1.
Gustave Moreau
–
Gustave Moreau was a major figure in French Symbolist painting whose main emphasis was the illustration of biblical and mythological figures. As a painter, Moreau appealed to the imaginations of some Symbolist writers and he is recognized for his works that are influenced by the Italian Renaissance and exoticism. His art work was preserved in Paris at the Musée Gustave Moreau and he was born in Paris, France, at 6 Rue des Saints-Peres. He came from a middle class family and his father, Louis Jean Marie Moreau, was an architect for the city of Paris and his mother, nee Adele Pauline Desmoutier, was an accomplished musician. Gustave Moreau lived a sheltered life growing up, having visited Italy at age 15 he began his love for art. At age 18 he was to art at Ecole des Beaux-Arts under the guidance of François-Édouard Picot. He then began to study art under his new mentor Théodore Chassériau, Moreau participated in the Salon for the first time in 1852. Moreau had a 25-year personal, possibly romantic relationship, with Adelaide-Alexandrine Dureux and his first painting was a Pietà which is now located in the cathedral at Angoulême. He showed A Scene from the Song of Songs and The Death of Darius in the Salon of 1853, in 1853, he contributed Athenians with the Minotaur and Moses Putting Off his Sandals within Sight of the Promised Land to the Great Exhibition. Oedipus and the Sphinx, one of his first symbolist paintings, was exhibited at the Salon of 1864, Moreau quickly gained a reputation for eccentricity. One commentator said Moreaus work was like a pastiche of Mantegna created by a German student who relaxes from his painting by reading Schopenhauer, the painting currently resides in the permanent collection at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. On March 28,1890, Alexandrine Dureux died and her death affected Moreau greatly, and his work after this point contained a more melancholic edge. She was buried at the cemetery that Moreau himself would be laid to rest. Moreau became a professor at Paris École des Beaux-Arts in October 1891, among his many students were fauvist painters Henri Matisse and Georges Rouault. Jules Flandrin, Theodor Pallady and Léon Printemps also studied with Moreau, Moreau died of stomach cancer and was buried at the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris in his parents tomb. During his lifetime, Moreau produced more than 8,000 paintings, watercolors and drawings, the museum is in his former workshop, and began operation in 1903. André Breton famously used to haunt the museum and regarded Moreau as a precursor of Surrealism and his work influenced the next generation of Symbolists, particularly Odilon Redon and Jean Delville, a leading figure in Belgian Symbolism in the early part of the twentieth century. The death of Chasseriau in 1856 caused Moreau to enter a state of gloominess and he stopped painting and withdrew himself from the public
Gustave Moreau
–
Self-portrait of Gustave Moreau, 1850
Gustave Moreau
–
Oedipus and the Sphinx (1864)
Gustave Moreau
–
Jason and Medea, (1865)
Gustave Moreau
–
Orpheus (1865)
2.
The Beast (Revelation)
–
The Beast may refer to one of two beasts described in the Book of Revelation. The first beast comes out of the sea and is given authority and power by the dragon and this first beast is initially mentioned in Revelation 11,7 as coming out of the abyss. His appearance is described in detail in Revelation 13, 1-10, the second beast comes from out of the earth and directs all peoples of the earth to worship the first beast. The second beast is described in Revelation 13, 11-18 and is referred to as the false prophet. The two beasts are aligned with the dragon in opposition to God and they persecute the saints and those who do not worship the image of the beast and influence the kings of the earth to gather for the battle of Armageddon. The two beasts are defeated by Christ and are thrown into the lake of fire mentioned in Revelation 19, the description of the beast is found primarily in Revelation chapters thirteen and seventeen. Chapter thirteen gives the fullest description, John saw it rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. It was like a leopard, with feet like the feet of a bear, one of its heads had a mortal wound which healed itself, causing people to wonder at it and follow it. In Revelation chapter seventeen we learn of a third beast, scarlet in color and some of the symbols are explained. The prevailing view is that the scarlet beast is another, distinct, visualisation of the subject as the beast of the sea. The scarlet beast is shown being ridden by a harlot who reigns over the kings of the earth, whereas the beast of the sea is not described as being ridden, and is given power and great authority. The seven heads represent both seven mountains and seven kings, and the ten horns are ten kings who have not yet received kingdoms, of the seven kings, five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come. The beast itself is a king who is of the seven and was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit. The second beast is described in Revelation chapter thirteen. This second beast comes out of the earth whose overall appearance is not described and his purpose is to promote the authority of the first beast with the ability to perform great signs, even making fire come down out of Heaven. This second beast is called the false prophet. He speaks like a dragon commanding the people of the Earth to make an image to the beast that was wounded by a sword and it is declared that anyone who does not worship the beast or its image would be killed. The lamb-horned beast from the earth also causes all people to receive the mark of the beast in their hand or in their forehead
The Beast (Revelation)
–
La Bête de la Mer (from the
Tapisserie de l'Apocalypse in
Angers, France). A medieval tapestry, this detail of which shows John, the Dragon, and the Beast of the Sea.
The Beast (Revelation)
–
The Revelation of St John: 12. The Sea Monster and the Beast with the Lamb's Horn. A woodcut by
Albrecht Dürer
The Beast (Revelation)
–
Bust of Nero at
Musei Capitolini,
Rome
The Beast (Revelation)
–
Beast wearing
papal tiara from
Luther's translation of the New Testament from 1522.
3.
Book of Revelation
–
Its title is derived from the first word of the text, written in Koine Greek, apokalypsis, meaning unveiling or revelation. The Book of Revelation is the apocalyptic document in the New Testament canon. The author names himself in the text as John, but his identity remains a point of academic debate. Modern scholarship generally takes a different view, and many consider that nothing can be known about the author except that he was a Christian prophet, Some modern scholars characterise Revelations author as a putative figure whom they call John of Patmos. The bulk of traditional sources date the book to the reign of the emperor Domitian, the book spans three literary genres, the epistolary, the apocalyptic, and the prophetic. It begins with John, on the island of Patmos in the Aegean and he then describes a series of prophetic visions, including figures such as the Whore of Babylon and the Beast, culminating in the Second Coming of Jesus. The title is taken from the first word of the book in Koine Greek, ἀποκάλυψις apokalypsis, the author names himself as John, but it is currently considered unlikely that the author of Revelation was also the author of the Gospel of John. All that is known is that this John was a Jewish Christian prophet, probably belonging to a group of such prophets and his precise identity remains unknown, and modern scholarship commonly refers to him as John of Patmos. 70 AD is the date of writing according to Martha Himmelfarb in the recently published Blackwell series. Revelation is an apocalyptic prophecy with an epistolary introduction addressed to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia, Apocalypse means the revealing of divine mysteries, John is to write down what is revealed and send it to the seven churches. The entire book constitutes the letter—the letters to the seven churches are introductions to the rest of the book. While the dominant genre is apocalyptic, the author himself as a Christian prophet, Revelation uses the word in various forms twenty-one times. The predominant view is that Revelation alludes to the Old Testament although it is difficult among scholars to agree on the number of allusions or the allusions themselves. Revelation rarely quotes directly from the Old Testament, almost every verse alludes to or echoes older scriptures. Over half of the stem from Daniel, Ezekiel, Psalms. He very frequently combines multiple references, and again the style makes it impossible to be certain to what extent he did so consciously. Revelation was the last book accepted into the Christian biblical canon and it was considered tainted because the heretical sect of the Montanists relied on it and doubts were raised over its Jewishness and authorship. Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, disciple of Origen wrote that the Book of Revelation could have been written by Cerinthus although he himself did not adopt the view that Cerinthus was the writer and he regarded the Apocalypse as the work of an inspired man but not of an Apostle
Book of Revelation
–
Books of the
New Testament
Book of Revelation
–
Frontispiece, Book of Revelation,
Bible of San Paolo fuori le Mura, 9th century.
Book of Revelation
–
St. John the Evangelist on Patmos by
Hieronymous Bosch, circa 1489
Book of Revelation
–
St. John receives his Revelation.
Saint-Sever Beatus, 11th century.
4.
Typhon
–
Typhon, also Typhoeus, Typhaon or Typhos, was a monstrous giant and the most deadly creature in Greek mythology. Typhon was the last son of Gaia, and was fathered by Tartarus, Typhon and his mate Echidna were the progenitors of many famous monsters. The mythographer Apollodorus adds that Gaia bore Typhon in anger at the gods for their destruction of her offspring the Giants, numerous other sources mention Typhon as being the offspring of Gaia, or simply earth-born, with no mention of Tartarus. However, according to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Typhon was the child of Hera alone. Hera, angry at Zeus for having given birth to Athena by himself, prayed to Gaia to give her a son as strong as Zeus, then slapped the ground and became pregnant. Hera gave the infant Typhon to the serpent Python to raise, several sources locate Typhons birth and dwelling place in Cilicia, and in particular the region in the vicinity of the ancient Cilician coastal city of Corycus. The poet Pindar calls Typhon Cilician, and says that Typhon was born in Cilicia and nurtured in the famous Cilician cave, in Aeschylus Prometheus Bound, Typhon is called the dweller of the Cilician caves, and both Apollodorus and the poet Nonnus have Typhon born in Cilicia. The b scholia to Iliad 2.783, preserving a possible Orphic tradition, has Typhon born in Cilicia, Gaia, angry at the destruction of the Giants, slanders Zeus to Hera. So Hera goes to Zeus father Cronus and Cronus gives Hera two eggs smeared with his own semen, telling her to them, and that from them would be born one who would overthrow Zeus. Hera, angry at Zeus, buries the eggs in Cilicia under Arimon, the Homeric Hymn to Apollo describes Typhon as fell and cruel, and neither like gods nor men. Three of Pindars poems have Typhon as hundred-headed, while apparently a fourth gives him only fifty heads, a Chalcidian hydria, depicts Typhon as a winged humanoid from the waist up, with two snake tails below. For Nicander, Typhon was a monster of enormous strength, and strange appearance, with heads, hands, and wings. As far as the thighs he was of human shape and of such prodigious bulk that he out-topped all the mountains, one of his hands reached out to the west and the other to the east, and from them projected a hundred dragons heads. From the thighs downward he had huge coils of vipers, which when drawn out, reached to his very head and his body was all winged, unkempt hair streamed on the wind from his head and cheeks, and fire flashed from his eyes. The most elaborate description of Typhon is found in Nonnuss Dionysiaca, Nonnus makes numerous references to Typhons serpentine nature, giving him a tangled army of snakes, snaky feet, and hair. Nonnus also gives Typhon legions of arms innumerable, and where Nicander had only said that Typhon had many hands, according to Hesiods Theogony, Typhon was joined in love to Echidna, a monstrous half-woman and half-snake, who bore Typhon fierce offspring. The Theogony next mentions an ambiguous she, which refer to Echidna. The lyric poet Lasus of Hermione adds the Sphinx, later authors mostly retain these offspring of Typhon by Echidna, while adding others
Typhon
–
Zeus throwing his thunderbolt at Typhon, Chalcidian black-figured
hydria, c. 550 BC,
Staatliche Antikensammlungen (Inv. 596)
Typhon
–
Depiction by
Wenceslas Hollar
5.
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.
6.
Ancient Greece
–
Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th-9th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and this was followed by the period of Classical Greece, an era that began with the Greco-Persian Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Due to the conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished from Central Asia to the end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a influence on ancient Rome. For this reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture and is considered the cradle of Western civilization. Classical Antiquity in the Mediterranean region is considered to have begun in the 8th century BC. Classical Antiquity in Greece is preceded by the Greek Dark Ages and this period is succeeded, around the 8th century BC, by the Orientalizing Period during which a strong influence of Syro-Hittite, Jewish, Assyrian, Phoenician and Egyptian cultures becomes apparent. The end of the Dark Ages is also dated to 776 BC. The Archaic period gives way to the Classical period around 500 BC, Ancient Periods Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details The history of Greece during Classical Antiquity may be subdivided into five major periods. The earliest of these is the Archaic period, in which artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, the Archaic period is often taken to end with the overthrow of the last tyrant of Athens and the start of Athenian Democracy in 508 BC. It was followed by the Classical period, characterized by a style which was considered by observers to be exemplary, i. e. classical, as shown in the Parthenon. This period saw the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon, following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period, during which Greek culture and power expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman conquest, Herodotus is widely known as the father of history, his Histories are eponymous of the entire field. Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato, most of these authors were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than those of many other cities. Their scope is limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic. In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. The Lelantine War is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period and it was fought between the important poleis of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea. Both cities seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, a mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century BC, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC
Ancient Greece
–
The
Parthenon, a temple dedicated to
Athena, located on the
Acropolis in
Athens, is one of the most representative symbols of the culture and sophistication of the ancient Greeks.
Ancient Greece
–
Dipylon Vase of the late Geometric period, or the beginning of the Archaic period,
c. 750 BC.
Ancient Greece
–
Political geography of ancient Greece in the Archaic and Classical periods
7.
Greek language
–
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
–
Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
–
Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
8.
Snake
–
Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales, many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads with their highly mobile jaws. To accommodate their bodies, snakes paired organs appear one in front of the other instead of side by side. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of claws on either side of the cloaca. Additionally, sea snakes are widespread throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, more than 20 families are currently recognized, comprising about 500 genera and about 3,400 species. They range in size from the tiny,10.4 cm -long thread snake to the reticulated python of 6.95 meters in length, the fossil species Titanoboa cerrejonensis was 12.8 meters long. Snakes are thought to have evolved from either burrowing or aquatic lizards, perhaps during the Jurassic period, the diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene period. The oldest preserved descriptions of snakes can be found in the Brooklyn Papyrus, most species are nonvenomous and those that have venom use it primarily to kill and subdue prey rather than for self-defense. Some possess venom potent enough to cause injury or death to humans. Nonvenomous snakes either swallow prey alive or kill by constriction, the word ousted adder, as adder went on to narrow in meaning, though in Old English næddre was the general word for snake. The other term, serpent, is from French, ultimately from Indo-European *serp-, the fossil record of snakes is relatively poor because snake skeletons are typically small and fragile making fossilization uncommon. Fossils readily identifiable as snakes first appear in the record during the Cretaceous period. The earliest known snake fossils come from the marine simoliophiids. Based on comparative anatomy, there is consensus that snakes descended from lizards, pythons and boas—primitive groups among modern snakes—have vestigial hind limbs, tiny, clawed digits known as anal spurs, which are used to grasp during mating. The families Leptotyphlopidae and Typhlopidae also possess remnants of the pelvic girdle, front limbs are nonexistent in all known snakes. This is caused by the evolution of Hox genes, controlling limb morphogenesis, the axial skeleton of the snakes’ common ancestor, like most other tetrapods, had regional specializations consisting of cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and caudal vertebrae. Early in snake evolution, the Hox gene expression in the axial skeleton responsible for the development of the thorax became dominant, as a result, the vertebrae anterior to the hindlimb buds all have the same thoracic-like identity. In other words, most of a skeleton is an extremely extended thorax
Snake
Snake
Snake
–
Fossil of Archaeophis proavus.
Snake
–
An adult Barbados threadsnake,
Leptotyphlops carlae, on an
American quarter dollar.
9.
Roman mythology
–
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Romes legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. Roman mythology may also refer to the study of these representations. The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as historical, even when these have miraculous or supernatural elements, the stories are often concerned with politics and morality, and how an individuals personal integrity relates to his or her responsibility to the community or Roman state. When the stories illuminate Roman religious practices, they are concerned with ritual, augury. Romes early myths and legends also have a relationship with Etruscan religion. In particular, the versions of Greek myths in Ovids Metamorphoses, written during the reign of Augustus, because ritual played the central role in Roman religion that myth did for the Greeks, it is sometimes doubted that the Romans had much of a native mythology. This perception is a product of Romanticism and the scholarship of the 19th century. From the Renaissance to the 18th century, however, Roman myths were an inspiration particularly for European painting, the Roman tradition is rich in historical myths, or legends, concerning the foundation and rise of the city. These narratives focus on human actors, with only occasional intervention from deities, in Romes earliest period, history and myth have a mutual and complementary relationship. As T. P. Wiseman notes, The Roman stories still matter, as they mattered to Dante in 1300 and Shakespeare in 1600, what does it take to be a free citizen. Can a superpower still be a republic, how does well-meaning authority turn into murderous tyranny. Major sources for Roman myth include the Aeneid of Vergil and the first few books of Livys history as well as Dionysius s Roman Antiquities. Other important sources are the Fasti of Ovid, a six-book poem structured by the Roman religious calendar, scenes from Roman myth also appear in Roman wall painting, coins, and sculpture, particularly reliefs. The Aeneid and Livys early history are the best extant sources for Romes founding myths, material from Greek heroic legend was grafted onto this native stock at an early date. By extension, the Trojans were adopted as the ancestors of the Roman people. Rape of the Sabine women, explaining the importance of the Sabines in the formation of Roman culture, numa Pompilius, the Sabine second king of Rome who consorted with the nymph Egeria and established many of Romes legal and religious institutions. Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, whose mysterious origins were freely mythologized. The Tarpeian Rock, and why it was used for the execution of traitors, lucretia, whose self-sacrifice prompted the overthrow of the early Roman monarchy and led to the establishment of the Republic
Roman mythology
–
Romulus and Remus, the
Lupercal,
Father Tiber, and the
Palatine on a
relief from a pedestal dating to the reign of
Trajan (AD 98–117)
Roman mythology
–
In this wall painting from
Pompeii,
Venus looks on while the physician
Iapyx tends to the wound of her son,
Aeneas; the tearful boy is her grandson
Ascanius, also known as Iulus, legendary ancestor [
citation needed] of
Julius Caesar and the
Julio-Claudian dynasty
Roman mythology
–
Mucius Scaevola in the Presence of Lars Porsenna (early 1640s) by
Matthias Stom
Roman mythology
–
Capitoline Triad
10.
Lerna
–
In classical Greece, Lerna was a region of springs and a former lake near the east coast of the Peloponnesus, south of Argos. The strong Karstic springs remained, the lake, diminished to a lagoon by the 19th century, has vanished. Lerna is notable for several sites, including an Early Bronze Age structure known as House of the Tiles. The secret of the Lernaean spring was the gift of Poseidon when he lay with the daughter of Danaus. Now writers agree that the county has plenty of water, and these wells they ascribe to the daughters of Danaus, believing that they discovered them. But they add that four of the not only were designated as sacred but are especially revered. Lerna was one of the entrances to the Underworld, and the ancient Lernaean Mysteries, pausanias says that the mysteries were initiated by Philammon, the twin other of Autolycus. At the Alcyonian Lake, entry to the netherworld could be achieved by a hero who dared, such as Dionysus, who, guided by Prosymnus, went that way in search of his mother Semele. The water of the lake is, to all appearance, calm and quiet but, although it is such to look at, every swimmer who ventures to cross it is dragged down, sucked into the depths, and swept away. The keeper of the gate to the Underworld that lay in the waters of Lerna was the Hydra. Excavations at the site were initiated under John L. Caskey in 1952, whose efforts initiated the series of publications of Bronze Age Lerna, Lerna I-V, inspiring many other publications. Lerna was occupied in Neolithic times, as early as the fifth millennium BCE and this strongly fortified power center dates to the Early Bronze Age culture called Early Helladic, ca 2500 -2200 BCE. Lerna was used as a cemetery during the Mycenaean age, but was abandoned about 1250 BCE, jars and hydria have swelling curves. Painted decoration is sparse, stamped sealing form decorative patterns on some pieces, remarkably, banded patterns made with the self-same seal have been found at Lerna, Tiryns and Zygouries. The burning of the House of Tiles brought the Third Period at Lerna to a decisive close, a great profusion of unlined pits was characteristic of this phase, eventually they became filled with waste matter, bones, potsherds, even whole pots. Painted linear decoration in dark glaze on the body is characteristic of Lerna IV. A new custom of burying the dead in excavations within the houses or between them is universal at the period. Modern geological techniques such as core drilling have identified the site of the vanished sacred Lake Lerna, in the Early Bronze Age Lake Lerna had an estimated diameter of 4.7 km
Lerna
–
Stairs to an upper floor in the Early Helladic
House of the Tiles
11.
Argolid
–
Argolis or the Argolid is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the tripoint area of Argolis. Much of the territory of region is situated in the Argolid Peninsula. Most arable land lies in the part of Argolis. Its primary agricultural resources are oranges and olives, Argolis has a coastline on the Saronic Gulf in the northeast and on the Argolic Gulf in the south and southeast. Notable mountains ranges are the Oligyrtos in the northwest, Lyrkeio and Ktenia in the west, Argolis has land borders with Arcadia to the west and southwest, Corinthia to the north, and the Islands regional unit to the east. Parts of the history of the area can be found in the articles on Argos, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Nafplio, Troezen, Ermioni, Kranidi, from 1833 to 1899, Argolis was part of Argolidocorinthia, which included present Corinthia, Hydra, Spetses and Kythira. It joined Corinthia to form Argolidocorinthia again in 1909, forty years later, in 1949, Argolis was finally separated from Corinthia. The regional unit Argolis is subdivided into 4 municipalities and these are, Argos-Mykines Epidaurus Ermionida Nafplio As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Argolis was created out of the former prefecture Argolis. The prefecture had the territory as the present regional unit
Argolid
–
Map of ancient Argolis
Argolid
–
Municipalities of Argolis
Argolid
–
Argolic Gulf
Argolid
–
Mycenae
12.
Danaids
–
In Greek mythology, the Daughters of Danaus, also Danaids, Danaides or Danaïdes, were the fifty daughters of Danaus. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid refers to them as the Belides after their grandfather Belus and they were to marry the fifty sons of Danauss twin brother Aegyptus, a mythical king of Egypt. In the most common version of the myth, all but one of them killed their husbands on their wedding night, in the classical tradition, they came to represent the futility of a repetitive task that can never be completed. Danaus did not want his daughters to go ahead with the marriages and he fled with them in the first boat to Argos, which is located in Greece near the ancient city of Mycenae. Danaus agreed to the marriage of his daughters only after Aegyptus came to Argos with his fifty sons in order to protect the local population, Danaus was angered that his daughter refused to do as he ordered and took her to the Argives courts. Lynceus killed Danaus as revenge for the death of his brothers and he, the other forty-nine daughters remarried by choosing their mates in footraces. Some accounts tell that their punishment was in Tartarus being forced to carry a jug to fill a bathtub without a bottom to wash their sins off, because the water was always leaking they would forever try to fill the tub. Probably this myth is connected with a ceremony having to do with the worship of waters, the list in the Bibliotheca preserves not only the names of brides and grooms, but also those of their mothers. A lot was cast among the sons of Aegyptus to decide which of the Danaids each should marry, nevertheless, it is evident that this catalogue has almost nothing in common with that of Pseudo-Apollodorus. Several minor female characters, mentioned in various accounts unrelated to the myth of Danaus
Danaids
–
The Danaides (1903), a
Pre-Raphaelite interpretation by
John William Waterhouse
Danaids
–
The Danaides kill their husbands, miniature by
Robinet Testard.
13.
Hades (place)
–
The Greek underworld, in mythology, is an otherworld where souls go after death, and is the original Greek idea of afterlife. At the moment of death the soul is separated from the corpse, taking on the shape of the former person, the Underworld itself is described as being either at the outer bounds of the ocean or beneath the depths or ends of the earth. It is considered the counterpart to the brightness of Mount Olympus. Hades is an invisible to the living, made solely for the dead. There are five rivers that are visible both in the living world and the underworld. Their names were meant to reflect the emotions associated with death, the Styx is generally considered to be one of the most prominent and central rivers of the Underworld and is also the most widely known out of all the rivers. Its known as the river of hatred and is named after the goddess Styx and this river circles the underworld seven times. The Acheron is the river of pain and its the one that Charon, also known as the Ferryman, rows the dead over according to many mythological accounts, though sometimes it is the river Styx or both. The Lethe is the river of forgetfulness and it is associated with the goddess Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness and oblivion. In later accounts, a poplar branch dripping with water of the Lethe became the symbol of Hypnos, the Phlegethon is the river of fire. According to Plato, this leads to the depths of Tartarus. The Cocytus is the river of wailing, oceanus is the river that encircles the world, and it marks the east edge of the underworld, as Erebos is west of the mortal world. In front of the entrance to the underworld live Grief, Anxiety, Diseases, fear, Hunger, Death, Agony, and Sleep also live in front of the entrance, together with Guilty Joys. On the opposite threshold is War, the Erinyes, and Eris, close to the doors are many beasts, including Centaurs, Gorgons, the Lernaean Hydra, the Chimera, and Harpies. In the midst of all this, an Elm can be seen where false dreams cling under every leaf, the souls that enter the Underworld carry a coin under their tongue to pay Charon to take them across the river. Charon may make exceptions or allowances for those carrying a certain Golden Bough. Charon is appallingly filthy, with eyes like jets of fire, a bush of unkempt beard upon his chin, although Charon embarks now one group now another, some souls he grimly turns away. These are the unburied which cant be taken across from bank to bank until they receive a proper burial, across the river, guarding the gates of the Underworld, is Cerberus
Hades (place)
–
Hermes Psykhopompos sits on a rock, preparing to lead a dead soul to the Underworld.
Attic white-ground
lekythos, ca. 450 BC,
Staatliche Antikensammlungen (Inv. 2797)
Hades (place)
–
The
Rape of Persephone: Persephone is abducted by a Hades in his chariot. Persephone krater Antikensammlung Berlin 1984.40
Hades (place)
–
Triple Hecate and the
Charites, Attic, 3rd century BCE (
Glyptothek, Munich)
Hades (place)
–
Orestes at
Delphi flanked by
Athena and
Pylades among the Erinyes and
priestesses of the
oracle, perhaps including
Pythia behind the tripod - Paestan
red-figured bell-krater, c. 330 BC
14.
Mycenaean civilization
–
Mycenaean Greece was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece. It represents the first advanced civilization in mainland Greece, with its states, urban organization, works of art. Among the centers of power emerged, the most notable were those of Pylos, Tiryns, Midea in the Peloponnese, Orchomenos, Thebes, Athens in Central Greece. The most prominent site was Mycenae, in Argolid, to which the culture of this era owes its name. Mycenaean and Mycenaean-influenced settlements also appeared in Epirus, Macedonia, on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, the Levant, Cyprus and Italy. Their syllabic script, the Linear B, offers the first written records of the Greek language, Mycenaean Greece was dominated by a warrior elite society and consisted of a network of palace states that developed rigid hierarchical, political, social and economic systems. At the head of society was the king, known as wanax. Various theories have proposed for the end of this civilization. Additional theories such as natural disasters and climatic changes have also suggested. The Mycenaean period became the setting of much ancient Greek literature and mythology. The Bronze Age in mainland Greece is generally termed as the Helladic period by modern archaeologists, after Hellas, the Greek name for Greece. This period is divided into three subperiods, The Early Helladic period was a time of prosperity with the use of metals, the Middle Helladic period faced a slower pace of development, as well as the evolution of megaron-type dwellings and cist grave burials. Finally, the Late Helladic period roughly coincides with Mycenaean Greece, the transition period from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in Greece is known as Sub-Mycenaean. Moreover, it revealed that the bearers of Mycenaean culture were ethnically connected with the populations that resided in the Greek peninsula after the end of this cultural period. Various collective terms for the inhabitants of Mycenaean Greece were used by Homer in his 8th century BC epic, the Iliad, in reference to the Trojan War. The latter was supposed to have happened in the late 13th – early 12th century BC, Homer used the ethnonyms Achaeans, Danaans and Argives, to refer to the besiegers. These names appear to have passed down from the time they were in use to the time when Homer applied them as terms in his Iliad. There is an reference to a-ka-wi-ja-de in the Linear B records in Knossos, Crete dated to c.1400 BC
Mycenaean civilization
–
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean civilization
–
The
Lion Gate, the main entrance of the citadel of Mycenae, 13th century BC.
Mycenaean civilization
–
Two Mycenaean Greek warriors with boar's tusk helmets on a dual-chariot on a fresco from
Pylos (about 1350 BC) (left) and Two Mycenaean female charioteers from
Tiryns, 1200 BCE (right)
15.
Heracles
–
Heracles, born Alcaeus or Alcides, was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson and half-brother of Perseus. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of clans who claimed to be Heracleidae. In Rome and the modern West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximian, often identified themselves. The Romans adopted the Greek version of his life and works essentially unchanged, details of his cult were adapted to Rome as well. Extraordinary strength, courage, ingenuity, and sexual prowess with both males and females were among the characteristics commonly attributed to him, together with Hermes he was the patron and protector of gymnasia and palaestrae. His iconographic attributes are the skin and the club. These qualities did not prevent him from being regarded as a figure who used games to relax from his labors. By conquering dangerous archaic forces he is said to have made the safe for mankind. Many popular stories were told of his life, the most famous being The Twelve Labours of Heracles and his figure, which initially drew on Near Eastern motifs such as the lion-fight, was widely known. Heracles was the greatest of Hellenic chthonic heroes, but unlike other Greek heroes, the core of the story of Heracles has been identified by Walter Burkert as originating in Neolithic hunter culture and traditions of shamanistic crossings into the netherworld. Heracles role as a hero, whose death could be a subject of mythic telling, was accepted into the Olympian Pantheon during Classical times. Around him cries of the dead rang out like cries of birds scattering left, in Christian circles a Euhemerist reading of the widespread Heracles cult was attributed to a historical figure who had been offered cult status after his death. The ancient Greeks celebrated the festival of the Heracleia, which commemorated the death of Heracles, what is believed to be an Egyptian Temple of Heracles in the Bahariya Oasis dates to 21 BCE. A reassessment of Ptolemys descriptions of the island of Malta attempted to link the site at Ras ir-Raħeb with a temple to Heracles, several ancient cities were named Heraclea in his honor. A major factor in the tragedies surrounding Heracles is the hatred that the goddess Hera. A full account of Heracles must render it clear why Heracles was so tormented by Hera, Heracles was the son of the affair Zeus had with the mortal woman Alcmene. Zeus made love to her after disguising himself as her husband, Amphitryon, thus, Heracles very existence proved at least one of Zeus many illicit affairs, and Hera often conspired against Zeus mortal offspring as revenge for her husbands infidelities. His twin mortal brother, son of Amphitryon, was Iphicles, Hera did this knowing that while Heracles was to be born a descendant of Perseus, so too was Eurystheus
Heracles
–
One of the most famous depictions of Heracles, originally by
Lysippos (Marble, Roman copy called Hercules Farnese, 216 CE)
Heracles
–
Greek Mythology
Heracles
–
Heracles capturing the
Cretan bull.
Heracles
–
The Origin of the Milky Way by
Jacopo Tintoretto
16.
The Twelve Labors
–
The twelve labours of Heracles or Hercules are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later Romanised as Hercules. They were accomplished over 12 years at the service of King Eurystheus, the episodes were later connected by a continuous narrative. The establishment of a cycle of twelve labours was attributed by the Greeks to an epic poem, now lost, written by Peisander. After Hercules killed his wife and children, he went to the oracle at Delphi and he prayed to the god Apollo for guidance. Hercules was told to serve the king of Mycenae, Eurystheus, during these 12 years, Hercules is sent to perform twelve difficult feats, called labours. Driven mad by Hera, Hercules slew his son, daughter, after recovering his sanity, Hercules deeply regretted his actions, he was purified by King Thespius, then traveled to Delphi to inquire how he could atone for his actions. Hercules despaired at this, loathing to serve a man whom he knew to be far inferior to himself, eventually, he placed himself at Eurystheuss disposal. Eurystheus originally ordered Hercules to perform ten labours, Eurystheus set two more tasks, which Hercules also performed, bringing the total number of tasks to twelve. As they survive, the labours of Hercules are not recounted in any single place, Ruck and Staples assert that there is no one way to interpret the labours, but that six were located in the Peloponnese, culminating with the rededication of Olympia. Six others took the hero farther afield, to places that were, per Ruck, in each case, the pattern was the same, Hercules was sent to kill or subdue, or to fetch back for Eurystheus a magical animal or plant. A famous depiction of the labours in Greek sculpture is found on the metopes of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, in his labours, Hercules was sometimes accompanied by a male companion, according to Licymnius and others, such as Iolaus, his nephew. Several of the labours involved the offspring of Typhon and his mate Echidna, a traditional order of the labours found in the Bibliotheca is, Slay the Nemean Lion. Clean the Augean stables in a single day, obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon, steal the apples of the Hesperides. The first labour was to slay the Nemean lion, according to one version of the myth, the Nemean lion took women as hostages to its lair in a cave near Nemea, luring warriors from nearby towns to save the damsel in distress. After entering the cave, the warrior would see the woman, once he was close, the woman would turn into a lion and kill the warrior, devouring his remains and giving the bones to Hades. Hercules wandered the area until he came to the town of Cleonae, another version claims that he met Molorchos, a shepherd who had lost his son to the lion, saying that if he came back within thirty days, a ram would be sacrificed to Zeus. If he did not return within thirty days, it would be sacrificed to the dead Hercules as a mourning offering, while searching for the lion, Hercules fletched some arrows to use against it, not knowing that its golden fur was impenetrable
The Twelve Labors
–
Roman relief (3rd century AD) depicting a sequence of the Labours of Hercules, representing from left to right the
Nemean lion, the
Lernaean Hydra, the
Erymanthian Boar, the
Ceryneian Hind, the
Stymphalian birds, the
Girdle of Hippolyta, the
Augean stables, the
Cretan Bull and the
Mares of Diomedes
The Twelve Labors
–
The
Heracles Papyrus, a fragment of a 3rd-century Greek manuscript of a poem about the Labours of Hercules (
Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 2331)
The Twelve Labors
–
Heracles's first six labours were located in the
Peloponnese.
The Twelve Labors
–
Hercules and the Nemean lion (
oinochoe, 520-500 BC, from
Vulci)
17.
Hesiod
–
Hesiod was a Greek poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded as the first written poet in the Western tradition to regard himself as a persona with an active role to play in his subject. Ancient authors credited Hesiod and Homer with establishing Greek religious customs, modern scholars refer to him as a major source on Greek mythology, farming techniques, early economic thought, archaic Greek astronomy and ancient time-keeping. The dating of his life is an issue in scholarly circles. Epic narrative allowed poets like Homer no opportunity for personal revelations, however, Hesiods extant work comprises didactic poems in which he went out of his way to let his audience in on a few details of his life. There are three references in Works and Days, as well as some passages in his Theogony that support inferences made by scholars. Some scholars have seen Perses as a creation, a foil for the moralizing that Hesiod develops in Works and Days. Gregory Nagy, on the hand, sees both Persēs and Hēsiodos as fictitious names for poetical personae. The family association with Cyme might explain his familiarity with eastern myths, evident in his poems, however, while his poetry features some Aeolisms there are no words that are certainly Boeotian—he composed in the main literary dialect of the time, Ionian. Pausanias asserted that Boeotians showed him an old tablet made of lead on which the Works were engraved. If he did write or dictate, it was perhaps as an aid to memory or because he lacked confidence in his ability to produce poems extempore and it certainly wasnt in a quest for immortal fame since poets in his era had no such notions. However, some suspect the presence of large-scale changes in the text. Possibly he composed his verses during idle times on the farm and he was in fact a misogynist of the same calibre as the later poet, Semonides. He resembles Solon in his preoccupation with issues of good versus evil and how a just and he resembles Aristophanes in his rejection of the idealised hero of epic literature in favour of an idealised view of the farmer. Yet the fact that he could eulogise kings in Theogony and denounce them as corrupt in Works, two different—yet early—traditions record the site of Hesiods grave. This tradition follows a familiar ironic convention, the oracle that predicts accurately after all, the other tradition, first mentioned in an epigram by Chersias of Orchomenus written in the 7th century BC claims that Hesiod lies buried at Orchomenus, a town in Boeotia. Eventually they came to regard Hesiod too as their hearth-founder, later writers attempted to harmonize these two accounts. Greeks in the fifth and early 4th centuries BC considered their oldest poets to be Orpheus, Musaeus, Hesiod
Hesiod
–
The Dance of the Muses at Mount Helicon by
Bertel Thorvaldsen (1807). Hesiod cites inspiration from the
Muses while on Mount Helicon.
Hesiod
–
Hesiod and the
Muse, by
Gustave Moreau. Here he is presented with a
lyre, which contradicts the account given by Hesiod himself, in which the gift was a laurel staff.
Hesiod
–
Modern Mount Helicon—Hesiod once described his nearby hometown,
Ascra, as "cruel in winter, hard in summer, never pleasant."
Hesiod
–
16th-century manuscript of Theogony
18.
Multi-headed animal
–
Polycephaly is the condition of having more than one head. The term is derived from the Greek stems poly meaning many, a polycephalic organism may be thought of as one being with a supernumerary body part, or as two or more beings with a shared body. Two-headed animals and three-headed animals are the type of multi-headed creatures seen in the real world. In humans, there are two different forms of twinning that can lead to two heads being supported by a single torso, in dicephalus parapagus dipus, the two heads are side by side. In craniopagus parasiticus, the two heads are joined directly to other, but only one head has a functional torso. Survival to adulthood is rare, but does occur in forms of dicephalus parapagus dipus. There are many occurrences of multi-headed animals in mythology, in heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle is a common symbol, though no such animal is known to have ever existed. Two-headed people and animals, though rare, have long known to exist. In humans, as in animals, partial twinning can result in formation of two heads supported by a single torso. Two different ways this can happen are dicephalus parapagus, where there are two side by side, and craniopagus parasiticus, where the heads are joined directly. In dicephalus parapagus dipus, the two heads are side by side, on a torso with two legs, with varying levels of twinning of organs and structures within the torso, the shared body may have four arms altogether, or three arms, or two arms only. There are Greek-based medical terms for the variations, e. g. dibrachius means two-armed, both heads may contain a fully formed brain, or one may be anencephalic. If carried to term, dicephalus parapagus twins are usually stillborn, survival to adulthood does however occasionally occur in cases where the twins are born with three to four arms. Chances of survival are improved if two complete hearts are present, separation surgery is contraindicated, except in cases where one of the twins is clearly dying. Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci, were dicephalus parapagus dipus twins who survived to adulthood, each had his own pair of arms. They learned to speak several languages, but never learned to walk, Abigail and Brittany Hensel, born in 1990, are another instance of dicephalus parapagus dipus twins who grew up. They were born with two arms, plus a vestigial third arm, which was surgically removed. Each twin has her own head, heart and spine
Multi-headed animal
–
Heracles and the
Lernaean Hydra by
Gustave Moreau: The Hydra is perhaps the best known mythological multi-headed animal, also popularised in many
fantasy settings.
Multi-headed animal
–
Dicephalus dibrachius diauchenos. From: Hirst & Piersol, 1893.
Multi-headed animal
–
Two-faced kitten, Lausanne
Multi-headed animal
–
Two-headed piglet; Old State House, Hartford, Connecticut
19.
Regeneration (biology)
–
Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. Regeneration can either be complete where the new tissue is the same as the lost tissue, at its most elementary level, regeneration is mediated by the molecular processes of gene regulation. Above the genetic level, regeneration is fundamentally regulated by cellular processes. For example, hydra perform regeneration but reproduce by the method of budding, the hydra and the planarian flatworm have long served as model organisms for their highly adaptive regenerative capabilities. Once wounded, their cells become activated and start to remodel tissues, the regeneration of organs is a common and widespread adaptive capability among metazoan creatures. In a related context, some animals are able to reproduce asexually through fragmentation, budding, a planarian parent, for example, will constrict, split in the middle, and each half generates a new end to form two clones of the original. Echinoderms, crayfish, many reptiles, and amphibians exhibit remarkable examples of tissue regeneration, the case of autotomy, for example, serves as a defensive function as the animal detaches a limb or tail to avoid capture. After the limb or tail has been autotomized, cells move into action, limited regeneration of limbs occurs in most fishes and salamanders, and tail regeneration takes place in larval frogs and toads. The whole limb of a Salamander or a Triton will grow again and again after amputation, in reptiles, Chelonians, crocodiles and snakes are unable to regenerate lost parts, but many kinds of lizards, geckos and Iguanas possess regeneration capacity in a high degree. Usually, it involves dropping a section of their tail and regenerating it as part of a defense mechanism, while escaping a predator, if the predator catches the tail, it will disconnect. Following a disturbance, such as a fire or pest outbreak in a forest, pioneering species will occupy, compete for space, the new growth of seedlings and community assembly process is known as regeneration in ecology. Pattern formation in the morphogenesis of an animal is regulated by genetic factors that put cells to work after damage has occurred. Many of the genes that are involved in the development of tissues are reinitialized during the regenerative process. Cells in the primordia of zebrafish fins, for example, express four genes from the homeobox msx family during development, all these strategies result in the re-establishment of appropriate tissue polarity, structure and form. During the developmental process, genes are activated that serve to modify the properties of cell as they differentiate into different tissues, development and regeneration involves the coordination and organization of populations cells into a blastema, which is a mound of stem cells from which regeneration begins. Dedifferentiation of cells means that they lose their characteristics as tissues remodel during the regeneration process. Arthropods are known to regenerate appendages following loss or autotomy, molting cycles are hormonally regulated in arthropods, although premature molting can be induced by autotomy. Mechanisms underlying appendage regeneration in hemimetabolous insects and crustaceans is highly conserved, during limb regeneration species in both taxa form a blastema following autotomy with regeneration of the excised limb occurring during proecdysis
Regeneration (biology)
–
Sun flower
sea star regenerates its arms
Regeneration (biology)
–
Dwarf yellow-headed gecko with regenerating tail
Regeneration (biology)
–
Axolotls can regenerate a variety of structures, including their limbs
20.
Iolaus
–
For the butterfly genus, see Iolaus. In Greek mythology, Iolaus was a Theban divine hero, son of Iphicles and he was famed for being Heracless nephew and for helping with some of his Labors, and also for being one of the Argonauts. Through his daughter Leipephilene, he was considered to have fathered the mythic and historic line of the kings of Corinth, a genus of Lycaenid butterfly has been named after him. As a son of Iphicles, Iolaus was a nephew of Heracles and he often acted as Heracles charioteer and companion. He was popularly regarded as Heracless lover, and the shrine to him in Thebes was a place where male couples worshiped and made vows. The Theban gymnasium was named after him, and the Iolaia or Iolaea. The victors at the Iolaea were crowned with garlands of myrtle, Iolaus provided essential help to Heracles in his battle against the Hydra, his second labor. Seeing that Heracles was being overwhelmed by the monster, who grew two heads in place of each one cut off, Iolaus sprang to help, cauterizing each neck as Heracles beheaded it. Heracles gave his wife, Megara, age thirty three, to Iolaus, then sixteen years old – ostensibly because the sight of her reminded him of his murder of their three children. He was one of the Heraclidae, upon Heracles death, Iolaus lit the funeral pyre. However, according to some mythographers, this was Philoctetes instead, in Sophocles Philoctetes, Philoctetes was given Herakles bow and arrow as reward for lighting the funeral pyre. In other versions, it is Poeas, Iolaus and the Thespians were buried in Sardinia. Aristotle said that Sardinia had practiced the rite of incubation, which is the ritual of the people who were affected by nightmares. These rituals included that the suffering from nightmares should sleep next to the tombs of heroes. Solinus says, The Iolians, so named by him, added a temple to his tomb, in the television series Hercules, The Legendary Journeys and its spinoff Xena, Warrior Princess, Iolaus is portrayed by Michael Hurst, and he is not related to Hercules. In Young Hercules, he is played by Dean OGorman, Iolaus is portrayed by Reece Ritchie in the 2014 Hercules film. Hylas Media related to Iolaus at Wikimedia Commons
Iolaus
–
Heracles and his nephew, Iolaus. 1st century BC mosaic from the Anzio Nymphaeum,
Rome
Iolaus
–
Repoussé and engraved relief of Hercules and Iolaus on the Ficoroni cista. 4th century BC
Etruscan ritual vessel
21.
Alcaeus of Mytilene
–
Alcaeus of Mytilene was a lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza. He was included in the canonical list of nine lyric poets by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria and he was an older contemporary and an alleged lover of Sappho, with whom he may have exchanged poems. He was born into the governing class of Mytilene, the main city of Lesbos. The broad outlines of the life are well known. Alcaeus and his brothers were passionately involved in the struggle. Sometime before 600 BC, Mytilene fought Athens for control of Sigeion and it is thought that Alcaeus travelled widely during his years in exile, including at least one visit to Egypt. His older brother, Antimenidas, appears to have served as a mercenary in the army of Nebuchadnezzar II, Alcaeus reference to Sappho in terms more typical of a divinity, as holy/pure, honey-smiling Sappho, may owe its inspiration to her performances at the festival. Alexandrian scholars numbered him in their canonic nine, among these, Pindar was held by many ancient critics to be pre-eminent, but some gave precedence to Alcaeus instead. Even the private reflections of Alcaeus, ostensibly sung at dinner parties, critics often seek to understand Alcaeus in comparison with Sappho, The Roman poet, Horace, also compared the two, describing Alcaeus as more full-throatedly singing — see Horaces tribute below. The works of Alcaeus are conventionally grouped according to five genres, commenting on Alcaeus as a political poet, the scholar Dionysius of Halicarnassus once observed that. if you removed the meter you would find political rhetoric. Drinking songs, According to the grammarian Athenaeus, Alcaeus made every occasion an excuse for drinking, the latter poem in fact paraphrases verses from Hesiod, re-casting them in Asclepiad meter and Aeolian dialect. Hymns, Alcaeus sang about the gods in the spirit of the Homeric hymns, to entertain his companions rather than to glorify the gods, there are for example fragments in Sapphic meter praising the Dioscuri, Hermes and the river Hebrus. According to Porphyrion, the hymn to Hermes was imitated by Horace in one of his own sapphic odes, love songs, Almost all Alcaeus amorous verses, mentioned with disapproval by Quintilian above, have vanished without trace. There is a reference to his love poetry in a passage by Cicero. Horace, who wrote in imitation of Alcaeus, sketches in verse one of the Lesbian poets favourite subjects — Lycus of the black hair. It is possible that Alcaeus wrote amorously about Sappho, as indicated in an earlier quote, miscellaneous, Alcaeus wrote on such a wide variety of subjects and themes that contradictions in his character emerge. — possibly imitated by Horace in an ode in the same meter and he also wrote Sapphic stanzas on Homeric themes but in unHomeric style, comparing Helen of Troy unfavourably with Thetis, the mother of Akhilles. Like many of his poems, it begins with a verb, Alcaeus rarely used metaphor or simile and yet he had a fondness for the allegory of the storm-tossed ship of state
Alcaeus of Mytilene
–
Alcaeus and
Sappho,
Attic red-figure
kalathos, c. 470 BC,
Staatliche Antikensammlungen (Inv. 2416)
Alcaeus of Mytilene
–
Pittacus
Alcaeus of Mytilene
–
Sappho and Alcaeus by
Lawrence Alma-Tadema.
The Walters Art Museum.
Alcaeus of Mytilene
–
A 2nd century AD papyrus of Alcaeus, one of the many such fragments that have contributed to our greatly improved knowledge of Alcaeus' poetry during the 20th century (P.Berol. inv. 9810 = fr. 137 L.–P.).
22.
Simonides of Ceos
–
Simonides of Ceos was a Greek lyric poet, born at Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets, along with Bacchylides, both Bacchylides and Pindar benefited from his innovative approach to lyric poetry and he was more involved than either of them in the major events and personalities of their times. Such accounts include fanciful elements yet he had a influence on the sophistic enlightenment of the classical era. His fame as a poet rests largely on his ability to present basic human situations with affecting simplicity, few clear facts about Simonides life have come down to modern times in spite of his fame and influence. Ancient sources are uncertain even about the date of his birth, according to the Byzantine encyclopaedia, Suda, He was born in the 56th Olympiad or according to some writers in the 62nd and he survived until the 78th, having lived eighty-nine years. Other ancient sources also have awkward consequences, however, the Parian Marble is known to be unreliable and possibly it was not even the grandfather but a grandson that won the aforementioned victory in Athens. According to the Suda, this grandson was yet another Simonides, Simonides is identified in the Suda as the son of a Leoprepes. He was born in Ioulis on Ceos, the outermost island of the Cyclades, the innermost island, Delos, was the reputed birthplace of Apollo, where the people of Ceos regularly sent choirs to perform hymns in the gods honour. Carthaea, another Cean town, included a choregeion or school where choirs were trained, indeed, the grandfather of Simonides nephew, Bacchylides, was one of the islands notable athletes. These were two of the most powerful families in the Thessalian feudal aristocracy yet they seemed notable to later Greeks such as Theocritus only for their association with Simonides, thessaly at that time was a cultural backwater, remaining in the Dark Ages until the close of the 5th century. According to an account by Plutarch, the Ionian poet once dismissed the Thessalians as too ignorant to be beguiled by poetry, among the most colourful of his ignorant patrons was the head of the Scopadae clan, named Scopas. Simonides embellished his ode with so many references to the twins Castor, Simonides however ended up getting much more from the mythical twins than just a fee, he owed them his very life. According to this story he was called out of the feast hall to see two visitors who had arrived and were asking for him – presumably Castor and Pollux, as soon as he left the hall, it collapsed, killing everyone within. These events were said to have inspired him to develop a system of mnemonics based on images and places called the method of loci, the method of loci is one component of the Art of memory. According to Plutarch, the Cean had a statue of himself made about this time, the last years of the poets life were spent in Sicily where he became a friend and confidant of Hieron of Syracuse. According to a scholiast on Pindar, he acted as peace-maker between Hieron and another Sicilian tyrant, Theron of Acragas, thus ending a war between them. Scholiasts are the authority for stories about rivalry between Simonides and Pindar at the court of Hieron, traditionally used to explain some of the meanings in Pindars victory odes. However, Pindar scholiasts are generally considered unreliable and there is no reason to accept their account, the Hellenistic poet Callimachus revealed in one of his poems that Simonides was buried outside Acragas and that his tombstone was later mis-used in the construction of a tower
Simonides of Ceos
Simonides of Ceos
–
Ioulis, present-day capital of Kea (Ceos in Ancient Greek), including remnants of the ancient acropolis. Like most Cycladic settlements, it was built inland on a readily defensible hill as protection against pirates
Simonides of Ceos
–
Detail of a mosaic in Pompeii (Casa del Poeta Tragico) showing a poet—another survivor!
Simonides of Ceos
–
Lyric Poetry, painted by
Henry Oliver Walker (Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington D.C.). "Simonides calls painting silent poetry and poetry painting that speaks"—
Plutarch.
23.
Euripides
–
Euripides was a tragedian of classical Athens. He is one of the few plays have survived, with the others being Aeschylus, Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed 95 plays to him but according to the Suda it was 92 at most, of these,18 or 19 have survived more or less complete and there are also fragments, some substantial, of most of the other plays. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, yet he also became the most tragic of poets, focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was also unique among the writers of ancient Athens for the sympathy he demonstrated towards all victims of society and his contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism, both of them being frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Whereas Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as an influence, Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age. Recent scholarship casts doubt on ancient biographies of Euripides, for example, it is possible that he never visited Macedonia at all, or, if he did, he might have been drawn there by King Archelaus with incentives that were also offered to other artists. Upon the receipt of a saying that his son was fated to win crowns of victory. In fact the boy was destined for a career on the stage and he served for a short time as both dancer and torch-bearer at the rites of Apollo Zosterius. His education was not confined to athletics, he studied painting and philosophy under the masters Prodicus. He had two marriages and both his wives—Melite and Choerine —were unfaithful. He became a recluse, making a home for himself in a cave on Salamis, there he built an impressive library and pursued daily communion with the sea and sky. Eventually he retired to the court of King Archelaus in Macedonia. However, as mentioned in the introduction, biographical details such as these should be regarded with scepticism and this biography is divided into three sections corresponding to the three kinds of sources. The apocryphal account that he composed his works in a cave on Salamis island was a late tradition, much of his life and his whole career coincided with the struggle between Athens and Sparta for hegemony in Greece but he didnt live to see the final defeat of his city. In an account by Plutarch, the failure of the Sicilian expedition led Athenians to trade renditions of Euripides lyrics to their enemies in return for food. Tragic poets were often mocked by comic poets during the dramatic festivals Dionysia and Lenaia, Aristophanes scripted him as a character in at least three plays, The Acharnians, Thesmophoriazusae and The Frogs. Yet Aristophanes borrowed rather than just satirized some of the methods, he was once ridiculed by a colleague, Cratinus, as a hair-splitting master of niceties
Euripides
–
Bust of Euripides: Roman marble copy of a 4th-century BC Greek original (
Museo Pio-Clementino, Rome)
Euripides
–
A statue of Euripides,
Louvre,
Paris.
24.
Virgil
–
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil /ˈvɜːrdʒᵻl/ in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He wrote three of the most famous poems in Latin literature, the Eclogues, the Georgics, a number of minor poems, collected in the Appendix Vergiliana, are sometimes attributed to him. Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Romes greatest poets and his Aeneid has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome from the time of its composition to the present day. Virgils work has had wide and deep influence on Western literature, most notably Dantes Divine Comedy, in which Virgil appears as Dantes guide through Hell, the tradition holds that Virgil was born in the village of Andes, near Mantua in Cisalpine Gaul. Analysis of his name has led to beliefs that he descended from earlier Roman colonists, modern speculation ultimately is not supported by narrative evidence either from his own writings or his later biographers. Macrobius says that Virgils father was of a background, however. He attended schools in Cremona, Mediolanum, Rome and Naples, after considering briefly a career in rhetoric and law, the young Virgil turned his talents to poetry. From Virgils admiring references to the neoteric writers Pollio and Cinna, it has been inferred that he was, for a time, according to Servius, schoolmates considered Virgil extremely shy and reserved, and he was nicknamed Parthenias or maiden because of his social aloofness. Virgil also seems to have suffered bad health throughout his life, according to the Catalepton, he began to write poetry while in the Epicurean school of Siro the Epicurean at Naples. A group of works attributed to the youthful Virgil by the commentators survive collected under the title Appendix Vergiliana. One, the Catalepton, consists of fourteen poems, some of which may be Virgils, and another. The biographical tradition asserts that Virgil began the hexameter Eclogues in 42 BC and it is thought that the collection was published around 39–38 BC, the Eclogues are a group of ten poems roughly modeled on the bucolic hexameter poetry of the Hellenistic poet Theocritus. The loss of his farm and the attempt through poetic petitions to regain his property have traditionally been seen as Virgils motives in the composition of the Eclogues. This is now thought to be an unsupported inference from interpretations of the Eclogues, the ten Eclogues present traditional pastoral themes with a fresh perspective. Eclogues 1 and 9 address the land confiscations and their effects on the Italian countryside,2 and 3 are pastoral and erotic, discussing both homosexual love and attraction toward people of any gender. Eclogue 4, addressed to Asinius Pollio, the so-called Messianic Eclogue uses the imagery of the age in connection with the birth of a child. Virgil came to many of the other leading literary figures of the time, including Horace, in whose poetry he is often mentioned, and Varius Rufus. At Maecenas insistence Virgil spent the years on the long didactic hexameter poem called the Georgics which he dedicated to Maecenas
Virgil
–
Depiction of Virgil, 3rd century AD ("Monnus-Mosaic",
Rheinisches Landesmuseum,
Trier)
Virgil
–
A
bust of Virgil in
Naples
Virgil
–
Page from the Eclogues in the 5th-century Vergilius Romanus
Virgil
–
Late 17th-century illustration of a passage from the Georgics by
Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter
25.
Ovid
–
Publius Ovidius Naso, known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists and he enjoyed enormous popularity, but, in one of the mysteries of literary history, was sent by Augustus into exile in a remote province on the Black Sea, where he remained until his death. Ovid himself attributes his exile to carmen et error, a poem and a mistake and his poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology, Ovid talks more about his own life than most other Roman poets. Information about his biography is drawn primarily from his poetry, especially Tristia 4.10, other sources include Seneca the Elder and Quintilian. Ovid was born in Sulmo, in an Apennine valley east of Rome, to an important equestrian family and that was a significant year in Roman politics. He was educated in rhetoric in Rome under the teachers Arellius Fuscus and Porcius Latro with his brother who excelled at oratory and his father wanted him to study rhetoric toward the practice of law. According to Seneca the Elder, Ovid tended to the emotional, after the death of his brother at 20 years of age, Ovid renounced law and began travelling to Athens, Asia Minor, and Sicily. Ovids first recitation has been dated to around 25 BC, when he was eighteen and he was part of the circle centered on the patron Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, and seems to have been a friend of poets in the circle of Maecenas. 4.10. 41–54, Ovid mentions friendships with Macer, Propertius, Horace, Ovid was very popular at the time of his early works, but was later exiled by Augustus in AD8. He married three times and divorced twice by the time he was thirty years old and he had one daughter, who eventually bore him grandchildren. His last wife was connected in some way to the influential gens Fabia, the first 25 years of Ovids literary career were spent primarily writing poetry in elegiac meter with erotic themes. The chronology of early works is not secure, tentative dates. 2.18. 19–26 that seems to describe the collection as a published work. The authenticity of some of these poems has been challenged, between the publications of the two editions of the Amores can be dated the premiere of his tragedy Medea, which was admired in antiquity but is no longer extant. Ovid may identify this work in his poetry as the carmen, or song. The Ars Amatoria was followed by the Remedia Amoris in the same year and this corpus of elegiac, erotic poetry earned Ovid a place among the chief Roman elegists Gallus, Tibullus, and Propertius, of whom he saw himself as the fourth member
Ovid
–
Statue (1887) by
Ettore Ferrari commemorating Ovid's exile in Tomis (present-day
Constanța, Romania)
Ovid
–
A second statue of Ovid by
Ettore Ferrari in the Piazza XX Settembre,
Sulmona, Italy.
Ovid
–
Ovid Banished from Rome (1838) by
J.M.W. Turner.
Ovid
–
Medea in a fresco from
Herculaneum.
26.
Diodorus Siculus
–
Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily was a Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history Bibliotheca historica, much of which survives and it is arranged in three parts. The first covers mythic history up to the destruction of Troy, arranged geographically, describing regions around the world from Egypt, India and Arabia to Greece, the second covers the Trojan War to the death of Alexander the Great. The third covers the period to about 60 BC, Bibliotheca, meaning library, acknowledges that he was drawing on the work of many other authors. According to his own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily, with one exception, antiquity affords no further information about his life and doings beyond in his work. Only Jerome, in his Chronicon under the year of Abraham 1968, writes, Diodorus of Sicily and it was divided into three sections. In the next section, he recounts the history of the world from the Trojan War down to the death of Alexander the Great, the last section concerns the historical events from the successors of Alexander down to either 60 BC or the beginning of Julius Caesars Gallic Wars. He selected the name Bibliotheca in acknowledgment that he was assembling a composite work from many sources. His account of gold mining in Nubia in eastern Egypt is one of the earliest extant texts on the topic, pappus of Alexandria wrote a Commentary on Diodoruss Analemma. The now lost Analemma applied geometrical constructions in a plane to solve some astronomy related problems of spherical geometry and it contained, for example, a discussion of sundial theory. They are also boasters and threateners and are fond of pompous language, pliny the Elder Strabo Acadine Ambaglio, Dino, Franca Landucci Gattinoni and Luigi Bravi. Diodoro Siculo, Biblioteca storica, commento storico, introduzione generale, aspects of Greek History 750-323 BC, A Source-based Approach. Library of History, Loeb Classical Library, Siculus, Diodorus, G. Booth, H. Valesius, I. The Historical Library of Diodorus the Sicilian in Fifteen Books to which are added the Fragments of Diodorus, siculi, Diodori, Peter Wesseling, L. Rhodoman, G. Heyn, N. Eyring. Bibliothecae Historicae Libri Qui Supersunt, Nova Editio, Diodorus Siculus, the manuscripts of the Bibliotheca Historica
Diodorus Siculus
–
Diodoro siculo
27.
Servius
–
These works, In tria Virgilii Opera Expositio, constituted the first incunable to be printed at Florence, by Bernardo Cennini,1471. In the Saturnalia of Macrobius, Servius appears as one of the interlocutors, allusions in that work, the commentary on Virgil has survived in two distinct manuscript traditions. The first is a short commentary, which is attributed to Servius in the superscription in the manuscripts. A second class of manuscripts, all deriving from the 10th and 11th centuries, the added matter is undoubtedly ancient, dating from a time but little removed from that of Servius, and is founded to a large extent on historical and antiquarian literature which is now lost. The writer is anonymous and probably a Christian, although not if, as is often suggested, a third class of manuscripts, written for the most part in Italy, gives the core text with interpolated scholia, which demonstrate the continued usefulness of the Virgilii Opera Expositio. The authentic commentary of Maurus Servius Honoratus is in effect the only complete extant edition of a classic author written before the collapse of the Empire in the West, Servius set his face against the prevalent allegorical methods of exposition of text. For the antiquarian and the historian, the value of his work lies in his preservation of facts in Roman history, religion, antiquities and language. Not a little of the erudition of Varro and other ancient scholars has survived in his pages. The edition of Georg Thilo and Hermann Hagen, remains the only edition of the whole of Servius work. Currently in development is the Harvard Servius, of the five volumes. E. K. Rand, Is Donatuss Commentary on Virgil Lost, Donatuss authorship of the supplementary material. Servio, stratificazioni esegetiche e modelli culturali / Servius, exegetical stratifications, Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article, Maurus Servius Honoratus Commentary on the Aeneid of Virgil is at the Perseus Project in Latin. De Centum Metris at Intratext. com De Centum Metris at Forum Romanorum Servii grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii, Georius Thilo, lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1881-1902, vol. 2, vol.3 part 1, vol.3 part 2
Servius
–
Servius commenting Virgil (France, 15th century).
Servius
–
16th century edition of Virgil with Servius' commentary printed to the left of the text.
28.
Suda
–
The Suda or Souda is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is a lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost. The Suda is somewhere between a grammatical dictionary and an encyclopedia in the modern sense and it explains the source, derivation, and meaning of words according to the philology of its period, using such earlier authorities as Harpocration and Helladios. The articles on history are especially valuable. These entries supply details and quotations from authors whose works are otherwise lost and they use older scholia to the classics, and for later writers, Polybius, Josephus, the Chronicon Paschale, George Syncellus, George Hamartolus, and so on. This lexicon represents a convenient work of reference for people who played a part in political, ecclesiastical, the chief source for this is the encyclopedia of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, and for Roman history the excerpts of John of Antioch. Krumbacher counts two main sources of the work, Constantine VII for ancient history, and Hamartolus for the Byzantine age, the system is not difficult to learn and remember, but some editors—for example, Immanuel Bekker – rearranged the Suda alphabetically. Little is known of the compilation of work, except that it must have been written before it was quoted from extensively by Eustathius who lived from about 1115 AD to about 1195 or 1196. It would thus appear that the Suda was compiled sometime after 975, passages referring to Michael Psellus are considered later interpolations. It includes numerous quotations from ancient writers, the scholiasts on Aristophanes, Homer, other principal sources include a lexicon by Eudemus, perhaps derived from the work On Rhetorical Language by Eudemus of Argos. The work deals with biblical as well as subjects, from which it is inferred that the writer was a Christian. A prefatory note gives a list of dictionaries from which the portion was compiled. Although the work is uncritical and probably much interpolated, and the value of its articles is very unequal and its quotations from ancient authors make it a useful check on their manuscript traditions. A modern translation, the Suda On Line, was completed on 21 July 2014, the Suda has a near-contemporaneous Islamic parallel, the Kitab al-Fehrest of Ibn al-Nadim. Compare also the Latin Speculum Maius, authored in the 13th century by Vincent of Beauvais and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Sūïdas. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles. Ancient Greek Scholarship, a guide to finding, reading, and understanding scholia, commentaries, lexica, Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press,2006. Tachypaedia Byzantina, The Suda On Line as Collaborative Encyclopedia, Digital Humanities Quarterly 3.1, an on-line edition of the Ada Adler edition with ongoing translations and commentary by registered editors
Suda
–
First page of an early printed edition of the Suda
29.
Ancient Near Eastern religion
–
The religions of the ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic, with some early examples of primitive monolatry, Ashurism and Monism. Some scholars believe that the similarities between these religions indicate that the religions are related, a known as patternism. Many religions of the ancient near East and their offshoots can be traced to Proto-Semitic religion, other religions in the ancient Near East include Ancient Egyptian religion, the Luwian and Hittite religions of Asia Minor and the Sumerian religion of ancient Mesopotamia. Offshoots of Proto-Semitic religion include Assyro-Babylonian religion, Canaanite religion, judaism is a development of Canaanite religion, both Indo-European and Semitic religions influenced the ancient Greek religion, and Zoroastrianism was a product of ancient Indo-Iranian religion. The history of the ancient Near East spans more than two millennia, from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, in the now known as the Middle East. This article will attempt to outline the common traits of ancient Near Eastern religions,2500 BC, allow glimpses of Sumerian mythology and Egyptian religion. The early Hittite religion bore traits descended from Proto-Indo-European religion, Ancient Greek religion was strongly influenced by ancient Near Eastern mythology, but is usually not included in the term. The Mystery religions of Hellenism were again consciously connected with Egyptian religion, there were also super-regional mythemes and deities, such as the God Tammuz and the descent to the underworld. The system represents a combination of two factors, one of popular origin, the other the outcome of speculation in the schools attached to the temples of Babylonia. Starting with this belief the Priests and Priestesses built up the theory of the correspondence between occurrences on earth and phenomena in the Heavens. Myths that symbolized changes in season or occurrences in nature were projected on the heavens and this factor appears to less advantage in the unfolding of the views concerning life after death. Occasionally a favoured individual was permitted to escape from this general fate, in Assyrian and Babylonian mythology the seven evil Demons were known as Shedu or Lamassu, meaning Storm-Demon. Ancient Iranian lands had a diversity of beliefs, and the religions included Zoroastrianism, Mazdakism, Manicheism, Yazdanism, Mandeanism. Thus it has proved by clear evidence and plain reasoning that a powerful monarch was established in Iran long before the Assyrian or Pishadi government. That it was in fact, a Hindu monarchy, though any may choose to call it Cusian, Casdean or Scythian, Ancient Mitanni is modern-day Kurdistan, and from excavations it was discovered to have a history of Vedic practices and the Hindu religion. The dominant religious rituals and beliefs of ancient Egypt merged and developed over time, as an example, during the New Kingdom, the Gods Ra and Amun were syncretized into a single God, Amun-Ra. Such syncretism should be distinguished from mere groupings, also referred to as such as Amun, Mut. Over time, Gods took part in multiple syncretic relationships, for instance, similarly, Ptah, Seker, and Osiris becamePtah-Seker-Osiris
Ancient Near Eastern religion
–
Impression of the cylinder seal of Ḫašḫamer, patesi (High Priest) of
Sin at Iškun-Sin, c. 2400 BC
Ancient Near Eastern religion
–
Seated deity, late Hittite Empire (13th century BC)
30.
Sumerian religion
–
The religious development of Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian culture in general was not particularly influenced by the movements of the various peoples into and throughout the area. Rather, Mesopotamian religion was a consistent and coherent tradition which adapted to the needs of its adherents over millenia of development. The earliest undercurrents of Mesopotamian religious thought date to the 4th millennium BCE, in the 3rd millennium BCE objects of worship were personified and became an expansive cast of divinities with particular functions. Mesopotamian religion finally declined with the spread of Iranian religions during the Achaemenid Empire, as with most dead religions, many aspects of the common practices and intricacies of the doctrine have been lost and forgotten over time. Mesopotamian religion is thought to have been an influence on subsequent religions throughout the world, including Canaanite, Aramean, Mesopotamian religion has the oldest body of recorded literature of any religious tradition. Other artifacts can also be useful when reconstructing Mesopotamian religion, as is common with most ancient civilizations, the objects made of the most durable and precious materials, and thus more likely to survive, were associated with religious beliefs and practices. It has also inspired various contemporary Neo-pagan groups, in the fourth millennium BCE, the first evidence for what is recognisably Mesopotamian religion can be seen with the invention in Mesopotamia of writing circa 3500 BCE. The people of Mesopotamia originally consisted of two groups, Akkadian speakers and the people of Sumer, who spoke a language isolate and these peoples were members of various city-states and small kingdoms. The Sumerians left the first records, although it is not known if they migrated into the area in prehistory or whether they were its original inhabitants and they resided in southern Mesopotamia, which was known as Sumer, and had considerable influence on the Akkadian speakers and their culture. Akkadian names first appear in the lists of these states circa 2800 BCE. They created the first city-states such as Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Isin, Kish, Umma, Eridu, Adab, Akshak, Sippar, Nippur and Larsa, each of them ruled by an ensí. The Akkadian Empire endured for two centuries before collapsing due to decline, internal strife and attacks from the north east by the Gutian people. Following a brief Sumerian revival with the Third Dynasty of Ur, Assyria asserted itself in the north circa 2100 BCE in the Old Assyrian Empire and southern Mesopotamia fragmented into a number of kingdoms, the largest being Isin, Larsa and Eshnunna. In 1894 BCE the initially minor city-state of Babylon was founded in the south by invading West Semitic-speaking Amorites and it was rarely ruled by native dynasties throughout its history. Some time after this period, the Sumerians disappeared, becoming absorbed into the Akkadian-speaking population. Assyrian kings are attested from the late 25th century BCE and dominated northern Mesopotamia and parts of Anatolia, the Amorite dynasty was deposed in 1595 BCE after attacks from mountain-dwelling people known as the Kassites from the Zagros Mountains, who went on to rule Babylon for over 500 years. Assyria defeated the Hittites and Mitanni, and its growing power forced the New Kingdom of Egypt to withdraw from the Near East, the Middle Assyrian Empire at its height stretched from the Caucasus to modern Bahrain and from Cyprus to western Iran. During the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Mesopotamian Aramaic became the lingua franca of the empire, the last written records in Akkadian were astrological texts dating from 78 CE discovered in Assyria
Sumerian religion
–
Impression of the cylinder seal of Ḫašḫamer, patesi (High Priest) of
Sin at Iškun-Sin, c. 2400 BC
Sumerian religion
Sumerian religion
–
Seated deity, late Hittite Empire (13th century BC)
_02.jpg)
"Hydra". Encyclopædia Britannica. 14 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 33–34.
"
