Book Review: Pagans and Christians

Pagans and Christians
by Robin Lane Fox
p. UK 1986
p. US 1989
Knopf


There are a handful of historians whose work has largely shaped by post-formal educational experience: Peter Gay and his five volume history of the Victorian era, David Hackett Fischer and his writing about the American colonial period, Norman Cantor and his work on the middle ages and the major writers from the second generation of the french Annales school, specifically Fernand Braudel and Georges Duby. I think it's time to add Robin Lane Fox to that short list. Fox is a professor of ancient history at Oxford, and his treatment of the ancient world fucking kills it.

This is the second of three Fox books I've read the month: Travelling Heroes and The Classical World, which I bought new on Amazon for a single dollar.

Fox's writing is characterized by wit and clarity. Brevity- not so much. The only criticism of Pagans and Christians is that it is way overlong- maybe by 150 pages. At the same time it's likely the best single volume of this particular subject that will ever be written, so...

Fox is probably wholly unique in his even handed treatment of the Pagans and Christian. It's no secret that the Pagans have not gotten a fair shake from the last several hundred years of historians (although philosophers are a different story, see Nietszche.) Fox's depiction of the pre-Christian world is both nuanced and sensitive. He ably draws from existing sources in several languages: english, french, german to paint a vibrant portrait of a pagan culture that was not on the brink of collapse as was often claimed by prior historians.

Compared to his treatment of the Pagans, which is still refreshing almost two decades after writing, the Christian portion of the book feels a little bit dated. The diversity of early Christian thought is hardly a secret in 2009. Elaine Pagels, Gnostic Gospels, touring Dead Sea Scrolls- all of these have made this early Christian world more comprehensible to the contemporary reader. I often sighed during Foxes discussion of early Christian sources- one biography of St. Augustine of Hippo is more then enough for me.

But it's the treatment of the transition that is most valuable here. Fox carefully traces the advance of Christianity, to the point where the reader can actually envision Christianity spreading in the urban areas of the near east, much in the same way that militant Islam is depicted spreading in recent American films like the excellent Syriana. Like any transmission of culture, be it in Cappadoncia in the 200 AD or San Diego CA on a Friday night. Early Christianity benefited from positive word of mouth and the social fact that young Roman wives of rich guys became widows early and often. I was pretty amused to read how the early Church's embrace of virginity among widowed woman coincided with a poor church becoming a rich church.

Of course, the centerpiece of Pagans and Christians is the surprise conversion of Constantine, Emperor of Rome. Fox points to this conversion as being one of the real decisive points of world history. Constantine, by his personal decision changed the course of history by reversing the Roman empire's steady policy of persecution and instead granting the Catholic Christian church a preferred status, which they used to become "the" Christian Church.

On Fasting

Gross.

Epicurus placed "eating with friends" at the center of his philosophy "Epicureanism." I have to disagree. You know where a culture focused on eating gets you? You start acting like the Romans:

In his Moral Epistles the Roman philosopher Seneca writes, Cum ad cenandum discubuimus, alius sputa deterget, alius reliquias temulentorum [toro] subditus colligit, "When we recline at a banquet, one [slave] wipes up the spittle; another, situated beneath [the table], collects the leavings of the drunks."

(STRAIGHT DOPE)

Gross. Feasting and gluttony are at the heart of what it means to be indo european- ask the Vikings or the early Germans, but feasting is gross, and I'm riding with the crazy religions on this one. Fasting is a GREAT idea- it cleans you out, helps you focus and generally causes you to contemplate the positive and negative in life.

Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins in Christianity, but Zeus condoned did by the very nature of his sacrifice (cows, bro. cows.) American culture is gluttonous, western European culture is less so. Score one for the Europeans. Some Americans argue, basically, that gluttony, in the form of credit based consumerism, is a-ok, but those people would probably be sacrificing virgins to the Thunder God back in the day.

I'm declaring a blog fast effective immediately, to honor the Best Coast, Pearl Harbour show, till Sunday.

Why Pagans Persecuted Christians

Temple of Baal

1. Christianity was a new idea, and Pagans didn't like new ideas in the area of religion: They respected old gods.
2. Pagans sacrificed to appease their gods and to stop them from doing stuff like destroying their cities with earthquakes. When Christians started refusing to sacrifice to any other gods, Pagans thought the Christians were angering the gods and "causing" natural disasters.
3. Christians weren't always trying to avoid martyrdom.

Prohibition: No

Prohibition (Yelp): No.

Beastie Boys Added to Street Scene

Beastie Boys: Check Your Head

I guess I'm going to end up at Street Scene this year for the first time in forever. I couldn't be more excited that popular hip-hop musicians/saintly brethren the Beastie Boys are coming. You know what I love most about the Beastie Boys? Their work with Tibet:

The social structure of the Tibet of old in no way corresponded to an ideal-typical model of happy individuals it is so often depicted as being. Alongside the omnipresent clergy, the country was ruled by circa 150 to 300 “secular” families. Different groups were distinguished among the aristocracy. The highest stratum traced their ancestry to the old Tibetan kings, then followed the members of the Dalai Lamas‘ families. These were ennobled simultaneously with the enthronement of the new god-king. Every family in the country was proud to have a monk as a son. For aristocrats, however, it sufficed that the novice spend just one night in the monastery in order to — for an appropriate fee — be considered ordained. Equipped with the considerable privileges of a lama he could then return home.

Does that sound like fun to you? Personally, I don't have alot of sympathy for the Tibetan cause.

SD Party Photography Exists

SHOOTNORTON.COM

FRIDAY night @ Whistlestop: Best Coast, Pearl Harbour, Beaters

Beat Coast/Pearl Harbour/Beaters @ Whistlestop

I said I wasn't going to do too much on this show because I want to actually enjoy it myself, but the whole world is talking about Best Coast (i.e United States and the U.K.) and, to a lesser, extent, Pearl Harbour. She's got a 7" coming out on Art Fag Recordings... 2010? Anyway, personally, I'm very excited for this show. And it's free, which is just stupid.

Billionaire Yacht News

The massive 225-foot yacht, complete with helipad, is the Attessa III, the 14th largest yacht in America and 71st largest in the world, according to Power and Motoryacht magazine. The helicopter seats seven.

The yacht, which has been docked in Richardson Bay off Bridgeway and Main Street since Thursday, features an art deco design and is equipped with a movie theater, gym, massage room and two outdoor Jacuzzis.

It belongs to Dennis Washington, a Montana industrialist worth about $4.2 billion, good enough for 88th on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans in 2008. Washington is founder of The Washington Companies, a group of companies in mining, transportation, environmental remediation, aviation and real estate development. Washington also owns a large estate on Stuart Island, British Columbia, that includes a luxury fishing lodge and golf course.

(CONTRA COSTA TIMES)

Internet Radio Show Actually Worth Listening To

Anything sadder then internet based radio? Wah Wah. But here's a show that I actually listened to in my office- from the UK, of course- it's because they have better taste in music there.

(SEX IS DISGUSTING)

Here is their playlist, which looks like the play list I have on my record player and ipod right now:

1. Jacuzzi Boys : The Countess (Needless 2009)
2. Cause Co-motion : Leave It All (Slumberland 2009)
3. The Dead Clodettes : Strasse No10 (Lipstick Pickup 2009)
4. AA : Hymn Of Praise (Soft Spot 2009)
5. Weekend : Drum beat for baby (Rough trade 1982)
6. The Flatmates : Tell me why (Subway Organisation 1986)
7. The Pastels : Million Tears (Creation 1984)
8. Shop Assistants : Looking Back (Chrysalis 1986)
9. Dum Dum Girls : Brite Futures (Yeti Publishing 2009)
10. The Shackles : Funeral Shroud (Sweet Rot 2009)
11. The Fresh & Onlys : Peacock & Wing (Castle Face 2009)
12. Best Coast : Sun Was So High (so was I) (Unreleased 2009)
13. Teenage Cool Kids : Foreign Lands (Narshardaa 2009)
14. Audacity : Mode (Burger Records 2009)
15. Crocodiles : I wanna kill (Fat Possum 2009)
16. The Boys : Soda Pressing (Nems Records 1977)
17. Male Bonding : Pumpkin (Paradise Vendors 2009)
18. Nice Face : Situation Is Facing Utter Annihilation (Sacred Bones 2009)
19. Grass Widow : To Where (Wizard Mountain 2009)
20. Family Fodder :Debbie Harry (Fresh 1980)
21. Rosehips : I shouldn’t have to say (Subway Organisation 1987)
22. Jesse Garon & The Desperadoes: Splashing along (Narodnik 1986)
23. Lori & The Chameleons : Touch (Sire 1979)
24. The Rantouls : Little Green Hat (Chocolate Covered Records 2009)
25. Beach fossils : Vacation (Unreleased 2009)
26. Crystal Stilts : Love Is A Wave (Slumberland 2009)
27. Smith Westerns : Dreams (Hozac 2009)
28. The Cave Weddings : Bring Your Love (Hozac 2009)
29. Mean Jeans : License to Chill (Dirtnap Records 2009)
30. Busy Signals : Love & Dust Douchemaster Records (2005)
31. Bare Wires : She’s so out (Solid Sex Love Doll 2006)
32. The Coathangers : Pussywillow (Suicide Squeeze 2009)
33. AA : Society Stinks (Soft Spot 2009)
34. Ariel Pink : Flashback (Cooler Cat 2009)

Right?

Review of London Crocodiles Show

I'm posting this because I love this review:

The Old Blue Last is rammed. Spilling over with eager East-side musos and fashionistas. Everyone is immaculately dressed, and everyone is saying the right things. For a potential fanbase, this would be a handy one, but a tough one to win over, that's for sure. San Diego's Crocodiles have a couple bits on their side though: they're from the “trendy” West Coast, they were tipped by nu-noise kings No Age and they're very good looking... Fascinating to watch, the leaving sentiment is that of confusion. Was that a “fuck you” or a “please like us”? Either way, there is promise. They should probably get their tech sorted first though.

(YOU LOOK ROUGH)

Like I said yesterday, I keep track of this stuff by entering a search into google blog search and subscribing to the results i.e. "crocodiles band" and I've got a list of about 50 bands.

Show Review: Mika Miko, Beaters, Audacity @ Casbah

I. Beaters

I like Beaters, they need to record some songs and stop playing so many local shows. Where is that headed? Local bands, even if the right people like you, it doesn't mean anything without a record. Conversely, if you have a good record, it doesn't matter whether anyone in San Diego likes you or not.

II. Audacity

These are some young kids from Fullerton, CA. I wanted to make the following observations: 1. They have a work rate that is way, way above average including a west coast tour w/ Mika Miko (right now)and a tape, two seven inches and a full length vinyl/digital release on White Noise Records which I just bought. 2. Their live show was engaging with lots of energy on stage. 3. They are playing Origami vinyl w/ Christmas Island (who wasn't there last night, except for Craig.) in mid August. 4. There were five people standing in the front row singing along with the songs.

III. Mika Miko

Mika Miko is a great band. We used to listen to the old record all the time and love the live show. Even though they were "out of the box" even before No Age, they haven't caught fire in the same way, and that is undoubtedly a function of a low work rate- which is totally understandable- since they all have lives and school and things to do up in Los Angeles. Regardless of their national "will they or won't they" status, I count myself, and my wife, as dedicated loyal fans, and if they had any merch. to sell last night I'd be buying it instead of sadly learning that the first vinyl pressing of Xuxa sold out a half a month ago :( I snooze, I lose.

feeding christians to the lions

Feeding Christians to the lions.

How awesome is it that Romans did this as a sport? Feeding Christians to lions and other wild beasts? Oh, it must have been better then a Mexican bullfight. Did the Christians ever "win" like gladiators or were they just ripped apart? It seems like that would be less entertaining.

It doesn't look like he has a sword in the fresco above. Nope.

Against Time Discipline

I pride myself on being an "on time" person- that comes from being an attorney who must be on time to court appearances as a matter of course.

But I can't help but, think, personally, that time discipline is something to be left at the office. What's the rush? Who do things have to run on a schedule? Because that's how the world works? Says who. Those who have the highest status in our society need to have no time discipline whatsoever.

Crocodiles German Write Up

Heute Abend (21 Uhr) spielen die Crocodiles im K4 Zentralcafé (oder heißt das jetzt Zentralcafé im KuKuQ?!) und das könnte ein ziemlich interessantes Konzert werden. Die Band aus San Diego, die vor kurzem ihr Debütalbum “Summer Of Hate” veröffentlicht hat, war zuletzt mit Ladytron und The Faint unterwegs und befindet sich nun auf einer ausgedehnten Tour als Headliner. Musikalisch erinnert der melancholische Shoegazer-Pop der Crocodiles oft an The Jesus & Mary Chain, wobei bei den Kaliforniern ihrer Heimat entsprechend stets auch ein Hauch von Sunshine-Pop mitschwingt.

Eröffnet wird der Abend von Killing Mister Moonlight, Tickets kosten an der Abendkasse acht Euro. Ich würde mir das gerne ansehen, muss aber leider lernen – manchmal Siegt eben doch die Vernunft.

(FRANKENBLOGGER)

Spirit Photography July 24th Soda Bar Flyer

Art Fag/Ye Olde Maids on Stereogum

(STEREOGUM)

Artist Profile: Kevin Greenspon

MP3 DOWNLOAD Kevin Greenspon - PH is (Mediafire)

Kevin Greenspon is playing the Che Cafe on July 25th, 2009, and I wanted to introduce him to San Diego. Kevin is a 22 year old musician/record label owner who lives in the City of Industry, CA. He is prolific in terms of output- I've got about 10 tapes of his in my office at this very minute. His record label, Bridgetown Records has released music by Rapid Youth, No Paws (No Lions) as well as a co-release with Family Time Music that features 23 songs, each a collaboration with a different artist. All told, there have been 15 CD-R and home tape releases since Bridgetown started in January of 2008. Think about how deeply impressive that is.

What most deeply impresses me about Kevin Greenspon is the level of activity. This is something that he pursues because he is compelled to pursue it, and I am very interested to see what progress he makes in terms of achieving wider recognition of his efforts and refining and perfecting his sound.

You can find Kevin on myspace, as well as Bridgetown Records.

the value of humbleness

If you are constructing a comprehensive world view, there are seven elements you have to deal with:

(1) An ontology, a descriptive model of the world
(2) An explanation of the world
(3) A futurology, answering the question "where are we heading?"
(4)Values, answers to ethical questions: "What should we do?"
(5) A praxeology, or methodology, or theory of action.: "How should we attain our goals?"
(6) An epistemology, or theory of knowledge. "What is true and false?"
(7) An etiology. A constructed world-view should contain an account of its own "building blocks," its origins and construction.(Wikipedia)

When it comes to (4), a value I've been thinking alot about is "humbleness." It's certainly not a value I've embraced in the past, which is probably why I've been considering it so much.

The spur to much of the thought has been the reading I've been doing about the transitions from Pagan to Christian in the West. One of the hallmark attitudes of the ancient world was arrogance. You can see that in the Greek word "Hubris" or if you watch five minutes of that awful Rome tv series on HBO. Personally, I find Roman culture in particular to be really gross and reminiscent of the same kind of grossness that effects American culture.

The whole idea of valuing "humbleness" was one of the main values (along with "crazy ass ideas about sexuality.") that Christianity brought to the table. It's also a value that Upanishads era Hindu practices and Buddhism developed separately from Christianity. In the past, I've criticized a religion like Buddhism for promoting passivity, but the more I think about it the more I see value in being humble.

In fact, if you look at the etymology of the word "humble":

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin humilis low, humble, from humus earth; akin to Greek chthōn earth, chamai on the ground Date: 13th century. (MERRIAM WEBSTER)

You see that the word at least partially derives from the Greek word for "Earth" which, to my mind, promotes a connection between being humble and being "earth friendly" so to speak.

(video) All Leather "I Don't Hate Fags God Does

All Leather - I Don't Hate Fags, God Does from Dim Mak on Vimeo.

All Leather is playing the Che Cafe on July 25th w/ head liners Made in Mexico, Kevin Greenspon & Rapid Youth. Tickets are between $5-8 dollars depending on your age.

Fader Post Wavves, Crocodiles Feature from July Issue On-Line

This article is in the July Fader but was just published on-line today. It discusses soon-to-be-playing at the Che Cafe Rapid Youth and Ancient Crux (July 25th, July 31st) as well local bands Wavves and Crocodiles:

FADER

Shopping for Pagan Gods?

Sacred Source

Bronze Thor!

Krishna!

Dionysus 8"!

New Items!

TOMORROW NIGHT: Mika Miko @ the Casbah

Show poster: Mika Miko, the Sess, Atoms, August 25th, 2006.


Crowd during Mika Miko show at the Casbah, November 15th, 2006

Mika Miko Business Cats Video January 2007 (Cat Dirt Sez)

Mika Miko July Tour Dates 2009 (Cat Dirt Sez)

A Suggestion on How to Read Music Blogs w/ RSS Feeds

I think that normal adults feel overwhelmed trying to keep up with music blogs. Here is a suggestion that I have found is productive:

1. Make a list of 25 bands that you care about.
2. Add searches to your rss feeder through google blogsearch- this is easy if you use google reader.
3. Add the rss feeds from Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan & Stereogum.

Voila! You get everything you need to know about stuff you don't care about, and anytime anyone blogs or writes about a band you care about, you'll know within a day. This method is most productive for those who have professional relationships with multiple musical acts, and amateur music enthusiasts who generally take an interest in the opinion of other amateur music enthusiasts.

Seth Combs is Wrong About Heavy Hawaii

Seth Combs wrote this about Heavy Hawaii:

It was clear from Hawaii’s opening song why they don’t have a MySpace account or any music posted. Their live show was a dreadful display, sounding like a group of special-education students covering Captain Beefheart.

(SD City Beat)

I think Seth is wrong about Heavy Hawaii. I heard distinct song structure and while the vocal distortion is a "love it/hate it" thing, it was interesting to me. I also think the "no myspace" thing is cool. But just in case anyone is looking up Heavy Hawaii and see both these results in the Top 10: I thought they were good, not bad. "Special education students covering Captain Beefheart," perhaps used for a different band, is a great turn of phrase, so in that regard "Great Job."

(video) Francoise Hardy- Will You Love Me Tomorrow

From her English language release "Loving" (1969) This is pretty much how we roll at our house on a lazy sunday.

(video) Shirelles- Will You Love Me Tomorrow

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is the title of a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.

In 1960, The Shirelles released their version as Scepter single 1211, with "Boys" on the B-side.

Why not cover this song over and over again until the end? It's a hit!

The Hittite Civilization

Hittites vs. neo-Hittites.

So into it!!!

New SD Music Blog

Funny. (SD FUCKO)

Woven Bones September Tour Dates

Woven Bones is an excellent sounding Austin based band that will be touring with garage rock icons the Spits (Seattle, WA.)   They will be trudging from Omaha to NYC- with some good dates in NYC in mid-September.  Kristin G told me that Zoo Music is putting out a Woven Bones EP to hopefully coincide with said tour.  How often to the Spits play the East Coast?

Woven Bones September Tour Dates

09 01 Omaha NE.- Oleavers 

09 02 St. Paul MINN.- Turf Club !

09 03 Madison WI.-  The Frequency !

09 04 Milwaukee WI.- The Garibaldi !

09 05 Kalamazoo MI.- Louie's Trophy House Grill !

09 06 Chicago Ill.- The Double Door !

09 07 Lafayette IN- Zooleggers !

09 09 Cleveland OH- Beachland !

09 10 Rochester NY- The Bug Jar !

09 11  Brooklyn NY- Knitting Factory !

09 12 Manhattan NY- Cake Shop !

09 14 Detroit MI- The Lagerhouse @

09 16 Manhattan NY- Monster Island Basement #

09 17 New Jersey- LIVE on WFMU

09 18 Manhattan NY- Cake Shop $

09 19 Philadelphia PA-  The Pillam %

! with The Spits

@  curated by x! Records

# with Box Elders

$ with the Girls at Dawn "Midnight Till Death Party"

Eastern Influence in the Greek Adonis Cult

Adonis

If you are looking for Greek/Eastern cultural interplay, the Greek cult of Adonis is a great place to start. 

Adonis is an ancient figure, much older then the Greeks. Most modern scholars trace his roots to the Semetic hero Tammuz. in fact, his Greek name is taken from a semetic word "Adonai" which means he who is blessed (Adonai is of course instantly recognizable to Jews and well taught Christians as a Hebrew name for Yahweh.) The supposition is that dark age Greeks witnessed Semites praying to statues of Tammuz and saying something like "he is blessed" and thought that was Tammuz's name.

In Greek culture, the cult of Adonis was practiced exclusively by women. They celebrated in July, the time at which Adonis, who had been forced to spend half of his time with the living as the consort of Aphrodite and half his time with Persephone in the land of the dead, returned to the "land of the living." During the year, women in the cult of adonis would grow plants in urban areas, then during the festival they would emerge, unclothed and beating their (bare) breasts, and would throw the plants down the nearest well.

Some argue that the "return of Adonis" is the proto-resurrection that was used as the model for Jesus's return from the dead. The Jews certainly knew the story of Tammuz, that much is for sure.

But this is an interesting example of how cultures blend together, at all times, in all places and it points to the universality of human culture.

"He Who Slays the Serpent" and Fame in the Modern World

Zeus v. Typhon

There are a couple of foundational myths which occur in almost every culture traceable to the indo europeans. One of them is the story of the hero who slays a serpent, or serpent like creature. It's pictured above in the guise of Zeus v. Typhon. It also may be familiar to fans of Old Norse (Thor v. Jörmungandr), the Rig Veda (Indra described as "the one who killed the serpent."), Hittite (Baal v. Serpent), and of course who can forget St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland.

My point here is that these stories are similar in that they are concerned with man's quest for immortal fame.  These stories point towards the fact that the "quest for fame" is not something that we invented in the 20th century, but rather a concern that reaches to the very beginning of indo european culture and language, and indeed, might not have that desire been what made the Indo European's different from the people's they encountered during their expansion from central asia?  The desire for fame is a powerful motivator as we can attest today.