1.
Varasova
–
Varasova is a limestone mountain in the southern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in western Greece. It rises steeply from the coast of the Gulf of Patras to 917 m elevation and it is situated just east of the mouth of the river Evinos,3 km east of Galatas,14 km east of Missolonghi and 18 km northwest of Patras. Its length is approximately 6 km from northwest to southeast and its width is about 2 km from southeast to northwest, there are several rock climbing routes on the steep south and southwest faces of the mountain
2.
Theater (structure)
–
A theater, theatre or playhouse, is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed, or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance, a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces, the facility is traditionally organized to provide support areas for performers, the technical crew and the audience members. There are as many types of theaters as there are types of performance, theaters may be built specifically for a certain types of productions, they may serve for more general performance needs or they may be adapted or converted for use as a theater. They may range from open-air amphitheaters to ornate, cathedral-like structures to simple, some theaters may have a fixed acting area, while some theaters, such as black box theaters, may not, allowing the director and designers to construct an acting area suitable for the production. The most important of these areas is the acting space generally known as the stage, in some theaters, specifically proscenium theaters, arena theaters and amphitheaters, this area is permanent part of the structure. In a blackbox theater the area is undefined so that each theater may adapt specifically to a production. In addition to these spaces, there may be offstage spaces as well. These include wings on either side of a stage where props, sets. A Prompters box may be found backstage, in an amphitheater, an area behind the stage may be designated for such uses while a blackbox theater may have spaces outside of the actual theater designated for such uses. Often a theater will incorporate other spaces intended for the performers, a booth facing the stage may be incorporated into the house where lighting and sound personnel may view the show and run their respective instruments. Other rooms in the building may be used for dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, spaces for constructing sets, props and costumes, as well as storage. There are usually two main entrances, one at the front, used by the audience, that leads into the back of the audience, the second is called the stage door, and it is accessible from backstage. This is the means by which the cast and crew enter and exit the theater and this term can also be used to refer to going to a lot of shows or living in a big theater city, such as New York or Chicago. All theaters provide a space for an audience, the audience is usually separated from the performers by the proscenium arch. In proscenium theaters and amphitheaters, the arch, like the stage, is a permanent feature of the structure. This area is known as the auditorium or the house, the word parterre is sometimes used to refer to a particular subset of this area. In North American usage this is usually the rear seating block beneath the gallery whereas in Britain it can mean either the area in front near the orchestra pit, the term can also refer to the side stalls in some usages. Derived from the gardening term parterre, the usage refers to the pattern of both the seats of an auditorium and of the planted beds seen in garden construction
3.
Greek language
–
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
4.
Greece
–
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
5.
Aetolia
–
Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. The country has a level and fruitful coastal region, but an unproductive, the mountains contained many wild beasts, and acquired fame in Greek mythology as the scene of the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. Dionysius of Halicarnassus mentions that Curetes was the old name of the Aetolians, the Aetolians took part in the Trojan War, under their king Thoas. The mountain tribes of Aetolia were the Ophioneis, the Apodotoi, the Agraeis, the Aperantoi, the primitive lifestyle of those tribes made an impression on ancient historians. Polybius doubted their Greek heritage, while Livy reports that spoke a language similar to the Macedonians. On the other hand, Thucydides claims that Eurytanians spoke a very difficult language and they were semi-barbaric, warlike and predatory. They worshiped Apollo as god of nature and Artemis as goddess of wilderness. They also worshiped Athena, not as goddess of wisdom, and they called Apollo and Artemis “Laphrios gods, ” i. e. patrons of the spoils and loot of war. In addition, they worshiped Hercules, the river Achelous and Bacchus, in Thermos, an area north of Trichonis lake, there was after the 7th century a shrine of Apollo “Thermios, ” which became a significant religious center during the time of the Common Aetolia. The Aetolians refused to participate in the Persian Wars, in 426 BC, led by Aegitios, they defeated the Athenians and their allies, who had turned against Apodotia and Ophioneia under the general command of Demosthenes. However, they failed to regain Naupaktos, which had meanwhile been conquered by the Corinthians with the aid of the Athenians, at the end of the Peloponnesian War, the Aetolians took part as mercenaries of the Athenians in the expedition against Syracuse. Then the Achaeans occupied Calydon, but the Aetolians recovered it in 361 BC, in 338 BC, Naupaktos was again taken by the Aetolians, with the help of Philip II. During the Lamian War, the Aetolians helped the Athenian general Leosthenes defeat Antipater, as a result, they came into conflict with Antipater and Craterus, taking great risks, but were eventually saved by the disagreement between the two Macedonian generals and Perdiccas. The Acarnanians then attempted to invade their land, but the Aetolians were able to force them to flee, the Aetolians set up a united league, the Aetolian League, in early times. It soon became a confederation and by c.340 BC it became one of the leading military powers in ancient Greece. Subsequently, the Sotiria Games were established by the Aetolians, in honour of Zeus the Saviour, the Aetolians’ power increasingly magnified with the occupation of the lands of Ozoloi, Locrians and Phocians, as well as Boeotia. They then united under the power of their League in the areas of Tegea, Mantinea, Orchomenus, Psophida, between 220–217 BC, the Social War broke out between the Achaean and Aetolian Leagues. The war was first started by the Aetolians with the help of the Spartans and Eleans, allies of the Achaeans were the Macedonians, the Boeotians, the Phocians, the Epirotes, the Acarnanians and the Messenians
6.
Calydonian Boar
–
The Calydonian or Aetolian Boar is one of the monsters of Greek mythology that had to be overcome by heroes of the Olympian age. This outraged some of the men, with tragic results, strabo was under the impression that the Calydonian Boar was an offspring of the Crommyonian Sow vanquished by Theseus. The Calydonian Boar is one of the monsters in Greek mythology. Like the quest for the Golden Fleece or the Trojan War that took place the following generation, King Oeneus of Calydon, an ancient city of west-central Greece north of the Gulf of Patras, held annual harvest sacrifices to the gods on the sacred hill. It rampaged throughout the countryside, destroying vineyards and crops, forcing people to refuge inside the city walls. Oeneus sent messengers out to look for the best hunters in Greece, offering them the boars pelt and it was the smitten Meleager who convinced them. Nonetheless it was Atalanta who first succeeded in wounding the boar with an arrow, although Meleager finished it off, and offered the prize to Atalanta, outraged by this, Meleager slew the sons of Thestios and again gave the skin to Atalanta. Thus Artemis achieved her revenge against King Oeneus, during the hunt, Peleus accidentally killed his host Eurytion. The Calydonian Hunt was the theme of the main pediment. The heroes who participated assembled from all over Hellas, according to Homer, the table lists, Those seen by Pausanias on the Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea. Those listed by Latin mythographer Hyginus, they include Deucalion, whose connection is unlikely and those noted in Ovids list from the 8th Book of his Metamorphoses. Those who appear in Book I of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, ternerdos, Iolcos, Sparta, Pleurone, Messene, Perrhaebia, Phthia, Magnesia, Salamin, Calydon, Thessalia, Oechialia, Ithaca, Tegea, Crete, Dolopia, Athens, and Arcadia. Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca I, VIII, 2–3, Homer, Iliad, ix Kerenyi, the Heroes of the Greeks pp114ff, et passim Ovid, Metamorphoses VIII, 267–525. Ruck, Carl A. P. and Danny Staples,1994, the World of Classical Myth p 196 Swinburne, Algernon Charles. Atalanta in Calydon Theioi. com, Hus Kaydonios, Literary quotes
7.
Greek mythology
–
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
8.
Sanctuary
–
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a place for humans, such as a political sanctuary. The meaning was extended to places of holiness or safety, a religious sanctuary may be a sacred place, or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar. Examples are St. Peters Basilica in Rome and St. Albans Cathedral in England, the place, and therefore the church built there, was considered to have been sanctified by what happened there. In modern times, the Catholic Church has continued this practice by placing in the altar of each church, when it is consecrated for use, the relics box is removed when the church is taken out of use as a church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the antimension on the altar serves a similar function and it is a cloth icon of Christs body taken down from the cross, and typically has the relics of a saint sewn into it. In addition, it is signed by the bishop, and represents his authorization. In many Western traditions altar rails sometimes mark the edge of the sanctuary or chancel, in many churches the architectural term chancel covers the same area as the sanctuary, and either term may be used. In some Protestant churches, the term denotes the entire worship area while the term chancel is used to refer to the area around the altar-table. In other Oriental Orthodox traditions, a curtain is used. In most modern synagogues, the room for prayer is known as the sanctuary, to contrast it with smaller rooms dedicated to various other services. When referring to prosecution of crimes, sanctuary can mean one of the following, Church sanctuary A sacred place, such as a church, in which fugitives formerly were immune to arrest. While the practice of churches offering sanctuary is still observed in the modern era, political sanctuary Immunity to arrest afforded by a sovereign authority. People seeking political sanctuary typically do so by asking a sovereign authority for asylum, many ancient peoples recognized a religious right of asylum, protecting criminals from legal action and from exile to some extent. This principle was adopted by the early Christian church, and various rules developed for what the person had to do to qualify for protection and just how much protection it was. By Norman times, there had come to be two kinds of sanctuary, All churches had the kind, but only the churches the king licensed had the broader version. The medieval system of asylum was finally abolished entirely in England by James I in 1623, a prime example is Queen Elizabeth Woodville, consort of Edward IV of England
9.
Artemis
–
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Some scholars believe that the name, and indeed the goddess herself, was originally pre-Greek, Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron, Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals. The Arcadians believed she was the daughter of Demeter, in the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. The deer and the cypress were sacred to her, in later Hellenistic times, she even assumed the ancient role of Eileithyia in aiding childbirth. The name Artemis is of unknown or uncertain origin and etymology although various ones have been proposed, for example, according to J. T. Jablonski, the name is also Phrygian and could be compared with the royal appellation Artemas of Xenophon. Anton Goebel suggests the root στρατ or ῥατ, to shake, babiniotis, while accepting that the etymology is unknown, states that the name is already attested in Mycenean Greek and is possibly of pre-Hellenic origin. It is believed that a precursor of Artemis was worshiped in Minoan Crete as the goddess of mountains and hunting, R. S. P. Beekes suggested that the e/i interchange points to a Pre-Greek origin. Artemis was venerated in Lydia as Artimus, various conflicting accounts are given in Classical Greek mythology of the birth of Artemis and her twin brother, Apollo. All accounts agree, however, that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, an account by Callimachus has it that Hera forbade Leto to give birth on either terra firma or on an island. Hera was angry with Zeus, her husband, because he had impregnated Leto, but the island of Delos disobeyed Hera, and Leto gave birth there. In ancient Cretan history Leto was worshipped at Phaistos and in Cretan mythology Leto gave birth to Apollo, a scholium of Servius on Aeneid iii. The myths also differ as to whether Artemis was born first, most stories depict Artemis as born first, becoming her mothers mid-wife upon the birth of her brother Apollo. The childhood of Artemis is not fully related in any surviving myth, the Iliad reduced the figure of the dread goddess to that of a girl, who, having been thrashed by Hera, climbs weeping into the lap of Zeus. She wished for no city dedicated to her, but to rule the mountains, Artemis believed that she had been chosen by the Fates to be a midwife, particularly since she had assisted her mother in the delivery of her twin brother, Apollo. All of her companions remained virgins, and Artemis closely guarded her own chastity and her symbols included the golden bow and arrow, the hunting dog, the stag, and the moon. Okeanus daughters were filled with fear, but the young Artemis bravely approached and asked for bow, Callimachus then tells how Artemis visited Pan, the god of the forest, who gave her seven bitches and six dogs. She then captured six golden-horned deer to pull her chariot, Artemis practiced with her bow first by shooting at trees and then at wild beasts. As a virgin, Artemis had interested many gods and men, Orion was accidentally killed either by Artemis or by Gaia
10.
Apollo
–
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.
Roman Empire
–
Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
12.
Emperor
–
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the equivalent, may indicate an emperors wife, mother. Emperors are generally recognized to be of an honour and rank than kings. The Emperor of Japan is the currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as Emperor. Both kings and emperors are monarchs, but emperor and empress are considered the higher monarchical titles. In as much as there is a definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler. Thus a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler, or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, although initially ruling much of Central Europe and northern Italy, by the 19th century the Emperor exercised little power beyond the German speaking states. In Eastern Europe the rulers of the Russian Empire also used translatio imperii to wield authority as successors to the Eastern Roman Empire. Their title of Emperor was officially recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1514, in practice the Russian Emperors are often known by their Russian-language title Tsar, which may also used to refer to rulers equivalent to a king. Historians have liberally used emperor and empire anachronistically and out of its Roman and European context to any large state from the past or the present. Such pre-Roman titles as Great King or King of Kings, used by the Kings of Persia, however such empires did not need to be headed by an emperor. Empire became identified instead with vast territorial holdings rather than the title of its ruler by the mid-18th century, outside the European context, emperor was the translation given to holders of titles who were accorded the same precedence as European emperors in diplomatic terms. In reciprocity, these rulers might accredit equal titles in their languages to their European peers. Through centuries of international convention, this has become the dominant rule to identifying an emperor in the modern era, also the name of the position split in several branches of Western tradition, see below. Later new symbols of worldly and/or spiritual power, like the orb, rules for indicating successors also varied, there was a tendency towards male inheritance of the supreme office, but as well election by noblemen, as ruling empresses are known. Ruling monarchs could additionally steer the succession by adoption, as occurred in the two first centuries of Imperial Rome. Of course, intrigue, murder and military force could also mingle in for appointing successors, probably the epoch best known for this part of the imperial tradition is Romes third century rule. When Republican Rome turned into a de facto monarchy in the half of the 1st century BC
13.
Augustus
–
Augustus was the founder of the Roman Principate and considered the first Roman emperor, controlling the Roman Empire from 27 BC until his death in AD14. He was born Gaius Octavius into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia and his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesars will as his adopted son and heir, then known as Octavianus. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar, following their victory at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvate was eventually torn apart by the ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, in reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and it took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis, the resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of peace known as the Pax Romana. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, expanding into Germania, beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. Augustus died in AD14 at the age of 75 and he probably died from natural causes, although there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son Tiberius, Augustus was known by many names throughout his life, At birth, he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father. Historians typically refer to him simply as Octavius between his birth in 63 until his adoption by Julius Caesar in 44 BC, upon his adoption, he took Caesars name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman adoption naming standards. He quickly dropped Octavianus from his name, and his contemporaries referred to him as Caesar during this period, historians. In 27 BC, following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra and it is the events of 27 BC from which he obtained his traditional name of Augustus, which historians use in reference to him from 27 BC until his death in AD14. While his paternal family was from the town of Velletri, approximately 40 kilometres from Rome and he was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum. He was given the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, his cognomen possibly commemorating his fathers victory at Thurii over a band of slaves. Due to the nature of Rome at the time, Octavius was taken to his fathers home village at Velletri to be raised. Octavius only mentions his fathers equestrian family briefly in his memoirs and his paternal great-grandfather Gaius Octavius was a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War
14.
Nicopolis
–
Nicopolis or Actia Nicopolis was the capital city of the Roman province of Epirus Vetus. It was located in the part of the modern state of Greece. The city was founded in 29 BC by Caesar Augustus in commemoration of his victory in 31 BC over Antony and it was soon made the major city of the wider region of Epirus region. Many impressive ruins of the ancient city may be visited today, although today the old city is associated with the name Preveza, see main page, Battle of Actium. This foundation echoed a tradition dating back to Alexander the Great, symbolically, the new city represented one example of his successful unification of the Roman Empire under one administration. Geographically, it constituted a major transportation and communications link between the eastern and western halves of the Mediterranean and it also established an important commercial centre and port at this strategic position on the Mediterranean sea routes. This monument was adorned with the rams of captured galleys, in further celebration of his victory he instituted the quadrennial Actian games in honour of Apollo Actius. In 27 BC, Octavian implemented an Empire-wide administrative reform, the new polis was considered capital of the territories of southern Epirus including Ambracia, most of Akarnania, and western Aetolia. Many inhabitants of the surrounding areas – Kassopaia, Ambracia, parts of Acarnania, among other things, it obtained the right to send five representatives to the Amphictyonic Council. As a city in a province, Nicopolis began minting its own copper coins. The citys western gate was connected by a road to the Ionian harbour Komaros, the city eventually occupied a site of around 375 acres. e. A polis, free and autonomous, having the characteristics of civitas libera and civitas foederata, germanicus, nephew and adopted son of Augustus, visited the city en route to Syria and celebrated his second consulship there in 18 AD. In 30-31, the Roman consul Poppaeus Sabinus visited Nicopolis, in the winter of 65-66, the Apostle Paul decided to spend the winter at Nicopolis and in his Epistle to Titus 3,12 invited his co-worker Titus to join him there from Crete. Apparently a Christian community was in existence in the city, in 66, in the wake of a terror campaign and financial constraints in Rome, Emperor Nero made a more modest trip to Greece in lieu of a planned great journey to the east. He visited Nicopolis during his tour of Greece to take part in the Actian games and was crowned winner of the chariot race, around 93, Emperor Domitian expelled philosophers from Rome including the prominent Stoic philosopher Epictetus of Hierapolis, who went to Nicopolis. He founded his own school, and in the reign of Trajan counted Arrien among his students and he died there around AD135. Around 110, under Emperor Trajan, the Roman government carved out the province of Epirus from parts of Macedonia and Achaia, a procurator Augusti headquartered at Nicopolis governed Epirus. The new province of Epirus included Acarnania to the south as far as the Achelous, but not Apollonia to the north, plus the Ionian Islands – Corfu, Leukas, Ithaca, Cephalonia, and Zacynthus
15.
Battle of Actium
–
Octavians fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while Antonys fleet was supported by the power of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic Egypt. Octavians victory enabled him to consolidate his power over Rome and its dominions and he adopted the title of Princeps and some years later was awarded the title of Augustus by the Roman Senate. This became the name by which he was known in later times, the battle also marked the start of about three centuries of unequalled Roman naval supremacy over the entirety of the Mediterranean and beyond. The alliance between Octavian, Antony and Lepidus, commonly known as the Second Triumvirate, was renewed for a term in 38 BC. However, the triumvirate broke down when Octavian saw Caesarion, the son of Julius Caesar and Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt. This occurred when Mark Antony, the other most influential member of the triumvirate, abandoned his wife, afterwards he moved to Egypt to start a long-term romance with Cleopatra, becoming the de facto stepfather to Caesarion. Such an affair was doomed to become a political scandal, Antony was inevitably perceived by Octavian and the majority of the Roman Senate as the leader of a separatist movement that threatened to break the unity of the Roman Republic. Both Octavian and Antony had fought against their enemies in the civil war that followed the assassination of Caesar. After years of cooperation with Octavian, Antony started to act independently, eventually raising his rivals suspicion that he was vying to become sole master of Rome. As a personal challenge to Octavians prestige, Antony tried to get Caesarion accepted as an heir of Caesar. Antony and Cleopatra formally elevated Caesarion, then 13, to power in 34 BC, giving him the vague, being a son of Caesar, such an entitlement was felt as a threat to Roman republican traditions. According to a belief, Antony had once offered a diadem to Caesar. It was also said that Antony intended to move the capital of the empire to Alexandria, as the Second Triumvirate formally expired on the last day of 33 BC, Antony wrote to the Senate that he did not wish to be reappointed. He hoped that he might be regarded by them as their champion against the ambition of Octavian, the causes of mutual dissatisfaction between the two had been continually accumulating. Antony complained that Octavian had exceeded his powers in deposing Lepidus, in taking over the countries held by Sextus Pompeius, during 32 BC, a third of the Senate and both consuls allied with Antony. The consuls had determined to conceal the extent of Antonys demands, after staying with his allies at Samos, Antony moved to Athens. His land forces, which had been in Armenia, came down to the coast of Asia, Octavian was not behind in his strategic preparations. Military operations began in 31 BC, when Octavians general Agrippa captured Methone, in addition to the deposition Octavian procured a vote for a proclamation of war against Cleopatra – well understood to mean against Antony, though he was not named
16.
Patras
–
Patras is Greeces third-largest city and the regional capital of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese,215 km west of Athens. The city is built at the foothills of Mount Panachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras, Patras has a population of 213,984. According to the results of 2011 census, the area has a population of 260,308. Dubbed as Greeces Gate to the West, Patras is a hub, while its busy port is a nodal point for trade and communication with Italy. The Rio-Antirio bridge connects Patras easternmost suburb of Rio to the town of Antirrio, Patras is also famous for supporting an indigenous cultural scene active mainly in the performing arts and modern urban literature. It was European Capital of Culture in 2006, Patras is 215 km west of Athens by road,94 km northeast of Pyrgos,7 kilometres south of Rio,134 km west of Corinth,77 km northwest of Kalavryta, and 144 km northwest of Tripoli. A central feature of the geography of Patras is its division into upper and lower sections. It is built on what was originally a bed of river soils, the older upper section covers the area of the pre-modern settlement, around the Fortress, on what is the last elevation of Mount Panachaikon before the Gulf of Patras. The largest river in the area is the Glafkos, flowing to the south of Patras, the water is also used for the orchards of Eglykas and as drinking water for the city. Other rivers are Haradros, Meilichos and the mountain torrent Diakoniaris and it features the typical mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers, with spring and autumn being pleasant transitional seasons. Autumn in Patras, however, is wetter than spring, of great importance for the biological diversity of the area and the preservation of its climate is the swamp of Agyia, a small and coastal aquatic ecosystem of only 30 ha, north of the city centre. Another geophysical characteristic of the region is its level of seismicity. Small tremors are recorded along the coast of Patras almost constantly, larger earthquakes hit the area every few years with potentially destructive effects. In 1993, a 5. 0-magnitude earthquake caused damage to several buildings throughout Patras due to the proximity of the epicenter to the city. On June 15,1995, a 6. 2-magnitude earthquake hit the town of Aigion. The Ionian Islands are also hit by even more severe earthquakes. In antiquity, the most notable example of destruction caused by an earthquake in the region was the total submergence of the ancient Achaean city of Helike, the first traces of settlement in Patras date to as early as the third millennium BC, in the area of modern Aroe. Patras flourished for the first time in the Post-Helladic or Mycenean period, Ancient Patras was formed by the unification of three Mycenaean villages in modern Aroe, namely Antheia and Mesatis
17.
Gold
–
Gold is a chemical element with symbol Au and atomic number 79. In its purest form, it is a bright, slightly yellow, dense, soft, malleable. Chemically, gold is a metal and a group 11 element. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and is solid under standard conditions, Gold often occurs in free elemental form, as nuggets or grains, in rocks, in veins, and in alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the element silver and also naturally alloyed with copper. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, often with tellurium, golds atomic number of 79 makes it one of the higher numbered, naturally occurring elements. It is thought to have produced in supernova nucleosynthesis, from the collision of neutron stars. Because the Earth was molten when it was formed, almost all of the present in the early Earth probably sank into the planetary core. Gold is resistant to most acids, though it does dissolve in aqua regia, a mixture of acid and hydrochloric acid. Gold also dissolves in solutions of cyanide, which are used in mining and electroplating. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys, but this is not a chemical reaction, as a precious metal, gold has been used for coinage, jewelry, and other arts throughout recorded history. A total of 186,700 tonnes of gold is in existence above ground, the world consumption of new gold produced is about 50% in jewelry, 40% in investments, and 10% in industry. Gold is also used in infrared shielding, colored-glass production, gold leafing, certain gold salts are still used as anti-inflammatories in medicine. As of 2014, the worlds largest gold producer by far was China with 450 tonnes, Gold is cognate with similar words in many Germanic languages, deriving via Proto-Germanic *gulþą from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃-. The symbol Au is from the Latin, aurum, the Latin word for gold, the Proto-Indo-European ancestor of aurum was *h₂é-h₂us-o-, meaning glow. This word is derived from the root as *h₂éu̯sōs, the ancestor of the Latin word Aurora. This etymological relationship is presumably behind the frequent claim in scientific publications that aurum meant shining dawn, Gold is the most malleable of all metals, a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of 1 square meter, and an avoirdupois ounce into 300 square feet. Gold leaf can be thin enough to become semi-transparent
18.
Ivory
–
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks and teeth of animals, that can be used in art or manufacturing. It consists mainly of dentine ), one of the structures of teeth. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is the same and it has been valued since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, and dominoes. Elephant ivory is the most important source, but ivory from mammoth, walrus, hippopotamus, sperm whale, killer whale, narwhal, elk also have two ivory teeth, which are believed to be the remnants of tusks from their ancestors. The national and international trade in ivory of threatened species such as African and Asian elephants is illegal, the word ivory ultimately derives from the ancient Egyptian âb, âbu, through the Latin ebor- or ebur. Both the Greek and Roman civilizations practiced ivory carving to make large quantities of high value works of art, precious religious objects, Ivory was often used to form the white of the eyes of statues. There is some evidence of either whale or walrus ivory used by the ancient Irish, solinus, a Roman writer in the 3rd century claimed that the Celtic peoples in Ireland would decorate their sword-hilts with the teeth of beasts that swim in the sea. Adomnan of Iona wrote a story about St Columba giving a sword decorated with carved ivory as a gift that a penitent would bring to his master so he could redeem himself from slavery. The Syrian and North African elephant populations were reduced to extinction, the Chinese have long valued ivory for both art and utilitarian objects. Southeast Asian kingdoms included tusks of the Indian elephant in their annual tribute caravans to China, Chinese craftsmen carved ivory to make everything from images of deities to the pipe stems and end pieces of opium pipes. The Buddhist cultures of Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, Ivory was prized for containers due to its ability to keep an airtight seal. It was also carved into elaborate seals utilized by officials to sign documents. In Southeast Asian countries, where Muslim Malay peoples live, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, in the Philippines, ivory was also used to craft the faces and hands of Catholic icons and images of saints prevalent in the Santero culture. Tooth and tusk ivory can be carved into a vast variety of shapes, examples of modern carved ivory objects are okimono, netsukes, jewelry, flatware handles, furniture inlays, and piano keys. Additionally, warthog tusks, and teeth from sperm whales, orcas and hippos can also be scrimshawed or superficially carved, Ivory usage in the last thirty years has moved towards mass production of souvenirs and jewelry. In Japan, the increase in wealth sparked consumption of solid ivory hanko – name seals – which before this time had made of wood. Prior to the introduction of plastics, ivory had many ornamental and practical uses and it was formerly used to make cutlery handles, billiard balls, piano keys, Scottish bagpipes, buttons and a wide range of ornamental items. Ivory can be taken from dead animals – however, most ivory came from elephants that were killed for their tusks, for example, in 1930 to acquire 40 tons of ivory required the killing of approximately 700 elephants
19.
Strabo
–
Strabo was a Greek geographer, philosopher, and historian who lived in Asia Minor during the transitional period of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus, Strabos life was characterized by extensive travels. He journeyed to Egypt and Kush, as far west as coastal Tuscany and as far south as Ethiopia in addition to his travels in Asia Minor and the time he spent in Rome. Travel throughout the Mediterranean and Near East, especially for scholarly purposes, was popular during this era and was facilitated by the relative peace enjoyed throughout the reign of Augustus. He moved to Rome in 44 BC, and stayed there, studying and writing, in 29 BC, on his way to Corinth, he visited the island of Gyaros in the Aegean Sea. Around 25 BC, he sailed up the Nile until reaching Philae and it is not known precisely when Strabos Geography was written, though comments within the work itself place the finished version within the reign of Emperor Tiberius. Some place its first drafts around 7 BC, others around 17 or 18 AD, the latest passage to which a date can be assigned is his reference to the death in AD23 of Juba II, king of Maurousia, who is said to have died just recently. He probably worked on the Geography for many years and revised it steadily, on the presumption that recently means within a year, Strabo stopped writing that year or the next, when he died. The first of Strabos major works, Historical Sketches, written while he was in Rome, is completely lost. Strabo studied under several prominent teachers of various specialties throughout his life at different stops along his Mediterranean travels. His first chapter of education took place in Nysa under the master of rhetoric Aristodemus, Strabo was an admirer of Homers poetry, perhaps a consequence of his time spent in Nysa with Aristodemus. At around the age of 21, Strabo moved to Rome, where he studied philosophy with the Peripatetic Xenarchus, despite Xenarchuss Aristotelian leanings, Strabo later gives evidence to have formed his own Stoic inclinations. In Rome, he learned grammar under the rich and famous scholar Tyrannion of Amisus. Although Tyrannion was also a Peripatetic, he was more relevantly a respected authority on geography, the final noteworthy mentor to Strabo was Athenodorus Cananites, a philosopher who had spent his life since 44 BC in Rome forging relationships with the Roman elite. Athenodorus endowed to Strabo three important items, his philosophy, his knowledge, and his contacts, moreover, from his own first-hand experience, Athenodorus provided Strabo with information about regions of the empire which he would not otherwise have known. Strabo is most notable for his work Geographica, which presented a history of people. Although the Geographica was rarely utilized in its antiquity, a multitude of copies survived throughout the Byzantine Empire. It first appeared in Western Europe in Rome as a Latin translation issued around 1469, the first Greek edition was published in 1516 in Venice
20.
Motorway 5 (Greece)
–
The Greek Motorway 5 is a motorway in Greece, partially still under construction. Upon completion, the motorway will be the second major road connection in Motorway 1. It will also be part of the trans-balkanic Adriatic–Ionian motorway and the European routes E55, the motorways main section, commonly referred to as Ionia Odos, starts at Ioannina and it follows the western coastline of mainland Greece down to the Gulf of Corinth. At Rio, it crosses the gulf via the Rio–Antirrio bridge, as of 2016, it is yet unknown if the future Patras - Pyrgos motorway will be part of the A5 and its construction is to be auctioned. However, it is not part of the current project, however, several sections might be put into operation earlier, along with the toll stations of the road, as well. As of February 2017, the construction progress stood at 90%, the bridge was inaugurated on 7 August 2004, a week before the opening of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. With a length of 33 km, the Agrinio bypass was the first major segment of the northern A5 section to be completed, while construction had begun in 2002/03, it was fully put into service in May 2009. Starting from Aitoliko, the road bypasses the largest city and economical center of the Aetolia-Acarnania prefecture, Agrinio and it largely replaced the 12 km longer National Road 5. In July 28,2015, a 4,5 km segment before the Aitoliko interchange became operational and this segment features the Ioannina-Antirrio carriageway, with the Antirrio-Ioannina carriageway being under construction where the old road was. The latter was moved eastwards in order to make room for the construction of the motorway, the 17 km Arta bypass begins from Sellades near Arta and ends at Filippiada, near the border with the prefecture of Preveza. As of December 2016, the 25 km Kouvaras interchange - Amfilochia interchange segment has been completed and it should have been opened by July 2016, but because of landslides just before the Amfilochia interchange, it was opened in 27 December 2016 by the minister Christos Spirtzis. It was also rumored that the 33 km long Gavrolimni-Kefalovryso segment would have opened as well but with several works remaining. The latter is one of the most difficult motorway segments under construction in Greece because of the mountainous terrain along its route. The most important tunnel of the motorway, the Klokova Tunnel, has mostly been excavated, the rest of the motorway will be completed by March 2017.15 billion in the project. The rest of the total €1.4 billion funds will be provided by the European Union, construction, undertaken by the Euroionia Joint Venture finally started in 2008 with a completion date of 72 months. The bill was ratified on March 28,2007, in 2010, it was expected that the full length of the motorway would be completed by the end of 2013. However, the economical problems led to the construction being stopped in 2011. Currently, the parts are expected to be finished by March 2017
21.
Agrinion
–
Agrinio is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 106,053 inhabitants. It is the center of Aetolia-Acarnania, although its capital is the town of Mesolonghi. The settlement dates back to ancient times, ancient Agrinion was 3 kilometres northeast of the present city, some walls and foundations of which have been excavated. In medieval times and until 1836, the city was known as Vrachori, the majority of the local population was occupied for an important period of time in the tobacco industry, from the last decades of 19th till the end of the 20th century. Big tobacco companies were founded in the city, including the famous Papastratos, alongside Panagopoulos, Agrinion is also agriculturally known for its production of Agrinion olives. According to mythology, it was built by king Agrios, son of Portheus, the town, built near the banks of river Achelous, was claimed by both states during ancient times. Agrinio became member of the Aetolian League and it was destroyed by Cassander in 314 BC during the Leagues wars against the Kingdom of Macedonia. The city reappears during the Ottoman period with the name Vrachori, in 1585 it was deserted during the revolt of Theodoros Migas. At the beginning of the 18th century it became the centre of Aetolia-Acarnania. Vrachori participated in the Greek Revolution and was liberated on June 11,1821. In August 1822, while Reşid Mehmed Pashas troops were marching towards Vrachori, its citizens decided to burn and evacuate their city, the deserted city was recaptured by the Turks. The city was included in the borders of the newborn Greek state permanently in 1832 with the treaty of Kalendar Kiosk and was renamed after its ancient name. In the years following the liberation, Agrinio went through an important growth and development, especially at the end of the 19th century and the dawn of the 20th. After the Greco-Turkish War and the Asia Minor Catastrophe, many refugees from Asia Minor arrived in the city, at the same period there was an important internal immigration to Agrinio from the whole Aetolia-Acarnania region, along with immigration from the areas of Epirus and Evrytania. At the same time revealed the ancient city of Agrinion. Growth and prosperity returned after World War II and the Greek Civil War and this growth was boosted by the building of two major hydroelectric dam installations at Kremasta and Kastraki, on the north of the city. The tobacco industry and olive tree cultivation became the main sources of the city. The climate of Agrinio is mediterranean with a big amount of rainfall during the winter and high temperatures in the summer
22.
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
–
The National Archaeological Museum in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world, the first national archaeological museum in Greece was established by prime minister of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias in Aigina in 1829. The initial name for the museum was The Central Museum and it was renamed to its current name in 1881 by Prime Minister of Greece Charilaos Trikoupis. In 1887 the important archaeologist Valerios Stais became the museums curator, during World War II the museum was closed and the antiquities were sealed in special protective boxes and buried, in order to avoid their destruction and looting. In 1945 exhibits were displayed under the direction of Christos Karouzos. The south wing of the houses the Epigraphic Museum with the richest collection of inscriptions in the world. The inscriptions museum expanded between 1953 and 1960 with the designs of Patroklos Karantinos. The museum has an imposing neo-classical design which was popular in Europe at the time and is in accordance with the classical style artifacts that it houses. The initial plan was conceived by the architect Ludwig Lange and it was modified by Panagis Kalkos who was the main architect, Armodios Vlachos. At the front of the museum there is a large neo-classic design garden which is decorated with sculptures, the building has undergone many expansions. These expansions were necessary to accommodate the growing collection of artifacts. The most recent refurbishment of the museum more than 1.5 years to complete. The Minoan frescoes rooms opened to the public in 2005, on May 2008 the Culture Minister Mihalis Liapis inaugurated the much anticipated collection of Egyptian antiquities and the collection of Eleni and Antonis Stathatos. Today, there is a discussion regarding the need to further expand the museum to adjacent areas. A new plan has made for a subterranean expansion at the front of the museum. The museums collections are organised in sections, The prehistoric collection displays objects from the Neolithic era, Early and Mid-Bronze age, objects classified as Cycladic and Mycenaean art. There are ceramic finds from various important Neolithic sites such as Dimini and Sesclo from middle Helladic ceramics from Boeotia, Attica, some objects from Heinrich Schliemann excavations in Troy are also on display. Cycladic collection features the famous marble figurines from the Aegean islands of Delos and Keros including the Lutist, of great interest are the two golden cups from Vafeio showing a scene of the capture of a bull
23.
Oeneus
–
Oeneus was also the father of Tydeus by Periboea, daughter of Hipponous, though Tydeus was exiled from Aetolia and appears in myths concerning Argos. He introduced winemaking to Aetolia, which he learned from Dionysus and he sent Meleager out to find heroes to kill the Calydonian Boar, which was ravaging Calydon because Oeneus had forgotten to honor Artemis at the harvest ceremonies. So began the Calydonian Hunt during which the boar was killed by Atalanta, Meleager, in rage, killed them, which resulted in a war between the Calydonians and the Curetes, in which all of Oeneus sons, including Meleager, fell. The sons of Oeneus brother Agrius deposed him but Diomedes, his grandson through Tydeus, Oeneus either died of natural causes or was killed by the surviving sons of Agrius who laid an ambush against him while Diomedes was transporting him to Peloponessus. He was buried in Argos by Diomedes, and a town was named Oenoe after him, 1-6 Hyginus, Fabulae,129,172,175 Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses,2 Pausanias, Description of Greece,2. 1 Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4
24.
Meleagros
–
In Greek mythology, Meleager was a hero venerated in his temenos at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the tradition that was reworked by Homer. Meleager was the son of Althaea and the vintner Oeneus and, according to some accounts father of Parthenopeus, when Meleager was born, the Moirai predicted he would only live until a piece of wood, burning in the family hearth, was consumed by fire. Overhearing them, Althaea immediately doused and hid it, in addition to the heroes he required, he chose Atalanta, a fierce huntress, whom he loved. According to one account of the hunt, when Hylaeus and Rhaecus, then Atalanta wounded the boar and Meleager killed it. He awarded her the hide since she had drawn the first drop of blood, Meleagers brother Toxeus, the archer, and Plexippus grew enraged that the prize was given to a woman. Meleager killed them in the following argument and he also killed Iphicles and Eurypylus for insulting Atalanta. The women who mourned his death were turned into guineafowl, Meleager is also mentioned as one of the Argonauts. In Hades, his is the shade that does not flee Heracles. In Bacchylides Ode V, Meleager is still in his armor, so formidable, in Bacchylides account. Meleager married Cleopatra, daughter of Idas and Marpessa and they had a daughter, Polydora, who became the bride of Protesilaus, who left her bed on their wedding-night to join the expedition to Troy. Among the Romans, the heroes assembled by Meleager for the Calydonian hunt provided a theme of multiple nudes in striking action, Meleagers story has similarities with the Scandinavian Norna-Gests þáttr. In Rick Riordans book series, The Heroes of Olympus, Frank Zhang and this is most likely inspired by Meleagers curse. Meleager in art Bacchylides Fr 5.93 Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica I, media related to Meleager at Wikimedia Commons
25.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Calydon". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "