#68 Su (8/28/22) - [OW] notes on history, Troy, Ninevah and Joseon

I have been reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller lately.  I discovered she has written another novel, CIRCE, at least since that first one.  It is remarkable that for 800 years, the epic of Troy was THE (Western anyway) World Literature, despite not even being written down. It formed the basis of Western Civilization, in large part. It blends history and myth with a foundation tale and set the imprint for heroic action, virtue and morality that governed the Hellenic world for hundreds of years.

I have been re-watching Rookie Historian Goo on Netflix. It is amazing to watch court historians portrayed in such a positive light. Should also check out the Sungkyunkwan Scandal show.  Much of the story hinges on the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty and the Office of Royal Decrees, (Yemun-gwan):

During the reign of a king, professional historiographers maintained extensive records on national affairs and the activities of the state. They collected documents and wrote daily accounts that included state affairs as well as diplomatic affairs, the economy, religion, meteorological phenomena, the arts, and daily life, among other things. These daily accounts became the Sacho ("Draft History"). Great care was taken to ensure the neutrality of the historiographers, who were also officials with legal guarantees of independence. Nobody was allowed to read the Sacho, not even the king, and any historiographer who disclosed its contents or changed the content could be punished with beheading. These strict regulations lend great credibility to these records. (from wiki).

Reading more about the Neo-Assyrian Empire that Nahum was talking about in the Judgment Against Ninevah. The first modern, world-spanning empire. By modern, meaning used extensive bureaucracy and record-keeping, as well as organized rapid message traffic with state roads and relay stations. Conquered Egypt and all of the near east and ruled for hundreds of years.

Sardanapalus was an apocryphal Assyrian king, the last perhaps, invented by Ctesius of Cnidius, a Greek physician at the court of Artaxerxes II (404-358 BC). The fall of Ninevah was 612 BC. The character of Sardanapalus became a byword for decadence and dissipation and was very popular among the Romantics. Turned into an opera by Lord Byron and a famous painting by Delecroix. The name possibly derived from Assurbanibal, who was likely very different from the caricature presented. The work, Persica, by Ctesius, now lost, was cited, quoted at a length of 29 lines in Diodorus Siculus. Apparently Ctesius was very much at odds with Herodotus who he disparaged and called an 'inventor of fables.'

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