataques de infanter a, minas, brechas y m quinas de sitio." -Senaquerib Cuando los eruditos estudian la historia del antiguo Cercano Oriente a menudo se destacan varias guerras que tuvieron consecuencias extremadamente brutales (al menos de acuerdo con los est ndares modernos). Remoci n forzada de poblaciones enteras, sitios que diezmaron ciudades por completo y destrucci n sin sentido de la propiedad eran t cticas empleadas entre s por varios pueblos del antiguo Cercano Oriente, pero los asirios fueron los primeros en hacer de la guerra toda una ciencia. Cuando se menciona a los asirios, lo primero que viene a la mente son im genes de guerra y brutalidad, a pesar del hecho de que su cultura prosper por casi 2.000 a os. Como muchos individuos e imperios en aquella regi n, la percepci n negativa de la antigua cultura asiria ha sido transmitida a trav s de los relatos b blicos y, sin importar la precisi n de los relatos que la biblia hace de ciertos acontecimientos, los asirios ciertamente desempe aron el papel de adversarios de los israelitas. De hecho, Asiria (Sinar en la biblia) y los asirios juegan un papel importante en varios libros del Antiguo Testamento y son mencionados por primera vez en el libro del G nesis: "Y el principio de su reino fue Babel y Erek, y Acad y Calneh, en la tierra de Sinar. De aquella tierra sali Asur y construy N nive y la ciudad de Rejobot y Calaj." (G n. 10: 10-11). Aunque los relatos b blicos sobre los asirios est n entre los m s interesantes y son a menudo corroborados por otras fuentes hist ricas, los asirios eran mucho m s que simples enemigos de los israelitas y maleantes brutales. Una investigaci n hist rica de la antigua cultura asiria revela que aunque fueron los mayores guerreros de su tiempo, fueron tambi n un pueblo de excelentes comerciantes, diplom ticos y con alto nivel de alfabetizaci n que registraban muy detalladamente su historia, sus rituales religiosos y sus creencias. Los asirios, como sus otros vecinos en Mesopotamia, sab an leer y escribir y desarrollaron su propio dialecto del idioma acadio, que usaron para escribir miles de documentos en escritura cuneiforme (Kuhrt 2010, 1:84). M s a n, los asirios prosperaron por tan largo tiempo que los historiadores dividen su cultura s en los per odos "antiguo", "medio" y "neo", no obstante que los asirios mismos vieron su historia como una larga sucesi n de dirigentes desde un per odo arcaico hasta el colapso del imperio neo-asirio en el siglo 7 A. C. De hecho, las divisiones actuales han sido hechas por los eruditos modernos bas ndose en los cambios ling sticos, no en las dinast as pol ticas (van de Mieroop 2007, 179). Los asirios: Historia del m s prominente imperio del antiguo cercano oriente sigue la historia y legado de Asiria durante varios milenios. Junto con fotos de gente importante, lugares y acontecimientos, usted aprender acerca de la historia de Asiria como nunca antes y en muy poco tiempo.

*Includes pictures*Includes ancient descriptions of Attica and Athens*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading According to Herodotus, the Persians offered the Athenians an alliance in 480 BCE. The other Greek city-states (polei) were understandably concerned that the Athenians, who had proved so crucial in defeating the Persians at Salamis, might take up the offer. The Athenians, however, responded, "If we were offered all the gold in the world or the most beautiful and fertile land imaginable, we would never be willing to join our common enemy and be party to the enslavement of Greece. First there is the burning and desecration of our temples and the images of our gods which compels us to extract from the perpetrators the greatest vengeance we can rather than come to terms with them. Then there is our Greek heritage, the bond of blood and language, our holy altars and sacrifices, and our common way of life, which it would ill become Athens to betray, as long as a single Athenian survives there will be no terms with Xerxes." In this statement, Athenian attitudes toward what it meant to be Greek are clearly and eloquently articulated. The core of being Greek lay in the fact that they shared a common outlook on life, rather than a common country. To an extent, that attitude has even prevailed into modern times; the 20th century Greek monarch, for example, held the title of "King of the Hellenes" rather than "King of Hellas." What, therefore, was the role - if any - of the land itself in shaping Greek (and particularly Athenian) attitudes toward themselves and their way of life? Did the land play any significant part at all in forming Greeks and Athenians? To answer these questions, it is essential to examine the impact of climate and landscape in the region known as Attica on the creation of Greek culture. The Greek world in the Classical period is not synonymous with modern day Greece but extended far more widely and included anywhere Greek was spoken, including southern Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, the eastern coast of modern day Turkey, and the settlements along the Black Sea and the Libyan coast. By the beginning of the 8th century BCE, Greeks were scattered throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. However, despite the fantastic tales and legends that came back to the homeland, most Greeks were constrained by the need to earn a living from their farms, the consequent daily calls on their time and - most importantly - the physical barriers imposed on them by the landscape in which they lived. It is in this context that any examination of the impact on Athens, or Attica, by its geography must be viewed. The Athenian polis was contiguous with Attica, a large triangular peninsula which pushed southeastward from the Greek mainland to the Aegean Sea. The city of Athens itself lay on a coastal plain surrounded by four mountains: Hymettos, Pentelikon, Parnes, and Aigaleos. In the 5th century, the city covered an area of approximately 2 square miles surrounding the Acropolis and was defended by a wall of approximately 4 miles in length. Athens is the best known of the ancient Greek cities and, as a result, Athens and Greece are often, yet incorrectly, seen as interchangeable terms. In many ways, Athens was exceptional in comparison with its fellow Greek city-states. The Athenians boasted of being autochthonous - that is, they claimed to be the original inhabitants of Attica and argued they had not come to the area from another region. This strong identification with the region of Attica, coupled with the actual physical geography of the area, was central to the way in which Athens developed, and it provides the underlying basis for any explanation as to why Athens became so exceptional in terms of its legacy and impact upon the world.

*Includes pictures *Includes the actors' quotes about their lives and careers *Includes a bibliography for further reading Only a select few actors become international stars in their time, but none had as unique a career as Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was the first true film star, and he managed to do so even when films were still silent. He has been honored with too many awards to count, and the fact that his name remains instantly recognizable nearly a century after his first film is a testament to his influence. Even today, Chaplin's films are arguably more recognizable than those of perhaps any other actor or director; everyone is familiar with the famous "Tramp" costume and persona, and even the casual film enthusiast has likely seen films such as City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936). Chaplin is known for the singular blend of pathos and humor evinced by his films, and it is not uncommon for audiences to laugh and cry at alternate points of a Chaplin film, a trait that continues to endear audiences even to this day. For this reason, in his review of Stephen Weissman's biography of Chaplin, Martin Sieff noted, "It is doubtful any individual has every given more entertainment, pleasure, and relief to so many human beings when they needed it most." As Sieff's comment suggests, Chaplin's career coincided with the two World Wars and the Great Depression, but while Chaplin the actor was popular, Chaplin the person became controversial in the final decades of his life. In fact, there is a wide discrepancy between the almost uniformly enthusiastic praise of Chaplin today and the subversive identity he cultivated toward the latter part of his career. Although accusations of being a communist sympathizer and Chaplin's confrontation with the House Committee on Un-American Activities have mostly become a footnote in the storied career of a man best remembered as an acting pioneer, it forced Chaplin to spend the last 15 years of his career working as an artist in exile, and the shifting viewpoints of Chaplin were instrumental in forcing people to evaluate the way in which they viewed celebrities, as well as what it means to be entertained. In the 1920s, the burgeoning movie industry was starting to come into its own, and alongside actor and director Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton was at the peak of Hollywood. It's no surprise that Keaton was so effective in silent films, because he had been practicing comedy in his family's vaudeville acts as "The Little Boy Who Can't Be Damaged", becoming a popular performer by the age of 5. Indeed, his physical form of comedy, which initially involved having his father throwing him around the stage, translated well onto the screen, and some of his slapstick and other comic gags remain legendary even today, in part because Keaton practiced his own stunts. In fact, Keaton wrote his own material and was a crucial comic influence on acts like The Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges. In addition to being one of the foremost comedians of his time and writing his own stuff, Keaton also directed many of his own films, and he mastered the use of cameras at a time when film was still relatively new. As Time magazine writer Richard Corliss noted, "Watch his beautiful, compact body as it pirouettes or pretzels in tortured permutations or, even more elegantly, stands in repose as everything goes crazy around it. Watch his mind as it contemplates a hostile universe whose violent whims Buster understands, withstands and, miraculously, tames. Watch his camera taking his picture (Keaton directed or supervised all his best films); it is as cool as the star it captured in its glass... The medium was still in its infancy; comics were pioneering the craft of making people laugh at moving images. Keaton, it turns out, knew it all - intuitively."