The onset of wet conditions in the Taklamakan Desert corresponds with the rise of Genghis khan and the Mongol Empire the largest contiguous land empire in history.
Sparta reached the height of its power in 404 B c. after its victory against Athens in the second Peloponnesian war.
its inhabitants it seems preferred to defend it with men rather than mortar. However within a few decades after a defeat against the Thebans at the Battle of leuctra the city found itself reduced to a oesecond-rate power a status from which it never recovered.
The prowess and fearlessness of Sparta's warriors has inspired the Western world for millennia and even in the 21st century has been incorporated into Hollywood films like 300
and the futuristic video game series Halo (where a group of super-soldiers are called oespartans). Yet the real-life story of the city is complicated more than popular mythology makes it out to be.
The task of sorting out what is real about the Spartans from what is myth has been made more difficult
Surviving ivories from the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia at Sparta depict birds male and female figures and even a oetree of life or oesacred tree.
and some of it such as from Tyrtaeus reflects the development of the martial values that Sparta would become famous for there is also work that appears to reflect a society concerned with art rather than just war.
The incorporation of the people of Messenia into Sparta s slave population was important as it provided Sparta with oethe means to maintain the nearest thing to a standing army in Greece Kennell writes oeby freeing all its adult male citizens from the need
  oethe magistrates from time to time sent out into the country at large the most discreet of the young warriors equipped only with daggers
and stands in the foremost spears relentlessly all thought of foul flight completely forgotten and has trained well his heart to be steadfast
Here is a man who proves himself to be valiant in war...Translation by Richmond Lattimore from the book Greek Lyrics University of Chicago Press 1960) The presence of large numbers of slaves relieved Spartan men from manual labor and allowed Sparta to build a citizen
training system that prepared the city s children for the harshness of war. oeat seven a Spartan boy was taken from his mother
and raised in barracks beneath the eyes of older boys writes University of Virginia professor J. E. Lendon in his book Soldiers and Ghosts:
A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity (Yale university Press 2005. oeboys were whipped to inculcate respect (aidos) and obedience;
This included running wrestling discus and javelin throwing. oethey also learned how to manage horses;
. and was repulsed by a mainly Athenian force at the Battle of marathon in 490 B c. The second invasion was launched by Xerxes in 480 B c. the Persians crossing the Hellespont (the narrow strait between the Aegean
Ancient sources indicate that Leonidas started the battle with a few thousand troops (including 300 Spartans at its core.
He faced a Persian force many times its size. After spying on the Spartan-led force
if they would surrender Xerxes ordered an attack. The oemedes rushed forward and charged the Greeks
and especially to the king that though he had plenty of combatants he had but very few warriors.
The struggle however continued during the whole day wrote Herodotus. Translation by George Rawlinson) After this beaten force withdrew Xerxes sent an elite unit called the oeimmortals after the Spartan-led force but they too failed.
Herodotus noted the battle tactics the Spartans employed. oethe Lacedaemonians fought in a way worthy of note
and showed themselves far more skillful in fight than their adversaries often turning their backs and making as though they were all flying away on
Eventually a Greek man showed Xerxes a pass that allowed part of the Persian force to outmaneuver the Greeks and attack them on both flanks.
Many of the troops who were with Leonidas withdrew (possibly because the Spartan king ordered them to).
The Persian army proceeded south sacking Athens and threatening to break into the Peloponnese. A Greek naval victory at the Battle of Salamis halted this approach the Persian king Xerxes going home
and leaving an army behind that would later be destroyed. The Greeks led by the now dead Leonidas had prevailed.
 When the threat from the Persians receded the Greeks resumed their inter-city rivalries.
Two of the most powerful city states were Athens and Sparta and tensions between the two escalated in the decades after their victory over Persia.
In 465/464 B c. powerful earthquakes hit Sparta and the helots took advantage of the situation to revolt.
The Battle of Tanagra fought in 457 B c. heralded a period of conflict between the two cities that continued off and on for more than 50 years.
At times Athens appeared to have the advantage such as the battle of Sphacteria in 425 B c
. when shockingly 120 Spartans surrendered. oenothing that happened in the war surprised the Hellenes so much as this.
It was the opinion that no force or famine could make the Lacedaemonians give up their arms
Ultimately the conflict between Sparta and Athens resolved itself on the sea. While the Athenians had the naval advantage throughout much of the war the situation changed
when a man named Lysander was named commander of Sparta s navy. He sought out Persian financial support to help the Spartans build up their fleet.
He convinced a Persian prince named Cyrus to provide him with money. The prince oehad brought with him he said five hundred talents;
which was of silver and gold wrote Xenophon (430-355 B c.).Translation by Carleton Brownson via Perseus Digital Library) With Persian financial support Lysander built up his navy
A series of events and missteps led Sparta from being the preeminent force in the Aegean to becoming a second rate power.
The city was forced to surrender against this unorthodox onslaught. More challenges affected Spartan hegemony. In 378 B c. Athens formed the second naval confederacy a group that challenged Spartan control of the seas.
and in 371 B c. a pivotal battle took place at Leuctra. oethe power of Lacedaemon was shattered by Thebes upon the field of Leuctra.
Although an ally of Sparta during the long Peloponnesian war Thebes had become the lodestar of resistance
At Leuctra oefor reasons unclear the Spartans posted their cavalry in front of their phalanx. The Lacedaemonian cavalry was poor
because good Spartan warriors still insisted on serving as hoplites infantrymen...he writes. oethe Thebans by contrast had an old cavalry tradition
and their excellent horses much exercised in recent wars quickly routed the Spartan cavalry and drove them back into the phalanx confusing its order.
With confusion in the Spartan lines the slaughter was on. oecleombrotus fighting in the phalanx as Spartan kings did was struck down
and was carried dying out of the battle...Other leading Spartans were killed soon fighting as well writes Lendon.
The Theban general Epaminondas is said to have called out oegrant me one step and we will have the victory!
And that is apparently what happened. Lendon writes that oethe Thebans pushed the Spartans back one fateful step
and then the leaderless Spartans were in flight and their allies with them. Of the seven hundred full Spartan citizens at the battle four hundred died...
The Thebans pressed south gaining support from communities as they marched and liberating Messinia depriving the Spartans of much of their helot labor.
 There were efforts to restore Sparta to its former military might. The Spartan kings Agis IV (244-241 B c.)and later Cleomenes III (235-221 B c.)brought in reforms that canceled debt redistributed land allowed foreigners
because it was made from spoils taken in the Persian wars. In course of time they have altered it until it is as large and as splendid as it is now.
the first is that of Pausanias the general at Plataea the second is that of Leonidas.
and their fathers'names of those who endured the fight at Thermopylae against the Persians.
the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia beside the Eurotas the river the temple of Athena Chalcioecus (oeof the Bronze House) on the acropolis and the early Roman theater just below it.
Because of the hostility toward the holiday Protestants broke the mincemeat-Christmas association by eating it on Thanksgiving
Finally in the aftermath of the Civil war then-President Abraham lincoln got on board and Congress established Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863 150 years ago.
As the world's climate scientists increasingly sound the alarm about the growing threats of climate change more and more people hard-hit by the rising tide of dangerous extreme weather events are demanding that Congress take action.
and promote policies that will protect future generations from even greater climate threats predicted by scientists.
or her constituents about the costs of inaction and the dangers of ignoring the science.
and it's already causing great harm to farms like mine. I speak for a lot of American farmers when
But he's now fighting a battle on two fronts: a punishing drought brought on by a changing climate
and a new threat to groundwater supplies hydraulic fracking that has invaded recently his state and is sucking water out of valuable aquifers to feed its growing oil and gas operations.
Edwards told the committee that climate change is a critical threat in his community a growing menace that needs to be addressed.
Limiting factors in the environment such as availability of food water and shelter evolutionary relationships like predator/prey ratios or presence of pathogens provide natural balances to populations.
#Honey Not a Contender in The Fight Against Superbugs (Op-Ed) This article was published originally atâ The Conversation.
If you haven t heard about the threat oesuperbugs (bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics) pose to our health it s likely you haven t been conscious or on the planet for a couple of years.
But for people with diabetes which is associated often with kidney disease the honey actually increased the risk of infection.
and the agency may need to change the way it advises farmers and beekeepers about the fungicides'risks.
More than $30 billion worth of crops in the United states could be seriously at risk if the continuing die off of honeybees were to reach critical levels.
or other identification of a substance product or activity as hazardous or creating risk to human health safety
When a specific bacterium develops a defense against some drug the corresponding gene can pass horizontally to others in the same colony.
#How Bomb Tests Could Date Elephant Ivory Bomb tests generations ago could indirectly help fight illegal poaching of African elephants new research shows.
Nuclear weapons tested in the atmosphere in the 1950s and'60s spread a radioactive variety of carbon worldwide which was picked up by plants during photosynthesis
A critical tool Atmospheric bomb testing caused a spike in carbon-14 that has declined slowly in the past 50 years.
Secondly we need to be much better at providing security for elephants to assure detection apprehension
President Barack Obama announced today (July 1) a major initiative to fight illegal wildlife trafficking. While on a visit to Tanzania he will sign an executive order to convene a task force to address the issue focusing in part on poaching in Africa according to the White house.
Vincent Racaniello professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University in New york said this kind of surveillance study is important in finding new viruses and understanding them better.
Surveillance in birds is essential to let us know what is happening to viruses in the field and
what threats may be said emerging Guan. Follow Livescience on Twitter Facebook and Google+.+Original article on Livescience S
#How Google street view Could Fight Invasive Species Google's online street views could help scientists track and fight invasive species over the Internet researchers say.
and then pressurizing the wood in a closed container to force preservatives into all crevices protecting against degradation by burrowing insects and fungus.
#How School Lunches Can Help Fight Obesity Federally funded school lunches long derided as unhealthy
and are at a higher risk of obesity as it is. Many health experts have asked whether these free lunches just make matters worse.
High fruit and vegetable consumption has been linked to decreased risk of developing diseases including certain cancers heart disease obesity and diabetes.
and harvest their products offer hope for not only attenuating climate change impacts but for providing economic security and better livelihoods for some of the world's poorest farmers.
The trees also provide shelter for crops and help prevent soil erosion. In times of drought firewood can be sold
Though the conflict that ripped apart Mali earlier this year had deep political and ethnic roots it was fueled by decades of drought food insecurity and poverty.
Agricultural development including wild-harvesting in conflict areas like Mali is one of the best opportunities for employing would-be combatants strengthening household incomes and food security and stimulating sustainable economic growth in remote rural areas.
As one of the largest importers of flooring and furniture from China U s. consumers and businesses can play a role in helping combat illegal logging and save this crucial tiger habitat.
Companies can face a significant risk of liability under the U s. Lacey Act for trading
If neither approach is possible buyers should avoid any products made from Russian Far east hardwoods due to the high risks of illegality.
FSC certification provides the assurance that legal environmental and social protections are in place and that forests have been managed responsibly.
and ips stem cells provide promising alternative ways to heal illnesses without raising people s temptations to engage in such attacks he said referring to the destruction of human embryos.
Who among us would want to take that risk of bringing someone into this world that would be defective?
In developing countries human-powered vehicles can provide affordable basic transportation for personal transport deliveries and even ambulance services.
They are faster and more comfortable than standard bicycles and many offer protection from foul weather.
gases and a savings of more than 3 billion gallons (11 billion liters) of gasoline. It is true that this represents a small fraction of total U s. greenhouse-gas emissions
Study Suggests The Arctic experienced an extended period of warm temperatures about 3. 6 million years ago before the onset of the ice ages at a time
It really stays relatively warm in the Arctic even in the onset of the first part of the ice age cycle Miller said.
In addition many of Madagascar's plants have evolved defenses against large herbivores such as spines and multiple leaf shapes that protect young sprouts from browsing tortoises.
Based on its considerable success elsewhere and the optimistic prospects for Madagascar this proposed giant-tortoise translocation could represent a welcome breakthrough in the struggle to retain
It's definitely the biggest threat in my lifetime and I'm 68. This is a tree killer.
so devastating to citrus crops that it was classified as a bioterror weapon in 2003 The New yorker reports.
Agricultural economists have taken note of the toll exacted by citrus greening and other threats to Florida's most iconic crop.
Fruit-fly Army Infiltrating California They're here! For the past several decades a stealthy foe has been secretly infiltrating California spreading far and wide.
No they're not Russian spies they're fruit flies. Several species of fly including the Mediterranean fruit fly have been secretly spreading in the state for decades new research finds.
Still the charismatic birds maintain stable populations by holing up in branchless dead trees that carnivores struggle to climb.
On a separate occasion the team observed a mink creep up on a woodpecker looking ready to pounce at about 1 foot away (30 centimeters) until a student scared it off to prevent the attack.
and put together comprehensive reports on the risks and impacts of climate change. The assessments undergo an extensive review process that involves thousands of scientists
As a result the IPCC reports are considered the authority on the risks and impacts of global warming.
For example diets high in calcium-rich foods have been shown to lower the risk of PMS but little was known about the role other minerals might play in preventing the symptoms.
The study found some evidence that a zinc intake of more than 15 milligrams a day was associated with a lower risk of PMS.
high intakes of this mineral were linked to a greater risk for PMS. We saw a 46 percent increase in the risk of PMS only among women with the highest level of intake
which was approximately 3700 milligrams a day. This was compared to women consuming the lowest amount
We were surprised to find that potassium intake was associated with a higher risk of PMS as this was
which the body's defense system reacts to gluten by attacking the lining of the small intestine
The good stuff Polyphenols decrease heart disease risk factors by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol reducing blood clotting
or reduce your chances for metabolic syndrome the name for a group of risk factors (high blood pressure cholesterol and glucose) that together increase the risk for heart disease America's No. 1 killer.
Fresh high-polyphenol olive oil affects the expression of those genes in a positive way reducing your risk for metabolic syndrome and heart disease.
Polyphenols also reduce cancer risk by lowering inflammation and cellular proliferation. They act as antioxidants reducing oxidation
and the wind has shifted now blowing out of the northeast greatly reducing the threat the insects pose.
Such specialists increasingly rely on a new family of bio-pesticides such as a chemical called Green Muscle that comes from a naturally occurring fungus that only attacks locusts.
When we look at influenza viruses this is an unusually dangerous virus for humans Keiji Fukuda the World health organization's assistant director-general for health security said Wednesday at a briefing.
A decade ago several well-known virologists and public-health experts warned in published papers that the world was at risk for pandemics that could kill tens of millions of people or even more without adequate infectious disease monitoring and medical research.
If the suspicions of human-to-human transmission potential is confirmed that alone makes the threat of a pandemic (as opposed to a series of local outbreaks that can be contained with efforts to close down poultry markets or the sale of infected birds) more likely.
Drone Wars in America This article first appeared as It's Time To Worry About the New Chinese Bird flu in the column At the Edge by Jeff Nesbitâ on U s. News & World Report.
The original fort site was surrounded by a triangular palisade with three bulwarks. Â Jamestown was not the first successful permanent European settlement in
One group was to build fortifications and a storehouse and then some simple houses. The second group was to plant crops
Within a few weeks the fort had been attacked by a force of several hundred warriors from one of the aboriginal groups in the area.
The colonists did not even have the opportunity to unpack their muskets and only the use of naval gunfire from the ships that were still there drove the attackers off.
It didn t take long for the colonists to start dying. Of the 104 men and boys who landed only 38 were still alive by January 1608.
and by wars and some departed suddenly but for the most part they died of meer famine wrote George Percy one of the survivors in a report on the colony. oethere were never Englishman left in a foreign country in such misery as we were discovered in this new Virginia.
 Smith wrote in a 1616 letter to Queen Anne that Powhatan s daughter Pocahontas oehazarded the beating out of her own brains to save mine;
and their fort was under siege. When the colonists ran out of food they oefed upon horses
and repaired the fort. Improving fortunes In the decade to come Jamestown s situation would improve.
Now oeafter five years intestine war with the revengeful implacable Indians a firm peace (not again easily to be broken) hath been concluded lately...
The Buried Truth (University of Virginia Press 2006) An attack too late Things changed for The english after the death of Powhatan in 1618 the leader
In 1622 he launched a surprise attack in an attempt to wipe out the colony now with a population of more than 1000 people in several plantations.
Kupperman notes that officially the company claimed the attack killed 347 people although the actual death toll was likely higher.
While the attack succeeded in killing many English it failed in its aim of dislodging their presence.
The attack gave The english the excuse they needed to wage war against Opechancanough s people sparing only the children
This war was a take-no-quarters affair Kupperman writes. oein 1623 they invited Indian leaders to a peace parley where they served poisoned wine
With the growth of new settlements In virginia and the improving military situation of The english the original fort site became redundant.
Rediscovery of the original fort Kelso notes that starting in 1994 the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) conducted archaeological work to see
if there was anything remaining of the original Jamestown fort. It was believed widely at the time that the fort had been washed away into the James river.
Excavations revealed that the archaeological remains were still present. They found holes where the triangular palisade had stood once
along with remains of three bulwarks used to strengthen its defences. They also found five churches (one replacing the other) row houses including a structure that appears to be the governor s house a blacksmith shop and barracks among other features.
 In his book Kelso recalled some British tourists who came to talk to him
while he was excavating the remains of a wall that consisted of a black stain in the clay (the wall was made of perishable material that had decayed away leaving a stain).
#Javelin-Hurling Scientists Measure Antarctic Glacier Melt How quickly are glaciers in Antarctica melting? Researchers are launching javelin-shaped devices out of airplanes to help answer that question
and find out what's going on in some of the frozen continent's most inaccessible places.
So far scientists have deployed about 25 of these GPS-equipped javelins in Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier
The javelins will automatically record and relay their positions for two to three years allowing researchers to figure out how quickly the glacier is flowing into the ocean.
The javelins are designed to only partially embed into the ice so that they are still able to communicate with satellites To that end the devices are equipped with small parachutes
and ice brake fins to keep them from disappearing beneath the ice sheet when they crash land Gudmundsson said.
The javelins Gudmundsson and his team have deployed allow researchers to measure areas like this one that are difficult to access over land.
#Keystone XL Pipeline Will Cause Damage Beyond Spills (Op-Ed) Danielle Droitsch is director of the Canada Project at the Natural resources Defense Council (NRDC.
and living in Alberta and focused on the protection of watersheds I organized a canoe expedition down the Athabasca River.
My goal was to draw attention to the dual threats of global warming and tar-sands mining operations that are devastating the region.
The river is declining as a result of receding glaciers and smaller snowpacks both of which are consequences of a warming climate.
But even worse as the Athabasca flows downstream through the scarred industrial landscape it is contaminated by toxic waste leaching from tar-sands mining operations that poison the waters threatening wildlife
and watched colossal tree-cutting operations clearing thousands of acres of trees flying over miles of virgin forests that had already been leased for new mines.
Keystone XL is an export pipeline that will not benefit the United states'energy security and will create far fewer jobs than claimed by the oil industry.
#Killer bee Attack: Science Explains Man's Death A Texas man died after being attacked by a swarm of Africanized honeybees sometimes called killer bees.
when defending their hive and minor disturbances like a lawn mower or a moving car even as far away as 100 feet (30 meters) can trigger an attack.
While attacks by the bees remain very rare Miller told KCENTV. com that he's seen at least five cases of Africanized hives in the past month more than he usually sees all year.
Educators must recognize the danger of instigating group antipathy (the so-called mob mentality) and how doing
and Forgiveness (Op-Ed) Geraldine was rescued a potbellied pig living at a lovely sanctuary called Kindness Ranch.
#Kudzu-Eating Stinkbug May Attack US Soybeans Pesky vines of kudzu native to Asia have crept throughout the southeastern United states in recent decades
It was thought that their offspring Generation B posed a greater threat as they hatched during the summer
and trade especially following the War of 1812 when canals were built and traveled by heavy steamships.
so secrecy is the best protection Hoopes said. With satellite GPS and other technologies just about anyone could easily find a site
and Ciudad Blanca may be at particular risk because of legends that it contained massive amounts of gold he said.
'What's more Elkins said is that the Mosquitia region is in danger even without the Ciudad Blanca legend perhaps more so.
Protection is the other side of the publicity coin which has spurred fierce debate over how to announce discoveries like the one in the Mosquitia region.
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