Whenever I peruse history books or ancient myths, I am mystified by wondrous stories of people who altered history. I love reading about emperors and kings and how they managed their kingdoms. Tales of conquistadors and conquerors define the age of exploration. Artists and writers flourished in the Renaissance. History is embellished by the great, by the powerful and by the wealthy.

But through it all, I began to wonder, what about the people who weren't rich, who weren't the pharaohs, but rather the servants that toiled under their rule? Where is their story in history books? Amidst stories of the extraordinary, where are the ordinary? Where is the common man?

The truth behind the matter is that history was written by the rich and powerful. In the times of kings and queens, what ruler would allow a historian to speak negatively of their rule? History became tainted by power and greed. It became biased.

Of course, with the discovery of documents and artifacts, historians today can make better conclusions and more accurately depict the chronicle of mankind. But yet, it's saddening to think that the voices of peasants and common people were lost amidst the reign of the rich.

The vast majority of the population were not kings, queens, and pharaohs. They were merchants, teachers, artisans, and factory workers. Their actions may not have altered the course of mankind, but their stories shouldn't have been lost.

The past shouldn't be a monolith. History may have been written by the powerful, but the story of humanity is not the story of the powerful. It is the story of perseverance.