Ideas & Belief
Who Really Destroyed the Library of Alexandria?
Caesar, Christians and a caliph all get blamed. The likelier culprit is slower and less dramatic: neglect.
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Ideas & Belief
Religion, philosophy and the ideas that moved people
Ideas & Belief
Were the “Dark Ages” Really Dark?
A thousand years of European history got a bad name from people who wanted to look bright by comparison.
Ideas & Belief
How Deadly Was the Spanish Inquisition?
Its reputation for mass burnings was built by its enemies. The records show something more bureaucratic, and still unjust.
Ideas & Belief
What Really Happened at Salem?
No witches were burned. Nineteen people were hanged, one was crushed, and the causes were closer to politics than to superstition.