遇见波斯

正波斯,是众多古代文明中发展程度较高的民族,有着极其辉煌的历史和文化,同时这也是一个深陷战争泥潭的民族。1935年,礼萨·汗将波斯更名为伊朗。在媒体上,伊朗给人展示的形象大多是软弱无力的政府、受苦受难的人民、惨无人道的战争、无休止的恐怖活动、游行等等,还有那些每天被     

A disconnected journey

Driving is a dynamic human experience. The act of operating a vehicle, our movement across space and time, and the landscapes we pass afford rich sensory experiences. However, an increasingly controlled environment in the car and on roads is diminishing many sensuous encounters of orientation, sound, smell, touch, and even sight. The growing emphasis on transport infrastructure that prioritises speed, safety, comfort and convenience – dual carriageways, bypasses, ring roads, tunnels and sound barriers – is serving to disconnect us from our journeys as emplaced experiences. These changes are leading to starkly homogeneous journeys devoid of character that result in a loss of experience and place. In this paper we examine the sensory engagement and experiences of car journeys across landscapes, considering both urban and rural environments. Using case studies from different regions of Australia, we examine the bodily experiences of modern motoring. We suggest that there is no longer an immediate engagement with the landscape being traversed. With particular consideration of understanding places in an embodied way, we consider how modernised highways are disconnecting us from developing and maintaining meaning in our understanding of roads as a significant form of heritage, and as an important mechanism through which people experience heritage.     

Rule of Law: A Comparison between Ancient Persia and Ancient Greece

The ancient Persian empires are denoted as despotic, practicing arbitrary rule while Greece, Persia's archrival during the sixth to fourth century BC, exercised rule of law. This paper uses a contract theory framework to analyze some of the geographical and environmental underpinnings of the existence of rule of law in the city-states of ancient Greece and its absence in Persia. I discuss the role of geographical conditions of land (open plains versus mountains), population pressure, proximity to the sea and form of trade (overland versus overseas) as factors conducive to rule of law in the city-states of ancient Greece and to despotism in ancient Persia. Specifically, the role of trade via land in Persia prior to the fifth century BC is compared to the role of sea trade (alongside with piracy) in ancient Greece. I argue that in ancient Persia monarchs could tax or expropriate much of the gains from overland trade, preventing the accumulation of an independent form of wealth by merchants. In Greece, sea trade alongside the practice of piracy led to gains from trade that could not be easily expropriated by the monarchs and acted as a balancing force vis-à-vis the power of the monarchs, creating a basis for rule of law in the Greek city-states.     

Persia and the Greeks: Failure of an Empire

GEORGE CAWKWELL. The Greek Wars: The Failure of Persia. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Pp. 316. $195.00 (CDN). Reviewed by Arthur M. Eckstein     

试论波斯对伯罗奔尼撒战争的介入

公元前431年爆发的伯罗奔尼撒战争既是一场希腊世界的内战,同时也是雅典与波斯之间侵略与反侵略的战争。远在东方的波斯在公元前412年与斯巴达结盟,介入战争。波斯介入战争的根本原因是其想重新占领在希波战争中失去的小亚细亚西海岸的希腊城邦,向雅典复仇。希波战争后波斯与雅典之间长期的"冷战",斯巴达主动向波斯抛出"橄榄枝"寻求结盟,以及雅典远征西西里的惨败,最终促使波斯与斯巴达结盟。战争期间,波斯主要通过小亚细亚的总督对斯巴达进行军事和财政援助。波斯的介入不仅帮助斯巴达战胜雅典,赢得战争的胜利,而且还直接引发了公元前411年的雅典贵族寡头政变,开波斯干涉希腊城邦内部事务的先河。     

旅途开心果

<正>我却吻到了老农妇三个老外一边喝酒一边吹牛,美国人说:我们国家的火车最快,开起来后,路两旁的电线杆看上去就像篱笆一样。法国人说:我们国家的火车才叫快,开起来后要赶紧向铁轨上泼水,否则铁轨就会融化。英国人站了起来:那算什么,有一次我在国内旅行,老婆送我上车,我从车里探出头