Has Hephaestion's Grave Been Found?

Jared Leto as Hephaestion

I love history and I've read everything I can get my hands on about Alexander the Great and by extension, Hephaestion, Alexander's life long friend, second in command of the empire for a time,  and many believe Alexander's lover.  It is well documented that when Hephaestion died, Alexander was inconsolable and his mourning was extreme.  Alexander's own tomb which was in Alexandria, Egypt under the Ptolemaic dynasty, has been lost, but now some suggest that Hephaestion's tomb may have been discovered.  Discovery has details.  Here are excerpts:

A skeleton has emerged from the Alexander the Great-era tomb in Amphipolis in northern Greece, according to a news announcement by the Greek Ministry of Culture on Wednesday.

At least one archaeologist has suggested that the remains, if male, could belong to Hephaestion, a close friend and possible lover of Alexander the Great -- or someone like him.

Archaeologists led by Katerina Peristeri found the human remains in a box-shaped grave. The 10.6 by 5.1-foot limestone burial was found at about 5.3 feet beneath the floor of the third chamber in the massive tomb site.

According to Dorothy King, a classical archaeologist not involved in the excavation, . . . . noted the finding points to the deceased being someone uniquely important.  “A burial like this in a sarcophagus, a whole body rather than a box with ashes, is unusual in Macedonia,” King told Discovery News.

According to the scholar, most people who died abroad were buried in foreign land and only very important people like Alexander and Hephaestion, Alexander the Great’s close friend and possible lover, were embalmed to be returned.

“I think that if the bones are male, they are most likely to be those of someone like Hephaestion,” King wrote in her blog.

“The remains show that the sarcophagus was very elaborate and made of precious materials, as the sources say his funerary cortege was,” she added.

Hephaestion was a Macedonian nobleman and a battlefield general in the army of Alexander and was Alexander’s closest friend since childhood. The two were tutored under Aristotle.

Although more than one historian has suggested that the handsome Hephaestion had a physical relationship with his emperor, no contemporary source states that Alexander and Hephaestion were lovers.

Yet, according to Guy MacLean Rogers, professor of history at Wellesley College and the author of "Alexander: The Ambiguity of Greatness," modern sexual categories like homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual did not exist at the time.

Whatever the nature of their relationship, when Hephaestion died in Ecbatana (modern Hamadan) in western Iran in October 324 B.C., Alexander mourned his loss by shaving his own hair, not eating for days, executing Hephaestion's doctor, and commissioning an expensive funeral.

King on her blog also notes in part as follows:

I have been wondering for a while whether Hephaestion could also have been buried at Amphipolis. The size to me makes people like Nearchos unlikely, and whilst the idea that it was built for Alexander the Great is still the most likely possibility now that most other suggestions have been discarded, the one other possibility has been Hephaestion. 

Alexander the Great modeled himself on his hero Achilles, and visited his tomb at Achilleion. Achilles had Patroclus, and Alexander had Hephaestion.

Hephaestion died before Alexander, and Alexander ordered his body returned to Macedonia in an elaborate funerary cortege to be buried in a magnificent tomb there. We know that if the tomb had been started, Perdiccas cancelled work on it once Alexander died (here).

Also we know that Alexander ordered a cult to Hephaestion - not as an important god like Alexander, but still honours and so forth.

In Egypt the cult of Alexander is very well attested, and Hephaestion was often honoured alongside him.

So that's why I think that if the bones are male, they are most likely to be those of someone like Hephaestion.

Home from Vacation - First Reflections

The Grand Canal from San Marco Square on our last night.

After an arduous trip yesterday back from Venice - we were up nearly 23 hours - which was made worse by US Airways' incompetence, we are back in Hampton and I shudder at what awaits at the office since I had extreme difficulty accessing my office e-mail while traveling.  I'd be lying if I said I was happy to be home.  If nothing else, foreign travel always highlights in my mind the many deficiencies of living in Virginia.  Going to Europe also always underscores the idiocy and unwarranted arrogance of far too many "red state" Americans, not too mention that Americans seem to be the most obese among traveling tourists.  Having some scored some great clothing purchases, one friend on the trip teased me that I was trying to look "European" - my response was why not?  With some of the "ugly Americans" to be seen, who would want to be numbered among them.

Besides reading the book "Zealot" on the trip, I also finished reading "Facing East from Indian Country," which recounts America's ugly history of lies, broken treaties, and outright genocide against America's original inhabitants.  Not surprisingly, in addition to the greed that motivated the quest to "remove" Indians from their lands, good old Christianity helped convince far too many whites that annihilating the Indians was a godly thing.  Combined with being out of the USA in generally enlightened locales, this book doesn't make one overly proud to be America.

I will get over the post-vacation funk and be posting more photos and giving further thoughts and reflections.  Here are a few photos:

An amazing room in the Dodge's Palace

The amazing Hermes by by Praxiteles in Olympia, Greece

Model of the site of the Olympic Games during Classical times

The dying Achilles - Corfu, Greece

Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge after dinner

Vacation/Cruise - Last Day at Sea

Full moon over Santorini as the ship pulled out headed for Mykonos

We had a wonderful time in Olympia, Greece and are enjoying a day at sea as we return to Venice.  All too typically, I had to review/revise/comment on documents for a client this morning.  With the truly terrible satellite Internet aboard the Norwegian Jade - I love the ship otherwise - keeping up with the office has been a major chore. 

As a lover of history, especially the Greco-Roman era, being in Olympia and walking the sacred sites to Zeus and Hera as well as the facilities for the Olympic Games was truly a dream come true.  The husband was totally caught up in the history of the place as well.  As has occurred other times when I have traveled in Europe, I have been struck by what arrogant upstarts many Americans must seem to Europeans.  America has existed for less than 300 years.  The Olympic Games began in 776 B.C.E. and continued until 393 A.D. 

I will have more post once we are back in Venice with decent Internet.

CRUISE/VACATION - DAY 3 AND 4: SANTORINI AND MYKONOS

Town of Thira on Santorini with a tender that we used to go ashore in the foreground

Other than the annoyance of incredibly bad satellite Internet service (which is why I am not posting much news/political commentary) and the need to check my office e-mail daily and field questions and keep various client matters moving, the vacation continues to be wonderful. 

View from our dinner table

Yesterday, we spent the day and part of the evening in Santorini.  The island is spectacular (as the photos reveal) but I will confess that my fear of heights forced me to climb the 2500 stairs up to the main town of Thira rather than take the "tram" which could be described as a ski lift from Hell.  Once at the top of cliff overlooking the ancient volcano caldera and in town, we had a wonderful time sightseeing, shopping and having dinner at an amazing restaurant overlooking the main harbor where our cruise ship was at anchor.  The view was stunning, as was the sunset that we were able to watch as we dined.

Sunset approaches on Santorini

Today, we spent the day in Mykonos and after sightseeing in the old town we went to the beach at Elias Beach - one of the gay beaches on the south side of the island. While waiting to catch the bus to the beach, we met a very nice gay couple from Milan, Italy who are currently working in Berlin.  Later, we met a nice gay couple from Los Angeles.  Aboard ship, we have also met nice couples from Australia and other parts of the USA.  

Elias Beach - Mykonos, Greece

As a lover of history and ancient Greece, the trip has been a dream come true.  Tomorrow, we will be in Olympia, original site of the Olympic Games, and also tour what is reportedly a great archeology museum near the site of the original Olympic Games.

Satellite Internet permitting, I may try to post a couple of political/current events posts.  Time will tell whether or not I will be successful.  

Aboard the Norwegian Jade - Corfu 9/8/2014

Yours truly - Sunday evening

Yesterday's [Sunday's]day at sea was relaxing although last evening we had the distressing news that someone had tried to break into our home while the house sitter was out.  A back door was kicked in, but fortunately, the alarm system went off and must have scared the thieves away.  Other than the damage to the door, nothing was stolen or damaged.  A contractor will be replacing the door with a much more break in proof door. 

West coast of Corfu

Today we spent a wonderful day on Corfu on the northwest coast of Greece.  First we visited a monastery founded in 1220 on the west coast of the island on a high peak (the photo above is a sample of the view).  Next we visited a palace built by Elizabeth, Empress of Austria (she was on the throne when my father's parents live in Austria before emigrating to America).  Our last stop was in the old town area of the town of Corfu which dates from when the island was a part of Venice empire. 

Old fortress - Corfu

NOTE: I apologize for the low level of posting, but the satellite Internet aboard the ship is horribly slow and it is very, very difficult to upload  photos.  In fact, I could not get any posts to load yesterday.

Anti-Gay Pastor Equates Gays to Child Molesters, Cannibals,and Rapists

There are times that the hideousness and undisguised animus of the self-styled "godly Christian" set is simply numbing and shocks the conscience.  Or at least the consciences of decent moral people.  And it is clear that this animus goes far beyond a mere statement of religious belief.  Indeed, the desire to encourage attacks on and crimes against LGBT citizens is almost palpable.   And like it or not, because of the refusal of what I refer to as the "good Christians" who cower in silence rather than upset the sensibilities of bigots within their denominations, the hate merchants have become the public face of Christianity.  It is no wonder that the younger generations are walking away from institutional Christianity when despicable levels of hate and bigotry seem to be the only visible attributes of the faith.  An anti-gay pastor in Colorado (pictured above left) has once again highlighted what is fast becoming the predominant public face of Christianity in America.  KOAA.com has coverage of the virulent hate being preached from pulpits in El Paso County, Colorado.  Here are highlights:

A local pastor is causing a national stir equating homosexuals to cannibals, child molesters, rapists, and murderers. Pastor David Beuhner of Christ the King Church in northern El Paso County is calling for discrimination against the gay community as state lawmakers revisit marriage equality this session.

"If we embrace homosexuality, we'll destroy society, we'll destroy families, we'll destroy everything. It's not just that God hates homosexuals, there's a reason why he hates it." That's the line causing national outrage from the LGBT community; Pastor David Beuhner took to the airwaves early this month on his radio show 'Generations' in what he says is a last-ditch effort to save our society from falling off the moral cliff.

"If you break natural laws-- you say you don't believe in gravity, you jump off a building, you're gonna die. Homosexuality has consequences and God designed those consequences," Beuhner told News 5's Jacqui Heinrich in an exclusive interview explaining his on-air remarks.

As the Colorado legislature reopens the issue of marriage equality this session, Beuhner is speaking out not just against civil unions, but calling for discrimination against gays, equating them to cannibals, rapists, and child molesters. "The word of god is quite clear. He's destroyed every culture that has embraced homosexuality. The sin is similar to that of cannibalism and child molestation in the sense that it's a sin against society," Beuhner said. "I'm calling for discrimination against adulterers, rapists, murderers, homosexuals. Yes, we must discriminate as a society."

"God's law to the civil magistrate in terms of homosexuality says you should remove the abomination from the land, so that's God's instruction to the people who work up in the capitol who make our laws. That's what they're going to be held accountable for," he said.

Can't you just feel the "love"?  And Beuhner not only proves that he's an asshole and a bigot, but he also shows himself to be an ignorant ass as well when he repeats the Christofascist canard that God has "destroyed every culture that embraced homosexuality."   As this blog has noted before, one of the factors that destroyed the western Roman Empire - most likely the culture Beuhner was referring to -  was Christianity and the Church, not the gays.  And ridiculousness of his claims become even more clear when one considers that the Classical Greek/Roman period lasted five (5) times longer than the period that the United States has existed or the fact that the Persian Empire (before the rise of Islam) lasted over 1,200 years.  And that's just the beginning of the empires that accepted homosexuality.   If one looks at China, which may soon eclipse America, the various dynasties of imperial China lasted over 3,900 years (see the image below) versus America's paltry 237 years of existence.  Not surprisingly, Beuhner's church views the Bible as follows:

We acknowledge the Bible, which includes all sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, to be the infallible and inerrant Word of God, sufficient for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Beuhner is an ignorant, bigoted ass and one wonders how his knuckles are a bloody mess dragging on the ground as they must.  Yet his kind of thinking passes for intelligent discourse in today's GOP.  If Christianity is not going to be fated to ultimately die, the "good Christians" need to directly challenge the Beuhners of the world and stop their hijacking of the faith.

Young men sipping tea and having sex. Individual panel from a hand scroll on homosexual themes, paint on silk; China, Qing Dynasty (eighteenth to nineteenth centuries); Kinsey Institute, Bloomington, Indiana, United States

Was Rome Felled by Gays or Christianity?

One of the often repeated mantras of many Christianists, including loons at Focus on the Family, Family Research Council among others (not to mention their political whores in the GOP), is that the acceptance of homosexuality caused the fall of the Roman Empire. Some would also extend this allegation Ancient Greece as well. Never mind the fact that Ancient Greece reached the pinnacle of its power under Alexander the Great who had a documented male lover. Lies and ignorance are sadly synonymous with Christianists and more and more Republicans. For me, when someone makes this unfounded statement, it is prima facie proof of their utter ignorance of accurate history and, moreover, their utter unfitness to hold any elected office. They are simply too plain ignorant and stupid.
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The ultimate irony is that if anything contributed to the fall of the western Roman Empire it was the rise of Christianity. Not an acceptance of homosexuality or other types of sexual license for that matter. Indeed, the curriculum in one history course at Utah State University - not exactly what one would call an effete liberal university - has this to say about sexual morality and the fall of Rome:

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Rome did not fall because of the distractions pursuant to sexual indulgence. Given the universality of Christianity which the Romans had adopted as their exclusive religion by then, the conduct of those living in the fifth century after Christ was relatively sober. Indeed, if the data point to any venereal villains across the great expanse of Roman history, it is the Julio-Claudians who oversaw the height of Roman power in the first century CE and were truly perpetrators of immorality at large. So, to make an argument relating sexual behavior to Rome's "fall"—and to judge it fairly from the historical evidence—involves the ludicrous conclusion that the erotic felonies of a Caligula or Nero, in fact, sustained Rome's triumph, instead of corroding it at its core. That suggests that, to prevent the collapse of their society, the Romans should have kept the orgies up, so to speak, which is patently ridiculous. Simply put, sex—reproduction maybe, but not sex!— had little or nothing to do with the troubles that brought the Romans to their collective knees in later antiquity.
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A column in the Chicago Sun-Times looked at this issue last December, in fact, after Illinois Rep. Ronald Stephens on the House floor blamed "open homosexuality" for the fall of Rome. True to form, Stephens is a Republican who was parroting some bullshit provided to him by some Christianist activist (it definitely sounds like the lies put out routinely by The Family Foundation here in Virginia). Here are highlights from the Sun-times column that took Rep. Stephens to task:
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"If you look at the sociological history of societies that have failed," said Stephens (R-Greenville), "what are some of the commonalities - One of those is that open homosexuality becomes accepted." A common idea: Mighty Rome toppled because it allowed those light in the togas to prance unchallenged through the Forum. We're on our way to ruin, too, not because of ascendant China or a collapse of political discourse, but because we allow gays and lesbians to live their lives with only moderate harassment.
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That's funny. Not ha-ha funny, but ironic funny, and demands we shine a light down this well of ignorance. First, the Roman Empire -- even lopping off the first 700 years, from Rome's founding to Julius Caesar -- lasted 500 years. We should only fall so quickly.
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If tolerance didn't topple Rome, what did - Let us consult Edward Gibbon, whose classic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire isn't read in high schools, at least not Downstate, apparently, the way it once was. Gibbon puts the blame -- and this really is too delicious -- not on homosexuality, but on Christianity, which he says made the Roman population more worried about their place in heaven than about barbarians at the gate. "I have described the triumph of barbarism and religion," Gibbon concludes, famously, in his epigram.
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To top it off, the Huns, unlike Rome's Christian emperors, were not on the anti-gay bandwagon, but practiced a warrior homosexuality, according to some scholars (evidence is fragmentary; it isn't as if some Vandal penned a Teutonic Tales the City).
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To fault Ancient Rome for coddling gays is like blaming the Nazis for bad civic art.
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Admittedly, the Sun-Times column rightfully makes fun of Rep. Stephens and his Neanderthal constituents who elected him to office. But it does speak the truth as to Gibbons' conclusions which are elaborated upon in a piece written by the late Arnaldo Momigliano, an Italian historian who taught at Oxford, the University of Chicago and University College in London. for many years. The piece was published in the Oxford Press nearly 50 years ago, so the thesis is not something new (neither are Gibbons' conclusions). Here are some highlights:
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[T]here is a direct relation between the triumph of Christianity and the decline of the Roman empire. But, of course, it will not be a simple return to Gibbon. What Gibbon saw as a merely destructive power must be understood on its own terms of Civitas dei - a new comonwealth of men for men. Christianity produced a new style of life, created new loyalties, gave people new ambitions and new satisfactions. So far nobody has written a realistic evaluation of the impact of Christianity on the structure of pagan society. I shall not attempt such a task here. I shall confine myself to a few elementary remarks on the impact of Christianity on political life between the fourth and the sixth centuries A.D. We all know the basic facts.
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The fact that the aristocracy played a role of increasing importance in the affairs of the Church is only one aspect of what is perhaps the central feature of the fourth century: the emergence of the Church as an organization completing with the State itself and becoming attractive to educated and influential persons.
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The State, though trying to regiment everything, was not able to prevent or suppress the competition of the Church. A man could in fact escape from the authority of the State if he embraced the Church. If he liked power he would soon discover that there was more power to be found in the Church than in the State.
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Gibbon was simplifying a very complicated issue when he insinuated that Christianity was responsible for the fall of the empire, But he perceived that the church attracted many men who in the past would have become excellent generals, governors of provinces, advisers to the emperors.
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Moreover, the Church made ordinary people proud, not of their old political institutions, but of their new churches, monasteries, ecclesiastical charities. Money which would have gone to the building of a theatre or of an aqueduct now went to the building of churches and monasteries. The social equilibrium changed - to the advantage of the spiritual and physical conditions of monks and priests, but to the disadvantage of the ancient institutions of the empire.
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When Alaric captured Rome in 410 many people asked themselves whether the ruin of Rome was not the sign that Christianity was bad for the empire. The Christian answer to these doubts prevailed.
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[T]he conclusion remains that while the political organization of the empire became increasingly rigid, unimaginative, and unsuccessful, the Church was mobile and resilient and provided space for those whom the State was unable to absorb. The bishops were the centres of large voluntary organizations. They founded and controlled charitable institutions. They defended their flocks against the state officials. When the military situation of the empire grew worse, they often organized armed resistance against the barbarians. It seems to me impossible to deny that the prosperity of the Church was both a consequence and a cause of the decline of the state.
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People escaped from the state into the Church and weakened that state by giving their best to the Church. This is a situation which in its turn requires analysis and explanation. But its primary importance cannot be overlooked. The best men were working for the Church, not for the state.
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Monasticism is the most obvious example of the way in which Christianity built something of its own which undermined the military and political structure of the Roman empire. . . . in the West, after having contributed to the weakening of the empire, the Church inclined to accept collaboration with the barbarians and even replacement of the Roman authorities by barbarian leaders. In the East (with the partial exception of Alexandria) the Church appreciated the military strength of the Roman state and the loyalties it commanded.

Same Sex Love on the Battlefield

As a history major and one who has read countless books on ancient history, I always find it ridiculous that the opponents of DADT act as if gay service members can't be phenomenal soldiers. I have several friends who were formerly in the special forces units of the military who are anything but the effeminate males the gay bashers like the mostly likely closeted Tony Perkins and Robert Knight so like to whine about. The situation is made even more ironic that among the battles often studied in military schools are those fought and won by Alexander the Great. But Alexander was hardly the only fierce warrior from the distant past - Hadrian is another prime example. And then there's Julius Caesar who reportedly played for both teams. Every time the Christianists rant about gays in the military, they demonstrate their utter ignorance of historic fact. A piece on The Smart Set looks at the REAL story. Here are some highlights:
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[A]ccording to Paul Cartledge, professor of Classics at Cambridge University, the film [Oliver Stone's movie, Alexander] is actually very coy about Alexander’s busy homoerotic life: There is no real doubt that he took a young Persian eunuch named Bagoas as his lover in Babylon, and that at the height of his power he was still carrying on a torrid affair with his studly childhood sweetheart, Hephestaion. On the other hand, we also know that Alexander sired at least one son — with his wife, the lovely Afghani princess Roxanne — and that he maintained a bevy of voluptuous mistresses as he stormed his way across the Middle East.
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In ancient times, as we have seen, there were no separate categories for “homosexual,” “bisexual,” or “heterosexual.” All men were expected to marry one woman and have children for the good of society, but this was a dull, business-like arrangement; husbands would not even kiss their wives in public. When they were feeling romantic, they would head to the gymnasiums and fall passionately in love with downy-cheeked boys, emulating the randy gods and heroes of Greek myths. (Even the ultimate he-man Hercules went through dozens of boyfriends and enjoyed a phase as a cross-dresser). “Men were not castigated for sex with other men,” says Cartledge
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Grown men could have their way with adolescent boys up to the age of 16 or so; it was even part of a Greek boy’s education, as the older lovers would “mentor” them in the finer aspects of art and philosophy, while their fathers looked on with approval. But adults had to keep their hands off other grown men. The question of who was the active and who the passive partner was crucial; the older, socially superior male could give but not receive.
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SOURCE/FURTHER READING: Aldrich, Robert (ed.), Gay Life and Culture: A World History (New York, 2006); Cartledge, Paul, Alexander the Great, (New York, 2004).

Pat Robertson Proves He's an Ignorant Ass Yet Again

Local embarrassment and Christo-fascist Pat Robertson proves once again that he's a total bigoted ass and that he apparently needs to take some history classes so that he can stop telling the popular Christianist lie that gays have destroyed previous nations. He's likely referring to the fall of Rome and interestingly enough some historians cite the rise of Christianity as one reason Rome fell - along with political instability due to a lack of a succession plan for emperors, too high of tax burden and the Roman army becoming too dependent on mercenaries. Here's his quote via Towleroad:

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"A month to celebrate gay, lesbian, transgender pride month? Somebody's proud of being transgendered? It's a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of our population. One to two percent has this particular orientation, yet they dominate the news. It's just smiply amazing. Any country that openly embraces homosexuality throughout the history of mankind has gone down into ruin. Thats history. Thats the historical record. Whatever nation embraces this so-called lifestyle, it ends up in the garbage heap of history. So, lets watch what happens."

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Here's Queerity's take on this idiotic statement:

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Listening to Pat Robertson talk about the role of gays in America sounds like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking about, well, gays in America: They're the reason we're in such despair!

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Robertson says that "any country that openly embraces homosexuality through the history of mankind has gone down into ruin. That's the historical record." Surely he must mean ancient Egypt, and the Romans and the Greeks, which all "embraced" same-sex relationships to some degree? And by that logic, any country that embraced, say, agriculture, technology, and art all went down in ruin, so PLEASE KNOCK THAT OFF, America.

A Distortion of History

Spokesmen of the Christian Right, including Robert Knight who I referenced in a prior post, like to parrot as one of their anti-gay talking points that “every society that has embraced homosexuality has fallen.” Without specifically naming Classical Greece and Rome, obviously these societies are among the societies the Christianists have in mind. Of course the reality, when one actually knows history, is far different. Classical Greece fell to the superior military power of Alexander the Great of Macedon, who adopted Greek culture and whose empire went on to be the basis for Hellenistic culture that survived for centuries. In the case of Rome, the fall had nothing to do with homosexuality. Here’s a brief overview of why Rome really fell:

Fall of Western Roman Empire: Too disorganized to stop invasions; City of Rome's population dropped from 1 million to 20,000; 455 AD - Gaiseric led Vandals, sacked Rome; Germans fought each other for territory; Visigoths controlled Spain; Vandals controlled North Africa; Ostrogoths controlled Italy; Saxons controlled Britannia; Romulus Augustus - last emperor; 14 years old; deposed in 476 by German General Odoacer, signaling the fall of Western Empire

Byzantine (Eastern) Empire - flourished while Western Empire Fell: The
Eastern empire ruled from Constantinople; saw selves as heirs to Augustus' power; preserved Greek/Roman culture until 1453 fall to the Ottoman Empire

Causes of fall of the Western Empire:
**Political - no longer an honor to be emperor, military interferences in politics, civil war and unrest, division of empire, capital moved to Byzantine

**Social - lack of political interest, low confidence in empire, lack of patriotism, contrast between rich/poor
**Economic - poor harvests, trade disruption, no war plunder, less gold/silver, inflation, tax burden, widening gap between rich/poor
**Military - threat from N European tries, low defense funds, non-romans being recruited into the army, lack of patriotism; pressure from Huns, German/Hun invasion, sack of Rome, conquest by the invaders.

Thus, the Greek and Roman culture prevailed from Classical Greece, beginning in about 500 B.C. to the fall of Byzantium in 1453 A. D. Meanwhile, the USA has existed for a mere 231 years. Just another example of how lack of education and a knowledge of history are the Christianists' best allies.