What era fascinates you?

[jillian]

Or if not fascinates...but you find yourself drawn to the most?

For me...11th century to the 17th century. Mainly european although I do have a fascination for USA mobsters of the 20th century.

I always thought I should have been born into the sixties... well, I was, but to have been old enough in the 60's to have been to woodstock and the 68 convention.

in ancient history? i've always had a thing for things egyptian.

 

[Grace]

The 30's and 40's hollywood era when actors could actually sing AND dance AND act. Where the women dressed in beautiful gowns while dining and dancing. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, the beauty of elegance.

 

[Grace]

Or if not fascinates...but you find yourself drawn to the most?

For me...11th century to the 17th century. Mainly european although I do have a fascination for USA mobsters of the 20th century.

I always thought I should have been born into the sixties... well, I was, but to have been old enough in the 60's to have been to woodstock and the 68 convention.

in ancient history? i've always had a thing for things egyptian.

Did the 60's thing...LATE 60's and 70's. Missed woodstock though. Wrong side of the USA. Opposite end from where I am. But egyptian is interesting as well. Fascinating era.
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent era....even Troy or Alexandria. Rome and Gladiators. Vikings. So many.

 

[Si modo]

If I were a man, I'd like either the Roman Empire or the Renaissance. As I'm not, I'm with JB; I am always looking to the future for exciting stories that I could never predict.

 

[Spoonman]

Or if not fascinates...but you find yourself drawn to the most?

For me...11th century to the 17th century. Mainly european although I do have a fascination for USA mobsters of the 20th century.

I always thought I should have been born into the sixties... well, I was, but to have been old enough in the 60's to have been to woodstock and the 68 convention.

in ancient history? i've always had a thing for things egyptian.

That was my era Jillian. I loved being a teen in the 60's times were changing and it was great to be a part of them. you could really feel the energy and freedom

 

[Spoonman]

The 30's and 40's hollywood era when actors could actually sing AND dance AND act. Where the women dressed in beautiful gowns while dining and dancing. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, the beauty of elegance.

hollywood used to have class

 

[westwall]

Rome around Ceasers time or the Byzantine Empire at the time of Justinian the First. Come to think of it the Frankish Kingdom under Charlemagne would be pretty interesting as well.

 

[Trajan]

334 BC, being one of Alexanders Hypaspist's as he starts his march into Persia.


or 1805, a member of Napoleons Old Guard.

 

[Grace]

One of the people standing along the road as Jesus walked on his way to death. Id pelt some guards with a rock and be all

 

[zzzz]

Would I want to live in another era? NO! The Romanticism of some of the earlier times disregards the hard times, the illnesses, the short lives and just how hard it was to make a living. In today's time if you have an illness, like diabetes, you can live a long life. We have plenty to eat or choose from, you don't have to walk 10 miles or ride an ass to town. People in this day and age take a lot for granted and do not realize what life was like back then. Even a few decades ago life was hard for some people. We did not even have running water till the early 60's, we had to pump it by hand. There was no bathroom, we had to walk outside and 100 yards or so to the outhouse. We had electricity and heat which made those wintery days bearable. Go back to the Roman empire and did they have toilet paper? There was no TV, radio but they had plays. And that time was fascinating. Good time to visit, just don't want to live it!

 

[American Horse]

What era fascinates you? Or if not fascinates...but you find yourself drawn to the most?

For me...11th century to the 17th century. Mainly european although I do have a fascination for USA mobsters of the 20th century.

I'm most fascinated by the era of the Roman Republic - 509 BC to 27 BC., In the main, their efforts at improving their republican system of government; the plebeian revolts and rise of the plebs almost to parity with the patricians with their utility of the tribunes and their veto; their (the plebs) inability to cope with military necessity because of the state's ascendancy as a regional power combined with the failure of the duality of the two consuls sharing the highest executive power; the civil wars, the personalities, the conspiracies and the inability to resolve crises as a political system; all these are a grand story of human drama, and thoroughly documented by historians living at the time.

In the city of Rome, during the 481 years of the Republic, there seems to have been a spectacularly huge pool of leadership talent to meet the challenges, though it wasn’t quite enough. Still, they had a good run.

Coming in second, the Empire, created as a device for overlaying and usurping the republic; resolving the need for one dominant personality as a unifying political figure to nullify the weaknesses of the earlier representative system, which wasn’t entirely up to the challenge of the personalities and the demands of a far-flung empire, which lasted another 500 years in the west til the fall of the City of Rome.

And that of course, was not the end of the story in the east, at New Rome (Constantinople),
which survived a decade short of another thousand years, just 3-decades short of the discovery of the "new world".

As Ed said back in post number 6: "I could live to be a thousand years old and still find things to study that would help me get it better, and I still wouldn't know a millionth of what I needed to know to really get it."

 

[Grace]

Many eras fascinate me...but I also would not want to have had to live in those times. Imagine a toothache. Or some other ailment. Shudder.

 

[westwall]

Would I want to live in another era? NO! The Romanticism of some of the earlier times disregards the hard times, the illnesses, the short lives and just how hard it was to make a living. In today's time if you have an illness, like diabetes, you can live a long life. We have plenty to eat or choose from, you don't have to walk 10 miles or ride an ass to town. People in this day and age take a lot for granted and do not realize what life was like back then. Even a few decades ago life was hard for some people. We did not even have running water till the early 60's, we had to pump it by hand. There was no bathroom, we had to walk outside and 100 yards or so to the outhouse. We had electricity and heat which made those wintery days bearable. Go back to the Roman empire and did they have toilet paper? There was no TV, radio but they had plays. And that time was fascinating. Good time to visit, just don't want to live it!

The Romans actually had very good plumbing with fairly decent toilet facilities, in some cases better than you find in some Italian towns now. Water was abundant and piped to your home if you had enough money. Rome was not too bad compared to the present day. Disease would certainly be an issue, but life wasn't to bad at all.

 

[Grace]

From what I saw on spartacus, romans used a rag on the end of a stick to wipe...then the rag and stick was dunked in a bucket of water for the next person.

But I guess it beats using a leaf...or nothing at all.

 

[eots]

the stone-age man....
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JzE3u5STEk&feature=related]YouTube - One Million Years B.C. Catfight[/ame]

 

[michaelyoung]

As a lover of history it's hard for me to pinpoint one specific era that beats the rest, but I do have a strong affinity for the 1920s-30s era: the flapper style, the beautiful beaded dresses, the bob hair cut, the thrill (for some) of Prohibition and all that jazz. During a trip to NYC last summer I was able to indulge my love for the flapper look at the MET with their exhibit on American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity. The clothes really are on another level, the intricate details of the beading and the fit and style of the 1920s dresses recalls a period of elegance juxtaposed with a youthful revolution for fun and excitement.

 

[Grace]

This may sound kind of "out there"....but I think the strong draw to a particular time is one of our past lifetimes. Which means reincarnation, which Im not sure about. But why else would we be "urged" in our subconscious to feel the fascination to that particular era? And if that thought doesnt float your boat...then what do you think made you find that era so magnetic to you?
(Asked in general to everyone).

 

[editec]

As a lover of history it's hard for me to pinpoint one specific era that beats the rest, but I do have a strong affinity for the 1920s-30s era: the flapper style, the beautiful beaded dresses, the bob hair cut, the thrill (for some) of Prohibition and all that jazz. During a trip to NYC last summer I was able to indulge my love for the flapper look at the MET with their exhibit on American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity. The clothes really are on another level, the intricate details of the beading and the fit and style of the 1920s dresses recalls a period of elegance juxtaposed with a youthful revolution for fun and excitement.

I completely agree with your about the fashion of that age.

I'd say the roaring twenties and depression thirties might have been a kind of golden age for American pop culture. (on a personal note I've seen a photo of my GM who was a flapper. She was one hot ticket, I'll tell ya)

And I think that the guilded age (roughly 1880 -1914) might have been American's golden age for high arts and literature.


What I'd really like is Peabody and Sherman's "way back" machine.

If I had that I doubt I'd choose in 2011 as my time-home-base.

 

[Blagger]

For me, it will always be ancient Rome, closely followed by medieval history. To this day, I can still remember the sense of wonderment I felt after my grandfather would read to us about the Roman Empire. His exact words were, "many years ago, a civilization very different to the one today existed". I also own two Roman coins that I found with my metal detector. I know my friends think it's a bit sad, but without my metal detector, I wouldn't have two of my most precious possessions. And yes, they've both been authenticated.

For all of Europe's faults, I consider it a privilege to still be able to interact with and appreciate the still standing traces of the Roman world.

The Medieval period is equally as fascinating. They were turbulent times, fraught with warfare, power struggles and constant upheaval. Castles are a testament to that, and they're still just as intimidating to behold as they were all those years ago.

 

[Big Black Dog]

Eras don't interest me as much as RBIs do.