I know the Marine Corps perspective but I'm curious how the Chinese view it.

Would they still fear the old gods for instance, if they were peasants? Dante often mentions characters from Classical mythology in his works, as does Chaucer. Where would these Classical characters fit into the grand scheme of the world in the religious worldview of a Christian of this era? Would the old gods be seen as malicious and opposed to the worship of the new god?

Aren't they all just essentially long pointy weapons of varying lengths?

I've been seeing a lot of medieval art that was meant to be realistic, but is technically incorrect. Faces out of proportion, poorly drawn, like something a child would do.

Was this a style or was it matter of cameras not being invented and only so many talented renderer artists to go around?

At what point did the Ryukyu kingdom become part of Japan and why has it stayed part of Japan rather than becoming its own independent country?

One of the main reasons behind gunpowder infantry fighting in large blocks and lines is that they made the army easier to control, but surely lots of people must have foreseen the rise of firearm infantry, looked back at how badly tight, unarmoured blocks of people faired against ranged attacks, and put two and two together?

Prior to or during the rise of gunpowder, what attempts (if any) were made to advance battlefield communication between units so that these units could become smaller and more versatile, allowing individual soldiers to react more independently instead of standing there waiting to be shot?

Sorry if it's a bit long.

There is no doubt that most of today's young do not like classical music very much. But were classical musicians popular stars among the young of that time? Or was it music for the royals and such. Is it possible there were other types of more popular music that was never recorded because it wasn't of interest to the upper classes.

Did the Vikings, or any cultures beyond those based in Europe have a tradition of naming their boats or ships? I can see the practicality of it, but I'm curious as to whether there's a religious or cultural reason that those such as the Vikings did not, as I can't find any evidence of it, or whether there's some specific reason as to why ship naming is a thing limited to Western Europe.

I know this is a sensitive subject for many, and I want to start by saying I do not think the occupation of Korea was good for Korea in any way. I am not trying to justify the actions of the Japanese, either.

Since the end of WWII, I have met many Koreans who dislike Japan, often citing WWII as their reason. They say that Japan tried to erase and destroy all of Korea's unique culture and history. This sounded like a seriously horrible thing that was done, so I didn't disagree with them. However, I was surfing the internet for more information of this particular period of history, and I honestly saw some good refuting arguments on the Japanese side. I saw a collection of school textbooks that were written in Korean, about Korean history published under the Japanese government. I honestly don't know what to believe, and I would love to find out more about this time period. Please help me become informed.

I'm trying to get at the idea of Greek expansion and its effect on the peoples they encountered. Wondering if anyone knows how far and current the effects are.

I'm familiar with the story—Greeks swoop into a Jewish land (not actually sure where; presumably somewhere in Israel?) and force the Jews to reject their culture and embrace the Greekism. Judah and the Maccabees lead a revolution and win. Supposedly after that whole debacle (which included the burning of the Temple) they had a tiny bit of oil that surprisingly lasted for eight days, though I've heard that this is a fabrication to make the story more kid-friendly, so I'm not sure. And so we celebrate.

How much—if any of it—is real, and how much of it is a legend? When was it decided that we should celebrate, and are we celebrating the victory over the Greeks, or is the holiday actually about this bit of oil that wouldn't burn away? (And if so, why is that so significant? Is it because of all the hardship prior? Because that still seems insignificant, a bit of an anticlimax.)

Pierre Berton has written a lot of popular history books on Canada. How is the work regarded by academic historians?

Is there evidence of Austronesian peoples settling in Siberia, Japan, or Alaska?

Are there any examples of traditions or stories that have survived for centuries solely by word of mouth?