from Moonbattery: Remember when Democrats screeched that insurrections were a bad thing? That was back before they started to look real: Virginia Senator Mark Warner … said in an interview with MSNBC that he hopes that “uniformed military” may “save” the country from Trump’s presidency. This apparent call for a military coup is consistent with fellow senators encouraging […]

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We Who Are about to Die Salute You, Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1859. Source: Yale University Art Gallery   From air shows to circuses, the popularity of spectacles in which participants defy the risk of bodily harm in front of crowds shows no signs of waning. Even combat sports, like UFC, draw millions of viewers worldwide and generate enormous wealth today. But, despite our continuing fascination with competition and risk, the idea that staged, mass carnage and slaughter could draw crowds of cheering fans seems utterly foreign. Yet, for over six centuries, the grandest spectacles in the world’s greatest civilization, Rome, was a celebration of staged massacre. The Gladiatorial Games Were Popular for Six Centuries Thumbs Down, Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1872. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The first known gladiatorial games were sponsored by the sons of Junius Brutus Pera in Rome in 264 BCE as part of his funeral celebrations. As few as only six gladiators probably participated. But the demand for spectacular violence increased in Rome, and by the time of Emperor Trajan’s conquest of Dacia in 107 CE, the number of gladiators called upon to participate in the celebration may have been into the thousands.     By the time of Trajan, gladiatorial fights were accompanied by public executions of criminals and dissidents, and wild animals were used both to execute condemned prisoners and to fight in the shows. Some historians estimate that up to four hundred thousand people and around one million animals were killed in Roman Colosseum alone during its roughly three hundred and fifty years of hosting blood sports. The Colosseum could host upwards of fifty thousand spectators. These estimates do not include the hundreds of other amphitheaters across the empire where blood was spilled for entertainment during the gladiatorial games’ six-century history.   The Falling Gladiator, William Rimmer, modeled 1861 (cast 1907). Source: Boston Museum of Fine Arts   However, as the games grew in popularity, so did their cost. As gladiatorial events drew larger and larger crowds and increased in popularity, the demand for highly trained fighters, extravagant costumes, and larger, more elaborate facilities to hold enormous gatherings of people also grew. But by the fourth century CE, the Roman Empire had been stretched unsustainably thin. At the same time, the entertainment was a way of keeping the masses amused, which made it difficult for emperors to simply stop sponsoring these wasteful events.     Some Philosophers Criticized the Gladiatorial Games The Death of Seneca, Jean Guillaume Moitte, ca. 1770–90. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art   Some great thinkers within the Roman Empire, who made it a habit to meditate upon questions of morality and meaning, criticized the gladiatorial games. Today, much of moral discourse is informed by the norms and categories of human rights. But in the ancient world, the primary concern of moral philosophy was personal character, or virtue. This is reflected in early opposition to the gladiatorial games.   Though he was fascinated with gladiators, Seneca (ca. 4 BCE–65 CE), for example, was concerned about the way that watching violence for fun could corrupt a person’s character. Pliny the Younger (61–113 CE) criticized the games on similar grounds, even though he was not opposed to them categorically.    Christians and Rabbinic Jews Condemned the Games St. Augustine, Claude Mellan, 1660. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art   Along similar lines of reasoning as the philosophers, but in a much more outspoken and categorical manner, early Christian theologians were deeply and unanimously opposed to gladiatorial games. Tertullian (ca. 155–220 CE), for example, forbade Christians from going to the games. This was not a boycott—or an attempt at reforming Roman society as a whole. Rather, his concern was with the effect that participation in these spectacles could have on the soul. The Christian apologist Marcus Minicius Felix (third century) publicly condemned the inhumanity of the games.   Later, theologians like Augustine and Lactantius echoed these sentiments. The Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (ca. 20 BCE–50 CE) also condemned the games because of their moral degradation, as did the rabbinic Jewish tradition that developed in the second and third centuries. Eventually, it would take the conversion of a Christian emperor to Christianity to finally initiate the abolishment of gladiatorial games across the empire.    Constantine “Tried” to Abolish Gladiatorial Games Italy. The Festival of Pompei. The Circus of the Gladiators, Auguste Louis Lepère, 1884. Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art   As the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, it is not surprising that Constantine took steps toward ending the gladiatorial tradition. In the year 325, Constantine declared the games utterly forbidden. But due either to a lack of resolve or to his inability to enforce the law, the games continued for another thirty years nonetheless, including in Rome itself. The gladiator training schools also remained open. As it turned out, Constantine’s edict was ineffective—at least, during his lifetime.    But future Christian emperors bolstered Constantine’s legislation with increasing restrictions on the games until, finally, in 399 CE, the gladiatorial schools in Rome were officially closed and the games officially banned by the Emperor Honorius. But still, they continued.   The Martyrdom of Telemachus Is Often Remembered as the Final Blow to the Gladiatorial Games The Vision of the Colosseum. The Last Martyr, José Benlliure y Gil, 1885. Source: Wikimedia Commons   There are different ways of explaining why history took the course that it did. The end of the gladiatorial games came about in the context of political, economic, environmental, and moral pressures—and there were indeed voices decrying the violence of the games, despite the deafening roars of the crowds. All of these factors played a role in bringing about their end. But if one character is to be credited above all others for killing gladiatorial violence, it is a monk named Telemachus (also called Almachus).     Saint Telemachus of Rome Interrupts a Gladiatorial Fight, Jan Luyken, 1701. Source: Rijks Museum   According to the historian and bishop of Cyrus (in modern-day Syria) Theodoret (ca. 393–458), a humbly clad monk from “the East” (we do not know where) named Telemachus found himself on January 1, 404 at the Colosseum in Rome, having wandered into the bloody show by following a crowd.   Stoning of Saint Telemachus, Jan Luyken, 1701. Source: Rijks Museum   In horror at what he saw, he ran down into the arena and began to plead with the gladiators to lay down their weapons and cease the violence. But when the crowd grew frustrated with the interruption, one of the gladiators stabbed Telemachus.   When he fell to the ground bleeding, the crowd then stoned the monk to death. According to Theodoret, it was this act of protest, and the shockingly maniacal violence of the crowd, that moved the Emperor Honorius to put a final end not only to the gladiatorial games (which had not stopped anyway) but to the munera themselves—the state-sponsored celebrations that traditionally featured them. Not only was this a moral victory for the empire, it also relieved it of an exceptionally wasteful and expensive burden.  

  Ramesses II (1279-1213 BCE), better known as Ramesses the Great and Ozymandias by the Greeks, is one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs. The third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty during the New Kingdom, he was appointed prince regent by his father Seti I at the age of just 14 and was crowned pharaoh less than a decade later. Reigning for 66 years, he conducted no fewer than 15 military campaigns, subduing enemies such as the Hittites, Syrians, Libyans, and Nubians, and oversaw some of Egypt’s most ambitious building projects, including Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum.   Ramesses the Warrior Relief of the Battle of Kadesh from the Great Temple at Abu Simbel   Timeline of Ramesses’ Wars 1279 BCE Launched campaigns against Libyan tribes on the western border 1278 BCE Defeated Sherden pirates in the Mediterranean 1275 BCE Launched campaigns against the Hittites to regain territory in Syria and Canaan 1274 BCE Battle of Kadesh 1258 BCE Signed the world’s first known peace treaty with the Hittites   Ramesses was thrown into war early in his reign, defending Egypt from Libyan tribes on its western border. In the second year of his reign, he defeated Sherden pirates who were attacking cargo vessels bound for Egypt from the Mediterranean. In a brilliant ruse, Ramesses posted troops and ships at strategic points along the coast and allowed the pirates to attack the seemingly vulnerable targets before turning the tables and taking them all in a single action. He then recruited many of the Sherden to join his personal bodyguard.   He then turned his attention to Syria, which had previously been under Egyptian control but was now dominated by the Hittites. Ramesses launched his first campaign in the fourth year of his reign and captured the state of Amurru. This culminated in the following year at the now-famous Battle of Kadesh. Ramesses committed to preparations for the war, building his new capital, Pi-Ramesses, with extensive manufacturing factories to make weapons, chariots, and shields.   Ramesses sent an expeditionary force of the army, then followed behind with the main bulk of his chariot troops along a different route. The Egyptians captured Hittite soldiers, spies who duped Ramesses into believing Kadesh was unfortified and ready to be taken. Ramesses II attacked, only to spring a Hittite trap. He fought for his life, battling bravely at the head of his outnumbered troops until help arrived from another Egyptian force. Military scholars believe the Battle of Kadesh featured 5,000 chariots and as many as 30,000 troops in the first pitched battle in recorded history.   Relief of the Battle of Kadesh from the Karnak Temple detailing Ramesses the Great using a khepesh sword with the chariot reins tied to his belt   While the Egyptians won the day, they did not have the resources to besiege the city, so the battle is considered a stalemate. Nevertheless, Ramesses II built more than 10 monuments to depict his heroism at Kadesh, the propaganda increasing his reputation and solidifying the power of the Egyptian state.   The Egyptians took possession of Canaan after the battle, but local revolts saw Ramesses return to Syria again in his 7th year. He split his army in two, with one force making it as far as the Dead Sea and capturing the cities of Edom-Seir and Moab, while Rameses himself led the other force to attack Jerusalem and Jericho. The forces then joined and marched on Hebson, Damascus, Kumidi, and Upi, reclaiming Egypt’s former sphere of influence.   The Treaty of Kadesh, Hittite, c. 1250. Source: Istanbul Archaeology Museum   His campaigns continued in the following years, expanding Egyptian dominance further than it had been under Thutmose III more than a century earlier, but he was unable to hold onto the territory. Instead, in the 21st year of his reign, Ramesses concluded the Peace Treaty of Kadesh, the world’s first known peace treaty between the Egyptians and the Hittites. The treaty was recorded in two versions, one in Egyptian hieroglyphs and the other in cuneiform script. These dual-language records became common for many treaties, helping with modern efforts to translate ancient languages.   Ramesses also campaigned in the south against Nubia, which had been an Egyptian colony for 200 years. Nevertheless, his conquests there seem to have been extensive, as they decorated the walls of his temples.   Ramesses the God Ramesses II (The Younger Memnon). Source: British Museum   Pharaohs often had preferred deities based on their political affiliations, and for Ramesses, it was Amun. He did much to elevate the worship of the god and featured the god in all his building projects. He also had himself depicted in the guide of the god, such as in the example of “Younger Memnon,” depicted above, from the Ramesseum. Claiming the past, these statues were often placed in front of monuments constructed by previous pharaohs.   The pharaoh was considered the mortal incarnation of the divine, ensuring the prosperity of Egypt in consort with the gods, so it is not unusual that he claimed to be the son of the powerful Amun-Ra. His origin story is told in a chapel dedicated to his mother, Tuya, as she was the vessel for this divine birth. Another text, “The Blessing of Ptah,” tells a slightly different version of the divine birth of Ramesses II but travels similar lines, this time with the pharaoh born to the god Ptah.   Ramesses the Great’s mortuary temple, the Ramesseum, mid-13th century BCE   The Ramesseum was the second largest temple in ancient Egypt and was Ramesses’s mortuary temple. It took more than 20 years to construct and honored Ramesses II as a living god before being used for his posthumous worship. This is only one of several temples that were erected for the god-king during his life.   Ramesses II kneeling before Amun-Ra receiving the symbol of the Sed Festival, Ramesseum. Source: Epigraphic Society   The Ramesseum depicts a scene from one of Ramesses’s Sed Festivals, regal festivals held to mark the 30th anniversary of the pharaoh’s reign and then every three years to rejuvenate his strength, though Ramesses seems to have held his every two years. The scene shows Ramesses in regal costume kneeling before Amun-Ra, who sits on a throne. Amun-Ra offers the pharaoh a blessing and a symbol, and a symbol, a small shrine with two chairs inside atop a semi-circle, which was the symbol of the Sed Festival.   Ramesses the Builder Temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel, Egypt. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Ramesses II led the most ambitious building campaigns in Egypt since the pyramids, which were already 1,500 years old at the time. He built extensively across the country from the Delta to Nubia. He both built new structures and remodelled existing structures, justifying his placement of his Ramesses-Amun heads before them.   We have already mentioned his grand new capital, Pi-Ramesses, in the eastern Delta, which replaced Thebes. It was characterized by huge temples and vast palaces, but a colossal pair of feet belonging to a statue of Ramesses is all that remains on the site today. We have also mentioned the Ramesseum, his vast mortuary temple just outside Thebes. His other great building project was Abu Simbel.   Interior of the Great Temple, Abu Simbel, Egypt   Abu Simbel was constructed near present-day Aswan, nearly 200 miles south of Thebes in Nubia. It was hewn directly into the mountain rock. Excavated in the 1800s, it was almost completely intact. However, in the late 1960s, Abu Simbel had to be taken apart piece by piece and then moved to higher ground due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam. This included a replacement mountain being built to re-create the exact dimensions of Abu Simbel.   The complex includes a “Great Temple” and a “Small Temple.” The entrance to the Great Temple was a message to the Nubian subjects of Egypt that Ramesses was to be feared and worshiped. Four seated statues of Ramesses II, known as Colossi, dominate the front of the Great Temple. Each is just a shade under 20 meters tall. The Great Temple also shows other important members of Ramesses’ family, but as small figures around his ankles.   Entrance, The Small Temple, Abu Simbel   The Inside of the Great Temple is dwarfed by the Colossi, as intended, and is dedicated to the gods Ra-Horakhty, Amun–Ra, Ptah, and Ramesses II himself. It is a small, intimate temple with hieroglyphs telling the story of key achievements during his reign, such as the battle of Kadesh and victories over Nubia and the Libyans.   The Small Temple of Abu Simbel features 10-meter-high statues of Rameses II’s wife, Queen Nefertari, and was built in worship of the sky goddess Hathor. The main purpose was to promote Nefertari’s aspect as the goddess incarnate to pair with her husband’s divinity.   Ramesses II: Death and Legacy Inside the Tomb of Ramesses IV   Ramesses II died in his early nineties in 1213 BCE after ruling for 66 years and two months, the second-longest reign in Ancient Egypt.   The mummy of Ramesses II lies in the Cairo Museum after archaeologists found his tomb in the Valley of the Kings late in the 1800s. A burial complex known as the Sons of Ramesses II has also been found there, containing the remains of 52 of Ramesses’s sons. He is believed to have sired around 100 children in his lifetime. His 13th son, Merneptah, succeeded him as pharaoh. The tomb of his wife, Nefertari, has also been discovered, best known for its magnificent wall paintings.   Ramesses II Mummy. Source: Egyptian Museum   While he was originally buried in his tomb, KV7, due to looting, his body was removed, rewrapped, and then moved several times. The fate of his body is recorded on the linen that protected his remains. His body was eventually found in tomb TT320, which contained the mummified remains of kings and queens, presumably placed there for safekeeping by the priests of Amun, for whom the tomb was originally built.   Both Ramesses’s great achievements and the physical mark he left on the Egyptian world through his building projects have made him one of the most recognizable pharaohs in the popular imagination. He is the most popular candidate for the pharaoh who features in the story of Exodus, resulting in his unforgettable portrayal by Yul Brynner in Cecil B. DeMille’s classic film The Ten Commandments (1956).

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What did they expect? After all, affluent socialists must virtue-signal to bring meaning to their empty lives. They cannot help themselves. According to the New York Post, Democratic Socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani of New York City told reporters at a news conference in Manhattan Thursday that he plans to reverse...