To this day Ancient Greece has immense influence. It had many brilliant scientists, philosophers, mathematicians, and poets, like Homer.
Homer was a Greek poet and writer. He created epic poems, which are poems in the form of a story and are often about myths and legends. Homer’s first composition “The Iliad” recounts the history of the Trojan War. This struggle lasted from 1260-1180 B.C. and started when Menelaus’s wife Helen was stolen by Paris, king of Troy.
Homer’s second epic poem “The Odyssey” was about the adventures of Odysseus, who was the king of Greek town. This tale is about Odysseus trying to make it back home to his family after the brutal and bloody Trojan War.
Another great epic poem is “The Aeneid.” Written by the Greek poet Virgil, the fictional narrative is about the founding of Rome by a Trojan prince named Aeneas, who tried to found a new Trojan empire with his father in what is today modern-day Italy. Because it teaches us about what may have been the roots of Roman civilization, this story is important to study.
Greek Government consisted of 4 types: Anarchy, Oligarchy, Monarchy, and Democracy.
In Anarchy, there are no laws, while Oligarchy is a small group of people controlling the government. The kings of Greek Monarchy were called Tyrants. Today we think of “Tyrant” as being an oppressive ruler or king, but it used to mean simply being king.
Notably, Democracy came to power in the city-state of Athens. Democracy comes from the Greek words “Demos” and “Kratos” which together mean “Rule by the People.” In a Democracy, the council acted like a judge and would swiftly decide someone’s fate if he committed a crime. If a council member didn’t serve the people well, then he would get punished, like banishment for 10 years.
Durable. Creative. Inventive. Greece is still one of the most significant civilizations ever. Countries around the world still use the same governments and study the awesome works of the Greek geniuses.
The Middle ages is often thought of as a great time of intrepid knights, benevolent kings, and massive castles. Although, this isn’t entirely true. Beginning with the collapse and downfall of the vast Western Roman Empire in the 400s, this era was not an excellent time for Europe. Different tenacious and vicious barbarian tribes savagely swept through Europe and took hold and desecrated most of the continent. The stunned civilians had to flee in terror. Unfortunately, the barbarians were far from pleasant and had no interest in the high culture of Rome. Because of the lack of learning and culture, this time is called the Dark Ages. Knights and kings didn’t appear until later in the period around the 900s. Even then, most people were lowly and fetid peasants who lived in dilapidated houses and worked all day for the rich noblemen. Life in the Middle Ages was unpleasant, and Roman culture was almost forgotten.
Although some historical inaccuracies and controversies have arisen from the book over the years, “Bridge Over the River Kwai” is an entertaining read with fast-paced action, as well as some suspense. The book does a stellar job describing the environment and highlighting the human struggle between the officers and the suffering of the POWs. Even if it has more fictional elements than the author meant it to have, it’s still a compelling book,
Written by French author Pierre Boulle, “Bridge Over the River Kwai” was published and translated into English in 1954, two years after the original publication in 1952. It focuses on British POWs in Siam (modern-day Thailand) who are forced to build a bridge over the Kwai River for Japanese supply trains.
In 1957, a film adaptation was made, bearing the same name as the novel. It even won the Academy Award for Best Picture that year. Directed by David Lean, the movie was shot along the Kelani River in Sri Lanka. The movie has a few differences from Boulle’s book, but overall is relatively similar.
Boulle was born on February 20, 1912 in Avignon, France. Raised as a Catholic, he later became an agnostic, the belief that the existence of God is a mystery and is completely unknowable. Boulle studied and later graduated from Ecole Superieure d’Electricité in 1933, receiving a degree in engineering. In 1936, he traveled to Malaysia where he worked as a technician and engineer on British rubber plantations. In 1939, still living in Malaysia, Boulle enlisted in the French army in Indochina. When mainland France was conquered by the German army in 1940, he joined the Free French in Singapore. After helping with Allied resistance movements in China, Burma, and Indochina, Boulle was captured and arrested by Vichy France loyalists in 1943, being subjected to two years of forced labor.
Besides his two most famous novels, “The Bridge Over the River Kwai” and “Planet of the Apes”, the author wrote another book, “My Own River Kwai”, in which he describes his actual wartime experiences, while “The Bridge Over the River Kwai” is roughly based on his experiences while a POW.
The bridge described in the book was part of Burma Death Railway. Constructed from 1940 to 1943, the Japanese used the forced labor of Southeast Asian civilians as well as Allied POWs. It’s estimated that 180,000-250,000 civilians and 60,000 POWs were subjected to forced labor on the railway, around 102,000 of whom died. Much of the railway still stands today and runs from Ban Pong, Thailand, to Thanbyuzayat, Myanmar. The bridge that’s the subject of Boulle’s book is said to be Bridge 277, which was built over the Khwae Noi River, at the time called the Mae Klong River. Khwae Noi in Thai simply means “small river,” however, Khwae was commonly mispronounced by Allied POWs and called the “Kwai River”, meaning Buffalo River. Bridge 277 was damaged multiple times by American bombers near the end of the war, before being successfully destroyed in June 1945.
In October 1942, captured British soldiers arrived at the Tamarkan POW camp to build the bridge. These men were commanded by British Colonel Philip Toosey, said to be Boulle’s inspiration for Colonel Nicholson, one of the main characters. Unfortunately, controversy arose when Toosey was found to have never collaborated with the Japanese, as Nicholson did in the novel. Boulle then revealed that Nicholson was not meant to represent Toosey, but French officers who collaborated with the Japanese and Vichy regimes. Nonetheless, some have dismissed the book as complete fiction for this and several other historical inaccuracies.
Some of Boulle’s mistakes are due in part to the fact that he was not held captive by the Japanese, rather the Vichy French. For example, forced labor conditions under the Japanese were much worse than what’s described in the book. Daily, prisoners were deprived of food and medical supplies, beaten, tortured, humiliated, and forced to work sunrise to sunset without ceasing. Whatever a Japanese soldier could construe as disrespect or disobedience by a prisoner would most likely result in their murder. Unlike Nicholson’s nemesis, Colonel Saito, Japanese officers would not allow a man like Nicholson and his insubordination. Even if Nicholson had not been killed by the Japanese, the other prisoners would not tolerate his willing collaboration with the enemy. Because of these problems with the historical accuracy of the book, prisoners who were at the Tamarkan POW camp have also criticized the book.
Although some of its errors can be misleading, the book is still based on real events and might introduce the reader to history they weren’t previously aware of. If readers approach “Bridge Over the River Kwai” as a historical fiction as opposed to non-fiction, it’s a rewarding World War II novel.
