Question Mark

Questions. Answering and asking questions so far have dominated my life, whether they are trivial or academic. But questions and answers are what actually shape history. I was sitting in a lecture today, and the word that continually cropped up was “why?” Why would Aristotle say this? Why would Alexander the Great portray himself as Heracles? Anyway, the point is, I am asked constantly “why” I study Ancient History. Do I want to be a librarian or a teacher? No I do not. Do I want to go on a dig to Egypt or the homes of other ancient civilizations? Possibly, but that is not why I am studying Ancient History. The fact is that questions are what make history. It is a historian’s prerogative to question: reliability, accountability, so on and so on. With my life having been surrounded by questions, I feel that the subject where I find the most intriguing questions to be answered lies in ancient history.

As an undergraduate of only two weeks, one could say, “of course I still have so much to learn”. But it not what I want to necessarily learn  (although of course knowledge is the key) but more so what I want to ask. Because I find, personally, that without questioning, learning becomes much harder. That is why I enjoy ancient history so incredibly much: there are so many questions to be asked. You could say this of any subject I’m sure. But after putting across this idea to friends and family, many agreed that history is a subject that involves constant questioning, whether it be artifacts, scriptures, sources or remains. With no disrespect to the discipline, the same questions cannot be asked of Mathematics. There is no simple 1+1=2 in history. There is no formulae for events, no predictability. That is why the questions that can be asked of the ancient world are so fascinating: they date so long ago, that no one really and truly knows absolutely everything about their way of life and cultures. There are no strict answers.

This brings me on to my final point. Asking “why” in an Ancient History lecture may not bring you the definitive answer you were looking for. It will, however, provide the basis to learn the ways of the ancients – the rest is up to you.