1.
Larisa (genus)
–
Larisa is a genus of moths belonging to the subfamily Olethreutinae of the family Tortricidae. The length of the forewings is 3. 8-5.8 mm for males and 4. 1-6.3 mm for females, the ground colour of the forewings is brown with a sharply delineated basal patch. The middle cross-band is greyish brown, grading to darker brown apically, there is a thin brown line centrally from the costa to the dorsum and the distal third is greyish brown, tinged in with rust in the costal half. Adults are mainly on wing from May to August, the larvae feed on Carya illinoensis
Larisa (genus)
–
Larisa
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
3.
Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
Greece
–
Fresco displaying the Minoan ritual of "bull leaping", found in
Knossos,
Crete.
Greece
–
Flag
Greece
–
The
Lion Gate,
Mycenae
Greece
–
The
Parthenon on the
Acropolis of Athens is one of the best known symbols of
classical Greece.
4.
Administrative regions of Greece
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The administrative regions of Greece are the countrys thirteen first-level administrative entities, each comprising several second-level units, originally prefectures and, since 2011, regional units. The current regions were established in July 1986, by decision of then-Interior Minister Menios Koutsogiorgas as a second-level administrative entities, as part of a decentralization process inspired by then-Interior Minister Alekos Papadopoulos, they were accorded more powers in the 1997 Kapodistrias reform of local and regional government. They were transformed into separate entities by the 2010 Kallikratis Plan. In the 2011 changes, the general secretary was replaced with a popularly elected regional governor. Many powers of the prefectures, which were abolished or reformed into regional units, were transferred to the region level. The regional organs of the government were in turn replaced by seven decentralized administrations. Bordering the region of Central Macedonia there is one region, Mount Athos. It is located on the easternmost of the three large peninsulas jutting into the Aegean from the Chalcidice Peninsula, ISO 3166-2, GR Administrative divisions of Greece
Administrative regions of Greece
–
Administrative regions of Greece Διοικητικές περιφέρειες της Ελλάδας (
Greek)
5.
Thessaly
–
Thessaly is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, Thessaly became part of the modern Greek state in 1881, after four and a half centuries of Ottoman rule. Since 1987 it has formed one of the countrys 13 regions and is further sub-divided into 5 regional units and 25 municipalities, the capital of the region is Larissa. Thessaly lies in central Greece and borders the regions of Macedonia on the north, Epirus on the west, Central Greece on the south, the Thessaly region also includes the Sporades islands. In Homers epic, the Odyssey, the hero Odysseus visited the kingdom of Aeolus, the Plain of Thessaly, which lies between Mount Oeta/Othrys and Mount Olympus, was the site of the battle between the Titans and the Olympians. According to legend, Jason and the Argonauts launched their search for the Golden Fleece from the Magnesia Peninsula, Thessaly was home to extensive Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures around 6000–2500 BC. Mycenaean settlements have also discovered, for example at the sites of Iolcos, Dimini. In Archaic and Classical times, the lowlands of Thessaly became the home of baronial families, in the summer of 480 BC, the Persians invaded Thessaly. The Greek army that guarded the Vale of Tempe evacuated the road before the enemy arrived, not much later, Thessaly surrendered to the Persians. The Thessalian family of Aleuadae joined the Persians subsequently, in the 4th century BC, after the Greco-Persian Wars had long ended, Jason of Pherae transformed the region into a significant military power, recalling the glory of Early Archaic times. Shortly after, Philip II of Macedon was appointed Archon of Thessaly, the Avars had arrived in Europe in the late 550s. They asserted their authority over many Slavs, who were divided into numerous petty tribes, many Slavs were galvanized into an effective infantry force, by the Avars. In the 7th century the Avar-Slav alliance began to raid the Byzantine Empire, laying siege to Thessalonica, relations between the Slavs and Greeks were probably peaceful apart from the initial settlement and intermittent uprisings. Being agriculturalists, the Slavs probably traded with the Greeks inside towns and it is likely that the re-Hellenization had already begun by way of this contact. This process would be completed by a newly reinvigorated Byzantine Empire, with the abatement of Arab-Byzantine Wars, the Byzantine Empire began to consolidate its power in those areas of mainland Greece occupied by Proto-Slavic tribes. Following the campaigns of the Byzantine general Staurakios in 782–783, the Byzantine Empire recovered Thessaly, apart from military expeditions against Slavs, the re-Hellenization process begun under Nicephorus I involved transfer of peoples. Many Slavs were moved to other parts of the such as Anatolia. In return, many Greeks from Sicily and Asia Minor were brought to the interior of Greece, to increase the number of defenders at the Emperors disposal, even non-Greeks such as Armenians were transferred to the Balkans
Thessaly
–
First Ancient Theatre, Larissa.
Thessaly
–
Pineios river with the church of
St. Achilles, patron saint of
Larissa, in the background.
Thessaly
–
"The Hyperian Fountain at
Pherae ",
Edward Dodwell.
6.
Larissa (regional unit)
–
Larissa is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Thessaly and its capital is the city of Larissa. Larissa is the second largest regional unit in Greece, exceeded only by Aetolia-Acarnania and it covers about one-third of Thessaly. The tallest mountain in Greece, Mount Olympus is situated in the part of the regional unit. Mount Ossa is situated in the east, at the Aegean coast, the lower stretch of the river Pineios flows through the Vale of Tempe, between Olympus and Ossa. The northern part is covered forests, but most of the regional unit is fertile land. Larissa has a mainly Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters, winter is harsher in the mountains areas, notably the north and Mount Olympus. Larissa is often the warmest area in Greece in summer and the coldest in winter, the highest temperature ever recorded was 45.4 °C and the coldest was -21.6 °C. Τhe city experiences very often temperatures over 40 °C, the regional unit Larissa is subdivided into 7 municipalities. These are, Agia Elassona Farsala Kileler Larissa Tempi Tyrnavos Larissa was created as a prefecture in 1882, as a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Larissa was created out of the former prefecture Larissa. The prefecture had the territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below, Province of Larissa Province of Tyrnavos Province of Agia Province of Elassona Province of Farsala Note, Provinces no longer hold any legal status in Greece, they were abolished in 2006. The area of Larissa was home to the Pelasgians until they merged into the broeader Greek culture, the area was invaded and was ruled by the Kingdom of Macedonia a few centuries later, and was conquered by the Roman Republic after the Third Macedonian War. The Roman imperial period was followed by Byzantine rule, which was in turn succeeded by the Ottoman Empire, parts of Thessaly revolted during the Greek War of Independence, but Thessaly remained under Ottoman Turkish rule. During the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the area was invaded by the Ottomans. The northern portions of the prefecture, the Tempe Valley and Mount Olympus, were taken by Greece during the First Balkan War in 1912-1913, the economy increased since the annexation in 1881 and later after 1913 for the north. After the Greco-Turkish War in Asia Minor of 1920-1922, refugees were relocated to the Prefecture, several villages were created for them across the prefecture. During World War II, the area was a scene of partisan activity
Larissa (regional unit)
–
Municipalities of Larissa
7.
Eastern European Time
–
Eastern European Time is one of the names of UTC+02,00 time zone,2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. The zone uses daylight saving time, so that it uses UTC+03,00 during the summer, a number of African countries use UTC+02,00 all year long, where it is called Central Africa Time, although Egypt and Libya also use the term Eastern European Time. The following countries, parts of countries, and territories use Eastern European Time all year round, Egypt, since 21 April 2015, used EEST from 1988–2010, Kaliningrad Oblast, since 26 October 2014, also used EET in years 1945 and 1991–2011. Libya, since 27 October 2013, switched from Central European Time, used year-round EET from 1980–1981, 1990–1996 and 1998–2012. Belarus, in years 1922–30 and 1990–2011 In Poland this time was used in years 1918–22, in time of World War II, Germany implemented MET in east occupied territories. Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol used EET as part of Ukraine in years 1991-94 and 1996-2014 Turkey, used EET in years 1910-1978, now uses year round DST timezone called Further-eastern European Time or Turkey Time. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus also uses FET, sometimes, due to its use on Microsoft Windows, FLE Standard Time or GTB Standard Time are used to refer to Eastern European Time. Since political, in addition to geographical, criteria are used in the drawing of time zones. The EET time zone, were it drawn by purely geographical terms, the easternmost part of the Republic of Macedonia, including the city of Strumica. The absolutely easternmost part of Serbia, in the Pirot District, the easternmost town in Norway, Vardø, lies at 30°51 E, which is located east of even of the central meridian of UTC+2, i. e. east of Istanbul and Alexandria. The Norwegian-Russian border is the place where CET borders Moscow time. There is a point at the Norway-Finland-Russia tripoint, near the town of Rayakoski. Belarus is located between 23°11′E and 32°47′E and is fully located with the physical UTC+2 area, but it uses UTC+3 year around. This also includes the city of Anapa, at the westernmost tip of the Krasnodar Krai near the entrance to the Sea of Azov, the Norway–Russia–Finland tri-zone point at Muotkavaara is surrounded by three different times in winter, two in summer. It had three time zones year-around before 2014, two of the four tripoints of Belarus and the tripoint of the Kaliningrad Region are surrounded by three different times in winter
Eastern European Time
–
light blue
8.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
Daylight saving time
–
Ancient
water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
–
G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
–
Retailers generally favor DST.
United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
–
William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
9.
Eastern European Summer Time
–
Eastern European Summer Time is one of the names of UTC+3 time zone,3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a daylight saving time in some European and Middle Eastern countries. During the winter periods, Eastern European Time is used, since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October, previously the rules were not uniform across the European Union. Syria, since 1983 Ukraine, Moscow Summer Time in years 1981–89, regular EEST from 1992 In one year 1991 EEST was used also in Moscow, egypt has previously used EEST from 1957–2010 and 2014–2015. Turkey, has previously used EEST from 1970-1978 EEST, Moscow Summer Time from 1979–1983, and EEST from 1985-2016
Eastern European Summer Time
–
light blue
10.
Vehicle registration plates of Greece
–
Greek vehicle registration plates are composed of three letters and four digits per plate. The letters represent the district that issues the plates while the numbers begin from 1000 to 9999, similar plates with digits beginning from 1 to 999 are issued for motorcycles which exceed 50 cc. With the exception of Athens and Thessaloniki, all districts are represented by the first 2 letters, the final letter in the sequence changes in Greek alphabetical order after 9,000 issued plates. For example, Patras plates are ΑΧΑ-1000, where ΑΧ represents the Achaia prefecture of which Patras is the capital, when ΑΧΑ-9999 is reached the plates turn to ΑΧΒ-1000 and this continues until ΑΧΧ is finished. Only the letters from the intersection between the Latin and Greek alphabets by glyph appearance are used, namely Α, Β, Ε, Ζ, Η, Ι, Κ, Μ, Ν, Ο, Ρ, Τ, Υ, Χ. This is because Greece is a party to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. The rule applies in a way in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Combinations used for residents are L-NNNN and are limited. Until 2003, taxis used L-NNNN, the plate was aligned with the prefecture, when number plates were introduced to Greece, they were numbered and in the late 1950s the system was L-NNN and LL-NNN. The letters were Greek letters and Latin letters, respectively, in 1956, the system was NNNNNN. In 1972, they became lettered and the system was LL-NNNN while trucks used L-NNNN, in 1983, the system was LLL-NNNN and the first two letters are prefecture letters. In 2004, the euroband was added, the first 2 of 3 letters of a licence plate usually represent the prefecture where the car was registered. Π. — Disabled in war ΔΟΚ — Test plates ΔΣ — Corps Diplomatique or foreign delegation Ε. Α. or ΕΛ. ΑΣ. — Hellenic Police ΛΣ — Coast Guard ΞΑ — Foreign missions ΕΣ — Hellenic Army ΠΑ — Hellenic Air Force ΠΝ — Hellenic Navy ΠΣ — Fire Guard ΠΚ — President of the Government, i. e
Vehicle registration plates of Greece
–
Greek Europlate
Vehicle registration plates of Greece
–
A Greek motorcycle licence plate
Vehicle registration plates of Greece
Vehicle registration plates of Greece
11.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
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Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
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Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
12.
Modern regions of Greece
–
The administrative regions of Greece are the countrys thirteen first-level administrative entities, each comprising several second-level units, originally prefectures and, since 2011, regional units. The current regions were established in July 1986, by decision of then-Interior Minister Menios Koutsogiorgas as a second-level administrative entities, as part of a decentralization process inspired by then-Interior Minister Alekos Papadopoulos, they were accorded more powers in the 1997 Kapodistrias reform of local and regional government. They were transformed into separate entities by the 2010 Kallikratis Plan. In the 2011 changes, the general secretary was replaced with a popularly elected regional governor. Many powers of the prefectures, which were abolished or reformed into regional units, were transferred to the region level. The regional organs of the government were in turn replaced by seven decentralized administrations. Bordering the region of Central Macedonia there is one region, Mount Athos. It is located on the easternmost of the three large peninsulas jutting into the Aegean from the Chalcidice Peninsula, ISO 3166-2, GR Administrative divisions of Greece
Modern regions of Greece
–
Administrative regions of Greece Διοικητικές περιφέρειες της Ελλάδας (
Greek)
13.
Volos
–
Volos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 330 kilometres north of Athens and 220 kilometres south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia regional unit, Volos is the only outlet to the sea from Thessaly, the countrys largest agricultural region. With a population of 144,449, it is an important industrial centre, Volos is the newest of the Greek port cities, with a large proportion of modern buildings erected following the catastrophic earthquakes of 1955. It includes the units of Volos, Nea Ionia and Iolkos. The economy of the city is based on manufacturing, trade, services, home to the University of Thessaly, the city also offers facilities for conferences, exhibitions and major sporting, cultural and scientific events. Volos participated in the 2004 Olympic Games, and the city has played host to other athletic events. Volos hosted the 7th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics from 27 July to 5 August 2013, built at the innermost point of the Pagasetic Gulf and at the foot of Mount Pilio. The city spreads in the plain on the foothills of Mount Pelion, bordering the town of Agria to the east, Volos municipality includes both towns, along with many nearby villages, including Makrinitsa and Portaria. Volos is the a major port of mainland Greece in the Aegean sea, with connection by ferry and hydrofoil to the nearby Sporades Islands. There are also connections to Limnos, Lesvos, Chios and Skyros, modern Volos is built on the area of the ancient cities of Demetrias, Pagasae and Iolcos. Demetrias was established by Demetrius Poliorcetes, King of Macedon, Iolkos, Iolcos or Iolcus, was the homeland of mythological hero Jason, who boarded the ship Argo accompanied by the Argonauts and sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece to Colchis. During the course of the 8th century, mainland Greece was subjected to numerous Bulgarian raids, at the end of the century, a large scale Bulgarian military expedition headed by the chieftain Akamir was launched from Belasica. The Bulgarians plundered Thessalia, from their encampment which was located between modern day Volos and Velestino, the Byzantines called those Bulgarians Velegizitas or Vielesti. Volos, Velestino, Zagora and many placenames in Magnesia originate from that period and are of Slavic origin. The first reference to Golos comes from a Byzantine document dated to 1333, Golos either originated from the Slavic word Golos, which means seat of administration. Or from Gol which means bald, naked, as the area has sparse vegetation, two alternative theories allude to a Greek origin through the words βολή, as fishermen threw their nets into the sea from that area, and βώλος. In the 14 century Volos came under the control of Serbia, subsequent conquest by the Republic of Venice, the city marked a Southern border of Vilayet-i Rumeli-i Şarki in the Ottoman Empire, known then as Golos. Volos is a new city, beginning its strongest growth in the mid-19th century
Volos
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Volos seaside by night
Volos
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The return of the Argonauts by
Constantine Volanakis (1837–1907).
Volos
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The port of Volos by
Constantine Volanakis (c.1875).
Volos
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Modern sculpture of
Argo, the mythic ship of the
Argonauts, at the port.
14.
Thessaloniki
–
Its nickname is η Συμπρωτεύουσα, literally the co-capital, a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα or co-reigning city of the Eastern Roman Empire, alongside Constantinople. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, Thessaloniki was the 2014 European Youth Capital. The city of Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon, an important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire. It was conquered by the Ottomans in 1430, and passed from the Ottoman Empire to modern Greece on November 8,1912, the citys main university, Aristotle University, is the largest in Greece and the Balkans. Thessaloniki is a popular tourist destination in Greece, among street photographers, the center of Thessaloniki is also considered the most popular destination for street photography in Greece. All variations of the name derive from the original appellation in Ancient Greek, i. e. Θεσσαλονίκη. The alternative name Salonica derives from the variant form Σαλονίκη in colloquial Greek speech, in local speech, the citys name is typically pronounced with a dark and deep L characteristic of Macedonian Greek accent. The name often appears in writing in the abbreviated form Θεσ/νίκη, the city was founded around 315 BC by the King Cassander of Macedon, on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma and 26 other local villages. He named it after his wife Thessalonike, a half-sister of Alexander the Great, under the kingdom of Macedon the city retained its own autonomy and parliament and evolved to become the most important city in Macedon. After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC, the city later became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia. Later it became the capital of all the Greek provinces of the Roman Empire because of the importance in the Balkan peninsula. At the time of the Roman Empire, about 50 A. D. Later, Paul wrote two letters to the new church at Thessaloniki, preserved in the Biblical canon as First and Second Thessalonians. Some scholars hold that the First Epistle to the Thessalonians is the first written book of the New Testament, in 306 AD, Thessaloniki acquired a patron saint, St. Demetrius, a native of Thessalonica whom Galerius put to death. A basilical church was first built in the 5th century AD dedicated to St. Demetrius, in 379, when the Roman Prefecture of Illyricum was divided between the East and West Roman Empires, Thessaloniki became the capital of the new Prefecture of Illyricum. In 390, Gothic troops under the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, led a massacre against the inhabitants of Thessalonica, by the time of the Fall of Rome in 476, Thessaloniki was the second-largest city of the Eastern Roman Empire. From the first years of the Byzantine Empire, Thessaloniki was considered the city in the Empire after Constantinople. With a population of 150,000 in the mid-12th century, the city held this status until its transfer to Venetian control in 1423. In the 14th century, the population exceeded 100,000 to 150,000
Thessaloniki
–
The 4th-century AD
Rotunda of Galerius, one of several Roman monuments in the city and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Thessaloniki
–
The
White Tower of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
–
Hagia Sophia church was erected in the 8th century AD based on the
Hagia Sophia in
Constantinople. Hagia Sophia is one of 15
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city.
Thessaloniki
–
Section of the
Walls of Thessaloniki
15.
Athens
–
Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
Athens
–
From upper left: the
Acropolis, the
Hellenic Parliament, the
Zappeion, the
Acropolis Museum,
Monastiraki Square, Athens view towards the sea
Athens
–
Athena, patron goddess of Athens;
National Archaeological Museum
Athens
–
Acropolis of Athens, with
Odeon of Herodes Atticus seen on bottom left
16.
Achilles
–
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and the central character and greatest warrior of Homers Iliad. His mother was the immortal nymph Thetis, and his father, Achilles’ most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan hero Hector outside the gates of Troy. Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the Iliad, other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, later legends state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel. Alluding to these legends, the term Achilles heel has come to mean a point of weakness, Achilles name can be analyzed as a combination of ἄχος grief and λαός a people, tribe, nation. In other words, Achilles is an embodiment of the grief of the people, Achilles role as the hero of grief forms an ironic juxtaposition with the conventional view of Achilles as the hero of κλέος kleos. Laos has been construed by Gregory Nagy, following Leonard Palmer, to mean a corps of soldiers, a muster. With this derivation, the name would have a meaning in the poem, when the hero is functioning rightly, his men bring grief to the enemy. The poem is in part about the misdirection of anger on the part of leadership, R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin of the name. The name Achilleus was a common and attested name among the Greeks soon after the 7th century BC. It was also turned into the female form Ἀχιλλεία attested in Attica in the 4th century BC and, in the form Achillia, Achilles was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons. Zeus and Poseidon had been rivals for the hand of Thetis until Prometheus, for this reason, the two gods withdrew their pursuit, and had her wed Peleus. Thetis, although a daughter of the sea-god Nereus, was brought up by Hera. According to the Achilleid, written by Statius in the 1st century AD, and to no surviving previous sources, however, he was left vulnerable at the part of the body by which she held him, his heel. It is not clear if this version of events was known earlier, in another version of this story, Thetis anointed the boy in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire, to burn away the mortal parts of his body. She was interrupted by Peleus and abandoned both father and son in a rage, however, none of the sources before Statius makes any reference to this general invulnerability. To the contrary, in the Iliad Homer mentions Achilles being wounded, in Book 21 the Paeonian hero Asteropaeus, son of Pelagon and he cast two spears at once, one grazed Achilles elbow, drawing a spurt of blood. Peleus entrusted Achilles to Chiron the Centaur, on Mt. Pelion, Achilles consuming rage is at times wavering, but at other times he cannot be cooled. Thetis foretold that her sons fate was either to gain glory and die young, or to live a long, Achilles chose the former, and decided to take part in the Trojan war
Achilles
–
Achilles and the
Nereid Cymothoe: Attic red-figure
kantharos from
Volci (
Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque nationale, Paris)
Achilles
–
Head of Achilles depicted on a 4th-century BC coin from
Kremaste,
Phthia. Reverse:
Thetis, wearing
chiton and holding shield of Achilles with his AX monogram.
Achilles
–
Greek Mythology
Achilles
–
Thetis Dipping the Infant Achilles into the River Styx (ca. 1625),
Peter Paul Rubens
17.
Hippocrates
–
Hippocrates of Kos, also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the Age of Pericles, and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is referred to as the Father of Modern Medicine in recognition of his contributions to the field as the founder of the Hippocratic School of Medicine. Hippocrates is commonly portrayed as the paragon of the ancient physician, historians agree that Hippocrates was born around the year 460 BC on the Greek island of Kos, other biographical information, however, is likely to be untrue. Soranus of Ephesus, a 2nd-century Greek gynecologist, was Hippocrates first biographer and is the source of most personal information about him, later biographies are in the Suda of the 10th century AD, and in the works of John Tzetzes, which date from the 12th century AD. Hippocrates is mentioned in passing in the writings of two contemporaries, Plato, in Protagoras and Phaedrus, and, Aristotles Politics, which date from the 4th century BC. Soranus wrote that Hippocrates father was Heraclides, a physician, and his mother was Praxitela, the two sons of Hippocrates, Thessalus and Draco, and his son-in-law, Polybus, were his students. According to Galen, a physician, Polybus was Hippocrates true successor, while Thessalus. Soranus said that Hippocrates learned medicine from his father and grandfather, Hippocrates was probably trained at the asklepieion of Kos, and took lessons from the Thracian physician Herodicus of Selymbria. Hippocrates taught and practiced medicine throughout his life, traveling at least as far as Thessaly, Thrace, several different accounts of his death exist. He died, probably in Larissa, at the age of 83,85 or 90, Hippocrates is credited with being the first person to believe that diseases were caused naturally, not because of superstition and gods. Hippocrates was credited by the disciples of Pythagoras of allying philosophy, indeed there is not a single mention of a mystical illness in the entirety of the Hippocratic Corpus. However, Hippocrates did work with many convictions that were based on what is now known to be incorrect anatomy and physiology, ancient Greek schools of medicine were split on how to deal with disease. The Knidian school of medicine focused on diagnosis, Medicine at the time of Hippocrates knew almost nothing of human anatomy and physiology because of the Greek taboo forbidding the dissection of humans. The Knidian school consequently failed to distinguish when one disease caused many possible series of symptoms, the Hippocratic school or Koan school achieved greater success by applying general diagnoses and passive treatments. Its focus was on patient care and prognosis, not diagnosis and it could effectively treat diseases and allowed for a great development in clinical practice. Hippocratic medicine and its philosophy are far removed from that of modern medicine, now, the physician focuses on specific diagnosis and specialized treatment, both of which were espoused by the Knidian school. S. Houdart called the Hippocratic treatment a meditation upon death, after a crisis, a relapse might follow, and then another deciding crisis. According to this doctrine, crises tend to occur on critical days, if a crisis occurred on a day far from a critical day, a relapse might be expected
Hippocrates
–
Engraving by
Peter Paul Rubens, 1638
Hippocrates
–
Asklepieion on
Kos
Hippocrates
–
A number of ancient Greek surgical tools. On the left is a
trephine; on the right, a set of
scalpels. Hippocratic medicine made good use of these tools.
Hippocrates
–
Clubbing of fingers in a patient with
Eisenmenger's syndrome; first described by Hippocrates, clubbing is also known as "Hippocratic fingers".
18.
Mount Ossa (Greece)
–
Mount Ossa, alternative Kissavos, is a mountain in the Larissa regional unit, in Thessaly, Greece. It is 1,978 metres high and is located between Pelion to the south and Olympus to the north, separated from the latter by the Vale of Tempe. In Greek mythology, the Aloadaes are said to have attempted to pile Mount Pelion on top of Mount Ossa in their attempt to scale Olympus
Mount Ossa (Greece)
–
Mount Ossa
19.
Pineios (Thessaly)
–
The Peneiós is a river in Thessaly, Greece. The river is named after the god Peneus, during the later Middle Ages, it was also known as the Salambrias or Salabrias. It flows from the Pindus mountains and empties into the Aegean Sea, northeast of Vale of Tempe and it creates a large delta, well known for its beauty and for many animal species, protected by international environmental treaties. Its total length is 185 km and its source is near the village Malakasi, on the eastern slope of the Pindus main range, east of Metsovo. The Meteora region and the city of Larissa lie along the Peneiós, trikala lies on its tributary, the Lethaios. In the 1960s, a freeway connecting Athens and Thessaloniki was constructed in much of the Vale of Tempe, the battleship Peneios is named after the river. Media related to Peneios River at Wikimedia Commons Ovide, Métamorphoses, Livre I Pinios River
Pineios (Thessaly)
–
Pineios river near Sarakina
20.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
Europe
–
Reconstruction of
Herodotus ' world map
Europe
Europe
–
A medieval
T and O map from 1472 showing the three continents as domains of the sons of
Noah — Asia to Sem (
Shem), Europe to Iafeth (
Japheth), and Africa to Cham (
Ham)
Europe
–
Early modern depiction of
Europa regina ('Queen Europe') and the mythical
Europa of the 8th century BC.
21.
Nea Anchialos
–
Nea Anchialos is a town and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos and it is situated southwest of Volos and north of Almyros, on the coast of the Pagasetic Gulf. It is located on the national highway Athens-Lamia-Volos, the area of the municipal unit is 80.462 km2 and its population 6,819 people. The modern town is built on the ruins of the ancient city of Pyrasos, homer mentions Pyrasos in his list of ships together with Phylace and Itona, which belonged to the kingdom of Protesilaus. According to Strabo, who discusses its topography, well-harboured Pyrasos was 20 stadia from Phthiotic Thebes. Pyrasos is scarcely known from sources, except that it was an active harbour and featured a famous temple of Demeter and Kore. Archaeologically, the remains of Pyrasos are scant, and the city is known in historical times. An arm from a statue, which came into light in 1965, was attributed to Demeter. Possibly the most identical finding is a fragment of an ancient epigraph, discovered in the debris of the big Basilica D with the name Pyrasos. In the late 4th century BC, Pyrasos was joined with the cities of Phylake. The new conurbation took the name of Phthiotic or Thessalian Thebes, the city remained prosperous under Roman rule, but it was moved from the inland site of the old Phthiotic Thebes back to Pyrasos near the sea. Nea Anchialos was founded in 1906 by Greeks who fled the Black Sea town of Anchialos after massive anti-Greek riots, Nea Anchialos City guide Municipality website Hellenic Ministry Of Culture - Nea Anchialos/Fthiotic Thebes Nea Anchialos Online Tourist Guide
Nea Anchialos
–
Panoramic View from the hills surrounding Nea Anchialos
Nea Anchialos
–
View of Anchialos from the Pagasetic Gulf
22.
Dione (moon)
–
Dione is a moon of Saturn. It was discovered by Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1684 and it is named after the Titaness Dione of Greek mythology. It is also designated Saturn IV, Giovanni Domenico Cassini named the four moons he discovered Sidera Lodoicea to honor king Louis XIV. Cassini found Dione in 1684 using a large aerial telescope he set up on the grounds of the Paris Observatory, Dione orbits Saturn with a semimajor axis about 2% less than that of the Moon. However, reflecting Saturns greater mass, Diones orbital period is one tenth that of the Moon, Dione is currently in a 1,2 mean-motion orbital resonance with moon Enceladus, completing one orbit of Saturn for every two orbits completed by Enceladus. The resonance also maintains a smaller eccentricity in Diones orbit, tidally heating it as well, Dione has two co-orbital, or trojan, moons, Helene and Polydeuces. They are located within Diones Lagrangian points L4 and L5,60 degrees ahead of, at 1122 km in diameter, Dione is the 15th largest moon in the Solar System, and is more massive than all known moons smaller than itself combined. About two thirds of Diones mass is water ice, and the remaining is a dense core, data gathered by Cassini indicates that Dione has an internal liquid water ocean. Downward bending of the associated with the 1.5 km high ridge Janiculum Dorsa can most easily be explained by the presence of such an ocean. Gravity and shape data points to a 99 ±23 km thick ice shell crust on top of a 65 ±30 internal liquid water global ocean, neither moon has a shape close to hydrostatic equilibrium, the deviations are maintained by isostasy. Diones ice shell is thought to vary in thickness by less than 5%, with the thinnest areas at the poles, though somewhat smaller and denser, Dione is otherwise very similar to Rhea. They both have similar features and varied terrain, and both have dissimilar leading and trailing hemispheres. Diones leading hemisphere is heavily cratered and is uniformly bright and its trailing hemisphere, however, contains an unusual and distinctive surface feature, a network of bright ice cliffs. The origin of these features was mysterious, because all that was known was that the material has an albedo and is thin enough that it does not obscure the surface features underneath. Later, after the activity and resurfacing ceased, cratering continued primarily on the leading hemisphere. This hypothesis was proven wrong by the Cassini probe flyby of December 13,2004 and these revealed that the wisps were, in fact, not ice deposits at all, but rather bright ice cliffs created by tectonic fractures. Dione has been revealed as a world riven by enormous fractures on its trailing hemisphere. The Cassini orbiter performed a flyby of Dione at 500 km on October 11,2005
Dione (moon)
–
Dione photographed in natural light by the
Cassini spacecraft in 2008
Dione (moon)
Dione (moon)
–
Size comparison of
Earth, the
Moon, and Dione.
Dione (moon)
–
Fractures bisecting older craters on Dione. Those running from upper right to lower left are the Carthage Fossae, whereas Pactolus Catena runs more horizontally at lower right.
23.
Precipitation
–
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel, Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and precipitates. Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions, because the vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated, Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Short, intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called showers, moisture that is lifted or otherwise forced to rise over a layer of sub-freezing air at the surface may be condensed into clouds and rain. This process is active when freezing rain is occurring. A stationary front is often present near the area of freezing rain, provided necessary and sufficient atmospheric moisture content, the moisture within the rising air will condense into clouds, namely stratus and cumulonimbus. Eventually, the droplets will grow large enough to form raindrops. Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy, thundersnow is possible within a cyclones comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation, on the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating. The movement of the trough, or intertropical convergence zone. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 cubic kilometres of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 cubic kilometres of it over the oceans and 107,000 cubic kilometres over land. Given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres, Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Precipitation may occur on celestial bodies, e. g. when it gets cold, Mars has precipitation which most likely takes the form of frost. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 km3 of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 km3 of it over the oceans, given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres. Mechanisms of producing precipitation include convective, stratiform, and orographic rainfall, Precipitation can be divided into three categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with the surface, or ice
Precipitation
–
A thunderstorm with heavy precipitation
Precipitation
–
Long-term mean precipitation by month
Precipitation
–
Late-summer
rainstorm in
Denmark
Precipitation
–
Lenticular cloud forming due to mountains over Wyoming
24.
Relative humidity
–
Relative humidity is the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor to the equilibrium vapor pressure of water at a given temperature. Relative humidity depends on temperature and the pressure of the system of interest and it requires less water vapor to attain high relative humidity at low temperatures, more water vapour is required to attain high relative humidity in warm or hot air. Humans are sensitive to high humidity because the body uses evaporative cooling, enabled by perspiration. Perspiration evaporates from the more slowly under humid conditions than under arid. For example, if the air temperature is 24 °C and the humidity is zero percent. If the relative humidity is 100 percent at the air temperature. In other words, if the air is 24 °C and contains saturated water vapor, then the human body cools itself at the rate as it would if it were 27 °C. The heat index and the humidex are indices that reflect the effect of temperature. In cold climates, the temperature causes lower capacity for water vapour to flow about. Dry cracked skin can result from dry air, low humidity causes tissue lining nasal passages to dry, crack and become more susceptible to penetration of Rhinovirus cold viruses. Low humidity is a cause of nosebleeds. The use of a humidifier in homes, especially bedrooms, can help with these symptoms, indoor relative humidities should be kept above 30% to reduce the likelihood of the occupants nasal passages drying out. Humans can be comfortable within a range of humidities depending on the temperature—from thirty to seventy percent—but ideally between 50% and 60%. Very low humidity can create discomfort, respiratory problems, and aggravate allergies in some individuals, in the winter, it is advisable to maintain relative humidity at 30 percent or above. Extremely low relative humidities may also cause eye irritation, wooden furniture can shrink, causing the paint that covers these surfaces to fracture. When the temperature is low and the humidity is high. When relative humidity approaches 100 percent, condensation can occur on surfaces, leading to problems with mold, corrosion, decay, condensation can pose a safety risk as it can promote the growth of mold and wood rot as well as possibly freezing emergency exits shut. The basic principles for buildings, above, also apply to vehicles, in addition, there may be safety considerations
Relative humidity
–
Humidity and hygrometry
25.
Sunshine duration
–
It is a general indicator of cloudiness of a location, and thus differs from insolation, which measures the total energy delivered by sunlight over a given period. Sunshine duration is usually expressed in hours per year, or in hours per day, the first measure indicates the general sunniness of a location compared with other places, while the latter allows for comparison of sunshine in various seasons in the same location. Another often-used measure is percentage ratio of recorded bright sunshine duration, an important use of sunshine duration data is to characterize the climate of sites, especially of health resorts. This also takes account the psychological effect of strong solar light on human well-being. It is often used to promote tourist destinations, if the Sun were to be above the horizon 50% of the time for a standard year consisting of 8,760 hours, apparent maximal daytime duration would be 4,380 hours for any point on Earth. However, there are physical and astronomical effects that change that picture, namely, atmospheric refraction allows the Sun to be still visible even when it physically sets below the horizon. For that reason, average daytime is longest in polar areas, places on the Arctic Circle have the longest total annual daytime,4,647 hours, while the North Pole receives 4,575. Because of elliptic nature of the Earths orbit, the Southern Hemisphere is not symmetrical, the Equator has a total daytime of 4,422 hours per year. Given the theoretical maximum of daytime duration for a given location, bright sunshine hours represent the total hours when the sunlight is stronger than a specified threshold, as opposed to just visible hours. Visible sunshine, for example, occurs around sunrise and sunset, measurement is performed by instruments called sunshine recorders. For the specific purpose of sunshine duration recording, Campbell–Stokes recorders are used, when the intensity exceeds a pre-determined threshold, the tape burns. The total length of the trace is proportional to the number of bright hours. Another type of recorder is the Jordan sunshine recorder, newer, electronic recorders have more stable sensitivity than that of the paper tape. In 2003, the duration was finally defined as the period during which direct solar irradiance exceeds a threshold value of 120 W/m². The sky is clear in these regions, and fair weather is virtually perpetual, the descending branch of the Hadley cell and the long-term lack of atmospheric disturbances helps to explain the seemingly endless supply of sunny, cloud-free days in the deserts. Low clouding conditions are associated with rainfall shortage, as seen in these dry regions. In the belt encompassing northern Chad and the Tibesti Mountains, northern Sudan, southern Libya, some places in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula receive 3, 600–3,800 hours of bright sunshine annually. The largest sun-baked region in the world is North Africa, the sunniest month in the world is December in Eastern Antarctica, with almost 23 hours of bright sun daily
Sunshine duration
–
Campbell–Stokes recorder measures sunshine
26.
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.
27.
Perseus
–
Perseus beheaded the Gorgon Medusa and saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. Perseus was the son of the mortal Danaë and the god Zeus and he was also the half-brother and great grandfather of Heracles. There is some prospect that it descended into Greek from the Proto-Indo-European language, in that regard Robert Graves has espoused the only Greek derivation available. Perseus might be from the Greek verb, πέρθειν, “to waste, ravage, sack, destroy”, according to Carl Darling Buck, the –eus suffix is typically used to form an agent noun, in this case from the aorist stem, pers-. Pers-eus therefore is a sacker of cities, that is, a soldier by occupation, the origin of perth- is more obscure. J. B. Hofmann lists the possible root as *bher-, from which Latin ferio and this corresponds to Julius Pokorny’s *bher-, “scrape, cut. ”Ordinarily *bh- descends to Greek as ph-. This difficulty can be overcome by presuming a dissimilation from the –th– in perthein, that is, Graves carries the meaning still further, to the perse- in Persephone, goddess of death. the classical Perse. daughter of Oceanus. Whether it may be identified with the first element of Persephone is only speculative. ”A Greek folk etymology connected the name of the Persian people. The native name, however, has always had an -a- in Persian, herodotus recounts this story, devising a foreign son, Perses, from whom the Persians took the name. Apparently the Persians themselves knew the story, as Xerxes tried to use it to suborn the Argives during his invasion of Greece, Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, the daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. Disappointed by his lack of luck in having a son, Acrisius consulted the oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughters son. In order to keep Danaë childless, Acrisius imprisoned her in a chamber, open to the sky, in the courtyard of his palace, This mytheme is also connected to Ares, Oenopion, Eurystheus. Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, soon after, their child was born, Perseus—Perseus Eurymedon, for his mother gave him this name as well. Fearful for his future, but unwilling to provoke the wrath of the gods by killing the offspring of Zeus and his daughter, danaës fearful prayer, made while afloat in the darkness, has been expressed by the poet Simonides of Ceos. Mother and child washed ashore on the island of Serifos, where they were taken in by the fisherman Dictys, the brother of Dictys was Polydectes, the king of the island. When Perseus was grown, Polydectes came to fall in love with the beautiful Danaë, Perseus believed Polydectes was less than honourable, and protected his mother from him, then Polydectes plotted to send Perseus away in disgrace. He held a banquet where each guest was expected to bring a gift. Polydectes requested that the guests bring horses, under the pretense that he was collecting contributions for the hand of Hippodamia, Perseus had no horse to give, so he asked Polydectes to name the gift, he would not refuse it
Perseus
–
Perseus
Perseus
–
Greek Mythology
Perseus
–
"
Perseus with the Head of Medusa '" is a common subject for sculpture, here in an 1801 example by
Antonio Canova
28.
Peleus
–
In Greek mythology, Peleus was a hero whose myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC. Peleus was the son of Aeacus, king of the island of Aegina, and Endeïs and he married the sea-nymph Thetis with whom he fathered Achilles. Peleus and his brother Telamon were friends of Heracles, and served in Heracles expedition against the Amazons, his war against King Laomedon, though there were no further kings in Aegina, the kings of Epirus claimed descent from Peleus in the historic period. Peleus and his brother Telamon killed their half-brother Phocus, perhaps in an accident and certainly in an unthinking moment. In Phthia, Peleus was purified by Eurytion and married Antigone, Eurytions daughter, by whom he had a daughter, Peleus was purified of the murder of Eurytion in Iolcus by Acastus. Astydameia, Acastus wife, fell in love with Peleus but he scorned her, bitter, she sent a messenger to Antigone to tell her that Peleus was to marry Acastus daughter. As a result, Antigone hanged herself, Astydameia then told Acastus that Peleus had tried to rape her. Acastus took Peleus on a trip and hid his sword then abandoned him right before a group of centaurs attacked. Chiron, the centaur, or, according to another source, Hermes, returned Peleus sword with magical powers. He pillaged Iolcus and dismembered Astydameia, then marched his army between the rended limbs, Acastus and Astydamia were dead and the kingdom fell to Jasons son, Thessalus. After Antigones death, Peleus married the sea-nymph Thetis and he was able to win her with the aid of Proteus, who told Peleus how to overcome Thetis ability to change her form. Their wedding feast was attended by many of the Olympian gods, as a wedding present, Poseidon gave Peleus two immortal horses, Balius and Xanthus. During the feast, Eris, in revenge for not being invited, produced the Apple of Discord, the marriage of Peleus and Thetis produced seven sons, six of whom died in infancy. The only surviving son was Achilles, Thetis attempted to render her son Achilles invulnerable. In the well-known version, she dipped him in the River Styx, holding him by one heel, which remained vulnerable. In an early and less popular version of the story, Thetis anointed the boy in ambrosia and she was interrupted by Peleus and she abandoned both father and son in a rage, leaving his heel vulnerable. Later on in life, Achilles is killed by Paris when he is shot in his vulnerable spot and this is where the term Achilles heel is derived from. Peleus gave Achilles to the centaur Chiron, to raise on Mt. Pelion, in the Iliad, Achilles uses Peleus immortal horses and also wields his fathers spear
Peleus
–
Peleus consigns Achilles to Chiron's care, white-ground
lekythos by the Edinburgh Painter, c. 500 BC, (
National Archaeological Museum of Athens)
Peleus
–
Peleus makes off with his prize bride Thetis, who has vainly assumed animal forms to escape him:
Boeotian black-figure dish, ca. 500 BC–475 BC
29.
Larissa (mythology)
–
In Greek mythology, Larissa was a nymph from Thessaly. She was described by Pausanias as a daughter of Pelasgus, however, Hellanicus states that the sons of Poseidon and Larissa were Achaios, Phthios, and Pelasgus. Strabo calls her a daughter of Piasus, a Pelasgian prince, the arx of Argos and two towns are believed to have derived their name from her. She was represented on the obverse of common drachms produced by the city of Larissa between 400 BCE and at least 340 BCE, as a face with outward flowing hair. This style was copied from the head of Arethusa by Cimon, according to hoard evidence from Thessaly, this coinage was produced down to c.320 BCE. Other coins depict Larissa seated, holding a hydria and with a spring nearby, a moon of Neptune was discovered by Harold J. Reitsema, William B. Hubbard, Larry A. Lebofsky and David J. Tholen on May 24,1981, Larissa is also designated as Neptune VII, S/1981 N1 and S/1989 N2. ISBN 0-19-514465-1 Mørkholm, Otto Early Hellenistic Coinage from the Accession of Alexander to the Peace of Apamaea, ISBN 0-521-39504-6 Pausanias, Description of Greece,2.24.1. Available online Smith, William Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, strabo, Geographika, xiv LarissaTora. com A website about the prefecture of larissa with the coin image in its banner. Silver coin with head of Larissa
Larissa (mythology)
–
Silver
drachma from
Larissa, 410-405 BC, depicting the nymph Larissa. Reverse: Bridled horse galloping, inscriptions IA, ΛAPIΣA.
30.
Iliad
–
The iLiad was an electronic handheld device, or e-Reader, which could be used for document reading and editing. Like the Barnes and Noble nook, Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, in 2010, sales of the iLiad ended when its parent company, iRex, filed for bankruptcy. The display used is an active matrix display, which uses E Ink Vizplex Imaging Film manufactured by E Ink Corporation. Underneath the E Ink screen is a tablet by WACOM which requires a stylus for input. When it was introduced, the Iliad had largest screen size of existing e-paper products, the iLiad can display document files in several formats, including PDF, Mobipocket, XHTML and plain text. It can also display JPEG, BMP and PNG images, as of May 3,2007 Mobipocket is supported, making the mobipocket digital rights management content available on this platform. IRexs product page for the states that Support for additional E-book formats will become available over the coming months. Through its wireless service, iDS, the iLiad can also download content. Les Echos, a French financial newspaper, is distributed this way, users can connect to their computer over a wireless network to sync new data onto the iLiads internal memory or an inserted MMC, SD, or CF card. The distributor of the iLiad is iRex Technologies, a Philips spin-off company and it was initially advertised in December 2005, to be launched in April 2006, but was delayed until July, when it started to be sold as a beta product. It was released to the public near the end of July. Its list price in Europe is €649, and in US $699, one of the advanced features of the iLiad is the ability to add notes to existing documents. With the integrated Wacom tablet and stylus, it is possible to directly on almost any document. Using the desktop software, those notes can be merged into the original document and this provides malleability, an important feature of physical books that is missing from most ebook products, allowing users to annotate, highlight, and personalize the text. Because of its open Linux operating system, the iLiad is able to run third party applications created for it, developers and users wishing to create or run third party applications can request shell access from the manufacturer. Developers have been able to improve on the devices functionality by porting viewers such as FBReader, full screen PDF reading is made available by community-supported iPDF releases. Programs for recreation, including audio playback, sudoku, and calendars, are rapidly growing community content available for use on the iLiad, independent users have also reported successful porting of mobile web browsers to iLiads Linux platform, although with limited functionality and many bugs. IRex as a company has had a relationship with its Open Source developers
Iliad
–
iRex iLiad
Iliad
Iliad
–
iLiad in sunlight
Iliad
–
iLiad e-book reader equipped with e-paper display
31.
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.
32.
Pelasgians
–
The name Pelasgians was used by classical Greek writers to either refer to populations that were the ancestors of the Greeks, or to signify all pre-classical indigenes of Greece. During the classical period, enclaves under that name survived in several locations of mainland Greece, Crete, populations identified as Pelasgian spoke a language or languages that at the time Greeks identified as barbaric, though some ancient writers nonetheless described the Pelasgians as Greeks. A tradition also survived that large parts of Greece had once been Pelasgian before being Hellenized and these parts fell largely, though far from exclusively, within the territory which by the 5th century BC was inhabited by those speakers of ancient Greek who were identified as Ionians and Aeolians. Much like all aspects of the Pelasgians, their ethnonym is of extremely uncertain provenance. Michel Sakellariou collects fifteen different etymologies proposed for it by philologists and linguists during the last 200 years, an ancient etymology based on mere similarity of sounds linked pelasgos to pelargos and postulates that the Pelasgians were migrants like storks, possibly from Egypt, where they nest. Aristophanes deals effectively with this etymology in his comedy The Birds, julius Pokorny derives Pelasgoi from *pelag-skoi, specifically Inhabitants of the Thessalian plain. He details a previous derivation, which appears in English at least as early as William Gladstones Studies on Homer, if the Pelasgians were not Indo-Europeans, the name in this derivation must have been assigned by the Hellenes. Ernest Klein argued that the ancient Greek word for sea, pelagos and the Doric word plagos, side shared the same root, *plāk-, and that *pelag-skoi therefore meant the sea men, where the sea is flat. This could be connected to the maritime marauders referred to as the Sea People in Egyptian records, subsequent scholarship shows that the connection between the two roots is phonetically impossible. Literary analysis has been going on since classical Greece, when the writers of those times read previous works on the subject, no definitive answers were ever forthcoming by this method, it rather served to better define the problems. The method perhaps reached a peak in the Victorian era when new methods of systematic comparison began to be applied in philology, typical of the era is the long and detailed study of William Ewart Gladstone, who among his many talents was a trained classicist. Until further ancient texts come to light, advances on the subject cannot be made, the most likely source of progress regarding the Pelasgians continues to be archaeology and related sciences. The Pelasgians first appear in the poems of Homer, those who are stated to be Pelasgians in the Iliad are among the allies of Troy. In the section known as the Catalogue of Trojans, they are mentioned between mentions of the Hellespontine cities and the Thracians of south-eastern Europe, Homer calls their town or district Larisa and characterises it as fertile, and its inhabitants as celebrated for their spearsmanship. He records their chiefs as Hippothous and Pylaeus, sons of Lethus son of Teutamus, thus giving all of them names that were Greek or so thoroughly Hellenized that any foreign element has been effaced. In the Odyssey, Odysseus, affecting to be Cretan himself, instances Pelasgians among the tribes in the ninety cities of Crete, last on his list, Homer distinguishes them from other ethnicities on the island, Cretans proper, Achaeans, Cydonians, Dorians, and noble Pelasgians. The Iliad also refers to Pelasgic Argos, which is most likely to be the plain of Thessaly, and to Pelasgic Zeus, living in and ruling over Dodona, which must be the oracular one in Epirus. However, neither passage mentions actual Pelasgians, Myrmidons, Hellenes, and Achaeans specifically inhabit Thessaly and they all fought on the Greek side
Pelasgians
–
Map of Pelasgians and Pelasgus.
Pelasgians
–
Plain of
Thessaly, to the west of classical Pelasgiotis, but in the original range of the Pelasgians. The
Pindus Mountains are visible in the background. The river is the
Peneus.
Pelasgians
–
Larissa of Argos.
33.
Troad
–
The Troad or Troas /ˈtroʊəs/ is the historical name of the Biga Peninsula in the northwestern part of Anatolia, Turkey. This region now is part of the province of Turkey. The Troad gets its name from the Hittites name for the region, according to Trevor Bryce, Hittite texts indicate a number of Ahhiyawan raids on Wilusa during the 13th century BC, which may have resulted in the overthrow of king Walmu. Bryce also said that archeological surveys conducted by John Bintliff in the 1970s showed that a kingdom that held sway over northwestern Anatolia was based at Wilusa. Greek settlements flourished in Troas during the Archaic and Classical ages, the region was part of the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia of the Achaemenid Empire. The Attalid kings of Pergamon later ceded the territory of the Troad to the Roman Republic, under the later Byzantine Empire, it was included in the thema of the Aegean Islands. Following its conquest by the Ottoman Empire, the Troad formed part of the sanjak of Biga, the apostles Paul and Silas first visited Troas during their journey from Galatia to Macedonia. Paul also referred to Troas when he asked his fellow worker Timothy out of Ephesus, to bring the cloak he had left there, a journey of about 500 kilometres. The changes from the story, being recounted as they to we in Acts 16 and Acts 20, Acts of Apostles Alexandria Troas List of traditional Greek place names Trevor R. Bryce. Chapter 14, The Trojan War, Myth or Reality in The Kingdom of the Hittites, ISBN 0-19-924010-8 Along the Troad Coast travel guide from Wikivoyage
Troad
–
Part of the walls of Troy
34.
Aegean Sea
–
The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the Greek and Anatolian peninsulas, i. e. between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles, the Aegean Islands are within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes. The sea was known as Archipelago, but in English this words meaning has changed to refer to the Aegean Islands and, generally. In ancient times, there were various explanations for the name Aegean, a possible etymology is a derivation from the Greek word αἶγες – aiges = waves, hence wavy sea, cf. also αἰγιαλός, hence meaning sea-shore. The Venetians, who ruled many Greek islands in the High and Late Middle Ages, popularized the name Archipelago, in some South Slavic languages the Aegean is often called White Sea. The Aegean Sea covers about 214,000 square kilometres in area, the seas maximum depth is 3,543 metres, east of Crete. The Aegean Islands are found within its waters, with the following islands delimiting the sea on the south, Kythera, Antikythera, Crete, Kasos, Karpathos, many of the Aegean Islands, or chains of islands, are actually extensions of the mountains on the mainland. One chain extends across the sea to Chios, another extends across Euboea to Samos, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Aegean Sea as follows, On the South. In the Dardanelles. A line joining Kum Kale and Cape Helles, the dense Mediterranean water sinks below the Black Sea inflow to a depth of 23–30 metres, then flows through the Dardanelles Strait and into the Sea of Marmara at velocities of 5–15 cm/s. The Black Sea outflow moves westward along the northern Aegean Sea, Aegean Sea Intermediate Water – Aegean Sea Intermediate Water extends from 40–50 m to 200–300 metres with temperatures ranging from 11–18 °C. Aegean Sea Bottom Water – occurring at depths below 500–1000 m with a uniform temperature. The current coastline dates back to about 4000 BC, before that time, at the peak of the last ice age sea levels everywhere were 130 metres lower, and there were large well-watered coastal plains instead of much of the northern Aegean. When they were first occupied, the islands including Milos with its important obsidian production were probably still connected to the mainland. The present coastal arrangement appeared c.7000 BC, with post-ice age sea levels continuing to rise for another 3,000 years after that, the subsequent Bronze Age civilizations of Greece and the Aegean Sea have given rise to the general term Aegean civilization. In ancient times, the sea was the birthplace of two ancient civilizations – the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenean Civilization of the Peloponnese, later arose the city-states of Athens and Sparta among many others that constituted the Athenian Empire and Hellenic Civilization. Plato described the Greeks living round the Aegean like frogs around a pond, the Aegean Sea was later invaded by the Persians and the Romans, and inhabited by the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarians, the Venetians, the Genoese, the Seljuq Turks, and the Ottoman Empire. The Aegean was the site of the democracies, and its seaways were the means of contact among several diverse civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean. Many of the islands in the Aegean have safe harbours and bays, in ancient times, navigation through the sea was easier than travelling across the rough terrain of the Greek mainland
Aegean Sea
–
Map of the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
–
Topographical and
bathymetric map
Aegean Sea
–
Panoramic view of the
Santorini caldera, taken from Oia.
35.
Paleolithic
–
The Paleolithic is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools and covers roughly 95% of human technological prehistory. It extends from the earliest known use of tools, probably by Homo habilis initially,2.6 million years ago. The Paleolithic era is followed by the Mesolithic, the date of the Paleolithic–Mesolithic boundary may vary by locality as much as several thousand years. During the Paleolithic period, humans grouped together in small societies such as bands, the Paleolithic is characterized by the use of knapped stone tools, although at the time humans also used wood and bone tools. Other organic commodities were adapted for use as tools, including leather and vegetable fibers, however, due to their nature, surviving artifacts of the Paleolithic era are known as paleoliths. About 50,000 years ago, there was a increase in the diversity of artifacts. For the first time in Africa, bone artifacts and the first art appear in the archaeological record, the first evidence of human fishing is also noted, from artifacts in places such as Blombos cave in South Africa. The new technology generated an explosion of modern humans which is believed to have led to the extinction of the Neanderthals. Humankind gradually evolved from members of the genus Homo—such as Homo habilis. The climate during the Paleolithic consisted of a set of glacial and interglacial periods in which the climate periodically fluctuated between warm and cool temperatures, by c. 50,000 – c. 40,000 BP, the first humans set foot in Australia. By c. 45,000 BP, humans lived at 61°N latitude in Europe, by c. 30,000 BP, Japan was reached, and by c. 27,000 BP humans were present in Siberia, above the Arctic Circle. At the end of the Upper Paleolithic, a group of humans crossed Beringia, the term Paleolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It derives from Greek, παλαιός, palaios, old, and λίθος, lithos, stone, human evolution is the part of biological evolution concerning the emergence of anatomically modern humans as a distinct species. The Paleolithic Period coincides almost exactly with the Pleistocene epoch of geologic time and this epoch experienced important geographic and climatic changes that affected human societies. During the preceding Pliocene, continents had continued to drift from possibly as far as 250 km from their present locations to positions only 70 km from their current location. South America became linked to North America through the Isthmus of Panama, most of Central America formed during the Pliocene to connect the continents of North and South America, allowing fauna from these continents to leave their native habitats and colonize new areas. Africas collision with Asia created the Mediterranean Sea, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean, climates during the Pliocene became cooler and drier, and seasonal, similar to modern climates. The formation of an Arctic ice cap around 3 million years ago is signaled by a shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic
Paleolithic
–
This
cranium, of
Homo heidelbergensis, a
Lower Paleolithic predecessor to
Homo neanderthalensis and possibly
Homo sapiens, dates to sometime between 500,000 and 400,000 BP.
Paleolithic
–
The Paleolithic climate consisted of a set of glacial and interglacial periods.
Paleolithic
–
Many great mammals such as
woolly mammoths,
woolly rhinoceros, and
cave lions inhabited places like Siberia during the Pleistocene.
Paleolithic
–
Paleoindians hunting a
glyptodon. Glyptodons were hunted to extinction within two millennia after humans' arrival to South America.
36.
Classical antiquity
–
It is the period in which Greek and Roman society flourished and wielded great influence throughout Europe, North Africa and Southwestern Asia. Conventionally, it is taken to begin with the earliest-recorded Epic Greek poetry of Homer, and continues through the emergence of Christianity and it ends with the dissolution of classical culture at the close of Late Antiquity, blending into the Early Middle Ages. Such a wide sampling of history and territory covers many disparate cultures, Classical antiquity may refer also to an idealised vision among later people of what was, in Edgar Allan Poes words, the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome. The culture of the ancient Greeks, together with influences from the ancient Near East, was the basis of art, philosophy, society. The earliest period of classical antiquity takes place before the background of gradual re-appearance of historical sources following the Bronze Age collapse, the 8th and 7th centuries BC are still largely proto-historical, with the earliest Greek alphabetic inscriptions appearing in the first half of the 8th century. Homer is usually assumed to have lived in the 8th or 7th century BC, in the same period falls the traditional date for the establishment of the Ancient Olympic Games, in 776 BC. The Phoenicians originally expanded from Canaan ports, by the 8th century dominating trade in the Mediterranean, carthage was founded in 814 BC, and the Carthaginians by 700 BC had firmly established strongholds in Sicily, Italy and Sardinia, which created conflicts of interest with Etruria. The Etruscans had established control in the region by the late 7th century BC, forming the aristocratic. According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21,753 BC by twin descendants of the Trojan prince Aeneas, Romulus and Remus. As the city was bereft of women, legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins and the Sabines. Archaeological evidence indeed shows first traces of settlement at the Roman Forum in the mid-8th century BC, the seventh and final king of Rome was Tarquinius Superbus. As the son of Tarquinius Priscus and the son-in-law of Servius Tullius, Superbus was of Etruscan birth and it was during his reign that the Etruscans reached their apex of power. Superbus removed and destroyed all the Sabine shrines and altars from the Tarpeian Rock, the people came to object to his rule when he failed to recognize the rape of Lucretia, a patrician Roman, at the hands of his own son. Lucretias kinsman, Lucius Junius Brutus, summoned the Senate and had Superbus, after Superbus expulsion, the Senate voted to never again allow the rule of a king and reformed Rome into a republican government in 509 BC. In fact the Latin word Rex meaning King became a dirty and hated throughout the Republic. In 510, Spartan troops helped the Athenians overthrow the tyrant Hippias, cleomenes I, king of Sparta, put in place a pro-Spartan oligarchy conducted by Isagoras. Greece entered the 4th century under Spartan hegemony, but by 395 BC the Spartan rulers removed Lysander from office, and Sparta lost her naval supremacy. Athens, Argos, Thebes and Corinth, the two of which were formerly Spartan allies, challenged Spartan dominance in the Corinthian War, which ended inconclusively in 387 BC
Classical antiquity
–
The
Parthenon is one of the most iconic symbols of the classical era, exemplifying ancient Greek culture
37.
Pelasgian
–
The name Pelasgians was used by classical Greek writers to either refer to populations that were the ancestors of the Greeks, or to signify all pre-classical indigenes of Greece. During the classical period, enclaves under that name survived in several locations of mainland Greece, Crete, populations identified as Pelasgian spoke a language or languages that at the time Greeks identified as barbaric, though some ancient writers nonetheless described the Pelasgians as Greeks. A tradition also survived that large parts of Greece had once been Pelasgian before being Hellenized and these parts fell largely, though far from exclusively, within the territory which by the 5th century BC was inhabited by those speakers of ancient Greek who were identified as Ionians and Aeolians. Much like all aspects of the Pelasgians, their ethnonym is of extremely uncertain provenance. Michel Sakellariou collects fifteen different etymologies proposed for it by philologists and linguists during the last 200 years, an ancient etymology based on mere similarity of sounds linked pelasgos to pelargos and postulates that the Pelasgians were migrants like storks, possibly from Egypt, where they nest. Aristophanes deals effectively with this etymology in his comedy The Birds, julius Pokorny derives Pelasgoi from *pelag-skoi, specifically Inhabitants of the Thessalian plain. He details a previous derivation, which appears in English at least as early as William Gladstones Studies on Homer, if the Pelasgians were not Indo-Europeans, the name in this derivation must have been assigned by the Hellenes. Ernest Klein argued that the ancient Greek word for sea, pelagos and the Doric word plagos, side shared the same root, *plāk-, and that *pelag-skoi therefore meant the sea men, where the sea is flat. This could be connected to the maritime marauders referred to as the Sea People in Egyptian records, subsequent scholarship shows that the connection between the two roots is phonetically impossible. Literary analysis has been going on since classical Greece, when the writers of those times read previous works on the subject, no definitive answers were ever forthcoming by this method, it rather served to better define the problems. The method perhaps reached a peak in the Victorian era when new methods of systematic comparison began to be applied in philology, typical of the era is the long and detailed study of William Ewart Gladstone, who among his many talents was a trained classicist. Until further ancient texts come to light, advances on the subject cannot be made, the most likely source of progress regarding the Pelasgians continues to be archaeology and related sciences. The Pelasgians first appear in the poems of Homer, those who are stated to be Pelasgians in the Iliad are among the allies of Troy. In the section known as the Catalogue of Trojans, they are mentioned between mentions of the Hellespontine cities and the Thracians of south-eastern Europe, Homer calls their town or district Larisa and characterises it as fertile, and its inhabitants as celebrated for their spearsmanship. He records their chiefs as Hippothous and Pylaeus, sons of Lethus son of Teutamus, thus giving all of them names that were Greek or so thoroughly Hellenized that any foreign element has been effaced. In the Odyssey, Odysseus, affecting to be Cretan himself, instances Pelasgians among the tribes in the ninety cities of Crete, last on his list, Homer distinguishes them from other ethnicities on the island, Cretans proper, Achaeans, Cydonians, Dorians, and noble Pelasgians. The Iliad also refers to Pelasgic Argos, which is most likely to be the plain of Thessaly, and to Pelasgic Zeus, living in and ruling over Dodona, which must be the oracular one in Epirus. However, neither passage mentions actual Pelasgians, Myrmidons, Hellenes, and Achaeans specifically inhabit Thessaly and they all fought on the Greek side
Pelasgian
–
Map of Pelasgians and Pelasgus.
Pelasgian
–
Plain of
Thessaly, to the west of classical Pelasgiotis, but in the original range of the Pelasgians. The
Pindus Mountains are visible in the background. The river is the
Peneus.
Pelasgian
–
Larissa of Argos.
38.
Cimon
–
Cimon or Kimon was an Athenian statesman and general in mid-5th century BC Greece. He was the son of Miltiades, the victor of the Battle of Marathon, Cimon played a key role in creating the powerful Athenian maritime empire following the failure of the Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I in 480-479 BC. Cimon became a military hero and was elevated to the rank of admiral after fighting in the Battle of Salamis. One of Cimon’s greatest exploits was his destruction of a Persian fleet, in 462 BC, he led an unsuccessful expedition to support the Spartans during the helot uprisings. For this participation in policy, he has often been called a laconist. Cimon also led the Athenian aristocratic party against Pericles and opposed the revolution of Ephialtes seeking to retain aristocratic party control over Athenian institutions. Cimon was born into Athenian nobility in 510 BC and he was a member of the Philaidae clan, from the deme of Laciadae. His grandfather was Cimon the Silly, who won three Olympic victories with his chariot and was assassinated by the sons of Peisistratus. His father was the celebrated Athenian general Miltiades and his mother was Hegesipyle, daughter of the Thracian king Olorus, while Cimon was a young man, his father was fined 50 talents after an accusation of treason by the Athenian state. As Miltiades could not afford to pay this amount, he was put in jail, Cimon inherited this debt and, according to Diodorus, some of his fathers unserved prison sentence in order to obtain his body for burial. As the head of his household, he also had to look after his sister or half-sister Elpinice, according to Plutarch, the wealthy Callias took advantage of this situation by proposing to pay Cimons debts for Elpinices hand in marriage. He later married Isodice, Megacles granddaughter and a member of the Alcmaeonidae family and their first children were twin boys named Lacedaemonius and Eleus. During the Battle of Salamis, Cimon distinguished himself by his bravery and he is mentioned as being a member of an embassy sent to Sparta in 479 BC. Between 478 BC and 476 BC, a number of Greek maritime cities around the Aegean Sea did not wish to submit to Persian control again, there, they formed the Delian League, and it was agreed that Cimon would be their principal commander. As strategos, Cimon commanded most of the League’s operations until 463 BC, during this period, he and Aristides drove the Spartans under Pausanias out of Byzantium. Cimon also captured Eion on the Strymon from the Persian general Boges and he also conquered Scyros and drove out the pirates who were based there. On his return, he brought the “bones” of the mythological Theseus back to Athens, to celebrate this achievement, three Herma statues were erected around Athens. Around 466 BC, Cimon carried the war against Persia into Asia Minor, Cimons land and sea forces captured the Persian camp and destroyed or captured the entire Persian fleet of 200 triremes manned by Phoenicians
Cimon
–
Bust of Cimon in
Larnaca,
Cyprus
Cimon
–
Most important geographical locations during Cimon's life.
Cimon
–
Timeline
39.
Arethusa (mythology)
–
In Greek mythology, she was a nymph and daughter of Nereus, who fled from her home in Arcadia beneath the sea and came up as a fresh water fountain on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse, Sicily. As a patron figure of Syracuse, the head of Arethusa surrounded by dolphins was the obverse of their coins. They are regarded as among the most famous and beautiful Ancient Greek coins, apart from retellings by classical authors including Ovid and Virgil, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a poem on Arethusa in 1820. The myth of her transformation begins in Arcadia when she came across a stream and began bathing, not knowing it was the river god Alpheus. He fell in love during their encounter, but she fled after discovering his presence and intentions, after a long chase, she prayed to her goddess to ask for protection. Artemis hid her in a cloud, but Alpheus was persistent and she began to perspire profusely from fear, and soon transformed into a stream. Artemis then broke the ground allowing Arethusa another attempt to flee and her stream traveled under the sea to the island of Ortygia, but Alpheus flowed through the sea to reach her and mingle with her waters. During Demeters search for her daughter Persephone, Arethusa entreated Demeter to discontinue her punishment of Sicily for her daughters disappearance and she told the goddess that while traveling in her stream below the earth, she saw her daughter looking sad as the queen of Hades. The Roman writer Ovid called Arethusa by the name Alpheias, because her stream was believed to have a communication with the river Alpheius
Arethusa (mythology)
–
An engraving by
Bernard Picart depicting
Alpheus in his attempt to capture Arethusa.
40.
First Ancient Theatre, Larissa
–
The First Ancient Theatre of Larissa is a major open-air theatre and the largest theater in Thessaly, with a seating capability of 10,000 persons. It is situated on the side of the Acropolis Hill in Larissa. The First Ancient Theatre of Larissa was constructed inside the ancient citys centre during the reign of King Philip V of Macedonia, the theatre was in use for six centuries, until the end of the 3rd century AD, when its operation was abruptly stopped. The ancient theatre of Larissa by the end of the 7th century BC had the lead, the theatre has the typical structure of the Hellenistic theater with three basic components, koilon, orchestra and skene with a diameter of about 25 meters. The hollow of the ancient theater was the same slope of the hill Fortress, in the second period, at the 2nd half century BC front of the stage building, towards the band built a colonnade, the limelight. It consists of six pilasters and Doric semi-columns six monolithic bloc, at the time of the emperor Octavian Augustus and his successor Tiberius, there were found inscriptions in their honor on the foreheads of the Doric order entablature cornices of the scene. First Ancient Theatre of Larissa - Larissa Municipality
First Ancient Theatre, Larissa
–
Larissa's Ancient theater
41.
Pelasgiotis
–
Pelasgiotis was an elongated district of ancient Thessaly from the Vale of Tempe to the southern city of Pherae. Phthiotis, Thessaliotis, Histiaeotis and Pelasgiotis comprised the Thessalian tetrarchy, governed under the title of tagus, the territory is mentioned by Strabo but not by Herodotus, who seems to include it in the district of Thessaliotis. In epigraphy, Pelasgiotes are mentioned among other Thessalian ambassadors in Athens ca.353 BC. P. Q. R, the Thessalian League decreed to send 43,000 coffers of wheat to Rome, to be taxed from different regions under the league. The Pelasgiōtai and the Phthiōtai are to provide 32,000 while the Histiōtai and Thessaliōtai must provide the remaining 11,000, with 25% going to the army, the regional and ethnic toponym is a reminiscent Pelasgian element from the Thessalian past. As in other parts of Thessaly, Aeolic Greek inscriptions are attested and after 2nd century BC, the 3rd century BC funerary epigram for Erilaos of Kalchedon mentions also Λάρισα τᾶι Πελασγίδι Larisa tai Pelasgidi. Pelasgia Pelasgus of Thessaly An inventory of archaic and classical poleis By Mogens Herman Hansen, Thomas Heine Nielsen Page 682 ISBN 0-19-814099-1 Epigraphical locations of Pelasgiotis
Pelasgiotis
–
Pelasgiotis in the centre of Thessaly
42.
Strategos
–
Strategos or Strategus, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Hellenistic world and the Byzantine Empire the term was used to describe a military governor. In the modern Hellenic Army it is the highest officer rank, the ten were of equal status, and replaced the polemarchos, who had hitherto been the senior military commander. At Marathon in 490 BC they decided strategy by majority vote, at this date the polemarchos had a casting vote, and one view is that he was the commander-in-chief, but from 486 onwards the polemarchos, like the other archontes, was appointed by lot. The annual election of the strategoi was held in the spring, if a strategos died or was dismissed from office, a by-election might be held to replace him. This system continued at least until ca, 356/7 BC, but by the time Aristotle wrote his Constitution of the Athenians in ca.330 BC, the appointments were made without any reference to tribal affiliation. Hence, during the Hellenistic period, although the number of the tribes was increased, as political power passed to the rhetores in the later 5th century, the strategoi were limited to their military duties. Originally, the strategoi were appointed ad hoc to various assignments and this was generalized in Hellenistic times, when each strategos was given specific duties. One of them, the strategos epi ta hopla, ascended to major prominence in the Roman period, the Athenian people kept a close eye on their strategoi. If the vote went against anyone, he was deposed and as a rule tried by jury, the strategos as an office is attested at least for Syracuse from the late 5th century BC, Erythrae, and in the koinon of the Arcadians in the 360s BC. The title of strategos autokrator was also used for generals with broad powers, thus Philip II of Macedon was elected as strategos autokrator of the League of Corinth. g. In the Hellenistic empires of the Diadochi, notably Lagid Egypt, for which most details are known, in Egypt, the strategoi were originally responsible for the Greek military colonists established in the country. Quickly, they assumed a role in the administration alongside the nomarches, the governor of each of the nomes. Already by the time of Ptolemy II, the strategos was the head of the administration, while conversely his military role declines. Ptolemy V established the office of epistrategos to oversee the individual strategoi, the latter had now become solely civilian officials, combining the role of the nomarches and the oikonomos, while the epistrategos retained powers of military command. In addition, hypostrategoi could be appointed as subordinates, the office largely retained its Ptolemaic functions and continued to be staffed by the Greek population of the country. The Odrysian kingdom of Thrace was also divided into strategiai, each headed by a strategos, based on the various Thracian tribes and subtribes. At the time of the annexation into the Roman Empire in 46 AD, there were 50 such districts, which were initially retained in the new Roman province
Strategos
–
Bust of Themistocles strategos with
Corinthian helmet;
Hadrianic Roman copy of a Greek sculpture of c. 400 BC
43.
Crannon
–
Krannonas, ancient Crannon, is a village and a former municipality in the Larissa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kileler and it is located southwest of the regional capital Larissa. In 2011 its population was 109 for the village,177 for the community and 2,289 for the municipal unit, the municipal unit has an area of 205.242 km2. The seat of the municipality was Agioi Anargyroi and it is located north of Farsala and NNE of Palamas and Karditsa. The municipal unit boundaries extend as far south as the Fyllio Mountains where its highest point is 533 m, as far north as Koilada and Larissa, in the west it borders the Karditsa regional unit. Crannon was the site of the battle of the Lamian War between Macedon and Athens with its allies. The municipal unit Krannonas is subdivided into the communities, Agioi Anargyroi Agios Georgios Doxaras Krannonas Kyparissos Mavrovouni Mikro Vouno Psychiko Vounaina
Crannon
–
O: Horseman Λ E
44.
Anabasis (Xenophon)
–
Anabasis (/əˈnæbəsɪs/, Greek, Ἀνάβασις Greek pronunciation, is the most famous work, published in seven books, of the Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon. The text was composed around the year 370 BC, and in translations, the journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment and one of the great adventures in human history, as Will Durant expressed it. Aside from these two references, there is no authority for there being a contemporary Anabasis written by Themistogenes of Syracuse, and indeed no mention of such a person in any other context. While the attribution to Themistogenes has been raised many times, the view of most scholars aligns substantially with that of Plutarch, and certainly that all the volumes are written by Xenophon. Xenophon accompanied the Ten Thousand, an army of Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger. Though Cyrus mixed army fought to a victory at Cunaxa in Babylon, Cyrus was killed, rendering the actions of the Greeks irrelevant. Stranded deep in Persia, the Spartan general Clearchus and the other Greek senior officers were killed or captured by treachery on the part of the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. Xenophon related this story in Anabasis in a simple and direct manner, the Greek term anabasis referred to an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. The term katabasis referred to a trip from the interior to the coast, Socrates makes a cameo appearance, when Xenophon asks whether he ought to accompany the expedition. The short episode demonstrates the reverence of Socrates for the Oracle of Delphi, perhaps not coincidentally, they are autobiographical tales of military adventure, told in the third person. Some other works inspired by Anabasis include, Xenophons book inspired multiple literary and audio-visual works, shane Brennans memoir In the Tracks of the Ten Thousand, A Journey on Foot through Turkey, Syria and Iraq recounts his 2000 journey to re-trace the steps of the Ten Thousand. The cry of Xenophons soldiers when they meet the sea is mentioned by the narrator of Jules Vernes Journey to the Center of the Earth, the famous cry also provides the title of Iris Murdochs Booker Prize-winning novel, The Sea, the Sea. The operational concept for the novel was based on Xenophons account of the Ten Thousand, paul Davies novella Grace, A Story is a fantasy that details the progress of Xenophons army through Armenia to Trabzon. Michael Curtis Fords novel The Ten Thousand is an account of this groups exploits. Jaroslav Hašeks dark comedy novel, The Good Soldier Švejk, uses the term in describing Švejks efforts to find his way back to his regiment, John G. Hemrys The Lost Fleet series is partially inspired by Xenophons Anabasis. When he dies in battle, the Macht have to march home overland through hostile territory, valerio Massimo Manfredis novel The Lost Army is a fictional account of Xenophons march with the Ten Thousand. Michael G. Thomas series Star Legions is closely based on the work, sol Yuricks novel The Warriors borrows characters and events from Anabasis. It was adapted as an eponymous 1979 cult film, directed by Walter Hill, the first three novels of David Weber and John Ringos science fiction series Empire of Man—March Upcountry, March to the Sea, and March Stars —are modeled after Anabasis
Anabasis (Xenophon)
–
Route of
Cyrus the Younger,
Xenophon and the
Ten Thousand.
45.
Cyrus the Younger
–
Cyrus the Younger, son of Darius II of Persia and Parysatis, was a Persian prince and general. His birth date is unknown, but he died in 401 BC after a battle to oust his brother, Artaxerxes II. The history of Cyrus and of the retreat of the Greeks is told by Xenophon in his Anabasis, another account, probably from Sophaenetus of Stymphalus, was used by Ephorus. Further information is contained in the excerpts from Artaxerxes IIs physician, Ctesias, by Photius, Plutarch’s Lives of Artaxerxes II and Lysander and these are the only early sources of information on Cyrus the Younger. According to Xenophon, Cyrus the Younger was born after the accession of his father in 424 BC and he had an elder brother, Arsicas, and two younger brothers named Ostanes and Oxathres. Nor less in matters of war, in the use of the bow and the javelin, was he held by men in general to be at once the aptest of learners and the most eager practiser. As soon as his age permitted, the same pre-eminence showed itself in his fondness for the chase, in 408 BC, after the victories of Alcibiades, Darius II decided to continue the war against Athens and give strong support to the Spartans. There, Cyrus met the Spartan general Lysander, in him, Cyrus found a man who was willing to help him become king, just as Lysander himself hoped to become absolute ruler of Greece by the aid of the Persian prince. Thus, Cyrus put all his means at the disposal of Lysander in the Peloponnesian War, around that time, Darius fell ill and called his son to his deathbed, Cyrus handed money over to Lysander and went to Susa. For Parysatis had the specious plea in his behalf, which Xerxes on the advice of Demaratus had of old made use of, that she had borne him Arsicas when he was a subject, but Cyrus when a king. According to Plutarch, his resentment for him more eagerly desirous of the kingdom than before. Lysander won the battle of Aegospotami, and Sparta became more influential in the Greek world, in the spring of 401 BC, Cyrus united all his forces into an army now including Xenophons Ten Thousand, and advanced from Sardis without announcing the object of his expedition. The king had only been warned at the last moment by Tissaphernes and gathered an army in haste, in October 401 BC, the battle of Cunaxa ensued. Cyrus had 10,400 Greek hoplites,2,500 peltasts, Cyrus saw that the outcome depended on the fate of the king, he therefore wanted Clearchus, the commander of the Greeks, to take the centre against Artaxerxes. As a result, the wing of the Persians under Tissaphernes was free to engage the rest of Cyrus forces. Tissaphernes claimed to have killed the rebel himself, and Parysatis later took vengeance upon the slayer of her favorite son, the Persian troops, instead of attacking the Greeks via a direct assault, decoyed them into the interior, beyond the Tigris, and then attacked through trickery. It was a solid and clever plan, but after their commanders had taken prisoners. He would tell no lies to any one and he made no secret of his endeavour to outdo his friends and his foes alike in reciprocity of conduct
Cyrus the Younger
–
Route of Cyrus the Younger, Xenophon and the
Ten Thousand mercenaries
46.
Darius II of Persia
–
Darius II, was king of the Persian Empire from 423 BC to 404 or 405 BC. Artaxerxes I, who died on December 25,424 BC, was followed by his son Xerxes II, after a month and a half Xerxes II was murdered by his brother Secydianus or Sogdianus. Neither the names Xerxes II nor Sogdianus occur in the dates of the numerous Babylonian tablets from Nippur, historians know little about Darius IIs reign. A rebellion by the Medes in 409 BC is mentioned by Xenophon and it does seem that Darius II was quite dependent on his wife Parysatis. In excerpts from Ctesias some harem intrigues are recorded, in which he played a disreputable part, as long as the power of Athens remained intact he did not meddle in Greek affairs. When in 413 BC, Athens supported the rebel Amorges in Caria, Darius II would not have responded had not the Athenian power been broken in the same year at Syracuse. As a result of event, Darius II gave orders to his satraps in Asia Minor, Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus, to send in the overdue tribute of the Greek towns. To support the war with Athens, the Persian satraps entered into an alliance with Sparta, in 408 BC he sent his son Cyrus to Asia Minor, to carry on the war with greater energy. Darius II died in 404 BC, in the year of his reign. Prior to his accession, Darius II was married to the daughter of Gobryas. With the daughter of Gobryas, Darius II had four sons, through one of his sons became the father of Artabazanes
Darius II of Persia
–
Drachma of Darius II with text in
Aramaic
Darius II of Persia
–
Prospective tomb of Darius II of Persia in
Naqsh-e Rustam
47.
Persia
–
Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably
Persia
–
Cave painting in Doushe cave,
Lorestan, Iran,
8th millennium BC
Persia
–
Flag
Persia
–
A depiction of the united
Medes and
Persians in
Apadana,
Persepolis
Persia
–
Ruins of the
Gate of All Nations,
Persepolis
48.
Artaxerxes II of Persia
–
Artaxerxes II Mnemon /ˌɑːrtəˈzɜːrksiːz/ was king of Persia from 404 BC until his death in 358 BC. He was a son of Darius II and Parysatis, Darius II died in 404 BC, just before the final victory of the Egyptian general, Amyrtaeus, over the Persians in Egypt. His successor was his eldest son Arsames who was crowned as Artaxerxes II in Pasargadae and he later received the title of Mnemon from the Greeks who found his memory to be exceptional. Even before his coronation, Artaxerxes was facing threats to his rule from his younger brother, four years earlier, Cyrus was appointed by his father as the supreme governor of the provinces of Asia Minor. There, he managed to pacify local rebellions and become a ruler among both the Iranians and Greeks. Towards the end of 405 BC, Cyrus became aware of his father’s illness, Artaxerxes defended his position against his brother Cyrus the Younger who, with the aid of a large army of Greek mercenaries, attempted to usurp the throne. Though Cyrus mixed army fought to a victory at the Battle of Cunaxa in Babylon, Cyrus himself was killed in the exchange by Mithridates. Artaxerxes became involved in a war with Persias erstwhile allies, the Spartans, in order to redirect the Spartans attention to Greek affairs, Artaxerxes subsidized their enemies, in particular the Athenians, Thebans and Corinthians. These subsidies helped to engage the Spartans in what would become known as the Corinthian War, in 386 BC, Artaxerxes II betrayed his allies and came to an arrangement with Sparta, and in the Treaty of Antalcidas he forced his erstwhile allies to come to terms. This treaty restored control of the Greek cities of Ionia and Aeolis on the Anatolian coast to the Persians, in 385 BC he campaigned against the Cadusians. Although successful against the Greeks, Artaxerxes had more trouble with the Egyptians, an attempt to reconquer Egypt in 373 BC was completely unsuccessful, but in his waning years the Persians did manage to defeat a joint Egyptian–Spartan effort to conquer Phoenicia. He quashed the Revolt of the Satraps in 372–362 BC and he is reported to have had a number of wives. His main wife was Stateira, until she was poisoned by Artaxerxes mother Parysatis in about 400 BC, another chief wife was a Greek woman of Phocaea named Aspasia. Artaxerxes II is said to have more than 115 sons from 350 wives, much of Artaxerxes wealth was spent on building projects. He restored the Palace of Darius I at Susa, and also the fortifications, including a strong redoubt at the south-east corner of the enclosure and gave Ecbatana a new apadana and sculptures. Plutarch in his Lives records alternative names Oarses and Arsicas for Artaxerxes II Mnemon given by Deinon and these derive from the Persian name Khshayarsha as do Ahasuerus and the hypocoristicon Arshu for Artaxerxes II found on a contemporary inscription. The 13th century Syriac historian Bar-Hebraeus in his Chronography, also identifies Ahasuerus as Artaxerxes II citing the sixth century AD historian John of Ephesus, while authenticity of this pedigree is uncertain, it testifies to this kings long renown. Artaxerxes I History of Persia The Anabasis Ten Thousand Artaxerxes by Plutarch H. Hunger & R. J. van der Spek, military operations in Babylonia in, Arta 2006.002 Inscriptions of Artaxerxes II in transcribed Persian and in English translation
Artaxerxes II of Persia
–
Daric of Artaxerxes II
Artaxerxes II of Persia
–
Artaxerxes II as he appears in his tomb at
Persepolis, Iran.
Artaxerxes II of Persia
–
Tomb of Artaxerxes II in
Persepolis
