Domina Tempora

To this day, poems by Muhammad Jalal ad-Din Rumi have sold millions of copies. This makes him one of the most famous poets in the world. His poems were often compared to Shakespeare's for their resonance. Rumi lived in the close of the Golden Age of Islam. His writings on tolerance give us further value in offering a glimpse of the beliefs and tradition in which Rumi experienced in his lifetime.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2020/06/26/inclusivity-tolerance-and-the-golden-age-of-islam/

To this day, poems by Muhammad Jalal ad-Din Rumi have sold millions of copies. This makes him one of the most famous poets in the world. His poems were often compared to Shakespeare's for their resonance. Rumi lived in the close of the Golden Age of Islam. His writings on tolerance give us further value in offering a glimpse of the beliefs and tradition in which Rumi experienced in his lifetime.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2020/06/26/inclusivity-tolerance-and-the-golden-age-of-islam/

In the 6th Century BCE, an Indian physician named Sushruta, who was widely regarded in India as the “father of surgery”, wrote one of the world’s earliest works on medicine and surgery. The work included the method of skin grafting, which entail transplanting pieces of skin from one part of the body to another. His treatise also provides the first written record of a forehead flap rhinoplasty, a technique still used today, in which a full-thickness piece of skin from the forehead is used to reconstruct a nose. However, Sushruta was not the first inventor of plastic surgery. The first known record of plastic surgery was in 1213 BCE, when ancient Egyptians tried to preserve the nose of their dead king by surgically inserting bones and seeds into it.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2020/08/28/scar-removals-and-breast-reductions-graeco-roman-practices-of-plastic-surgery/

In the 6th Century BCE, an Indian physician named Sushruta, who was widely regarded in India as the “father of surgery”, wrote one of the world’s earliest works on medicine and surgery. The work included the method of skin grafting, which entail transplanting pieces of skin from one part of the body to another. His treatise also provides the first written record of a forehead flap rhinoplasty, a technique still used today, in which a full-thickness piece of skin from the forehead is used to reconstruct a nose. However, Sushruta was not the first inventor of plastic surgery. The first known record of plastic surgery was in 1213 BCE, when ancient Egyptians tried to preserve the nose of their dead king by surgically inserting bones and seeds into it.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2020/08/28/scar-removals-and-breast-reductions-graeco-roman-practices-of-plastic-surgery/

“[Men] lived like gods without sorrow of heart, remote and free from toil and grief: miserable age rested not on them; but with legs and arms never failing they made merry with feasting beyond the reach of all devils. When they died, it was as though they were overcome with sleep, and they had all good things; for the fruitful earth unforced bare them fruit abundantly and without stint. They dwelt in ease and peace.” - Hesiod.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2018/11/30/the-man-of-the-sun-the-story-of-quetzalcoatl/

In a country such as Mexico, where the success or failure of the crops depends entirely upon the rainfall, Tlaloc, the Rain God, was a deity of high importance. He made his home in the mountains which surround the valley of Mexico, as these were the source of the local rainfall, and his popularity is vouched for by the fact that sculptured representations of him occur more often than those of any other of the Mexican deities.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2018/11/23/dance-for-tlaloc-the-rain-god-and-his-people/

The proverb of cleanliness being "next to godliness" is popularly credited to John Wesley's 1778 sermon. But it also came from writings in the Talmud. Washing oneself in clear water before paying homage to the gods and deities became part of the ceremonies in many ancient religions. In ancient Egypt, people washed their faces and hands before praying to the goddess Isis, and the priests bathed their bodies at least twice every night and twice during the day. Christian author Tertullian (c. 155 – 240 CE) tells us that water had inherent natural cleansing properties and, as an essence of holiness, water could remove all taints and open the way to the new state of existence.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2020/07/31/the-ancient-magic-of-hygiene/

The proverb of cleanliness being "next to godliness" is popularly credited to John Wesley's 1778 sermon. But it also came from writings in the Talmud. Washing oneself in clear water before paying homage to the gods and deities became part of the ceremonies in many ancient religions. In ancient Egypt, people washed their faces and hands before praying to the goddess Isis, and the priests bathed their bodies at least twice every night and twice during the day. Christian author Tertullian (c. 155 – 240 CE) tells us that water had inherent natural cleansing properties and, as an essence of holiness, water could remove all taints and open the way to the new state of existence.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2020/07/31/the-ancient-magic-of-hygiene/

In the Aztec pantheon, Huitzilopochtli occupied a place similar to that of Mars in the Roman. In ancient Roman religon, Mars was the god of war and a guardian of agriculture - a rather strange combination, but characteristic of early Rome. Second in importance only to Jupiter, Mars was the most prominent of the military gods in the religion of the Roman army. Although origin of Huitzilopochtli is obscure, the myth relating to it is distinctly original in character.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2018/11/16/huitzilopochli-the-birth-of-a-war-god/

Passionate women were among Jesus’ earliest followers and have been important members of Christian church from the very beginning. Apart from learning from and speaking to women both in public and private, Jesus himself also taught and had meals with men as well as women. Mark 7:24-30 and Matthew 15:21-28 tell us that it was an unnamed woman who taught Jesus that the ministry of God is belongs to all who have faith and not limited to any particular groups or persons.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2020/12/21/the-passion-of-independent-women-in-early-christianity/