The first time I opened Heliodorus's Aethiopica, I found myself asking numerous questions. Who is Thyamis? Why has the story suddenly shifted to an Athenian named Cnemon? Why are entirely new characters introduced before earlier ones have even been explained? Heliodorus expected his readers to tolerate uncertainty. He refused to explain everything immediately because he wanted his readers to reconstruct the story themselves. Only gradually did I realize that what initially ap

I wrote the article, The Contradictory Paths of Civilization, when I was 22, just after graduating from university. The books and articles I had read ignited in me a dream: to spiritually conquer the land of 1492. That dream came true in 2012. I first flew to Barcelona, then to Sevilla. From there, I rented a car and set out to explore Sevilla, Córdoba, Granada, Cádiz, and more, seeking to feel, with every step, the historical weight and human meaning behind the Alhambra Decr