Thursday, June 17, 2010

New Page Design & More.

As you can see, I decided to upgrade my blog.

The truth is it didn't look all that exciting and I felt it needed to be refreshed. I admit I'm not thrilled with the color of the font, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with the new layout (I chose the ocean because of course it makes me think of Themistocles' and his fleet of triremes).

Now that I've changed the look of my blog, I have a question for you:

What can I do to make the blog more interesting?

What questions do you have about Themistocles or the time he lived in? What do you want to know about Triremes, Archaic Athens or any other related topic? I can't really post about Classical Athens because in Themistocles' time many of the things and people you associate with it (the Parthenon, Aristotle, Socrates, etc.) don't exist yet. Thus it makes Archaic Athens a tricky time to write about, but the upside is that not many people have touched upon it. And there's still lots of things to cover. Here's a quick list of potential topics (and things that incidentally appear in my novel):

1) Marathon. Not just the battle but the actual area and why it was so important.

2) Rhamnous. The fort north of Marathon functioned both as a small port and as a fortress (it's also home to the temples of Nemesis and Themis).

3) The Archaic Acropolis. Before the Parthenon there were smaller more ancient temples with an interesting mix of gods and heroes worshipped there.

4) Athenian Class System. Before Cleisthenes' reforms there were form distinct classes of Athenians created by Solon.

5) Ancient Agora. Before Cimon planted trees there and it was surrounded by stoas and philosophers the Agora was a different place.

6) The Demes of Attica. Attica was divided up into different districts; even Athens had its own demes. Who lived where and why might be an interesting topic (as well as what each deme thought of its neighbors).

7) Powerful Families. Before democracy took hold of Athens, it was ruled by various kings, oligarchies, and even tyrants. By Themistocles' time there was a small handful of families who wielded power: the Peistratid family, the Alcmaeonid family and the Kimoneioi family.

8) The Laws of Athens. From Draco to Solon and even Cleisthenes the laws in Athens frequently changed in an effort to make things more equal for the common citizen.

9) Women in Archaic Times. How they differed from their Classical counterparts.

10) Foreigners and Slaves. What rights they had (or rather didn't have) and how they were perceived.

If you read this blog please feel free to suggest what you'd like to see on it in the future. I'd love to hear from you!