What Is It Really?

History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.
- Napolean Bonaparte

I have actually often wondered at this, what exactly it is that makes us believe that what we are being taught it the truth. For us there are certain portions of history we are sure about, the ones of the more recent centuries that have written evidence and photographs. However, as we move further back - all the way back to Alexander, to Aristotle, to Rome and to Egypt - how do we know that the common belief of what has occurred is factual? We have bits and pieces, small writings or larger pieces written by people during that period but there is no true way of knowing the truth in these documents. Yes, we have artifacts but sometimes what we perceive has occurred is not what has actually happened. Napolean voiced this wonder, history is what has been generally agreed upon as most probable. Makes you wonder.

The Role of History

"What Herodotus the Halicarnassian has learnt by inquiry is here set forth: in order that so the memory of the past may not be blotted out from among men by time, and that great and marvellous deeds done by Greeks and foreigners and especially the reason why they warred against each other may not lack renown."

-Persian Wars, Herodotus

"Obviously, then, history is a social necessity. It gives us our identity. It helps us to find our bearings in an ever more complex present, providing us with a navigators chart by which we may to some degree orient ourselves...It helps us to find the particular example, to see the uniqueness in a past age or past even, while also helping us to see how the particular and the unique contribute to the general."

-The Ancient Mediterranean World

History

"History is written by the victors."

-Winston Churchill

The Ancient Greeks shaped the realities we currently live within. As one of the first civilizations, they were victorious in becoming pioneers of communication, philosophy, battle strategies, culture, art - including pottery and architecture among several others - and most famously known, their forms of government using democracy.
All of these things live on to this day. We use the English language which originated from Greek. We hear the words of their philosophers on a day-to-day basis and apply them to guide us through the obstacles of modern life. The ingenius ways they fought battles can be used in today's wars and their culture lives through the Olympics and mythical stories they told that can still teach us many of the same lessons. We can drive around our own communities and see the same methods of architecture - pillars, columns. And finally, their invention of democracy gives us the opportunity to live a free life without letting the government take away our ability to voice the way we think our society should be run. With the right to vote, we can't be led by tyrants and justice is allowed for all.
Each and every one of these contributions to our ways of life the Greeks have given us can be considered a victory on their behalves, therefore allowing them to be remembered for the rest of eternity.

Thanks for butting in Peace...

"Peace was an interruption of war" ~ Interviewee, An Empire Special: The Greeks, Crucible of Civilization

For the states surrounding Greece, and some of Greece itself, this statement remains true. Peace, was an interruption of war; when the cultures were at peace with one another, they were being interrupted. Specifically this can be said for Sparta. Their society; brought up to be soldiers, and militarily governed, the Spartans were all about war. Physically being the strongest military in the whole of the Greek region, Sparta was victorious in the battles they took part in. Since they lived purely on conflict and battle, it can be said that their society was at a stand still when there were no military acts or conflicts to engage in. Therefore, peace was an interruption of war.

Remember the past, it will help your future

"Those who can not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."
-- George Santayana

The truth to this quote is quite evident since in history, time and time again have events been known to repeat themselves. A great example of this is war because of land disputes and disagreement of ideals. This could include native's fighting for their land or free Greeks vs Persian slaves.
This can be translated to modern examples such as Bush invading Iraq. Some say he wanted oil, and others say he doesn't like the way they act; a culture disagreement. Either way, in the past this has been known to cause a negative impact on the world. It is part of being an American to have a reputation of believing that they're better than every other nation on the world however, that can make them seem like an adolescent. Clearly if they look at their past and realize what their forefathers had done to create a free country, continuing to fight seems a little counter productive and only makes people more angry.
Really, respecting the outcomes of events of the past can make a large impact on the future. Problems that still exist such as in a school environment, outdated teaching styles and VHS tapes in class are always complained about. The complaining could be expelled if the school had looked at the past and realised that students have always been complaining about something. That would mean a more up to date school with happier students and that results in a more efficient learning system. So all in all, let's not forget what the world has already seen when we try to be something in the future.

"The World's Original Sin."

"Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the cave-man had known how to laugh, History would have been different."
-Oscar Wilde, "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

The Nature of Genius

"Genius must burst on the ordinary air, native and untaught, and it must instantly convert all those who behold it."

-J. Bronowski and B. Mazlish

The Western Intellectual Tradition

"Ignorant Shepherds"

"[Allan] Bloom's book [The Closing of the American Mind] is a profound book, full of rewards to the attentive reader because of the richness of his thought and the clarity, energy, and wit of his writing. Near the end he offers a poignant metaphor of where we now stand in relation to the great tradition of human learning:

'We are like ignorant shepherds living on a site where great civilizations once flourished. The shepherds play with the fragments that pop up to the surface, having no notion of the beautiful structures of which they were once a part. All that is necessary is a careful excavation to provide them with life-enhancing models.'"

from Robert Nielsen's essay/book review, "The Closing of the (North) American Mind"

On Tradition...

"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about."

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
English author & mystery novelist (1874 - 1936)

Who writes history?

"Great nations write autobiographies in three manuscripts, the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art." - John Ruskin, English critic.

from The Ancient Mediterranean World, page xii, paragraph 1.

This is an interesting quote to me because of the question of history's reliability: would history books teach us the same thing about Hitler and the Nazis had they not lost the second world war?

Also, art and books can be historically censored, much like they were in the time of the Nazis. What history books tell us are all that our ancestors CHOSE to pass on to us.

History as Story

“History is a narrative, a story; history is concerned foremost with major themes, even as it recognizes the significance of many fascinating digressions. Because history is largely about how and why people behave as they do, it is also about patterns of thought and belief. Ultimately, history is about what people believe to be true…”

Robin W. Winks “Preface” The Ancient Mediterranean World