1.
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
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
2.
Modern regions of Greece
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The administrative regions of Greece are the countrys thirteen first-level administrative entities, each comprising several second-level units, originally prefectures and, since 2011, regional units. The current regions were established in July 1986, by decision of then-Interior Minister Menios Koutsogiorgas as a second-level administrative entities, as part of a decentralization process inspired by then-Interior Minister Alekos Papadopoulos, they were accorded more powers in the 1997 Kapodistrias reform of local and regional government. They were transformed into separate entities by the 2010 Kallikratis Plan. In the 2011 changes, the general secretary was replaced with a popularly elected regional governor. Many powers of the prefectures, which were abolished or reformed into regional units, were transferred to the region level. The regional organs of the government were in turn replaced by seven decentralized administrations. Bordering the region of Central Macedonia there is one region, Mount Athos. It is located on the easternmost of the three large peninsulas jutting into the Aegean from the Chalcidice Peninsula, ISO 3166-2, GR Administrative divisions of Greece
Modern regions of Greece
–
Administrative regions of Greece Διοικητικές περιφέρειες της Ελλάδας (
Greek)
3.
South Aegean
–
The South Aegean is one of the thirteen regions of Greece. It consists of the Cyclades and Dodecanese island groups in the central, the South Aegean region was established in the 1987 administrative reform. With the 2010 Kallikratis plan, its powers and authority were redefined and extended, along with the Northern Aegean region, it is supervised by the Decentralized Administration of the Aegean based at Piraeus. The capital of the region is situated in Ermoupoli on the island of Syros, until the Kallikratis reform, the region consisted of the two prefectures of the Cyclades and the Dodecanese. Andros Ermoúpoli Ialysós Kallithéa Kálymnos Kárpathos Kos Léros Milos Mýkonos Náxos Páros Petaloúdes Ródos Santoríni or Thíra Official website
South Aegean
–
South Aegean Περιφέρεια Νοτίου Αιγαίου
4.
Mykonos
–
Mykonos is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island spans an area of 85.5 square kilometres and rises to an elevation of 341 metres at its highest point, there are 10,134 inhabitants, most of whom live in the largest town, Mykonos, which lies on the west coast. The town is known as Chora. Mykonos nickname is The island of the winds, tourism is a major industry and Mykonos is well known for its vibrant nightlife and for being a gay-friendly destination with many establishments catering for the LGBT community. Herodotus mentions Carians as the inhabitants of the island. Ionians from Athens seem to have followed next in the early 11th century BC, there were many people living on the neighbouring island of Delos, just 2 km away, which meant that Mykonos became an important place for supplies and transit. It was, however, during ancient times a rather poor island with limited agricultural resources and its inhabitants were polytheists and worshipped many gods. Mykonos came under the control of the Romans during the reign of the Roman Empire, in 1204, with the fall of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade, Mykonos was occupied by Andrea Ghisi, a relative of the Doge of Venice. The island was ravaged by the Catalans at the end of the 13th century, in 1537, while the Venetians still reigned, Mykonos was attacked by Hayreddin Barbarossa, the infamous admiral of Suleiman the Magnificent, and an Ottoman fleet established itself on the island. The Ottomans, under the leadership of Kapudan Pasha, imposed a system of self-governance comprising a governor, when the castle of Tinos fell to the Ottomans in 1718, the last of the Venetians withdrew from the region. Up until the end of the 18th century, Mykonos prospered as a centre, attracting many immigrants from nearby islands. In June 1794 the Battle of Mykonos was fought between British and French ships in the main harbour. The Greek Revolution against the Ottoman Empire broke out in 1821 and Mykonos played an important role, led by the national heroine, Mavrogenous, a well-educated aristocrat guided by the ideas of the Enlightenment, sacrificed her familys fortune for the Greek cause. Greece became an independent state in 1830, a statue of her sits in the middle of Mando Mavrogenous square in the main town. Many Mykonians left the island to work in mainland Greece and many foreign countries. Tourism soon came to dominate the economy, owing a lot to the important excavations carried out by the French School of Archaeology. In the 1930s many famous artists, politicians and wealthy Europeans began spending their vacations on the island, temporarily suspended during the Second World War, tourists once again rushed to Mykonos luxurious shores in the 1950s and have not stopped since. In Greek mythology, the Mykonos was named after its first ruler, Mykons, the son or grandson of the god Apollo and a local hero
Mykonos
–
Mykonos town
Mykonos
–
Mykonos town (Chora)
Mykonos
–
Portrait of
Manto Mavrogenous at the
Aegean Maritime Museum in Mykonos
Mykonos
–
Panoramic view of Chora port
5.
World Heritage Site
–
A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
World Heritage Site
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Site #252:
Taj Mahal, an example of cultural heritage site
World Heritage Site
–
Logo of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
World Heritage Committee
World Heritage Site
–
Site #156:
Serengeti National Park, an example of natural heritage site
World Heritage Site
–
Site #274:
Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, an example of mixed heritage site
6.
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
Greek language
–
Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
–
Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
7.
Cyclades
–
The Cyclades are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the island of Delos. The Cyclades is where the native Greek breed of cat originated, the largest island of the Cyclades is Naxos. Interest lagged, then picked up in the century, as collectors competed for the modern-looking figures that seemed so similar to sculpture by Jean Arp or Constantin Brâncuși. Sites were looted and a trade in forgeries arose. The context for many of these Cycladic figurines has been mostly destroyed, another intriguing and mysterious object is that of the Cycladic frying pans. More accurate archaeology has revealed the outlines of a farming and seafaring culture that had immigrated from Anatolia c.5000 BCE. Early Cycladic culture evolved in three phases, between c.3300 –2000 BCE, when it was swamped in the rising influence of Minoan Crete. The culture of mainland Greece contemporary with Cycladic culture is known as the Helladic period, in recent decades the Cyclades have become popular with European and other tourists, and as a result there have been problems with erosion, pollution, and water shortages. There are also many islands including Donousa, Eschati, Gyaros, Irakleia, Koufonisia, Makronisos. The name Cyclades refers to the forming a circle around the sacred island of Delos. Most of the islands are uninhabited. Ermoupoli on Syros is the town and administrative center of the former prefecture. The islands are peaks of a mountainous terrain, with the exception of two volcanic islands, Milos and Santorini. The climate is dry and mild, but with the exception of Naxos the soil is not very fertile, agricultural produce includes wine, fruit, wheat, olive oil. Cooler temperatures are in higher elevations and mainly do not receive wintry weather, the Cyclades are bounded to the south by the Sea of Crete. The Cyclades Prefecture was one of the prefectures of Greece and these have been reorganised at the 2011 Kallikratis reform as well
Cyclades
–
Harp player, example of Cycladic art, at the National Archeological Museum, Athens
Cyclades
–
Location of Cyclades in Greece
Cyclades
–
Ancient theatre,
Delos
Cyclades
–
Hermoupolis, capital of the Cyclades.
Syros island
8.
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
Greece
–
Fresco displaying the Minoan ritual of "bull leaping", found in
Knossos,
Crete.
Greece
–
Flag
Greece
–
The
Lion Gate,
Mycenae
Greece
–
The
Parthenon on the
Acropolis of Athens is one of the best known symbols of
classical Greece.
9.
Mediterranean
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The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
Mediterranean
–
Circa the 6th century BCE: In ancient times the Mediterranean provided sources of food and local commerce and direct routes for trade and communications, colonisation, and war. Numerous cities and colonies were situated at its shores or within the basin: Greek (red) and Phoenician (yellow)
colonies in antiquity; and other cities (grey), including the provincial
"Rom".
Mediterranean
–
Map of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean
–
With its highly indented coastline and large number of islands, Greece has the longest Mediterranean coastline.
Mediterranean
–
The
Battle of Lepanto, 1571, ended in victory for the European
Holy League against the Ottoman Turks.
10.
French School at Athens
–
The French School at Athens is one of the seventeen foreign archaeological institutes operating in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1846, the EfA is the oldest foreign institute in Athens and its early foundation, still a source of considerable prestige, is to be seen culturally connected with French philhellenism and politically with the French East Mediterranean strategy of the time. It operates a programme of research in all fields of Greek studies. The EfA conducts an extensive programme of scholarships and bursaries and its library holds 80,000 volumes,550,000 photographs and 35,000 maps. Unlike most of the other institutes, the EfA has a status more akin to a university graduate school than a simple research institute. Its formal status is referred to as an Établissement public à caractère scientifique, some of its sought-after scholarships are renewable for periods up to four years, providing students with the opportunity to conduct most or all of their PhD research in Athens. Radet, Lhistoire et lœuvre de lÉcole française dAthènes, Paris,1901, cent cinquante ans de fouilles de lÉcole française dAthènes, Fayard,1996. Foreign Archaeological Schools in Greece -160 Years, Athens, Hellenic Ministry of Culture,2006, EfA Website EfA Library Catalogue Complete list of French members and former members of the EfA
French School at Athens
–
The facade of the EfA's main building.
French School at Athens
–
The French School has been active at the site of
Delphi since the 19th century.
11.
Archaeological Museum of Delos
–
The Archaeological Museum of Delos is a museum on the island of Delos, near Mykonos in the South Aegean, Greece. It is noted for its collection of statues unearthed in the surrounding area of the ancient site. Although the museum has a collection, it does not contain all of the items found in Delos. In 1872, the French School at Athens began excavating on Delos, in a project on a massive scale, as the collection accumulated, the museum was built on-site in 1904 by the Archaeological Society of Athens to accommodate the archaeological discoveries. Its original five rooms went underwent expansion in 1931 and then again in 1972 to nine rooms, the museums notable collection of funerary statues and grave stelae ranging from the 7th to the 1st century BC form the bulk of the collection. Its ancient pottery collection dates from the 25th to the 1st century BC, while the clay figurines, jewellery, six rooms contain the statues and reliefs found in Delos, two rooms contain the pottery and another room contains items used in everyday life in ancient Greece. Of major note is a plaque which dates to 1400-1200 BC that depicts a Mycenaean soldier clad with a helmet made from wild boar teeth with defensive shield. It was discovered at Artemision along with gold, ivory. The marble statue of Apollo after a Praxitelean model depicts the god inclining on a tree and striding on a bundle of Gallic shields and is believed to date back to the 2nd century BC. A bearded bronze mask of Dionysos that depicts the god wearing a crown, the inscription engraved on one side says, Euthycartides the Naxian made me and dedicated me. There is a set of lion statues which are originals. There is a Corinthian alabastron, which is a small, perfumed oil container with an depiction of Potnia Theron. It was discovered in the Heraion along with similar Corinthian vases dating to the end of the 7th century BC, the Delos Archaeological Museum also has an archaic statue of a woman, found in the Sanctuary of Apollo dated to 580 BC. The statue represents a woman standing, dressed in a tight peplos decorated in front with an incised vertical double meander. There is also a valuable fresco taken from the wall of a house in the Skardana Quarter, depicting Heracles. The inscription which says Kalamodrya is believed to refer to the prominent boxer of the 1st century BC
Archaeological Museum of Delos
–
Delos Theatre. The World Heritage site surrounding the museum which supplied the museum with its collection.
Archaeological Museum of Delos
–
Exterior view of the museum.
Archaeological Museum of Delos
–
Silenus, the tutor of
Dionysos
Archaeological Museum of Delos
–
Herakles fighting the three-bodied Geryon. Attic lekythos, end of 6th century BC
12.
National Archaeological Museum of 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
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
–
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
–
The
Antikythera Ephebe
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
–
Detail of the building.
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
–
The
Mask of Agamemnon, one of the best known pieces shown in the museum.
13.
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
Sanctuary
–
Ajax violates
Cassandra 's sanctuary at the
Palladium: tondo of an Attic cup, ca. 440–430 BCE
Sanctuary
–
The sanctuary at
St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
Sanctuary
–
The back of the church sanctuary at
Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew.
Sanctuary
–
The Church as a
Place of Refuge
14.
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
Greek mythology
–
Bust of
Zeus,
Otricoli (Sala Rotonda,
Museo Pio-Clementino,
Vatican).
Greek mythology
–
Greek Mythology
Greek mythology
–
Prometheus (1868 by
Gustave Moreau). The myth of Prometheus first was attested by
Hesiod and then constituted the basis for a tragic trilogy of plays, possibly by Aeschylus, consisting of
Prometheus Bound,
Prometheus Unbound, and
Prometheus Pyrphoros.
Greek mythology
–
The Roman poet
Virgil, here depicted in the fifth-century manuscript, the
Vergilius Romanus, preserved details of Greek mythology in many of his writings.
15.
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
Apollo
–
Apollo Belvedere, ca. 120–140 CE
Apollo
–
Partial view of the temple of Apollo Epikurios (healer) at
Bassae in southern Greece
Apollo
–
Temple of the Delians at
Delos, dedicated to Apollo (478 BC). 19th-century pen-and-wash restoration.
Apollo
–
Temple of Apollo Smintheus at
Çanakkale, Turkey
16.
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
Artemis
–
The
Diana of Versailles, a
Roman copy of a
Greek sculpture by
Leochares (
Louvre Museum)
Artemis
–
Didrachm from
Ephesus,
Ionia, representing the goddess Artemis
Artemis
–
Silver tetradrachm of the
Indo-Greek king
Artemidoros (whose name means "gift of Artemis"), c. 85 BCE, featuring Artemis with a drawn bow and a quiver on her back on the reverse of the coin
Artemis
–
Artemis (on the left, with a deer) and Apollo (on the right, holding a lyre) from
Myrina, dating to approximately 25 BC
17.
Horizon
–
At many locations, the true horizon is obscured by trees, buildings, mountains, etc. and the resulting intersection of earth and sky is called the visible horizon. When looking at a sea from a shore, the part of the sea closest to the horizon is called the offing. The word horizon derives from the Greek ὁρίζων κύκλος horizōn kyklos, separating circle, from the verb ὁρίζω horizō, to divide, to separate, a pilot can also retain his or her spatial orientation by referring to the horizon. For observers near sea level the difference between this geometrical horizon and the horizon is imperceptible to the naked eye. In astronomy the horizon is the plane through the eyes of the observer. It is the plane of the horizontal coordinate system, the locus of points that have an altitude of zero degrees. While similar in ways to the horizon, in this context a horizon may be considered to be a plane in space. One typically sees further along the Earths curved surface than a simple geometric calculation allows for because of refraction error, the reverse happens if the ground is hotter than the air above it, as often happens in deserts, producing mirages. Examples, For an observer standing on the ground with h =1.70 metres, for an observer standing on the ground with h =2 metres, the horizon is at a distance of 5 kilometres. For an observer standing on a hill or tower of 100 metres in height, for an observer standing at the top of the Burj Khalifa, the horizon is at a distance of 103 kilometres. For an observer atop Mount Everest, the horizon is at a distance of 336 kilometres, with d in miles and h in feet, d ≈1.5 h ≈1.22 h. Examples, assuming no refraction, For an observer on the ground with eye level at h =5 ft 7 in, for an observer standing on a hill or tower 100 feet in height, the horizon is at a distance of 12.2 miles. For an observer on the summit of Aconcagua, the horizon to the west is at a distance of 184 miles. The secant-tangent theorem states that O C2 = O A × O B, the equation can also be derived using the Pythagorean theorem. Since the line of sight is a tangent to the Earth and this sets up a right triangle, with the sum of the radius and the height as the hypotenuse. Another relationship involves the distance s along the surface of the Earth to the horizon, with γ in radians, s = R γ. Solving for s gives s = R cos −1 R R + h, the distances d and s are nearly the same when the height of the object is negligible compared to the radius. If the observer is close to the surface of the earth, then it is valid to disregard h in the term, and the formula becomes d =2 R h
Horizon
–
A water horizon, in northern
Wisconsin, U.S.
Horizon
–
View of Earth's horizon as seen from
Space Shuttle Endeavour, 2002
Horizon
–
A view across a 20-km-wide bay in the coast of
Spain. Note the
curvature of the Earth hiding the base of the buildings on the far shore.
Horizon
–
The curvature of the horizon is easily seen in this photograph, taken from a space shuttle at an altitude of 226 km in 2008.
18.
Cone (geometry)
–
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of segments, half-lines, or lines connecting a common point. If the enclosed points are included in the base, the cone is a solid object, otherwise it is a two-dimensional object in three-dimensional space. In the case of an object, the boundary formed by these lines or partial lines is called the lateral surface, if the lateral surface is unbounded. In the case of line segments, the cone does not extend beyond the base, while in the case of half-lines, in the case of lines, the cone extends infinitely far in both directions from the apex, in which case it is sometimes called a double cone. Either half of a cone on one side of the apex is called a nappe. The axis of a cone is the line, passing through the apex. If the base is right circular the intersection of a plane with this surface is a conic section, in general, however, the base may be any shape and the apex may lie anywhere. Contrasted with right cones are oblique cones, in which the axis passes through the centre of the base non-perpendicularly, a cone with a polygonal base is called a pyramid. Depending on the context, cone may also mean specifically a convex cone or a projective cone, cones can also be generalized to higher dimensions. The perimeter of the base of a cone is called the directrix, the base radius of a circular cone is the radius of its base, often this is simply called the radius of the cone. The aperture of a circular cone is the maximum angle between two generatrix lines, if the generatrix makes an angle θ to the axis, the aperture is 2θ. A cone with a region including its apex cut off by a plane is called a cone, if the truncation plane is parallel to the cones base. An elliptical cone is a cone with an elliptical base, a generalized cone is the surface created by the set of lines passing through a vertex and every point on a boundary. The slant height of a circular cone is the distance from any point on the circle to the apex of the cone. It is given by r 2 + h 2, where r is the radius of the cirf the cone and this application is primarily useful in determining the slant height of a cone when given other information regarding the radius or height. The volume V of any conic solid is one third of the product of the area of the base A B and the height h V =13 A B h. In modern mathematics, this formula can easily be computed using calculus – it is, up to scaling, the integral ∫ x 2 d x =13 x 3
Cone (geometry)
–
In
projective geometry, a
cylinder is simply a cone whose apex is at infinity, which corresponds visually to a cylinder in perspective appearing to be a cone towards the sky.
Cone (geometry)
–
A right circular cone and an oblique circular cone
19.
Sacred
–
Objects are often considered sacred if used for spiritual purposes, such as the worship or service of gods. The property is often ascribed to objects, or places, the word sacred descends from the Latin wikt, sacer, that is consecrated, or dedicated to the gods or anything in their power, and to sacerdos and sanctum, set apart. Although there are similarities between the sacred and holy and they are sometimes used interchangeably, there are subtle differences. Holiness is generally the term used in relation to persons and relationship, while sacredness is used in relation to objects, places, thus a saint may be considered as holy, but he is not viewed as sacred. However, there are things that are holy and sacred such as the holy bible. The Scottish hale is the most complete form of this Old English root. The word holy in its modern form appears in Wycliffes Bible of 1382, in non-specialist contexts, the term holy is used in a more general way, to refer to someone or something that is associated with a divine power, such as water used for baptism. While both words denote something or someone set apart to the worship of God and therefore worthy of respect and in some cases veneration, Holiness originates in God and is communicated to things, places, times, and persons engaged in His Service. Thus holiness or sanctity is the outcome of sanctification, that Divine act by which God freely justifies a person, hierology is the study of sacred literature or lore. Mircea Eliade outlines that religion should not be interpreted only as belief in deities and he analyses the dialectic of the sacred. The sacred is presented in relation to the profane, the relation between the sacred and the profane is not of opposition, but of complementarity, as the profane is viewed as a hierophany. In Durkheims theory, the sacred represented the interests of the group, especially unity, the profane, on the other hand, involved mundane individual concerns. Durkheim explicitly stated that the dichotomy sacred/profane was not equivalent to good/evil, the sacred could be good or evil, and the profane could be either as well. In Theravada Buddhism one finds the designation of noble person or ariyapuggala, the Buddha described four grades of such person depending on their level of purity. This purity is measured by which of the ten fetters and klesha have been purified and integrated from the mindstream and these persons are called Sotāpanna, Sakadagami, Anāgāmi and Arahant. Catholicism has inherited much of the Jewish vision of the world in terms of holiness, the calendar gives shape to Catholic practice, which tends to focus on the Eucharist, in which the Real Presence of Christ is manifested. Holy days, celebrating events of the life of Christ and the lives of Catholic saints officially recognized as holy, are celebrated throughout the year, in extension of this focus on the Sacrament as holy, many objects in Catholicism are also considered holy. They are called sacramentals and are blessed by a priest
Sacred
–
Vatican Persian Cock – A 1919 print of a fabric square of a Persian
cock or a Persian bird design belonging to the Vatican (
Holy See) in Rome dating to 600 CE. Notice the
halo denoting the status of being holy or sacred.
20.
Goddess
–
A goddess is a female deity in polytheistic religions. Goddesses most often have characteristics that are apotheosize in their pure form. However, in some cases goddesses may embody neutral forms personifying both male and female characteristics, or they may even exhibit traits that are associated with the male gender. In some faiths, a female figure holds a central place in religious prayer. For example, Shaktism, the worship of the force that animates the world, is one of the three major sects of Hinduism. Polytheist religions, including Polytheistic reconstructionists, honour multiple goddesses and gods and these deities may be part of a pantheon, or different regions may have tutelary deities. The reconstructionists, like their ancient forebears, honour the deities particular to their country of origin, the noun goddess is a secondary formation, combining the Germanic god with the Latinate -ess suffix. It first appeared in Middle English, from about 1350, the English word follows the linguistic precedent of a number of languages—including Egyptian, Classical Greek, and several Semitic languages—that add a feminine ending to the languages word for god. Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth, a 1988 interview with Bill Moyers, links the image of the Earth or Mother Goddess to symbols of fertility and reproduction. For example, Campbell states that, There have been systems of religion where the mother is the prime parent, and in Egypt you have the Mother Heavens, the Goddess Nut, who is represented as the whole heavenly sphere. Joseph Campbell, Well that was associated primarily with agriculture and the agricultural societies and it has to do with the earth. The human woman gives birth just as the earth gives birth to the plants. so woman magic, and the personification of the energy that gives birth to forms and nourishes forms is properly female. It is in the world of ancient Mesopotamia, the Egyptian Nile. Campbell also argues that the image of the Virgin Mary was derived from the image of Isis and her child Horus, other Mesopotamian goddesses include Ninhursag, Ninlil, Antu, Gaga Goddesses of the Canaanite religion, Baalat Gebal, Astarte, Anat. Cybele, Her Hittite name was Kubaba, but her name changed to Cybele in Phrygian and Roman culture and her effect can be also seen on Artemis as the Lady of Ephesus. Hebat, Mother Goddess of the Hittite pantheon and wife of the sky god. She was the origin of the Hurrian cult, arinniti, Hittite Goddess of the sun. She became patron of the Hittite Empire and monarchy, leto, A mother Goddess figure in Lykia
Goddess
–
Aphrodite is the Ancient Greek goddess of beauty and love.
Goddess
–
The head of an
Egyptian goddess. The gender is suggested by the lack of a beard, and the simple hairstyle points to the divine status of the subject.
Goddess
–
A statue of the Egyptian war goddess
Neith wearing the
Deshret crown of northern (lower) Egypt, which bears the
cobra of
Wadjet.
Goddess
–
Statue of
Ceres, the
Roman goddess of
agriculture
21.
Cynthus
–
Mount Cynthus is located on the isle of Delos, part of the Greek Cyclades. In Greek mythology, Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis on this island, Artemis is thus also referred to as Cynthia. As the centre of the circular Aegaean islands, Mount Kynthos offers superb views of the innermost islands, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Syros, in modern times, this island is a major archaeological site and a tourist spot
Cynthus
–
Mount Cynthus in
Delos
22.
Zeus
–
Zeus /ˈzjuːs/ is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who ruled as king of the gods of Mount Olympus. His name is cognate with the first element of his Roman equivalent Jupiter and his mythologies and powers are similar, though not identical, to those of the Indo-European deities such as Indra, Jupiter, Perun, Thor, and Odin. Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea, the youngest of his siblings to be born, in most traditions, he is married to Hera, by whom he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Hebe, and Hephaestus. At the oracle of Dodona, his consort was said to be Dione, Zeus was also infamous for his erotic escapades. These resulted in many godly and heroic offspring, including Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen of Troy, Minos, and the Muses. He was equated with many foreign weather gods, permitting Pausanias to observe That Zeus is king in heaven is a common to all men. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak, in addition to his Indo-European inheritance, the classical cloud-gatherer also derives certain iconographic traits from the cultures of the Ancient Near East, such as the scepter. Zeus is frequently depicted by Greek artists in one of two poses, standing, striding forward with a thunderbolt leveled in his right hand. The gods name in the nominative is Ζεύς Zeús and it is inflected as follows, vocative, Ζεῦ Zeû, accusative, Δία Día, genitive, Διός Diós, dative, Διί Dií. Diogenes Laertius quotes Pherecydes of Syros as spelling the name, Ζάς, Zeus is the Greek continuation of *Di̯ēus, the name of the Proto-Indo-European god of the daytime sky, also called *Dyeus ph2tēr. The god is known under this name in the Rigveda, Latin, Zeus is the only deity in the Olympic pantheon whose name has such a transparent Indo-European etymology. The earliest attested forms of the name are the Mycenaean Greek
Zeus
–
The Jupiter de Smyrne, discovered in
Smyrna in 1680
Zeus
–
The Chariot of Zeus, from an 1879 Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church.
Zeus
–
Zeus, at the Getty Villa, A.D. 1 - 100 by unknown.
Zeus
–
"
Cave of Zeus ",
Mount Ida (Crete).
23.
Leto
–
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
Leto
–
The Rape of Leto by
Tityos c. 515 BC. From
Vulci. Leto is third from left.
Leto
–
Latona and the Lycian Peasants, ca. 1605, by
Jan Brueghel the Elder.
24.
Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann
–
Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann was a German landscape painter and the most famous member of the Rottmann family of painters. Rottmann belonged to the circle of artists around the Ludwig I of Bavaria and he is best known for mythical and heroising landscapes. The landscape painter Karl Lindemann-Frommel belonged to his school, Rottmann was born in Handschuhsheim on 11 January 1797. There he received his first drawing lessons from his father, Friedrich Rottmann and he formed himself chiefly through the study of nature and of great masterworks. In his first artistic period, he painted atmospheric phenomena, after gaining prominence with Heidelberg at Sunset, and Castle Eltz, he settled in Munich in 1822 and devoted himself to Bavarian scenery. Here his second period began, and in 1824 he married Friedericke, the daughter of his uncle, Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell, in Italy, Rottmann made sketches for the 28 Italian landscapes in fresco which he was commissioned to paint in the arcades of the Hofgarten at Munich. The frescos unfortunately deteriorated under climatic influences, the cartoons for them are in the Darmstadt Gallery. In 1834 Rottmann traveled to Greece to prepare for a commission from Ludwig for a second cycle, at first also intended for the Hofgarten arcade, the 23 great landscapes were eventually installed in the newly built Neue Pinakothek where they were given their own hall. Carl Rottmann died on 7 July 1850 in Munich, aged 53 of undisclosed causes and he is buried in the Alter Südfriedhof in Munich. Frescoes with heroising landscapes in the arcade of the Munich Hofgarten,23 Greek landscapes in the ancient technique of encaustic. Thurston, H. T. Colby, F. M. eds and this work in turn cites, Pecht, Deutsche Künstler, ii. Regnet, in Dohme, Kunst und Künstler, iv
Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann
–
Inntal bei Neubeuern, 1823.
25.
Stoivadeion
–
The Stoibadeion is a temple to Dionysos located on the Greek island of Delos. The Stoibadeion contains a rectangular platform containing a statue of Dionysos which was flanked by two actors impersonating Paposilenoi and these actors are now in the Delos Museum for protection. Two pillars, one on side of the platform, each support a huge phallus. The southern pillar is decorated with scenes of a Dionysiac circle. The southern pillar bears an inscription that it was erected ca.300 B. C. by a Delian named Carystios in celebration of a theatrical performance he sponsored. Tufts University, pictures of the pillar erected by Karystios
Stoivadeion
–
Southern Pillar - Stoivadeion - Temple of Dionysus -
Delos.
26.
Huts
–
A hut is a primitive dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. A hut is a shape of a lower quality than a house, huts exist in practically all nomadic cultures. Some huts are transportable and can stand most conditions of weather, the designs in tropical and sub-tropical areas favour high airflow configurations built from non-conducting materials, which allow heat dissipation. The term house or home is considered by some to be more appropriate, in the Western world the word hut is often used for a wooden shed. The term has also adopted by climbers and backpackers to refer to a more solid. These vary from simple bothies – which are more than very basic shelters – to mountain huts that are far more luxurious. Apparently first in English as a military word, old Saxon hutta, Danish hytte, Swedish hytta, Frisian and Middle Dutch hutte, Dutch hut are from High German. Huts are used by shepherds when moving livestock between seasonal grazing areas such as mountainous and lowland pastures and they are also commonly used by backpackers and other travelers in rural areas. Some displaced populations of people use throughout the world during a diaspora. For example, temporary collectors in the agricultural workers at plantations in the Amazon jungle. Huts have been built for other than as a dwelling such as storage, workshops. Balok – A Siberian wilderness hut made of logs, usually communal, used by hunters, fishermen, some baloks are mobile and mounted on sleds. Bothy – Originally a one-room hut for men farm workers in the United Kingdom, burdei or bordei – a dugout or pit-house with a sod roof in Ukraine, Canada Cabana – an open shelter Chozo also spelled chozo – Spanish for hut, term also used in Mexico. Designed 1940 for barrack accommodation Lodge is a term for a hut or cabin such as a log cabin or cottage. Lodge is used to refer to a tipi, sweat lodge, and hunting, fishing, skiing, and safari lodge. Mitato – A small, dry stone hut in Greece Orri – A French dry stone, rondavel – Central and South Africa Sheiling – Originally a temporary shelter or hut for shepherds, now may be a stone building. Sod house – A pioneer house type on the American Plains where wood was scarce, construction often does not require specialized tools or knowledge. Hut is used to name commercial stores, companies, and concepts, the name implies a small, casual venue, often with a fun and friendly atmosphere
Huts
–
Drawings of petroglpyhs from the Tagar Culture, 1st millennium BC in
Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia.
Huts
–
Huts and a larger building in the form of burial urns at the museum at the
Baths of Diocletian in Rome, Italy. Image: Sailko
Huts
–
Chozo in
Extremadura, Spain.
Huts
–
Pine cone hut in the
Yatsugatake Mountains,
Japan
27.
Thucydides
–
Thucydides was an Athenian historian and general. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC and his text is still studied at both universities and military colleges worldwide. The Melian dialogue remains a work of international relations theory while Pericles Funeral Oration is widely studied in political theory, history. More generally, Thucydides showed an interest in developing an understanding of nature to explain behaviour in such crises as plague, massacres, as in that of the Melians. In spite of his stature as a historian, modern historians know relatively little about Thucydidess life, the most reliable information comes from his own History of the Peloponnesian War, which expounds his nationality, paternity and native locality. Thucydides informs us that he fought in the war, contracted the plague and was exiled by the democracy and he may have also been involved in quelling the Samian Revolt. Thucydides identifies himself as an Athenian, telling us that his fathers name was Olorus and he survived the Plague of Athens that killed Pericles and many other Athenians. He also records that he owned gold mines at Scapte Hyle, because of his influence in the Thracian region, Thucydides wrote, he was sent as a strategos to Thasos in 424 BC. During the winter of 424–423 BC, the Spartan general Brasidas attacked Amphipolis, eucles, the Athenian commander at Amphipolis, sent to Thucydides for help. Thus, when Thucydides arrived, Amphipolis was already under Spartan control, Amphipolis was of considerable strategic importance, and news of its fall caused great consternation in Athens. It was blamed on Thucydides, although he claimed that it was not his fault, using his status as an exile from Athens to travel freely among the Peloponnesian allies, he was able to view the war from the perspective of both sides. During his exile from Athens, Thucydides wrote his most famous work History of the Peloponnesian War, because he was in exile during this time, he was free to speak his mind. This is all that Thucydides wrote about his own life, but a few facts are available from reliable contemporary sources. Herodotus wrote that the name Olorus, Thucydidess fathers name, was connected with Thrace, Thucydides was probably connected through family to the Athenian statesman and general Miltiades, and his son Cimon, leaders of the old aristocracy supplanted by the Radical Democrats. Cimons maternal grandfathers name was also Olorus, making the connection exceedingly likely, another Thucydides lived before the historian and was also linked with Thrace, making a family connection between them very likely as well. Finally, Herodotus confirms the connection of Thucydidess family with the mines at Scapté Hýlē, in essence, he was a well-connected gentleman of considerable resources who, by then retired from the political and military spheres, decided to fund his own historical project. The remaining evidence for Thucydidess life comes from rather less reliable later ancient sources, pausanias goes on to say that Thucydides was murdered on his way back to Athens. Many doubt this account, seeing evidence to suggest he lived as late as 397 BC, Plutarch claims that his remains were returned to Athens and placed in Cimons family vault
Thucydides
–
Plaster cast bust of Thucydides (in the
Pushkin Museum). From a Roman copy (located at
Holkham Hall) of an early 4th Century BC Greek original.
Thucydides
–
The ruins of Amphipolis as envisaged by E. Cousinéry in 1831: the bridge over the Strymon, the city fortifications, and the acropolis
Thucydides
–
Bust of Pericles
Thucydides
–
The Acropolis in Athens
28.
Piratical
–
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship- or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable items or properties. Those who engage in acts of piracy are called pirates, the earliest documented instances of piracy were in the 14th century BC, when the Sea Peoples, a group of ocean raiders, attacked the ships of the Aegean and Mediterranean civilizations. Narrow channels which funnel shipping into predictable routes have long created opportunities for piracy, as well as for privateering and commerce raiding. Historic examples include the waters of Gibraltar, the Strait of Malacca, Madagascar, the Gulf of Aden, a land-based parallel is the ambushing of travelers by bandits and brigands in highways and mountain passes. While the term can include acts committed in the air, on land, or in major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against people traveling on the vessel as the perpetrator. Piracy or pirating is the name of a crime under customary international law. They also use larger vessels, known as ships, to supply the smaller motorboats. The international community is facing challenges in bringing modern pirates to justice. In the 2000s, a number of nations have used their naval forces to protect ships from pirate attacks. The English pirate is derived from the Latin term pirata and that from Greek πειρατής, brigand, in turn from πειράομαι, I attempt, from πεῖρα, attempt, the meaning of the Greek word peiratēs literally is one who attacks. The word is cognate to peril. The term is first attested to c, spelling was not standardised until the eighteenth century, and spellings such as pirrot, pyrate and pyrat were used until this period. It may be reasonable to assume that piracy has existed for as long as the oceans were plied for commerce, the earliest documented instances of piracy are the exploits of the Sea Peoples who threatened the ships sailing in the Aegean and Mediterranean waters in the 14th century BC. In classical antiquity, the Phoenicians, Illyrians and Tyrrhenians were known as pirates, the ancient Greeks condoned piracy as a viable profession, it apparently was widespread and regarded as an entirely honourable way of making a living. References are made to its perfectly normal occurrence many texts including in Homers Iliad and Odyssey, by the era of Classical Greece, piracy was looked upon as a disgrace to have as a profession. In the 3rd century BC, pirate attacks on Olympos brought impoverishment, among some of the most famous ancient pirateering peoples were the Illyrians, a people populating the western Balkan peninsula. Constantly raiding the Adriatic Sea, the Illyrians caused many conflicts with the Roman Republic and it was not until 229 BC when the Romans finally decisively beat the Illyrian fleets that their threat was ended
Piratical
–
French pirate
Jacques de Sores looting and burning Havana in 1555
Piratical
–
Mosaic of a
Roman trireme in Tunisia
Piratical
–
A fleet of
Vikings, painted mid-12th century
Piratical
–
The Vitalienbrüder. Piracy became endemic in the
Baltic sea in the
Middle Ages.
29.
Carians
–
The Carians were the ancient inhabitants of Caria in southwest Anatolia. It is not clear when the Carians enter into history, the definition is dependent on corresponding Caria and the Carians to the Karkiya or Karkisa mentioned in the Hittite records. Bronze Age Karkisa are first mentioned as having aided the Assuwa League against the Hittite King Tudhaliya I and this they did, allowing Manapa-Tarhunta to take back his kingdom. In 1274 BC, Karkisa are also mentioned among those who fought on the Hittite Empire side against the Egyptians in the Battle of Kadesh. Taken as a whole, Hittite records seem to point at a Luwian ancestry for the Carians and, as such, they would have lost their literacy through the Dark Age of Anatolia. Yet, the supposition is suitable from a linguistic point-of-view given that the Phoenicians were calling them KRK in their abjad script and they were referred to as krka in Old Persian. In some translations of Biblical texts, the Carians are mentioned in 2 Kings 11,4,11,19 and perhaps alluded to in 2 Samuel 8,18,15,18, and 20,23. They are also named as mercenaries in inscriptions found in ancient Egypt and Nubia, dated to the reigns of Psammetichus I and they are sometimes referred to as the Cari or Khari. Carian remnants have been found in the ancient city of Persepolis or modern Takht-e-Jamshid in Iran, according to Thucydides, it was largely the Carians who settled the Cyclades prior to the Minoans. The Middle Bronze Age expansion of the Minoans into this region seems to have come at their expense, in doing so, Minos expelled the Carians, many of which had turned to piracy as a way of life. During the Athenian purification of Delos, all graves were exhumed, yet the Carians roamed throughout the whole of Greece serving on expeditions for pay. And when they were driven thence into Asia, even here they were unable to live apart from the Greeks, the Carians were often linked by Greek writers to the Leleges, but the exact nature of the relationship between Carians and Leleges remains mysterious. The two groups seem to have distinct, but later intermingled with each other. Strabo wrote that they were so intermingled that they were often confounded with each other, however, Athenaeus stated that the Leleges stood in relation to the Carians as the Helots stood to the Lacedaemonians. This confusion of the two peoples is also in Herodotus, who wrote that the Carians, when they were allegedly living amid the Cyclades, were known as Leleges. The Carian language belongs to the Luwic group of the Anatolian family of languages, other Luwic languages besides Luwian proper are Lycian and Milyan. Although the ancestors of Carian and Lycian must have very close to Luwian. One of the Carian ritual centers was Mylasa, where they worshipped their supreme god, unlike Zeus, this was a warrior god
Carians
–
Archaeologists studying a Carian tomb in
Milas, Beçin.
Carians
–
Peoples
30.
King Minos
–
In Greek mythology Minos was the first King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven girls to be sent to Daedaluss creation. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in the underworld, the Minoan civilization of Crete has been named after him by the archaeologist Arthur Evans. By his wife, Pasiphaë, he fathered Ariadne, Androgeus, Deucalion, Phaedra, Glaucus, Catreus, Acacallis, by Androgeneia of Phaestus he had Asterion, who commanded the Cretan contingent in the war between Dionysus and the Indians. Also given as his children are Euryale, possibly the mother of Orion with Poseidon, Minos, along with his brothers, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon, were raised by King Asterion of Crete. When Asterion died, his throne was claimed by Minos who banished Sarpedon and, according to some sources, Minos is often interpreted as the Cretan word for king, or, by a euhemerist interpretation, the name of a particular king that was subsequently used as a title. There is a name in Minoan Linear A mi-nu-te that may be related to Minos, according to La Marles reading of Linear A, which have been heavily criticised as arbitrary we should read mwi-nu ro-ja on a Linear A tablet. The royal title ro-ja is read on several documents, including on stone libation tables from the sanctuaries, La Marle suggests that the name mwi-nu is expected to mean ascetic as Sanskrit muni, and fits this explanation to the legend about Minos sometimes living in caves on Crete. If royal succession in Minoan Crete descended matrilinearly— from the queen to her firstborn daughter— the queens husband would have become the Minos, Minos appears in Greek literature as the king of Knossos as early as Homers Iliad and Odyssey. Thucydides tells us Minos was the most ancient man known to build a navy and he reigned over Crete and the islands of the Aegean Sea three generations before the Trojan War. He lived at Knossos for periods of nine years, where he received instruction from Zeus in the legislation which he gave to the island and he was the author of the Cretan constitution and the founder of its naval supremacy. On the Athenian stage Minos is a tyrant, the heartless exactor of the tribute of Athenian youths to feed to the Minotaur. According to this view, the first King Minos was the son of Zeus and Europa and brother of Rhadamanthys, the wife of this Minos I was said to be Itone or Crete, and he had a single son named Lycastus, his successor as King of Crete. Lycastus had a son named Minos, after his grandfather, born by Lycastus wife, Ida and this Minos II— the bad king Minos— is the son of this Lycastus, and was a far more colorful character than his father and grandfather. It would be to this Minos that we owe the myths of Theseus, Pasiphaë, the Minotaur, Daedalus, Glaucus, and Nisus. Unlike Minos I, Minos II fathered numerous children, including Androgeus, Catreus, Deucalion, Ariadne, Phaedra, through Deucalion, he was the grandfather of King Idomeneus, who led the Cretans to the Trojan War. Minos himself is said to have died at Camicus in Sicily, whither he had gone in pursuit of Daedalus and he was killed by the daughter of Cocalus, king of Agrigentum, who poured boiling water over him while he was taking a bath. Subsequently his remains were sent back to the Cretans, who placed them in a sarcophagus, on which was inscribed, The tomb of Minos, the earlier legend knows Minos as a beneficent ruler, legislator, and suppressor of piracy
King Minos
–
Gustave Doré 's illustration of King Minos for
Dante Alighieri 's
Inferno.
King Minos
–
17th-century engraving of
Scylla falling in love with Minos
King Minos
–
Amphora showing Theseus slaying the Minotaur, 460 BC. Ref: 1837,0609.57.
King Minos
–
Palace of Minos
31.
Crete
–
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, 88th-largest island in the world and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete and a number of surrounding islands and islets constitute the region of Crete, the capital and the largest city is Heraklion. As of 2011, the region had a population of 623,065, Crete forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece, while retaining its own local cultural traits. It was once the centre of the Minoan civilization, which is regarded as the earliest recorded civilization in Europe. The island is first referred to as Kaptara in texts from the Syrian city of Mari dating from the 18th century BC, repeated later in Neo-Assyrian records and it was also known in ancient Egyptian as Keftiu, strongly suggesting a similar Minoan name for the island. The current name of Crete is thought to be first attested in Mycenaean Greek texts written in Linear B, through the words
Crete
–
NASA photograph of Crete
Crete
–
Lefka Ori
Crete
–
Port of Heraklion
Crete
–
Lefka Ori (White mountains).
32.
Odyssey
–
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the Odyssey is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second-oldest extant work of Western literature, the Iliad is the oldest. Scholars believe the Odyssey was composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the poem mainly focuses on the Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed Odysseus has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of suitors, the Mnesteres or Proci. The Odyssey continues to be read in the Homeric Greek and translated into languages around the world. Many scholars believe the poem was composed in an oral tradition by an aoidos, perhaps a rhapsode. The details of the ancient oral performance and the conversion to a written work inspire continual debate among scholars. The Odyssey was written in a dialect of Greek—a literary amalgam of Aeolic Greek, Ionic Greek. Among the most noteworthy elements of the text are its non-linear plot, in the English language as well as many others, the word odyssey has come to refer to an epic voyage. The Odyssey has a lost sequel, the Telegony, which was not written by Homer and it was usually attributed in antiquity to Cinaethon of Sparta. In one source, the Telegony was said to have stolen from Musaeus by either Eugamon or Eugammon of Cyrene. The Odyssey begins ten years after the end of the ten-year Trojan War, and Odysseus has still not returned home from the war. Odysseus protectress, the goddess Athena, requests to Zeus, king of the gods, to finally allow Odysseus to return home when Odysseus enemy, then, disguised as a Taphian chieftain named Mentes, she visits Telemachus to urge him to search for news of his father. He offers her hospitality, they observe the suitors dining rowdily while the bard Phemius performs a poem for them. Penelope objects to Phemius theme, the Return from Troy, because it reminds her of her missing husband and that night Athena, disguised as Telemachus, finds a ship and crew for the true prince. The next morning, Telemachus calls an assembly of citizens of Ithaca to discuss what should be done with the suitors. Accompanied by Athena, he departs for the Greek mainland and the household of Nestor, most venerable of the Greek warriors at Troy, now at home in Pylos
Odyssey
–
Charles Gleyre,
Odysseus and
Nausicaä
Odyssey
–
Greek text of the Odyssey' s opening passage
Odyssey
–
Odysseus Overcome by
Demodocus ' Song, by
Francesco Hayez, 1813–15
Odyssey
–
Odysseus and the Sirens, eponymous vase of the
Siren Painter, ca. 480-470 BC, (
British Museum)
33.
Ortygia
–
Ortygia is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily. The island, also known as Città Vecchia, contains historical landmarks. The name originates from the Ancient Greek ortyx, which means Quail, the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo has it that the goddess Leto stopped at Ortygia to give birth to Artemis, the firstborn of her twins. Artemis then helped Leto across the sea to the island of Delos, other ancient sources state that the twins were born in the same place—which was either Delos or Ortygia— but Ortygia was an old name of Delos. Further, there were perhaps a half-dozen other places called Ortygia and it was also said that Asteria, the sister of Leto metamorphosed into a quail, threw herself into the sea, and was metamorphosed into the island Ortygia. Another myth suggested that it was Delos instead of Ortygia, Ortygia is located at the eastern end of Syracuse and is separated from it by a narrow channel. Two bridges connect the island to mainland Sicily, the island is an extremely popular place for tourism, shopping, entertainment and also a residential area
Ortygia
–
Panoramic view
34.
Dionysus
–
Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and religious ecstasy in ancient Greek religion and myth. Wine played an important role in Greek culture, and the cult of Dionysus was the religious focus for its unrestrained consumption. He may have been worshipped as early as c, 1500–1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks, traces of Dionysian-type cult have also been found in ancient Minoan Crete. His origins are uncertain, and his cults took many forms, some are described by ancient sources as Thracian, in some cults, he arrives from the east, as an Asiatic foreigner, in others, from Ethiopia in the South. He is a god of epiphany, the god that comes and his festivals were the driving force behind the development of Greek theatre. The earliest cult images of Dionysus show a male, bearded and robed. He holds a staff, tipped with a pine-cone and known as a thyrsus. Later images show him as a beardless, sensuous, naked or half-naked androgynous youth, in its fully developed form, his central cult imagery shows his triumphant, disorderly arrival or return, as if from some place beyond the borders of the known and civilized. His procession is made up of female followers and bearded satyrs with erect penises, some are armed with the thyrsus. The god himself is drawn in a chariot, usually by exotic beasts such as lions or tigers and this procession is presumed to be the cult model for the followers of his Dionysian Mysteries. He is also known as Bacchus, the adopted by the Romans. His thyrsus, sometimes wound with ivy and dripping with honey, is both a beneficent wand and a used to destroy those who oppose his cult and the freedoms he represents. As Eleutherios, his wine, music and ecstatic dance free his followers from self-conscious fear and care and those who partake of his mysteries are possessed and empowered by the god himself. The cult of Dionysus is also a cult of the souls, his maenads feed the dead through blood-offerings and he is sometimes categorised as a dying-and-rising god. Some scholars believe that Dionysus is a syncretism of a local Greek nature deity, Dionysus had a strange birth that evokes the difficulty in fitting him into the Olympian pantheon. His mother was a woman, Semele, the daughter of king Cadmus of Thebes, and his father was Zeus. Zeus wife, Hera, discovered the affair while Semele was pregnant, appearing as an old crone, Hera befriended Semele, who confided in her that Zeus was the actual father of the baby in her womb. Hera pretended not to believe her, and planted seeds of doubt in Semeles mind, curious, Semele demanded of Zeus that he reveal himself in all his glory as proof of his godhood
Dionysus
–
2nd-century Roman statue of Dionysus, after a
Hellenistic model (ex-coll.
Cardinal Richelieu,
Louvre)
Dionysus
–
Marble sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons. Roman ca. AD 260–270
Dionysus
–
Birth of Dionysus, on a small sarcophagus that may have been made for a child (
Walters Art Museum)
Dionysus
–
Hermes and the Infant Dionysus by
Praxiteles, (
Archaeological Museum of Olympia).
35.
Titaness
–
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
Titaness
–
Rhea, a Titan daughter of the earth goddess
Gaia, was both sister and wife to
Cronus.
36.
Deities
–
A deity is a concept conceived in diverse ways in various cultures, typically as a natural or supernatural being considered divine or sacred. A male deity is a god, while a female deity is a goddess, the Oxford reference defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. Various cultures have conceptualized a deity differently than a monotheistic God, a plain deity need not be omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, or eternal, however an almighty monotheistic God generally does have these attributes. Monotheistic religions typically refer to God in masculine terms, while other religions refer to their deities in a variety of ways – masculine, feminine, androgynous, some Avestan and Vedic deities were viewed as ethical concepts. In Indian religions, deities have been envisioned as manifesting within the temple of every living beings body, as sensory organs, but in Indian religions, all deities are also subject to death when their merit runs out. The English language word deity derives from Old French deité, the Latin deitatem or divine nature, deus is related through a common Proto-Indo-European language origin to *deiwos. Deva is masculine, and the feminine equivalent is devi. Etymologically, the cognates of Devi are Latin dea and Greek thea, in Old Persian, daiva- means demon, evil god, while in Sanskrit it means the opposite, referring to the heavenly, divine, terrestrial things of high excellence, exalted, shining ones. The closely linked term god refers to supreme being, deity, which states Douglas Harper, is derived from Proto-Germanic *guthan, from PIE *ghut-, guth in the Irish language means voice. The term *ghut- is also the source of Old Church Slavonic zovo, Sanskrit huta-, from the root *gheu- An alternate etymology for the term god traces it to the PIE root *ghu-to-, the term *gheu- is also the source of the Greek khein to pour. Originally the German root was a noun, but the gender of the monotheistic God shifted to masculine under the influence of Christianity. In contrast, all ancient Indo-European cultures and mythologies recognized both masculine and feminine deities, the term deity often connotes the concept of sacred or divine, as a god or goddess, in a polytheistic religion. However, there is no accepted consensus concept of deity across religions and cultures. Huw Owen states that the deity or god or its equivalent in other languages has a bewildering range of meanings. Some engravings or sketches show animals, hunters or rituals, the Venus of Willendorf, a female figurine found in Europe and dated to about 25,000 BCE has been interpreted as an exemplar of a prehistoric divine feminine. In Buddhist mythology, devas are beings inhabiting certain happily placed worlds of Buddhist cosmology and these beings are mortal and numerous. It is also common for iṣṭadevatās to be called deities, although the nature of Yidams is distinct from what is meant by the term. Buddhism does not believe in a creator deity, however, deities are an essential part of Buddhist cosmology, rebirth and Saṃsāra doctrines
Deities
–
Zeus, the chief
Greek god
Deities
–
Searching the Seas with the
Tenkei (ca. 1885) by Kobayashi Eitaku, with the god
Izanagi (right) and
Izanami, a goddess of creation and death in
Japanese mythology
Deities
–
Panel from an
ancient Roman sarcophagus depicting the creation of humans by
Prometheus, with deities including
Minerva (Roman
Athena) and
Mercury (
Hermes) looking on
Deities
–
Buddhist temple image of Damun Cheonwang (
Vaiśravaṇa), one of the
Four Heavenly Kings (
Ssangbongsa,
South Korea)
37.
Panhellenic
–
Greek nationalism refers to the nationalism of Greeks and Greek culture. As an ideology, Greek nationalism originated and evolved in pre-modern times and it became a major political movement beginning in the 18th century, which culminated in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. Today Greek nationalism remains important in the Greco-Turkish dispute over Cyprus, the establishment of Panhellenic sites served as an essential component in the growth and self-consciousness of Greek nationalism. When the Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Paleologi dynasty, a new era of Greek patriotism emerged, accompanied by a back to ancient Greece. Some prominent personalities at the time also proposed changing the Imperial title from basileus, popular movements calling for enosis resulted in the accession of Crete, Ionian Islands and Dodecanese. Calls for enosis were also a feature of Cypriot politics during British Rule, during the troubled interwar years, some Greek nationalists viewed Orthodox Christian Albanians, Aromanians and Bulgarians as communities that could be assimilated into the Greek nation. Greek irredentism, the Megali Idea suffered a setback in the Greco-Turkish War, since then, Greco-Turkish relations have been characterized by tension between Greek and Turkish nationalism, culminating in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Nationalism played a significant role in Greek politics during the first century and a half of existence of the Greek state
Panhellenic
–
Greek
hoplite (right) and Persian warrior (left) depicted fighting, on an ancient
kylix, 5th century BC.
Panhellenic
–
Flag of Greece
Panhellenic
–
"Grateful Hellas" by
Theodoros Vryzakis.
Panhellenic
–
"The
Arcadian Holocaust " by
Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri; scene from the
Cretan Revolt (1866–69).
38.
Pilgrimage
–
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a persons beliefs and faith, a person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim. As a common experience, pilgrimage has been proposed as a Jungian archetype by Wallace Clift. The Holy Land acts as a point for the pilgrimages of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity. Baháulláh decreed pilgrimage to two places in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the House of Baháulláh in Baghdad, Iraq, and the House of the Báb in Shiraz, later, Abdul-Bahá designated the Shrine of Baháulláh at Bahji, Israel as a site of pilgrimage. Other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected to the life of Gautama Buddha are, Savatthi, Pataliputta, Nalanda, Gaya, Vesali, Sankasia, Kapilavastu, Kosambi, Rajagaha, Varanasi, other famous places for Buddhist pilgrimage include, India, Sanchi, Ellora, Ajanta. Thailand, Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Doi Suthep, tibet, Lhasa, Mount Kailash, Lake Nam-tso. Sri Lanka, Polonnaruwa, Temple of the Tooth, Anuradhapura, malaysia, Kek Lok Si, Cheng Hoon Teng, Maha Vihara Myanmar, Bagan, Sagaing Hill. The Four Sacred Mountains Japan, Shikoku Pilgrimage,88 Temple pilgrimage in the Shikoku island, Japan 100 Kannon, pilgrimage composed of the Saigoku, Bandō and Chichibu pilgrimages. Saigoku 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Kansai region, Bandō33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Kantō region. Chichibu 34 Kannon, pilgrimage in Saitama Prefecture, Chūgoku 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Chūgoku region. Christian pilgrimage was first made to sites connected with the birth, life, pilgrimages were, and are, also made to Rome and other sites associated with the apostles, saints and Christian martyrs, as well as to places where there have been apparitions of the Virgin Mary. A popular pilgrimage journey is along the Way of St. James to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, in Galicia, Spain, chaucers The Canterbury Tales recounts tales told by Christian pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral and the shrine of Thomas Becket. According to Karel Werners Popular Dictionary of Hinduism, most Hindu places of pilgrimage are associated with events from the lives of various gods. Almost any place can become a focus for pilgrimage, but in most cases they are sacred cities, rivers, lakes, Hindus are encouraged to undertake pilgrimages during their lifetime, though this practice is not considered absolutely mandatory. Most Hindus visit sites within their region or locale, Kumbh Mela, Kumbh Mela is one of the largest gatherings of humans in the world. The location is rotated among Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik, Char Dham, The four holy sites Puri, Rameswaram, Dwarka, and Badrinath compose the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. Kanwar Pilgrimage, The Kanwar is Indias largest annual religious pilgrimage, as part of this phenomenon, millions of participants gather sacred water from the Ganga and carry it across hundreds of miles to dispense as offerings in Śiva shrines
Pilgrimage
–
David Teniers the younger: Female Pilgrim
Pilgrimage
–
Ancient excavated Buddha-image at the Mahaparinirvana Temple,
Kushinagar
Pilgrimage
–
Tibetans on a pilgrimage to
Lhasa, doing full-body
prostrations, often for the entire length of the journey
Pilgrimage
–
Pilgrims
39.
Ionians
–
The Ionians were one of the four major tribes that the Greeks considered themselves to be divided into during the ancient period, the other three being the Dorians, Aeolians, and Achaeans. The Ionian dialect was one of the three major divisions of the Hellenic world, together with the Dorian and Aeolian dialects. When referring to populations, “Ionian” defines several groups in Classical Greece, in the narrowest sense it referred to the region of Ionia in Asia Minor. Finally, in the broadest sense it could be used to all those who spoke languages of the East Greek group. The foundation myth which was current in the Classical period suggested that the Ionians were named after Ion, son of Xuthus, when the Dorians invaded the Peloponnese they expelled the Achaeans from the Argolid and Lacedaemonia. The displaced Achaeans moved into Aegilaus, in expelling the Ionians from the Aegilaus. The Ionians moved to Attica and mingled with the population of Attica. Unlike the austere and militaristic Dorians, the Ionians are renowned for their love of philosophy, art, democracy, unlike Aeolians and Dorians, Ionians appears in the languages of different civilizations around the eastern Mediterranean and as far east as the Indian subcontinent. They are not the earliest Greeks to appear in the records, that belongs to the Danaans. The trail of the Ionians begins in the Mycenaean Greek records of Crete, a fragmentary Linear B tablet from Knossos bears the name i-ja-wo-ne, interpreted by Ventris and Chadwick as possibly the dative or nominative plural case of *Iāwones, an ethnic name. The Knossos tablets are dated to 1400 or 1200 B. C. and thus pre-date the Dorian dominance in Crete and this name also appears in a fragment of the other early poet, Hesiod, in the singular Ἰάων, iāōn. In the Book of Genesis of the English Bible, Javan is a son of Japheth, Javan is believed nearly universally by Bible scholars to represent the Ionians, that is, Javan is Ion. The Hebrew is Yāwān, plural Yəwānīm, additionally, but less surely, Japheth may be related linguistically to the Greek mythological figure Iapetus. The locations of Biblical tribal countries have been the subjects of centuries of scholarship, the Book of Isaiah gives what may be a hint by listing the nations. That have not heard my fame including Javan and immediately after the isles afar off, are the isles in apposition to Javan or the last item in the series. If the former, the expression is used of the population of the islands in the Aegean Sea. The date of the Book of Isaiah cannot precede the date of the man Isaiah, the Assyrian word, which is preceded by the country determinative, has been reconstructed as *Iaunaia. More common is ia-a-ma-nu, ia-ma-nu and ia-am-na-a-a with the country determinative, sargon II related that he took the latter from the sea like fish and that they were from the sea of the setting sun. of Yadnana
Ionians
–
The location of ancient
Ionia on the coast of modern-day
Turkey.
40.
Ritual purification
–
Ritual purification is a feature of many religions. The aim of these rituals is to remove specifically defined uncleanliness prior to a type of activity. This ritual uncleanliness is not identical with ordinary physical impurity, such as stains, nevertheless. Most of these rituals existed long before the theory of disease. Some have seen benefits of these practices as a point of health, while these practices came before the idea of the germ theory was public in areas that use daily cleaning, the destruction of infectious agents seems to be dramatic. Others have described a dimension of purity that is universal in religions that seeks to move us away from disgust, away from uncleanliness to purity, and away from deviant to moral behavior. In the Baháí Faith, ritual ablutions should be done before the saying of the obligatory prayers, as well as prior to the recitation of the Greatest Name 95 times. Menstruating women are obliged to pray, but have the alternative of reciting a verse instead, if the choice is taken. Baháulláh, the founder of the Baháí Faith, prescribed the ablutions in his book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. If no water is available or if an illness would be worsened by the use of water, one may repeat the verse In the Name of God, the Most Pure. Apart from this, Baháulláh abolished all forms of ritual impurity of people and things and stressed the importance of cleanliness, in Japanese Buddhism, a basin called a tsukubai is provided at Buddhist temples for ablutions. It is also used for tea ceremony, the Bible has many rituals of purification relating to menstruation, childbirth, sexual relations, nocturnal emission, unusual bodily fluids, skin disease, death, and animal sacrifices. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church prescribes several kinds of hand washing for example after leaving the latrine, lavatory or bathhouse, or before prayer, or after eating a meal. Baptism, as a form of purification, occurs in several religions related to Judaism. In traditional liturgical churches a laver, often embedded in the wall, exists for the priest, many ancient churches were built with a large fountain in the courtyard. It was the tradition for Christians to wash before entering the church for worship. This usage is also legislated in the Rule of St. Benedict, as a result of which, the churching of women is still performed in a number of Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches. For Catholics, this is required at least once a year, in Reformed Christianity, ritual purity is achieved though the Confession of Sins, and Assurance of Forgiveness, and Sanctification
Ritual purification
–
Taking the bride to the
bath house,
Shalom Koboshvili, 1939.
Ritual purification
–
Male Ablution Facility at University of Toronto's Multifaith Centre
Ritual purification
–
Tsukubai at
Ryōan-ji temple in
Kyoto.
Ritual purification
–
"
El Infiernito " (The Little
hell) Ruins of an ancient
Muisca shrine, place of purification rituals
41.
Athens
–
Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
Athens
–
From upper left: the
Acropolis, the
Hellenic Parliament, the
Zappeion, the
Acropolis Museum,
Monastiraki Square, Athens view towards the sea
Athens
–
Athena, patron goddess of Athens;
National Archaeological Museum
Athens
–
Acropolis of Athens, with
Odeon of Herodes Atticus seen on bottom left
42.
Peisistratos (Athens)
–
Peisistratos, Latinized Pisistratus, the son of Hippocrates, was a ruler of ancient Athens during most of the period between 561 and 527 BC. Peisistratos championing of the class of Athens, the Hyperakrioi, is an early example of populism. Peisistratus was the brother-in-law of Cleisthenes, however, Peisistratus was much older, Peisistratids is the common term for the three tyrants who ruled in Athens from 546 to 510 BC, namely Peisistratos and his two sons, Hipparchus and Hippias. Peisistratos was a distant relative of Solon from northern Attica and he had made a name for himself by capturing the port of Nisaea in nearby Megara by creating a successful coup in 564 BC. Peisistratos was backed by the Men of the Hill, the poorer and this victory opened up the unofficial trade blockage that had been contributing to food shortage in Athens during the past several decades. In the period after the Megaran defeat, several factions competed for control in the government of Athens. These groups were both economically and geographically partitioned, Pedieis, the population that resided on the plains, led by Lycurgus. These landowners produced grain, giving them leverage during the food shortage, with the Megarans patrolling the sea, much of Athens import/export power was limited. Hyperakrioi, not previously represented by party, dwelled primarily in the hills and were by far the poorest of the Athenian population. Their only production was barter in items like honey and wool, Peisistratos organised them into the Hyperakrioi, or hill dwellers. This party grossly outnumbered the other two parties combined and his role in the Megaran conflict gained Peisistratos popularity in Athens, but he did not have the political clout to seize power. Herodotus tells us how he intentionally wounded himself and his mules in order to demand from the Athenian people bodyguards for protection, by obtaining support from the vast number of the poorer population as well as bodyguards, he was able to seize the Acropolis and the reins of government. The Athenians were open to a similar to that under Solon – and possible stability and internal peace –. With this in his possession, and the collusion of Megacles and his party, Peisistratos was ousted from political office and exiled twice during his reign. The first occurrence was circa 555 BC after the two parties, normally at odds with each other, joined forces and removed Peisistratos from power. Actual dates after this point become unclear, Peisistratos was exiled for 3 to 6 years during which the agreement between the Pedieis and the Paralioi fell apart. Peisistratos returned to Athens and rode into the city in a golden chariot accompanied by a tall woman appearing to be Athena, many returned to his side, believing he had the favour of the goddess. Differing sources state that he held the tyranny for one to six years before he was exiled again, during his second exile, he gathered support from local cities and resources from the Laurion silver mines near Athens
Peisistratos (Athens)
–
Didrachm of Athens, 545-510 BC
Peisistratos (Athens)
–
Obol of Athens, 545-525 BC
43.
Peloponnesian war
–
The Peloponnesian War was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases and this period of the war was concluded in 421 BC, with the signing of the Peace of Nicias. That treaty, however, was undermined by renewed fighting in the Peloponnese. In 415 BC, Athens dispatched an expeditionary force to attack Syracuse in Sicily. This ushered in the phase of the war, generally referred to either as the Decelean War. The destruction of Athens fleet at Aegospotami effectively ended the war, Corinth and Thebes demanded that Athens should be destroyed and all its citizens should be enslaved, but Sparta refused. The Peloponnesian War reshaped the ancient Greek world, the economic costs of the war were felt all across Greece, poverty became widespread in the Peloponnese, while Athens found itself completely devastated, and never regained its pre-war prosperity. Greek warfare, meanwhile, originally a limited and formalized form of conflict, was transformed into a struggle between city-states, complete with atrocities on a large scale. Indeed, the fifty years of Greek history that preceded the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War had been marked by the development of Athens as a major power in the Mediterranean world. The city proceeded to conquer all of Greece except for Sparta and its allies, by the middle of the century, the Persians had been driven from the Aegean and forced to cede control of a vast range of territories to Athens. This tribute was used to support a fleet and, after the middle of the century, to fund massive public works programs in Athens. According to Thucydides, although the Spartans took no action at this time, conflict between the states flared up again in 465 BC, when a helot revolt broke out in Sparta. The Spartans summoned forces from all of their allies, including Athens, Athens sent out a sizable contingent, but upon its arrival, this force was dismissed by the Spartans, while those of all the other allies were permitted to remain. According to Thucydides, the Spartans acted in this way out of fear that the Athenians would switch sides and support the helots, the offended Athenians repudiated their alliance with Sparta. When the rebellious helots were finally forced to surrender and permitted to evacuate the country, a fifteen-year conflict, commonly known as the First Peloponnesian War, ensued, in which Athens fought intermittently against Sparta, Corinth, Aegina, and a number of other states. The war was ended by the Thirty Years Peace, signed in the winter of 446/5 BC. The Thirty Years Peace was first tested in 440 BC, when Athens powerful ally Samos rebelled from its alliance with Athens, the rebels quickly secured the support of a Persian satrap, and Athens found itself facing the prospect of revolts throughout the empire. The Spartans, whose intervention would have been the trigger for a war to determine the fate of the empire
Peloponnesian war
–
The walls surrounding Athens
Peloponnesian war
–
The Peloponnesian war alliances at 431 BC. Orange: Athenian Empire and Allies; Green: Spartan Confederacy
Peloponnesian war
–
The key actions of each phase
Peloponnesian war
–
Eight bookes of the Peloponnesian Warre written by
Thucydides the sonne of
Olorus. Interpreted with faith and diligence immediately out of the Greeke by
Thomas Hobbes secretary to ye late
Earle of Deuonshire. (
Houghton Library)
44.
Delphi
–
Delphi is famous as the ancient sanctuary that grew rich as the seat of the oracle that was consulted on important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. Moreover, it was considered as the navel of the world by the Greeks as represented by the Omphalos and it occupies an impressive site on the south-western slope of Mount Parnassus overlooking the coastal plain to the south and the valley of Phocis. It is now an archaeological site and the modern town is nearby. The site of Delphi is located in upper central Greece, on multiple plateaux/terraces along the slope of Mount Parnassus, and includes the Sanctuary of Apollo and this semicircular spur is known as Phaedriades, and overlooks the Pleistos Valley. In myths dating to the period of Ancient Greece, the site of Delphi was believed to be determined by Zeus when he sought to find the centre of his Grandmother Earth. He sent two eagles flying from the eastern and western extremities, and the path of the eagles crossed over Delphi where the omphalos, Apollo was said to have slain Python, a drako a serpent or a dragon who lived there and protected the navel of the Earth. Python is claimed by some to be the name of the site in recognition of Python which Apollo defeated. The Homeric Hymn to Delphic Apollo recalled that the ancient name of this site had been Krisa, others relate that it was named Pytho and that Pythia, the priestess serving as the oracle, was chosen from their ranks by a group of priestesses who officiated at the temple. At the settlement site in Delphi, which was a settlement of the late 9th century. Pottery and bronze work as well as tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, the victors at Delphi were presented with a laurel crown which was ceremonially cut from a tree by a boy who re-enacted the slaying of the Python. Delphi was set apart from the other sites because it hosted the mousikos agon. These Pythian Games rank second among the four stephanitic games chronologically and these games, though, were different from the games at Olympia in that they were not of such vast importance to the city of Delphi as the games at Olympia were to the area surrounding Olympia. Delphi would have been a renowned city whether or not it hosted these games, it had other attractions that led to it being labeled the omphalos of the earth, in other words, in the inner hestia of the Temple of Apollo, an eternal flame burned. The name Delphoi comes from the root as δελφύς delphys, womb. Apollo is connected with the site by his epithet Δελφίνιος Delphinios, the epithet is connected with dolphins in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, recounting the legend of how Apollo first came to Delphi in the shape of a dolphin, carrying Cretan priests on his back. The Homeric name of the oracle is Pytho, another legend held that Apollo walked to Delphi from the north and stopped at Tempe, a city in Thessaly, to pick laurel which he considered to be a sacred plant. In commemoration of this legend, the winners at the Pythian Games received a wreath of laurel picked in the Temple, Delphi became the site of a major temple to Phoebus Apollo, as well as the Pythian Games and the famous prehistoric oracle. Even in Roman times, hundreds of votive statues remained, described by Pliny the Younger, additionally, according to Plutarchs essay on the meaning of the E at Delphi—the only literary source for the inscription—there was also inscribed at the temple a large letter E
Delphi
–
The theatre, seen from above
Delphi
–
Delphi.
Delphi
–
Delphi valley.
Delphi
–
The remaining columns of the Temple of Apollo
45.
Quinquennial
–
An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. For example, the first event is the occurrence or, if planned. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event, the word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days and these could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption of a new constitution or form of government. The important dates in a monarchs reign may also be commemorated. Birthdays are the most common type of anniversary, when someones birth date is commemorated each year, the actual celebration is sometimes moved for practical reasons, as in the case of an official birthday. Wedding anniversaries are also celebrated, on the same day of the year as the wedding occurred. In ancient Rome, the Aquilae natalis was the birthday of the eagle, anniversaries of nations are usually marked by the number of years elapsed, expressed with Latin words or Roman numerals. However, when anniversaries relate to fractions of centuries, the situation is not as simple, Roman fractions were based on a duodecimal system. From 1⁄12 to 8⁄12 they were expressed as multiples of twelfths, a whole unit less 3⁄12, 2⁄12 or 1⁄12 respectively. There were also special terms for quarter, half, and three-quarters, dodrans is a Latin contraction of de-quadrans which means a whole unit less a quarter (de means from, quadrans means quarter. Thus for the example of 175 years, the term is a quarter less than the next whole century or 175 =. In Latin it seems that this rule did not apply precisely for 1½, while secundus is Latin for second, and bis for twice, these terms are not used such as in sesqui-secundus. Instead sesqui is used by itself, etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home by Emily Post, published in 1922, contained suggestions for wedding anniversary gifts for 1,5,10,15,20,25,50, and 75 years. Wedding anniversary gift suggestions for other years were added in later editions and publications, generally speaking, the longer the period, the more precious or durable the material associated with it. See wedding anniversary for a general list of the wedding anniversary symbols, however, furthermore, there exist numerous partially overlapping, partially contradictory lists of anniversary gifts, separate from the traditional names. The concepts of a persons birthday stone and zodiac stone, by contrast, are fixed for life according to the day of the week, month, list of historical anniversaries Quinquennial Neronia Wedding anniversary
Quinquennial
–
On the 40th anniversary of his reign, the King of
Sweden toasts the city's Mayor in front of
Stockholm Palace.
Quinquennial
–
Memorial plaque presented by the NATIONAL CAPITAL SESQUICENTENNIAL COMMISSION, 1951
46.
Persian Wars
–
The Greco-Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inhabited region of Ionia in 547 BC. Struggling to rule the cities of Ionia, the Persians appointed tyrants to rule each of them. This would prove to be the source of trouble for the Greeks. This was the beginning of the Ionian Revolt, which would last until 493 BC, Aristagoras secured military support from Athens and Eretria, and in 498 BC these forces helped to capture and burn the Persian regional capital of Sardis. The Persian king Darius the Great vowed to have revenge on Athens, the revolt continued, with the two sides effectively stalemated throughout 497–495 BC. In 494 BC, the Persians regrouped, and attacked the epicentre of the revolt in Miletus, at the Battle of Lade, the Ionians suffered a decisive defeat, and the rebellion collapsed, with the final members being stamped out the following year. In 490 BC a second force was sent to Greece, this time across the Aegean Sea, under the command of Datis and this expedition subjugated the Cyclades, before besieging, capturing and razing Eretria. However, while en route to attack Athens, the Persian force was defeated by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon. Darius then began to plan to completely conquer Greece, but died in 486 BC, in 480 BC, Xerxes personally led the second Persian invasion of Greece with one of the largest ancient armies ever assembled. Victory over the allied Greek states at the famous Battle of Thermopylae allowed the Persians to torch an evacuated Athens, however, while seeking to destroy the combined Greek fleet, the Persians suffered a severe defeat at the Battle of Salamis. The following year, the confederated Greeks went on the offensive, defeating the Persian army at the Battle of Plataea, the allied Greeks followed up their success by destroying the rest of the Persian fleet at the Battle of Mycale, before expelling Persian garrisons from Sestos and Byzantium. The Delian League continued to campaign against Persia for the three decades, beginning with the expulsion of the remaining Persian garrisons from Europe. At the Battle of the Eurymedon in 466 BC, the League won a victory that finally secured freedom for the cities of Ionia. However, the Leagues involvement in an Egyptian revolt resulted in a disastrous defeat, a Greek fleet was sent to Cyprus in 451 BC, but achieved little, and when it withdrew the Greco-Persian Wars drew to a quiet end. Some historical sources suggest the end of hostilities was marked by a treaty between Athens and Persia, the Peace of Callias. Almost all the sources for the Greco-Persian Wars are Greek. By some distance, the source for the Greco-Persian Wars is the Greek historian Herodotus
Persian Wars
–
Greek
hoplite (right) and Persian soldier (left) depicted fighting, on an ancient
kylix, 5th century BC
Persian Wars
–
Herodotus, the main historical source for this conflict
Persian Wars
–
Thucydides continued Herodotus's narrative
Persian Wars
–
Persian (and Median) warriors
47.
Delian League
–
Shortly after its inception, Athens began to use the Leagues navy for its own purposes. This behavior frequently led to conflict between Athens and the powerful members of the League. The Greco-Persian Wars had their roots in the conquest of the Greek cities of Asia Minor, the Persians found the Ionians difficult to rule, eventually settling for sponsoring a tyrant in each Ionian city. While Greek states had in the past often been ruled by tyrants, by 500 BC, Ionia appears to have been ripe for rebellion against these Persian clients. The simmering tension finally broke into open revolt due to the actions of the tyrant of Miletus, attempting to save himself after a disastrous Persian-sponsored expedition in 499 BC, Aristagoras chose to declare Miletus a democracy. This triggered similar revolutions across Ionia, extending to Doris and Aeolis, after this, the Ionian revolt carried on for a further five years, until it was finally completely crushed by the Persians. The Ionian revolt had severely threatened the stability of Dariuss empire, Darius thus began to contemplate the complete conquest of Greece, beginning with the destruction of Athens and Eretria. In the next two decades there would be two Persian invasions of Greece, occasioning, thanks to Greek historians, some of the most famous battles in history. During the first invasion, Thrace, Macedon and the Aegean Islands were added to the Persian Empire, however, the invasion ended in 490 BC with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon. Between the two invasions, Darius died, and responsibility for the war passed to his son Xerxes I, Xerxes then personally led a second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, taking an enormous army and navy to Greece. Those Greeks who chose to resist were defeated in the simultaneous battles of Thermopylae on land. The following year,479 BC, the Allies assembled the largest Greek army yet seen and defeated the Persian invasion force at the Battle of Plataea, ending the invasion and the threat to Greece. The Allied fleet defeated the remnants of the Persian fleet in the Battle of Mycale near the islands of Salamis—on the same day as Plataea and this action marks the end of the Persian invasion, and the beginning of the next phase in the Greco-Persian wars, the Greek counterattack. After Mycale, the Greek cities of Asia Minor again revolted, the Allied fleet then sailed to the Thracian Chersonese, still held by the Persians, and besieged and captured the town of Sestos. The following year,478 BC, the Allies sent a force to capture the city of Byzantion, the siege was successful, but the behaviour of the Spartan general Pausanias alienated many of the Allies, and resulted in Pausaniass recall. After Byzantion, Sparta was eager to end its involvement in the war, the Spartans were of the view that, with the liberation of mainland Greece, and the Greek cities of Asia Minor, the wars purpose had already been reached. There was also perhaps a feeling that establishing long-term security for the Asian Greeks would prove impossible, in the aftermath of Mycale, the Spartan king Leotychides had proposed transplanting all the Greeks from Asia Minor to Europe as the only method of permanently freeing them from Persian dominion. Xanthippus, the Athenian commander at Mycale, had rejected this, the Ionian cities had been Athenian colonies
Delian League
–
The Athenian Empire at its height, c. 450 BC
48.
Congresses
–
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different nations, constituent states, independent organizations, or groups. The term was chosen for the Continental Congress to emphasize the status of each colony represented there as a self-governing unit. Subsequent to the use of congress by the U. S. legislature, the term has been adopted by states within unions. Countries with Congresses and presidential systems, The Congress of Guatemala is the legislature of Guatemala. The National Congress of Honduras is the branch of the government of Honduras. The Congress of Mexico is the branch of Mexican government. The Congress of Paraguay is the legislature of Paraguay. The Congress of the Argentine Nation is the branch of the government of Argentina. The Congress of the Dominican Republic is the legislature of the Dominican Republic. The Palau National Congress is the legislative branch of the Republic of Palau. The Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia is the legislature of the Federated States of Micronesia. The Congress of the Philippines is the branch of the Philippine government. The Congress of the Republic of Peru is the legislature of Peru. The Congress of Colombia is the legislature of Colombia. The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The National Congress of Bolivia was the legislature of Bolivia before being replaced by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. The National Congress of Brazil is Brazils bicameral legislature, the National Congress of Chile is the legislative branch of the government of Chile. The National Congress of Ecuador was the legislature of Ecuador before being replaced by the National Assembly
Congresses
–
Chess congress
