Previously:
Today:
The "Monday Mysteries" series will be focused on, well, mysteries -- historical matters that present us with problems of some sort, and not just the usual ones that plague historiography as it is. Situations in which our whole understanding of them would turn on a (so far) unknown variable, like the sinking of the Lusitania; situations in which we only know that something did happen, but not necessarily how or why, like the deaths of Richard III's nephews in the Tower of London; situations in which something has become lost, or become found, or turned out never to have been at all -- like the art of Greek fire, or the Antikythera mechanism, or the historical Coriolanus, respectively.
This week, we'll be taking a look at the history of mistakes that were made...because of alcohol.
Needless to say, this promises to be a rather entertaining topic. Alcohol is one of humanities most widely used substances, and has been used far and wide in almost every culture imaginable. However, the question here is...what have been some mistakes caused directly by a blunder due to alcohol?
First of all, there's always the military aspect. Was one culture known for having drunken revels on one day, who were subsequently destroyed when their enemies found out? Did an army fall apart because of a drunken mishap? Did drunkenness ever contribute to a war being won or lost?
On the other side, we have the political and social aspect! Have any wars been fought over something that was done while one party was inebriated? How about a marriage alliance that was forged over wine that later turned out to be disastrous for one of the parties? Perhaps an alliance was shattered? Perhaps a murder was committed! Tell us any and all wine-sodden woes!
Next Week on Monday Mysteries - A reincarnation of a past topic! The inaccurate films and books in your period! See you then!
Remember, moderation in these threads will be light - however, please remember that politeness, as always, is mandatory.
A rather bizarre narrative in the Talmud is of one Rabbi who accidentally kills another one during drunken revelry celebrating the holiday of Purim. The one doing the stabbing then prayed, and the other one was miraculously healed. He then had the chutzpah to invite him to his Purim party the next year, an invitation that was declined.
It's an important part of one "mystery" of Jewish law, namely the question of to what extent Jewish ritual requires alcohol consumption (and drunkenness) on the holiday of Purim.
As this is Monday Mysteries I'm going to expand the concept of history a little and bring greek mythology into play. There's the tale of the wedding of the King of the Lapiths, Pirithous, and his bride Hippodamia. The centaurs also were invited and - uncivilized as they are - got pretty wasted. It was all fun and games until the centaurs decided to hit on the Lapith women and one of them, Eurytion, eventually tried to rape the bride as it is beautifully rendered in this attic red figure vase painting. This led to a battle of (literally) epic proportions which was finally won by the Lapiths with the help of the Athenian hero Theseus. This was the prototypical Centauromachy which was reflected in Greek art over and over again (e. g. on the Francois Vase, as one very early vase painted in black figure style, this metope from the Parthenon or the western pediment of the Temple of Zeaus at Olympia).
Overly academic buzzkill disclaimer:
Of course, the drunkenness of the centaurs is just one of many elements that are used to describe them as uncivilized non-greeks - the fact that they fight with trees and rocks instead of other wepaons (as can be seen in many of the images I linked above) is another example for such an contrasting juxtaposition. Not being able to drink wine properly is a motif that is also used to characterize barbarians (who don't mix the wine with water) and - more abstract - one of the means of establishing a collective greek identity by stressing otherness.
I'd like to talk about the alcohol-related estrangement that developed between Tariácuri, the founder of the Tarascan Empire, and his son Curátame. Tariácuri was famous for uniting the various warring city-states and principalities of the Pátzcuaro lake basin under a single dynasty - headed by himself or course. He supposedly received a vision in the form of a dream from his family's principal god, Curicaueri. In the vision the god lamented that all the people of the lake (who at this point consisted of two principle ethnic groups, the "Chichimecs" from the north and the indigenous "Islanders") were ruled by various warring ruling families. It would please the gods, so he was told, to have all of the cities in the valley united under one lord, one king.
Unfortunately for Taríacuri, his son Curátame did not share this vision. Through a strategic marriage Taríacuri managed to get his son the throne of a city called Corínguaro, which was meant to be the first step towards uniting the lake. Curátame, however, was far more interested in getting drunk. He apparently used his royal position to secure a steady supply of pulque (agave beer) and drank himself into a stupor on a regular basis. He "walked drunkenly through Corínguaro" and "never took [the bottle] away from his mouth." (Relacion de Michoacan folio 105v)
Taríacuri sent a message to his son, demanding that he come to meet him at the town of Xáramu bearing tribute. Curátame declined, on the grounds that it was too far away and they didn't have any booze there. Instead he suggested his father meet him at another location where they were holding a festival, so there would be an ample supply of pulque. Taríacuri agreed, and arrived in the afternoon just as the festival was winding down. They met the next morning - Curátame showed up late and already drunk. Tariácuri first berated Curátame for not fulfilling his sacred duties as a lord (namely, to provide firewood for the eternal flames burning in the temples) and then implored his son to lend his army to help against his enemies. But in a long-winded and drunken rant Curátame basically told him to piss off. He claimed that since he was now a lord in his own right, he didn't have to listen to his father anymore.
In retrospect, this turned out to be a really, really bad move. Tariácuri did not take kindly to this at all. He made a strategic alliance with his nephews, Hiripan and Tangaxoan, and together lured his drunken son into an ambush and killed him. Tariácuri and his nephews then went on to enact his vision of uniting the lake under a single dynasty - with Hiripan and Tangaxoan each taking a turn as supreme ruler after Tariácuri died. Curátame was relegated to a footnote in the history of the Tarascan Empire.
Does anyone know how true the popular story about Washington's crossing of the Delaware is?
The story for those who don't know it, is that on the night of Christmas Eve, 1775, the continental army was in terrible shape. They had suffered repeated defeats and had been pushed back into Pennsylvania, losing New York. Furthermore much of the army's enlistments were expiring at the end of the year, and if Washington could not win a victory he feared that many of his men would go home.
On the night of Christmas day Washington took a number of his soldier and crossed the partially frozen Delaware River. There, he surprised a garrison of Hessian mercenaries and captured many of them. After winning another victory a few days later the army retired to winter quarters at Valley Forge, where the army rested and trained. The army, having survived the defeats of 1775, would remain in the field and eventually win the war.
Alcohol comes into play on the Hessian side. There are two versions of the story that I've heard:
The Hessians, being young German men on christmas, proceeded to get rip roaringly drunk on the night of the 25th, and neglected to post sentries (figuring that nobody would attack on Christmas). Furthermore, the next morning many of the Hessians were still asleep or incredibly hungover, and only a few soldiers were able to wake up and fight the advancing American troops.
The Hessian/British commander (heard it both ways) received an urgent note from one of his scouts/spies on the American side of the river, saying that Washington was planning an attack the next morning. However, he received it in the midst of the Christmas party, and simply stuck it in his pocket without reading it. He proceeded to get very drunk and forgot about the note, so that when he was captured the next morning the note was found, unread, in his pocket.
Does anyone know how true these stories are?
Another story I've heard is in a similar vein, although related to drugs instead of alcohol.
During World War 1, the British had been stopped by intricate Ottoman defense networks outside of Jerusalem. They had tried several attacks, but been repulsed bloodily every time. Then, a British commander got an idea: they would fill cigarettes with potent hash, and "accidentally" drop the crates of cigarettes over Ottoman lines. The plan worked like a charm, and the poorly equipped Ottoman soldiers proceeded to smoke a number of the cigarettes. When the British attacked the next day, the Ottomans opposing them were too high to mount an effective defense. Does anyone know how true this story is?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kar%C3%A1nsebes
While i find the 10.k casualties highly unlikely,and most other details sketchy (soldiers mistaking their officers orders to "halt ! halt !" to "allah Allah!" puhleease,they dont even sound close)
But still,i can picture a night-time march ending in confusion,with some friendly fire and general confusion,thanks to some mishaps caused by some drunken hussars,thats not too far fetched is it? :)
Read the article and judge it yourselves,its obvious the mishaps of the Austrian army is blown way out of proportion,but still,"Leave the waging of war to others"
There is that funny one here, through a quote : "The story goes that some politicians tried to get general Ulysses S. Grant fired for drinking to much. To which President Lincoln replied : "Find out the brand of whiskey he drinks and send every general ind the field a barrel of it" " from Freedom: A History of US, by Joy Hakim
