Agora, ktl

Hi, guys. I'm really sorry; I'm really rubbish at this whole blogging thing. So I've had a couple of crazy experiences this week. One was my visit to the doctor this morning, which was not all that pleasant- astoundingly so, considering how mild the affliction was. I honestly expected to be out of there in half an hour after picking up a prescription for antibiotics to get all this infected gunk out of my sinuses. But noooo, not quite. I was promptly checked in by the receptionist, weighed and measured, temperatured and blood pressured by the nurse... and then... sat in an empty exam room for no less than 45 minutes. ??? No person peeking in to tell me somebody would be with me shortly, nobody pulling me out into the waiting room where there were actual magazines- just a hurried apology by the nurse practitioner when she finally showed up. I'd even forgotten to bring a book, which I never do. But the appointment itself was disgruntling, too; everything I said was either ignored or responded to in a completely patronizing way. At one point I think she actually suggested I thought my sinuses were in my nose. Honestly, where do they find these people?

Anyway, I've got the antibiotics and should be on the mend soon. The other thing I did, though, was watch a really good, but somewhat disturbing movie on netflix last night, called "Agora." It's about an independent woman in ancient Greece (or Greek Egypt, rather- Hypatia of Alexandria), so obviously I had to watch it. The character was both really historically accurate (according to my undergrad studies in classics, but anyway, I was convinced) and unsettlingly easy to relate to. They did well. The visual representations of ancient Alexandria- temples, theaters, open-air households, the Library- were breathtaking, and the scientific studies Hypatia was engaged in were fascinating (and, again, *seemed* pretty appropriate to the time). Meanwhile there was a lot of interesting stuff going on with the development of Christianity (early Christians largely not a very nice bunch, it seems), internal conflicts within its ranks, and interactions between that sect, the Greek/Roman/Egyptian polytheists, and the more well-established monotheists, the Jews. You kind of walk away from it wondering about cosmology and geometry and what they have to do with each other, being upset about all the dishonesty involved (inevitably? i'm not sure) in establishing a major religion, wanting to smell the ocean along the Egyptian coast, being angry about slavery, lamenting the human tendency towards violence and selfishness, and really wishing ancient Greece hadn't treated women so badly (nor left such a deep set of impressions on later cultures). Basically it's upsetting, but also beautiful and interesting. And as with most well-done historical movies, it's too amazing an experience stepping into that other world that other people really experienced but that's beyond our reach- too rare and valuable, to imagine it wasn't worth it.