Napoleon famously always asked if someone was lucky when considering promoting them.  It is certainly the case that luck plays a big part in what historical figures achieve and an even bigger part in determining their future reputations.  President Obama for instance was extremely lucky to be black at just the time this was no

Gregory of Nazianzus has an enviable reputation among the leading lights of church history.  But it his ideas and writings that are remembered.  His actual achievements in the real world are less impressive.  His biggest one, his appointment as bishop of Constantinople by Theodosius – probably the top job in Christianity at the time –

Theodosius as a new emperor wanted to bring an end to the religious in-fighting that was weakening the empire, particularly that between the Arians and the Orthodox.  Theodosius came from a part of the empire where Arianism hadn’t really penetrated, and so presumably was a believer in the orthodox form.   Whatever his personal convictions,

All art involves distortion and recreation. Myths and legends take this to a high degree, with multiple versions of the same story that often vary wildly in details. So it is justified to come up with a new take on an old tale. Is it also justifiable to treat myths as a grab bag of

The big political theme of my life has been the rise of free market values and the decline of collectivism.  When I was first old enough to be aware of what was going on politically, in the seventies, the state played a big role in things.  It would intervene and manage things quite extensively.  The