Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2007 June 1

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[edit] June 1

[edit] cuba

what are some are some things about cuban customs and religus beliefs.Also what are some cool things about there agriculture but its also ok if its not cool.PS do u think i should go there? thx for your time --Sivad4991 02:04, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Hmm, where to begin? There is Salsa and there is Santeria; there is Rum and there is Fidel. Have a daiquiri alongside Papa in El Floridita. I did! What is not cool? The police are far from cool, and the hustlers even less so: there are plenty of both. But it is all part of the fun! I love the place. Maybe you will too. Clio the Muse 02:17, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] i forgot his name

i heard of a little boy in africa who had HIV and i would like to learn more but i forgot his name. all i remember was his first name started with "nk" i think and his last name was jonsun if thats how u spell it is mom died so he was adoptid by an orfanige for people with HIV he died at 11 and made a shpeach to thousands of people (not including the people watching on tv) if u find out let me know thanks --Sivad4991 02:41, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Hello, Sivad. You're thinking about Nkosi Johnson. Here's a link to Jim Wooten's book We Are All The Same. ---Sluzzelin talk 02:50, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

thank you. You are da bomb lol thanks alot. --Sivad4991 02:57, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

You're very welcome. Three years ago, I listened to a segment on NPR about Nkosi's story, featuring interviews with Wooten and a lot of taped recordings of the boy as well as his friends and educators. I'm not easily affected by "child wisdom", but Nkosi's timbre (and words) possessed an unusual clarity and serenity, which I found calming and touching at the same time, and which made me pull the car over. I recommend listening to recordings of his speech and interviews. ---Sluzzelin talk 05:08, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] JAREL a Spiritual Wellbeing scale

I had hoped to find this sc/ale and some information related to it. I found the 'description' and author on GOOGLE, but not the 'scale' w/the typical questions it would have for the 'inventory'.

I have a college (nursing) requirement to relate this to patient care and hoped to have more information.

It was authored by Hungelmann and others, and the JAREL acronym is the first letter of 'their' names..... (Hungelmann and others, 1966)and I didn't want to pay $19 for the info on another site.

Thank you.70.89.75.126 03:13, 1 June 2007 (UTC)SF

The name comes, presumably, from J. A. Hungelmann, R. M. Stollenwerk, E. Kenkel-Rossi, and L. Klassen.[1] By using "Search/Look inside" at Amazon.com and "Limited preview" at Google books you can sometimes find such information for free online (not only from the primary source, but also by searching secondary sources citing it). Or go to a university library and find reference 41 from the given link: Hungelmann, J. A.; et al. (1989). "Development of the JAREL spiritual well-being scale". Rose Mary Carroll-Johnson (editor) Classification of Nursing Diagnoses: Proceedings of the Eighth Conference, North American Nursing Diagnosis Association: 393 ff, Philadelphia: Lippincott.  (ISBN 978-0397547364)  --LambiamTalk 17:05, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Women in the Peninsular War

I'm looking for information on camp followers of the British Army during the Peninsular War. Judithspencer 10:26, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

The book you need to look for is Following the Drum: Women in Wellington's Army by F. C. G. Page. There is also William Grattam's memoirs, Adventures with the Connaught Rangers, 1809-1814. Both provide plentiful details of the lives of the women who chose to accompany their husbands to war. It was not, it should be stressed, simply a question of marital fidelity. This was the time when the state made no provision for soldiers' dependants; so accompanying husbands to war was, for a great many, the only way of avoiding the workhouse. Even so, the hardships they had to endure were quite remarkable, perhaps never more so than in the Sir John Moore's retreat to Corunna in the winter of 1808-9, where many women and children died by the roadside. Clio the Muse 00:43, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] English expression sought

If a person is somewhat impatiently awaiting a statement of another person (e. g. the answer to a question or an offer), in what short phrase would this person express the expectation? Possibly "And?" or "Well?" ? --KnightMove 11:09, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

"Well?" fits the bill perfectly. As does "So?" --Richardrj talk email 11:29, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Or "nu?" ---Sluzzelin talk 11:44, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
That's interesting.... thx! --KnightMove 12:47, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
"Well, what do you say?" or "Well, are you up for it?" might be used. Depending on the situation, "Well, ya wanna?" Edison 13:54, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
"And?" means, roughly, "Why did you tell me that? There must be something more." —Tamfang 18:59, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Growing old in Ancient Rome

How did the Romans respond to aging?

The word "senate" is derived from a Latin word meaning "older man"... AnonMoos 11:54, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Cicero's De Senectute might be of interest here. Here's an English translation. ---Sluzzelin talk 12:18, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Their attitudes toward the old partially shaped our own. The senex, for example, was a commonplace character in New Comedy in Rome. (The old man who is amorous/covetous and therefore a fool or the old man who is a miser/misanthrope because of his age. Typically, this is the old man who wants a young bride and cannot keep up with her or cannot understand her.) There is the wise old man and the old fool, but there is also the veneration of the old in Republican Rome reflected both in the "senate" and in the figures of the old in Virgil (most famously of Anchises). Utgard Loki 14:54, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Try to imagine, if you will, walking through the streets of Rome in, say, 27BC, the year that Octavian became Augustus. One of the first thing you would notice is that most of the people in the streets would be young, perhaps no more than twenty-two years old on average. You have now entered a world where life expectancy at birth was short, much like parts of Africa and Asia today. Perhaps as many as a half of all those born at this time would not make it past the age of ten. The elderly, then, were a comparative rarity, and this inevitably had an important impact in determing the general perception of their role within Roman society.

Marcus Terentius Varro, writing towards the end of the first century BC, defined five stages of life: puertia, up to the age of fifteen; adulscentia, from fifteen to thirty; iuventus, from thirty to forty-five; seniores, from forty-five to sixty; and senectus, from sixty to death. Horace also divided life into a series of stages, though he concentrated on biological and social factors. For both, the adult stage was the prime of life, after which comes decline. The perceptions of women were quite different, for they were reckoned to have entered adulthood at the time of marriage, whereas their male siblings may still only have been in the 'adolescent' stage. In general, the female life-cycle was determined by patterns of reproduction, 'old-age' coming with the onset of the menopause.

Men of a certain class could expect to play an active part in public affairs, at least until the age of sixty, after which they were able to step down, free from the duty of attending the Senate or their local council. For these people there was the expression sexagenarious de ponte-sixty and over the bridge, which in the strictest sense simply meant that they were no longer under an obligation to vote. Retirement, no matter how comfortable, brought much the same concerns as it still does today, a fear of social marginalisation being uppermost. Cicero wrote a dialogue while he himself was in his sixties, giving shape to this preoccupation. However, most free men who made it through the middle years had quite diffrent preoccupations. For those who had no resources or family to look after them the outlook was grim indeed. A few brief lines of verse in the Palatine Anthology captures something of their sad fate;

Worn by age and poverty, no one stretching out his hand to relieve my misery, on my tottering legs I went slowly to my grave, scarce able to reach the end of my wretched life. In my case the law of death was reversed, for I did not die first to be buried, but I died after my funeral.

Men of this class, the Roman proletariat, would literally work until they dropped. For women without family or support the outlook, if anything, was even grimmer. For some the only prospect of survival was prostitution, and both Horace and Juvenal give graphic descriptions of decaying bodies and sagging faces caked with cosmetics. Some other Roman writers liken the techniques used in brothels to make elderly prostitutes presentable to those used by undertakers in preparing a corpse. Old women are also satirised in comic literature as drunks, brothel keepers or witches. In the Roman world the old were wise and revered if they were wealthy. If not, they stared into the abyss. Some things really do not change. Clio the Muse 00:03, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Only one caveat to that summary: the cosmetics, certainly in Juvenal, are a sign of hiding scars and disease and the ravages of the lifestyle, in the case of prostitutes, and, in Horace, they are signs of false coquettishness. In other words, for the polite Horace, the painted woman was the equivalent of the senex alluded to above: she was trying to pretend to be young. In the vicious Juvenal, it was an attempt at hiding the ugliness of prostitution itself. Little wonder that Horace and Juvenal were top of the charts for 18th century satirists to translate. Geogre 03:36, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

WOW!!! Thanks, guys-you are all so cool. Who would believe this is the Wikipedia reference desk????? I feel as if I have travelled back in time and walked into Plato's Academy!!!!

[edit] Economies of scale

Can a small firm still gain some economies of scale? If so, which ones and how?

A small firm could set up a business doing homework for people over the internet for free. There would be *plenty* of customers, but I'll leave the profit calculations up to you! --TotoBaggins 15:33, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Yes a small firm can still employ economies of scale...A restaurant might purchase 'vats' of oil at a significant reduced cost per litre than a household kitchen. A firm may invest in increased production to reduce their unit cost in a bid to lower prices and under-cut their rivals whilst maintaining the same profit (i.e. 50 units sold at £1 profit per sale is the same as 500 units sold at just 10p profit per sale). This more-sales at less profit is driven through efficiency savings, economies of scale (sales) and economies of scale (production). A small firm may benefit by joining a co-operative and having member benefits of a larger group whilst remaining an independent store. The possibilities are pretty endless for ways firms can use economies of scale to help boost their profit/business. After all big companies were once small. ny156uk 16:57, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hand in the jacket pose?

I have always wondered why men in old pictures (around 1900, usually older) have their hands into their vests or jackets etc. (See Image:PinkertonLincolnMcClernand.jpg as an example), and what this means. Have asked people who should have known this, but they can't answer. Grinder0-0 14:56, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

The usual answer is that it goes to a pose of Napoleon's, but this is almost certainly incorrect, as Napoleon was himself engaging in gestural iconography. I wish I remembered the putative sources that have been offered, but this much I do recall: this was a convention of pictoral symbolism and was intended to suggest military prowess. It is a very common pose in the American Civil War for generals to strike. In their cases, they may well have been imitating Napoleon, as they were imitating him as well as they could in other respects, but I believe the answer goes back to statuary and Roman figures. I hope someone will be more able to answer. Utgard Loki 15:09, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
See also Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Humanities/2006 July 27#19th Century Portrait Custom and the links given there.  --LambiamTalk 18:17, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the answers! It was interesting, but it still seems that noone has a definite answer to this? Also, there is no name for this famous pose.. which is weird. Anyway thanks. Grinder0-0 13:31, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] child pornography

Is child pornography illegal only when the child didn't consent to sexual acts? Or is child pornography illegal whether or not the child consented? If the child consented, can the material still be published on the internet, such as the child's own MySpace profile, website, etc.?--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 20:39, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

In every jurisdiction that I'm aware of, children can't give their consent (in the legal sense) therefore your question is moot. Child pornography is illegal usually because of the psychological effects on the child. In many countries and municipalities the age of consent is different from the age of majority, so don't get the two confused. Dismas|(talk) 20:43, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
The way you worded your response was probably unintended, but no, I don't want to become a prostitute.--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 20:47, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
I didn't think that you did. If I worded it in such a way, I'm sorry if I caused offense. I didn't mean it. Dismas|(talk) 20:49, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
It depends on what you mean by "child pornography." I know, for instance, that Ohio law (at least used to) have a provision explaining the circumstances under which it's permissible to photograph a nude child for artistic purposes. But child pornography is illegal no matter what in the U.S. In fact, a couple of kids have gotten into trouble with the law for posting nude pictures of themselves on the Internet. You can understand the rationale of law enforcement -- they don't want possessors of child pornographers to have a defense that the pornography may have been taken by the kid herself or himself. -- Mwalcoff 21:51, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] finger snapping and poetry

How did finger snapping and poetry become related? Is there a history to it? Is it used frequently?--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 20:44, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

This was previously asked here. Dismas|(talk) 20:47, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Thank you, that makes sense. You really had to look far back! Thanks for taking the time to look it up.--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 20:59, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Ah, it was nothing. I read the desk on a daily basis and happened to remember that this was asked. A little help from Google was all it took to find the link. You're welcome, Dismas|(talk) 21:21, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Texas colleges with Film & Television schools

Which Texas state universities have a College for Film & Television

My reason for asking is because I want to learn about filming a television series or a movie.

[edit] Tall buildings

If you sort the table at List of tallest buildings in the United States by date, it divides into two groups: buildings that were built in the early 1930s, and buildings that were built after 1969. Why is this? --Carnildo 22:40, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I think there's a few reasons. One is that the construction of a tall building requires a prosperous economic climate (it's expensive to build a tall building, particularly if no one's going to rent out the offices -- but it also provides a certain measure of prestige).
Oil prices, real and nominal
Oil prices, real and nominal
Tall buildings are often constructed in line with a local economic boom; for instance the list includes four Houston buildings, all finished in 1982-1983, just as the peak of oil prices led to a huge boom in the Houston economy. Skyscrapers tend to lag behind the economy because they tend to only get built once there's demand for them (few are interested in a billion-dollar investment without signing up some tenants first), but once there's demand they take a few years to plan, design, get approved and finally build. If you look at the US Economy, the Great Depression effectively ended skyscraper construction through the 1930s, and World War 2 and, to a lesser extent, the Korean War redirected and reduced US manpower and economic output to military ends rather than civilian. Additionally, I think it took a while for the steel construction that makes modern skyscrapers more cost-efficient to catch on and be perfected. If you look at a more encompassing list (the top 50 cuts off at about 800 feet high), you can see that there were some pretty tall buildings being built as early as 1960, just not many tall enough to make the top 50 until the 1970s. --ByeByeBaby 05:07, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mediterranean

How Ancient Rome was able to establish its dominance throughout the Mediterranean?

See Ancient Rome. Also please realize that we won't simply do your homework for you. If you have specific questions that you're having a hard time with, we will help and point you in the right direction but we won't do the work for you. Dismas|(talk) 23:37, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

This is not for homework, I made the question up so please answer it in details. thank you.

Fine:it's not homework; but have you actually looked over the page-and attendant links-flagged up by Dismas? It provides all of the answers on this topic that you could possibly ever want. However, if there is something more specific please ask. I will do my best to help. Clio the Muse 02:41, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pax Romana

How the Pax Romana helped to create a sense of stability and continuity in ancient times?

See Pax Romana and come back if you have more specific questions. Dismas|(talk) 23:37, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Roman Empire

How did the Cultural, Social, Political, Economic and Military Factors effect the characteristics of Rome in its rise and at its height of power, factors contributing to Rome's decline and events marking the fall of Rome?

See List of topics related to ancient Rome and let us know if you have more specific questions. Dismas|(talk) 23:40, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Believing you are the second coming of Christ

I understand that if you are believed to be possessed by demons, the Church may try and perform an exorcism on you. But what happens if the opposite is true? How would a priest react if you sincerely believed yourself to be Christ returned?

I know that they would lash you to a stake and set you on fire 500 years ago, but what would happen today? Some sort of reverse exorcism? Excommunication? 211.30.58.28 23:26, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

If you were *sincerely* convinced that you were a supernatural deity, you would either be committed to a mental hospital (if you lived in a civilized society), be homeless (if you didn't), or be dispensing justice in your reign on Earth (if you were, in fact, a diety). A priest's reaction to you would presumably be in accord with one of those three possibilities. --TotoBaggins 23:56, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
The idea that the Second Coming may have actually already happened, but no-one noticed because the poor sod managed to get himself locked up in a mental institution is an idea that's always intrigued me. Does (just a for instance, for the sake of discussion) the Catholic church actually have a protocol for dealing with people who claim to be Christ reborn? Suppose that someone wrote a sincere, convincing letter to the Pope detailing his claim to messiah-hood - what would happen next? Okay, we'll assume, again for the sake of argument that the Pope doesn't have a 'whacko, crank and kook' file in his desk drawer (though I'd imagine that he gets a fair few letters of this nature) and is somewhat interested... --Kurt Shaped Box 00:08, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
It probably depends on a number of factors, including the denomination. Since you said "priest," you might mean Roman Catholicism primarily, and in that case a mental institution is probably what the priest would suggest to your family... in most societies the Church does not have the authority to take such actions itself (and rightly so). Most Christian denominations believe that the next time Jesus shows up on earth it will be attended by global catastrophies and visible signs of power, so an individual making these claims (without the attending evidence, of course) is likely to be dismissed out of hand and just ignored. ◄Zahakiel► 00:14, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
Supposing that the individual supplied some evidence of 'powers' and miracles performed, then? What would the church's reaction be? I'm interested in the investigative process... --Kurt Shaped Box 00:21, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
Well, if there were some miracles, but not the earth-altering signs expected, a lot of Churches would be quite skeptical, realizing that they would have to redefine their escatology. The fundamental churches would probably consider the individual to be possessed, invoking the "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" statement from 2 Corinthians: 11:4. Depending on what the individual says or teaches, the reactions could be diverse. In terms of the process of investigating miracles by the Roman Catholic Church, I am not sure what the exact procedure is, but I know they do have an office for that. The events at Lourdes were evaluated by one of the Church's agents, and you may find a starting point with that article. ◄Zahakiel► 00:37, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
If you are sticking with Christ and not a second coming of Mohammed or Buddah, then just about any Christian church's reaction would be disbelief because, disregarding minor details from each flavor of Christianity, the believers are supposed to be swept off to someplace else before Christ announces he is here for the final battle. Therefore, announcing you are Christ to a Catholic priest is pretty much the equivalent of saying, "Just so you know, the Jehovah's Witnesses had it right. They're in Heaven now. But, good try. Better luck next time." --Kainaw (talk) 00:13, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
Any pontiff or potentate who was confronted with a self proclaimed messiah could reasonably make the same demands as Herod's song in "Jesus Christ Superstar:" "Prove to me that you're no fool- walk across my swimming pool" and "Prove to me that you're devine- change my water into wine." Of course a good magician could do those things as well, under the right conditions. Then there's the joke about the Pope calling his staff together and saying he has good news and bad news. The good news: he's just spoken on the phone to Jesus, who has returned to Earth. The bad news: he was calling from Salt Lake City. Edison 00:26, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
Then again, would it *really* be wise for the Pope to ask for a demonstration, given that the new messiah may become angry at being disbelieved, tested and asked to perform a 'vulgar display of power' for mortals - and immediately turn all in attendance to dust, followed by turning the surrounding area into a 50 mile-wide crater in the blink of an eye and a flash of light... --Kurt Shaped Box 00:38, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Wow, the Left Behind books are being substituted for actual Christian theology. The belief that the believers will be raptured up before the Tribulation is referred to as Premillenialism and is a distinct strain of Christian thinking, but is by no means believed in by all of them. It is a fairly common belief in the United States among evangelical Christians, but less common in the rest of the world. Most mainstream Christian theolgians would fall into the preterist school when it came to interpreting the Book of Revelation. ObiterDicta ( pleadings • errata • appeals ) 00:54, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Please look over the page on the Second Coming, 211.30. In mainstream Christianity there would be no mistake or misapprehension, because the Second Coming is conceived as something quite different from the first, with Christ returning in triumph to judge the living and the dead. You may also be interested in the page on the List of people who have claimed to be Jesus Christ. For a possible reaction towards a reappearance of Christ as a man, in his first manifestation, in other words, I think you could do no better than read The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, particularly the section headed The Grand Inquisitor. Clio the Muse 01:09, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda claims to be Jesus Christ. See the Newsweek story: [2] Not only is he not institutionalized, but he is also quite revered down in Texas. I don't know if the Pope has been asked to comment. Bielle 01:17, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
Clio is right, but she is, I'm afraid, out of touch with just how triumphant that particular and peculiar interpretation of eschatology is in the United States. I do not know why or how this one particular, highly specialized, narrative got spread so quickly from the 1970's to the present that it obtained a monopoly, but it has gotten a monopoly among "evangelicals." I suspect that lurid apocalypses prior to LeHay are responsible, including the "spiritualism" of such things as The Exorcist and The Omen. At any rate, if a person believes himself to be Jesus, it's somewhat irrelevant. It is the response of believers. There are tests of spiritual gifts, and any claimant would be examined. In churches with solid hierarchies, there would be a ruling on the validity of the claim. In churches without any ecclesiastical hierarchy, it would be catch as catch can. This is why these itty bitty sects tend to develop as offshoots of congregational churches most often, and not so much in areas where one of the old Protestant or Roman Catholic churches is in place. If you looked up any of the miraculous visions, you'd see the procedures that the RCC uses, but Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and most national churches have tests as well. If the person persisted in calling himself Christ, then he would be branded as blasphemous and an heretic. No one would be burned, but members of the churches would be excommunicated for attending that figure or holding his views. Geogre 03:45, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
On a tangential note - and I mean no disrespect to Jewish people - I've never understood the Jewish attitude to the Messiah. They've been awaiting his coming forever, yet anyone who actually claims to be the Messiah seems to be automatically ruled out. How is the Jewish Messiah meant to demonstrate his arrival? -- JackofOz 03:59, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
here--0rrAvenger 07:13, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the Dostoyevsky, Clio. Would you be able to recommend any other literature like that? 211.30.58.28 04:21, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
Hi, 211.30. The Grand Inquisitor is the best 'parable' of its kind. However, looking at the issue of faith, belief and happinesss from a slightly different existential angle, you might also be interested in San Manuel Bueno, mártir by Miguel de Unamuno. It's a short story about a priest who has lost his faith, but says nothing to his parishioners, knowing how important the notion of immortality is for their earthly happiness. And, Jack, for you I would recommend the page on Sabbatai Zevi. You see, false Jewish messiahs are not always ruled out! Isaac Bashevis Singer's historical novel Satan in Goray draws on this episode. Clio the Muse 05:21, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
The apostle Thomas was a doubter, and all that happened to him was he was reportedly called by the Holy Spirit to go to India, where he founded churches. Edison 16:48, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
The results of the Vatican website search engine for "second coming" show only a concern with making it clear that the date of the second coming is not known by men, but they make it look like recognizing the second coming will be rather easy. A.Z. 18:21, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
A person believing he is the second coming of Christ will probably set up a web site. Insolitology.com ridicules several such websites that already exist. "Ted Jesus Christ God" is one of them. (Why can't any of these Messiahs use English???) Vultur 00:28, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

There's a nice poem on this theme. It's a fictional account of Jewish people rejecting the (authentic) Jewish Messiah. It can be seen at ([3]) but needs a lot of understanding of Jewish terminology. The gist is that we're all so used to arguing and religious one-upmanship that for daft, trivial reasons we'd even reject the Messiah if he came... because we're not deserving. The moral is that we need to work on our personalities in order to deserve Messiah's arrival. The poem's such a success because it holds more than a grain of truth, sadly. --Dweller 07:21, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

If anyone is still reading this, they might be interested in my own religion, the Baha'i Faith. Baha'u'llah, the prophet of the Faith, went further and claimed to be the promised one of most of the world's prominent religions, all at the same time, for example the Second Coming of Christ and the Twelfth Imam of (Shi'a) Islam. He faced persecution from Muslims throughout his life, but also attracted many believers. The persecution of Baha'is continues in the Middle East (mainly Iran) to this day, and waxes and wanes according to Iranian politics, not theology. Reactions from Christians have been entirely unpredictable. They are aware of the claims of the Baha'i Faith, and some, unsurprisingly, respond with missionary zeal, and even anger. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church distributed a pamphlet about 15 years ago encouraging dialogue with Baha'is, and promoting the virtuous character of the religion. They made no statement (to the best of my knowledge) about the prophetic claims of Baha'u'llah. In other words, whatever may be the official approach of the various denominations, it is likely that any future claimants to being the Second Coming will be treated in a complex and unpredictable manner. This will undoubtedly depend on historical circumstances, the character of the claimant, and the personalities of the Christians who deal with the issue. I followed Clio's very interesting link to Sabbatai Zevi, and it suggested much the same factors were operating in the 17th century - historical circumstances had much to do with his rise and fall. Thanks for the interesting question. The Mad Echidna 21:01, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Clothing

Hi there, I like to know how the Ancient Greeks and Romans; Middle Ages and Ancient Egypt used to wear their clothing and is there site where I can see the pictures in real-life, not the people, the clothing. I asked this question because I'm making a documentary film on the ancient civilization. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.64.132.56 (talk • contribs)

Are you aware that this covers periods ranging in length from about 1000 years (Middle Ages) to 2500 years (ancient Egypt), spread out over most of Europe, the Middle East and the Mediterranean coast of Africa? Even though the fashion in clothing was not as volatile as it is today, a lot can change in 1000 years. Proper attire very much depended on one's social status, occupation, or official position. For Egyptian clothing, see Clothing in the ancient world. For ancient Rome, see our article on Clothing in ancient Rome. For the late Middle Ages, have a look at History of Western fashion. If you use Google to search for "Egyptian clothing" or "clothing in (ancient) Egypt", and so on, you'll find more material, including pictures, such as here and here. Maybe you can find the following book in a library: Thomas Hope, Costumes of the Greeks and Romans, ISBN 978-0844622743.  --LambiamTalk 23:28, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pantheon

Why the Pantheon is considered one of the most architecturally influential buildings in the Western world? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.64.132.56 (talk • contribs)

See Pantheon and you will have to choose the Pantheon that your homework is asking about. If you are the same person that asked three other questions about Rome, then you will most likely want Pantheon, Rome. The Structure section should give you a lot of help. Dismas|(talk) 23:44, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
Either that, or you may mean the Parthenon ("Virgin building" rather than "all gods"), which is more usually credited with being most influential. You know, though, that your textbook might have the answers, and it might be easier to read. Geogre 03:48, 2 June 2007 (UTC)