Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Kennedy Essays (2138 words) - Kennedy Family, Bouvier Family

Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States in 1961. At the age of forty-three, he was the youngest man ever elected president. He was also the first Roman Catholic ever elected to the oval office. Rich, handsome, charming, elegant, articulate, and from a well known family, Kennedy became a natural recipiant of admiration both in the United States and abroad. His assassination in Dallas, Texas on November 23, 1963 resulted in public outrage and widespread mourning throughout the nation and the World. Kennedy's term in office was too short to allow history to pass fair and acurate judgement on his accomplishments as president. Their is little doubt, however, that the image and philosphy, he brought to the oval office not only influenced the generation he governed, but also continues to influence today's generation and politics in general. Indeed, "Camelot", the name given to the idyllic time during Kennedy's presidency, is not a dead mythology but a living idealogy that continues in American society today. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (he latest gained the nick name Jack) was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was Joseph & Rose Kennedy's second son. His father was a multimillionaire businessman, who had became a bank president at the age of 25, and made his fortune through investments in stocks, importing, shipbuilding, and moviemaking. Joe Kennedy's political experince was limited to being appointed the first chairman of the newly created Securities and Exchange Commission (1934-1935) by president Franklin D. Roosevelt, and having served as the head of the U.S. Maritime Commission (1937), as well as being the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain (1937-1940). Even though Joseph Kennedy never ran for an elected office himself, he and his wife had large ambitions for their nine children. John Kennedy was groomed for a career in politics from an early age. Growing up Kennedy was small for his age and suffered through several childhood diseases. As a child he was quite and shy, a far cry from his personality traits in his later years. During his childhood his older brother Joe helped and protected him, and served as a role model for young Jack. From an early age the Kennedy children were taught by their parents that the United States had been good to the Kennedy's and that whatever the U.S. did for them must be returned by some service to the country. Jack took this idea to heart. Later it became the basis for a famous line from his inaguration speach in which Kennedy said: "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." In school Kennedy excelled in history and english, but was a poor speller and struggled in math and science. Kennedy's sixth grade teacher noted his humor and competitive spirit. Kennedy graduated from Choate High School in Wallingford Connecticut and briefly attended Princeton University before enrolling in Harvard in 1936. While attending Harvard Kennedy wrote a brilliant honors thesis on British Foreign policies in the 1930s called "Why England Slept", which was later published. He graduated in 1940 and was voted most likely to suceed by his classmates. In 1941 Kennedy entered the the U.S. Navy shortly before the United States entered World War II. Following Pearl Harbor he applied for sea duty and became the commander of PT 109, a Navy torpedo boat. In 1943, while on active duty of the Pacific, the boat he commanded was rammed and sunk by the Japanese. In an act of heroism, Kennedy rescued and lead his crew ashore, but in doing so aggravated an old back injury and contracted malaria. He was discharged from the Navy in 1945. Kennedy returned home to Boston from the war with a citation for valor to began persuit of the political career his parents had envisioned for him. In 1946, the rich and ambitious young veteran joined the Democratic party and successfully ran for a Boston-based seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected to the seat in 1948 and 1950. As a congressman Kennedy supported social legislation that benefited his working-class constituents. It was during his tenure in congress that he began to advocate a strong anti-communist foreign policy, which he continued to promote for the remainer of his life. During this time Kennedy was especially critical of what he considered a weak policy against communism, especially communist China, by president Truman. Kennedy become restless in the House and in 1952 ran for the U.S. Senate. He faced a strong opponent in

Friday, March 6, 2020

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus The Temple of Artemis, sometimes  called the Artemisium,  was a huge, beautiful place of worship, that was built around 550 BCE  in the rich, port  city of Ephesus (located  in what is now western Turkey).  When the beautiful monument was burned down 200 years later  by the arsonist Herostratus in 356 BCE, the Temple of Artemis was built again, just as large but even more intricately decorated. It was this second version of the Temple of Artemis that was awarded a place among the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. The Temple of Artemis was again destroyed  in 262 CE when the Goths invaded Ephesus, but the second time it was not rebuilt. Who Was Artemis? For ancient Greeks, Artemis  (also known as the Roman  goddess  Diana), the twin sister of Apollo,  was the athletic, healthy, virgin  goddess of hunting and wild animals,  often depicted with a bow and arrow. Ephesus, however, was not purely a Greek city. Although it had been founded by Greeks as a colony on Asia Minor around 1087 BCE,  it continued to be influenced by the original inhabitants of the area. Thus, at Ephesus,  the Greek goddess Artemis was combined with the local, pagan goddess of fertility, Cybele. The few  sculptures that remain of Artemis of Ephesus show a woman standing, with her legs fitted  tightly together and her arms held out in front of her. Her legs  were wrapped tightly in a long skirt covered with animals, such as stags and lions. Around her neck was a garland of flowers and on her head was  either a hat or a headdress.  But what was most pronounced was her  torso, which was  covered with a large number of breasts or eggs. Artemis of Ephesus  was not only  the goddess of fertility, she was the patron deity of the city. As such, Artemis of Ephesus needed a temple in which to be honored. The First Temple of Artemis The first Temple of Artemis was built in a marshy area long held sacred by locals.  It is believed that there was at least some sort of temple or shrine there at least as early as 800 BCE. However, when famously-rich King Croesus of Lydia conquered the area in 550 BCE, he ordered a new, larger, more magnificent temple to be built. The Temple of Artemis was an  immense, rectangular  structure made of white marble.  The  Temple was  350-feet long and 180-feet wide, larger than a modern, American-football field. What was truly spectacular, though, was its height. The 127 Ionic columns, which were  lined up in two rows all around the structure, reached 60 feet high. That was nearly twice as high as the columns at the  Parthenon in Athens.   The entire Temple was covered in beautiful carvings, including the columns, which was unusual for the time. Inside the Temple was a statue of Artemis, which is believed to have been life-sized. Arson For 200 years, the Temple of Artemis was revered. Pilgrims would travel long distances to see the Temple. Many visitors would make generous donations to the goddess to earn her favor. Vendors would make idols of her likeness and sell them near the Temple. The city of Ephesus, already a successful port city, soon became wealthy from the tourism brought in by the Temple as well. Then, on July 21, 356 BCE, a madman named Herostratus set fire to the magnificent building, with the sole purpose of wanting to be remembered throughout history. The Temple of Artemis burned down. The Ephesians and nearly the entire ancient world were stupefied at such a brazen, sacrilegious act. So that  such an evil  act would not make Herostratus famous, the Ephesians  banned anyone from speaking his name, with the punishment being death. Despite their best efforts, Herostratus name has gone down in history and is still  remembered more than  2,300  years later. Legend has it that Artemis was too busy to stop Herostratus from burning down her temple because she was helping with the birth of Alexander the Great that day. The Second Temple of Artemis When the Ephesians sorted through the charred remains of the Temple of Artemis, it is said they found the statue of Artemis intact and unharmed. Taking this as a positive sign, the Ephesians vowed to rebuild the temple. It is unclear how long it took to rebuild, but  it easily took decades. There is a story that when Alexander the Great arrived in Ephesus in 333 BCE, he offered to help pay for the rebuilding of the Temple as long as his name would be engraved on it.  Famously, the Ephesians found a tactful way  of rebuffing his offer by saying, It is not fitting that one god should build a temple for another god. Eventually, the second Temple of Artemis was finished, equal or just a bit taller in size but even more  elaborately decorated. The Temple of Artemis was well-known in the ancient world and was a destination for many worshippers. For 500 years, the Temple of Artemis was revered and visited. Then, in 262 CE, the Goths, one of the many  tribes from the north, invaded Ephesus and destroyed the Temple. This time, with Christianity on the rise and the cult of Artemis on the decline, it was decided to not rebuild the Temple. Swampy Ruins Sadly, the ruins of the Temple of Artemis were eventually plundered, with the marble being taken for other buildings in the area. Over time, the swamp in which the Temple was built grew larger, taking over much of the once-grand city. By 1100 CE, the few remaining citizens of Ephesus had completely forgotten that the Temple of Artemis ever existed. In 1864, the British Museum funded John Turtle Wood to excavate the area in the hopes of finding the ruins of the Temple of Artemis. After five years of searching, Wood finally found the remains of the Temple of Artemis under 25 feet of swampy mud. Later archaeologists have further excavated the site, but not much has been found. The foundation remains there as does a single column. The few artifacts that have been found were shipped to the British Museum in London.