Would Stonehenge survive a thermonuclear attack? The intense heat of a direct hit would certainly be hot enough to melt solid rock, but Salisbury Plain is not a key military target. It’s probably far enough out of the way to avoid the most severe consequences. It would be unaffected by the ensuing gale force winds
Like a lot of others, I love Lord of the Rings. The plot revolves around the incredible lure of the ring. It is evil but almost irresistible. Its offers temptation tailored to the particular individual’s desires. Amazingly Tolkien came up with this notion without the inspiration of the internet. The web offers so many ways
With Caracalla dead, there was only one authority that could make an emperor, the army. Chance had it that most of the troops were gathered in Syria, so it was there and nowhere else that matters would be decided.
(Thanks to Wikipedia for the image of Caracalla and Geta 1907 by Lawrence Alma-Tadema) Mothers like their children to do well, and jobs don’t come much better than being emperor of Rome. Both Julia Damna’s sons became emperor. It would have been perfect if only they hadn’t been emperor at the same time. Or if
Us humans pride ourselves on our intelligence. We certainly use our brains differently to all other animals, often in unusual and surprising ways. Does being clever make it likely that human beings as a species will survive for a long time? Far from it, Chomsky suggests.
Severus had two sons, Caracalla and Geta. Their mother was his second wife, Julia Domna. She was a great beauty and also a friend and patron of artists and writers. She wasn’t the kind of woman I would have picked out for the soul mate of a dour professional soldier. And maybe she wasn’t.