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World's Greatest Draft (2 Viewers)

Still undecided, so I'll go with my instincts. The celebrity category is still relatively untouched, so I can pretty much just pick one of the most recognizable faces of all time. The prototypical blonde bombshell sex symbol. The list of artworks, artists and actors inspired by her (not to mention everyone else who laid eyes on her) is truly stunning.

6.01 Marilyn Monroe Celebrity
not only is she not the hottest actress ever... She wasn't that great of an actress and her most memorable act is the list of men she slept with...
 
so..I have downloaded both the "10th anniversary" play Les Miserables and the movie (the one with Claire Danes)...which should I watch first? :goodposting:
Movie first. That way you know the story.
that's how I was leaning since I figured the musical would have, well, awesome musical stuff...whereas the movie wouldn't...
The Movies are average.The musical is super mega upper tier elite.The 10th anniversary is basically a musical performance rather than the show itself.
 
Still undecided, so I'll go with my instincts. The celebrity category is still relatively untouched, so I can pretty much just pick one of the most recognizable faces of all time. The prototypical blonde bombshell sex symbol. The list of artworks, artists and actors inspired by her (not to mention everyone else who laid eyes on her) is truly stunning.

6.01 Marilyn Monroe Celebrity
not only is she not the hottest actress ever... She wasn't that great of an actress and her most memorable act is the list of men she slept with...
Good thing the category isn't about acting talent or even subjective hotness.
 
so..I have downloaded both the "10th anniversary" play Les Miserables and the movie (the one with Claire Danes)...which should I watch first? :unsure:
Movie first. That way you know the story.
that's how I was leaning since I figured the musical would have, well, awesome musical stuff...whereas the movie wouldn't...
The Movies are average.The musical is super mega upper tier elite.The 10th anniversary is basically a musical performance rather than the show itself.
that sucks...i guess I'll watch the movie...and try and find a new torrent tonight that is the actual show...:hopeful:
 
Like all of these picks, there's nothing I can write that will shed light on any of them or that will change their legacy one iota, and as a layperson who does not dive into the deep end of the pool when it comes to things like art, philosophy and even science, I'm not about to try; I'm just a wayward FF shark (I crack myself up). Still, I'm pretty sure this guy is a heavyweight for the category.

6.02 - Immanuel Kant, Intellectual ... Kind of strikes me as a philosopher's philosopher.

From the Wiki ...

Immanuel Kant (IPA: [ɪmanuəl kant]; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was an 18th-century German philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia). He is regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of modern Europe and of the late Enlightenment.

Kant created a new widespread perspective in philosophy which influenced philosophy through the 21st Century. He also published important works of epistemology, as well as works relevant to religion, law, and history. His most important work is the Critique of Pure Reason, an investigation into the limitations and structure of reason itself. It encompasses an attack on traditional metaphysics and epistemology, and highlights Kant's own contribution to these areas. The other main works of his maturity are the Critique of Practical Reason, which concentrates on ethics, and the Critique of Judgment, which investigates aesthetics and teleology.

Pursuing metaphysics involves asking questions about the ultimate nature of reality. Kant suggested that metaphysics can be reformed through epistemology.[1] He suggested that by understanding the sources and limits of human knowledge we can ask fruitful metaphysical questions. He asked if an object can be known to have certain properties prior to the experience of that object. He concluded that all objects about which the mind can think must conform to its manner of thought. Therefore if the mind can think only in terms of causality – which he concluded that it does – then we can know prior to experiencing them that all objects we experience must either be a cause or an effect. However, it follows from this that it is possible that there are objects of such nature which the mind cannot think, and so the principle of causality, for instance, cannot be applied outside of experience: hence we cannot know, for example, whether the world always existed or if it had a cause. And so the grand questions of speculative metaphysics cannot be answered by the human mind, but the sciences are firmly grounded in laws of the mind.

Kant believed himself to be creating a compromise between the empiricists and the rationalists. The empiricists believed that knowledge is acquired through experience alone, but the rationalists maintained that such knowledge is open to Cartesian doubt and that reason alone provides us with knowledge. Kant argues, however, that using reason without applying it to experience will only lead to illusions, while experience will be purely subjective without first being subsumed under pure reason.

Kant’s thought was very influential in Germany during his lifetime, moving philosophy beyond the debate between the rationalists and empiricists. The philosophers Fichte, Schelling, Hegel and Schopenhauer each saw themselves as correcting and expanding the Kantian system, thus bringing about various forms of German idealism. Kant continues to be a major influence on philosophy to this day, influencing both analytic and continental philosophy.

....MUCH MATERIAL SNIPPED

Influence

The vastness of Kant's influence on Western thought is immeasurable.[64] Over and above his specific influence on specific thinkers, Kant changed the framework within which philosophical inquiry has been carried out from his day through the present in ways that have been irreversible. In other words, he accomplished a paradigm shift: very little philosophy since Kant has been carried out as an extension of pre-Kantian philosophy or in the mode of thought and discourse of pre-Kantian philosophy. This shift consists in several closely related innovations that have become axiomatic to post-Kantian thought, both in philosophy itself and in the social sciences and humanities generally:

* Kant's "Copernican revolution", that placed the role of the human subject or knower at the center of inquiry into our knowledge, such that it is impossible to philosophize about things as they are independently of us or of how they are for us;[65]

* his invention of critical philosophy, that is of the notion of being able to discover and systematically explore possible inherent limits to our ability to know through philosophical reasoning;

* his creation of the concept of "conditions of possibility", as in his notion of "the conditions of possible experience" – that is that things, knowledge, and forms of consciousness rest on prior conditions that make them possible, so that to understand or know them we have to first understand these conditions;

* his theory that objective experience is actively constituted or constructed by the functioning of the human mind;

* his notion of moral autonomy as central to humanity;

* his assertion of the principle that human beings should be treated as ends rather than as means.

Some or all of these Kantian ideas can be seen in schools of thought as different from one another as German Idealism, Marxism, positivism, phenomenology, existentialism, critical theory, linguistic philosophy, structuralism, post-structuralism, and deconstructionism. Kant's influence also has extended to the social and behavioral sciences, as in the sociology of Max Weber, the psychology of Jean Piaget, and the linguistics of Noam Chomsky. Because of the thoroughness of the Kantian paradigm shift, his influence extends even to thinkers who do not specifically refer to his work or use his terminology.

During his own life, there was a considerable amount of attention paid to his thought, much of it critical, though he did have a positive influence on Reinhold, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, and Novalis during the 1780s and 1790s. The philosophical movement known as German Idealism developed from Kant's theoretical and practical writings. The German Idealists Fichte and Schelling, for example, attempted to bring traditionally "metaphysically" laden notions like "the Absolute," "God," or "Being" into the scope of Kant's critical philosophy.[66] In so doing, the German Idealists attempted to reverse Kant's establishment of the unknowableness of unexperiencable ideas.

Hegel was one of the first major critics of Kant's philosophy. Hegel thought Kant's moral philosophy was too formal, abstract and ahistorical. In response to Kant's abstract and formal account of morality, Hegel developed an ethics that considered the "ethical life" of the community.[67] But Hegel's notion of "ethical life" is meant to subsume, rather than replace, Kantian "morality." And Hegel's philosophical work as a whole can be understood as attempting to defend Kant's conception of freedom as going beyond finite "inclinations," by means of reason. Thus, in contrast to later critics like Friedrich Nietzsche or Bertrand Russell, Hegel shares some of Kant's most basic concerns.[68]

Many British Roman Catholic writers, notably G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc, seized on Kant and promoted his work, with a view to restoring the philosophical legitimacy of a belief in God. Reaction against this, and an attack on Kant's use of language, is found in Ronald Englefield's article, Kant as Defender of the Faith in Nineteenth-century England[69], reprinted in Critique of Pure Verbiage, Essays on Abuses of Language in Literary, Religious, and Philosophical Writings.[70] These criticisms of Kant were common in the anti-idealistic arguments of the logical positivism school and its admirers.

Arthur Schopenhauer was strongly influenced by Kant's transcendental idealism. He, like G. E. Schulze, Jacobi and Fichte before him, was critical of Kant's theory of the thing in itself. Things in themselves, they argued, are neither the cause of our representations nor are they something completely beyond our access.[71] For Schopenhauer things in themselves do not exist independently of the non-rational will. The world, as Schopenhauer would have it, is the striving and largely unconscious will.

With the success and wide influence of Hegel's writings, Kant's influence began to wane, though there was in Germany a brief movement that hailed a return to Kant in the 1860s, beginning with the publication of Kant und die Epigonen in 1865 by Otto Liebmann, whose motto was "Back to Kant". During the turn of the 20th century there was an important revival of Kant's theoretical philosophy, known as Marburg Neo-Kantianism, represented in the work of Hermann Cohen, Paul Natorp, Ernst Cassirer,[72] and anti-Neo-Kantian Nicolai Hartmann.[73]

Jurgen Habermas and John Rawls are two significant political and moral philosophers whose work is strongly influenced by Kant's moral philosophy.[74] They both, regardless of recent relativist trends in philosophy, have argued that universality is essential to any viable moral philosophy.

West German postage stamp, 1974, commemorating the 250th anniversary of Kant's birth.

With his Perpetual Peace, Kant is considered to have foreshadowed many of the ideas that have come to form the democratic peace theory, one of the main controversies in political science.[citation needed]

Kant's notion of "Critique" or criticism has been quite influential. The Early German Romantics, especially Friedrich Schlegel in his "Athenaeum Fragments", used Kant's self-reflexive conception of criticism in their Romantic theory of poetry.[75] Also in Aesthetics, Clement Greenberg, in his classic essay "Modernist Painting", uses Kantian criticism, what Greenberg refers to as "immanent criticism", to justify the aims of Abstract painting, a movement Greenberg saw as aware of the key limitiaton—flatness—that makes up the medium of painting.[76]

Kant believed that mathematical truths were forms of synthetic a priori knowledge, which means they are necessary and universal, yet known through intuition.[77] Kant’s often brief remarks about mathematics influenced the mathematical school known as intuitionism, a movement in philosophy of mathematics opposed to Hilbert’s formalism, and the logicism of Frege and Bertrand Russell.[78]

Kant's work on mathematics and synthetic a priori knowledge is also cited by theoretical physicist Albert Einstein as an early influence on his intellectual development.[79]

Post-Kantian philosophy has yet to return to the style of thinking and arguing that characterized much of philosophy and metaphysics before Kant, although many British and American philosophers have preferred to trace their intellectual origins to Hume,[80] thus bypassing Kant. The British philosopher P. F. Strawson is a notable exception,[81] as is the American philosopher Wilfrid Sellars.[82]

Due in part to the influence of Strawson and Sellars, among others, there has been a renewed interest in Kant's view of the mind. Central to many debates in philosophy of psychology and cognitive science is Kant's conception of the unity of consciousness.[83]

The Emmanuel Kants, a drinking society :unsure: at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, take their name from this eminent figure in Western philosophy.
 
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Still undecided, so I'll go with my instincts. The celebrity category is still relatively untouched, so I can pretty much just pick one of the most recognizable faces of all time. The prototypical blonde bombshell sex symbol. The list of artworks, artists and actors inspired by her (not to mention everyone else who laid eyes on her) is truly stunning.

6.01 Marilyn Monroe Celebrity
not only is she not the hottest actress ever... She wasn't that great of an actress and her most memorable act is the list of men she slept with...
Good thing the category isn't about acting talent or even subjective hotness.
in other words, she's overrated in every way and, honestly, will be unlikely to be highly rated...Especially when you consider all the people who fit in "celebrity" category who aren't modern...

Either way, however, there are much, much better picks for "celebrity" than Marylin Monroe on the board still...

 
Still undecided, so I'll go with my instincts. The celebrity category is still relatively untouched, so I can pretty much just pick one of the most recognizable faces of all time. The prototypical blonde bombshell sex symbol. The list of artworks, artists and actors inspired by her (not to mention everyone else who laid eyes on her) is truly stunning.

6.01 Marilyn Monroe Celebrity
not only is she not the hottest actress ever... She wasn't that great of an actress and her most memorable act is the list of men she slept with...
Good thing the category isn't about acting talent or even subjective hotness.
in other words, she's overrated in every way and, honestly, will be unlikely to be highly rated...Especially when you consider all the people who fit in "celebrity" category who aren't modern...

Either way, however, there are much, much better picks for "celebrity" than Marylin Monroe on the board still...
I honestly can't think of many figures who have fascinated as many people or been worshipped for as long as Marilyn. I don't think there's much of a case for her being overrated as a sex symbol or a publically recognized figure, since you state that she's overrated in every way.
 
5.20 Cyrus The Great Leader/Military

Not sure how it'll be received (depends on familiarity with his rule, I suppose), but Cyrus II is one of my all-time favorite historical figures. Absolutely fascinating character for the thoroughness, breadth and depth of his accomplishments. Just felt like he should've been taken a while ago.
He is the last of the first tier military guys IMO, probably top 4 or 5 in my book. I'm not sure how much love he'll get from everybody else though.
 
Abrantes, moving Gandhi to Rebel and Cyrus to leader.

You guys need to instruct me when you want someone moved. Otherwise, when you choose a second person for a category you already have filled, I'm only guessing.

 
Sorry, another brief writeup, will expand later.

6.03 (103rd pick) - Paul Cezanne - Painter

(1839-1906) – "Cezanne is the father of us all." This lapidary phrase has been attributed to both Picasso and XXXXX, and certainly it doesn't matter who actually said it, because in either case is true.

While he exhibited with the Impressionist painters, Cézanne left behind the whole group to develop a style of painting never seen so far, which opened the door for the arrival of Cubism and the rest of the vanguards of the twentieth century

ETA: images and bio info

Self Portrait 1875

Jas de Bouffan 1876

Self Portrait 1878-80

Jas de Bouffan 1885-1887

The Card Players 1890 - 92

Mont Sainte-Victoire 1890-94

Man with Pipe 1892-96

Woman in a Green Hat 1894-1895

Ginger Jar and Fruit 1895

Still Life with Curtain 1895

Still Life with Apples and Oranges 1895-1900

Seated Peasant 1895-1900

Quarry and Mont Sainte-Victoire 1898-1900

Large Bathers 1899-1906

Still Life 1900

More paintings here

Visionary ahead of his time, Cezanne's innovative style, use of perspective, composition and color profoundly influenced 20th century art. Picasso developed Cezanne's planar compositions into cubism, and

Matisse
greatly admired his use of color. He used color with passion and creativity, giving his brush strokes structure, solidity, durability. Pablo Picasso said the following of the artist "My one and only master . . . Cezanne was like the father of us all". Cezanne is therefore often described as the "father of modern art". Unfortunately, Cezanne was the ultimate outsider and misunderstood during most of his life. Success came little and late, although young promising painters came to visit him during his last years.

Early Life and work

Paul Cezanne was born on January 19, 1839, as the son of a wealthy banker in the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence. Cezanne develops artistic interest at an early age and joins his boyhood companion and author

Emile Zola
in Paris in 1861, after many disputes with his father over his desire to dedicate himself to painting. Cezanne's stay in Paris lasted only six months. Though attracted by the more radical art forms in Paris, admiring the innovating works by

Eugène Delacroix
,

Gustave Courbet
and

Edouard Manet
, he destroys many canvases during depressive moments and returns home full of self-doubt. A year spent working with his father, however, convinced him to try a painter's life again. Cezanne's early works were dark and composed of heavy, fluid pigment suggesting the moody, romantic expression of previous generations.

Cezanne returns to Paris suffering a new defeat when failing the entrance exam for the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Worse, his paintings are rejected by the Salon. Thanks to

Pissarro
, he is introduced to Impressionist painters such as

Manet
and

Degas
.

1870

At 30, Cezanne changes his style and his habits. He meets Hortense Fiquet who becomes his mistress for many years. The black and morbid atmosphere of his painting gradually changes as he concentrates on landscape subjects. This period is also known as "constructive", characterized by the grouping of parallel, hatched brushstrokes that have the power to build a feeling of mass. After the birth of his son, Cezanne moved with his family to Pontoise, where

Pissarro
lived. For two years the two men spent long periods together.

Pissarro
introduces him to Impressionist painting and his work is finally exhibited together with other Impressionist works in 1874.

Pissarro
's influence is seen through the somewhat lightened palette. Throughout his career, will faithfully keep painting directly from nature. However, Cezanne reacted against the lack of structure in the Impressionist paintings and said that he intended to make Impressionism into "something solid and durable, like the art of the museums". He did innovate beyond Impressionism and is ranked alongside the Post-Impressionist artists

Seurat
,

Van Gogh
and

Gauguin
.

For many years, still-lifes and landscapes were Cezanne's main topics. Composing more than 200 still-life paintings, Cezanne wants to 'conquer Paris with an apple'. 'Apples and Oranges' is one of his most famous still-life compositions. Applying the same methodical analysis to these works as he did with his landscapes, Cezanne records the slightest variations in tone and color observed over long periods as well as the forms from empirical geometry he considered the most frequent in nature - the 'cylinder, sphere and the cone'.

1880

In 1881, Cezanne's brother-in-law bought a house with a view on the Saint-Victoire mountain. He feels this mountain in his compositions is the essence of all that he had felt had eluded the Impressionists - firmness, solidity, permanence.

When in 1886

Emile Zola
's publishes

L'Oeuvre
, Cezanne was deeply hurt by the resemblances to the main character, which was a failed artist. This leads to the end of his friendship with

Zola
. In the same year, Cezanne reveals the existence of his family to his parents and then marries Hortense. Later that year, Cezanne's father dies, leaving him a comfortable inheritence.

The next few years, Cezanne becomes increasingly isolated from his family in Paris while he stays in Aix. Cutting himself off from the outer world, he lives the life of a recluse.

1890

In his late fifties however, Cezanne's work finally began to attract the attention it deserves. Ambroise Vollard, a renowned art dealer, organises an exhibit of Cezanne's work in Paris in 1895. Appreciation and acceptance of his innovative work follows, and Vollard even buys every painting from Cezanne's studio in 1897. Young artists travel to Aix to see him at work.

End of his life

Cezanne's artistic search leads him to study the same subjects over and over, varying his approach each time. 'The Great Bathers', a monumental piece showing women in a landscape, is a revision of a favourite subject, first explored in 1875.

In later years, Cezanne's health detriorated. On October 22 1906, Cezanne dies of pneumonia.

 
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Abrantes, moving Gandhi to Rebel and Cyrus to leader. You guys need to instruct me when you want someone moved. Otherwise, when you choose a second person for a category you already have filled, I'm only guessing.
Just to follow up on yesterday, you were correct to put Cleopatra as a Leader and Lao Tzu as a Philosopher on my roster, but ultimately I may have to move Cleopatra to wildcard depending on how the draft unfolds.Thanks.
 
Sorry, another brief writeup, will expand later.

6.03 (103rd pick) - Paul Cezanne - Painter

(1839-1906) – "Cezanne is the father of us all." This lapidary phrase has been attributed to both Picasso and XXXXX, and certainly it doesn't matter who actually said it, because in either case is true.

While he exhibited with the Impressionist painters, Cézanne left behind the whole group to develop a style of painting never seen so far, which opened the door for the arrival of Cubism and the rest of the vanguards of the twentieth century
LOVE Cézanne. I have absolutely no idea where he'll end up in the final ranking, but he's awesome.
 
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Still undecided, so I'll go with my instincts. The celebrity category is still relatively untouched, so I can pretty much just pick one of the most recognizable faces of all time. The prototypical blonde bombshell sex symbol. The list of artworks, artists and actors inspired by her (not to mention everyone else who laid eyes on her) is truly stunning.

6.01 Marilyn Monroe Celebrity
not only is she not the hottest actress ever... She wasn't that great of an actress and her most memorable act is the list of men she slept with...
Don't do it Larry. Don't bring her up...
 
Still undecided, so I'll go with my instincts. The celebrity category is still relatively untouched, so I can pretty much just pick one of the most recognizable faces of all time. The prototypical blonde bombshell sex symbol. The list of artworks, artists and actors inspired by her (not to mention everyone else who laid eyes on her) is truly stunning.

6.01 Marilyn Monroe Celebrity
not only is she not the hottest actress ever... She wasn't that great of an actress and her most memorable act is the list of men she slept with...
Don't do it Larry. Don't bring her up...
<--- doesn't spotlight
 
Still undecided, so I'll go with my instincts. The celebrity category is still relatively untouched, so I can pretty much just pick one of the most recognizable faces of all time. The prototypical blonde bombshell sex symbol. The list of artworks, artists and actors inspired by her (not to mention everyone else who laid eyes on her) is truly stunning.

6.01 Marilyn Monroe Celebrity
not only is she not the hottest actress ever... She wasn't that great of an actress and her most memorable act is the list of men she slept with...
Don't do it Larry. Don't bring her up...
<--- doesn't spotlight
It's ok to spotlight her becasue there is no way in hell she belongs in this draft. But just don't bring her up in general.
 
Interesting thing about Kant- you all know who my favorite political novelist is. I'm not nearly as much of a fan of her non-fiction work as I am her novels, but from what I've read, she regards Kant is the greatest villain of all time. Not kidding here. Worse than Marx, worse than Plato (whom she hates) worse than Hitler or Stalin. Kant, to her, is the source from which all of our misery stems.

 
6.04 Herbert The Hippo - On The Clock until 6:30 p.m. EST

6.05 Andy Dufresne - On Deck

6.06 thatguy - In The Hole

6.07 Usual21

6.08 John Madden's Lunchbox

6.09 higgins

6.09 higgins

6.10 Big Rocks

6.11 Mad Sweeney

6.12 Doug B

6.13 DC Thunder

6.14 Thorn

6.15 Yankee23fan

6.16 Acer FC

6.17 FUBAR

6.18 Arsenal of Doom

6.19 Larry Boy 44

6.20 Mario Kart

 
For Herbert the Hippo:

6.4 JUDAS - VILLAIN

Judas Iscariot, Hebrew: יהודה איש־קריות‎ "Yehuda" was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original Apostles of Jesus. Among the twelve, he was apparently designated to keep account of the "money bag" but he is most traditionally known for his role in Jesus' betrayal into the hands of Roman authorities.[2]

His name is also associated with a Gnostic gospel, the Gospel of Judas, that exists in an early fourth century #### text. Judas has been a figure of great interest to esoteric groups, such as many Gnostic sects, and has also been the subject of many philosophical writings, including The Problem of Natural Evil by #### and "Three Versions of Judas", a short story by ####.

The term Judas has entered many languages as a synonym for betrayer, and Judas has become the archetype of the betrayer in Western art and literature. Judas is given some role in virtually all literature telling the Passion story, and appears in a number of modern novels and movies.

 
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6.5: Spartacus - Rebel
Spartacus was trained at the gladiatorial school (ludus) near Capua, belonging to Lentulus Batiatus. Finally in 73 BC, Spartacus and some seventy followers escaped from the gladiator school of Lentulus Batiatus. Seizing the knives in the cook's shop and a wagon full of weapons, the slaves fled to the caldera of Mount Vesuvius, near modern day Naples. There they were joined by other rural slaves.The group overran the region, plundering and pillaging. Spartacus's intention was to leave Italy and return home.[citation needed] His chief aides were gladiators from Gaul and Germania, named Crixus, Castus, Gannicus and Oenomaus. The Senate sent an inexperienced praetor against the rebels, with a militia of about 3,000. They besieged the rebels on Vesuvius blocking their escape, but Spartacus had ropes made from vines and with his men, climbed down a cliff on the other side of the volcano, to the rear of the Roman soldiers, and staged a surprise attack. Not expecting trouble from a handful of slaves, the Romans had not fortified their camp or posted adequate sentries. As a result, most of the Roman soldiers were still sleeping and killed in this attack. After this success many runaway slaves joined Spartacus until the group grew into an army of allegedly 140,000 escaped slaves.Spartacus is credited as an excellent military tactician and his experience as a former auxiliary soldier made him a formidable enemy, but his men were mostly former slave labourers who lacked military training. They hid out in the Caldera on Mount Vesuvius which at that time was dormant and heavily wooded, and this enabled them to train properly for the fight with the Romans.Apparently, Spartacus had intended to march his army out of Italy and into Gaul (now Belgium, Switzerland and France) or maybe even to Hispania, where Roman soldiers were fighting, to join the rebellion of Quintus Sertorius. There are theories that some of the non-fighting followers (some 10,000 or so) did in fact cross the Alps and return to their homelands.The rest marched back south, and defeated two more legions. At the end of 72 BC, Spartacus was encamped in Rhegium (Reggio Calabria), near the Strait of Messina. Spartacus's deal with Cilician pirates to get them to Sicily fell through. In the beginning of 71 BC, eight legions of XXXXX isolated Spartacus's army in Calabria.Spartacus managed to break through enemy lines and escape towards Brundisium (now Brindisi), but other Roman forces intercepted them in Lucania, and the slaves were routed in a subsequent battle at the river Silarus, where Spartacus is believed to have fallen. According to (a famous historian) "Finally, after his companions had taken to flight, he (Spartacus) stood alone, surrounded by a multitude of foes, and was still defending himself when he was cut down".[15]According to (another famous historian) "Spartacus was wounded in the thigh with a spear and sank upon his knee, holding his shield in front of him and contending in this way against his assailants until he and the great mass of those with him were surrounded and slain"; The body of Spartacus was not found.
 
6.5: Spartacus - Rebel

Spartacus was trained at the gladiatorial school (ludus) near Capua, belonging to Lentulus Batiatus. Finally in 73 BC, Spartacus and some seventy followers escaped from the gladiator school of Lentulus Batiatus. Seizing the knives in the cook's shop and a wagon full of weapons, the slaves fled to the caldera of Mount Vesuvius, near modern day Naples. There they were joined by other rural slaves.The group overran the region, plundering and pillaging. Spartacus's intention was to leave Italy and return home.[citation needed] His chief aides were gladiators from Gaul and Germania, named Crixus, Castus, Gannicus and Oenomaus. The Senate sent an inexperienced praetor against the rebels, with a militia of about 3,000. They besieged the rebels on Vesuvius blocking their escape, but Spartacus had ropes made from vines and with his men, climbed down a cliff on the other side of the volcano, to the rear of the Roman soldiers, and staged a surprise attack. Not expecting trouble from a handful of slaves, the Romans had not fortified their camp or posted adequate sentries. As a result, most of the Roman soldiers were still sleeping and killed in this attack. After this success many runaway slaves joined Spartacus until the group grew into an army of allegedly 140,000 escaped slaves.Spartacus is credited as an excellent military tactician and his experience as a former auxiliary soldier made him a formidable enemy, but his men were mostly former slave labourers who lacked military training. They hid out in the Caldera on Mount Vesuvius which at that time was dormant and heavily wooded, and this enabled them to train properly for the fight with the Romans.Apparently, Spartacus had intended to march his army out of Italy and into Gaul (now Belgium, Switzerland and France) or maybe even to Hispania, where Roman soldiers were fighting, to join the rebellion of Quintus Sertorius. There are theories that some of the non-fighting followers (some 10,000 or so) did in fact cross the Alps and return to their homelands.The rest marched back south, and defeated two more legions. At the end of 72 BC, Spartacus was encamped in Rhegium (Reggio Calabria), near the Strait of Messina. Spartacus's deal with Cilician pirates to get them to Sicily fell through. In the beginning of 71 BC, eight legions of XXXXX isolated Spartacus's army in Calabria.Spartacus managed to break through enemy lines and escape towards Brundisium (now Brindisi), but other Roman forces intercepted them in Lucania, and the slaves were routed in a subsequent battle at the river Silarus, where Spartacus is believed to have fallen. According to (a famous historian) "Finally, after his companions had taken to flight, he (Spartacus) stood alone, surrounded by a multitude of foes, and was still defending himself when he was cut down".[15]According to (another famous historian) "Spartacus was wounded in the thigh with a spear and sank upon his knee, holding his shield in front of him and contending in this way against his assailants until he and the great mass of those with him were surrounded and slain"; The body of Spartacus was not found.
Damn it I was hoping you'd take longer as I have like ten names I'm juggling.
 
Big Rocks said:
5.11 Ramesses II aka Ramses the Great, leader

I have no idea how this pick will be received, but I think that he deserves to be up there among the greatest leaders of all time. He led his people for over 60 years and is easily Egypt's greatest and most celebrated leader ever. He lived for over 90 years old and over that time built Egypt into a vast empire and included many temples and shrines to honor him. Since he was so old and kept out living his heirs, he was estimated to have over 100 children.

Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses The Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses *Riʕmīsisu; also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re)[5] was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh.[6] His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor."[citation needed] Today he is often believed to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus.[7]

He was born around 1303 BC and at age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father xxx.[6] He is believed to have taken the throne in his early 20s and to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC[8] for a total of 66 years and 2 months, according to xxx. He was once said to have lived to be 99 years old, but it is more likely that he died in his 90th or 91st year. If he became king in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists today believe, he would have assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Shemu day 27.[9][10] Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign—more than any other pharaoh.[11] On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings;[12] his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Cairo Museum.[13]

As king, Ramesses II led several expeditions north into the lands east of the Mediterranean (the location of the modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria). He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions a xxx

The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main base for his campaigns in Syria. This city was built on the remains of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos when they took over, and was the location of the main Temple of Set.
Full bio here.
This guy isn't getting enough love. Egyptian civilization was extraordinary, and the roots of western civilization lie in Egypt. This was the greatest Pharoah of all time. A gigantic figure in the cradle of civilization. And he ruled for 66 years!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Big Rocks said:
5.11 Ramesses II aka Ramses the Great, leader
This guy isn't getting enough love. Egyptian civilization was extraordinary, and the roots of western civilization lie in Egypt. This was the greatest Pharoah of all time. A gigantic figure in the cradle of civilization.
I liked it. I was going to research which Egyptian to take myself. I love watching stuff on Egyptian culture on the History Channel and such.
 
5.20 Cyrus The Great Leader/Military

Not sure how it'll be received (depends on familiarity with his rule, I suppose), but Cyrus II is one of my all-time favorite historical figures. Absolutely fascinating character for the thoroughness, breadth and depth of his accomplishments. Just felt like he should've been taken a while ago.

Cyrus the Great (Old Persian: ?????[3], IPA: [kʰuːrʰuʃ], Kūruš[4] > Persian: کوروش بزرگ, Kūrošé Bozorg), (c. 600 BC or 576 – August 530 BC or 529 BC), also known as Cyrus II of Persia and Cyrus the Elder,[5] was the first Zoroastrian Persian Shāhanshāh (Emperor). He was the founder of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty an empire without precedent—a first world-empire of historical importance[6] and perhaps the most wealthy and magnificent in history.[7]

It was under his own rule that the empire embraced all previous civilized states of the ancient Near East,[6] expanded vastly, and eventually conquering most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia, from Egypt and the Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, to create the largest empire the world had yet seen.[8]

The reign of Cyrus lasted twenty nine to thirty years. Cyrus formed his empire by fighting and conquering first the Median Empire then Lydian Empire and the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Either before or after Babylon, he led an expedition into central Asia, which resulted in major campaigns that brought "into subjection every nation without exception."[9] Cyrus did not venture into Egypt, as he himself died in battle, fighting the Scythians along the Syr Darya in August 530 BC or 529BC.[10] He was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II, who managed to add to the empire by conquering Egypt, Nubia, and Cyrenaica during his short rule.

As a military leader, Cyrus left an everlasting legacy on the art of leadership and decision-making and he attributed his success to "Diversity in counsel, unity in command."[11] Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered.[12] It is said that, in universal history the role of the Achaemenid empire founded by Cyrus lies in its very successful model for centralized administration and establishing a government working to the advantage and profit of its subjects.[6] In fact, the administration of the empire through satraps and the vital principle of forming a government at Pasargadae were the work of Cyrus.[13] Aside from his own nation, Iran, Cyrus also left a lasting legacy on Jewish religion (through his Edict of Restoration), human rights, politics, and military strategy, as well as on both Eastern and Western civilizations.

In scope and extent his achievements ranked far above that of the Macedonian king,

Alexander("the great") who was to demolish the empire in the 320's but fail to provide

any stable alternative.

—Charles Freeman in 'The Greek Achievement'[56]

Such extraordinary achievements of Cyrus the Great is well reflected in the way he is remembered today. His own nation, the Iranians, regarded him as "The Father", the Babylonians as "The Liberator", the Greeks as the "Law-Giver", and the Jews as the "Anointed of the Lord".[57]

Cyrus was distinguished equally as a statesman and as a soldier. By pursuing a policy of generosity instead of repression, and by favoring local religions, he was able to make his newly conquered subjects into enthusiastic supporters.[58] Due in part to the political infrastructure he created, the Achaemenid empire endured long after his demise.

The rise of Persia under Cyrus's rule had a profound impact on the course of world history. Persian philosophy, literature and religion all played dominant roles in world events for the next millennia. Despite the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century CE by the Islamic Caliphate, Persia continued to exercise enormous influence in the Middle East during the Islamic Golden Age, and was particularly instrumental in the growth and expansion of Islam.[citation needed]

Many of the Iranian dynasties following the Achaemenid empire and their kings saw themselves as the heirs to Cyrus the Great and have claimed to continue the line begun by Cyrus.[citation needed] However there are different opinions among scholars whether this is also the case for the Sassanid Dynasty.[59] Mohammad Reza Shah of Pahlavi dynasty celebrated the 2500th anniversary of the Iranian monarchy in 1971, though it ended with the 1979 revolution.

According to Professor Richard Frye[60]:

“It is a testimony to the capability of the founder of the Achaemenian empire that it continued to expand after his death and lasted for more than two centuries. But Cyrus was not only a great conqueror and administrator; he held a place in the minds of the Persian people similar to that of xxxxxxxx or Moses for the Israelites. His saga follows in many details the stories of hero and conquerors from elsewhere in the ancient world. The manner in which the baby Cyrus was given to a shepherd to raise is reminiscent of Moses in the bulrushes in Egypt, and the overthrow of his tyrannical grandfather has echoes in other myths and legends. There is no doubt that the Cyrus saga arose early among the Persians and was known to the Greeks. The sentiments of esteem or even awe in which Persians held him were transmitted to the Greeks, and it was no accident that xxxxxxxxxxx chose Cyrus to be the model of a ruler for the lessons he wished to impart to his fellow Greeks.

In short, the figure of Cyrus has survived throughout history as more than a great man who founded an empire. He became the epitome of the great qualities expected of a ruler in antiquity, and he assumed heroic features as a conqueror who was tolerant and magnanimous as well as brave and daring. His personality as seen by the Greeks influenced them and Alexander the Great, and, as the tradition was transmitted by the Romans, may be considered to influence our thinking even now. In the year 1971, Iran celebrated the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the monarchy by Cyrus.
Good pick. He's in my second tier of military leaders. Relax.

 
For Herbert the Hippo:6.4 JUDAS - VILLAINJudas Iscariot, Hebrew: יהודה איש־קריות‎ "Yehuda" was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original Apostles of Jesus. Among the twelve, he was apparently designated to keep account of the "money bag" but he is most traditionally known for his role in Jesus' betrayal into the hands of Roman authorities.[2]His name is also associated with a Gnostic gospel, the Gospel of Judas, that exists in an early fourth century #### text. Judas has been a figure of great interest to esoteric groups, such as many Gnostic sects, and has also been the subject of many philosophical writings, including The Problem of Natural Evil by #### and "Three Versions of Judas", a short story by ####.The term Judas has entered many languages as a synonym for betrayer, and Judas has become the archetype of the betrayer in Western art and literature. Judas is given some role in virtually all literature telling the Passion story, and appears in a number of modern novels and movies.
I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't consider him. Damn fine - no, great pick here.
 
I wholeheartedly disapprove of the use of Biblical figures (other than Jesus, of course) in this draft.
really? Why?
Because they're mythological. And I'm being serious.Why don't I just pick the Greek god Nike for my athlete?
oh come on!I can kind of understand that explanation with Moses or Abraham...But many Bible characters are factual people... Just as much as someone like Sun Tzu or Homer is... Heck, there are historians who think Shakespeare was a woman or a combination of a number of different writers or a ton of other nonsense...And the thing that confuses me the most is you didn't say this when Abraham and Moses are mentioned, but do when Judas is mentioned... I mean, if anything, out of those three Judas is the most likely to be an actual person who lived....
 
I wholeheartedly disapprove of the use of Biblical figures (other than Jesus, of course) in this draft.
really? Why?
Because they're mythological. And I'm being serious.
Don't make me drive up to the frozen north and beat you sensless with my bible.
No different than beating me to death with a Dr. Seuss book.
Not true. Suess could drop the rhymes better then Dr. Dre.
 
I wholeheartedly disapprove of the use of Biblical figures (other than Jesus, of course) in this draft.
really? Why?
Because they're mythological. And I'm being serious.Why don't I just pick the Greek god Nike for my athlete?
oh come on!I can kind of understand that explanation with Moses or Abraham...But many Bible characters are factual people... Just as much as someone like Sun Tzu or Homer is... Heck, there are historians who think Shakespeare was a woman or a combination of a number of different writers or a ton of other nonsense...And the thing that confuses me the most is you didn't say this when Abraham and Moses are mentioned, but do when Judas is mentioned... I mean, if anything, out of those three Judas is the most likely to be an actual person who lived....
I just bring it up now knowing that the picks won't get overturned anyway. Just voicing my displeasure.I think Moses, Abraham, and Judas are all equally invalid.And regardless of what gender Shakespeare was, there's no doubt that it was a real person.
 
I wholeheartedly disapprove of the use of Biblical figures (other than Jesus, of course) in this draft.
really? Why?
Because they're mythological. And I'm being serious.Why don't I just pick the Greek god Nike for my athlete?
oh come on!I can kind of understand that explanation with Moses or Abraham...But many Bible characters are factual people... Just as much as someone like Sun Tzu or Homer is... Heck, there are historians who think Shakespeare was a woman or a combination of a number of different writers or a ton of other nonsense...And the thing that confuses me the most is you didn't say this when Abraham and Moses are mentioned, but do when Judas is mentioned... I mean, if anything, out of those three Judas is the most likely to be an actual person who lived....
I just bring it up now knowing that the picks won't get overturned anyway. Just voicing my displeasure.I think Moses, Abraham, and Judas are all equally invalid.And regardless of what gender Shakespeare was, there's no doubt that it was a real person.
You're just upset because there isn't a chance in hell that anyone from Minnesota gets drafted in this you pasty neocon.
 
I wholeheartedly disapprove of the use of Biblical figures (other than Jesus, of course) in this draft.
really? Why?
Because they're mythological. And I'm being serious.Why don't I just pick the Greek god Nike for my athlete?
oh come on!I can kind of understand that explanation with Moses or Abraham...But many Bible characters are factual people... Just as much as someone like Sun Tzu or Homer is... Heck, there are historians who think Shakespeare was a woman or a combination of a number of different writers or a ton of other nonsense...And the thing that confuses me the most is you didn't say this when Abraham and Moses are mentioned, but do when Judas is mentioned... I mean, if anything, out of those three Judas is the most likely to be an actual person who lived....
I just bring it up now knowing that the picks won't get overturned anyway. Just voicing my displeasure.I think Moses, Abraham, and Judas are all equally invalid.And regardless of what gender Shakespeare was, there's no doubt that it was a real person.
you really doubt that Judas was a real person? Seriously?I can understand doubting that everything the Bible says happened actually happened, but stating the every single Biblical character outside of Jesus is as fictional as the Greek God Nike is just uninformed and, honestly, beneath you... You know good and well that a vast majority of the characters actually existed (even if their stories could be exaggerated a bit in the Bible)...like I said... where were your complaints with Moses or Abraham? Where are your complaints about Homer and Sun Tzu? Why single out the Bible?
 
like I said... where were your complaints with Moses or Abraham? Where are your complaints about Homer and Sun Tzu? Why single out the Bible?
Andy asked me never to tell, but the fact is that he had a really really nice mutlicolored coat that he loved when he was younger and his brothers beat him up and took it from him and left him at an unlce's house where he was forced to watch Jimmy Carter speeches.I'm sorry Andy. I know you didn't want anyone else to know that. But it's out there now. You can heal and move on.
 
Big Rocks said:
5.11 Ramesses II aka Ramses the Great, leader

I have no idea how this pick will be received, but I think that he deserves to be up there among the greatest leaders of all time. He led his people for over 60 years and is easily Egypt's greatest and most celebrated leader ever. He lived for over 90 years old and over that time built Egypt into a vast empire and included many temples and shrines to honor him. Since he was so old and kept out living his heirs, he was estimated to have over 100 children.

Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses The Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses *Riʕmīsisu; also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re)[5] was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh.[6] His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor."[citation needed] Today he is often believed to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus.[7]

He was born around 1303 BC and at age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father xxx.[6] He is believed to have taken the throne in his early 20s and to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC[8] for a total of 66 years and 2 months, according to xxx. He was once said to have lived to be 99 years old, but it is more likely that he died in his 90th or 91st year. If he became king in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists today believe, he would have assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Shemu day 27.[9][10] Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign—more than any other pharaoh.[11] On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings;[12] his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Cairo Museum.[13]

As king, Ramesses II led several expeditions north into the lands east of the Mediterranean (the location of the modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria). He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions a xxx

The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main base for his campaigns in Syria. This city was built on the remains of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos when they took over, and was the location of the main Temple of Set.
Full bio here.
This guy isn't getting enough love. Egyptian civilization was extraordinary, and the roots of western civilization lie in Egypt. This was the greatest Pharoah of all time. A gigantic figure in the cradle of civilization. And he ruled for 66 years!
:thumbup: Plus, it led me to figure out what your username meant.
 
Big Rocks said:
5.11 Ramesses II aka Ramses the Great, leader

I have no idea how this pick will be received, but I think that he deserves to be up there among the greatest leaders of all time. He led his people for over 60 years and is easily Egypt's greatest and most celebrated leader ever. He lived for over 90 years old and over that time built Egypt into a vast empire and included many temples and shrines to honor him. Since he was so old and kept out living his heirs, he was estimated to have over 100 children.

Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses The Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses *Riʕmīsisu; also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re)[5] was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh.[6] His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor."[citation needed] Today he is often believed to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus.[7]

He was born around 1303 BC and at age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father xxx.[6] He is believed to have taken the throne in his early 20s and to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC[8] for a total of 66 years and 2 months, according to xxx. He was once said to have lived to be 99 years old, but it is more likely that he died in his 90th or 91st year. If he became king in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists today believe, he would have assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Shemu day 27.[9][10] Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign—more than any other pharaoh.[11] On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings;[12] his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Cairo Museum.[13]

As king, Ramesses II led several expeditions north into the lands east of the Mediterranean (the location of the modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria). He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions a xxx

The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main base for his campaigns in Syria. This city was built on the remains of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos when they took over, and was the location of the main Temple of Set.
Full bio here.
This guy isn't getting enough love. Egyptian civilization was extraordinary, and the roots of western civilization lie in Egypt. This was the greatest Pharoah of all time. A gigantic figure in the cradle of civilization. And he ruled for 66 years!
:thumbup: Plus, it led me to figure out what your username meant.
:honda:I said that 20 pages ago...

 
Big Rocks said:
5.11 Ramesses II aka Ramses the Great, leader

I have no idea how this pick will be received, but I think that he deserves to be up there among the greatest leaders of all time. He led his people for over 60 years and is easily Egypt's greatest and most celebrated leader ever. He lived for over 90 years old and over that time built Egypt into a vast empire and included many temples and shrines to honor him. Since he was so old and kept out living his heirs, he was estimated to have over 100 children.

Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses The Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses *Riʕmīsisu; also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re)[5] was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh.[6] His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor."[citation needed] Today he is often believed to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus.[7]

He was born around 1303 BC and at age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father xxx.[6] He is believed to have taken the throne in his early 20s and to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC[8] for a total of 66 years and 2 months, according to xxx. He was once said to have lived to be 99 years old, but it is more likely that he died in his 90th or 91st year. If he became king in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists today believe, he would have assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Shemu day 27.[9][10] Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign—more than any other pharaoh.[11] On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings;[12] his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Cairo Museum.[13]

As king, Ramesses II led several expeditions north into the lands east of the Mediterranean (the location of the modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria). He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions a xxx

The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main base for his campaigns in Syria. This city was built on the remains of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos when they took over, and was the location of the main Temple of Set.
Full bio here.
This guy isn't getting enough love. Egyptian civilization was extraordinary, and the roots of western civilization lie in Egypt. This was the greatest Pharoah of all time. A gigantic figure in the cradle of civilization. And he ruled for 66 years!
:thumbup: Plus, it led me to figure out what your username meant.
:honda:I said that 20 pages ago...
Maybe. But some things are worth repeating.
 
Big Rocks said:
5.11 Ramesses II aka Ramses the Great, leader

I have no idea how this pick will be received, but I think that he deserves to be up there among the greatest leaders of all time. He led his people for over 60 years and is easily Egypt's greatest and most celebrated leader ever. He lived for over 90 years old and over that time built Egypt into a vast empire and included many temples and shrines to honor him. Since he was so old and kept out living his heirs, he was estimated to have over 100 children.

Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses The Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses *Riʕmīsisu; also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re)[5] was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh.[6] His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor."[citation needed] Today he is often believed to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus.[7]

He was born around 1303 BC and at age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father xxx.[6] He is believed to have taken the throne in his early 20s and to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC[8] for a total of 66 years and 2 months, according to xxx. He was once said to have lived to be 99 years old, but it is more likely that he died in his 90th or 91st year. If he became king in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists today believe, he would have assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Shemu day 27.[9][10] Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign—more than any other pharaoh.[11] On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings;[12] his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Cairo Museum.[13]

As king, Ramesses II led several expeditions north into the lands east of the Mediterranean (the location of the modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria). He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions a xxx

The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main base for his campaigns in Syria. This city was built on the remains of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos when they took over, and was the location of the main Temple of Set.
Full bio here.
This guy isn't getting enough love. Egyptian civilization was extraordinary, and the roots of western civilization lie in Egypt. This was the greatest Pharoah of all time. A gigantic figure in the cradle of civilization. And he ruled for 66 years!
:thumbup: Plus, it led me to figure out what your username meant.
:honda:I said that 20 pages ago...
I must not have been paying attention then...
 
Big Rocks said:
5.11 Ramesses II aka Ramses the Great, leader

I have no idea how this pick will be received, but I think that he deserves to be up there among the greatest leaders of all time. He led his people for over 60 years and is easily Egypt's greatest and most celebrated leader ever. He lived for over 90 years old and over that time built Egypt into a vast empire and included many temples and shrines to honor him. Since he was so old and kept out living his heirs, he was estimated to have over 100 children.

Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses The Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses *Riʕmīsisu; also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re)[5] was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh.[6] His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor."[citation needed] Today he is often believed to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus.[7]

He was born around 1303 BC and at age fourteen, Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent by his father xxx.[6] He is believed to have taken the throne in his early 20s and to have ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC[8] for a total of 66 years and 2 months, according to xxx. He was once said to have lived to be 99 years old, but it is more likely that he died in his 90th or 91st year. If he became king in 1279 BC as most Egyptologists today believe, he would have assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Shemu day 27.[9][10] Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented 14 sed festivals during his reign—more than any other pharaoh.[11] On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings;[12] his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Cairo Museum.[13]

As king, Ramesses II led several expeditions north into the lands east of the Mediterranean (the location of the modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria). He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions a xxx

The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main base for his campaigns in Syria. This city was built on the remains of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos when they took over, and was the location of the main Temple of Set.
Full bio here.
This guy isn't getting enough love. Egyptian civilization was extraordinary, and the roots of western civilization lie in Egypt. This was the greatest Pharoah of all time. A gigantic figure in the cradle of civilization. And he ruled for 66 years!
:thumbup: Plus, it led me to figure out what your username meant.
:honda:I said that 20 pages ago...
You guys didn't go see Watchmen? Sheesh. j/k

 
Catching up -

1. Mister CIA, you'd be crazy not to slot Kant in the Philosopher category. As someone said, he's a philosopher's philosopher. Top 5 IMO. Great pick.

2. There's a reason everyone avoided picking a Celebrity until the 5th round. It's because the notion of celebrity is a 20th century phenomenon. Though the word's etymology goes back to the Latin celebritatem, meaning "famous" or "thronged" (OED), we didn't start widely using the term until the the 19th century. The OED traces the first contemporary usage to EXXXXX in 1856, when he wrote, "One of the celebrities of wealth and fashion confessed that..." The next known usage doesn't occur until 1876. The idea may have been born in the 19th century, but it didn't become a phenomenon until the 20th century. Why?

Film.

The idea of celebrity was really born through film, the mass marketing of image and popular fame. Pre-film people may have become famous, but they weren't thought of as celebrities in our sense of the word. Shakespeare could walk down a London street and not a person would recognize him. Same with anyone else "famous" before film and television turned fame into a mass produced, broadcasted image. Then actors become spokespersons and political figures. Rock N Roll musicians became actors. Their faces became more important than their ability. The Beatles couldn't act worth a crap; but they were in a movie that's still watched today. Why? Recognition factor. They became familiar via their image, so familiar that they transcended their genre (musician) and became celebrity figures. Their face became more important than their playing ability.

This is why Marilyn Monroe is the quintessential celebrity.

Monroe couldn't act.

Monroe couldn't sing (did you see Niagara? Even editing couldn't save her dreadful voice).

Monroe couldn't do much of anything except look good and appear in places with other well known people.

She managed to wrangle fame out of this. She managed to shag important people, even marrying a few. Many believe her death was a result of shagging the wrong set of brothers. Conspiracies surround her, transcend her, turned her into something above and beyond a mere vamp with sex appeal. She became an American icon.

This is celebrity.

I think you'll be hard pressed to find one before the 20th century. Next to Alexander the Great or Dostoevsky, celebrities aren't world shakers. They're images first, people second. Images don't affect history or ideas; they affect fads of identity and fashion. Celebrities are the mirrors of popular self-image. This is what makes a good celebrity. They may or may not be talented. What matters isn't their talent, it's that they inhabit what GXX DXXXXX called "the spectacle of the image." In less jargonic terms: they inhabit the limelight. The best celebrities stay there for decades. The greatest stay there past their own deaths, more often than not surrounded in an eternal cocoon of conspiracy theory. Monroe's "suicide" was staged. An FBI plot. A CIA plot. Et cetera. I'd give more examples, but it'd spotlight far too much, even in code. Think of any celebrity who lasted beyond their death. Either the circumstances of their death is thrown in question (rightly or wrongly) or people still see them sitting in football stadiums. They never go away.

You can probably tell I've studied the idea of celebrity. It was crucial to some work I once did. The celebrity judge may see things differently. I just wanted to drop my knowledge in the draft.

 

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