1.
Ancient Greek
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Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
2.
Greek mythology
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It was a part of the religion in ancient Greece. Greek mythology is explicitly embodied in a collection of narratives. Greek myth attempts to explain the origins of the world, and details the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. These accounts initially were disseminated in a tradition, today the Greek myths are known primarily from ancient Greek literature. The oldest known Greek literary sources, Homers epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on the Trojan War, archaeological findings provide a principal source of detail about Greek mythology, with gods and heroes featured prominently in the decoration of many artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles, in the succeeding Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an influence on the culture, arts. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes, Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from the Geometric period from c. Mythical narration plays an important role in every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus and this work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c, 180–125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed the basis for the collection, however the Library discusses events that occurred long after his death, among the earliest literary sources are Homers two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other poets completed the cycle, but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no connection with Homer. They are choral hymns from the part of the so-called Lyric age. Hesiods Works and Days, a poem about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora. The poet gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides, and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion, additionally, myth was central to classical Athenian drama
3.
Locris
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Locris was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the Locrians, made up of three distinct districts. The city of Locri in Calabria, also known in antiquity as Epizephyrian Locris, was a founded by the Locrians in Magna Graecia. There is some disagreement over whether it was those from Opuntian Locris or from Ozolian Locris who were responsible, the territory of the Locrians was divided into three by Doris and Phocis, perhaps due to an early invasion of a contiguous Locrian state. This fact, combined with the regions infertility, meant that the Locrians tended to be dominated by their neighbours, to the south-west of Phocis was Ozolian Locris, situated on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, between Naupactus and Crisa. The main cities of Ozolian Locris were Amphissa and Naupactus which was its seaport, to the north east of Phocis was Opuntian Locris, named after its main city, Opus. Finally, to the north of Phocis was Epicnemidian Locris, situated near the pass of Thermopylae, the territories of the Opuntian Locri and the Epicnemidian Locri were not a continuous unit but were separated from one another by Phocis The main towns of Ozolian Locris were Amphissa and Naupactus. Today, the area is part of Aetolia-Acarnania and Phocis, the main towns of Opuntia Locris were Opus and Larymna. Today, Opuntian Locris is part of modern Phthiotis, main article, Epicnemidian Locris The main towns of Epicnemidian Locris were Nicaea and Thronium. Today, Epicnemidian Locris is part of modern Phthiotis, the province of Locris was one of the provinces of the Phthiotis Prefecture. Its capital was the town Atalanti and its territory corresponded with that of the current municipalities Amfikleia-Elateia, Lokroi, and Molos-Agios Konstantinos
4.
Ajax the Great
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Ajax or Aias is a mythological Greek hero, the son of King Telamon and Periboea, and the half-brother of Teucer. He plays an important role, and is portrayed as a figure and a warrior of great courage in Homers Iliad and in the Epic Cycle. He is also referred to as Telamonian Ajax, Greater Ajax, or Ajax the Great, in Etruscan mythology, he is known as Aivas Tlamunus. Ajax is the son of Telamon, who was the son of Aeacus and grandson of Zeus and he is the cousin of Achilles, and is the elder half-brother of Teucer. Many illustrious Athenians, including Cimon, Miltiades, Alcibiades and the historian Thucydides, the Italian scholar Maggiani recently showed that on an Etruscan tomb dedicated to Racvi Satlnei in Bologna there is a writing that says, aivastelmunsl = family of Telamonian Ajax. In Homers Iliad he is described as of great stature, colossal frame, known as the bulwark of the Achaeans, he was trained by the centaur Chiron, at the same time as Achilles. He was described as fearless, strong and powerful but also with a high level of combat intelligence. Ajax commands his army wielding a shield made of seven cow-hides with a layer of bronze. Unlike Diomedes and Achilles, Ajax appears as a mainly defensive warrior, instrumental in the defence of the Greek camp and ships, when the Trojans are on the offensive, he is often seen covering the retreat of the Achaeans. Significantly, while one of the deadliest heroes in the whole poem, in the Iliad, Ajax is notable for his abundant strength and courage, seen particularly in two fights with Hector. In Book 7, Ajax is chosen by lot to meet Hector in a duel which lasts most of a whole day, the second fight between Ajax and Hector occurs when the latter breaks into the Mycenaean camp, and fights with the Greeks among the ships. In Book 14, Ajax throws a giant rock at Hector which almost kills him, in Book 15, Hector is restored to his strength by Apollo and returns to attack the ships. Ajax, wielding a spear as a weapon and leaping from ship to ship. In Book 16, Hector and Ajax duel once again, Hector then disarms Ajax and Ajax is forced to retreat, seeing that Zeus is clearly favoring Hector. Hector and the Trojans succeed in burning one Greek ship, the culmination of an assault that almost finishes the war, Ajax is responsible for the death of many Trojans lords, including Phorcys. Ajax often fought in tandem with his brother Teucer, known for his skill with the bow, Ajax would wield his magnificent shield, as Teucer stood behind picking off enemy Trojans. Achilles was absent during these encounters because of his feud with Agamemnon, in Book 9, Agamemnon and the other Mycenaean chiefs send Ajax, Odysseus and Phoenix to the tent of Achilles in an attempt to reconcile with the great warrior and induce him to return to the fight. Although Ajax speaks earnestly and is received, he does not succeed in convincing Achilles
5.
Telamon
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In the Iliad he was the father of Greek heroes Ajax the Great and Teucer the Archer by different mothers. Some accounts mention a son of his, Trambelus. He and Peleus were also friends of Heracles, assisting him on his expeditions against the Amazons. In an earlier account recorded by Pherecydes of Leros, Telamon and Peleus were not brothers and this would accord with Peleus being the father of the other hero Achilles. After killing their half-brother, Phocus, Telamon and Peleus had to leave Aegina, King Cychreus of Salamis welcomed Telamon and befriended him. Telamon married Cychreus daughter Periboea, who gave birth to Ajax, later, Cychreus gave Telamon his kingdom. In other versions of the myth Cychreus daughter is named Glauce, and Periboea is Telamons second wife, Telamon also figures in both versions of Heracles sacking of Troy, which was ruled by King Laomedon. Before the Trojan War, Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack Troy, in the King Tros version, Heracles agreed to kill the monster if Tros would give him the horses he received from Zeus as compensation for Zeus kidnapping Ganymede, Tros son. Tros agreed, Heracles succeeded and Telamon married Hesione, Tros daughter, in the King Laomedon version, Laomedon planned on sacrificing his daughter Hesione to Poseidon in the hope of appeasing him. Telamon took Hesione as a war prize and married her, due to Ajax committing suicide at Troy, Telamon banished Teucer from Salamis for not bringing his brother home. In Apollodorus Library, Telamon was almost killed during the siege of Troy, Telamon was the first one to break through the Trojan wall, which enraged Hercules as he was coveting that glory for himself. Hercules was about to cut him down with his sword when Telamon began to assemble an altar out of nearby stones in honor of Hercules. Hercules was so pleased, after the sack of Troy he gave Telamon Hesione as a wife, Hesione requested that she be able to bring her brother Podarces with her. Hercules would not allow it unless Hesione bought Podarces as a slave, Hesione paid for her brother with a veil. Podarces name was changed to Priam – which, according to Greek author Apollodorus, was derived from the Greek phrase “to buy”. The Telamon is an ancient Greek song only found referred to by name in some ancient Greek plays and it is usually thought to be a warlike song about Telamons son Ajax, though some other commentaries thought it to be a mournful song about Telamon himself. It began with, Son of Telamon, warlike Ajax and they say you are the bravest of the Grecians who came to Troy, next to Achilles. In architecture telamons are colossal male figures used as columns and these are also called atlas, atlantes or atlantids, they are the male versions of caryatids
6.
Locrians
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The Locrians were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Locris in Central Greece, around Parnassus. They spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, and were related to their neighbouring tribes, the Phocians. In Greek mythology, the Locrians were the descendants of Locrus, great-grandson of Deucalion and Pyrrha, according to some traditions, Deucalion was a native of the Locrian city of Opus, thus the Locrians are said to have been the first tribe to be called Hellenes. The Locrians are said to have arrived in southern Greece in the late 2nd millennium BC from their homeland on Pindus, in historical times, the Locrians were divided into two distinct tribes, differing from each other in customs, habits and civilization. It is likely that Locrian territory once extended from sea to sea, the most famous colony of the Locrian tribe was the city of Epizephyrian Locri, founded in the 7th century BC in Magna Græcia, which exists until today as Locri. According to Strabo the founders were the Ozolian Locrians, from the region of Amphissa, in the 6th century BC, the Locrians had a series of conflicts with the neighbouring tribes. Only the Opuntian Locrians are mentioned by Homer, they were the more ancient and the more civilized. The Ozolian Locrians, who are said to have been a colony of the former, are not mentioned in history until the time of the Peloponnesian War, and are even then represented as a semi-barbarous people. That was the last mention of the Ozolian Locrians, as they suffered the defeat from Corinth later, the Locrians around Thermopylae were the first to have been called Hellenes. Later the name expanded to include the other Greek tribes through the Amphictionia of Delphi, to which they belonged, and their religion. The most famous of their heroes were Ajax the Locrian, best known as Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, in the Greek mythology, the Locrians are closely related to the Phocians and Eleans. Although the Locrians hardly viewed men and women as equals, women held special religious rights, Locrian women became the vehicles for the transmission of status, and marriage maintained the social order of a traditional oligarchy. The national hero of the Locrians was Ajax the Locrian, who led the 40 Locrian ships to Troy, Locrians respected him so much, that after his death they kept a place for him in their phalanx, thinking that he will always fight with them. On the other side, Ajaxs actions resulted in his death according to Greek mythology, after the fall of Troy, he raped Cassandra in the temple of Athena, where she had taken refuge as a supplicant. For this crime, Poseidon wrecked the ship of Ajax on the coast of Euboea and Ajax was killed by a lightning bolt. After their death, they would not be given a decent burial, while for each maiden who died, another one must be sent into the temple by night, and she would be stoned to death if seen. The goddess is referred to as Athena Ilias, a not necessarily derived from Ilion, but maybe from the family deity Oileus, the father of Ajax. According to Apollodorus, after the command of the Delphic oracle, after their death, they were replaced, while the tribute ended after a thousand years with the end of the Phocian War, which destroyed Naryca, the town that supplied the maidens
7.
Trojan War
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In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably through Homers Iliad. The Iliad relates four days in the year of the decade-long siege of Troy. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the fairest, in exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helens husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris insult. After the deaths of heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods wrath, few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, in 1868, however, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was a real city at what is now Hissarlik in Turkey. On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars, whether there is any historical reality behind the Trojan War remains an open question. The events of the Trojan War are found in works of Greek literature. There is no single, authoritative text which tells the events of the war. Instead, the story is assembled from a variety of sources, the most important literary sources are the two epic poems traditionally credited to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, composed sometime between the 9th and 6th centuries BC. Each poem narrates only a part of the war, the Iliad covers a short period in the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey concerns Odysseuss return to his home island of Ithaca, following the sack of Troy. Other parts of the Trojan War were told in the poems of the Epic Cycle, also known as the Cyclic Epics, the Cypria, Aethiopis, Little Iliad, Iliou Persis, Nostoi, and Telegony. Though these poems survive only in fragments, their content is known from an included in Proclus Chrestomathy. The authorship of the Cyclic Epics is uncertain, both the Homeric epics and the Epic Cycle take origin from oral tradition. Even after the composition of the Iliad, Odyssey, and the Cyclic Epics, events and details of the story that are only found in later authors may have been passed on through oral tradition and could be as old as the Homeric poems
8.
Homer
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Homer is the name ascribed by the ancient Greeks to the semi-legendary author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems which are the central works of Greek literature. The Odyssey focuses on the home of Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Many accounts of Homers life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread being that he was a bard from Ionia. The modern scholarly consensus is that these traditions do not have any historical value, the Homeric question - by whom, when, where and under what circumstances were the Iliad and Odyssey composed - continues to be debated. Broadly speaking, modern scholarly opinion on the authorship question falls into two camps, one group holds that most of the Iliad and the Odyssey is the work of a single poet of genius. The other considers the Homeric poems to be the crystallization of a process of working and re-working by many contributors and it is generally accepted that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century B. C. Most researchers believe that the poems were transmitted orally. The Homeric epics were the greatest influence on ancient Greek culture and education, to Plato, the chronological period of Homer depends on the meaning to be assigned to the word Homer. Was Homer a single person, an imaginary person representing a group of poets and this information is often called the world of Homer. The Homeric period would in that cover a number of historical periods, especially the Mycenaean Age. Considered word-for-word, the texts as we know them are the product of the scholars of the last three centuries. Each edition of the Iliad or Odyssey is a different, as the editors rely on different manuscripts and fragments. The term accuracy reveals a belief in an original uniform text. The manuscripts of the work currently available date to no earlier than the 10th century. These are at the end of a missing thousand-year chain of copies made as each generation of manuscripts disintegrated or were lost or destroyed and these numerous manuscripts are so similar that a single original can be postulated. The time gap in the chain is bridged by the scholia, or notes, on the existing manuscripts, librarian of the Library of Alexandria, he had noticed a wide divergence in the works attributed to Homer, and was trying to restore a more authentic copy. He had collected several manuscripts, which he named, the Sinopic, the one he selected for correction was the koine, which Murray translates as the Vulgate. Aristarchus was known for his selection of material
9.
Iliad
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The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Then the epic narrative takes up events prophesied for the future, such as Achilles imminent death and the fall of Troy, although the narrative ends before these events take place. However, as events are prefigured and alluded to more and more vividly. The Iliad is paired with something of a sequel, the Odyssey, along with the Odyssey, the Iliad is among the oldest extant works of Western literature, and its written version is usually dated to around the 8th century BC. Recent statistical modelling based on language evolution gives a date of 760–710 BC, in the modern vulgate, the Iliad contains 15,693 lines, it is written in Homeric Greek, a literary amalgam of Ionic Greek and other dialects. Note, Book numbers are in parentheses and come before the synopsis of the book, after an invocation to the Muses, the story launches in medias res towards the end of the Trojan War between the Trojans and the besieging Greeks. Chryses, a Trojan priest of Apollo, offers the Greeks wealth for the return of his daughter Chryseis, held captive of Agamemnon, although most of the Greek army is in favour of the offer, Agamemnon refuses. Chryses prays for Apollos help, and Apollo causes a plague to afflict the Greek army, after nine days of plague, Achilles, the leader of the Myrmidon contingent, calls an assembly to deal with the problem. Under pressure, Agamemnon agrees to return Chryseis to her father, angered, Achilles declares that he and his men will no longer fight for Agamemnon but will go home. Odysseus takes a ship and returns Chryseis to her father, whereupon Apollo ends the plague, in the meantime, Agamemnons messengers take Briseis away. Achilles becomes very upset, sits by the seashore, and prays to his mother, Achilles asks his mother to ask Zeus to bring the Greeks to the breaking point by the Trojans, so Agamemnon will realize how much the Greeks need Achilles. Thetis does so, and Zeus agrees, Zeus sends a dream to Agamemnon, urging him to attack Troy. Agamemnon heeds the dream but decides to first test the Greek armys morale, the plan backfires, and only the intervention of Odysseus, inspired by Athena, stops a rout. Odysseus confronts and beats Thersites, a soldier who voices discontent about fighting Agamemnons war. After a meal, the Greeks deploy in companies upon the Trojan plain, the poet takes the opportunity to describe the provenance of each Greek contingent. When news of the Greek deployment reaches King Priam, the Trojans too sortie upon the plain, in a list similar to that for the Greeks, the poet describes the Trojans and their allies. The armies approach each other, but before they meet, Paris offers to end the war by fighting a duel with Menelaus, urged by his brother and head of the Trojan army, Hector. While Helen tells Priam about the Greek commanders from the walls of Troy, Paris is beaten, but Aphrodite rescues him and leads him to bed with Helen before Menelaus can kill him
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Ajax (2)". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ajax". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 452.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
