The last king of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, was out hunting in the rugged mountains of the famous Hindu Kush, when their party came across a large site of crumbling ancient ruins. Apparently, the site was one of the settlements established by Alexander the Great circa 330 BC as he had surged east near the end of his amazing reign of conquest.
The abandoned city of Ai-Khanoum once hosted a 6000-seat amphitheater, an agora, a gymnasium, and temples.
Further exploration of the site revealed a cemetery marker that had several inscriptions in Greek that listed several of the famous maxims of the Oracle of Delphi. Perhaps the most famous of these was translated as “Know thyself”.
Debates over the meaning of this vague wording (like many of the Delphic prophecies) have raged for centuries. Perhaps one of the best interpretations comes from American author, Maya Johnson who suggested:
“If we do not know where we come from, we will not know where we are going.”
Her words resonate strongly for genealogists who spend countless hours trying to figure out “where we come from”.
Join the journey of discovery that genealogy provides to help you and your family understand “where we come from”.