Your Weekly Escape: The Roman empress condemned by history

Plus: Who was the Dragon Man?  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌    ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  

 

THE DRAGON MAN VIEW ONLINE

THE DRAGON MAN

Your Weekly Escape

Extraordinary people, discoveries, and places

PHOTOGRAPH BY ADAM EASTLAND/ALAMY She wielded power like a man—and paid the price for it She was the great-granddaughter of Augustus, sister to Caligula, wife of Claudius, and mother to Nero—the son who would later have her murdered. Contemporary historians condemned Agrippina for violating Rome's patriarchal structure with her naked ambition—a bias that has motivated today's historians to revisit her life and accomplishments. SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS The true story of the magician who escaped slavery by mailing himself to freedom On an early spring morning in 1849, an enslaved Black man named Henry Brown folded himself into a three-by-two foot wooden crate. Twenty-seven hours and 350 miles later he arrived in Philadelphia, a wanted fugitive and, later, folk hero. THE DARING ESCAPE

PHOTOGRAPH BY O. LOUIS MAZZATENTA This enigmatic blob was one of Earth's earliest animals The strange life-form has long perplexed scientists. So a team of researchers used modern analyses to take a fresh look at its ancient remains. THE FIRST ANIMAL EVER?

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE Out of the shadows, here are the wildcats you've never seen Elusive, obscure, and eclipsed in popularity by their larger cousins, small cats are amazing, high-performance predators that hit their stride millions of years ago and have changed little ever since. What they lack in stature, they make up for in grit. SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

When [Agrippina] asked astrologers about Nero, they had answered that he would become emperor but kill his mother. Her reply was, 'Let him kill me—provided he becomes emperor!' Tacitus, Roman historian From: This Roman empress wielded power like a man—and paid the price for it

ILLUSTRATION BY CHUANG ZHAO The debate over 'Dragon Man': Is he a new species of human—or something else? The strange skull, found in China in the 1930s, had an elongated cranium from which a heavy brow bone protruded, and was unusually large. A recent study made the case that it's a new human species, Homo longi, though not all scientists agree. Regardless, its stunningly preserved features are a reminder that nature rarely paints inside the lines. THE MESSY HUMAN FAMILY TREE

PHOTOGRAPH BY ELENA NOEVA, ALAMY Hans Christian Andersen's hometown might be the fairy-tale capital of the world His most famous tales—"The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Emperor's New Clothes," and "The Ugly Duckling"—continue to cast a spell on stage and screen, long after they were written in the 19th century. Finally, his home city of Odense is creating a tribute to history and imagination. HIS ENDURING LEGACY

MORE GREAT READS The remarkable brain of a carpet cleaner who speaks 24 languages (Washington Post)  ›› Their family business? The other dimension. (New York Times)  ››

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