1.
Athens
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Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
2.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
3.
Paralympic sports
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The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2016, the Summer Paralympics was included 22 sports and 526 medal events, the number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another. The Paralympic Games are a major international event for athletes with physical disabilities. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, Paralympic sports refers to organized competitive sporting activities as part of the global Paralympic movement. These sports are organized and run under the supervision of the International Paralympic Committee, organized sport for persons with physical disabilities developed out of rehabilitation programs. Following World War II, in response to the needs of large numbers of injured ex-service members and civilians, sport for rehabilitation grew into recreational sport and then into competitive sport. The pioneer of this approach was Ludwig Guttmann of the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, in 1948, while the Olympic Games were being held in London, England, he organized a sports competition for wheelchair athletes at Stoke Mandeville. This was the origin of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which evolved into the modern Paralympic Games. At the national level, there are a range of organizations that take responsibility for Paralympic sport, including National Paralympic Committees, which are members of the IPC. Due to spinal-cord injury, spina bifida or polio, impaired passive range of movement - Range of movement in one or more joints is reduced in a systematic way. Acute conditions such as arthritis are not included, loss of limb or limb deficiency - A total or partial absence of bones or joints from partial or total loss due to illness, trauma, or congenital limb deficiency. Leg-length difference - Significant bone shortening occurs in one leg due to deficiency or trauma. Short stature - Standing height is reduced due to shortened legs, arms and trunk, Hypertonia - Hypertonia is marked by an abnormal increase in muscle tension and reduced ability of a muscle to stretch. Hypertonia may result from injury, disease, or conditions which damage to the central nervous system. Ataxia - Ataxia is an impairment that consists of a lack of coordination of muscle movements, Athetosis - Athetosis is generally characterized by unbalanced, involuntary movements and a difficulty maintaining a symmetrical posture. Visual Impairment - Athletes with visual impairment ranging from partial vision, sufficient to be judged legally blind and this includes impairment of one or more component of the visual system. The sighted guides for athletes with a visual impairment are such a close and essential part of the competition that the athlete with visual impairment, beginning in 2012, these guides (along with sighted goalkeepers in 5-a-side football became eligible to receive medals of their own. Intellectual Disability - Athletes with a significant impairment in intellectual functioning, the IPC primarily serves athletes with physical disabilities, but the disability group Intellectual Disability has been added to some Paralympic Games
4.
President of Greece
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The President of the Hellenic Republic, colloquially referred to in English as the President of Greece, is the head of state of Greece. The President is elected by the Hellenic Parliament, and his role is mostly ceremonial since the 1986 constitutional reform, the incumbent, since 2015, is Prokopis Pavlopoulos, serving his first term in office. The president is the nominal commander-in-chief of the Greek Armed Forces and occupies the first place in the order of precedence. The presidents role was formally brought into line with actual practice by the 1986 constitutional amendment, according to Article 32 the Greek Constitution, the President is elected for a five-year term by the Hellenic Parliament in a special session at least a month before the incumbents term expires. Voting takes place in two phases, each maximally of three ballots, separated by no more than five days, the first and second ballots require a supermajority of 200 out of the 300-strong body, dropping to 180 on the third. In the event of a non-election even after the ballot, the parliament is to be dissolved. After the new parliament convenes, the phase begins, with the required majority at 180 votes in the fourth ballot. The sixth and last ballot is then contested between the two candidates with the most votes and decided by a relative majority, the official residence of the President of Greece is the Presidential Mansion, formerly the New Royal Palace, in central Athens. A staged referendum on 29 July 1973 confirmed the regime change and this attempt at controlled democratization was ended by Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis overthrow of Papadopoulos in November 1973. The republic and its institutions were maintained, but was nothing more than a façade for the military regime. Lt. General Phaedon Gizikis was appointed President of the Republic, but power was in the hands of Ioannidis, in the interim, Gizikis, remained in office as President. After the plebiscite, he was succeeded by the first elected President, a new constitution, promulgated on 11 June 1975, declared Greece a presidential parliamentary democracy. This constitution, revised in 1985,2001, and 2008, is still in force today, there are two living former Greek Presidents, List of heads of state of Greece List of Presidents of Greece by longevity
5.
Konstantinos Stephanopoulos
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Konstantinos Kostis Stephanopoulos was a Greek conservative politician who served two consecutive terms as the President of Greece, from 1995 to 2005. Stephanopoulos was born in Patras on 15 August 1926 to the lawyer and subsequent Peoples Party Member of Parliament Dimitrios Stephanopoulos, after attending the Saint Andrew school of Patras, he studied law at Athens University. He practiced law from 1954 until 1974 as a member of the Patras Bar Association and he first stood for election in 1958, with the National Radical Union and was elected for the first time as MP for Achaea Prefecture in 1964. He was re-elected for the constituency for New Democracy in 1974,1977,1981 and 1985. He served as ND parliamentary secretary and parliamentary spokesman from 1981 to 1985, in 1974, Stephanopoulos was appointed Deputy Minister of Commerce in the National Unity government of Constantine Karamanlis. In August 1985 he resigned from ND and on 6 September formed Democratic Renewal and he was elected Member of Parliament for Athens in the 1989 elections while continuing as the leader of DIANA, until it disbanded in June 1994. He was the person to hold the post since the restoration of democratic rule in 1974. He was re-elected on 8 February 2000 on the first ballot and he remained in office until 2 March 2005, when he was succeeded by Karolos Papoulias. As a President he was known for his profile, unifying approach to current and international affairs. During his presidency, he was consistently the most popular figure in Greece. As head of state of the host country, he declared the 2004 Athens Olympics open. Stephanopoulos died at 23,18 in Henry Dunant Hospital, Athens and he had been hospitalised three days earlier, suffering from fever and severe respiratory difficulty, which later emerged as pneumonia. Stephanopoulos was married for 29 years to Tzeni Stounopoulou, who died in 1988, Stephanopoulos received many honorary awards and the highest decorations of foreign countries. He was a citizen of many Greek towns. Poland, Order of the White Eagle Croatia, Grand Order of King Tomislav Slovenia, media related to Konstantinos Stefanopoulos at Wikimedia Commons
6.
Olympic Stadium (Athens)
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The Olympic Stadium of Athens Spyros Louis is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, the stadium hosts one of the biggest sport clubs in Greece, AEK Athens. Located in the area of Marousi in Athens, the stadium was designed in 1979. It was completed in time to host the 1982 European Championships in Athletics and it was inaugurated by the President of Greece, at the time Konstantinos Karamanlis, on 8 September 1982. It was extensively renovated in time for the 2004 Summer Olympics, including a roof designed by Santiago Calatrava, the roof was added atop the sidelines and completed just in time for the opening of the Games. The two giant arcs have a span of 304m and a maximum height of 72m. Also, it has a weight of 19,000 tons with 5,000 polycarbonate panels. The west arc was assembled 72m from its position and the east 65m - both later slid into place. The roof is designed to withstand winds up to 120 km/h, the stadium was then officially re-opened on 30 July 2004. It hosted the events and the football final at the 2004 Summer Olympics. It also hosted the ceremony on 13 August 2004. The turf system consists of grass in modular containers which incorporate irrigation. The Olympic Stadium has been used as home ground in various times by the three big clubs of Athens, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens. The stadium played host to Amnesty Internationals Human Rights Now, benefit Concert on 3 October 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel and also featured Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tracy Chapman, Youssou NDour, and George Dalaras. Madonna performed before a crowd of 75,637 at the stadium on 27 September 2008. U2 performed in front of a crowd of 82,662 during their 360° Tour on 3 September 2010, pyx Lax performed also in front of a crowd of about 80,000, during their reunion tour on 13 July 2011. It was the highest attended Greek-band-concert, Bon Jovi performed during their Bon Jovi Live Tour on 20 July 2011
7.
2000 Summer Paralympics
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The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 to 29 October. In September 1993, Sydney won the rights to host the 2000 Paralympic Games, to secure this right it was expected that the New South Wales Government would underwrite the budget for the games. The Sydney games were the eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, where an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the programme and they commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000. It was followed by the 11 days of international competition and was the second largest sporting event ever held in Australia. They were also the first Paralympic Games outside the Northern Hemisphere, the games was estimated to cost $157 million, with the NSW Government and Commonwealth Government contributing $25 million each. The Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games contributed $18 million, the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee entered into a Host City contract with the International Paralympic Committee, which outlines the SPOC’s obligations in hosting the Paralympic Games. To cover the costs, other revenue was raised via sponsorship, though there is no budgeted profit, if any profit is made though the games, repayment to the Federal and State Governments is the first priority. In October 1998, governing bodies of the Paralympics including the SOCOG, an estimated total of forty-one thousand Australians answered this call, non-including those sourced from specialist community groups. The major focus between 1999-2000 was completion of the first stage of the Millennium Parklands and this is composed of 450 hectares of landscape, with up to 40 kilometers of pedestrian and cycle trails. This major first stage included focus on the surrounding Olympic facilities, providing a landscape for recreational activities, conservation. During this time work on the Water Reclamation and Management Scheme will continue to progress, the WRAMS will be in use during the games with the first stage to be implemented. This system will continue after the games, and will be developed after the games has been completed. The WRAMS system is one of the many water saving management strategies to be used during the games period. Stormwater from the Stadium Australia roof is to be collected and used to irrigate the central stadium, the Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee. The Games were organised by the Sydney Paralyampic Organising Committee led by President Dr John Grant, the SOCOG was established at the same time as the Sydney Paralympic organising Committee on 12 November 1993 by the Office of Olympic Co-ordination. In January 1995, SPOC became a company controlled by the Government. A board of directors including the Premier, Minister for the Olympics, the Treasurer and the Minister for Sport, the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee also regulated the use of Paralympic Games indicia and images. On 29 November, the Sydney Games Administration Act 2000 was passed, the legislation caused the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee to dissolve from 1 January 2001, its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Olympic Coordination Authority
8.
2008 Summer Paralympics
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The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17,2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao,3,951 athletes from 146 countries took part. This was the largest ever number of nations at the Paralympics, China fielded more athletes than any other country. The slogan for the 2008 Paralympics was the same as the 2008 Summer Olympics, One World, China dominated the medal count finishing with 89 gold medals and 211 total medals, more than double the next-ranked NPC in both cases. 339 Paralympic records and 279 world records were broken, international Paralympic Committee President Philip Craven declared the Games the greatest Paralympic Games ever. Nineteen competition venues—seventeen in Beijing, one in Hong Kong, the red, blue, and green in the emblem represent sun, sky, and earth. The slogan was the same as the 2008 Summer Olympics, One World, the mascot was a cartoon cow named Fu Niu Lele, roughly meaning Lucky Ox Happy. The theme song was Flying with the Dream Chinese, 和梦一起飞 and it was performed by Chinese-Tibetan singer Han Hong and Hong Kong singer and actor Andy Lau. The torch relay of the 2008 Summer Paralympics started from Tian Tan on August 28, the flame then gathered before The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and followed two routes. Both routes returned to Beijing on September 5, and the torch was flamed at the National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony on September 6, the opening ceremony took place on September 6,2008. The pre-ceremony performance was a succession of musical performances, ranging from military music to folk music. Following a countdown, a fireworks display signalled the beginning of the ceremony proper, the national flag of China was then raised, in accordance with usual protocol, and the national anthem of China performed. Performers wearing suits in bright colours paraded round the stadium, as a ceremony preceding the athletes entry. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, the ceremony included a parade of nations, countries with the same number of strokes in the first character are sorted by those of the next character. This made Guinea the first country to enter as it takes two strokes to write the first character in the countrys name, the ceremony concludes with Hou Bin, the high jump gold medalist with one leg lighting the flame cauldron. The 2008 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium and it began at 8,00 pm China Standard Time on September 17,2008. Twenty sports were on the program, Rowing made its first appearance in the Paralympics at these games, the following National Paralympic Committees sent delegations to compete. Burundi, Gabon, Georgia, Haiti and Montenegro were participating in the Paralympics for the first time, botswana was due to take part, but its single athlete, defending Paralympic champion sprinter Tshotlego Morama, withdrew prior to the Games due to injury
9.
2002 Winter Paralympics
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The 2002 Winter Paralympics, the eighth Winter Paralympics, were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, from March 7 to 16,2002. A total of 416 athletes from 36 nations participated and they were the first Winter Paralympics in the American continent. These were the first Paralympic Winter Games for Andorra, Chile, the People’s Republic of China, Croatia, Greece, and Hungary. Ragnhild Myklebust of Norway won five medals in skiing and biathlon. The games consisted of four disciplines in three sports, alpine skiing Sledge hockey Nordic skiing Biathlon Cross-country skiing In total 5 venues were used at the 2002 Winter Olympics around 4 cities and towns. The logo of the Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Winter Games is made up of three distinct marks, the sphere on the top represents the head of the Paralympic athlete and also symbolizes the global unity of the Paralympic Movement. Two broad fluid lines represent the athlete in motion, the three taegeuks beneath the athlete reproduce the green, red and blue marks on the Paralympic Flag. The mascot for the Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City 2002 was Otto the otter, indigenous peoples of the Americas consider otters to be fast swimmers, though in some stories a bit of a show-off. After being nearly wiped out by pollution and overtrapping the river otter has been reintroduced to Utah and can be seen along the banks of the Green River and near Flaming Gorge. The otter was chosen as the mascot of the Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Winter Games because he embodies vitality and agility. 2002 Winter Olympics 2007 Winter Deaflympics Official site International Paralympic Committee Paralympics at SVTs open archive
10.
2006 Winter Paralympics
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The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games, the ninth Winter Paralympics, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy and they were also the first Paralympics to use the new Paralympics logo. The top 10 NPCs by number of gold medals are listed below, the Games featured 58 medal events in five disciplines of four sports. As with other Paralympic Games, medals are awarded for each classification within each event, the sport of wheelchair curling made its Paralympic debut at these games. Alpine skiing events were held at Sestriere, cross-country skiing and biathlon events were held at Cesana San Sicario. All skiing athletes were accommodated in the Alpine Paralympic Village in Sestriere, ice sledge hockey was held in Turin, and wheelchair curling was held in Pinerolo. These athletes were accommodated in the City Paralympic Village in Turin, thirty-nine National Paralympic Committees entered athletes at the 2006 Winter Paralympics. This was an increase of three from the 36 represented at the 2002 Winter Paralympics, the number in parentheses indicates the number of participants from each NPC. A total of 486 athletes participated in the Games,385 male and 101 female and this is an increase from the 430 athletes participated in 2002. Despite overall increase of delegates and athletes, the nations who participated in the 2002 Winter Paralympics did not send athletes to Turin. Estonia Netherlands Mexico is the country who had sent an athlete to these Games. These are the second Paralympic Games to be held in Italy and these are the first Paralympic Games to feature a live webcast of events, hosted by ParalympicSport. TV. The Games mascot is Aster, a star-shaped snowflake similar in design to the Olympic mascots Neve and Gliz. TV International Paralympic Committee
China
Great Britain
Canada
United States
Australia
Ukraine
Spain
Germany
France
Japan
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