If you could live the remainder of your life in a time and place of our global past ...where and when would you live it and most importantly - WHY?

Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 18^th, 2017 at 10:18pm:



dear Lisa,
they were barbaric times:

women stoned to death for adultery,
people crucified for stealing a loaf of bread.

It must have been awful.

My fascination with history started very early in life, and it was focused on the 19th Century from my perspective in the 20th. As I became more familiar with the past, I was understanding the present. And from there, my interest has worked backwards into Antiquity. That is the way I believe History should be taught. Starting from ancient times is disjointed and not easily related to the present.
Every era has had its special moments, but I would not want to live in any of them unless I could do so on my terms, and that would require a particularly considerate form of providence. 

Jasin wrote on Sep 19^th, 2017 at 10:00am:


The problem is that I see the past from the years I have lived through. I suppose the great age of exploration will always be a favourite subject, but if I could travel in time, I would probably find my take was wrong. That being said, I am one of those annoying people who cannot sit through a period movie without picking it to pieces. I especially dislike movie horses which are all expensive-looking and well-bred.

If I had a time and place.
I would like to live around the era of when Sapiens were first moving into the nicely forested Middle-East that was inhabited by Neanderthals.
Not only would the environment and wildlife be pretty fantastic. Life would be essentially 'pure'.
I would find it fascinating to experience the coming of two peoples. One that is newly emerging. The other, older and soon to slowly fade away. Even then, there would be other Homonid species still existing, from times before the Neanderthal.
Time itself, would be almost still with hardly anything but the seasons of change.
Lions, Elephants, etc - still in Europe.
I would be at an advantage to stay alive with added technological advancements in my pocket - like making better tools, weapons, shelter, etc.
A relaxing 'simple' lifestyle.

But if I was to aim for something more challenging.
Then I would wish to suddenly appear on a Greek Trireme during the Battle of Salamis and partake of history being made.

I have always had a fascination with the 19th century, particularly the later half. Of course, if one were to go back, it just would not do to be a factory hand or estate serf. That being said, being alive at that time would have been almost unlimited in opportunity.

To be twenty, say, in 1860. You could travel a world whose boundaries were only defined by the depths of your pocket, Darwin had just published his theory on evolution, to travel from London to Rome in 1843 took 21 weary days - in 1860 it took 2.5 days, 68 million tons of coal was raised in Britain in 1859, the American Civil war broke out in 1861 - the same year Custer fought at Bull Run, the Australian gold rush began in 1851 when we had a population of 649,000 - in 1861 we had 1.16m, the Overland Telegraph was completed in 1872, the first oil well was drilled in 1859. The Eureka Stockade incident took place in 1854, when Ned Kelly was born, slaves were still being sold in America in 1858, medicine was advancing in leaps and bounds, 'science' was a term not yet coined.

A time of tremendous changes, with little in the way of personal restrictions and tremendous opportunities for the taking.

Interesting times.

issuevoter wrote on Sep 19^th, 2017 at 9:45pm:


I agree Issuevoter. The Greece of today looks like a deforested and devoured landscape stripped clean of plant and soil. Even the waters look nice and blue clean ...but devoid of life. Over-fished and sterile.

Shame humanity doesn't know how to 'stop' - let alone say "no".