1.
Bertel Thorvaldsen
–
Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish/Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, working part-time with his father, who was a wood carver, Thorvaldsen won many honors and medals at the academy. He was awarded a stipend to travel to Rome and continue his education, in Rome, Thorvaldsen quickly made a name for himself as a sculptor. Maintaining a large workshop in the city, he worked in a heroic neo-classicist style and his patrons resided all over Europe. Upon his return to Denmark in 1838, Thorvaldsen was received as a national hero, the Thorvaldsen Museum was erected to house his works next to Christiansborg Palace. Thorvaldsen is buried within the courtyard of the museum, in his time, he was seen as the successor of master sculptor Antonio Canova. His strict adherence to classical norms has tended to estrange modern audiences, Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen in 1770, the son of Gottskálk Þorvaldsson, an Icelander who had settled in Denmark. Thorvaldsens mother was Karen Dagnes, a Jutlandic peasant girl and his birth certificate and baptismal records have never been found, and the only record is of his confirmation in 1787. Thorvaldsen had claimed descent from Snorri Thorfinnsson, the first European born in America, Thorvaldsens childhood in Copenhagen was humble. His father had a habit that slowed his career. Nothing is known of Thorvaldsens early schooling, and he may have been schooled entirely at home and he never became good at writing, and he never acquired much of the knowledge of fine culture that was expected from an artist. In 1781, by the help of friends, eleven-year-old Thorvaldsen was admitted to Copenhagens Royal Danish Academy of Art first as a draftsman. At night he would help his father in the wood carving, among his professors were Nicolai Abildgaard and Johannes Wiedewelt, who are both likely influences for his later neo-classicist style. At the Academy he was praised for his works and won all the prizes from the small Silver Medal to the large Gold Medal for a relief of St. Peter healing the crippled beggar in 1793. As a consequence, he was granted a Royal stipend, enabling him to complete his studies in Rome. Leaving Copenhagen on August 30 on the frigate Thetis, he landed in Palermo in January 1797 traveled to Naples where he studied for a month before making his entry to Rome on 8 March 1797. Since the date of his birth had never recorded, he celebrated this day as his Roman birthday for the rest of his life. In Rome he lived at Via Sistina in front of the Spanish Steps and had his workshop in the stables of the Palazzo Barberini and he was taken under the wing of Georg Zoëga a Danish archeologist and numismatist living in Rome
Bertel Thorvaldsen
–
Portrait by
Carl Joseph Begas, ca. 1820.
Bertel Thorvaldsen
–
Selfportrait by Thorvaldsen while he was a student at the Royal Academy of Arts
Bertel Thorvaldsen
–
A portrait of Thorvaldsen, by
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
Bertel Thorvaldsen
–
Contemporary painting by Fritz Westphal of Thorvaldsen's reception as a national hero on his return to Denmark in 1838.
2.
Muses
–
The Muses are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts in Greek mythology. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs and they were later adopted by the Romans as a part of their pantheon. In current English usage, muse can refer in general to a person who inspires an artist, writer, the earliest known records of the Nine Muses are from Boeotia, the homeland of Hesiod. Some ancient authorities thought that the Nine Muses were of Thracian origin, there, a tradition persisted that the Muses had once been three in number. They were again called Melete or Practice, Mneme or Memory, three ancient Muses were also reported in Plutarchs Quaestiones Convivales. According to Pausanias in the second century AD, there were three original Muses, worshiped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia, Aoidḗ, Melétē, and Mnḗmē. Together, these three form the picture of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice. In Delphi three Muses were worshiped as well, but with other names, Nḗtē, Mésē, and Hýpatē, alternatively they later were called Kēphisṓ, Apollōnís, and Borysthenís, which names characterize them as daughters of Apollo. In later tradition, a set of four Muses were recognized, Thelxinóē, Aoidḗ Archē, one of the people frequently associated with the Muses was Pierus. By some he was called the father of a total of seven Muses, called Neilṓ, Tritṓnē, Asōpṓ, Heptápora, Achelōís, Tipoplṓ, and Rhodía. According to Hesiods Theogony, they were daughters of Zeus, the second king of the gods. For Alcman and Mimnermus, they were even more primordial, springing from the deities, Uranus. Sometimes the Muses are referred to as water nymphs, associated with the springs of Helicon and it was said that the winged horse Pegasus touched his hooves to the ground on Helicon, causing four sacred springs to burst forth, from which the muses were born. Athena later tamed the horse and presented him to the muses, classical writers set Apollo as their leader, Apollon Mousagetēs. In one myth, the Muses judged a contest between Apollo and Marsyas and they also gathered the pieces of the dead body of Orpheus, son of Calliope, and buried them. In a later myth, Thamyris challenged them to a singing contest and they won and punished Thamyris by blinding him and robbing him of his singing ability. He thus challenged the Muses to a match, resulting in his daughters, Pausanias records a tradition of two generations of Muses, the first are the daughters of Uranus and Gaia, the second of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Another, rarer genealogy is that they are daughters of Harmonia, some Greek writers give the names of the nine Muses as Kallichore, Helike, Eunike, Thelxinoë, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Eukelade, Dia, and Enope
Muses
–
The nine muses —
Clio,
Thalia,
Erato,
Euterpe,
Polyhymnia,
Calliope,
Terpsichore,
Urania, and
Melpomene — on a Roman
sarcophagus (2nd century AD, from the
Louvre)
Muses
–
Muse reading a scroll, perhaps
Clio (Attic red-figure
lekythos, Boeotia c. 435–425 BC)
Muses
–
Gustave Moreau, Hesiod and the Muse (1891)—
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Muses
–
Polyhymnia, the Muse of sacred
poetry, sacred
hymn and
eloquence as well as agriculture and
pantomime.
3.
Greek language
–
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
–
Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
–
Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
4.
Greeks
–
The Greeks or Hellenes are an ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Albania, Turkey, Sicily, Egypt and, to a lesser extent, other countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world, many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of ancient Greek colonization. The cultural centers of the Greeks have included Athens, Thessalonica, Alexandria, Smyrna, most ethnic Greeks live nowadays within the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. The Greek genocide and population exchange between Greece and Turkey nearly ended the three millennia-old Greek presence in Asia Minor, other longstanding Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and southern Russia and Ukraine and in the Greek diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Greeks speak the Greek language, which forms its own unique branch within the Indo-European family of languages, the Hellenic. They are part of a group of ethnicities, described by Anthony D. Smith as an archetypal diaspora people. Both migrations occur at incisive periods, the Mycenaean at the transition to the Late Bronze Age, the Mycenaeans quickly penetrated the Aegean Sea and, by the 15th century BC, had reached Rhodes, Crete, Cyprus and the shores of Asia Minor. Around 1200 BC, the Dorians, another Greek-speaking people, followed from Epirus, the Dorian invasion was followed by a poorly attested period of migrations, appropriately called the Greek Dark Ages, but by 800 BC the landscape of Archaic and Classical Greece was discernible. The Greeks of classical antiquity idealized their Mycenaean ancestors and the Mycenaean period as an era of heroes, closeness of the gods. The Homeric Epics were especially and generally accepted as part of the Greek past, as part of the Mycenaean heritage that survived, the names of the gods and goddesses of Mycenaean Greece became major figures of the Olympian Pantheon of later antiquity. The ethnogenesis of the Greek nation is linked to the development of Pan-Hellenism in the 8th century BC, the works of Homer and Hesiod were written in the 8th century BC, becoming the basis of the national religion, ethos, history and mythology. The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was established in this period, the classical period of Greek civilization covers a time spanning from the early 5th century BC to the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC. It is so named because it set the standards by which Greek civilization would be judged in later eras, the Peloponnesian War, the large scale civil war between the two most powerful Greek city-states Athens and Sparta and their allies, left both greatly weakened. Many Greeks settled in Hellenistic cities like Alexandria, Antioch and Seleucia, two thousand years later, there are still communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, like the Kalash, who claim to be descended from Greek settlers. The Hellenistic civilization was the period of Greek civilization, the beginnings of which are usually placed at Alexanders death. This Hellenistic age, so called because it saw the partial Hellenization of many non-Greek cultures and this age saw the Greeks move towards larger cities and a reduction in the importance of the city-state. These larger cities were parts of the still larger Kingdoms of the Diadochi, Greeks, however, remained aware of their past, chiefly through the study of the works of Homer and the classical authors. An important factor in maintaining Greek identity was contact with barbarian peoples and this led to a strong desire among Greeks to organize the transmission of the Hellenic paideia to the next generation
Greeks
–
Hoplites fighting. Detail from an Attic black-figure
hydria, ca. 560 BC–550 BC.
Louvre,
Paris.
Greeks
–
A reconstruction of the 3rd millennium BC "Proto-Greek area", according to Bulgarian linguist
Vladimir Georgiev.
Greeks
–
Bust of
Cleopatra VII.
Altes Museum,
Berlin.
Greeks
–
Statues of
Saints Cyril and Methodius, missionaries of
Christianity among the
Slavic peoples, on the
Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc,
Czech Republic.
5.
Homer
–
Homer is the name ascribed by the ancient Greeks to the semi-legendary author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems which are the central works of Greek literature. The Odyssey focuses on the home of Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Many accounts of Homers life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread being that he was a bard from Ionia. The modern scholarly consensus is that these traditions do not have any historical value, the Homeric question - by whom, when, where and under what circumstances were the Iliad and Odyssey composed - continues to be debated. Broadly speaking, modern scholarly opinion on the authorship question falls into two camps, one group holds that most of the Iliad and the Odyssey is the work of a single poet of genius. The other considers the Homeric poems to be the crystallization of a process of working and re-working by many contributors and it is generally accepted that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century B. C. Most researchers believe that the poems were transmitted orally. The Homeric epics were the greatest influence on ancient Greek culture and education, to Plato, the chronological period of Homer depends on the meaning to be assigned to the word Homer. Was Homer a single person, an imaginary person representing a group of poets and this information is often called the world of Homer. The Homeric period would in that cover a number of historical periods, especially the Mycenaean Age. Considered word-for-word, the texts as we know them are the product of the scholars of the last three centuries. Each edition of the Iliad or Odyssey is a different, as the editors rely on different manuscripts and fragments. The term accuracy reveals a belief in an original uniform text. The manuscripts of the work currently available date to no earlier than the 10th century. These are at the end of a missing thousand-year chain of copies made as each generation of manuscripts disintegrated or were lost or destroyed and these numerous manuscripts are so similar that a single original can be postulated. The time gap in the chain is bridged by the scholia, or notes, on the existing manuscripts, librarian of the Library of Alexandria, he had noticed a wide divergence in the works attributed to Homer, and was trying to restore a more authentic copy. He had collected several manuscripts, which he named, the Sinopic, the one he selected for correction was the koine, which Murray translates as the Vulgate. Aristarchus was known for his selection of material
Homer
–
Idealized portrayal of Homer dating to the
Hellenistic period.
British Museum.
Homer
–
Part of an 11th-century manuscript, "the Townley Homer". The writing on the top and right side are
scholia.
Homer
–
Homer and His Guide, by
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905), portraying Homer on
Mount Ida, beset by dogs and guided by the goatherder Glaucus (as told in
Pseudo-Herodotus)
Homer
–
Raphael 's inspired Homer on
Mount Parnassus.
6.
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.
7.
Farming
–
A farm is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops, it is the basic facility in food production. It includes ranches, feedlots, orchards, plantations and estates, smallholdings and hobby farms, in modern times the term has been extended so as to include such industrial operations as wind farms and fish farms, both of which can operate on land or sea. Farming originated independently in different parts of the world, as hunter gatherer societies transitioned to food production rather than, food capture. It may have started about 12,000 years ago with the domestication of livestock in the Fertile Crescent in western Asia, modern farms in developed countries are highly mechanized. In Europe, traditional farms are giving way to larger production units. In Australia, some farms are large because the land is unable to support a high stocking density of livestock because of climatic conditions. In less developed countries, small farms are the norm, the word is from the medieval Latin noun firma, also the source of the French word ferme, meaning a fixed agreement, contract, from the classical Latin adjective firmus meaning strong, stout, firm. Farming has been innovated at multiple different points and places in human history and it was the worlds first historically verifiable revolution in agriculture. Subsequent step-changes in human farming practices were provoked by the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century, farming spread from the Middle East to Europe and by 4,000 BC people that lived in the central part of Europe were using oxen to pull plows and wagons. A farm may operate under a system or with a variety of cereal or arable crops. Specialist farms are often denoted as such, thus a dairy farm, fish farm, some farms may not use the word at all, hence vineyard, orchard, market garden or truck farm. Some farms may be denoted by their location, such as a hill farm. Many other terms are used to describe farms to denote their methods of production, as in collective, corporate, intensive, organic or vertical. There are many breeds of cattle that can be milked some of the best producing ones include Holstein, Norwegian Red, Kostroma, Brown Swiss, in most Western countries, a centralized dairy facility processes milk and dairy products, such as cream, butter, and cheese. In the United States, these dairies are usually local companies, dairy farms generally sell male calves for veal meat, as dairy breeds are not normally satisfactory for commercial beef production. Many dairy farms also grow their own feed, typically including corn, alfalfa and this is fed directly to the cows, or stored as silage for use during the winter season. Additional dietary supplements are added to the feed to milk production. Poultry farms are devoted to raising chickens, turkeys, ducks, a pig farm is one that specializes in raising pigs or hogs for bacon, ham and other pork products and may be free range, intensive, or both
Farming
–
Farmland in the USA. The round fields are due to the use of
center pivot irrigation
Farming
–
Typical plan of a mediaeval English manor, showing the use of field strips
Farming
–
A
farmer harvesting crops with mule-drawn wagon, 1920s,
Iowa, USA
Farming
–
A
milking machine in action
8.
Economics
–
Economics is a social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work, consistent with this focus, textbooks often distinguish between microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics examines the behaviour of elements in the economy, including individual agents and markets, their interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, macroeconomics analyzes the entire economy and issues affecting it, including unemployment of resources, inflation, economic growth, and the public policies that address these issues. Economic analysis can be applied throughout society, as in business, finance, health care, Economic analyses may also be applied to such diverse subjects as crime, education, the family, law, politics, religion, social institutions, war, science, and the environment. At the turn of the 21st century, the domain of economics in the social sciences has been described as economic imperialism. The ultimate goal of economics is to improve the conditions of people in their everyday life. There are a variety of definitions of economics. Some of the differences may reflect evolving views of the subject or different views among economists, to supply the state or commonwealth with a revenue for the publick services. Say, distinguishing the subject from its uses, defines it as the science of production, distribution. On the satirical side, Thomas Carlyle coined the dismal science as an epithet for classical economics, in this context and it enquires how he gets his income and how he uses it. Thus, it is on the one side, the study of wealth and on the other and more important side, a part of the study of man. He affirmed that previous economists have usually centred their studies on the analysis of wealth, how wealth is created, distributed, and consumed, but he said that economics can be used to study other things, such as war, that are outside its usual focus. This is because war has as the goal winning it, generates both cost and benefits, and, resources are used to attain the goal. If the war is not winnable or if the costs outweigh the benefits. Some subsequent comments criticized the definition as overly broad in failing to limit its subject matter to analysis of markets, there are other criticisms as well, such as in scarcity not accounting for the macroeconomics of high unemployment. The same source reviews a range of included in principles of economics textbooks. Among economists more generally, it argues that a particular definition presented may reflect the direction toward which the author believes economics is evolving, microeconomics examines how entities, forming a market structure, interact within a market to create a market system
Economics
–
Economists study trade, production and consumption decisions, such as those that occur in a traditional
marketplace.
Economics
–
World GDP (PPP) per capita by country (2014)
Economics
–
In
Virtual Markets, buyer and seller are not present and trade via intermediates and electronic information. Pictured:
São Paulo Stock Exchange, Brazil.
Economics
–
A map showing the main
trade routes for goods within
late medieval Europe.
9.
Astronomy
–
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets, while the phenomena include supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, more generally, all astronomical phenomena that originate outside Earths atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy. A related but distinct subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with the study of the Universe as a whole, Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history, such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Nubians, Iranians, Chinese, during the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the results and observations being used to confirm theoretical results. Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can play an active role, especially in the discovery. Amateur astronomers have made and contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, Astronomy means law of the stars. Astronomy should not be confused with astrology, the system which claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the two share a common origin, they are now entirely distinct. Generally, either the term astronomy or astrophysics may be used to refer to this subject, however, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics. Few fields, such as astrometry, are purely astronomy rather than also astrophysics, some titles of the leading scientific journals in this field includeThe Astronomical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy and Astrophysics. In early times, astronomy only comprised the observation and predictions of the motions of objects visible to the naked eye, in some locations, early cultures assembled massive artifacts that possibly had some astronomical purpose. Before tools such as the telescope were invented, early study of the stars was conducted using the naked eye, most of early astronomy actually consisted of mapping the positions of the stars and planets, a science now referred to as astrometry. From these observations, early ideas about the motions of the planets were formed, and the nature of the Sun, Moon, the Earth was believed to be the center of the Universe with the Sun, the Moon and the stars rotating around it. This is known as the model of the Universe, or the Ptolemaic system. The Babylonians discovered that lunar eclipses recurred in a cycle known as a saros
Astronomy
–
A
star -forming region in the
Large Magellanic Cloud, an
irregular galaxy.
Astronomy
–
A giant
Hubble mosaic of the
Crab Nebula, a
supernova remnant
Astronomy
–
19th century
Sydney Observatory,
Australia (1873)
Astronomy
–
19th century
Quito Astronomical Observatory is located 12 minutes south of the
Equator in
Quito,
Ecuador.
10.
History of timekeeping devices
–
For thousands of years, devices have been used to measure and keep track of time. The current sexagesimal system of time measurement dates to approximately 2000 BC from the Sumerians, the Ancient Egyptians divided the day into two 12-hour periods, and used large obelisks to track the movement of the sun. The Zhou dynasty is believed to have used the water clock around the same time. The sundial, another clock, relies on shadows to provide a good estimate of the hour on a sunny day. It is not so useful in weather or at night. The pendulum clock remained the most accurate timekeeper until the 1930s, many ancient civilizations observed astronomical bodies, often the Sun and Moon, to determine times, dates, and seasons. The first calendars may have been created during the last glacial period, by hunter-gatherers who employed tools such as sticks, as those megalithic civilizations left no recorded history, little is known of their calendars or timekeeping methods. Methods of sexagesimal timekeeping, now common in both Western and Eastern societies, are first attested nearly 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, mesoamericans similarly modified their usual vigesimal counting system when dealing with calendars to produce a 360-day year. The oldest known sundial is from Egypt, it dates back to around 1500 BC, sundials have their origin in shadow clocks, which were the first devices used for measuring the parts of a day. Ancient Egyptian obelisks, constructed about 3500 BC, are also among the earliest shadow clocks, Egyptian shadow clocks divided daytime into 12 parts with each part further divided into more precise parts. One type of shadow clock consisted of a stem with five variable marks. It was positioned eastward in the morning, and was turned west at noon, obelisks functioned in much the same manner, the shadow cast on the markers around it allowed the Egyptians to calculate the time. The obelisk also indicated whether it was morning or afternoon, as well as the summer and winter solstices, a third shadow clock, developed c.1500 BC, was similar in shape to a bent T-square. It measured the passage of time by the shadow cast by its crossbar on a non-linear rule, the T was oriented eastward in the mornings, and turned around at noon, so that it could cast its shadow in the opposite direction. Although accurate, shadow clocks relied on the sun, and so were useless at night, the Egyptians therefore developed a number of alternative timekeeping instruments, including water clocks, and a system for tracking star movements. The oldest description of a clock is from the tomb inscription of the 16th-century BC Egyptian court official Amenemhet. There were several types of clocks, some more elaborate than others. The oldest-known waterclock was found in the tomb of pharaoh Amenhotep I, another Egyptian method of determining the time during the night was using plumb-lines called merkhets
History of timekeeping devices
–
An
hourglass keeping track of elapsed time. The hourglass was one of the earlier timekeeping devices and has become a symbol of the concept of time.
History of timekeeping devices
–
The sun rising over
Stonehenge on the
June solstice
History of timekeeping devices
–
Ancient Egyptian sundial (c. 1500 BC) from the Valley of the Kings. Daytime divided into 12 parts.
History of timekeeping devices
–
The
Luxor Obelisk in
Place de la Concorde,
Paris, France
11.
Hesiod
–
Hesiod was a Greek poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded as the first written poet in the Western tradition to regard himself as a persona with an active role to play in his subject. Ancient authors credited Hesiod and Homer with establishing Greek religious customs, modern scholars refer to him as a major source on Greek mythology, farming techniques, early economic thought, archaic Greek astronomy and ancient time-keeping. The dating of his life is an issue in scholarly circles. Epic narrative allowed poets like Homer no opportunity for personal revelations, however, Hesiods extant work comprises didactic poems in which he went out of his way to let his audience in on a few details of his life. There are three references in Works and Days, as well as some passages in his Theogony that support inferences made by scholars. Some scholars have seen Perses as a creation, a foil for the moralizing that Hesiod develops in Works and Days. Gregory Nagy, on the hand, sees both Persēs and Hēsiodos as fictitious names for poetical personae. The family association with Cyme might explain his familiarity with eastern myths, evident in his poems, however, while his poetry features some Aeolisms there are no words that are certainly Boeotian—he composed in the main literary dialect of the time, Ionian. Pausanias asserted that Boeotians showed him an old tablet made of lead on which the Works were engraved. If he did write or dictate, it was perhaps as an aid to memory or because he lacked confidence in his ability to produce poems extempore and it certainly wasnt in a quest for immortal fame since poets in his era had no such notions. However, some suspect the presence of large-scale changes in the text. Possibly he composed his verses during idle times on the farm and he was in fact a misogynist of the same calibre as the later poet, Semonides. He resembles Solon in his preoccupation with issues of good versus evil and how a just and he resembles Aristophanes in his rejection of the idealised hero of epic literature in favour of an idealised view of the farmer. Yet the fact that he could eulogise kings in Theogony and denounce them as corrupt in Works, two different—yet early—traditions record the site of Hesiods grave. This tradition follows a familiar ironic convention, the oracle that predicts accurately after all, the other tradition, first mentioned in an epigram by Chersias of Orchomenus written in the 7th century BC claims that Hesiod lies buried at Orchomenus, a town in Boeotia. Eventually they came to regard Hesiod too as their hearth-founder, later writers attempted to harmonize these two accounts. Greeks in the fifth and early 4th centuries BC considered their oldest poets to be Orpheus, Musaeus, Hesiod
Hesiod
–
The Dance of the Muses at Mount Helicon by
Bertel Thorvaldsen (1807). Hesiod cites inspiration from the
Muses while on Mount Helicon.
Hesiod
–
Hesiod and the
Muse, by
Gustave Moreau. Here he is presented with a
lyre, which contradicts the account given by Hesiod himself, in which the gift was a laurel staff.
Hesiod
–
Modern Mount Helicon—Hesiod once described his nearby hometown,
Ascra, as "cruel in winter, hard in summer, never pleasant."
Hesiod
–
16th-century manuscript of Theogony
12.
Epic poetry
–
An epic poem, epic, epos, or epopee is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Milman Parry and Albert Lord have argued that the Homeric epics and these works form the basis of the epic genre in Western literature. Nearly all Western epic self-consciously presents itself as a continuation of the tradition begun by these poems, classical epic employs dactylic hexameter and recounts a journey, either physical or mental or both. Epics also tend to highlight cultural norms and to define or call into question cultural values, another type of epic poetry is epyllion, which is a brief narrative poem with a romantic or mythological theme. The term, which means little epic, came into use in the nineteenth century, the most famous example of classical epyllion is perhaps Catullus 64. The first epics were products of preliterate societies and oral history poetic traditions, in these traditions, poetry is transmitted to the audience and from performer to performer by purely oral means. Early twentieth-century study of living oral traditions in the Balkans by Milman Parry. What they demonstrated was that oral epics tend to be constructed in short episodes, each of equal status, interest and this facilitates memorization, as the poet is recalling each episode in turn and using the completed episodes to recreate the entire epic as he performs it. Parry and Lord also contend that the most likely source for written texts of the epics of Homer was dictation from an oral performance, poets in literate societies have sometimes copied the epic format. The earliest surviving European examples are the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes and Virgils Aeneid, other obvious examples are Nonnus Dionysiaca, Tulsidas Sri Ramacharit Manas. In his work Poetics, Aristotle defines an epic as one of the forms of poetry, contrasted with lyric poetry, an attempt to delineate ten main characteristics of an epic, Begins in medias res. The setting is vast, covering many nations, the world or the universe, Begins with an invocation to a muse. Begins with a statement of the theme, contains long lists, called an epic catalogue. Shows divine intervention on human affairs, features heroes that embody the values of the civilization. Often features the tragic heros descent into the Underworld or hell, the hero generally participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries that try to defeat him in his journey and returns home significantly transformed by his journey. The epic hero illustrates traits, performs deeds, and exemplifies certain morals that are valued by the society the epic originates from, many epic heroes are recurring characters in the legends of their native culture. Conventions of epics, Preposition, Opens by stating the theme or cause of the epic and this may take the form of a purpose, of a question, or of a situation. Invocation, Writer invokes a Muse, one of the nine daughters of Zeus, the poet prays to the Muses to provide him with divine inspiration to tell the story of a great hero
Epic poetry
–
Tablet containing a fragment of the
Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic poetry
–
The first page of the
Beowulf manuscript, 8th to 10th century.
Epic poetry
–
Statue of Iranian poet
Ferdowsi in Rome, Italy. Ferdowsi's national epic
Shahnameh played an important role in revival of Iranian
patriotism and the
Persian language after both were systematically suppressed by the Arab occupation of Iran
Epic poetry
–
The Knight in the Panther's Skin by
Shota Rustaveli, one of the greatest Georgian poets.
13.
Works and Days
–
The Works and Days is a didactic poem of some 800 lines written by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod around 700 BCE. At its center, the Works and Days is an almanac in which Hesiod instructs his brother Perses in the agricultural arts. Scholars have seen this work against a background of agrarian crisis in mainland Greece, in the poem Hesiod also offers his brother extensive moralizing advice on how he should live his life. In the Works and Days, Hesiod describes himself as the heir of a farm bequeathed to him, however, Perses apparently squandered his wealth and came back for what is owned by Hesiod. Perses went to law and bribed the lords to judge in his favour, the poem contains a sharp attack against unjust judges like those who decided in favour of Perses, they are depicted as pocketing bribes as they render their unfair verdicts. Like the Theogony, the Works and Days begins with an invocation to the Muses, albeit much shorter. The poet invokes the Pierian Muses to sing of their father Zeus, Hesiod then appeals to Zeus to guide his undertaking, Hearken, seeing and hearing, and through justice put straight the laws, and may I speak the truth to Perses. Hesiod begins the poem proper by directly engaging with the content of the Theogony, family business follows, as Hesiod implores his brother to join him in sorting out their fraternal discord through the justice of Zeus. It comes out that they had divided their patrimony. The first lesson is why the immortals keep an easy livelihood hidden from mankind, in the Works and Days Hesiod proceeds directly to the theft of fire and punishment. Zeus instructed the gods to build an evil for mankind, that is, Pandora, whom Prometheus brother Epimetheus accepted from Hermes despite his brothers warnings never to accept gifts from the gods. Before Pandoras arrival, man had lived free from evils, toil and illness, but she had given a jar which contained all these curses. The Myth of the Ages follows, in the Hesiodic scheme there were five ages of mankind, the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Heroic Age and the present age, that of Iron. Race of gold man lived in the time of Cronus, an age of plenty and peace, for the earth gave for all their needs of its own accord, Golden Age man never aged, and when they died they went as though to sleep. When this age came to an end, its population became guardians of mankind, protecting them from evils, the Silver Age was much worse than the Golden, both in stature and temperament. They lived as children with their mothers for a hundred years, once they came of age, they lived but a brief time, suffering because of their foolishness. They fought with one another and did not mind the gods, angry at their impiety, Zeus destroyed the race, still, they are granted the honor of being called chthonic blessed mortals. The Bronze Race was fearsome and warlike and their weapons were bronze, they lived in bronze houses and worked in bronze, black iron did not exist yet
Works and Days
–
An image from a 1539 printing of Works and Days
14.
Cyme (Aeolis)
–
Cyme was an Aeolian city in Aeolis close to the kingdom of Lydia. The Aeolians regarded Cyme as the largest and most important of their twelve cities, as a result of their direct access to the sea, unlike most non-landlocked settlements of the ancient world, trade is believed to have prospered. Archaeological finds such as coins give reference also to a river, little is known about the foundation of the city to supplement the traditional founding legend. The Cymeans were later ridiculed as a people who had for three hundred years lived on the coast and not once exacted harbor taxes on ships making port, hesiod’s father is said to have started his journey across the Aegean from Cyme. By the 5th century BC, Cyme was one of the 12 established Ionian colonies in Aeolis, Herodotus mentions that one of the esteemed voters deciding whether or not to support Militiades the Athenian in his plan to liberate the Ionian Coast from Persian rule in was Aristagoras of Cyme. Cyme eventually came under the control of the Persian Empire following the collapse of the Lydian Kingdom at the hands of Cyrus the Great. Herodotus is the source for this period in Greek history and has paid a great deal of attention to events taking place in Ionia. When Pactyes, the Lydian general, sought refuge in Cyme from the Persians the citizens were between a rock and a hard place, as Herodotus records, they consulted the Greek god Apollo, who said after much confusion through an oracle that he should be handed over. The messengers returned home to report, and the citizens of Cyme were prepared in consequence to give up the wanted man, after the Persian naval defeat at Salamis, Xerxes moored the surviving ships at Cyme. Before 480 BC, Cyme had been the naval base for the Royal Fleet. Later accounts of Cymes involvement in the Ionian Revolt which triggered the Persian Wars confirm their allegiance to the Ionian Greek cause. During this time, Herodotus states that due to the size of the Persian army, the third army which he sent north to take Sardis was under the command of his son-in-law Otanes who promptly captured Cyme and Clazomenae in the process. However, later reveal how Sandoces, the supposed Ionian governor of Cyme helped draft a fleet of fifteen ships for Xerxes I great expedition against mainland Greece c.480 BC. As a result, Cyme, like most Ionian cities at the time was a maritime power, once Aristagoras of Miletus roused the Ionians to rebel against Darius, Cyme joined the insurrection. However, the revolts at Cyme were quelled once the city was recovered by the Persians, Sandoces, the governor of Cyme at the time of Xerxes, commanded fifteen ships in the Persian military expedition against Greece. Herodotus believes that Sandoces may have been a Greek, after the Battle of Salamis, the remnants of Xerxess fleet wintered at Cyme. Thucydides does not provide any significant mention of place is more than mentioned in the history of Thucydides. Polybius records that Cyme obtained freedom from taxation following the defeat of Antiochus III, during the reign of Tiberius, the city suffered from a great earthquake, common in the Aegean
Cyme (Aeolis)
–
Silver
tetradrachm of Cyme, 165–140 BC
Cyme (Aeolis)
–
Map of Asia Minor showing the location of Kyme
Cyme (Aeolis)
–
Map of Aegean c.200 BC showing the location of Kyme.
Cyme (Aeolis)
–
Aeolis, Larissa Phrikonis. ca 4th Century BC. Æ 11mm. Horned (?), three-quarter facing female head, turned slightly right, in necklace / LA, bull's head right.
15.
Aeolis
–
Aeolis or Aeolia was an area that comprised the west and northwestern region of Asia Minor, mostly along the coast, and also several offshore islands, where the Aeolian Greek city-states were located. Aeolis incorporated the southern parts of Mysia which bounded it to the north, Ionia to the south, Aeolis was an ancient district on the western coast of Asia Minor. It extended along the Aegean Sea from the entrance of the Hellespont south to the Hermus River and it was named for the Aeolians, some of whom migrated there from Greece before 1000 BC. Aeolis was, however, an ethnological and linguistic enclave rather than a geographical unit, the district often was considered part of the larger northwest region of Mysia. According to Homers description, Odysseus, after his stay with the Cyclopes, reached the island of Aeolia, the most celebrated of the cities was Smyrna, but in 699 BC, Smyrna became part of an Ionian confederacy. The remaining cities were conquered by Croesus, king of Lydia, later they were held successively by the Persians, Macedonians, Seleucids, and Pergamenes. Attalus III, the last king of Pergamum, bequeathed Aeolis to Rome in 133 BC, shortly afterward, it was made part of the Roman province of Asia. At the partition of the Roman Empire, Aeolis was assigned to the East Roman empire and remained under Byzantine rule until the early 15th century, autolycus of Pitane Andriscus Elias Venezis Pierluigi Bonanno, Aiolis. Storia e archeologia di una regione dell’Asia Minore alla fine del II millennio a. C
Aeolis
–
Ancient Region of Anatolia Aeolis (Αἰολίς)
16.
Asia Minor
–
Anatolia, in geography known as Asia Minor, Asian Turkey, Anatolian peninsula, or Anatolian plateau, is the westernmost protrusion of Asia, which makes up the majority of modern-day Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Sea of Marmara forms a connection between the Black and Aegean Seas through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and separates Anatolia from Thrace on the European mainland. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Black Sea to the Armenian Highlands, thus, traditionally Anatolia is the territory that comprises approximately the western two-thirds of the Asian part of Turkey. The Turkification of Anatolia began under the Seljuk Empire in the late 11th century, however, various non-Turkic languages continue to be spoken by minorities in Anatolia today, including Kurdish, Assyrian, Armenian, Arabic, Laz, Georgian, and Greek. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line running from the Gulf of Alexandretta to the Black Sea. This traditional geographical definition is used, for example, in the latest edition of Merriam-Websters Geographical Dictionary, under this definition, Anatolia is bounded to the east by the Armenian Highlands, and the Euphrates before that river bends to the southeast to enter Mesopotamia. To the southeast, it is bounded by the ranges that separate it from the Orontes valley in Syria, the first name the Greeks used for the Anatolian peninsula was Ἀσία, presumably after the name of the Assuwa league in western Anatolia. As the name of Asia came to be extended to areas east of the Mediterranean. The name Anatolia derives from the Greek ἀνατολή meaning “the East” or more literally “sunrise”, the precise reference of this term has varied over time, perhaps originally referring to the Aeolian, Ionian and Dorian colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor. In the Byzantine Empire, the Anatolic Theme was a theme covering the western, the modern Turkish form of Anatolia is Anadolu, which again derives from the Greek name Aνατολή. The Russian male name Anatoly and the French Anatole share the same linguistic origin, in English the name of Turkey for ancient Anatolia first appeared c. It is derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia, which was used by the Europeans to define the Seljuk controlled parts of Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert. Human habitation in Anatolia dates back to the Paleolithic, neolithic Anatolia has been proposed as the homeland of the Indo-European language family, although linguists tend to favour a later origin in the steppes north of the Black Sea. However, it is clear that the Anatolian languages, the oldest branch of Indo-European, have spoken in Anatolia since at least the 19th century BC. The earliest historical records of Anatolia stem from the southeast of the region and are from the Mesopotamian-based Akkadian Empire during the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 24th century BC, scholars generally believe the earliest indigenous populations of Anatolia were the Hattians and Hurrians. The region was famous for exporting raw materials, and areas of Hattian-, one of the numerous cuneiform records dated circa 20th century BC, found in Anatolia at the Assyrian colony of Kanesh, uses an advanced system of trading computations and credit lines. They were speakers of an Indo-European language, the Hittite language, originating from Nesa, they conquered Hattusa in the 18th century BC, imposing themselves over Hattian- and Hurrian-speaking populations. According to the most widely accepted Kurgan theory on the Proto-Indo-European homeland, however, the Hittites adopted the cuneiform script, invented in Mesopotamia
Asia Minor
–
The traditional definition of Anatolia within modern Turkey
Asia Minor
–
The location of
Turkey (within the rectangle) in reference to the
European continent. Anatolia roughly corresponds to the
Asian part of Turkey, except the eastern parts historically known as the
Armenian Highlands
Asia Minor
–
1907 map of Asia Minor, showing the local ancient kingdoms
Asia Minor
–
Mural of
aurochs, a
deer, and humans in
Çatalhöyük, which is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date. It was registered as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
17.
Thespiae
–
Thespiae was an ancient Greek city in Boeotia. It stood on level ground commanded by the low range of hills which run eastward from the foot of Mount Helicon to Thebes, in the history of ancient Greece, Thespiae was one of the cities of the federal league known as the Boeotian League. Other traditions suggest that they were of Mycenean origin, in the Archaic Period the Thespian nobility was heavily dependent on Thebes. This possibly reflected that land ownership was concentrated in the hands of a number of nobles. Thespiae therefore decided to become an ally of Thebes. The Thespians destroyed Ascra at some point between 700 and 650, and later settled Eutresis between 600 and 550, Thespiae also took control over Creusis, Siphae, Thisbe and Chorisae, probably some time in the late sixth century. The Thessalians invaded Boeotia as far as Thespiae, more than 200 years before Leuctra, c.571 BC, but elsewhere Plutarch gives a date for the Thessalian invasion as shortly preceding the Second Persian War. Herodotus suggests that Thespiae had been a member of the league as long as Thebes had been, following the Persian Wars, Thespiae provided two Boeotarchs to the league, rather than one, perhaps one for the city and one for the districts under its control. During the Persian invasion of 480 BC Thespiaes ability to field a force of hoplites had changed. In 1997, the Greek government dedicated a monument to the Thespians who fell alongside that of the Spartans, after the city was burned down by Xerxes, the remaining inhabitants furnished a force of 1800 men for the confederate Greek army that fought at Plataea. During the Athenian invasion of Boeotia in 424 BC, the Thespian contingent of the Boeotian army sustained heavy losses at the Battle of Delium. In the next year the Thebans dismantled the walls of Thespiae on the charge that the Thespians were pro-Athenian, in 414 the Thebans aided the Thespians in suppressing a democratic revolution. In the Corinthian War, Thespiae was initially part of the anti-Spartan alliance, at the Battle of Nemea in 394 BC, the Thespian contingent fought the Pellenes to a standstill while the rest of the Spartan allies were defeated by the Boeotians. After Nemea, Thespiae became an ally to Sparta and served as staging point for Spartan campaigns in Boeotia throughout the Corinthian War, the city became autonomous as stipulated in the Kings Peace of 386 which resolved the Corinthian War, and maintained autonomy until 373. In 373 Thespiae was subdued by the Thebans, the Thespians were exiled from Boeotia, but they still sent a contingent to fight against the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra in 371. The Boeotarch Epameinondas allowed the Thespians to withdraw before the battle, not long after the battle Thespiae was razed by Thebes and its inhabitants expelled. At some point later the city was restored, in 335 BC, the Thespians joined in an alliance with Alexander the Great in destroying Thebes. The famous hetaera Phryne was born at Thespiae in the 4th century BC, during the Hellenistic Period Thespiae sought the friendship of the Roman Republic in the war against Mithridates VI
Thespiae
–
Silver
Obol from Thespiae, 431-424 BC. Obverse: Boeotian shield Reverse: crescent, ΘΕΣ(ΠΙΕΩΝ) of Thespians.
Thespiae
–
A
kantharos from Thespiae (450–425 BC) inscribed in the
Boeotian alphabet
Thespiae
–
The
Venus of Arles, modeled after the Aphrodite of Thespiae by Praxiteles
18.
Boeotia
–
Boeotia, sometimes alternatively Latinised as Beotia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece and it was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its largest city is Thebes, Boeotia lies to the north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It also has a coastline on the Gulf of Euboea. It bordered on Megaris in the south, Attica in the southeast, Euboea in the northeast, Opuntian Locris in the north and Phocis in the west. The main mountain ranges of Boeotia are Mount Parnassus in the west, Mount Helicon in the southwest, Cithaeron in the south and its longest river, the Cephissus, flows in the central part, where most of the low-lying areas of Boeotia are found. Lake Copais was a lake in the center of Boeotia. It was drained in the 19th century, lake Yliki is a large lake near Thebes. The earliest inhabitants of Boeotia, associated with the city of Orchomenus, were called Minyans, pausanias mentions that Minyans established the maritime Ionian city of Teos, and occupied the islands of Lemnos and Thera. The Argonauts were sometimes referred to as Minyans, also, according to legend the citizens of Thebes paid an annual tribute to their king Erginus. The early wealth and power of Boeotia is shown by the reputation and visible Mycenean remains of several of its cities, especially Orchomenus, the origin of the name Boeotians may lie in the mountain Boeon in Epirus. Some toponyms and the common Aeolic dialect indicate that the Boeotians were related to the Thessalians and they moved south and settled in another rich plain, while others filtered across the Aegean and settled on Lesbos and in Aeolis in Asia Minor. Others are said to have stayed in Thessaly, withdrawing into the hill country, many ancient Greek legends originated or are set in this region. The older myths took their form during the Mycenean age when the Mycenean Greeks established themselves in Boeotia. Many of them are related to the myths of Argos, and others indicate connections with Phoenicia, Boeotia was also notable for the ancient oracular shrine of Trophonius at Lebadea. Graea, an ancient city in Boeotia, is thought to be the origin of the Latin word Graecus, from which English derives the words Greece. The major poets Hesiod and Pindar were Boeotians, on the other hand, the lack of good harbours hindered its maritime development. The importance of the legendary Minyae has been confirmed by archaeological remains, the Boeotian population entered the land from the north possibly before the Dorian invasion
Boeotia
–
Mount Helicon
Boeotia
–
Municipalities of Boeotia
Boeotia
–
18th century map of ancient Boeotia.
Boeotia
–
Ruins of the Cadmeia, the central fortress of ancient
Thebes.
19.
Mount Helicon
–
Mount Helicon is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, celebrated in Greek mythology. With an elevation of 1,749 metres, it is located approximately 10 kilometres from the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. In Greek mythology, two springs sacred to the Muses were located here, the Aganippe and the Hippocrene, both of which bear horse in their names. In a related myth, the Hippocrene spring was created when the winged horse Pegasus aimed his hoof at a rock, on Mt. Helicon too was the spring where Narcissus was inspired by his own beauty. In his Aitia, Callimachus recounts his dream in which he was once more. There had been an built on Helicon in their honor which contained statues of these Muses. The Hippocrene spring was considered to be a source of poetic inspiration, there the Muses inspired him and he began to sing of the origins of the gods. Thus Helicon became an emblem of poetical inspiration, Callimachus explicitly follows in the footsteps of Hesiod and he placed on Helicon the episode in which Tiresias stumbles upon Athena bathing and is blinded but given the art of prophecy. He explored the sacred grove by the spring Aganippe thoroughly and left a description as it then was. He saw images of Eupheme, nurse of the Muses, in the temenos were statues, some by famous masters, of Apollo and Dionysus and famed poets. The poetical image of Helicon established by the Roman poets became once more an emblem of inspiration with the Renaissance and is often referred to in poetry. Helicon was the inspiration for the balls held by the Hungarian composer Leó Festetics at his castle near Keszthely, Festetics also named the library he founded Helikon Library, promoting literacy and culture in his home city. A band in Manitowoc, Wisconsin named Heliconian River plays a blend of folk, rock, and bluegrass. The Scottish band Mogwai recorded two tracks as part of their Government Commissions, BBC Sessions 1996–2003 album entitled New Paths to Helicon, Pt.1 and New Paths to Helicon, Pt.2. Irish author Seamus Heaney wrote a poem entitled “Personal Helicon”, which references the story of Narcissus, the mountain as home of muses inspired the name of Helicon West, an open-mic/featured reader series in Logan, Utah, United States which began in 2005. Richard Hunter, The Shadow of Callimachus, Studies in the Reception of Hellenistic Poetry at Rome 2006, 16ff De Monte Sororum, In the Grove
Mount Helicon
–
Ascent on Mountain Helikon
20.
Chalcis
–
Chalcis or Chalkida is the chief town of the island of Euboea in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from antiquity and is derived from the Greek χαλκός, in the late Middle Ages, it was known as Negropont, a name that was applied to the entire island of Euboea as well. The earliest recorded mention of Chalcis is in the Iliad, where it is mentioned in the line as its rival Eretria. It is also documented that the set for the Trojan War gathered at Aulis. Chamber tombs at Trypa and Vromousa dated to the Mycenaean period were excavated by Papavasiliou in 1910. In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, colonists from Chalcis founded thirty townships on the peninsula of Chalcidice and several important cities in Magna Graecia, such as Naxos, Rhegion and Cumae. Its mineral produce, metal-work, purple and pottery not only found markets among these settlements, early in the 6th century BC, its prosperity was broken by a disastrous war with the Athenians, who expelled the ruling aristocracy and settled a cleruchy on the site. Chalcis subsequently became a member of both the Delian Leagues, in the Hellenistic period, it gained importance as a fortress by which the Macedonian rulers controlled central Greece. It was used by kings Antiochus III of Syria and Mithradates VI of Pontus as a base for invading Greece, under Roman rule, Chalcis retained a measure of commercial prosperity. The city is recorded as a city in the 6th-century Synecdemus and mentioned by the contemporary historian Procopius of Caesarea, the town survived an Arab naval raid in the 880s and its bishop is attested in the 869–70 Church council held at Constantinople. By the 12th century, the featured a Venetian trading station, being attacked by the Venetian fleet in 1171 and eventually seized by Venice in 1209. For Westerners, its name was Negropont or Negroponte. The town was a condominium between Venice and the Veronese barons of the rest of Euboea, known as the triarchs, who resided there. Chalcis or Negroponte became a Latin Church diocese, the first bishop being Theodorus, the Greek bishop of the see, a large hoard of late medieval jewellery dating from Venetian times was found in Chalcis Castle in the nineteenth century and is now in the British Museum. The synagogue dated to around 1400 and that siege is the subject of the Rossini opera Maometto II. The Ottomans made it the seat of the Admiral of the Archipelago, in 1688, it was successfully held by the Ottomans against a strong Venetian attack. The modern town received an impetus in its trade from the establishment of railway connection with Athens. The old town, called the Castro, was surrounded by a circuit of defense walls until they were completely razed for urban development around the start of the 20th century
Chalcis
–
Chalcis' seafront
Chalcis
–
Exhibits in the archaeological museum of Chalcis.
Chalcis
–
View of the Roman aqueduct.
Chalcis
–
Venetian map of Chalcis (Negroponte) (1597).
21.
Tripod
–
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. A tripod provides stability against downward forces and horizontal forces and movements about horizontal axes, the positioning of the three legs away from the vertical centre allows the tripod better leverage for resisting lateral forces. The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek
Tripod
–
Young
George Washington using a
surveyor's tripod
Tripod
–
A ding from late
Xia Dynasty.
Tripod
–
Seabees train with the
M240B mounted on the
M122 tripod.
Tripod
–
A tripod used to support a
rooftop television antenna
22.
Laurus nobilis
–
Laurus nobilis is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous leaves, in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cooking and its common names include bay laurel, sweet bay, bay, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree or simply laurel. Laurus nobilis figures prominently in classical Greek, Roman, and Biblical culture, the laurel is an evergreen shrub or small tree, variable in size and sometimes reaching 7–18 metres tall. The genus Laurus includes four accepted species, whose diagnostic key characters often overlap, the bay laurel is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Each flower is pale yellow-green, about 1 cm diameter, the leaves are glabrous, 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with an entire margin. On some leaves the margin undulates, the fruit is a small, shiny black berry-like drupe about 1 cm long that contains one seed. A recent study found considerable genetic diversity within L. nobilis, Laurus nobilis is a widespread relic of the laurel forests that originally covered much of the Mediterranean Basin when the climate of the region was more humid. With the drying of the Mediterranean during the Pliocene era, the forests gradually retreated. The most abundant component found in essential oil is 1, 8-cineole. Both essential and fatty oils are present in the fruit, the fruit is pressed and water-extracted to obtain these products. The fruit contains up to 30% fatty oils and about 1% essential oils, the plant is the source of several popular herbs and one spice used in a wide variety of recipes, particularly among Mediterranean cuisines. Most commonly, the leaves are added whole to Italian pasta sauces. They are typically removed from dishes before serving, unless used as a simple garnish, whole bay leaves have a long shelf life of about one year, under normal temperature and humidity. Whole bay leaves are used almost exclusively as flavor agents during the preparation stage. Ground bay leaves, however, can be ingested safely and are used in soups and stocks. Dried laurel berries and pressed leaf oil can both be used as robust spices, and the wood can be burnt for strong smoke flavoring, aqueous extracts of bay laurel can also be used as astringents and even as a reasonable salve for open wounds. In massage therapy, the oil of bay laurel is reputed to alleviate arthritis and rheumatism, while in aromatherapy, it is used to treat earaches. A traditional folk remedy for rashes caused by poison ivy, poison oak, the chemical compound lauroside B isolated from Laurus nobilis is an inhibitor of human melanoma cell proliferation at high concentrations in-vitro
Laurus nobilis
–
Bay laurel
Laurus nobilis
–
A laurel shrub
Laurus nobilis
–
Laurus nobilis in pot
23.
Lyre
–
The lyre is a string instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later periods. The lyre is similar in appearance to a small harp but with distinct differences, the word comes via Latin from the Greek, the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning lyrists and written in the Linear B script. The lyres of Ur, excavated in ancient Mesopotamia, date to 2500 BC, the earliest picture of a lyre with seven strings appears in the famous sarcophagus of Hagia Triada. The sarcophagus was used during the Mycenaean occupation of Crete, the recitations of the Ancient Greeks were accompanied by lyre playing. The lyre of classical antiquity was ordinarily played by being strummed with a plectrum, the fingers of the free hand silenced the unwanted strings in the chord. However, later lyres were played with a bow in Europe, one example from Wales that has been resurrected recently is the crwth. In organology, lyres are defined as yoke lutes, being lutes in which the strings are attached to a yoke which lies in the plane as the sound-table. A classical lyre has a body or sound-chest, which. Extending from this sound-chest are two raised arms, which are hollow, and are curved both outward and forward. They are connected near the top by a crossbar or yoke, an additional crossbar, fixed to the sound-chest, makes the bridge which transmits the vibrations of the strings. They were stretched between the yoke and bridge, or to a tailpiece below the bridge, according to ancient Greek mythology, the young god Hermes stole a herd of sacred cows from Apollo. In order not to be followed, he made shoes for the cows which forced them to walk backwards, Apollo, following the trails, could not follow where the cows were going. Along the way, Hermes slaughtered one of the cows and offered all, from the entrails and a tortoise/turtle shell, he created the Lyre. Apollo, figuring out it was Hermes who had his cows, Apollo was furious, but after hearing the sound of the lyre, his anger faded. Apollo offered to trade the herd of cattle for the lyre, hence, the creation of the lyre is attributed to Hermes. Other sources credit it to Apollo himself, locales in southern Europe, western Asia, or north Africa have been proposed as the historic birthplace of the genus. The instrument is played in north-eastern parts of Africa. Some of the cultures using and developing the lyre were the Aeolian and Ionian Greek colonies on the coasts of Asia bordering the Lydian empire, some mythic masters like Musaeus, and Thamyris were believed to have been born in Thrace, another place of extensive Greek colonization
Lyre
–
Greek vase with muse playing the
phorminx, a type of lyre
Lyre
–
Lyre with tortoiseshell body (
rhyton, 480–470 BC)
Lyre
–
The Hagia Triada
Mycenaean sarcophagus, 14th century BCE, depicting the earliest lyre with seven strings, held by a man with long robe, third from the left.
Lyre
–
Pothos (Desire), restored as
Apollo Citharoedus during the Roman era (1st or 2nd century AD, based on a Greek work ca. 300 BC); the cithara strings are not extant
24.
Gustave Moreau
–
Gustave Moreau was a major figure in French Symbolist painting whose main emphasis was the illustration of biblical and mythological figures. As a painter, Moreau appealed to the imaginations of some Symbolist writers and he is recognized for his works that are influenced by the Italian Renaissance and exoticism. His art work was preserved in Paris at the Musée Gustave Moreau and he was born in Paris, France, at 6 Rue des Saints-Peres. He came from a middle class family and his father, Louis Jean Marie Moreau, was an architect for the city of Paris and his mother, nee Adele Pauline Desmoutier, was an accomplished musician. Gustave Moreau lived a sheltered life growing up, having visited Italy at age 15 he began his love for art. At age 18 he was to art at Ecole des Beaux-Arts under the guidance of François-Édouard Picot. He then began to study art under his new mentor Théodore Chassériau, Moreau participated in the Salon for the first time in 1852. Moreau had a 25-year personal, possibly romantic relationship, with Adelaide-Alexandrine Dureux and his first painting was a Pietà which is now located in the cathedral at Angoulême. He showed A Scene from the Song of Songs and The Death of Darius in the Salon of 1853, in 1853, he contributed Athenians with the Minotaur and Moses Putting Off his Sandals within Sight of the Promised Land to the Great Exhibition. Oedipus and the Sphinx, one of his first symbolist paintings, was exhibited at the Salon of 1864, Moreau quickly gained a reputation for eccentricity. One commentator said Moreaus work was like a pastiche of Mantegna created by a German student who relaxes from his painting by reading Schopenhauer, the painting currently resides in the permanent collection at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. On March 28,1890, Alexandrine Dureux died and her death affected Moreau greatly, and his work after this point contained a more melancholic edge. She was buried at the cemetery that Moreau himself would be laid to rest. Moreau became a professor at Paris École des Beaux-Arts in October 1891, among his many students were fauvist painters Henri Matisse and Georges Rouault. Jules Flandrin, Theodor Pallady and Léon Printemps also studied with Moreau, Moreau died of stomach cancer and was buried at the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris in his parents tomb. During his lifetime, Moreau produced more than 8,000 paintings, watercolors and drawings, the museum is in his former workshop, and began operation in 1903. André Breton famously used to haunt the museum and regarded Moreau as a precursor of Surrealism and his work influenced the next generation of Symbolists, particularly Odilon Redon and Jean Delville, a leading figure in Belgian Symbolism in the early part of the twentieth century. The death of Chasseriau in 1856 caused Moreau to enter a state of gloominess and he stopped painting and withdrew himself from the public
Gustave Moreau
–
Self-portrait of Gustave Moreau, 1850
Gustave Moreau
–
Oedipus and the Sphinx (1864)
Gustave Moreau
–
Jason and Medea, (1865)
Gustave Moreau
–
Orpheus (1865)
25.
Persona
–
A persona, in the words everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word phersu, with the meaning. The same individuals as actors could play different roles, each with its own attributes, sometimes even in the same court appearance. In the context of the web, users create virtual persona which are also termed internet or online identities. In literature the term refers to a character established by an author. Poets such as Robert Browning, Ezra Pound, and T. S. Eliot are strongly associated with such narrative voices and these writers understood the term slightly differently and derived its use and meaning from different traditions. Examples of Eliots personae were Prufrock and Sweeney, Pound developed such characters as Cino, Bertran de Born, Propertius, and Mauberley in response to figures in Browning’s dramatic monologues. Whereas Eliot used masks to distance himself from aspects of life which he found degrading and repulsive, Pounds personae were often poets. For Pound, the personae were a way of working through a specific poetic problem, in this sense, the persona is a transparent mask, wearing the traits of two poets and responding to two situations, old and new, which are similar and overlapping. In literary analysis, any narrative voice that speaks in the first person and it is contrasted with a third-person narrative voice, generally taken to be more objective and impersonal. Usually the performers assume a role that matches the music they sing on stage, many performers make use of a persona. Some artists create various characters, especially if their career is long, for example, David Bowie initially adopted a role as an alien Ziggy Stardust, and later as The Thin White Duke. More than just artistic pseudonyms, the personae are independent characters used in the artists shows, however, in music, a persona does not always mean a change. Some authors have noted that Bob Dylans charisma is due largely to his almost stereotyped image, always with a harmonica, guitar, and with his hair, nasal voice. The persona also serves to claim a right or to draw attention to a certain subject and that is the case of Marilyn Manson and his interest in death and morbidity, and Madonna and her interest in sexuality. The concept of persona in music was introduced by Edward T, cone in his The Composers Voice, that dealt with the relation between the lyrical self of a songs lyrics and its composer. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, presents a group persona, artists such as Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé popularized the use of personae in the performance of pop music
Persona
–
In Latin, persona originally meant "
mask ".
Persona
–
David Bowie as
The Thin White Duke at Maple Leaf Gardens,
Toronto 1976
26.
Cumae
–
Cumae was an ancient city of Magna Graecia on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC, Cumae was the first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, the ruins of the city lie near the modern village of Cuma, a frazione of the comune Bacoli in the Province of Naples, Campania, Italy. Cumae is perhaps most famous as the seat of the Cumaean Sibyl and her sanctuary is now open to the public. In Roman mythology, there is an entrance to the underworld located at Avernus, a lake near Cumae. They were already established at Pithecusae, they were led by the paired oecists Megasthenes of Chalcis and its name refers to the peninsula of Cyme in Euboea. It spread its influence throughout the area over the 7th and 6th centuries BC, gaining sway over Puteoli and Misenum and, thereafter, all these facts were recalled long afterwards, Cumaes first brief contemporary mention in written history is in Thucydides. The growing power of the Cumaean Greeks led many indigenous tribes of the region to organize against them, notably the Dauni, contact between the Romans and the Cumaeans is recorded during the reign of Aristodemus. Livy states that prior to the war between Rome and Clusium, the Roman senate sent agents to Cumae to purchase grain in anticipation of a siege of Rome. Also Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last legendary King of Rome, lived his life in exile with Aristodemus at Cumae after the Battle of Lake Regillus, also during the reign of Aristodemus, the Cumaean army assisted the Latin city of Aricia to defeat the Etruscan forces of Clusium. The combined fleets of Cumae and Syracuse defeated the Etruscans at the Battle of Cumae in 474 BC, the Greek period at Cumae came to an end in 421 BC, when the Oscans broke down the walls and took the city, ravaging the countryside. Cumae came under Roman rule with Capua and in 338 was granted partial citizenship, in the Second Punic War, in spite of temptations to revolt from Roman authority, Cumae withstood Hannibals siege, under the leadership of Tib. At the end of the 4th century, the temple of Zeus at Cumae was transformed into a Christian basilica, the first historically documented bishop of Cumae was Adeodatus, a member of a synod convoked by Pope Hilarius in Rome in 465. Misenus was excommunicated on his return but was rehabilitated and took part as bishop of Cumae in two synods of Pope Symmachus. Pope Gregory the Great entrusted the administration of the diocese of Cumae to the bishop of Misenum, later, both Misenum and Cumae ceased to be residential sees and the territory of Cumae became part of the diocese of Aversa after the destruction of Cumae in 1207. Accordingly, Cumae is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, in 1207, forces from Naples, acting for the boy-King of Sicily, destroyed the city and its walls, as the stronghold of a nest of bandits. The seaward side of the rise on which Cumae was built was used as a bunker. Not to be confused with the namesake Cuma in Asia Minor A bishopric was established around 450 AD, in 700 it gained territory from the suppressed Diocese of Miseno. In 1207 it was suppressed itself, its territory being divided and merged into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aversa, saint Massenzio Rainaldo Giovanni Gregorio Leone In 1970, the diocese was nominally restored as a Latin titular see
Cumae
–
The
acropolis of Cumae seen from the lower city.
Cumae
–
The lower city of Cumae seen from the acropolis
Cumae
–
Entrance to the Cave of the
Sibyl
Cumae
–
The Temple of
Zeus at Cumae was converted into a paleochristian
basilica. The
baptismal font can still be seen in the back of the building.
27.
Campania
–
Campania is a region in Southern Italy. Located on the Italian Peninsula, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west, it includes the small Phlegraean Islands, Campania was colonised by Ancient Greeks and was part of Magna Græcia. During the Roman era, the area maintained a Greco-Roman culture, the capital city of Campania is Naples. Campania is rich in culture, especially in regard to gastronomy, music, architecture, archeological and ancient sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum and Velia. The name of Campania itself is derived from Latin, as the Romans knew the region as Campania felix, the rich natural sights of Campania make it highly important in the tourism industry, especially along the Amalfi Coast, Mount Vesuvius and the island of Capri. During the 8th century BC, people from Euboea in Greece, known as Cumaeans, another Oscan tribe, the Samnites, moved down from central Italy into Campania. The Roman consul Quintus Publilius Filo recaptured Neapolis by 326 BC, the Second Samnite War ended with the Romans controlling southern Campania and additional regions further to the south. Campania was a part of the Roman Republic by the end of the 4th century BC, valued for its pastures. Its Greek language and customs made it a centre of Hellenistic civilization, during the Pyrrhic War the battle took place in Campania at Maleventum in which the Romans, led by consul Curius Dentatus, were victorious. They renamed the city Beneventum, which grew in stature until it was only to Capua in southern Italy. During the Second Punic War in 216 BC, Capua, in a bid for equality with Rome, the rebellious Capuans were isolated from the rest of Campania, which remained allies of Rome. Naples resisted Hannibal due to the imposing walls, Capua was eventually starved into submission in the Roman retaking of 211 BC, and the Romans were victorious. The rest of Campania, with the exception of Naples, adopted the Latin language as official and was Romanised. As part of the Roman Empire, Campania, with Latium, Roman Emperors chose Campania as a holiday destination, among them Claudius and Tiberius, the latter of whom is infamously linked to the island of Capri. It was also during this period that Christianity came to Campania, Two of the apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, are said to have preached in the city of Naples, and there were also several martyrs during this time. Unfortunately, the period of calm was violently interrupted by the epic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 which buried the cities of Pompeii. The area had many duchies and principalities during the Middle Ages, in the hands of the Byzantine Empire, under the Normans, the smaller independent states were brought together as part of the Kingdom of Sicily, before the mainland broke away to form the Kingdom of Naples. It was during this period elements of Spanish, French
Campania
–
Temple of Hera,
Paestum, built 550 BC
Campania
–
Campania
Campania
–
The Last Day of Pompeii –
Karl Briullov
Campania
–
Early kings ruled from
Castel Nuovo
28.
Yeoman
–
A yeoman /ˈjoʊmən/ was a member of a social class in late medieval to early modern England. A specialized meaning in naval terminology, petty officer in charge of supplies, the term is first recorded c. It may be a contraction of Old English iunge man, meaning young man, the Canons Yeomans Prologue and Tale appears in Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales, written between 1387 and 1400. During the late 14th to 18th centuries, yeomen were farmers who owned land and their wealth and the size of their landholding varied. Often it was hard to distinguish minor landed gentry from the wealthier yeomen, the Concise Oxford Dictionary states that a yeoman was a person qualified by possessing free land of 40/- annual value, and who can serve on juries and vote for a Knight of the Shire. He is sometimes described as a landowner, a farmer of the middle classes. The term had a sense as in the Yeomanry Cavalry of the late 18th century. The yeoman archer was unique to England and Wales, though Kentish Weald and Cheshire archers were noted for their skills, it appears that the bulk of the yeomanry was from the English and Welsh Marches. The original Yeomen of the Guard chartered in 1485 were most likely of Brittonic descent, including Welshmen and they were established by King Henry VII, himself a Briton who was exiled in Brittany during the Wars of the Roses. He recruited his forces mostly from Wales and the West Midlands of England on his journey to victory at Bosworth Field, Yeomen were often constables of their parish, and sometimes chief constables of the district, shire or hundred. Many yeomen held the positions of bailiffs for the High Sheriff or for the shire or hundred, other civic duties would include churchwarden, bridge warden, and other warden duties. It was also common for a yeoman to be an overseer for his parish, Yeomen, whether working for a lord, king, shire, knight, district or parish served in localised or municipal police forces raised by or led by the landed gentry. Some of these roles, in particular those of constable and bailiff were carried down through families, Yeomen often filled ranging, roaming, surveying, and policing roles. In Chaucers Friars Tale, a yeoman who is a bailiff of the forest who tricks the Summoner turns out to be the devil ready to grant wishes already made, the earlier class of franklins were similar to yeomen, wealthy peasant landowners, freeholders or village officials. They were typically village leaders, constables or mayors, Franklin militias were similar to later yeomanries. Yeomen took over roles in the 14th century as many of them became leaders, constables, sheriffs, justices of the peace, mayors. It was too much, for even ‘valets’ known as ‘yeoman archers’ were forbidden to be returned to parliament, the yeoman also comprised a military class or status. In the United States, yeomen were identified in the 18th and 19th centuries as non-slaveholding, small landowning, in Southern areas where land was poor, like East Tennessee, the landowning yeomen were typically subsistence farmers, but some managed to grow some crops for market
Yeoman
–
A
Yeoman Warder at the
Tower of London in England
29.
Aeolic Greek
–
In linguistics, Aeolic Greek is the set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia, Thessaly, in the Aegean island of Lesbos, and the Greek colonies of Asia Minor. The Aeolic dialect shows many archaisms in comparison to the other Ancient Greek dialects, Aeolic Greek is widely known as the language of Sappho and of Alcaeus of Mytilene. Aeolic poetry, which is exemplified in the works of Sappho, mostly uses four classical meters known as the Aeolics, Glyconic, hendecasyllabic verse, Sapphic stanza, by contrast, PIE *kʷ changed to Attic/Ionic, Arcadocypriot, and Doric t before e and i. PIE *kʷetwores → Lesbian písures, Boeotian péttares ~ Attic téttares, Ionic tésseres, Doric tétores four Similarly PIE/PGk *gʷ always became b, labiovelars were treated the same way in the P-Celtic languages and the Sabellic languages. A Proto-Greek consonant cluster with h and a sonorant changed to a sonorant in Aeolic by assimilation. In Attic/Ionic and Doric, the h assimilated to the vowel before the consonant cluster, PIE VsR or VRs → Attic/Ionic-Doric VVR. PIE *h₁ésmi → Proto-Greek *ehmi → Aeolic emmi ~ Attic/Ionic ēmi I am Lesbian Aeolic lost in initial h- from Proto-Indo-European s- or y-, by contrast, Ionic sometimes retains it, and Attic always retains it. PIE wekʷ-es- → Boeotian, Doric wépos ~ Attic-Ionic épos word, epic In Aeolic and Doric, by contrast, in Attic, long ā changes to long ē in most cases, in Ionic, it changes everywhere. PIE *meh₂ter- → Aeolic, Doric mātēr ~ Attic/Ionic mētēr mother In Boeotian, Attic/Ionic potamós ~ Lesbian pótamos river Contracted or vowel-stem verbs that are thematic in Attic/Ionic are often athematic in Aeolic. Ionic philéō, Attic philô ~ Aeolic phílēmi I love The same is found in Irish. Aeolic athematic infinitive active ends in -men or -menai, Lesbian émmen, émmenai, Thessalian, Boeotian eîmen ~ Attic/Ionic eînai to be In the Lesbian dialect this ending also extends to the thematic conjugation, where Attic/Ionic has -ein. All three of these Aeolic endings occur in Homer, homeric agémen Proto-Greek -ans and -ons → -ais and -ois. The participle has ois and ais for Attic ōs, ās. bastraches βλεερεῖ bleerei Cf. eleairei γάδου gadou Δεύς Deus instead of Zeus, attested also in Laconian and Rhodian. ἐμπυρία empyria divination ζεκελτίδες zekeltides gourds Amerias zakeltides ἴδηφιν idephin sweet-voiced, ἰστάκη istake scythe ἰυγοδρομεῖν iugodromein ἰώ iō and hiōn Καραιός Karaios Boeotian epithet for Zeus meaning tall, head. κῦῤῥος kyrrhos or kyrros sir, master Μακετοὺν Maketoun Macedonian man (Thessalian -ουν-oun suffix for Attic ων ōn in both nominative and genitive of participles, pronouns and nouns
Aeolic Greek
–
Doric proper
30.
Ionic Greek
–
Ionic Greek was a subdialect of the Attic–Ionic or Eastern dialect group of Ancient Greek. The Ionic dialect appears to have spread from the Greek mainland across the Aegean at the time of the Dorian invasions. By the end of the Greek Dark Ages in the 5th-century BC, the Ionic dialect was also spoken on islands across the central Aegean and on the large island of Euboea north of Athens. The dialect was spread by Ionian colonization to areas in the northern Aegean, the Black Sea. The Ionic dialect is divided into two major time periods, Old Ionic and New Ionic. The transition between the two is not clearly defined, but 600 BC is a good approximation, the poet Archilochus wrote in late Old Ionic. The most famous New Ionic authors are Anacreon, Theognis, Herodotus, Hippocrates, and, in Roman times, Aretaeus, Arrian, and Lucian. This was further enhanced by the writing reform implemented in Athens in 403 BC, whereby the old Attic alphabet was replaced by the Ionic alphabet and this alphabet eventually became the standard Greek alphabet, its use becoming uniform during the Koine era. It was also the used in the Christian Gospels and the book of Acts. Proto-Greek ā > Ionic ē, in Doric, Aeolic, ā remains, in Attic, ā after e, i, r, in Attic, e, o is not lengthened. Proto-Greek *kórwā > Attic κόρη, Ionic κούρη girl *órwos > ὄρος, οὔρος mountain *ksénwos > ξένος, ξεῖνος guest, Proto-Greek *hāwélios > Attic hēlios, Homeric ēélios sun Ionic contracts less often than Attic. Ionic γένεα, Attic γένη family Proto-Greek *kʷ before a, o > Ionic k, Attic p. Proto-Greek *okʷō > Ionic ὄκως, Attic ὅπως in whatever way, in which way Proto-Greek *ťť > Ionic ss and this Ionic feature made it into Koine Greek. Proto-Greek *táťťō > Ionic τάσσω, Attic τάττω I arrange Ionic had a very analytical word-order, perhaps the most analytical one within ancient Greek dialects
Ionic Greek
–
Doric proper
31.
Pausanias (geographer)
–
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the time of Roman emperors Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece, a work that describes ancient Greece from his first-hand observations. This work provides crucial information for making links between classical literature and modern archaeology, andrew Stewart assesses him as, A careful, pedestrian writer. interested not only in the grandiose or the exquisite but in unusual sights and obscure ritual. He is occasionally careless, or makes unwarranted inferences, and his guides or even his own notes sometimes mislead him, yet his honesty is unquestionable, before visiting Greece, he had been to Antioch, Joppa and Jerusalem, and to the banks of the River Jordan. In Egypt, he had seen the pyramids, while at the temple of Ammon, in Macedonia, he appears to have seen the alleged tomb of Orpheus in Libethra. Crossing over to Italy, he had something of the cities of Campania. He was one of the first to write of seeing the ruins of Troy, Alexandria Troas, Pausanias Description of Greece is in ten books, each dedicated to some portion of Greece. He begins his tour in Attica, where the city of Athens, subsequent books describe Corinthia, Laconia, Messenia, Elis, Achaea, Arcadia, Boetia, Phocis and Ozolian Locris. He famously leaves out key portions of Greece such as Crete, the project is more than topographical, it is a cultural geography. Pausanias digresses from description of architectural and artistic objects to review the mythological and historical underpinnings of the society that produced them and his work bears the marks of his attempt to navigate that space and establish an identity for Roman Greece. He is not a naturalist by any means, though he does from time to comment on the physical realities of the Greek landscape. He notices the pine trees on the sandy coast of Elis, the deer and the boars in the oak woods of Phelloe. Pausanias is most at home in describing the art and architecture of Olympia. Yet, even in the most secluded regions of Greece, he is fascinated by all kinds of depictions of gods, holy relics, Pausanias has the instincts of an antiquary. Some magnificent and dominating structures, such as the Stoa of King Attalus in the Athenian Agora or the Exedra of Herodes Atticus at Olympia are not even mentioned. While he never doubts the existence of the gods and heroes, he criticizes the myths. His descriptions of monuments of art are plain and unadorned and they bear the impression of reality, and their accuracy is confirmed by the extant remains. He is perfectly frank in his confessions of ignorance, when he quotes a book at second hand he takes pains to say so
Pausanias (geographer)
–
Manuscript (1485), of Pausanias' Description of Greece at the
Laurentian Library
32.
Solon
–
Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and his reforms failed in the short term, yet he is often credited with having laid the foundations for Athenian democracy. He wrote poetry for pleasure, as propaganda, and in defense of his constitutional reforms. Ancient authors such as Herodotus and Plutarch are the source of information, yet they wrote about Solon long after his death. Fourth century orators, such as Aeschines, tended to attribute to Solon all the laws of their own, Solon was born in Athens around 638 B. C. His family was distinguished in Attica as they belonged to a noble or Eupatrid clan although only possessing moderate wealth, Solons lineage, therefore, could be traced back to Codrus, the last King of Athens. According to Diogenes Laërtius, he had a brother named Dropides who was an ancestor of Plato, according to Plutarch, Solon was related to the tyrant Peisistratos for their mothers were cousins. Solon was eventually drawn into the pursuit of commerce. When Athens and Megara were contesting for the possession of the Salamis Island, after repeated disasters, Solon was able to increase the morale and spirits of his body of troops on the strength of a poem he wrote about the islands. Supported by Peisistratos, he defeated the Megarians either by means of a trick or more directly through heroic battle around 595 B. C. The Megarians however refused to give up their claim to the island, the dispute was referred to the Spartans, who eventually awarded possession of the island to Athens on the strength of the case that Solon put to them. According to Diogenes Laertius, in 594 B. C, Solon was chosen archon or chief magistrate. As archon, Solon discussed his intended reforms with some friends, knowing that he was about to cancel all debts, these friends took out loans and promptly bought some land. Suspected of complicity, Solon complied with his own law and released his own debtors and his friends never repaid their debts. After he had finished his reforms, he travelled abroad for ten years, there, according to Herodotus he visited the Pharaoh of Egypt Amasis II. According to Plutarch, he spent some time and discussed philosophy with two Egyptian priests, Psenophis of Heliopolis and Sonchis of Sais, according to Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias, he visited Neiths temple at Sais and received from the priests there an account of the history of Atlantis. Next Solon sailed to Cyprus, where he oversaw the construction of a new capital for a local king, Solons travels finally brought him to Sardis, capital of Lydia. According to Herodotus and Plutarch, he met with Croesus and gave the Lydian king advice, Croesus had considered himself to be the happiest man alive and Solon had advised him, Count no man happy until he be dead
Solon
–
Bas-relief of Solon from the chamber of the
U.S. House of Representatives.
Solon
–
Bust of Solon from the National Museum,
Naples.
Solon
–
Croesus awaits fiery execution (
Attic red-figure
amphora, 500–490 BC,
Louvre G 197)
Solon
–
Solon, the wise lawgiver of Athens
33.
Aristophanes
–
Aristophanes, son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete and these, together with fragments of some of his other plays, provide the only real examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy, and are used to define it. Also known as the Father of Comedy and the Prince of Ancient Comedy and his second play, The Babylonians, was denounced by the demagogue Cleon as a slander against the Athenian polis. In my opinion, he says through the Chorus in that play, less is known about Aristophanes than about his plays. In fact, his plays are the source of information about him. It was conventional in Old Comedy for the Chorus to speak on behalf of the author during a called the parabasis. However, these facts relate almost entirely to his career as a dramatist, Aristophanes claimed to be writing for a clever and discerning audience, yet he also declared that other times would judge the audience according to its reception of his plays. He sometimes boasts of his originality as a dramatist yet his plays consistently espouse opposition to new influences in Athenian society. He caricatured leading figures in the arts, in politics, such caricatures seem to imply that Aristophanes was an old-fashioned conservative, yet that view of him leads to contradictions. It has been argued that Aristophanes produced plays mainly to entertain the audience, an elaborate series of lotteries, designed to prevent prejudice and corruption, reduced the voting judges at the City Dionysia to just five in number. These judges probably reflected the mood of the audiences yet there is uncertainty about the composition of those audiences. The theatres were certainly huge, with seating for at least 10000 at the Theatre of Dionysus, the conservative views expressed in the plays might therefore reflect the attitudes of the dominant group in an unrepresentative audience. The production process might also have influenced the views expressed in the plays, throughout most of Aristophanes career, the Chorus was essential to a plays success and it was recruited and funded by a choregus, a wealthy citizen appointed to the task by one of the archons. Thus the political conservatism of the plays may reflect the views of the wealthiest section of Athenian society, when Aristophanes first play The Banqueters was produced, Athens was an ambitious, imperial power and the Peloponnesian War was only in its fourth year. His plays often express pride in the achievement of the older generation yet they are not jingoistic, the plays are particularly scathing in criticism of war profiteers, among whom populists such as Cleon figure prominently. However it is whether he led or merely responded to changes in audience expectations. Aristophanes won second prize at the City Dionysia in 427 BC with his first play The Banqueters and he won first prize there with his next play, The Babylonians. Some influential citizens, notably Cleon, reviled the play as slander against the polis, Cleon also seems to have had no real power to limit or control Aristophanes, the caricatures of him continued up to and even beyond his death
Aristophanes
–
Theatre of Dionysus, Athens — in Aristophanes' time, the audience probably sat on wooden benches with earth foundations.
Aristophanes
–
Illustration from a bust found near Tusculum†.
Aristophanes
–
Muse reading, Louvre
Aristophanes
–
Thalia,
muse of comedy, gazing upon a comic mask (detail from Muses' Sarcophagus)
34.
Biography
–
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a persons life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, biographical works are usually non-fiction, but fiction can also be used to portray a persons life. One in-depth form of biographical coverage is called legacy writing, works in diverse media, from literature to film, form the genre known as biography. An authorized biography is written with the permission, cooperation, and at times, an autobiography is written by the person himself or herself, sometimes with the assistance of a collaborator or ghostwriter. At first, biographical writings were regarded merely as a subsection of history with a focus on an individual of historical importance. The independent genre of biography as distinct from general history writing, began to emerge in the 18th century, one of the earliest of the biographers was Plutarch, and his Parallel Lives, published about 80 A. D. covers prominent figures in the classical world. Cornelius Nepos published a work, his Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae. Perhaps the earliest extant biography that does not contain mythological material is The Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius, in the early Middle Ages, there was a decline in awareness of the classical culture in Europe. During this time, the only repositories of knowledge and records of the history in Europe were those of the Roman Catholic Church. Hermits, monks, and priests used this period to write biographies. Their subjects were usually restricted to the fathers, martyrs, popes. Their works were meant to be inspirational to the people and vehicles for conversion to Christianity, one significant secular example of a biography from this period is the life of Charlemagne by his courtier Einhard. Early biographical dictionaries were published as compendia of famous Islamic personalities from the 9th century onwards and they contained more social data for a large segment of the population than other works of that period. And then began the documentation of the lives of other historical figures who lived in the medieval Islamic world. By the late Middle Ages, biographies became less church-oriented in Europe as biographies of kings, knights, the most famous of such biographies was Le Morte dArthur by Sir Thomas Malory. The book was an account of the life of the fabled King Arthur, following Malory, the new emphasis on humanism during the Renaissance promoted a focus on secular subjects, such as artists and poets, and encouraged writing in the vernacular. Giorgio Vasaris Lives of the Artists was the landmark biography focusing on secular lives, vasari made celebrities of his subjects, as the Lives became an early bestseller. Two other developments are noteworthy, the development of the press in the 15th century
Biography
–
Third Volume of a 1727 edition of
Plutarch 's
Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans printed by Jacob Tonson.
Biography
–
Einhard as scribe
Biography
–
John Foxe 's
The Book of Martyrs, was one of the earliest English-language biographies.
Biography
–
James Boswell wrote what many consider to be the first modern biography,
The Life of Samuel Johnson, in 1791.
35.
John Tzetzes
–
John Tzetzes was a Byzantine poet and grammarian, known to have lived at Constantinople during the 12th century. His most important work is the Chiliades, Tzetzes was Greek on his fathers side and Iberian on his mothers side. Tzetzes was described as vain, seems to have resented any attempt at rivalry, owing to a lack of written material, he was obliged to trust to his memory, therefore caution has to be exercised in reading his work. However, he was learned, and made a contribution to the furtherance of the study of ancient Greek literature. The most important of his works is considered to be the Book of Histories. The whole production suffers from a display of learning, the total number of authors quoted being more than 400. The author subsequently brought out an edition with marginal notes in prose and verse. His collection of 107 Letters addressed partly to fictitious personages, and partly to the men and women of the writers time. Tzetzes supplemented Homers Iliad by a work that begins with the birth of Paris, in the Antehomerica, Tzetzes recalled the events taking place before Homers Iliad. This work was followed by the Homerica, covering the events of the Iliad, all three are currently available in English translations. For the other works of Tzetzes see J. A. Fabricius, Bibliotheca graeca, xi.228, litt. monograph by G. Hart, De Tzetzarum nomine, vitis, scriptis, in Jahns Jahrbucher für classische Philologie. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Tzetzes. Gautier, Paul, La curieuse ascendance de Jean Tzetzes, revue des Études Byzantines,28, 207-20
John Tzetzes
–
16th-century manuscript of
Hesiod 's
Theogony with commentaries by John Tzetze
36.
Suda
–
The Suda or Souda is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is a lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost. The Suda is somewhere between a grammatical dictionary and an encyclopedia in the modern sense and it explains the source, derivation, and meaning of words according to the philology of its period, using such earlier authorities as Harpocration and Helladios. The articles on history are especially valuable. These entries supply details and quotations from authors whose works are otherwise lost and they use older scholia to the classics, and for later writers, Polybius, Josephus, the Chronicon Paschale, George Syncellus, George Hamartolus, and so on. This lexicon represents a convenient work of reference for people who played a part in political, ecclesiastical, the chief source for this is the encyclopedia of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, and for Roman history the excerpts of John of Antioch. Krumbacher counts two main sources of the work, Constantine VII for ancient history, and Hamartolus for the Byzantine age, the system is not difficult to learn and remember, but some editors—for example, Immanuel Bekker – rearranged the Suda alphabetically. Little is known of the compilation of work, except that it must have been written before it was quoted from extensively by Eustathius who lived from about 1115 AD to about 1195 or 1196. It would thus appear that the Suda was compiled sometime after 975, passages referring to Michael Psellus are considered later interpolations. It includes numerous quotations from ancient writers, the scholiasts on Aristophanes, Homer, other principal sources include a lexicon by Eudemus, perhaps derived from the work On Rhetorical Language by Eudemus of Argos. The work deals with biblical as well as subjects, from which it is inferred that the writer was a Christian. A prefatory note gives a list of dictionaries from which the portion was compiled. Although the work is uncritical and probably much interpolated, and the value of its articles is very unequal and its quotations from ancient authors make it a useful check on their manuscript traditions. A modern translation, the Suda On Line, was completed on 21 July 2014, the Suda has a near-contemporaneous Islamic parallel, the Kitab al-Fehrest of Ibn al-Nadim. Compare also the Latin Speculum Maius, authored in the 13th century by Vincent of Beauvais and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Sūïdas. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles. Ancient Greek Scholarship, a guide to finding, reading, and understanding scholia, commentaries, lexica, Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press,2006. Tachypaedia Byzantina, The Suda On Line as Collaborative Encyclopedia, Digital Humanities Quarterly 3.1, an on-line edition of the Ada Adler edition with ongoing translations and commentary by registered editors
Suda
–
First page of an early printed edition of the Suda
37.
Plutarch
–
Plutarch was a Greek biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist, Plutarchs surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers. Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the town of Chaeronea, about 80 km east of Delphi. The name of Plutarchs father has not been preserved, but based on the common Greek custom of repeating a name in alternate generations, the name of Plutarchs grandfather was Lamprias, as he attested in Moralia and in his Life of Antony. His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are mentioned in his essays and dialogues. Rualdus, in his 1624 work Life of Plutarchus, recovered the name of Plutarchs wife, Timoxena, from internal evidence afforded by his writings. A letter is still extant, addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not to grieve too much at the death of their two-year-old daughter, interestingly, he hinted at a belief in reincarnation in that letter of consolation. The exact number of his sons is not certain, although two of them, Autobulus and the second Plutarch, are often mentioned. Plutarchs treatise De animae procreatione in Timaeo is dedicated to them, another person, Soklarus, is spoken of in terms which seem to imply that he was Plutarchs son, but this is nowhere definitely stated. Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy at the Academy of Athens under Ammonius from 66 to 67, at some point, Plutarch took Roman citizenship. He lived most of his life at Chaeronea, and was initiated into the mysteries of the Greek god Apollo. For many years Plutarch served as one of the two priests at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the site of the famous Delphic Oracle, twenty miles from his home. By his writings and lectures Plutarch became a celebrity in the Roman Empire, yet he continued to reside where he was born, at his country estate, guests from all over the empire congregated for serious conversation, presided over by Plutarch in his marble chair. Many of these dialogues were recorded and published, and the 78 essays, Plutarch held the office of archon in his native municipality, probably only an annual one which he likely served more than once. He busied himself with all the matters of the town. The Suda, a medieval Greek encyclopedia, states that Emperor Trajan made Plutarch procurator of Illyria, however, most historians consider this unlikely, since Illyria was not a procuratorial province, and Plutarch probably did not speak Illyrian. Plutarch spent the last thirty years of his serving as a priest in Delphi. He thus connected part of his work with the sanctuary of Apollo, the processes of oracle-giving
Plutarch
–
Ruins of the Temple of
Apollo at
Delphi, where Plutarch served as one of the priests responsible for interpreting the predictions of the
oracle.
Plutarch
–
Parallel Lives,
Amyot translation, 1565
Plutarch
–
Plutarch's bust at
Chaeronea, his home town.
Plutarch
–
A page from the 1470 Ulrich Han printing of Plutarch's
Parallel Lives.
38.
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
39.
Delphic oracle
–
The Pythia, was the name of the High Priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi who also served as the oracle, commonly known as the Oracle of Delphi. The name Pythia is derived from Pytho, which in myth was the name of Delphi. Pythia was the House of Snakes, the Pythia was established at the latest in the 8th century BC, and was widely credited for her prophecies inspired by being filled by the spirit of the god, in this case Apollo. The Pythian priestess emerged pre-eminent by the end of 7th century BC, during this period the Delphic Oracle was the most prestigious and authoritative oracle among the Greeks, and she was without doubt the most powerful woman of the classical world. The oracle is one of the religious institutions of the classical Greeks. Nevertheless, details of how the Pythia operated are missing as authors from the classical period treat the process as common knowledge with no need to explain and those who discussed the oracle in any detail are from 1st century BC to 4th century AD and give conflicting stories. Herodotus, writing in the fifth century BC describes the Pythia speaking in dactylic hexameters, the 8th-century reformulation of the Oracle at Delphi as a shrine to Apollo seems associated with the rise in importance of the city of Corinth and the importance of sites in the Corinthian Gulf. The earliest account of the origin of the Delphic oracle is provided in the Homeric Hymn to Delphic Apollo, which recent scholarship dates within a narrow range, c. It describes in detail how Apollo chose his first priests, whom he selected in their swift ship, but Apollo, who had Delphinios as one of his cult epithets, leapt into the ship in the form of a dolphin. Dolphin-Apollo revealed himself to the terrified Cretans, and bade them follow him up to the place where you will have rich offerings. The Cretans danced in time and followed, singing Iē Paiēon, paean seems to have been the name by which Apollo was known in Mycenaean times. G. L. Huxley observes, If the hymn to Apollo conveys a historical message, an early visitor to these dells of Parnassus, at the end of the eighth century, was Hesiod, who was shown the omphalos. There are also many stories of the origins of the Delphic Oracle. On entering the chasm, he found himself filled with a presence and could see outside of the present into the past. Excited by his discovery he shared it with nearby villagers, many started visiting the site to experience the convulsions and inspirational trances, though some were said to disappear into the cleft due to their frenzied state. A shrine was erected at the site, where people began worshiping in the late Bronze Age, after the deaths of a number of men, the villagers chose a single young woman as the liaison for the divine inspirations. Eventually she spoke on behalf of gods, according to earlier myths, the office of the oracle was initially possessed by the goddesses Themis and Phoebe, and the site was initially sacred to Gaia. Subsequently, it was believed to be sacred to Poseidon, the Earth-shaker god of earthquakes, apparently Poseidon was mollified by the gift of a new site in Troizen
Delphic oracle
–
Lycurgus Consulting the Pythia (1835/1845), as imagined by
Eugène Delacroix.
40.
Nemea
–
Nemea is an ancient site in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. Formerly part of the territory of Cleonae in Argolis, it is situated in the regional unit of Corinthia. The small village of Archaia Nemea is immediately southwest of the archaeological site, in Greek mythology, Nemea was ruled by king Lycurgus and queen Eurydice. The Nemean Games were documented from 573 BC, or earlier, at the temenos, the grave of Opheltes was surrounded by open-air altars and enclosed within a stone wall. In his time the temple, which he noted was worth seeing, stood in a grove of cypresses, its roof had fallen in and there was no cult image within the temple. Three limestone columns of the Temple of Nemean Zeus of about 330 BC have stood since their construction, as of late 2007, four more are being re-erected. The site around the temple has been excavated in annual campaigns since 1973, the great altar, baths. The temple stands on the site of an Archaic period temple, the stadion has recently been discovered. It is notable for its well-preserved vaulted entrance tunnel, dated to about 320 BC, the material discovered in the excavations is on display in an on-site museum constructed as a part of the University of Californias excavations. This was to be the last clear-cut victory that Sparta enjoyed, the result of the battle was a victory for Sparta, even though her allies on the left suffered significant losses. This willingness to accept losses on the left flank for flanking position on the right was a change from typical conservative hoplite military tactics. A Guide to the Site and Museum Nemea, Naiad Nymph of the springs of the town of Nemea
Nemea
–
The
stadion of Nemea
Nemea
–
The
apodyterium near the stadion
Nemea
–
Temple of Zeus
41.
Locris
–
Locris was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the Locrians, made up of three distinct districts. The city of Locri in Calabria, also known in antiquity as Epizephyrian Locris, was a founded by the Locrians in Magna Graecia. There is some disagreement over whether it was those from Opuntian Locris or from Ozolian Locris who were responsible, the territory of the Locrians was divided into three by Doris and Phocis, perhaps due to an early invasion of a contiguous Locrian state. This fact, combined with the regions infertility, meant that the Locrians tended to be dominated by their neighbours, to the south-west of Phocis was Ozolian Locris, situated on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, between Naupactus and Crisa. The main cities of Ozolian Locris were Amphissa and Naupactus which was its seaport, to the north east of Phocis was Opuntian Locris, named after its main city, Opus. Finally, to the north of Phocis was Epicnemidian Locris, situated near the pass of Thermopylae, the territories of the Opuntian Locri and the Epicnemidian Locri were not a continuous unit but were separated from one another by Phocis The main towns of Ozolian Locris were Amphissa and Naupactus. Today, the area is part of Aetolia-Acarnania and Phocis, the main towns of Opuntia Locris were Opus and Larymna. Today, Opuntian Locris is part of modern Phthiotis, main article, Epicnemidian Locris The main towns of Epicnemidian Locris were Nicaea and Thronium. Today, Epicnemidian Locris is part of modern Phthiotis, the province of Locris was one of the provinces of the Phthiotis Prefecture. Its capital was the town Atalanti and its territory corresponded with that of the current municipalities Amfikleia-Elateia, Lokroi, and Molos-Agios Konstantinos
Locris
–
The mountains of Ozolian Locris, looking towards
Naupactus, engraving.
42.
Irony
–
Irony, in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or event in which what appears, on the surface, to be the case, differs radically from what is actually the case. Irony may be divided into such as verbal, dramatic. Verbal, dramatic, and situational irony are often used for emphasis in the assertion of a truth, other forms, as identified by historian Connop Thirlwall, include dialectic and practical irony. Also, Eric Partridge, in Usage and Abusage, writes that Irony consists in stating the contrary of what is meant, the use of irony may require the concept of a double audience. The term is used as a synonym for incongruous and applied to every trivial oddity in situations where there is no double audience. The American Heritage Dictionarys secondary meaning for irony, incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs and this sense, however, is not synonymous with incongruous but merely a definition of dramatic or situational irony. It is often included in definitions of irony not only that incongruity is present, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, The term irony has its roots in the Greek comic character Eiron, a clever underdog who by his wit repeatedly triumphs over the boastful character Alazon. The Socratic irony of the Platonic dialogues derives from this comic origin. e, the word came into English as a figure of speech in the 16th century as similar to the French ironie. It derives from the Latin ironia and ultimately from the Greek εἰρωνεία eirōneía, meaning dissimulation, Romantic irony, A self-aware and self-critical form of fiction. Cosmic irony, A contrast between the absolute and the relative, the general and the individual, which Hegel expressed by the phrase, when the audience knows that the character will die before morning. It is most often used when the author causes a character to speak or act erroneously, in tragic irony, the audience knows the character is making a mistake, even as the character is making it. Verbal irony is distinguished from situational irony and dramatic irony in that it is produced intentionally by speakers, for instance, if a man exclaims, Im not upset. But reveals an upset emotional state through his voice while truly trying to claim hes not upset, but if the same speaker said the same words and intended to communicate that he was upset by claiming he was not, the utterance would be verbal irony. This distinction illustrates an important aspect of verbal irony—speakers communicate implied propositions that are contradictory to the propositions contained in the words themselves. Were left in no doubt as to whos ambitious and whos honourable, the literal truth of whats written clashes with the perceived truth of whats meant to revealing effect, which is irony in a nutshell. Ironic similes are a form of verbal irony where a speaker intends to communicate the opposite of what they mean, a fair amount of confusion has surrounded the issue of the relationship between verbal irony and sarcasm. Fowlers A Dictionary of Modern English Usage states, Sarcasm does not necessarily involve irony and irony has often no touch of sarcasm and this suggests that the two concepts are linked but may be considered separately. 2 a, a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, the psychologist Martin, in The Psychology of Humour, is quite clear that irony is where the literal meaning is opposite to the intended and sarcasm is aggressive humor that pokes fun
Irony
–
A
stop sign ironically defaced with a plea not to deface stop signs.
Irony
–
A "No smoking" sign surrounded by images of a smoking
Sherlock Holmes at
Baker Street tube station
43.
Epigram
–
An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. Derived from the Greek, ἐπίγραμμα epigramma inscription from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein to write on, to inscribe, the presence of wit or sarcasm tends to distinguish non-poetic epigrams from aphorisms and adages, which may lack them. These original epigrams did the job as a short prose text might have done. Epigram became a genre in the Hellenistic period, probably developing out of scholarly collections of inscriptional epigrams. Many of the types of literary epigram look back to inscriptional contexts, particularly funerary epigram. Many sympotic epigrams combine sympotic and funerary elements – they tell their readers to drink, epigrams are also thought of as having a point – that is, the poem ends in a punchline or satirical twist. By no means do all Greek epigrams behave this way, many are simply descriptive, Greek epigram was actually much more diverse, as the Milan Papyrus now indicates. A major source for Greek literary epigram is the Greek Anthology, the Anthology includes one book of Christian epigrams as well as one book of erotic and amorous epigrams called the Μουσα Παιδικη. Roman epigrams owe much to their Greek predecessors and contemporaries, Roman epigrams, however, were often more satirical than Greek ones, and at times used obscene language for effect. Its content, of course, makes it clear how popular such poems were, Admiror, O paries, Im astonished, wall, that you havent collapsed into ruins, since youre holding up the weary verse of so many poets. However, in the world, epigrams were most often gifts to patrons or entertaining verse to be published. Authors whose epigrams survive include Catullus, who wrote both invectives and love epigrams – his poem 85 is one of the latter, nescio, sed fieri sentio, et excrucior. Maybe youd like to know why I do, I dont know, but I feel it happening, and Im crucified. Martial, however, is considered to be the master of the Latin epigram and his technique relies heavily on the satirical poem with a joke in the last line, thus drawing him closer to the modern idea of epigram as a genre. Here he defines his genre against a critic, Disce quod ignoras, non sunt longa quibus nihil est quod demere possis, sed tu, Cosconi, disticha longa facis. Learn what you dont know, one work of Marsus or learned Pedo often stretches out over a doublesided page, a work isnt long if you cant take anything out of it, but you, Cosconius, write even a couplet too long. Poets known for their epigrams whose work has been lost include Cornificia, in early English literature the short couplet poem was dominated by the poetic epigram and proverb, especially in the translations of the Bible and the Greek and Roman poets. Since 1600, two lines of verse that rhyme with each other, known as a couplet featured as a part of the longer sonnet form
Epigram
–
Robert Hayman 's 1628 book Quodlibets devotes much of its text to epigrams.
44.
Orchomenus (Boeotia)
–
Orchomenus, the setting for many early Greek myths, is best known as a rich archaeological site in Boeotia, Greece, that was inhabited from the Neolithic through the Hellenistic periods. Orchomenus is also referenced as the Minyean Orchomenus in order to distinguish the city from the Arcadian Orchomenus, according to the founding myth of Orchomenos, its royal dynasty had been established by the Minyans, who had followed their eponymous leader Minyas from coastal Thessaly to settle the site. In the Bronze Age, during the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries, Orchomenos became a rich and important centre of civilisation in Mycenaean Greece, the palace with its frescoed walls and the great tholos tomb show the power of Orchomenos in Mycenaean times. A massive hydraulic undertaking drained the marshes of Lake Copaïs making it an agricultural area. Like many sites around the Aegean, Orchomenos was burned and its palace destroyed in ca.1200 BC, Orchomenos seems to have been one of the city-states that joined the Calaurian maritime League in the seventh century BC. Although their rivals Thebes confirmed their supremacy by the end of the century reflected bu inscriptions, the Agrionia, a festival of the god Dionysus, involved the ritual pursuit of women by a man representing Dionysus. Orchomenos struck its coinage from the mid-sixth century, in 480–479 BC, the Orchomenians joined their neighbouring rivals the Thebans to turn back the invading forces of Xerxes in the Greco-Persian Wars. In mid-century, Orchomenos sheltered the oligarchic exiles who freed Boeotia from Athenian control, in the fourth century the traditional rivalry with Thebes made Orchomenos an ally of Agesilaus II and Sparta against Thebes, in 395 and again in 394 BC. The Theban revenge after their defeat of Sparta in the battle of Leuctra was delayed by the tolerant policies of Epaminondas, although the Phocians rebuilt the city in 355 BC, the Thebans destroyed it again in 349. The broad plain between Orchomenos and the acropolis of Chaeronea witnessed two battles of importance in Classical antiquity. During Alexanders campaign against Thebes in 335 BC, Orchomenos took the side of the Macedonians, in recompense, Philip and Alexander rebuilt Orchomenos, when the theatre and the fortification walls, visible today, were constructed. The Second Battle of Chaeronea occurred when Roman forces under Lucius Cornelius Sulla defeated those of King Mithridates VI of Pontus near Chaeronea and this Second Battle of Chaeronea was followed by the Battle of Orchomenus, when Archelaus forces were completely destroyed. Orchomenos remained a town until Late Roman times, when the theatre was still in use. Most excavations have focussed on the early and Mycenean areas of the lower town, in 1880–86, Heinrich Schliemanns excavations revealed the tholos tomb he called the Tomb of Minyas, a Mycenaean monument that equalled the Tomb of Atreus at Mycenae itself. In 1893, A. de Ridder excavated the temple of Asklepios, in 1903–05, a Bavarian archaeological mission under Heinrich Bulle and Adolf Furtwängler conducted successful excavations at the site. Research continued in 1970–73 by the Archaeological Service under Theodore Spyropoulos, uncovering the Mycenaean palace, a prehistoric cemetery, the Tomb of Minyas is one of the greatest burial monuments of the Mycenaean period. The tomb was built for the members of the royal family of Orchomenos in 1250 BC and was plundered in antiquity. The monument was visible for centuries after its original use
Orchomenus (Boeotia)
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Orchomenos Ορχομενός
45.
Aristotle
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Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, at seventeen or eighteen years of age, he joined Platos Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, teaching Alexander the Great gave Aristotle many opportunities and an abundance of supplies. He established a library in the Lyceum which aided in the production of many of his hundreds of books and he believed all peoples concepts and all of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. Aristotles views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works, Aristotles views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their influence extended from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, some of Aristotles zoological observations, such as on the hectocotyl arm of the octopus, were not confirmed or refuted until the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known study of logic, which was incorporated in the late 19th century into modern formal logic. Aristotle was well known among medieval Muslim intellectuals and revered as The First Teacher and his ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotles philosophy continue to be the object of academic study today. Though Aristotle wrote many elegant treatises and dialogues – Cicero described his style as a river of gold – it is thought that only around a third of his original output has survived. Aristotle, whose means the best purpose, was born in 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidice. His father Nicomachus was the physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Aristotle was orphaned at a young age, although there is little information on Aristotles childhood, he probably spent some time within the Macedonian palace, making his first connections with the Macedonian monarchy. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his education at Platos Academy and he remained there for nearly twenty years before leaving Athens in 348/47 BC. Aristotle then accompanied Xenocrates to the court of his friend Hermias of Atarneus in Asia Minor, there, he traveled with Theophrastus to the island of Lesbos, where together they researched the botany and zoology of the island. Aristotle married Pythias, either Hermiass adoptive daughter or niece and she bore him a daughter, whom they also named Pythias. Soon after Hermias death, Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander in 343 BC, Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During that time he gave not only to Alexander
Aristotle
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Roman copy in marble of a Greek bronze bust of Aristotle by
Lysippus,
c. 330 BC. The
alabaster mantle is modern.
Aristotle
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Aristotelianism
Aristotle
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School of Aristotle in
Mieza,
Macedonia, Greece
Aristotle
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"Aristotle" by
Francesco Hayez (1791–1882)
46.
Agora
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AGORA is the acronym for the Access to Global Online Research on Agriculture program. There are currently 28,000 total resources available online to institutions in over 100 countries, Research4Life was set up to bridge the knowledge gap between high and low to middle income countries. The AGORA program, its programs and their publishing partners originally committed to continuing the initiative until at least 2015. Research4Life has a count of 69,000 resources available across its four programmes. Publishers are committed to working with Research4Life in its current format at least until the end of 2020, at that time, the initiative will be reviewed and adapted as needed. Other key partners include Cornell University, currently up to 70 publishers participate in AGORA, providing peer-reviewed academic content. When launched, AGORA provided access to 400 journals, as of March 2010, the initiative had increased to providing access to over 1,278 journals. As of 2016 AGORA contains 6,000 journals and 22,000 books, the original development occurred in two phases, Phase I, in 2003, allowed access to 69 countries. Phase II increased this by allowing around 30 additional countries access at low cost, the scope of the research resources is wide-ranging. Publications are in languages and are a mixture of journals, books, e-books, media reports. Users can browse through the journals and make searches using AGORA’s Summon, Access to AGORA is either free or low-cost depending on whether an institution falls into a Group A or Group B category, based on key factors to do with a country’s wealth. AGORA costs US$1500 per institution per calendar year from January through December for institutions in Group B countries, the cost covers access to all four Research4Life programmes, but separate registrations are required. All eligible institutions registering and accepted from Group B will receive a trial without payment. Those not eligible for access to AGORA and Research4Life can still freely access abstracts of all the journals. A username is not needed to access these resources, look for the “free collections” Menu and the Accessible Content tabs of the portal. Institutions can register for AGORA through its parent programme Research4Life, read the registration instructions linked from AGORA. Only one registration is required per institution, the programmes do not accept registrations from individuals. During the registration process if a country is not listed, it means it’s not eligible for Research4Life programmes, if approved, the institution’s librarian will be contacted and given detailed instructions on how to access and use the system
Agora
47.
Orpheus
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Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. For the Greeks, Orpheus was a founder and prophet of the so-called Orphic mysteries and he was credited with the composition of the Orphic Hymns, a collection of which only two have survived. Shrines containing purported relics of Orpheus were regarded as oracles, some ancient Greek sources note Orpheus Thracian origins. The earliest literary reference to Orpheus is a fragment of the sixth-century BC lyric poet Ibycus. He is not mentioned in Homer or Hesiod, most ancient sources accept his historical existence, Aristotle is an exception. Pindar calls Orpheus the father of songs and identifies him as a son of the Thracian king Oeagrus, Greeks of the Classical age venerated Orpheus as the greatest of all poets and musicians, it was said that while Hermes had invented the lyre, Orpheus had perfected it. Poets such as Simonides of Ceos said that Orpheus music and singing could charm the birds, fish and wild beasts, coax the trees and rocks into dance, and divert the course of rivers. Orpheus was one of the handful of Greek heroes to visit the Underworld and return, his music, Orpheus was an augur and seer, he practiced magical arts and astrology, founded cults to Apollo and Dionysus and prescribed the mystery rites preserved in Orphic texts. Pindar and Apollonius of Rhodes place Orpheus as the harpist and companion of Jason, Orpheus had a brother named Linus, who went to Thebes and became a Theban. He is claimed by Aristophanes and Horace to have taught cannibals to subsist on fruit, Horace believed, however, that Orpheus had only introduced order and civilization to savages. Bertrand Russell noted, The Orphics were a sect, wine, to them, was only a symbol, as, later. The intoxication that they sought was that of enthusiasm, of union with the god and they believed themselves, in this way, to acquire mystic knowledge not obtainable by ordinary means. This mystical element entered into Greek philosophy with Pythagoras, who was a reformer of Orphism as Orpheus was a reformer of the religion of Dionysus, from Pythagoras Orphic elements entered into the philosophy of Plato, and from Plato into most later philosophy that was in any degree religious. Strabo presents Orpheus as a mortal, who lived and died in a close to Olympus. Some, of course, received him willingly, but others, since they suspected a plot and violence, combined against him and killed him. He made money as a musician and wizard – Strabo uses agurteúonta, agúrtēs most often meant charlatan and always had a negative connotation. Pausanias writes of an unnamed Egyptian who considered Orpheus a mágeuse, according to Apollodorus and a fragment of Pindar, Orpheus father was Oeagrus, a Thracian king, or, according to another version of the story, the god Apollo. His mother was the muse Calliope, or, a daughter of Pierus and his birthplace and place of residence was in Pimpleia, Olympus
Orpheus
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Roman mosaic depicting Orpheus, wearing a
Phrygian cap and surrounded by the beasts charmed by the music of his
lyre
Orpheus
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Orpheus (left, with lyre) among the Thracians, from an
Attic red-figure bell-krater (ca. 440 BC)
Orpheus
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Orpheus with the lyre and surrounded by beasts (
Byzantine & Christian Museum, Athens)
Orpheus
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Thracian Girl Carrying the Head of Orpheus on His Lyre by
Gustave Moreau (1865)
