Anyone who hasn’t read the Odyssey and the Iliad, the two great Greek epics attributed to Homer that form the basis of Western literature, doesn’t know what they’re missing out on. And those who have read them may have missed, undoubtedly, a curious detail: despite the constant interference of the gods in the characters’ lives, […]
Jorge Álvarez
Degree in History and Diploma in Archival and Library Science. Founder and director of Apuntes magazine (2002-2005). Creator of the blog El Viajero Incidental. Travel and tourism blogger since 2009 in Viajeros. Editor of LBV Magazine.
Posted inAncient Rome
The Imposters who Tried to Impersonate Nero After the Death of the Roman Emperor
Imposture adds to History a series of episodes as astonishing as they are fascinating, and sometimes, even amusing. Countless are the individuals who, brandishing audacity as their banner, have elbowed their way into books through their shamelessness in assuming others’ identities and living off of it. But there’s a difference between inventing characters, like Princess […]
Posted inAge of Exploration
Tarenorerer, the woman who led Tasmanian Aboriginal resistance to colonization
For most people, Tasmania is simply the complement to the name of a carnivorous marsupial that inspired the Looney Tunes character called Taz; likewise, movie buffs might know that the famous actor Errol Flynn was Tasmanian by birth. But Tasmania is also an Australian island with a sad history, as its Aboriginal population was virtually […]
Posted inAntiquity
The Travels of Zhang Qian, the Chinese Ambassador who Opened the Silk Road while Seeking a Military Alliance
The Silk Road was born over two millennia ago, a network of commercial and cultural routes interconnecting much of continental Asia and branching out to the islands of Southeast Asia, East Africa, and the Mediterranean. The Road emerged around the 1st century BC, not for economic reasons but strategic ones, initiated by China, which sent […]
Posted inAncient Rome
When Roman Emperor Tiberius Investigated and Solved a Murder Case
Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, Nero Wolfe… All these names have in common being fictional detectives, born from the fertile imagination of writers from the 19th and 20th centuries. Other characters could be added to them who solved crimes without being dedicated to it professionally, such as Miss Marple, Father […]
Posted inAncient Rome
The Disastrous Defeat that Led the Romans to Never Again Fight on that Day and to Change the Date of the Start of the Political Year
In the year 181 B.C., Rome undertook the conquest of Celtiberia in a series of wars that lasted for almost half a century, with perhaps the most famous episode being the siege of Numantia. This occurred in a later phase of the conflict, as a result of what the Romans considered a violation of the […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
The Story of Khutulun, the Mongolian Female Warrior who Inspired Puccini’s Turandot
The idea of a woman who considers no man worthy of her and sets strict conditions for suitors has led to various more or less famous creative works. However, it has a historical precedent glossed over by none other than Marco Polo in his Book of Wonders: the Mongolian princess Khutulun, an expert warrior, cousin […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Paulus Catena, the Roman Imperial Agent Specializing in Interrogation and Creation of False Evidence
In the Late Roman Empire, in the mid-4th century AD, there was an imperial delegate with such a despotic, cruel, and repressive character that not only earned him the fitting nickname by which he has passed into history but also, sent to Britain to eliminate opponents, carried out that mission with such brutality that destabilized […]
Posted inSecond World War
Aimo Koivunen, the Finnish Soldier who Was the First Documented Case of Pervitin Overdose in Combat
Pervitin is the name of a drug that soldiers consumed during World War II for its stimulating and euphoric effects, basically composed of methamphetamine. It was commonly used in the Wehrmacht but also in other armies (including the Allies), either under that name or other commercial names. Pervitin helped soldiers cope with the harshness of […]
Posted inModern Era
Junaluska, the Cherokee Leader who Saved the Life of Future President Andrew Jackson and Later Regretted it
The CSS Junaluska was a steam tugboat that served in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War, participating in some actions – despite being armed only with a couple of cannons – but having a short-lived active life, lasting just over a year (1861-1862). What matters here is that it was named after a […]