Thunderstorm In The French Countryside

The sweet smell of france is thrust up into the air, scarring your nose with a raw beauty that superbly accents the dramatic storm brewing above. You cast your eyes back toward your country estate, deciding that all the dry linen and hot tea in the world could not drive you away from feeling the fresh breath of the earth wash over your entire body. You beckon the sky to open up even more and drown you in a sea of sublime summer rain. The name "France" comes from the Latin Francia, which means "country of the Franks". There are various theories as to the origin of the name of the Franks. One is that it is derived from the Proto-Germanic word frankon which translates as javelin or lance as the throwing axe of the Franks was known as a francisca. Another proposed etymology is that in an ancient Germanic language, Frank means free as opposed to slave. The oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from approximately 1,800,000 years ago. In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks, originating from Phocaea, founded the colony of Massalia (present-day Marseille), on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, making it the oldest city of France. At the same time, some Gallic Celtic tribes penetrated some parts of the current territory of France, but this occupation spread in the rest of France only between the 5th and 3rd century BC. Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans, who called this region Provincia Romana ("Roman Province"), which over time evolved into the name Provence in French. Brennus' siege of Rome was still remembered by Romans, when Julius Caesar conquered the remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC.