National Geographic History - 05.2019 - 06.2019

CELEBRATIONS of

military victories, called

triumphs, were a Roman

commander’s ultimate

goal. Piqued that his rival

Pompey had once been

granted three, Julius Caesar

mounted four within a

month—three for victories

in Gaul, Egypt, and Turkey,

and a fourth for crushing

Pompey himself. When

this quadruple triumph was

staged in Rome in 46 B.C.,

the splendor could not quiet

whispers of unease at this

ostentatious display, which

would swell in the next two

years, culminating in an

assassination plot.

One Block at a Time

In the 1960s Egypt’s plans to build the Aswan High Dam

threatened the colossal ancient temples of Abu Simbel,

carved into a sandstone cliff on the Nile’s west bank. To save

these treasures, an international task force came up with a

plan to move entire structures to safety, block by block.

Childhood in Ancient Greece

In the birthplace of democracy, boys and girls had their

destinies largely decided by gender. Girls were relegated to

domestic duties, learning to be future wives and mothers.

Boys looked ahead to public lives and were taught rhetoric

and games to prepare them for military and political careers.

Seeds of Slavery

In 1619 a group of Africans stolen from Angola were headed

for slavery in the Spanish silver mines of Mexico, but English

pirates kidnapped them and took them to Virginia, where

African slavery would take root in North America.

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FROM

TRIUMPHS

TO TRAGEDY

BORN TO A HUMBLE FAMILY, Alessandro di

Mariano Filipepi is known to the world by

his nickname Botticelli—Little Barrel. His

prodigious talents attracted the Medici

of Florence, whose patronage was

rewarded with paintings of such

sublime power as “The Birth of

Venus.” These visions of ideal

beauty stood in stark contrast

to the turmoil of the times, as

Florence was invaded by the

French, and the Medici exiled.

Despite the chaos that surrounded

him, Botticelli’s genius came to

epitomize Renaissance grace.

JULIUS CAESAR PRESIDES

OVER HIS TRIUMPH IN ROME

IN A PAINTING BY ANDREA

MANTEGNA. HAMPTON COURT

PALACE, LONDON

AKG/ALBUM

THE BEAUTY

OF BOTTICELLI

GRANGER/AGE FOTOSTOCK

“THE BIRTH OF VENUS” (DETAIL)

BY BOTTICELLI. UFFIZI GALLERY,

FLORENCE