1.
Asclepias
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Asclepias L. the milkweeds, is an American genus of herbaceous perennial, dicotyledonous plants that contains over 140 known species. It previously belonged to the family Asclepiadaceae, but this is now classified as the subfamily Asclepiadoideae of the dogbane family Apocynaceae, milkweed is named for its milky sap, which consists of a latex containing alkaloids and several other complex compounds including cardenolides. Some species are known to be toxic, carl Linnaeus named the genus after Asclepius, the Greek god of healing. Asclepias species produce some of the most complex flowers in the plant kingdom, five petals reflex backwards revealing a gynostegium surrounded by a five-membered corona. The corona is composed of a five paired hood and horn structure with the acting as a sheath for the inner horn. Glands holding pollinia are found between the hoods, the size, shape and color of the horns and hoods are often important identifying characteristics for species in the genus Asclepias. Pollination in this genus is accomplished in an unusual manner, pollen is grouped into complex structures called pollinia, rather than being individual grains or tetrads, as is typical for most plants. The feet or mouthparts of flower-visiting insects such as bees, wasps and butterflies, pollination is effected by the reverse procedure, in which one of the pollinia becomes trapped within the anther slit. Asclepias species produce their seeds in follicles, the seeds, which are arranged in overlapping rows, bear a cluster of white, silky, filament-like hairs known as the coma. The follicles ripen and split open, and the seeds, each carried by its coma, are blown by the wind, milkweeds use three primary defenses to limit damage caused by caterpillars, hairs on the leaves, cardenolide toxins, and latex fluids. The milkweed filaments from the coma are hollow and coated with wax, during World War II, over 5,000 t of milkweed floss were collected in the United States as a substitute for kapok. As of 2007, milkweed is grown commercially as a filling for pillows. Milkweed fibers are used to clean up oil spills, in the past, the high dextrose content of the nectar led to milkweeds use as a source of sweetener for Native Americans and voyageurs. The bast fibers of some species can be used for cordage, milkweed latex contains about 1 to 2% latex, and was attempted as a source of natural rubber by both Germany and the United States during World War II. No record has been found of large-scale success, silk of America is a strand of common milkweed gathered mainly in the valley of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada. The silk is used to manufacture thermal insulation, acoustic insulation, milkweed is beneficial to nearby plants, repelling some pests, especially wireworms. Milkweed also contains cardiac glycoside poisons that inhibit animal cells from maintaining a proper K+, as a result, many natives of South America and Africa used arrows poisoned with these glycosides to fight and hunt more effectively. Milkweed is toxic and may cause death when animals consume 10% of their weight in any part of the plant
2.
Rod of Asclepius
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The symbol has continued to be used in modern times, where it is associated with medicine and health care, yet frequently confused with the staff of the god Hermes, the caduceus. Theories have been proposed about the Greek origin of the symbol, the Rod of Asclepius takes its name from the god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicinal arts in Greek mythology. Asclepius attributes, the snake and the staff, sometimes depicted separately in antiquity, are combined in this symbol, the most famous temple of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in north-eastern Peloponnese. Another famous healing temple was located on the island of Kos, where Hippocrates, other asclepieia were situated in Trikala, Gortys, and Pergamum in Asia. These snakes were introduced at the founding of new temple of Asclepius throughout the classical world. From about 300 BC onwards, the cult of Asclepius grew very popular, ritual purification would be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god, and the supplicant would then spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary – the abaton. Any dreams or visions would be reported to a priest who would prescribe the appropriate therapy by a process of interpretation, Some healing temples also used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners. The original Hippocratic Oath began with the invocation I swear by Apollo the Physician and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea, the serpent and the staff appear to have been separate symbols that were combined at some point in the development of the Asclepian cult. Snake venom appears to have been prescribed in cases as a form of therapy. The staff has also been variously interpreted, one view is that it, like the serpent, conveyed notions of resurrection and healing, while another is that the staff was a walking stick associated with itinerant physicians. The staff also seems to be a symbol of some similar thing, in any case the two symbols certainly merged in antiquity as representations of the snake coiled about the staff are common. It has been claimed that the snake wrapped around the staff was a species of rat snake, AKA Aesculapian snake Some commentators have linked the symbol to the Nehushtan, a sacred object consisting of a serpent wrapped around a pole mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Numbers. The section in the Book of Numbers reads as follows,5 And the people spake against God, for there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee, pray unto the Lord, and Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that one that is bitten. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. King Hezekiah later destroyed the bronze serpent, which, by time, had existed for 700 years
3.
Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus
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Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus is a museum in Epidaurus, in Argolis on the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. The ancient site of Epidaurus was dedicated to healing and the gods Apollo and it lasted until the eleventh century BC, and then in about 800 BC it was rededicated to Apollo and the area is now known as the Apollo sanctuary. The other main sanctuary, the Asclepeion sanctuary of Epidaurus, was first studied by the French Scientific Expedition of the Peloponnese in 1829. In 1870, Panagiotis Kavadias of the Greek Archaeological Society began excavating the site, the Asclepeion, the larger of the sanctuaries was known for its healing rituals and for hosting sports. The sculptures which had transferred directly to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens were replaced by plaster casts to display in the museum. After Kavadiass death in 1926, only limited excavations of Epidaurus took place, such as by G. Roux of the French School at Athens in the area of the Abaton in 1942-43, papadimitriou of the Greek Archaeological Service in 1948-51. In 1971, the museum underwent expansion again when a new hall was built to the northwest of the building to accommodate a collection of inscriptions. Since 1974 excavations by the Archaeological Society at the sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas have been conducted under Professor V. Lambrinoudakis, the museum contains a number of large reconstructions of temples and architectural components, particularly those found at the Asklepieion. There is also a reconstruction of the entablature and part of the inner Corinthian colonnade of the Propylaia dated to 300 B. C. The museum also has a Corinthian capital which was unearthed below the foundations of the Tholos temple, the temporary exhibition of architectural parts and sculptures from the Tholos, added in 1992, is located in a room which is known as the B gallery. The museum has a collection of inscriptions and Greek and Roman sculptures. A collection of inscriptions is also displayed under the portico to the south of the building of the Epidauras Archaeological Museum. The museum has a plaster cast statue of Asklepios, with a snake curling up on his stick. It is a copy of the original statue unearthed in Epidaurus, also of note is a marble headless statue, believed to be of the health goddess Hygeia, dated to the Hellenistic period and a statuette of a child. The museum has a collection of inscriptions and perirrhanteria, displayed at the facade of the inscriptions hall. C. A lily from the ceiling of the Tholos decorates one of the coffers of the ceiling of the external Doric colonnade of the Tholos which is dated to 360–330 B. C. The museum also displays bronze medical instruments providing an insight into medical practice at the sanctuary of Asklepios. Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs www. greece-museums. com Images of items found at Epidauras
4.
Hygieia
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In Greek as well as Roman mythology, Hygieia, was the daughter of the god of medicine, Asclepius, and Epione. She was the goddess/personification of health, cleanliness and hygiene, Hygieia as well as her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollos art, Hygieia, Panacea, Iaso, Aceso, and Aglïa. Hygieia also played an important part in her fathers cult, while her father was more directly associated with healing, she was associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health. Her name is the source of the word hygiene, at Athens, Hygieia was the subject of a local cult since at least the 7th century BC. In the 2nd century AD, Pausanias noted the both of Hygieia and of Athena Hygieia near the entrance to the Acropolis of Athens. Hygieias primary temples were in Epidaurus, Corinth, Cos and Pergamon, Pausanias remarked that, at the Asclepieion of Titane in Sicyon, statues of Hygieia were covered by womens hair and pieces of Babylonian clothes. According to inscriptions, the sacrifices were offered at Paros. Ariphron, a Sicyonian artist from the 4th century BC wrote a well-known hymn celebrating her, statues of Hygieia were created by Scopas, Bryaxis and Timotheus, among others, but there is no clear description of what they looked like. She was often depicted as a woman feeding a large snake that was wrapped around her body or drinking from a jar that she carried. These attributes were later adopted by the Gallo-Roman healing goddess, Sirona, Hygieia was accompanied by her brother, Telesphorus. Hygieia Theoi Project, Hygeia Greek and Latin notices, in translation
5.
Iaso
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Iaso or Ieso was the Greek goddess of recuperation from illness. The daughter of Asclepius, she had five sisters, Aceso, Aglæa/Ægle, Hygieia, Panacea, all six were associated with some aspect of health or healing. For more information on the genealogy of Iaso, see Panacea, pausanias wrote this of Amphiaraus in Oropos, Attica, in the 2nd century A. D. One part is to Heracles, Zeus, and Apollo Healer, another is given up to heroes and to wives of heroes, the third is to Hestia and Hermes and Amphiaraus and the children of Amphilochus. But Alcmaeon, because of his treatment of Eriphyle, is honored neither in the temple of Amphiaraus nor yet with Amphilochus, the fourth portion of the altar is to Aphrodite and Panacea, and further to Iaso, Hygeia, and Athena Healer. The fifth is dedicated to the nymphs and to Pan, aristophanes mentions Iaso humorously in Ploutos, when one of the characters, Cario, reports that Iaso blushed upon his passing gas. In the temple of Amphiaraus at Oropus a part of the altar was dedicated to her, in common with Aphrodite, Panaceia, Hygieia, dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
6.
Aglaea
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Aglaea or Aglaïa is the name of several figures in Greek mythology, the best known of which is one of the three Charites or Graces. Aglaea is the Greek goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence and she is the youngest of the Charites or Graces, although Homer knew of a younger Charis or Grace named Pasithea. Aglaea is one of three daughters of Zeus and either the Oceanid Eurynome, or of Eunomia, the goddess of good order and her two sisters are Euphrosyne, the goddess of joy or mirth, and Thalia, the goddess of festivity and rich banquets. Together they are known as the Three Graces, or the Charites, and as such they attended Aphrodite, Aglaea was also known as Charis and Cale. Aglaea was married to Hephaestus after his divorce from Aphrodite, and by him became mother of Eucleia, Eupheme, Euthenia, Aglaea, the goddess/personification of the glow of good health, and a daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Her sisters are Hygieia, Panacea, Aceso, and Iaso, Aglaea or Ocalea, daughter of Mantineus. She married Abas and had twins, Acrisius and Proetus, Aglaea, daughter of Thespius and Megamede. She bore Heracles a son, Antiades and she is the mother, by Charopus, of Nireus. Aglaea, mother of Melampus and Bias by Amythaon, aglaia is the name of a character that features in Dostoyevskys The Idiot, where she is the daughter of General Epanchin. The asteroid 47 Aglaja is named for her, the butterfly genus Aglais is named for her. Aglaïa is the name of a rose, a pale yellow hybrid multiflora, notes Sources Grimal, Pierre, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Wiley-Blackwell,1996, ISBN 978-0-631-20102-1. Charites p.99 Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London
7.
Panacea
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In Greek mythology, Panacea was a goddess of universal remedy. She was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione, Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollos art, Panacea, Hygieia, Iaso, Aceso, and Aglæa/Ægle. Panacea was said to have a poultice or potion with which she healed the sick and this brought about the concept of the panacea in medicine, a substance meant to cure all diseases. The term is used figuratively as something intended to completely solve a large. A river in Thrace/Moesia was named after the goddess, and is known as the river Zlatna Panega
8.
Podalirius
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The former butterfly genus Podalirius is included in Heliconius. In Greek mythology, Podalirius or Podaleirius was a son of Asclepius, with Machaon, his brother, he led thirty ships from Tricca, Thessaly in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks. Like Machaon, he was a legendary healer and he healed Philoctetes, holder of the bow and arrows of Heracles required to end the war. He was one of those who entered the Trojan Horse, alongside Amphimachus, Calchas, Leonteus and Polypoetes he traveled to Colophon, where Calchas died. Unlike his brother, Podalirius survived the war, and subsequently settled in Caria, accounts vary as to how he ended up there. Others relate that on the way back from Troy Podalirius ship was blown off course so he landed in Syrnus, Caria, in yet another version, he got shipwrecked near the Carian coast but was rescued by a shepherd named Bybassus, the eponym-to-be of a city in Caria. Podalirus could be the founder of Syrnus, which he became after the series of events. Podalirius arrived at the court of the Carian king Damaethus and healed the kings daughter Syrna, in reward, Damaethus gave him Syrna in marriage and handed the power over the peninsula over to him. Podalirus founded two cities, one of which he named Syrnus after his wife and the other Bybassus after the shepherd to whom he owed his life. According to Strabo, a heroum of Podalirius, and another of Calchas, were located in Daunia, Italy, by the hero-shrine of Podalirius there flowed a stream believed to cure animals of any diseases. Lycophron writes that Podalirius was buried in Italy near the cenotaph of Calchas, podalyria, a plant genus in Fabaceae, was named for Podalirius. The dictionary definition of Podaleirios at Wiktionary
9.
Telesphorus (mythology)
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In ancient Greek religion, Telesphorus was a son of Asclepius. He frequently accompanied his sister, Hygieia and he was a dwarf whose head was always covered with a cowl hood or cap. He symbolized recovery from illness, as his name means the accomplisher or bringer of completion in Greek, representations of him are found mainly in Anatolia and along the Danube. Media related to Telesphorus at Wikimedia Commons
10.
Apollo
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Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros, Apollo has been recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. As the patron of Delphi, Apollo was an oracular god—the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague. Amongst the gods custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion over colonists, as the leader of the Muses and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument became an attribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called paeans, Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 3rd century CE. The name Apollo—unlike the related older name Paean—is generally not found in the Linear B texts, the etymology of the name is uncertain. The spelling Ἀπόλλων had almost superseded all other forms by the beginning of the common era and it probably is a cognate to the Doric month Apellaios, and the offerings apellaia at the initiation of the young men during the family-festival apellai. According to some scholars the words are derived from the Doric word apella, apella is the name of the popular assembly in Sparta, corresponding to the ecclesia. R. S. P. Beekes rejected the connection of the theonym with the noun apellai, several instances of popular etymology are attested from ancient authors. Thus, the Greeks most often associated Apollos name with the Greek verb ἀπόλλυμι, in the ancient Macedonian language πέλλα means stone, and some toponyms may be derived from this word, Πέλλα and Πελλήνη. The role of Apollo as god of plague is evident in the invocation of Apollo Smintheus by Chryses, the Hittite testimony reflects an early form *Apeljōn, which may also be surmised from comparison of Cypriot Ἀπείλων with Doric Ἀπέλλων. A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo The One of Entrapment, Apollos chief epithet was Phoebus, literally bright. It was very commonly used by both the Greeks and Romans for Apollos role as the god of light, like other Greek deities, he had a number of others applied to him, reflecting the variety of roles, duties, and aspects ascribed to the god. However, while Apollo has a number of appellations in Greek myth. Aegletes, from αἴγλη, light of the sun Helius, literally sun Lyceus light, the meaning of the epithet Lyceus later became associated with Apollos mother Leto, who was the patron goddess of Lycia and who was identified with the wolf
11.
Vejovis
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Vejovis or Vejove was a Roman god. Romans believed that Vejovis was one of the first gods in this world, Vejovis was portrayed as a young man, holding a bunch of arrows, pilum, in his hand, and accompanied by a goat. Romans believed that Vejovis was one of the first gods to be born and he was a god of healing, and became associated with the Greek Asclepius. He was mostly worshipped in Rome and Bovillae in Latium, on the Capitoline Hill and on the Tiber Island, temples were erected in his honour. In spring, multiple goats were sacrificed to him to avert plagues, the studies about Vejovis are very poor and unclear. God of deceivers, he was called to protect right causes and to give pain and his temple was described as a safe haven for wrongly persecuted people, and dedicated to the protection of newcomers to Rome. He is also at times identified with Apollo, aulus Gellius, in the Noctes Atticae, written almost a millennia after, speculated that Vejovis was the inverse or ill-omened counterpart of Jupiter, compare Summanus. Aulus Gellius observes that the particle ve- that prefixes the name of the god appears in Latin words such as vesanus, insane. He has been identified with Apollo, with the infant Jupiter, in art, he was depicted as a youth holding a Laurel wreath and some arrows, next to a goat. He had a temple between the two peaks of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, where his statue had a beardless head and it stood next to a statue of a goat. There is no evidence that he was a god of expiation. Vejovis had three festivals in the Roman Calendar, on January,7 March, and 21 May
12.
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
13.
Titan (mythology)
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In Greek mythology, the Titans and Titanesses were members of the second generation of divine beings, descending from the primordial deities and preceding the Olympian deities. Based on Mount Othrys, the Titans most famously included the first twelve children of the primordial Gaia and they were giant deities of incredible strength, who ruled during the legendary Golden Age, and also comprised the first pantheon of Greek deities. The first twelve Titans comprised the females Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, and Themis and the males Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, Crius, like Cronus overthrowing his father Uranus, the Titans were overthrown by Cronus children, in the Titanomachy. The Greeks may have borrowed this mytheme from the Ancient Near East, Greeks of the classical age knew of several poems about the war between the Olympians and Titans. The dominant one, and the one that has survived, was in the Theogony attributed to Hesiod. A lost epic, Titanomachia was mentioned in passing in an essay On Music that was attributed to Plutarch. The Titans also played a prominent role in the poems attributed to Orpheus, although only scraps of the Orphic narratives survive, they show interesting differences with the Hesiodic tradition. Sometimes the elders are supplanted, and sometimes the rebels lose and are either cast out of power entirely or incorporated into the pantheon, the Titanomachy lasted for ten years. The Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus after the war had ended, Tartarus is the deepest spot known in the Underworld, where the most evil beings would be cast into to be tortured for all eternity. Hesiod does not have the last word on the Titans, surviving fragments of poetry ascribed to Orpheus preserve some variations on the myth. In such text, Zeus does not simply set upon his father violently, instead, Rhea spreads out a banquet for Cronus so that he becomes drunk upon fermented honey. Rather than being consigned to Tartarus, Cronus is dragged—still drunk—to the cave of Nyx, another myth concerning the Titans that is not in Hesiod revolves around Dionysus. At some point in his reign, Zeus decides to give up the throne in favor of the infant Dionysus, who like the infant Zeus, is guarded by the Kouretes. The Titans decide to slay the child and claim the throne for themselves, they paint their faces white with gypsum, distract Dionysus with toys, then him and boil. Zeus, enraged, slays the Titans with his thunderbolt, Athena preserves the heart in a gypsum doll and this story is told by the poets Callimachus and Nonnus, who call this Dionysus Zagreus, and in a number of Orphic texts, which do not. Pindar, Plato, and Oppian refer offhandedly to the Titanic nature of humans, according to them, the body is the titanic part, while soul is the divine part of humans. Other early writers imply that humanity was born out of the malevolent blood shed by the Titans in their war against Zeus, Martin Litchfield West also asserts this in relation to shamanistic initiatory rites of early Greek religious practices. Beekes connects the word with τιτώ, burket, Walter, The Orientalizing Revolution, Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age, Harvard University Press,1995
14.
Twelve Olympians
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Hades and Persephone were sometimes included as part of the twelve Olympians, although in general Hades was excluded, because he resided permanently in the underworld and never visited Olympus. The Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon, were the deities of the Greek pantheon. The Olympians gained their supremacy in a war of gods in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over their predecessor gods. The concept of the Twelve Gods is older than any extant Greek or Roman source, the gods meet in council in the Homeric epics, but the first ancient reference to religious ceremonies for the Olympians collectively is found in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. The Greek cult of the Twelve Olympians can be traced to 6th-century BC Athens, the Altar of the Twelve Gods at Athens is usually dated to the archonship of the younger Pesistratos, in 522/521 BC. In ancient Greek religion, the Olympian Gods and the Cults of Twelve Gods were often relatively distinct concepts, while the number was fixed at twelve, there was considerable variation as to which deities were included. However, the twelve as most commonly portrayed in art and poetry were Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes and either Hestia, or Dionysus. Hades, known in the Eleusinian tradition as Pluto, was not usually included among the Olympians because his realm was the underworld. Plato connected the Twelve Olympians with the months, and implies that he considered Pluto one of the twelve in proposing that the final month be devoted to him. In Phaedrus, Plato seems to exclude Hestia from the rank of the great gods. At Olympia there were six altars dedicated to six pairs of gods, Zeus and Poseidon, Hera and Athena, Hermes and Apollo, the Charites and Dionysus, Artemis and Alpheus, the historian Herodotus states that Heracles was included as one of the Twelve by some. At Kos, Heracles and Dionysus are added to the Twelve, for Pindar, the Bibliotheca, and Herodorus of Heraclea, Heracles is not one of the Twelve Gods, but the one who established their cult. Lucian includes Heracles and Asclepius as members of the Twelve, without explaining which two had to give way for them, hebe, Helios, Selene, Eos, Eros and Persephone are other important gods and goddesses who are sometimes included in a group of twelve. Eros is often depicted alongside the twelve, especially his mother Aphrodite. Notes ^ Romans also associated Phoebus with Helios and the sun itself, however, ^ According to an alternate version of her birth, Aphrodite was born of Uranus, Zeus grandfather, after Cronus threw his castrated genitals into the sea. This supports the etymology of her name, foam-born, as such, Aphrodite would belong to the same generation as Cronus, Zeus father, and would be Zeus aunt. See the birth of Aphrodite The following gods and goddess are sometimes included as one of the twelve Olympians, the following gods and goddesses were not usually counted as Olympians, although they had close ties to them. Aeolus – King of the winds, keeper of the Anemoi, Alpheus – God of the River Alpheus
15.
Chthonic
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The translation of meaning discusses deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for earth, it refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land. These include, but are not strictly limited to, Demeter. Nocturnal ritual sacrifice was a practice in many chthonic cults. When the sacrifice was a creature, the animal was placed in a bothros or megaron. In some Greek chthonic cults, the animal was sacrificed on a raised bomos, offerings were usually burned whole or buried rather than being cooked and shared among the worshippers. C. He does, however, note that this may be somewhat of an overgeneralization, the myths associating the underworld chthonic deities and fertility were not exclusive. Myths about the later Olympian deities also described an association with the fertility, thus Demeter and Persephone both watched over aspects of the fertility of land, yet Demeter had a typically Olympian cult while Persephone had a chthonic one. Also, Demeter was worshiped alongside Persephone with identical rites, and yet occasionally was classified as an Olympian in late poetry, the absorption of some earlier cults into the newer pantheon versus those that resisted being absorbed is suggested as providing the later myths. The categories Olympian and chthonic were not, however, completely separate, some Olympian deities, such as Hermes and Zeus, also received chthonic sacrifices and tithes in certain locations. The deified heroes Heracles and Asclepius might be worshipped as gods or chthonic heroes, depending on the site, moreover, a few deities are not easily classifiable under these terms. Hecate, for instance, was typically offered puppies at crossroads—a practice neither typical of an Olympian sacrifice nor of a sacrifice to Persephone or the heroes. Because of her roles, Hecate is generally classed as chthonic. As well, the chthonic has connotations with regard to gender, in cultural anthropology, men associated with the above, the sky, and women associated with the below, with the earth, water of the underground, and the chthonic deities. This was by no means universal, in Ancient Egypt the main deity of the earth was the male god Geb, his consort was Nut. The term allochthon in structural geology is used to describe a large block of rock which has moved from its original site of formation. From the Greek allo meaning other and chthon designating the process of the mass being moved under the earth. Chthonic law Earth mother Geomancy Life-death-rebirth deities Sky father The dictionary definition of chthonic at Wiktionary
16.
Anemoi
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The Spartans were reported to sacrifice a horse to the winds on Mount Taygetus. Astraeus, the deity, and Eos/Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, were the parents of the Anemoi. The daughters of the Anemoi are the Aurae, the deities equivalent to the Anemoi in Roman mythology were the Venti. These gods had different names, but were very similar to their Greek counterparts, borrowing their attributes. Boreas was the Greek god of the north wind and the bringer of winter. Although normally taken as the wind, the Roman writers Aulus Gellius. Boreas is depicted as being strong, with a violent temper to match. He was frequently shown as an old man with shaggy hair and beard, holding a conch shell. Pausanias wrote that Boreas had snakes instead of feet, though in art he was depicted with winged human feet. Boreas two sons Calaïs and Zetes, known as Boreads, were in the crew of the Argo as Argonauts, Boreas was closely associated with horses. He was said to have fathered twelve colts after taking the form of a stallion, to the mares of Erichthonius and these were said to be able to run across a field of grain without trampling the plants. Pliny the Elder thought that mares might stand with their hindquarters to the North Wind and he is said to have fathered three giant Hyperborean priests of Apollo by Chione. Boreas was also said to have kidnapped Orithyia, an Athenian princess, Boreas had taken a fancy to Orithyia and had initially pleaded for her favours, hoping to persuade her. When this failed, he reverted to his temper and abducted her as she danced on the banks of the Ilisos. Boreas wrapped Orithyia up in a cloud, raped her, and with her, from then on, the Athenians saw Boreas as a relative by marriage. When Athens was threatened by Xerxes, the people prayed to Boreas, and when they went home they built the god a shrine by the River Ilissus. The abduction of Orithyia was popular in Athens before and after the Persian War, in these paintings, Boreas was portrayed as a bearded man in a tunic, with shaggy hair that is sometimes frosted and spiked. The abduction was also dramatized in Aeschyluss lost play Oreithyia, in other accounts, Boreas was the father of Butes and the lover of the nymph Pitys
17.
Iris (mythology)
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In Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. She is also known as one of the goddesses of the sea, Iris links the gods to humanity. She travels with the speed of wind from one end of the world to the other, and into the depths of the sea, according to Hesiods Theogony, Iris is the daughter of Thaumas and the Oceanid Electra, and the sister of the Harpies, Aello and Ocypete. During the Titanomachy, Iris was the messenger of the Olympian Gods, while her twin sister Arke betrayed the Olympians and became the messenger of the Titans. Iris is frequently mentioned as a messenger in the Iliad which is attributed to Homer, but does not appear in his Odyssey. Like Hermes, Iris carries a caduceus or winged staff, by command of Zeus, the king of the gods, she carries an ewer of water from the River Styx, with which she puts to sleep all who perjure themselves. According to Apollonius Rhodius, Iris turned back the Argonauts Zetes, Iris is married to Zephyrus, who is the god of the west wind. According to the Dionysiaca of Nonnos, Iris brother is Hydaspes, in Euripides play Herakles, Iris appears alongside Lyssa, cursing Heracles with the fit of madness in which he kills his three sons and his wife Megara. Iris was said to have wings, whereas Arke had iridescent ones. She is also said to travel on the rainbow while carrying messages from the gods to mortals. During the Titan War, Zeus tore Arkes iridescent wings from her and gave them as a gift to the Nereid Thetis at her wedding, who in turn them to her son, Achilles. Achilles was sometimes known as podarkes Podarces was also the name of Priam. Iris also appears several times in Virgils Aeneid, usually as an agent of Juno, in Book 4, Juno dispatches her to pluck a lock of hair from the head of Queen Dido, that she may die and enter Hades. In book 5, Iris, having taken on the form of a Trojan woman, Iris had numerous poetic titles and epithets, including Chrysopteron, Podas ôkea or Podênemos ôkea, Roscida, and Thaumantias or Thaumantos. Under the epithet Aellopus she was described as swift-footed like a storm-wind and she also watered the clouds with her pitcher, obtaining the water from the sea. Iris is represented either as a rainbow, or as a young maiden with wings on her shoulders. As a goddess, Iris is associated with communication, messages, the word iridescence is derived in part from the name of this goddess. The adjective for a rainbow is iridal, the iris of the eye is named after her, to reflect the many colours of the eye
18.
Leto
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In Greek mythology, Leto is a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother, by Zeus, of Apollo and Artemis. The island of Kos is claimed as her birthplace, in the Olympian scheme, Zeus is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis, the Letoides, which Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eyes of Zeus. Finally, she finds an island that is not attached to the floor so it is not considered land. This is her one active mythic role, once Apollo and Artemis are grown, Leto withdraws, to remain a dim and benevolent matronly figure upon Olympus, in Roman mythology, Letos equivalent is Latona, a Latinization of her name, influenced by Etruscan Letun. Walter Burkert notes that in Phaistos she appears in connection with an initiation cult, Leto was identified from the fourth century onwards with the principal local mother goddess of Anatolian Lycia, as the region became Hellenized. In Greek inscriptions, the Letoides are referred to as the gods of the country. Her sanctuary, the Letoon near Xanthos predated Hellenic influence in the region, however, the Hellenes of Kos also claimed Leto as their own. Another sanctuary, more recently identified, was at Oenoanda in the north of Lycia, there was, of course, a further Letoon at Delos. Letos primal nature may be deduced from the natures of her father and mother, the name of Letos mother, Phoebe, is identical to the epithet of her son Apollo, Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων, throughout Homer. Several explanations have been put forward to explain the origin of the goddess, older sources speculated that the name is related to the Greek λήθη lḗthē and λωτός lotus. It would thus mean the hidden one, in 20th-century sources Leto is traditionally derived from Lycian lada, wife, as her earliest cult was centered in Lycia. Lycian lada may also be the origin of the Greek name Λήδα Leda, other scholars have suggested a Pre-Greek origin. She was powerless to stop the flow of events, Latona for her intrigue with Zeus was hunted by Hera over the whole earth, till she came to Delos and brought forth first Artemis, by the help of whose midwifery she afterwards gave birth to Apollo. Hera banned Leto from giving birth on terra firma, the mainland, any island at sea, the island was surrounded by swans. As a gesture of gratitude, Delos was secured with four pillars and it is remarkable that Leto brought forth Artemis, the elder twin, without travail, as Callimachus wrote, as if she were merely revealing another manifestation of herself. Only Hera kept apart, perhaps to kidnap Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, instead Artemis, having been born first, assisted with the birth of Apollo. The dynastic rite of the witnessed birth must have been familiar to the hymns hearers, demeter is not present, her mother Rhea attends. The goddess Dione is sometimes taken by later mythographers as a feminine form of Zeus, if this were so
19.
Muses
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The Muses are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts in Greek mythology. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs and they were later adopted by the Romans as a part of their pantheon. In current English usage, muse can refer in general to a person who inspires an artist, writer, the earliest known records of the Nine Muses are from Boeotia, the homeland of Hesiod. Some ancient authorities thought that the Nine Muses were of Thracian origin, there, a tradition persisted that the Muses had once been three in number. They were again called Melete or Practice, Mneme or Memory, three ancient Muses were also reported in Plutarchs Quaestiones Convivales. According to Pausanias in the second century AD, there were three original Muses, worshiped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia, Aoidḗ, Melétē, and Mnḗmē. Together, these three form the picture of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice. In Delphi three Muses were worshiped as well, but with other names, Nḗtē, Mésē, and Hýpatē, alternatively they later were called Kēphisṓ, Apollōnís, and Borysthenís, which names characterize them as daughters of Apollo. In later tradition, a set of four Muses were recognized, Thelxinóē, Aoidḗ Archē, one of the people frequently associated with the Muses was Pierus. By some he was called the father of a total of seven Muses, called Neilṓ, Tritṓnē, Asōpṓ, Heptápora, Achelōís, Tipoplṓ, and Rhodía. According to Hesiods Theogony, they were daughters of Zeus, the second king of the gods. For Alcman and Mimnermus, they were even more primordial, springing from the deities, Uranus. Sometimes the Muses are referred to as water nymphs, associated with the springs of Helicon and it was said that the winged horse Pegasus touched his hooves to the ground on Helicon, causing four sacred springs to burst forth, from which the muses were born. Athena later tamed the horse and presented him to the muses, classical writers set Apollo as their leader, Apollon Mousagetēs. In one myth, the Muses judged a contest between Apollo and Marsyas and they also gathered the pieces of the dead body of Orpheus, son of Calliope, and buried them. In a later myth, Thamyris challenged them to a singing contest and they won and punished Thamyris by blinding him and robbing him of his singing ability. He thus challenged the Muses to a match, resulting in his daughters, Pausanias records a tradition of two generations of Muses, the first are the daughters of Uranus and Gaia, the second of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Another, rarer genealogy is that they are daughters of Harmonia, some Greek writers give the names of the nine Muses as Kallichore, Helike, Eunike, Thelxinoë, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Eukelade, Dia, and Enope
20.
Nymph
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A nymph in Greek mythology and in Latin mythology is a minor female nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. They are beloved by many and dwell in mountainous regions and forests by lakes, charybdis and Scylla were once nymphs. Other nymphs, always in the shape of young maidens, were part of the retinue of a god, such as Dionysus, Hermes, or Pan, or a goddess, nymphs were the frequent target of satyrs. The Greek word νύμφη has bride and veiled among its meanings, other readers refer the word to a root expressing the idea of swelling. The mythologies of classicizing Roman poets were unlikely to have affected the rites and cult of individual nymphs venerated by people in the springs. Among the Roman literate class, their sphere of influence was restricted, the ancient Greek belief in nymphs survived in many parts of the country into the early years of the twentieth century, when they were usually known as nereids. At that time, John Cuthbert Lawson wrote and they might appear in a whirlwind. Such encounters could be dangerous, bringing dumbness, besotted infatuation, when parents believed their child to be nereid-struck, they would pray to Saint Artemidos. Due to widespread use of the term among lay persons and stereotypes attached, professionals nowadays prefer the term hypersexuality, the word nymphet is used to identify a sexually precocious girl. The term was made famous in the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, the main character, Humbert Humbert, uses the term many times, usually in reference to the title character. Thus the classes of nymphs tend to overlap, which complicates the task of precise classification, rose mentions dryads and hamadryads as nymphs of trees generally, meliai as nymphs of ash trees, and naiads as nymphs of water, but no others specifically. She is the consort of Acheron, and the mother of Ascalaphus, leuce, lover of Hades Minthe, lover of Hades, rival of Persephone Melinoe Orphic nymph, daughter of Persephone and Zeus disguised as Pluto. Her name is an epithet of Hecate. Nymphs in such groupings could belong to any of the mentioned above. For lists of Naiads, Oceanids, Dryades etc and this motif supposedly came from an Italian report of a Roman sculpture of a nymph at a fountain above the River Danube
21.
Pan (god)
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In Greek religion and mythology, Pan is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs. His name originates within the ancient Greek language, from the word paein, meaning to pasture and he has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr. With his homeland in rustic Arcadia, he is recognized as the god of fields, groves, and wooded glens, because of this, Pan is connected to fertility. The ancient Greeks also considered Pan to be the god of theatrical criticism, in the 18th and 19th centuries, Pan became a significant figure in the Romantic movement of western Europe and also in the 20th-century Neopagan movement. Many modern scholars consider Pan to be derived from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European god *Péh2usōn, the Hindu god Pushan is believed to be a cognate of Pan. The connection between Pan and Pushan was first identified in 1924 by the German scholar Hermann Collitz, the name Pan is probably also a cognate with the Greek word πάειν, meaning to pasture, which shares an origin with the modern English word pasture. In his earliest appearance in literature, Pindars Pythian Ode iii,78, Pan is associated with a mother goddess, perhaps Rhea or Cybele, Pindar refers to virgins worshipping Cybele and Pan near the poets house in Boeotia. In some early sources such as Pindar, his father is Apollo via Penelope, Herodotus, Cicero, Apollodorus and Hyginus all make Hermes and Penelope his parents. Pausanias 8.12.5 records the story that Penelope had in fact been unfaithful to her husband, other sources report that Penelope slept with all 108 suitors in Odysseus absence, and gave birth to Pan as a result. This myth reflects the folk etymology that equates Pans name with the Greek word for all, in the mystery cults of the highly syncretic Hellenistic era, Pan is made cognate with Phanes/Protogonos, Zeus, Dionysus and Eros. Accounts of Pans genealogy are so varied that it must lie buried deep in mythic time, like other nature spirits, Pan appears to be older than the Olympians, if it is true that he gave Artemis her hunting dogs and taught the secret of prophecy to Apollo. Pan might be multiplied as the Pans or the Paniskoi, Kerenyi notes from scholia that Aeschylus in Rhesus distinguished between two Pans, one the son of Zeus and twin of Arcas, and one a son of Cronus. In the retinue of Dionysos, or in depictions of landscapes, there appeared not only a great Pan, but also little Pans, Paniskoi. The worship of Pan began in Arcadia which was always the seat of his worship. Arcadia was a district of people, culturally separated from other Greeks. Greek hunters used to scourge the statue of the god if they had been disappointed in the chase. Being a rustic god, Pan was not worshipped in temples or other built edifices and these are often referred to as the Cave of Pan. In the 4th century BC Pan was depicted on the coinage of Pantikapaion, the goat-god Aegipan was nurtured by Amalthea with the infant Zeus in Athens
22.
Cupid and Psyche
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Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from Metamorphoses, written in the 2nd Century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis. It concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche and Cupid or Amor, and their union in a sacred marriage. Although the only extended narrative from antiquity is that of Apuleius, Eros, since the rediscovery of Apuleiuss novel in the Renaissance, the reception of Cupid and Psyche in the classical tradition has been extensive. The story has been retold in poetry, drama, and opera, and depicted widely in painting, sculpture, Psyches Roman name through direct translation is Anima. The tale of Cupid and Psyche is placed at the midpoint of Apuleiuss novel, the novel itself is a first-person narrative by the protagonist Lucius. Transformed into a donkey by magic gone wrong, Lucius undergoes various trials and adventures, Psyches story has some similarities, including the theme of dangerous curiosity, punishments and tests, and redemption through divine favor. As a structural mirror of the plot, the tale is an example of mise en abyme. The happy ending for Psyche is supposed to assuage Charites fear of rape, there were once a king and queen, rulers of an unnamed city, who had three daughters of conspicuous beauty. The youngest and most beautiful was Psyche, whose admirers, neglecting the worship of the love goddess Venus, instead prayed. It was rumored that she was the coming of Venus. Venus is offended, and commissions Cupid to work her revenge, Cupid instead scratches himself with his own dart, which makes any living thing fall in love with the first thing it sees. As soon as Cupid scratches himself he falls deeply in love with Psyche, although her two humanly beautiful sisters have married, the idolized Psyche has yet to find love. Her father suspects that they have incurred the wrath of the gods, Psyche is arrayed in funeral attire, conveyed by a procession to the peak of a rocky crag, and exposed. Marriage and death are merged into a rite of passage. Zephyr the West Wind bears her up to meet her match, and deposits her in a lovely meadow. The transported girl awakes to find herself at the edge of a cultivated grove, exploring, she finds a marvelous house with golden columns, a carved ceiling of citrus wood and ivory, silver walls embossed with wild and domesticated animals, and jeweled mosaic floors. A disembodied voice tells her to make herself comfortable, and she is entertained at a feast that serves itself, although fearful and without sexual experience, she allows herself to be guided to a bedroom, where in the darkness a being she cannot see makes her his wife. She gradually learns to look forward to his visits, though he always departs before sunrise and forbids her to look upon him, and soon she becomes pregnant
23.
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
24.
Medicine
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Medicine is the science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. The word medicine is derived from Latin medicus, meaning a physician, Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Medicine has existed for thousands of years, during most of which it was an art frequently having connections to the religious and philosophical beliefs of local culture. For example, a man would apply herbs and say prayers for healing, or an ancient philosopher. In recent centuries, since the advent of modern science, most medicine has become a combination of art, while stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice, the knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science. Prescientific forms of medicine are now known as medicine and folk medicine. They remain commonly used with or instead of medicine and are thus called alternative medicine. For example, evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture is variable and inconsistent for any condition, in contrast, treatments outside the bounds of safety and efficacy are termed quackery. Medical availability and clinical practice varies across the world due to differences in culture. In modern clinical practice, physicians personally assess patients in order to diagnose, treat, the doctor-patient relationship typically begins an interaction with an examination of the patients medical history and medical record, followed by a medical interview and a physical examination. Basic diagnostic medical devices are typically used, after examination for signs and interviewing for symptoms, the doctor may order medical tests, take a biopsy, or prescribe pharmaceutical drugs or other therapies. Differential diagnosis methods help to rule out conditions based on the information provided, during the encounter, properly informing the patient of all relevant facts is an important part of the relationship and the development of trust. The medical encounter is then documented in the record, which is a legal document in many jurisdictions. Follow-ups may be shorter but follow the general procedure. The diagnosis and treatment may take only a few minutes or a few weeks depending upon the complexity of the issue, the components of the medical interview and encounter are, Chief complaint, the reason for the current medical visit. They are in the patients own words and are recorded along with the duration of each one, also called chief concern or presenting complaint. History of present illness, the order of events of symptoms. Distinguishable from history of illness, often called past medical history
25.
Ancient Greek religion
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Ancient Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology originating in ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. These groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or cults in the plural, many ancient Greeks recognized the twelve major gods and goddesses, although philosophies such as Stoicism and some forms of Platonism used language that seems to assume a single transcendent deity. Different cities often worshiped the deities, sometimes with epithets that distinguished them. Greek religion was tempered by Etruscan cult and belief to form much of the later ancient Roman religion, while there were few concepts universal to all the Greek peoples, there were common beliefs shared by many. Ancient Greek theology was polytheistic, based on the assumption there were many gods. There was a hierarchy of deities, with Zeus, the king of the gods, having a level of control all the others. Some deities had dominion over aspects of nature. Other deities ruled over abstract concepts, for instance Aphrodite controlled love, while being immortal, the gods were certainly not all-good or even all-powerful. They had to obey fate, known to Greek mythology as the Moirai, which overrode any of their divine powers or wills. For instance, in mythology, it was Odysseus fate to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, and the gods could only lengthen his journey and make it harder for him, the gods acted like humans, and had human vices. They would interact with humans, sometimes even spawning children with them, at times certain gods would be opposed to others, and they would try to outdo each other. In the Iliad, Aphrodite, Ares and Apollo support the Trojan side in the Trojan War, while Hera, Athena, some gods were specifically associated with a certain city. Athena was associated with the city of Athens, Apollo with Delphi and Delos, Zeus with Olympia, other deities were associated with nations outside of Greece, Poseidon was associated with Ethiopia and Troy, and Ares with Thrace. The Greeks believed in an underworld where the spirits of the dead went after death, one of the most widespread areas of this underworld was ruled over by Hades, a brother of Zeus, and was known as Hades. Other well known realms are Tartarus, a place of torment for the damned, and Elysium, in the early Mycenean religion all the dead went to Hades, but the rise of mystery cults in the Archaic age led to the development of places such as Tartarus and Elysium. Such beliefs are found in the most ancient of Greek sources, such as Homer and this belief remained strong even into the Christian era. For most people at the moment of death there was, however, no hope of anything, some Greeks, such as the philosophers Pythagoras and Plato, also embraced the idea of reincarnation, though this was only accepted by a few. Epicurus taught that the soul was simply atoms which dissolved at death, Greek religion had an extensive mythology
26.
Imhotep
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Imhotep was an Egyptian polymath who served under the Third Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He was one of only a few ever to be accorded divine status after death. The center of his cult was Memphis, from the First Intermediate Period onward Imhotep was also revered as a poet and philosopher. His sayings were famously referenced in poems, I have heard the words of Imhotep, the location of Imhoteps self-constructed tomb was well hidden from the beginning and it remains unknown, despite efforts to find it. The consensus is that it is hidden somewhere at Saqqara, according to myth, Imhoteps mother was a mortal named Kheredu-ankh, elevated later to semi-divine status by claims that she was the daughter of Banebdjedet. Alternatively, since Imhotep was known as the Son of Ptah, his mother was claimed to be Sekhmet. According to another tale, his father may have been an architect named Kanofer, the latter inscription suggests that Imhotep outlived Djoser by a few years and went on to serve in the construction of King Sekhemkhets pyramid, which was abandoned due to this rulers brief reign. The Upper Egyptian Famine Stela, which dates from the Ptolemaic period, Imhotep is credited with having been instrumental in ending it. One of his priests explained the connection between the god Khnum and the rise of the Nile to the king, who then had a dream in which the Nile god spoke to him, promising to end the drought. A demotic papyrus from the ancient Egyptian temple of Tebtunis, dating to the 2nd century AD, King Djoser plays a prominent role in the story, which also mentions Imhoteps family, his father the god Ptah, his mother Khereduankh, and his little-sister Renpetneferet. At one point Djoser desires the young Renpetneferet, and Imhotep disguises himself, the text also refers to the royal tomb of Djoser. An anachronistic detail is a battle between the Egyptian and Assyrian armies where Imhotep fights an Assyrian sorceress in a duel of magic, Imhotep was one of the chief officials of the Pharaoh Djoser. Egyptologists ascribe to him the design of the Pyramid of Djoser and he may also have been responsible for the first known use of stone columns to support a building. Despite these later attestations, the pharaonic Egyptians themselves never credited Imhotep as the designer of the Stepped Pyramid nor with the invention of stone architecture, as an instigator of Egyptian culture, Imhoteps idealized image lasted well into the Ptolemaic period. The Egyptian historian Manetho credited him with inventing the method of a building during Djosers reign. Prior to Djoser, pharaohs were buried in mastaba tombs, the surviving copy of the papyrus was probably written around 1700 BC but may be a copy of texts written a thousand years earlier. However, this attribution of authorship is speculative, egyptologist James Peter Allen states that The Greeks equated him with their own god of medicine, Asklepios, although ironically there is no evidence that Imhotep himself was a physician. Two thousand years after his death, Imhoteps status was raised to that of a deity of medicine and he was identified or associated with Thoth, the god of architecture, mathematics, medicine and patron of the scribes, Imhoteps cult merging with that of his former tutelary god
27.
Therapeutae of Asclepius
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The term Therapeutae is Latin, from the Greek plural Therapeutai. The Greek feminine plural Therapeutrides is sometimes encountered for their female members, the term therapeutae may occur in relation to followers of Asclepius at Pergamon, and therapeutai may also occur in relation to worshippers of Sarapis in inscriptions, such as on Delos. The therapeutae of Asclepius were a recognized and designated association in antiquity that included the physicians, their attendants and support staff and these healing temples were known as Asclepeions. Examples of famous therapeutae of Asclepius between 300 BCE and 300 CE include Hippocrates, Apollonius of Tyana, Aelius Aristides and Galen, the Greek word therapeutai has the primary meaning of one who serves the gods, or worshipper. Aelius Aristides in the later 2nd century writes, We Asclepius therapeutae must agree with the god that Pergamum is the best of his sanctuaries, - Sacred Tales Galen used his designation of therapeutae to secure from the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius exemption from military service. In their book Voluntary Associations in the Graeco-Roman World the authors state, very little is known about the purpose of the therapeutae. Vidman thinks they were simple worshipers united in a loose association, cf. therapeutae of Asclepius at Perganon The following authors make reference to the therapeutae
28.
Mole (animal)
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Moles are small mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have cylindrical bodies, velvety fur, very small, inconspicuous ears and eyes, reduced hindlimbs and short, in Middle English, moles were known as moldwarp. The expression do not make an out of a mole hill – exaggerating problems – was first recorded in Tudor times. Male moles are called boars, females are called sows, a group of moles is called a labour. Moles are able to reuse the oxygen inhaled when above ground, moles have polydactyl forepaws, each has an extra thumb next to the regular thumb. This supernumerary digit is species-specific, as it is not present in shrews, a moles diet primarily consists of earthworms and other small invertebrates found in the soil, and a variety of nuts. The mole runs are in reality worm traps, the mole sensing when a worm falls into the tunnel and quickly running along to kill, because their saliva contains a toxin that can paralyze earthworms, moles are able to store their still-living prey for later consumption. They construct special underground larders for just this purpose, researchers have discovered such larders with over a thousand earthworms in them, before eating earthworms, moles pull them between their squeezed paws to force the collected earth and dirt out of the worms gut. The star-nosed mole can detect, catch and eat food faster than the eye can follow. Breeding season for a mole depends on species but is generally February through May, males search for females by letting out high-pitched squeals and tunneling through foreign areas. The gestation period of the Eastern mole is approximately 42 days, three to five young are born, mainly in March and early April. Townsend moles mate in February and March, and the 2–4 young are born in March, the Townsend mole is endangered in the United States and Canada. Coast moles produce a litter of 2–5 pups between March and April, pups leave the nest 30–45 days after birth to find territories of their own. Moles are solitary creatures, coming only to mate. Territories may overlap, but moles avoid each other and males may fight if they meet. The family Talpidae contains all the moles and some of their close relatives. Desmans, which are Talpidae but are not normally called moles, are not shown below and those species called shrew moles represent an intermediate form between the moles and their shrew ancestors, and as such may not be fully described by the article. On the other hand, there is no relation between the mole and the hedgehog, both of which were previously placed in the now abandoned order Insectivora
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Epidaurus
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Epidaurus was a small city in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros, Palaia Epidavros and Nea Epidavros, since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epidaurus, part of the regional unit of Argolis. The seat of the municipality is the town Lygourio, Epidaurus was independent of Argos and not included in Argolis until the time of the Romans. With its supporting territory, it formed the territory called Epidauria. The cult of Asclepius at Epidaurus is attested in the 6th century BC, the asclepeion at Epidaurus was the most celebrated healing center of the Classical world, the place where ill people went in the hope of being cured. To find out the cure for their ailments, they spent a night in the enkoimeteria. In their dreams, the god himself would advise them what they had to do to regain their health, within the sanctuary there was a guest house with 160 guestrooms. There are also mineral springs in the vicinity, which may have used in healing. Fame and prosperity continued throughout the Hellenistic period, after the destruction of Corinth in 146 BC Lucius Mummius visited the sanctuary and left two dedications there. In 87 BC the sanctuary was looted by the Roman general Sulla, in 74 BC a Roman garrison under Marcus Antonius Creticus had been installed in the city causing a lack of grain. Still, before 67 BC the sanctuary was plundered by pirates, in the 2nd century AD the sanctuary enjoyed a new upsurge under the Romans, but in AD395 the Goths raided the sanctuary. Even after the introduction of Christianity and the silencing of the oracles, the ancient theatre of Epidaurus was designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows, as is usual for Greek theatres, the view on a lush landscape behind the skênê is an integral part of the theatre itself and is not to be obscured. It seats up to 14,000 people, famously, tour guides have their groups scattered in the stands and show them how they can easily hear the sound of a match struck at center-stage. A2007 study by Nico F.442 km2, the municipal unit 160.604 km2, die Skulpturen des Asklepiostempels in Epidauros. Thymele, Recherches sur la of Archaeology,85, no, Inschriften aus dem Asklepieion von Epidauros, Berlin, Akademie-Verlag. Neue Inschriften aus Epidauros, Berlin, Akademie-Verlag, vassilantonopoulos S. L. Zakynthinos T. Hatziantoniou P. D. Tatlas N. -A. “Measurement and Analysis of Acoustics of Epidaurus Theatre”, presented at the Hellenic Institute of Acoustics 2004 conference, Epidaurus UNESCO Listing Epidaurus photos and info How the sanctuary was built -the building inscriptions
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Molehill
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A molehill is a conical mound of loose soil raised by small burrowing mammals, including moles, but also similar animals such as mole-rats, marsupial moles and voles. The word is first recorded in the first half of the 15th century, formerly the hill was known as a wantitump, a word still in dialect use for centuries afterwards. The common phrase making an out of a molehill, meaning to exaggerate a minor problem, is an ironical reference to these small features. Molehills are waste material which come from digging or repairing burrows, molehills are often the only sign to indicate the presence of the animal and recording their presence may be the most reliable way to determine the number of moles in an area. Commonly they occur in lines along the route of the burrow, molehills are therefore sometimes used as a source of good soil for use in gardening and are particularly valued by some practitioners of permaculture for fine potting soil. However, they may cause damage to gardens and functional areas of such as pasture land. King William III of England is recorded as dying from complications after he was thrown when his horse stumbled on one, where mole-hills are not desired, the moles may be killed or, preferably, deterrent plants like caper spurge or the related castor bean plant can be planted. The fresh molehills can also be removed carefully as soon as they appear and this leaves the animals and their galleries undamaged and thus reduces the need for the moles to make further molehills when they clear earth out of the tunnels
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Voiced velar stop
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The voiced velar stop is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɡ⟩, strictly, the IPA symbol is the so-called single-story G, but the double-story G is considered an acceptable alternative. Features of the velar stop, Its manner of articulation is occlusive. Since the consonant is also oral, with no outlet, the airflow is blocked entirely. Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue at the soft palate and its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation. It is a consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only. It is a consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue. The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, absent stop is an areal feature. Missing, on the hand, is widely scattered around the world. It seems that is more difficult to articulate than the other basic stops. This could have two effects, and might become confused, and the distinction is lost, or perhaps a never develops when a language first starts making voicing distinctions. With uvulars, where there is less space between the glottis and tongue for airflow, the imbalance is more extreme, Voiced is much rarer than voiceless. Many Indo-Aryan languages, such as Hindustani, have a two-way contrast between aspirated and plain
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the 
The dictionary definition of Asclepius at Wiktionary
Media related to Asclepius at Wikimedia Commons
