Domesticate the Vagabond

     People who achieve greatness and succeed in making their goals and dreams reality are often admired for their demonstrated determination while being scorned for their treatment of others and their disregard for social rules and laws. Obvious examples include the conquests of great generals like Cyrus, Alexander, Julius Ceasar, the Khans, and Saladin. These men took over large swathes of land and many peoples from a tiny center of power with innovative military techniques and tactics. The second most evident success stories of impassioned achievement are commercial. Rockefeller gradually absorbed all of the American oil industry from drilling to refining to selling and established an untouchable monopoly. John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca Cola, also achieved remarkable success of a simple product through excellent marketing. Henry Ford dominated the automotive industry, DuPont controlled engineering and chemistry, Carnegie consolidated steel and railroads, and modern innovators of the computer age like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zucherberg continue in those traditions.
     What makes these individuals stand apart from the competition and achieve their goals despite opposition? Passion. Conviction. An internal belief and desire to do something purposeful with their lifelong dreams. Few people have dreams worth pursuing. Of the few that dream, fewer strive to achieve those ideas. Of the few that dream and strive, fewer succeed. That is why we remember them: their names and their deeds.

      In Dante's Inferno, Canto IV, " [In] the foremost circle that surrounds the abyss, there as it seemed to me from listening, were lamentations none, but only sighs, that tremble made the everlasting air. And this arose from sorrow without torment, which the crowds had, that many were and great, of infants and of women and of men." Taken slightly out of context, it is clear that a huge host of people suffered in the outermost circle of hell, Limbo, because they did not commit to anything during life. Because of their aimless life, they were punished to an aimless eternity.
     Most people live without focus or purpose. The poor are distracted by the needs of basic survival while the wealthy are distracted by worthless trinkets. If humanity is to overcome the challenges, fears, and antagonism that it suffers from now, we must collectively put aside the baggage of localized pettiness and place our efforts toward what we hope to accomplish.


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Agatha Tyche

Tyche to Fortuna: Shifting Luck

Throughout her Grecian history, the goddess of luck, Tyche had adjusted well to the changing religious beliefs of the Greek and Hellenistic worlds. By the second century BC with a decline of the city-state in Greece and the formation of a large Greek-like culture throughout most of the known world, individualism philosophies undermined traditional religion but encouraged an increase in fate-altering religious beliefs. The focus on individualism aided the religious shift away from traditional Greecian religion since the Olympic gods chose cities, not people, to sponsor. Alternatively, mystery cults provided possibilities for individuals to interact with their chosen deity. By allowing people to interact personally and specifically to petition for gods’ assistance in problems, fate ceased its finality and became opened ended. Mystery cults added to traditional worship eventually weakening Tyche’s grasp on fate and undermining her power just as she had undermined the Olympic gods at the start of the Hellenistic Age.                                                       
The Classical Greek religious views began to change swiftly with the Macedonian invasion in the 330s BC as Fate gave way to the whims of shifting and unpredictable Chance. Fate (moira) characterizes unchangeable destiny while Chance personifies inexpiable inconsistencies in life. Fate went from being an unalterable future to being controlled by an unpredictable, blind deity that distributed rewards and punishments without cause. Comparing the Hellenistic view of Chance with Homer’s writings of traditional religion shows a stark contrast in the power of the Olympian gods. However, this shift occurred gradually with the earliest ideas of Fate expressed as “unswerving direction.” Over time, fate became god-administered because the outcome was not determined by the gods, merely the path of arrival. Aside from the gods, Tyche ruled a “separate but complementary sphere of influence.” Tyche’s popularity rose at the expense of the traditional Greek gods.                                
In addition to successfully competing with Greek gods, Tyche favorably interacted with other cultures’ religions such as Isis in the Selukidian and Ptolemaic kingdoms. With Fortune’s vast powers, Hellenistic writers called her a “tyrant over the gods” since she could dictate everyone's destiny. In efforts to break free from this tyrannical reign of Fate, mystery cults offered ways for people to unshackle from Tyche’s oppressive control. This movement introduced conflicts between providence and free will. A notable example from Polybius mentions the Romans, hopelessly outnumbered, overcoming a mighty Fortune-favored enemy through their own determination and courage. Resisting and changing this seemingly assigned fate encouraged the Hellenistic view that fate and destiny were malleable. 
However, merely resisting Fate did not alter destiny. Tyche still had a significant effects which caused people to seek out and petition her. A historic demonstration of the unpredictability of Fortune references the fall of Thebes. Polybius states, “the commander did everything a good general ought to do, and that Epaminondas got the better of his opponents, but was himself defeated by Fortune.” Another example of unfavorable Fortune is the Carthaginian general Hannibal in the Second Punic War. Although he had successfully defeated the Roman armies in Italy itself, through a sudden turn in events, Hannibal, through no fault of his own command, fell to Scipio.                                                                                     
Although the Greeks and Romans shared a similar god that affected fate, each culture held distinct beliefs. Throughout the Hellenistic kingdoms, the definition of Fortune ranged from blind chance to the goddess actively intervening on various occasions. While Greeks considered Tyche blind or malignant, Fortuna, the Roman goddess equivalent, expressed favorable chance and decisive judgment on wrong-doers.

         With Roman expansion into Hellenistic culture, Fortuna rose in popularity especially when Roman good fortune continued and brought ever-expanding prosperity. Cults worshipping Fortuna grew to prominence in cities and attracted large numbers of politicians, soldiers, and women who sought Fortuna’s favor. The Roman Senate and emperors used specific definitions of “fortune” to bring favor to their causes, most notably wars. Unlike traditional Greek views, Romans did not give Fate unlimited, universal power over other gods. For the Romans, Fortuna behaved only beneficiarily. In The Rise of the Roman Empire, Polybius examined the traditional Greek view that the whims of chance are unfavorable and had significant impacts on events while considering the Roman belief that Fortune is only favorable. The Greek and Roman contrast comes from the different origin histories. The Greeks had experienced foreign rule and detested it while the Romans had continually experienced nearly continuous, uninterrupted success. The Greeks’ cynicism is reflected in their alternative belief.
          One of the largest impacts Fortuna had on the Roman population affected the Stoics. Since heimarmen retained absolute control of fate, Stoics continued to accept the destiny prescribed, instead of attempting to petition gods to alter their fate. Although similar to Fortuna, hermarmen, like moira, could not be altered from its course. Man’s own control of a situation warrants chance instead of divine intervention, but it is useful to turn to a god for salvation if it is within his power or desire to do so. Extraordinary events should be viewed as “an infatuation sent from heaven” which does not happen often. Stoics resisted the view that fate can be altered, but neither did they continue the worship of traditional religions. 
          Roman beliefs of the fickleness of fortune aligned closely with Hellenistic beliefs. Fortune could and did randomly change circumstances and situations without warning. Polybius wrote The Rise of the Roman Empire to reflect on Fortune’s dealings with Rome and to teach how to bear one’s own fortune in life. Considering his evident respect for Fortuna’s hand in events, Polybius flippantly uses the term “fortune” by pointedly implying mere chance instead of a goddess’s intervention. Polybius explained that since man has no consistent way of foretelling what is to come, he must prepare for unexpected elements of life, especially in time of war. The belief that chance randomly determines everything pervaded the entire Hellenistic world and affected Roman philosophical and religious views as well. The Carthaginians and Hannibal knew that “[Fortune] sports with mankind as if her victims were little children.” Fortuna favors some men by giving unnaturally good fortune in every circumstance while others must overcome each obstacle before them through their own strength and ability. Polybius defends Scipio’s achievements as personal, praiseworthy accomplishments and not a merely gift from Fortuna.
          Tyche, the goddess of chance, luck, and fortune, originated around the time of Homer but developed into a goddess which set men’s unalterable destiny. Once Greeks recognized the power of unavoidable fate, Tyche overcame the Olympic gods. By the time Greek culture pervaded the world, Tyche neatly controlled the power of nearly every other god, unless favorable petitions to Fortuna permitted the evasion of destiny. Once other religions and mystery cults clipped Tyche’s control by allowing individuals to change their fate, she became merely a wrinkle to consider when studying major inconsistencies in world history. Roman religious similarities with Greeks allowed Tyche to gain a foothold in the new empire and expand in several philosophies such as Stoism. The goddess’s power can be interpreted from aiding an assassin’s attempt at a king’s life to which side a flipped coin will land on, but each interpretation of the extent of Tyche’s control forced inconsistencies into her doctrine. However, Tyche’s cultural and religious influences retain some strength even today with superstitious beliefs in lucky charms, numbers, and phrases. Although now far from the forefront of military considerations or the pinnacle of intervention, Lady Luck influenced religion and philosophy in Greece and Rome, the two foundational empires of the modern Western world.

Luck be with you.
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Agatha Tyche

Tyche: Calculating the Odds

     Tyche, the Greek goddess of chance, neatly represents and condenses the religious views of the Hellenistic world by building off of traditional Greek beliefs and flexibly combining with the gods of eastern Mediterranean regions. As a goddess, Tyche causes sudden changes in human affairs, resulting from her fortuitous good luck or disastrous disfavor. Generally, Greeks viewed Tyche’s interferences from a negative standpoint since whatever seemed granted for nothing could just as easily be taken away.

     Tyche refers specifically to the Hellenistic goddess that interacted at all possible levels of chance from minute to momentous. Tyche is one of the most popular forms of Fate in Greek and Hellenistic texts.The earliest mention of a Tyche-like god in Greek literature are Homer’s references to Fates. Initially, Fate begins as an impersonal force called “moira” while a negative, malignant force called “daim” represented evil misfortunes. Homer implies that destiny is inevitable despite any actions taken to avoid it. For example Odysseus was fated to return to Ithaca despite the long delay. Fate will occur regardless of tradition, social hierarchy, and seniority since its power lies outside man’s control. Despite this foundation, Homer never reveres moira or daim as gods. Eventually, these impersonal forces shifted into the Fates of Classical Greek mythology and exerted control over the Olympian gods. 

     After Homer but before the Classical Greek era, the definitions of Fate and Chance changed, although the differences were nearly indistinguishable. Aristotle failed to define clearly the distinctions between Tyche’s influence and simple accidents. A further hindrance in clarification is the absence of lowercase letters in ancient Greek. Thus, the meaning of the term, either the goddess or ordinary chance, was derived purely from context and was easily miscommunicated. As the extent of Tyche’s control over events grew through the religious shift, eventually even the Olympian gods became restricted to the hands of Fate. The increase of Tyche’s power decreased the common people’s respect for the Olympian gods’ intervention and control. Against the philosophical rational that characterizes the Greeks, Fate is irrational. Slowly, Greeks concluded that since the Olympian gods themselves had no control over their own inevitable fate, interacting with deities unable to assist or defend is unbeneficial.

      Tyche is regularly depicted in statues, and temples dedicated to her cult arose in nearly every large city of the Hellenistic world. In her arm is either a cornucopia or the babe Plutus to show Tyche’s control over and power to distribute wealth. In her other hand is a rudder to show her authority over destiny since she ultimately determines the outcome. She steers men through chaotic waters without any predictability, rewarding without cause and punishing without reason. Her feet rest on a sphere of water showing her roots of chaos, turbidity, and unpredictability. Her face is wrapped in cloth to hide her eyes and emphasize the randomness of her generous blessings and cursings. Tyche’s popularity remained mainly in larger cities since rural populations stayed more traditional to the Olympic and local gods, but the general populous could and did credit every twist in daily life to the turning of Tyche’s will. These beliefs continued for centuries.

     

     Major historic events became notorious for unpredictability, and impossible military victories testified to Tyche’s reigning strength. Specific examples include both Athens’ and Thebes’ rise to supreme power over the Greeks without any apparent reason. Subsequently, Fortune collapsed these cities glories just as quickly as they had risen. Tyche lifted them high for a time simply to smash the once glorious empires in one of her swiftly changing moods. Fortune is fickle. Historic writers attributed entire books to the whims of Fortune.

     With the broadening of Fate’s power and elimination of the gods’ intervening role, Tyche overtook the throne of Olympic gods. While the traditional Greek gods are not neglected, with the institution of many ruler cults and the popularity of adopted local gods, the traditional religion of the ancient Greeks lessened. While new temples to the traditional Olympian gods were not being built, old temples dedicated to the Olympian gods remained in use. As one historian noted, “Most English cathedrals pre-date the Reformation, but afterwards the predominate religious culture was still Christian.” This religious shift intensifies as Greeks move eastward during the Hellenistic Age, and the goddess of fate comes to embody every circumstance of significance. Tyche is praised for everything from the blessing of a child’s birth and celebration of an individual to the interactions of kingdoms as a whole.

     As the Greeks grew to accept a power that their lot in life was inconsequential of their actions, they accepted that the fall of their empires was not because of a failing of themselves but rather a necessary tide in the whim of Tyche's will. That could have caused them to cycle back to the acceptance of inescapable, unavoidable fate as exhibited in Homer's time but for the adoption of Tyche into other culture's that the Greeks influenced. The world is a large place full of potential, but regardless of the luck of each man's situation, it is for him to choose his course and beat back the fickle wishes of one seductive Lady of Fortune.

Luck be with you.
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Agatha Tyche

American Castles

     The majority of Americans are of European descent and have strong cultural links to Europe's past. The mixing-pot of America has blended the various European nationalities with African, Latin, and Asian customs to create a country of unique, unspecific specialty. Despite the influence of other groups, European's have been the strongest determinant on American culture and values.
     Americans use more water annually on lawn and ornamental grasses than any agricultural crop. A nation of wealth, abundance, and excess, a large portion of Americans live similar lives to ones of medieval nobles with a diet rich in red meats, varied entertainment, and large houses surrounded by endless fields of grass.
     In medieval Europe, castles developed as stronghold structures for militaristic and political purposes. As the importance of castles grew and military siege technology competed to overpower the defensive systems of castles, the landscape itself was often altered to accommodate a sound defensive architectural structure which including the clearing of nearby forests to increase castle's visibility of the terrain and approaching enemies. As castles became fixtures of the landscape more as statements of wealth and less as military strongholds, lawnscapes became flourishing testaments of the wealthy elite. Empty fields originally cleared for defensive purposes became trimmed lawns of cultivated grasses and ornamental plants.

     With the American assistance in both world wars and a large exposure to European luxuries, American suburbias adopted cultivated grass lawns in the 1950s. As American wealth grew, the opulence of the lawn accompanied the expansion of the middle class out of the cities into larger houses with lawns.
     The foolishness of lawns in an industrialized, environmentally aware society is one of the ridiculous paradoxes of the modern West. Lawn care in America is a $75 billion industry with over half a million businesses and a million employees, yet it is one of the most environmentally and ecologically taxing industries. Americans, increasingly opposed to unsustainable environmental treatments, have increased the size of the lawn care industry by over 3% annually for nearly four decades.
     While chemical fertilizer runoff and aquifer depletion are concerns for agriculture, similar techniques are followed by pointless, unproductive lawn care services. Grass is grown to cut and trash; conversly agricultural crops are grown and harvested to sustain the human population and its husbandry needs.
     America, a land of incomprehensible wealth and resources, squanders its time, fuel, space, money, and population to care and treat millions of hectares of a non-productive crops that erode water systems, hog resources, and exasperate the worthlessness of epitomized luxuries. To set an example for developing nations, ease the use of natural resources, and increase the functionality of land and working population, extensive grass lawns should be nether cultivated nor cared for. If humanity is to press forward, we must do so in a conservative, mindful, selfless fashion that enables the hopes of the futures for the good of all.
   
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Agatha Tyche

Carry A Big Stick

     The United States is now a melting pot of cultures but was initially settled by the English. The huge size of the colonized area, variation in climate and geography, and cultural backgrounds of the settlers provided an array of diversity to Britain's American colonies. The cold, rocky New England colonies relied on fishing and trade, established large cities along the coast that held major populations, industrial centers, and wealth. The warm, sunny weather and fertile soil throughout the South established a strewn farming population. Over the course of two-hundred years, each region bred an individual culture derived from its heritage, immigrants, and climate. Between the divide of these two major regions sat the new capitol, Washington, District of Columbia.
     During the Antebellum Period (1815-1860), the Industrial Revolution took hold of Europe starting in Britain. The textile factories of the British Isles required thousands of tons of cotton which were provided by the expansive, fertile soils of the American South. Because slaves provided most large-scale farm labor and were valuable commodities to keep production maximized to fulfill the demands of Britain's factories, the number of slaves in the South rapidly re-expanded despite a decrease in overall numbers at the end of the eighteenth century. The abysmal conditions the slaves lived in were justified by a vast majority throughout the South due to the considerable amount of the economy derived from the export of agricultural goods. The dependency on "King Cotton" forced the South to maintain large slave plantations.
     The balance of power in the United States federal government held a rough equality between free and slave-owning states. New state admissions were voted on by Congress, but states had to choose between being a free or slave state before ratification. Meticulous politics, compromises, and several instances of states being accepted in pairs retained the status quo. As America expanded westward and the arid environments proved to be unsustainable for large scale slave plantations, the balance of power, already tentative, tipped slightly. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, later referred to as "Bloody Kansas," saw civilian fighting between abolitionists and pro-slavery groups.
     In response to the horrendous, increasingly violent debate of the morality and economic output of the slavery model, a New England abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner addressed Congress in outrage and insulted the South and many of its outspoken representatives. The code of honor bred into the Southern elite demanded a reaction.
     Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina conferred with friends about requesting a duel. His consultants concluded that the Northerner was not a gentlemen and should not be addressed as one. On May 22, 1956, Rep. Preston Brooks approached Sen. Charles Sumner and addressed him, "You've libeled my state and slandered my white-haired old relative . . . and I've come to punish you for it." Brooks beat Sumner with his cane, broke it, and continued until physically restrained.

     The cane was the weapon of choice because it was a similar model used by Southerns to train dogs. This communicated to the Southern population that its leaders would stand up for them. The North understood this language and rallied support against being beaten down like a slave. During a Congressional hearing weeks later, Brooks said that if he had wished to kill Sumner, he would have used a different weapon. Brooks resigned from his position in Congress after the hearing but was reelected by his constituents in a special election a month later. The incident is the most violent in United States Congress' history but not the only. Several months after the beating, a friend of Brooks attempted to strangle another outspoken abolitionist though no public attention was drawn to the event.
     Sen. Sumner became a martyr for the North abolitionist movement and a hero among later Republicans. Rep. Brooks enjoyed incredible popularity through the South and was sent hundreds of canes to replace the one broken defending the South's pro-slavery stance. Fragments of the broken cane were carved into rings and worn by Southern congressmen as a sign of solidarity with Brooks.
     Tensions continued to spread as the growing nation strove to maintain a balance of power between slave and free states. With the 1860 election of Republican President Abraham Lincoln, the South succeeded starting with Rep. Preston Brooks' South Carolina. After five years of civil war and 650,000 causalities, the victorious Union, composed of the abolitionist North, outlawed slavery throughout the reunited nation.
     Interestingly as the South vehemently defended its agricultural culture, British imports of cotton had been decreasing for decades. By the end of the nineteenth century, most cotton production was sent to New England textile factories. The American Civil War began after many years of aggressive posturing and threats but ended with the United States embracing the Industrial Age and becoming a powerhouse of industry supplied by products of a hardworking, free population. In that new era, President Theodore Roosevelt altered American foreign policy from strict isolationism to a new strategy summed up: "Speak softly and carry a big stick." A native of the North, Roosevelt pushed the United States to global influence and used the words reminiscent of a ferocious act that provoked a civil war to carry a reunited country into the twentieth century.
The American Century.


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Agatha Tyche

Translatable Skills

     Games have been a part of human society for as long as anthropologists and archaeologists are aware. Many species of animals are documented playing with each other, especially the young, to refine defensive or predatory techniques. The modern field of psychology justifies games as a way of developing mental skills like strategy and social interactions like sharing and competition. Board games such as Senet are found in the tombs of the Egyptian pharaoh's and others are referenced in several ancient civilizations. Humans enjoy games because they offer a deviation from the norm with reduced consequences for actions. The American Capitalist game Monopoly by Parker Brothers allows players to amass wealth and eventually force opponents out of the game by resource constriction. Since the game is played in a safe environment with friends and families, the extreme behavior of game play is only acceptable with restrictions and a general understanding that no economic extortion should occur following the game.
     Games are an escape of reality or an altered version that would not be possible otherwise. The Olympics were originally set up as a way for city states to compete nonviolently, a tradition that inspired the modern Olympics. Similarly, medieval Europe used chess to practice battle tactics and hunting to simulate the stress and gore of battle. Amusement, relaxation, or practice for honing skills are all valuable and necessary components of the history gaming. Humans create and play games that are appropriate for their needs and stations in life which is why games from past societies can seem both impossibility alien and astoundingly familiar.
     Since the 1970s modern games have adapted electronic features as the human world becomes more electronic and digitized. The connectivity of the internet has exposed a previously unknown realm of possibility from technological growth and the sharing of knowledge quickly, easily, and and through multiple facets. One of these new areas isMassively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). The most famous and sterotyped, World of Warcraft (WoW)  by Blizzard Entertainment, has about eight million players that can interact, trade, kill, and fight together. These MMORPGs are, essentially, worlds of their own populated by human characters as well as computer-derived characters (Non-Player Characters (NPC)).
     For a specific example, RuneScape (Jagex Ltd) fulfills the stereotyped medieval fantasy world of other MMORPGs, but because the purpose of the game is not necessarily derived from combat, RuneScape's gameplay offers more varied content for this analysis. Within RuneScape are a variety of "skills" that can be trained to achieve whatever the player desires since there is no mandated end game. With twenty-six in all, these skills fall into several categories:
                 Combat (melee, magic, archery, health)
                 Gathering (mining, woodcutting, fishing, farming)
                 Artisan (crafting, cooking, smithing, carpentry)
                 Support (agility, thieving)

     The setup of skills are compatible to create fluid game play. Woodcutting chops trees to collect logs which can be burned to cook food, crafted into timber for building a house, or whittled into bows and arrows. These items are tradable with other players, forming the foundation of the game's economy. In the interest of brevity, no in depth explanation of the skills or their interactions will be provided here due to large volumes of material accessible elsewhere online. 

     In the real world people must perform and repeat tasks to sustain life, accomplish goals, and maintain civilization. RuneScape skills require "grinding" which involves repetition to generate experience that raises the level of that skill. Skills go from level 1 with 0 experience to level 99 with 13 million experience. Level 99 is mastery of that area of the game. All features and content with that skill are available to the player.

     If the point of games is to prepare the player for real aspects of the world, RuneScape may trump other MMORPGs' efforts because of their combat-heavy focus. In an attempt to realize the practicality of virtual skills versus true ability, my own life was analyzed and compared to the requirements of RuneScape and reality. In reality true mastery of fishing would require decades spent catching fish multiple ways in a variety of environments under unpredictable and dangerous conditions, but in RuneScape a player need only achieve the experience limit. 

     Games offer an escape from reality which provides a method of achieving mastery in many separate things. Reality restricts by its very nature and encourages escapism where one can transform into a powerful, wealthy player in a simulated world where the limitations are only those of time and the imagination. Immersive games could continue to grow in popularity as reality is digitized and requires those skills. Already the stock market and military drones are run entirely by computers with only the occasional human input.
     Games reinforce skills needed in the real world by providing otherwise inaccessible experiences. MMORPGs are a new frontier because the medium through which the game is played is not even two decades old. As the world becomes more involved in a digital realm of interaction, the evolution of games into this new form will fulfill and, as it has undoubtedly already, influence the development of the internet, society, and commerce as the Digital Age continues.

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Agatha Tyche

An Uplifting History

     For thousands of years man looked upon the great birds of flight and envied their freedom of the air. Since birds could escape the limitations and confinements of the earthbound, man endeavored to reach the skies. Man is, however, an excellent innovator of death, and with the development of large balloons in 1780s France, the new technology was put to use, almost immediately, on the battlefield.
     The American Civil War in the 1860s strove to expand these innovations to their full potential. President Lincoln organized the Union Army Balloon Corps, originally, for cartography and, later, reconnaissance. Officers quickly realized the potential of air-borne craft and developed a system for balloon pilots to communicate with artillery to hit targets not visible to them. This long-distance precision aiming revolutionized the capacities of the balloon, the cannon, and the battlefield. A balloon on a barge in the Potomac River oversaw formation movements and is considered, by the United States military, the first aircraft carrier. The benefits were determined not to justify the cost of maintenance and equipment and the time transport and filling of the balloons took.
     By the 1880s, a hundred years after the original discovery, the British established a permanent balloon segment of the Royal Engineers which saw involvement in African colonization and the Boer Wars. World War I saw increased use and development of balloons for all purposes since balloon activity proved extremely useful for the static battlefield of the Western Front.

     Zeppelins, mobile balloon airships, were used by the Germans for bombing raids on London, Paris, and several smaller cities. The slow movement of these airships left them open targets once planes could be sent to attack; by the spring of 1915 the German fleet only had four airships remaining.
     World War I was the heyday for balloon warfare because of the stagnant nature of the conflict and the only recent development of airplanes. The late 1920s and and 30s saw gas-filled airships at the height of use and popularity. Trans-Atlantic travel was possible, and German Zeppelins carried passengers around Europe. The dangers of large volumes of flammable gas and the numerous crashes and explosions eventually lost the travel market to airplanes which were faster and safer. The Zeppelin airship company refunded all travel tickets in 1940.
     World War II saw some usage of balloons but as secondary weapons. The British hung long steel cables from balloons to crash low-flying aircraft during bombing raids ("blimps") and some balloons were used in reconnaissance but much reduced from World War I due to the increased capabilities of airplanes.
     One of the most effective offensive uses of balloons was the Japanese fire balloons (fu-go) during the later part of World War II. Over three-hundred balloons reached the American mainland drifting over three-thousand miles of ocean. Several balloons made it more than seven-thousand miles. Six deaths resulted in a single incident. The U.S. military ordered a press blackout to prevent the Japanese hearing of the success fearing that future balloons could carry biological weapons. The press blackout worked, and in April 1945 the Japanese cancelled the fire balloon strategy because of high cost and no known success.

     

     In current times balloons are used to monitor weather at high altitudes, and the U.S. still uses balloons for observation purposes in some of its many military involvements.

     The history of balloons reveals the innovative capacities for technology from maps to spies to travel bombers to bomb hindrance. Balloons played an important role in the development of modern warfare and the world. By enabling artillery to attack what was non visible, battle strategies changed. They made heroes, bombed cities, changed travel, and still impact the world today. Balloons are still up, useful, and rock the world, It will be a great loss to the history of the modern world if the impact of the balloon finally deflates completely and the balloon market bursts.

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Agatha Tyche