The world in 2019 is in deep trouble. States still act in their own interest, scarcely paying attention to the evolving horrors of climate change, war, hunger, ecological impoverishment of the planet and rapidly growing population. In such a precarious ecopolitical environment, we have the United States run by a president acting like a two-year old, always putting his personal and family profits above national and international interests.  Ecopolitical governance An alternative to this madness would be for the US (after Trump), the European Union, Russia and China to create a genuine partnership for human survival and security. This arrangement would eclipse the military project of NATO and guarantee the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.  Such a move would dramatically cut military spending, showing that civilisation still matters. What if those saved vast sums of money, currently put to planning slaughter and destruction, could be put to peace

Sun god Helios lighting the world. Dome of the entrance hall of the Szechenyi Bath, Budapest, Hungary. Courtesy Wikipedia. I have been writing for fifty years. I wrote my first scholarly article in 1969. I was then a  graduate student in history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That was a bold step. My English was still in its early stages of improvement. But more than spelling and vocabulary, I felt I had something to say that might add to our understanding of the past. The unspoken assumption is that a better understanding of the past leads to avoiding errors in the present and, in general, increasing our appreciation for the work and civilization of those who came before us.  That hope and love of history and the truth continue to motivate me in this difficult but exceedingly satisfying passion for writing.  Some people have accused me of being naïve. I do love the natural world and the Earth and traditional civilizations. These things are not fashionabl

Centaur (above) and Greek soldier (bellow), possibly from the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, 250-225 BCE. From the Sampul Tapestry.  Woolen wall hanging, Lop County, Xinjiang, China. Public Domain.. I love all animals. I grew up in a Greek village where domesticated animals were part of my family. We had chickens, dogs, cats, sheep, goats, donkeys and mules. I rarely saw a horse because horses then, now, and in antiquity were and are possessions of rich people. However, while a teenager, I did have the pleasure of riding a horse a few times. I still remember that experience of becoming almost one with that magnificent animal. Horses were fundamental to the Greeks. The Greek god Poseidon was the king of the seas, earthquakes, and horses. The Greeks had imagined a race of horse-men they called centaurs. These were wild, savage monster-like forest animals with a human voice, being half human and half horse. They lived between mount Pelion and Mount Ossa in Thessaly. One