> --- Goihl & Fahey <goihlk_at_z...> wrote:
> > From: Mark Galeotti
> > >For most people 'like the ancient Persians' means
> > nothing, so it is a useless comparison;
> > Really! But same with Romans then.
> Hardly. Everyone knows about the Romans from school,
> and from TV, films, etc. Ancient Persians? Nothing.
> School doesn't touch it, a couple of historical films
> have them as "the enemy".
You're relying on school education? We'd be lost, then...
Here's a good read on ancient Persia and Egypt during the Persian dynasty:
http://www.lspraguedecamp.com/works/work.asp?id=142
> > Most people know
> > very little, and that mostly wrong, so that'd be a
> > useless analogy.
> So what if it's wrong? As long as its a clear,
> consistent image, that's all we need. Cavemen hunting
> dinosaurs comes in the same category: yes, it's wrong,
> but we all have the same image, we all know the
> heroine's wearing a fur bikini.
Hollywood manages to bring bikinis everywhere (remember that woad outfit in "King Arthur"?). I wonder how they would dress Minoan Age women, though...
> > With Persians, people might actually study up on
> > that to get more into it,
> No, that's missing the entire point. If they were
> willing to read up anything, they'd be reading up
> *Lunars*. The whole point of using the analogy in the
> first place is to get the description across in under
> 10 seconds with no reading necessary.
I disagree. The point of using the analogy is to hyperlink lots of trivia someone who learned things about the analogy which cannot be spelled out in the few publications on Lunars.
How does the Lunar mansion in Nymie Vale look like? Take a Roman Villa in Danubian Germany.
What is the beard style in Dara Happa? Oiled ringlets, as shown in Mesopotamian reliefs. Certainly not the military Roman haircut and clean shave...
What's up for snacks in a Lunar amphitheatre? Life of Brian time.
Trivia, rather than the basic culture.
(and bikinis ought to be chainmail, anywhere...)
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