DRUG ADDIcTIoN, especially through the use of poppy (Papaver somniferum Linn.) and hemp (Cannabis sativa Linn.), is the main concern of this paper. Although the use of these two plants in medieval Islam was extensive, yet little has been written on this timely subject by historians of medicine and pharmacology. Consulting contemporary original sources, it is my hope to sketch a history of their...

One scientific objection to religion is that the discovery of extraterrestrial life would show our religions are not veridical, with Christianity being most common target. I will first look at a parallel issue, ancient and medieval controversy over antipodes. This raises two problematic Christian doctrines apply equally extraterrestrials: transmission original sin cosmic fall. These issues rais...

The connection between architecture and science and sound based on mathematical relations has continued to develop[ since the rise of the Western classical civilization that originated in Ancient Greece. The mysterious Pythagorean cosmology pursued as secret esoteric knowledge was related to the search of rhythm, proportionality and harmony. Even somewhat earlier, Greek mysteries were based on ...

This article addresses whether Ebola may have been present in an urban setting in Athens in 430 bce and explores the historical importance of the ancient outbreak. New knowledge from today's West African epidemic allows a more accurate assessment of whether Ebola may have caused the Athenian outbreak than was once possible. The Athenian disease, whose etiology remains unknown, developed abruptl...

We trace the history of atmospheric refraction from the ancient Greeks up to the time of Kepler. The concept that the atmosphere could refract light entered Western science in the second century B.C. Ptolemy, 300 years later, produced the first clearly defined atmospheric model, containing air of uniform density up to a sharp upper transition to the ether, at which the refraction occurred. Alha...

Borrowing is not only a practice of individuals and corporations, but the states also borrow to afford their expenditures. Similar individuals, have borrowed since ancient times. Most such loans been at interest. However, authorities restricted or prohibited interest-based lending in various societies. Thus, city-states Medieval Europe Ottoman Empire could always use ordinary borrowing instrume...