If not for the indomitable Queen Olympias, Alexander the Great may never have conquered half the world during his historic reign.Wikimedia Commons Queen Olympias (in red) bargaining with the Greek king Cassander.
They say that behind every great man is a great woman. That’s definitely true of Macedonian king Alexander the Great — who conquered most of the known world in the fourth century B.C. — and his mother, Queen Olympias. Read More...
The earthquakes, weather events, and tsunamis caused by the Krakatoa eruption of 1883 were felt even thousands of miles away.Library of Congress The Krakatoa eruption of 1883 is considered the loudest sound ever.
On the morning of August 26, 1883, the residents of the island of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait of Indonesia, then-Dutch East Indie, arose like it was any other day. They went about their business as smoke trailed from the three volcanic cones that dotted the island. Read More...
Drawn on gazelle skin parchment, the Piri Reis Map is based on about 20 other maps, some of which were created by Christopher Columbus. Wikimedia CommonsJames Cook and Piri Reis.
In 1773, explorer James Cook passed through the Antarctic circle for the first time. Cook and his crew discovered a land that had, until then, remained a mystery. While this expedition remains the official “first discovery” of the continent, a map was discovered in 1929 that suggests otherwise. Read More...
