1.
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
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The National Archaeological Museum in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world, the first national archaeological museum in Greece was established by prime minister of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias in Aigina in 1829. The initial name for the museum was The Central Museum and it was renamed to its current name in 1881 by Prime Minister of Greece Charilaos Trikoupis. In 1887 the important archaeologist Valerios Stais became the museums curator, during World War II the museum was closed and the antiquities were sealed in special protective boxes and buried, in order to avoid their destruction and looting. In 1945 exhibits were displayed under the direction of Christos Karouzos. The south wing of the houses the Epigraphic Museum with the richest collection of inscriptions in the world. The inscriptions museum expanded between 1953 and 1960 with the designs of Patroklos Karantinos. The museum has an imposing neo-classical design which was popular in Europe at the time and is in accordance with the classical style artifacts that it houses. The initial plan was conceived by the architect Ludwig Lange and it was modified by Panagis Kalkos who was the main architect, Armodios Vlachos. At the front of the museum there is a large neo-classic design garden which is decorated with sculptures, the building has undergone many expansions. These expansions were necessary to accommodate the growing collection of artifacts. The most recent refurbishment of the museum more than 1.5 years to complete. The Minoan frescoes rooms opened to the public in 2005, on May 2008 the Culture Minister Mihalis Liapis inaugurated the much anticipated collection of Egyptian antiquities and the collection of Eleni and Antonis Stathatos. Today, there is a discussion regarding the need to further expand the museum to adjacent areas. A new plan has made for a subterranean expansion at the front of the museum. The museums collections are organised in sections, The prehistoric collection displays objects from the Neolithic era, Early and Mid-Bronze age, objects classified as Cycladic and Mycenaean art. There are ceramic finds from various important Neolithic sites such as Dimini and Sesclo from middle Helladic ceramics from Boeotia, Attica, some objects from Heinrich Schliemann excavations in Troy are also on display. Cycladic collection features the famous marble figurines from the Aegean islands of Delos and Keros including the Lutist, of great interest are the two golden cups from Vafeio showing a scene of the capture of a bull
2.
Mythological creature
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A legendary creature is an animal or part human described in non-historical stories that sometimes involve the supernatural. In the classical era, monstrous creatures such as the Cyclops, other creatures, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity. Some legendary creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and were believed to be creatures, for example dragons, griffins. Others were based on real encounters, originating in garbled accounts of travelers tales, such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, a variety of mythical animals appear in the art and stories of the Classical era. For example in the Odyssey, monstrous creatures include the Cyclops, Scylla, in other tales there appear the Medusa to be defeated by Perseus, the Minotaur to be destroyed by Theseus, and the Hydra to be killed by Heracles, while Aeneas battles with the harpies. These monsters thus have the function of emphasising the greatness of the heroes involved. Some classical era creatures, such as the centaur, chimaera, Triton, similarly, sphinxes appear as winged lions in Indian art. In Medieval art, animals, both real and mythical, played important roles and these included decorative forms as in Medieval jewellery, sometimes with their limbs intricately interlaced. Animal forms were used to add humour or majesty to objects, in Christian art, animals carried symbolic meanings, where for example the lamb symbolised Christ, a dove indicated the Holy Spirit, and the classical griffin represented a guardian of the dead. Medieval bestiaries included animals regardless of reality, the basilisk represented the devil. One function of animals in the Middle Ages was allegory. Unicorns, for example, were described as swift and unable to be caught by traditional methods. It was believed that the way for one to catch this beast was to lead a virgin to its dwelling. Then, the unicorn was supposed to leap into her lap and go to sleep, in terms of symbolism, the unicorn was a metaphor for Christ. Unicorns represented the idea of innocence and purity, in the King James Bible, Psalm 92,10 states, My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn. This is because the translators of the King James erroneously translated the Hebrew word reem as unicorn, later versions translate this as wild ox. The unicorn’s small size signifies the humility of Christ, another common legendary creature which served allegorical functions within the Middle Ages was the dragon. Dragons were identified with serpents, though their attributes were greatly intensified, the dragon was supposed to have been larger than all other animals
3.
Cretan Bull
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In Greek mythology, the Cretan Bull was the bull Pasiphaë fell in love with, giving birth to the Minotaur. In order to confirm his right to rule, rather than any of his brothers, Poseidon sent Minos the bull, with the understanding that it would be sacrificed to the god. Deciding that Poseidons bull was too fine a specimen to kill, Minos sent it to his herds and substituted another, enraged, Poseidon had Aphrodite cause Pasiphaë, wife of Minos, to fall in love with the bull. She subsequently gave birth to the half-man, half-bull, Minotaur, Poseidon passed on his rage to the bull, causing it lay waste the land. After consulting the oracle at Delphi, Minos had Daedalus construct the Labyrinth to hold the Minotaur, Heracles was sent to capture the bull by Eurystheus as his seventh task. He sailed to Crete, whereupon Minos gave Heracles permission to take the bull away as it had been wreaking havoc on Crete by uprooting crops, Heracles captured the bull, and then shipped it to Eurystheus in Tiryns. The bull later broke loose and wandered into Marathon, becoming known as the Marathonian Bull, Eurystheus then sent Heracles to bring back the man-eating Mares of Diomedes. Androgeus, a son of Minos and Pasiphaë, competed in the held by Aegeus. He won all the games, so angering Aegeus that he had the man killed. Devastated, Minos went to war with Athens and won, as punishment, the Athenians had to send several youths every 9 years to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus set to try to capture the bull, on the way to Marathon, Theseus sought shelter from a storm in the shack owned by an old lady named Hecale. She swore to make a sacrifice to Zeus if Theseus was successful in capturing the bull, Theseus did capture the bull, but when he returned to Hecales hut, she was dead. Theseus built a deme in her honor and he then dragged the bull to Athens where he sacrificed it to Athena and/or Apollo. Theseus then went to Crete where he killed the Minotaur with the help of Minos daughter Ariadne, according to Jeremy McInerney, the iconography of the bull permeates Minoan culture. The cult of the bull was also prominent in southwestern Anatolia, bernard Clive Dietrich notes that the most important animal in the Neolithic shrines at Çatalhöyük was the bull. The bull was an animal associated with fertility and vegetation. It figured in cave cults connected with rites for the dead, the palace at Knossos displays a number of murals depicting young men and women vaulting over a bull. While scholars are divided as to whether or not this reflects an actual practice, McInerney observes that the story of Pasiphaë and the Cretan Bull were not written until after Crete had come under Greek control
4.
Greek mythology
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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
5.
Crete
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Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, 88th-largest island in the world and the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete and a number of surrounding islands and islets constitute the region of Crete, the capital and the largest city is Heraklion. As of 2011, the region had a population of 623,065, Crete forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece, while retaining its own local cultural traits. It was once the centre of the Minoan civilization, which is regarded as the earliest recorded civilization in Europe. The island is first referred to as Kaptara in texts from the Syrian city of Mari dating from the 18th century BC, repeated later in Neo-Assyrian records and it was also known in ancient Egyptian as Keftiu, strongly suggesting a similar Minoan name for the island. The current name of Crete is thought to be first attested in Mycenaean Greek texts written in Linear B, through the words
6.
Ancient Greek
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Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
7.
Latin language
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
8.
Etruscan language
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The Etruscan language was the spoken and written language of the Etruscan civilization, in Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria and in parts of Campania, Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna. Etruscan influenced Latin, but was eventually superseded by it. Grammatically, the language is agglutinating, with nouns and verbs showing suffixed inflectional endings, nouns show four cases, singular and plural numbers, and masculine and feminine genders. Phonologically, Etruscan appears uncomplicated, with a system and an apparent contrast between aspirated and unaspirated stops. The language shows phonetic change over time, with the loss, Etruscan religion influenced that of the Romans and many of the few surviving Etruscan language artifacts are of votive or religious significance. Etruscan was written in a derived from the Greek alphabet. The Etruscan language is believed to be the source of certain important cultural words of Western Europe such as military and people. Etruscan literacy was widespread over the Mediterranean shores, as evidenced by about 13,000 inscriptions, most fairly short and they date from about 700 BC. The Etruscans had a rich literature, as noted by Latin authors, however, only one book, the Liber Linteus has survived. By AD100, Etruscan had been replaced by Latin, around 180, the Latin author Aulus Gellius mentions Etruscan alongside the Gaulish language in an anecdote. Only a few educated Romans with antiquarian interests, such as Marcus Terentius Varro, plautia Urgulanilla, the emperors first wife, was Etruscan. Livy and Cicero were both aware that highly specialized Etruscan religious rites were codified in several sets of written in Etruscan under the generic Latin title Etrusca Disciplina. The Libri Haruspicini dealt with divination from the entrails of the sacrificed animal, a third set, the Libri Rituales, might have provided a key to Etruscan civilization, its wider scope embraced Etruscan standards of social and political life, as well as ritual practices. The single extant Etruscan book, Liber Linteus, which was written on linen and this range may indicate a maximum Italian homeland where the language was at one time spoken. Outside of mainland Italy inscriptions have been found in North Africa, Corsica, Elba, Gallia Narbonensis, Greece, the Balkans, by far the greatest concentration is in Italy. An inscription found on Lemnos in 1886 is in a similar to that used to write the Etruscan language. A few concepts of word formation have been formulated, modern knowledge of the language is incomplete. Etruscan was traditionally considered to be a language isolate, in the first century BC, the Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus stated that the Etruscan language was unlike any other
9.
Cattle
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Cattle—colloquially cows—are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, cattle are raised as livestock for meat, as dairy animals for milk and other dairy products, and as draft animals. Other products include leather and dung for manure or fuel, in some regions, such as parts of India, cattle have significant religious meaning. From as few as 80 progenitors domesticated in southeast Turkey about 10,500 years ago, according to an estimate from 2011, in 2009, cattle became one of the first livestock animals to have a fully mapped genome. Some consider cattle the oldest form of wealth, and cattle raiding consequently one of the earliest forms of theft. Cattle were originally identified as three species, Bos taurus, the European or taurine cattle, Bos indicus, the zebu, and the extinct Bos primigenius. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and taurine cattle and these have been reclassified as one species, Bos taurus, with three subspecies, Bos taurus primigenius, Bos taurus indicus, and Bos taurus taurus. Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between taurine cattle and zebu, but also one or both of these and some other members of the genus Bos – yaks, banteng. Hybrids such as the breed can even occur between taurine cattle and either species of bison, leading some authors to consider them part of the genus Bos. However, cattle cannot successfully be hybridized with more distantly related bovines such as water buffalo or African buffalo, the aurochs originally ranged throughout Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia. In historical times, its range became restricted to Europe, breeders have attempted to recreate cattle of similar appearance to aurochs by crossing traditional types of domesticated cattle, creating the Heck cattle breed. Cattle did not originate as the term for bovine animals and it was borrowed from Anglo-Norman catel, itself from medieval Latin capitale principal sum of money, capital, itself derived in turn from Latin caput head. Cattle originally meant movable personal property, especially livestock of any kind, the word is a variant of chattel and closely related to capital in the economic sense. The term replaced earlier Old English feoh cattle, property, which today as fee. The word cow came via Anglo-Saxon cū, from Common Indo-European gʷōus = a bovine animal, compare Persian gâv, Sanskrit go-, Welsh buwch. The plural cȳ became ki or kie in Middle English, and a plural ending was often added, giving kine, kien. This is the origin of the now archaic English plural, kine, the Scots language singular is coo or cou, and the plural is kye
10.
Ovid
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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
11.
Labyrinth
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In Greek mythology, the labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur eventually killed by the hero Theseus, Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it. Even as the designs became more elaborate, visual depictions of the mythological Labyrinth from Roman times until the Renaissance are almost invariably unicursal, branching mazes were reintroduced only when garden mazes became popular during the Renaissance. In English, the labyrinth is generally synonymous with maze. As a result of the history of unicursal representation of the mythological Labyrinth, however, many contemporary scholars. In this specialized usage refers to a complex branching multicursal puzzle with choices of path and direction. A labyrinth in this sense has a route to the center and back. Unicursal labyrinths appeared as designs on pottery or basketry, as body art, the Romans created many primarily decorative unicursal designs on walls and floors in tile or mosaic. Many labyrinths set in floors or on the ground are large enough that the path can be walked, unicursal patterns have been used historically both in group ritual and for private meditation, and are increasingly found for therapeutic use in hospitals and hospices. Labyrinth is a word of Pre-Greek origin, which the Greeks associated with the palace of Knossos in Crete and this designation may not have been limited to Knossos, because the same symbols were discovered in other palaces in Crete. Labrys was a cult-word that was introduced from Anatolia, where such symbols have been found in Çatal Höyük from the Neolithic age. In Labraunda of Caria the double-axe accompanies the storm-god Zeus Labraundos and it also accompanies the Hurrian god of sky and storm Teshub. Labrys, however, comes from Lydian, not Minoan, the Linear B inscription
12.
Maze
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A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The pathways and walls in a maze are typically fixed, but puzzles in which the walls, Maize mazes can be very large, they are usually only kept for one growing season, so they can be different every year, and are promoted as seasonal tourist attractions. Indoors, mirror mazes are another form of maze, in many of the apparent pathways are imaginary routes seen through multiple reflections in mirrors. Another type of maze consists of a set of rooms linked by doors, players enter at one spot, and exit at another, or the idea may be to reach a certain spot in the maze. Mazes can also be printed or drawn on paper to be followed by a pencil or fingertip, mazes can be built with snow. Maze generation is the act of designing the layout of passages, there are many different approaches to generating mazes, with various maze generation algorithms for building them, either by hand or automatically by computer. There are two main mechanisms used to generate mazes, in carving passages, one marks out the network of available routes. In building a maze by adding walls, one lays out a set of obstructions within an open area, most mazes drawn on paper are done by drawing the walls, with the spaces in between the markings composing the passages. Maze solving is the act of finding a route through the maze from the start to finish, the mathematician Leonhard Euler was one of the first to analyze plane mazes mathematically, and in doing so made the first significant contributions to the branch of mathematics known as topology. Mazes containing no loops are known as standard, or perfect mazes, thus many maze solving algorithms are closely related to graph theory. Intuitively, if one pulled and stretched out the paths in the maze in the proper way, mazes are often used in psychology experiments to study spatial navigation and learning. Such experiments typically use rats or mice, examples are, Barnes maze Morris water maze Oasis maze Radial arm maze Elevated plus maze T-maze Ball-in-a-maze puzzles Dexterity puzzles which involve navigating a ball through a maze or labyrinth. Block maze A maze in which the player must complete or clear the maze pathway by positioning blocks, blocks may slide into place or be added. Linear or railroad maze A maze in which the paths are laid out like a railroad with switches, solvers are constrained to moving only forward. Often, a railroad maze will have a track for entrance. Logic mazes These are like standard mazes except they use other than dont cross the lines to restrict motion. Loops and traps maze A maze that features one-way doors, the doors can lead to the correct path or create traps that divert you from the correct path and lead you to the starting point. The player may not return through a door through which he has entered, the path is a series of loops interrupted by doors
13.
Daedalus
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In Greek mythology, Daedalus was a skillful craftsman and artist. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix and possibly also the father of Iapyx, although this is unclear. His parentage was supplied as an addition to the mythos, providing him with a father in Metion, Eupalamus, or Palamaon. Daedalus had two sons, Icarus and Iapyx, along with a nephew either Talus or Perdix, athenians transferred Cretan Daedalus to make him Athenian-born, the grandson of the ancient king Erechtheus, who fled to Crete, having killed his nephew, Talos. Over time, other stories were told of Daedalus, Daedalus is first mentioned by Homer as the creator of a wide dancing-ground for Ariadne. He also created the Labyrinth on Crete, in which the Minotaur was kept, in the story of the labyrinth as told by the Hellenes, the Athenian hero Theseus is challenged to kill the Minotaur, finding his way with the help of Ariadnes thread. In Bronze Age Crete, an inscription da-da-re-jo-de has been read as referring to a place at Knossos, in Homers language, daidala refers to finely crafted objects. Ovid, in his Metamorphoses, suggests that Daedalus constructed the Labyrinth so cunningly that he himself could escape it after he built it. Daedalus built the labyrinth for King Minos, who needed it to imprison his wifes son the Minotaur, the story is told that Poseidon had given a white bull to Minos so that he might use it as a sacrifice. Instead, Minos kept it for himself, and in revenge and this story thus encourages others to consider the long-term consequences of their own inventions with great care, lest those inventions do more harm than good. He could not leave Crete by sea, as the king kept strict watch on all vessels, since Minos controlled the land and sea routes, Daedalus set to work to fabricate wings for himself and his young son Icarus. He tied feathers together, from smallest to largest so as to form an increasing surface and he secured the feathers at their midpoints with string and at their bases with wax, and gave the whole a gentle curvature like the wings of a bird. When the work was done, the artist, waving his wings, found himself buoyed upward and hung suspended and he next equipped his son in the same manner, and taught him how to fly. When both were prepared for flight, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high, because the heat of the sun would melt the wax, nor too low, because the sea foam would soak the feathers. They had passed Samos, Delos and Lebynthos by the time the boy, forgetting himself, the blazing sun softened the wax that held the feathers together and they came off. Icarus quickly fell in the sea and drowned and his father cried, bitterly lamenting his own arts, and called the land near the place where Icarus fell into the ocean Icaria in memory of his child. Some time later, the goddess Athena visited Daedalus and gave him wings, magically, Daedalus could fly, and magically Medea was able to rejuvenate the old. The image of Daedalus demonstrates that he was well known in the West
14.
Icarus
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In Greek mythology, Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth. Often depicted in art, Icarus and his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers. Icarus father warns him first of complacency and then of hubris, asking that he fly neither too low nor too high, Icarus ignored his fathers instructions not to fly too close to the sun, when the wax in his wings melted and he fell into the sea. This tragic theme of failure at the hands of hubris contains similarities to that of Phaëthon. Minos imprisoned Daedalus himself in the labyrinth because he gave Minoss daughter, Ariadne, a clew in order to help Theseus, Daedalus fashioned two pairs of wings out of wax and feathers for himself and his son. Daedalus tried his wings first, but before trying to escape the island, he warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, nor too close to the sea, but to follow his path of flight. Overcome by the giddiness that flying lent him, Icarus soared into the sky, but in the process he came too close to the sun, heracles erected a tomb for him. Icarus flight was often alluded to by Greek poets in passing, in the literature of ancient Rome, the myth was of interest to Augustan writers. Hyginus narrates it in Fabula 40, beginning with the love affair of Pasiphaë, daughter of the Sun. Ovid narrates the story of Icarus at some length in the Metamorphoses, auden and Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by William Carlos Williams. Literary interpretation has found in the myth the structure and consequence of personal over-ambition, an Icarus-related study of the Daedalus myth was published by the French hellenist Françoise Frontisi-Ducroux. In psychology there have been studies of the Icarus complex with respect to the alleged relationship between fascination for fire, enuresis, high ambition, and ascensionism. In the psychiatric mind features of disease were perceived in the shape of the pendulous emotional ecstatic-high, the Greek Myths, section 92 passim Smith, William, ed. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology Pinsent, J. Greek Mythology
15.
Minos
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In Greek mythology Minos was the first King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven girls to be sent to Daedaluss creation. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in the underworld, the Minoan civilization of Crete has been named after him by the archaeologist Arthur Evans. By his wife, Pasiphaë, he fathered Ariadne, Androgeus, Deucalion, Phaedra, Glaucus, Catreus, Acacallis, by Androgeneia of Phaestus he had Asterion, who commanded the Cretan contingent in the war between Dionysus and the Indians. Also given as his children are Euryale, possibly the mother of Orion with Poseidon, Minos, along with his brothers, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon, were raised by King Asterion of Crete. When Asterion died, his throne was claimed by Minos who banished Sarpedon and, according to some sources, Minos is often interpreted as the Cretan word for king, or, by a euhemerist interpretation, the name of a particular king that was subsequently used as a title. There is a name in Minoan Linear A mi-nu-te that may be related to Minos, according to La Marles reading of Linear A, which have been heavily criticised as arbitrary we should read mwi-nu ro-ja on a Linear A tablet. The royal title ro-ja is read on several documents, including on stone libation tables from the sanctuaries, La Marle suggests that the name mwi-nu is expected to mean ascetic as Sanskrit muni, and fits this explanation to the legend about Minos sometimes living in caves on Crete. If royal succession in Minoan Crete descended matrilinearly— from the queen to her firstborn daughter— the queens husband would have become the Minos, Minos appears in Greek literature as the king of Knossos as early as Homers Iliad and Odyssey. Thucydides tells us Minos was the most ancient man known to build a navy and he reigned over Crete and the islands of the Aegean Sea three generations before the Trojan War. He lived at Knossos for periods of nine years, where he received instruction from Zeus in the legislation which he gave to the island and he was the author of the Cretan constitution and the founder of its naval supremacy. On the Athenian stage Minos is a tyrant, the heartless exactor of the tribute of Athenian youths to feed to the Minotaur. According to this view, the first King Minos was the son of Zeus and Europa and brother of Rhadamanthys, the wife of this Minos I was said to be Itone or Crete, and he had a single son named Lycastus, his successor as King of Crete. Lycastus had a son named Minos, after his grandfather, born by Lycastus wife, Ida and this Minos II— the bad king Minos— is the son of this Lycastus, and was a far more colorful character than his father and grandfather. It would be to this Minos that we owe the myths of Theseus, Pasiphaë, the Minotaur, Daedalus, Glaucus, and Nisus. Unlike Minos I, Minos II fathered numerous children, including Androgeus, Catreus, Deucalion, Ariadne, Phaedra, through Deucalion, he was the grandfather of King Idomeneus, who led the Cretans to the Trojan War. Minos himself is said to have died at Camicus in Sicily, whither he had gone in pursuit of Daedalus and he was killed by the daughter of Cocalus, king of Agrigentum, who poured boiling water over him while he was taking a bath. Subsequently his remains were sent back to the Cretans, who placed them in a sarcophagus, on which was inscribed, The tomb of Minos, the earlier legend knows Minos as a beneficent ruler, legislator, and suppressor of piracy
16.
Theseus
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Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were identified with an archaic religious and social order. As Heracles was the Dorian hero, Theseus was a hero, considered by Athenians as their own great reformer, his name comes from the same root as θεσμός. The myths surrounding Theseus—his journeys, exploits, and family—have provided material for fiction throughout the ages, Theseus was responsible for the synoikismos —the political unification of Attica under Athens, represented emblematically in his journey of labours, subduing ogres and monstrous beasts. Because he was the king, Theseus built and occupied a palace on the fortress of the Acropolis that may have been similar to the palace that was excavated in Mycenae. Pausanias reports that after the synoikismos, Theseus established a cult of Aphrodite Pandemos, Plutarchs vita of Theseus makes use of varying accounts of the death of the Minotaur, Theseus escape, and the love of Ariadne for Theseus. Plutarchs sources, not all of whose texts have survived independently, included Pherecydes, Demon, Philochorus, Aegeus, one of the primordial kings of Athens, was childless. Desiring an heir, he asked the oracle at Delphi for advice and her cryptic words were Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens, lest you die of grief. Aegeus did not understand the prophecy and was disappointed and he asked the advice of his host Pittheus, king of Troezen. Pittheus understood the prophecy, got Aegeus drunk, and gave Aegeus his daughter Aethra, but following the instructions of Athena in a dream, Aethra left the sleeping Aegeus and waded across to the island of Sphairia that lay close to Troezens shore. There she poured a libation to Sphairos and Poseidon, and was possessed by the sea god in the night. The mix gave Theseus a combination of divine as well as mortal characteristics in his nature, such double paternity, with one immortal, after Aethra became pregnant, Aegeus decided to return to Athens. In Athens, Aegeus was joined by Medea, who had left Corinth after slaughtering the children she had borne, priestess and consort together represented the old order in Athens. Thus Theseus was raised in his mothers land, when Theseus grew up and became a brave young man, he moved the rock and recovered his fathers tokens. His mother then told him the truth about his fathers identity, young, brave, and ambitious, Theseus decided to go alone by the land route and defeated a great many bandits along the way. At the Isthmian entrance to the Underworld was a robber named Sinis and he would capture travelers, tie them between two pine trees that were bent down to the ground, and then let the trees go, tearing his victims apart. Theseus killed him by his own method and he then became intimate with Siniss daughter, Perigune, fathering the child Melanippus. In another deed north of the Isthmus, at a place called Crommyon, he killed an enormous pig, some versions name the sow herself as Phaea. The Bibliotheca described the Crommyonian Sow as an offspring of Typhon, near Megara, an elderly robber named Sciron forced travellers along the narrow cliff-face pathway to wash his feet
17.
Compound (linguistics)
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In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme that consists of more than one stem. Compounding, composition or nominal composition is the process of formation that creates compound lexemes. That is, in terms, compounding occurs when two or more words are joined to make one longer word. The meaning of the compound may be similar to or different from the meanings of its components in isolation, with very few exceptions, English compound words are stressed on their first component stem. The process occurs readily in other Germanic languages for different reasons, words can be concatenated both to mean the same as the sum of two words or where an adjective and noun are compounded. The addition of affix morphemes to words should not be confused with nominal composition, compound formation rules vary widely across language types. In a synthetic language, the relationship between the elements of a compound may be marked with a case or other morpheme. This latter pattern is common throughout the Semitic languages, though in some it is combined with a genitive case. Agglutinative languages tend to very long words with derivational morphemes. Compounds may or may not require the use of derivational morphemes also, the longest compounds in the world may be found in the Finnic and Germanic languages. German examples include Farbfernsehgerät, Funkfernbedienung, and the jocular word Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmütze, in Finnish, although there is theoretically no limit to the length of compound words, words consisting of more than three components are rare. Even those with less than three components can look mysterious to non-Finnish such as hätäuloskäytävä, compounds can be rather long when translating technical documents from English to some other language, since the lengths of the words are theoretically unlimited, especially in chemical terminology. For example, the English compound doghouse, where house is the head, endocentric compounds tend to be of the same part of speech as their head, as in the case of doghouse. For example, the English compound white-collar is neither a kind of collar nor a white thing, in an exocentric compound, the word class is determined lexically, disregarding the class of the constituents. For example, a must-have is not a verb but a noun, the meaning of this type of compound can be glossed as whose B is A, where B is the second element of the compound and A the first. A bahuvrihi compound is one whose nature is expressed by neither of the words, copulative compounds are compounds with two semantic heads. Appositional compounds are lexemes that have two attributes that classify the compound, most natural languages have compound nouns. The positioning of the words according to the language
18.
Enkomi
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Enkomi is a village near Famagusta in Cyprus. It is the site of an important Bronze Age city, possibly the capital of Alasiya, Enkomi is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus. In 1974, Enkomi had about 800 Greek Cypriot inhabitants and they all fled to the south of the island after the Turkish invasion, in the aftermath of the July coup. As of 2011, Enkomi has a population of 2,645 and it comprises displaced Turkish Cypriots from Larnaca and Turkish settlers from Adana Province and Trabzon Province. Enkomi was settled in the Middle Bronze Age, near an inlet from the sea. From about the 16th century BC to the 12th, it was an important trading center for copper, during the 13th century BC, Enkomi was inhabited by Greeks, like most of the cities of Cyprus. From the 13th century, other towns along the southern coast of Cyprus competed with Enkomi, after an earthquake ca.1050 BC, the site was abandoned, leaving an opening for the rise of Salamis. René Dussaud demonstrated that Enkomi is the Alasia of the Amarna correspondence and other texts, long after the town disappeared, Hellenes recalled it in the cult title of Apollo Alasiotas, recorded in a Cypriote inscription as late as the 4th century BC. In 1900 the archaeologist Joseph Offord suggested that Apollo Alasiotas was a Syrian god identical with Resheph, transported to Cyprus, the bronze statuette of a horned god may represent this divinity whom Greeks identified, by interpretatio graeca, with Apollo. Following more than a decade of widespread looting drawn by the quality of the tomb gifts. From the 1930s, excavations were continued by Claude F. A. Schaeffer for the Swedish Cyprus Expedition. Notable finds from Enkomi include Linear C inscriptions and the horned god. Another well-known statue is the god, a statue wearing a horned conical hat and greaves, armed with shield and spear. Murray, A. S. Excavations at Enkomi, in Murray, A. S. Smith, A. H. Walters H. B. From isolation to state formation in Cyprus, ca, the development of the Cypriot economy from the prehistoric period to the present day. Schaeffer, Claude F. A. Nouvelles découvertes à Enkomi, paris, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. Schaeffer, Claude F. A. Enkomi-Alasia I, Enkomi on the Department of Antiquities website
19.
Poseidon
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Poseidon was one of the twelve Olympian deities of the pantheon in Greek mythology. His main domain was the ocean, and he is called the God of the Sea, additionally, he is referred to as Earth-Shaker due to his role in causing earthquakes, and has been called the tamer of horses. He is usually depicted as a male with curly hair. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology, both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon. According to some folklore, he was saved by his mother Rhea, who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have birth to a colt. There is a Homeric hymn to Poseidon, who was the protector of many Hellenic cities, according to the references from Plato in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias, the island of Atlantis was the chosen domain of Poseidon. The form Ποτειδάϝων appears in Corinth, the origins of the name Poseidon are unclear. Walter Burkert finds that the second element da- remains hopelessly ambiguous, another theory interprets the second element as related to the word *δᾶϝον dâwon, water, this would make *Posei-dawōn into the master of waters. There is also the possibility that the word has Pre-Greek origin, Plato in his dialogue Cratylus gives two alternative etymologies, either the sea restrained Poseidon when walking as a foot-bond, or he knew many things. If surviving Linear B clay tablets can be trusted, the name occurs with greater frequency than does di-u-ja. A feminine variant, po-se-de-ia, is found, indicating a lost consort goddess. Poseidon carries frequently the title wa-na-ka in Linear B inscriptions, as king of the underworld, the chthonic nature of Poseidon-Wanax is also indicated by his title E-ne-si-da-o-ne in Mycenean Knossos and Pylos, a powerful attribute. In the cave of Amnisos Enesidaon is related with the cult of Eileithyia and she was related with the annual birth of the divine child. During the Bronze Age, a goddess of nature, dominated both in Minoan and Mycenean cult, and Wanax was her companion in Mycenean cult. It is possible that Demeter appears as Da-ma-te in a Linear B inscription, in Linear B inscriptions found at Pylos, E-ne-si-da-o-ne is related with Poseidon, and Si-to Po-tini-ja is probably related with Demeter. Tablets from Pylos record sacrificial goods destined for the Two Queens, the Two Queens may be related with Demeter and Persephone, or their precursors, goddesses who were not associated with Poseidon in later periods. The violated Demeter was Demeter Erinys, in Arcadia, Demeters mare-form was worshiped into historical times. Her xoanon of Phigaleia shows how the local cult interpreted her, a Medusa type with a horses head with snaky hair, holding a dove and a dolphin, probably representing her power over air and water
20.
Delphi
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Delphi is famous as the ancient sanctuary that grew rich as the seat of the oracle that was consulted on important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. Moreover, it was considered as the navel of the world by the Greeks as represented by the Omphalos and it occupies an impressive site on the south-western slope of Mount Parnassus overlooking the coastal plain to the south and the valley of Phocis. It is now an archaeological site and the modern town is nearby. The site of Delphi is located in upper central Greece, on multiple plateaux/terraces along the slope of Mount Parnassus, and includes the Sanctuary of Apollo and this semicircular spur is known as Phaedriades, and overlooks the Pleistos Valley. In myths dating to the period of Ancient Greece, the site of Delphi was believed to be determined by Zeus when he sought to find the centre of his Grandmother Earth. He sent two eagles flying from the eastern and western extremities, and the path of the eagles crossed over Delphi where the omphalos, Apollo was said to have slain Python, a drako a serpent or a dragon who lived there and protected the navel of the Earth. Python is claimed by some to be the name of the site in recognition of Python which Apollo defeated. The Homeric Hymn to Delphic Apollo recalled that the ancient name of this site had been Krisa, others relate that it was named Pytho and that Pythia, the priestess serving as the oracle, was chosen from their ranks by a group of priestesses who officiated at the temple. At the settlement site in Delphi, which was a settlement of the late 9th century. Pottery and bronze work as well as tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, the victors at Delphi were presented with a laurel crown which was ceremonially cut from a tree by a boy who re-enacted the slaying of the Python. Delphi was set apart from the other sites because it hosted the mousikos agon. These Pythian Games rank second among the four stephanitic games chronologically and these games, though, were different from the games at Olympia in that they were not of such vast importance to the city of Delphi as the games at Olympia were to the area surrounding Olympia. Delphi would have been a renowned city whether or not it hosted these games, it had other attractions that led to it being labeled the omphalos of the earth, in other words, in the inner hestia of the Temple of Apollo, an eternal flame burned. The name Delphoi comes from the root as δελφύς delphys, womb. Apollo is connected with the site by his epithet Δελφίνιος Delphinios, the epithet is connected with dolphins in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, recounting the legend of how Apollo first came to Delphi in the shape of a dolphin, carrying Cretan priests on his back. The Homeric name of the oracle is Pytho, another legend held that Apollo walked to Delphi from the north and stopped at Tempe, a city in Thessaly, to pick laurel which he considered to be a sacred plant. In commemoration of this legend, the winners at the Pythian Games received a wreath of laurel picked in the Temple, Delphi became the site of a major temple to Phoebus Apollo, as well as the Pythian Games and the famous prehistoric oracle. Even in Roman times, hundreds of votive statues remained, described by Pliny the Younger, additionally, according to Plutarchs essay on the meaning of the E at Delphi—the only literary source for the inscription—there was also inscribed at the temple a large letter E
21.
Knossos
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Knossos is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and is considered Europes oldest city. The name Knossos survives from ancient Greek references to the city of Crete. The coins came from the Roman settlement of Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus, a Roman colony placed just to the north of, the Romans believed they had colonized Knossos. The second palace was built on a grander scale over the old Palace after an earthquake destroyed it. The structure and ruins we see today are from the second Palace, during the Bronze Age, the town surrounded the hill on which the palace was built. The site was discovered in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos, the excavations in Knossos began in AD1900 by the English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans and his team, and they continued for 35 years. The palace was excavated and partially restored under the direction of Arthur Evans in the earliest years of the 20th century. Its size far exceeded his expectations, as did the discovery of two ancient scripts, which he termed Linear A and Linear B, to distinguish their writing from the pictographs also present. The palace of Knossos was undoubtedly the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and it appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and storerooms close to a central square. The palace was abandoned at some time at the end of the Late Bronze Age. The occasion is not known for certain, but one of the disasters that befell the palace is generally put forward. The hill was never again a settlement or civic site, although squatters may have used it for a time, however, fieldwork in 2015 revealed that during the early Iron Age, Knossos was rich in imports and was nearly three times larger than indicated by earlier excavations. Except for periods of abandonment, other cities were founded in the vicinity, such as the Roman colony. The population shifted to the new town of Chandax during the 9th century AD, by the 13th century, it was called Makruteikhos Long Wall, the bishops of Gortyn continued to call themselves Bishops of Knossos until the 19th century. Today, the name is used only for the site now situated in the expanding suburbs of Heraklion. In the first palace period around 2000 BC the urban area reached a size of up to 18,000 people, in its peak the Palace and the surrounding city boasted a population of 100,000 people shortly after 1700 BC. The name Knossos was formerly Latinized as Cnossus or Cnossos, and occasionally Knossus, Gnossus and this site history is to be distinguished from the ancient. In Greek mythology, King Minos dwelt in a palace at Knossos and he had Daedalus construct a labyrinth, a very large maze in which to retain his son, the Minotaur
22.
Achelous
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In Greek mythology, Achelous was originally the god of all water, and the rivers of the world were viewed by many as his sinews. His name is pre-Greek, its not entirely certain. Recent arguments suggest it is Semitic in origin, with the Greek root Aχ stemming from Akkadian aḫu, which means bank of the river, and aḫû, meaning seashore. Likewise, the Greek root ἑλώἴος probably stems from the Akkadian illu, meaning watercourse or water of the river invading land, and also elu and ilu, which mean deity. Achelous was also an important deity in Etruscan mythology, intimately related to water as in the Greek tradition, man-faced bull iconography was first adapted to represent Achelous by the Etruscans in the 8th century BC, and the Greeks later copied this tradition. Recent arguments have demonstrated both the form and substance of Achelous, as a god of water primarily depicted as a man-faced bull, have roots in Old Europe in the Bronze Age. Some Greek sources say that he was the son of Gaia and Oceanus, however, ancient Greeks generally believed with Hesiod that Tethys and Oceanus were the parents of all three thousand river gods. In the Renaissance, the improvisatory mythographer Natalis Comes made for his parents Gaia and Helios, Homer placed Achelous above all, by Roman times, Homers reference was interpreted as making Achelous prince of rivers. Others derived the legends about Achelous from Egypt, and describe him as a second Nilus and this wide extent of the worship of Achelous also accounts for his being regarded as the representative of sweet water in general, that is, as the source of all nourishment. Achelous was a suitor for Deianeira, daughter of Oeneus king of Calydon, but was defeated by Heracles, who wed her himself. The contest of Achelous with Heracles was represented on the throne of Amyclae, on several coins of Acarnania the god is represented as a bull with the head of an old man. The sacred bull, the serpent and the Minotaur are all associated with the Earth goddess Gaia. Achelous was sometimes depicted as an old man or a vigorous bearded man in his prime, with a horned head. When he battled Heracles over the river nymph Deianeira, Achelous turned himself into a serpent, Heracles tore off one of his horns and forced the god to surrender. Achelous had to trade the goat horn of Amalthea to get it back, Heracles gave it to the Naiads, who transformed it into the cornucopia. Achelous relates the bitter episode afterwards to Theseus in Ovids Metamorphoses, sophocles makes Deianeira relate these occurrences in a somewhat different manner. The most common depiction of Acheloios in Archaic and Classical times was as a man-faced bull. Often times, a city would feature a bull on its coinage to represent a local epithet of Achelous, such as Achelous Gelas of Gela, Sicily, or Achelous Sebethos of Neapolis
23.
Deianira
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Deianira, Deïanira, or Deianeira, also known as Dejanira, is a figure in Greek mythology whose name translates as man-destroyer or destroyer of her husband. The name Deianira refers to two characters in Greek mythology. The better-known Deianira was a wife of Heracles and, in late Classical accounts, his unwitting murderer and she is the main character in Sophocles play Women of Trachis. The less well-known Deianira was an Amazon, killed by Heracles during his quest for the girdle of Hippolyta, Deianira was the daughter of Althaea and her husband Oeneus, the king of Calydon, and the half-sister of Meleager. She also was said to have become the mother of Macaria, in another version of her tale, Deianira is instead the daughter of Dexamenus, king of Olenus. Heracles rapes her and promises to back and marry her. While he is away, the centaur Eurytion appears, demanding her as his wife, Heracles returns before the marriage and slays the centaur, claiming his bride. Deianira was associated with combat, and is described as someone who drove a chariot, the central story about Deianira concerns the Tunic of Nessus. A wild centaur named Nessus attempted to kidnap or rape Deianira as he was ferrying her across the river Euenos, but she was rescued by Heracles, who shot the centaur with a poisoned arrow. As he lay dying, Nessus persuaded Deianira to take a sample of his blood, Deianira believed his words and kept a little of the potion by her. Heracles fathered illegitimate children all across Greece and then fell in love with Iole, when Deianira thus feared that her husband would leave her forever, she smeared some of the blood on Heracles famous lionskin shirt. Heracles servant, Lichas, brought him the shirt and he put it on, the centaurs toxic blood burned Heracles terribly, and eventually, he threw himself into a funeral pyre. In despair, Deianira committed suicide by hanging herself or with a sword
24.
Sophocles
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Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were later than those of Aeschylus. He competed in 30 competitions, won 18, and was never judged lower than second place, Aeschylus won 14 competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles, while Euripides won 5 competitions. Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor and he also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights such as Aeschylus. Sophocles, the son of Sophilus, was a member of the rural deme of Hippeios Colonus in Attica, which was to become a setting for one of his plays. Sophocles was born a few years before the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, Sophocles was born into a wealthy family and was highly educated. Sophocles first artistic triumph was in 468 BC, when he took first prize in the Dionysia theatre competition over the master of Athenian drama. According to Plutarch, the victory came under unusual circumstances, instead of following the usual custom of choosing judges by lot, the archon asked Cimon and the other strategoi present to decide the victor of the contest. Plutarch further contends that following this loss Aeschylus soon left for Sicily, although Plutarch says that this was Sophocles first production, it is now thought that his first production was probably in 470 BC. Triptolemus was probably one of the plays that Sophocles presented at this festival, in 480 BC Sophocles was chosen to lead the paean, celebrating the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. Early in his career, the politician Cimon might have one of his patrons, although if he was, there was no ill will borne by Pericles, Cimons rival. In 443/2 he served as one of the Hellenotamiai, or treasurers of Athena, in 420 BC, he welcomed and set up an altar for the image of Asclepius at his house, when the deity was introduced to Athens. For this, he was given the posthumous epithet Dexion by the Athenians and he was also elected, in 413 BC, one of the commissioners who responded to the catastrophic destruction of the Athenian expeditionary force in Sicily during the Peloponnesian War. Sophocles died at the age of ninety or ninety-one in the winter of 406/5 BC, as with many famous men in classical antiquity, his death inspired a number of apocryphal stories. The most famous is the suggestion that he died from the strain of trying to recite a long sentence from his Antigone without pausing to take a breath, another account suggests he choked while eating grapes at the Anthesteria festival in Athens. A third holds that he died of happiness after winning his final victory at the City Dionysia, one of his sons, Iophon, and a grandson, also called Sophocles, also became playwrights. Several ancient sources mention Sophocles homosexuality or bisexuality, Athenaios reported that Sophocles loved boys like Euripides loved women. The poet Ion of Chios relates an anecdote involving Sophocles seducing a serving boy at a symposium, Aeschylus, who dominated Athenian playwriting during Sophocles early career, followed suit and adopted the third character into his own work towards the end of his life
25.
Women of Trachis
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Women of Trachis is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. Women of Trachis is generally considered to be less developed than Sophocles other works, the story begins with Deianeira, the wife of Heracles, relating the story of her early life and her plight adjusting to married life. She is now distraught over her husbands neglect of her family, often involved in some adventure, he rarely visits them. She sends their son Hyllus to find him, as she is concerned over prophecies about Heracles, after Hyllus sets off, a messenger arrives with word that Heracles, victorious in his recent battle, is making offerings on Cape Cenaeum and coming home soon to Trachis. Lichas, a herald of Heracles, brings in a procession of captives and he gives Deianeira a false story of why Heracles had laid siege to the city of Oechalia. He claimed Eurytus, the king, was responsible for Heracles being enslaved. Among the captured girls is Iole, daughter of Eurytus, Deianeira soon learns that in truth Heracles laid siege to the city just to obtain Iole, whom he has taken as a lover. Unable to cope with the thought of her falling for this younger woman, she decides to use a love charm on him. When she was younger, she had carried across a river by the centaur. Halfway through he made a grab at her, but Heracles came to her rescue and quickly shot him with an arrow. Deianeira dyes a robe with the blood and has Lichas carry it to Heracles with strict instructions that no one else is to wear it, after the gift is sent, she begins to have a bad feeling about it. She throws some of the material into sunlight and it reacts like boiling acid. Nessus had lied about the love charm, Hyllus soon arrives to inform her that Heracles lies dying due to her gift. He was in pain and fury that he killed Lichas, the deliverer of the gift, he made the white brain to ooze from the hair, as the skull was dashed to splinters. Deianeira feels enormous shame for what she has done, amplified by her sons harsh words, Hyllus discovers soon after that it wasnt actually her intention to kill her husband. The dying Heracles is carried to his home in horrible pain, Hyllus explains the truth, and Heracles realizes that the prophesies about his death have come to pass, He was to be killed by someone who was already dead, and it turned out to be Nessus. In the end, he is in so much pain that he is begging for someone to finish him off, in this weakened state, he says he is like a woman. He makes a wish, which Hyllus promises to obey
26.
Centaur
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A centaur, or occasionally hippocentaur, is a mythological creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse. The centaurs were usually said to have born of Ixion. Another version, however, makes them children of a certain Centaurus and this Centaurus was either himself the son of Ixion and Nephele or of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. In the later version of the story his twin brother was Lapithes, ancestor of the Lapiths, Centaurs were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia. Another tribe of centaurs was said to have lived on Cyprus, according to Nonnus, they were fathered by Zeus, who, in frustration after Aphrodite had eluded him, spilled his seed on the ground of that land. Unlike those of mainland Greece, the Cyprian centaurs were horned, there were also the Lamian Pheres, twelve rustic daimones of the Lamos river. They were set by Zeus to guard the infant Dionysos, protecting him from the machinations of Hera, the Lamian Pheres later accompanied Dionysos in his campaign against the Indians. Centaurs subsequently featured in Roman mythology, and were familiar figures in the medieval bestiary and they remain a staple of modern fantastic literature. The strife among these cousins is a metaphor for the conflict between the lower appetites and civilized behavior in humankind, theseus, a hero and founder of cities, who happened to be present, threw the balance in favour of the right order of things, and assisted Pirithous. The Centaurs were driven off or destroyed, another Lapith hero, Caeneus, who was invulnerable to weapons, was beaten into the earth by Centaurs wielding rocks and the branches of trees. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as wild as untamed horses, like the Titanomachy, the defeat of the Titans by the Olympian gods, the contests with the Centaurs typify the struggle between civilization and barbarism. The Centauromachy is most famously portrayed in the Parthenon metopes by Phidias, a painted terracotta centaur was found in the Heros tomb at Lefkandi, and by the Geometric period, centaurs figure among the first representational figures painted on Greek pottery. An often-published Geometric period bronze of a warrior face-to-face with a centaur is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in Greek art of the Archaic period, centaurs are depicted in three different forms. Some centaurs are depicted with a human torso attached to the body of a horse at the withers, where the neck would be. Class B centaurs are depicted with a body and legs, joined at the waist with the hindquarters of a horse. A third type, designated Class C, depicts centaurs with human forelegs terminating in hooves, Baur describes this as an apparent development of Aeolic art, which never became particularly widespread. At a later period, paintings on some amphoras depict winged centaurs, Centaurs were also frequently depicted in Roman art. The most common theory holds that the idea of centaurs came from the first reaction of a culture, as in the Minoan Aegean world
27.
Edith Hamilton
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Edith Hamilton was an American educator and author who was recognized as the greatest woman Classicist. She was 62 years old when The Greek Way, her first book, was published in 1930, the New York Times has described her as the Classical Scholar who brought into clear and brilliant focus the Golden Age of Greek life and thought. With Homeric power and simplicity in her style of writing, Edith Hamilton was born in Dresden, Germany, to Gertrude Pond Hamilton and Montgomery Hamilton, a scholarly man of leisure, she also had three sisters, Alice, Margaret, and Norah. In the early 1880s, she attended Miss Porters Finishing School for Young Ladies in Farmington, Connecticut, afterwards attending Bryn Mawr College, in Pennsylvania. Upon earning her B. A. and M. A. degrees she won the Mary E. Garrett European Fellowship, in 1895 Edith and her sister Alice studied humanities and classics at the University of Munich, recognized as a center in classical studies. At the time, most North American women chose to register as auditors and Edith and their adventures in Germany have been well preserved and publicized in Alices autobiography. Leipzig According to education historian Sandra Singer, The sisters first destination was the University of Leipzig, Edith had just graduated in classics from Bryn Mawr and was recipient of a European fellowship, while her sister Alice had recently completed her medical degree at the University of Michigan. When they arrived in Leipzig, they found a number of foreign women studying at the university. They were told that they could attend lectures but would not be able to participate in discussions, Alice had come to Germany to continue her studies in pathology. Edith, however, had come to Germany to study classics, According to Alice, Edith was extremely disappointed with the lectures she attended. The lectures were thorough, but lost sight of the beauty of literature by focusing on obscure grammatical points, instead of the grandeur and beauty of Aeschylus and Sophocles, it seemed that the important thing was their use of the second aorist, she said. Munich When the sisters discovered that women were not allowed to earn a doctoral degree at Leipzig. As it turned out, notes Sandra Singer, Munich was hardly much of an improvement over Leipzig for Edith, at first it was unclear whether Edith would be able to audit lectures at all. She was finally able to attend lectures, because there was tension within the department between the Protestants and the Catholics. The Protestants supported Edith and she was allowed to attend classes, According to Singer, She had been told that a little alcove would be built in the lecture hall where she could sit behind a green curtain. She remembered Edith saying, The head of the University used to stare at me, then shake his head and say sadly to a colleague, There now, were right in the midst of the woman question. Edith intended nonetheless to remain in Munich and earn a doctoral degree and she was persuaded to return to the United States to take over as head of the recently opened Bryn Mawr Preparatory School for Girls in Baltimore. While she never completed her degree, she did become an inspiring
28.
Rhyton
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A rhyton is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table. They are typically formed in the shape of an animals head, the English word rhyton originates in the ancient Greek word ῥυτόν. The conical rhyton form has been known in the Aegean region since the Bronze Age, however, it was by no means confined to that region. Similar in form to, and perhaps originating from, the drinking horn, liddell and Scott give a standard derivation from Greek rhein, to flow, which, according to Julius Pokorny, is from Indo-European *sreu-, flow. As rhutos is stream, the neuter, rhuton, would be sort of object associated with pouring. Many vessels considered rhytons featured a mouth at the top. Smith points out that use is testified in classical paintings and accepts Athenaeuss etymology that it was named ἀπὸ τῆς ῥύσεως. Smith also categorized the name as having been a recent form of a vessel called the keras, horn. The word rhyton is not present in what is known about Mycenaean Greek, however, the bulls head rhyton, of which many examples survive, is mentioned as ke-ra-a on tablet KN K872, an inventory of vessels at Knossos, it is shown with the bull ideogram. Ventris and Chadwick restored the word as the adjective *keraa, with a Mycenaean intervocalic h, rhyta shaped after bulls are filled through the large opening and emptied through the secondary, smaller one. This means that two hands are required, one to close the opening and one to fill the rhyton. This has led scholars to believe that rhytons were typically filled with the help of two people or with the help of a chain or a rope that would be passed through a handle. Rhytons modeled after animals were designed to make it look like the animal was drinking when the vessel was being filled, a bull rhyton weighed about three kilograms when empty and up to six kilograms when full. Other rhytons with animal themes were modeled after boars, lions, some shapes, such as lioness rhyta, could be filled through simple submersion, thanks to the vessel’s shape and buoyancy. Horizontally designed rhyta, like those modeled after lionesses, could be filled by being lowered into a fluid, vertically designed rhyta, like those modeled after boars, required another hand to cover the primary opening and to prevent the liquid from spilling as the vessel was filled. Rhyta were often used to strain liquids such as wine, beer, some rhyta were used in blood rituals and animal sacrifice. In these cases, the blood may have been thinned with wine, some vessels were modeled after the animal with which they were intended to be used during ritual, but this was not always the case. It cannot be supposed that every drinking horn or libation vessel was pierced at the bottom, the scoop function would have come first
29.
Heraklion Archaeological Museum
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The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Heraklion on Crete. It is one of the greatest museums in Greece and the best in the world for Minoan art, as it contains the most notable, the museum began in 1883 as a simple collection of antiquities. A dedicated building was constructed from 1904 to 1912 at the instigation of two Cretan archaeologists, Iosif Hatzidakis and Stefanos Xanthoudidis, after three destructive earthquakes in 1926,1930, and 1935, the museum nearly collapsed. The director of the Heraklion Museum was then Spyridon Marinatos, who made efforts to find funds and persuade the locals. In 1935, Marinatos succeeded in engaging Patroklos Karantinos to build a structure that has withstood both natural disasters and the bombing that accompanied the German invasion in 1941. Although the museum was damaged during World War II, the collection survived intact, a new wing was added in 1964. The Herakleion Archaeological Museum is one of the largest and most important museums in Greece and it houses representative artifacts from all the periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times. The singularly important Minoan collection contains examples of Minoan art. The Heraklion Museum is rightly considered as the museum of Minoan culture par excellence worldwide, the museums antiseismic building is an important example of modernist architecture and was awarded a Bauhaus commendation. He also anticipated future extensions to the museum, the colours and construction materials, such as the veined polychrome marbles, recall certain Minoan wall-paintings which imitate marble revetment. The museum shop, run by the Archaeological Receipts Fund, sells museum copies, books, postcards, most of the museum was closed for renovation from 2006 and reopened in May 2013. The museum organizes exhibitions in Greece and abroad, collaborates with scientific and scholarly institutions. EU students can receive a discounted entry, there is air conditioning within the building. Some of the collection cannot be photographed due to publication or another reason, there are usually signs posted nearby the restricted items. Snake Goddess Phaistos Disc Arkalochori Axe List of museums in Greece Minoan civilization Minoan pottery The Rough Guide to Crete
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Expo '88
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The theme of the Expo was Leisure in the Age of Technology, and the mascot for the Expo was an Australian platypus named Expo Oz. The A$625 million fair was the largest event of the 1988 Bicentennial celebrations of the European settlement of Australia, Expo 88 attracted more than 15,760,000 visitors who bought tickets worth A$175 million. The core feature of the site were the international pavilions, many of the expositions sculptures and buildings were retained by various entities around the state and are still in use or on display today. With the Australian Bicentenary looming in 1988, other Australian capitals sought means by which to celebrate the event, immediately, the Brisbane Exposition and South Bank Redevelopment Authority was formed with Sir Llewellyn Edwards, State Deputy Premier, at the helm. Maccormick later was appointed as Joint Chief Architect of the Expo, World Expo 88 occupied a mixed usage 40-hectare resumed parcel of land on the South Bank of the Brisbane River, opposite the citys central business district. For many years this mainly industrial area had been largely derelict, the creation of Expo, along with the recent construction of the Queensland Cultural Centre, helped to revive the area. Around 100 works of sculpture were either commissioned, purchased or borrowed for World Expo 88 at a cost of $25 million, large sun sails were erected over the site to provide shade from the hot Queensland climate. These became an icon of the Expo, becoming an element of Expos sun-sails logo, two thousand kilometers of telecommunication wire were laid during construction of the site. A monorail was constructed for World Expo 88 to take visitors quickly around the Expo site, costing A$12 million, it consisted of 2 stations at either end of the site,2.3 kilometres of track and 4 nine-carriage trains. The route included going through the Queensland Pavilion, across the Pacific Lagoon, the system was able to carry 44,000 passengers per day. Following Expo, one of the trains and some joined the existing Sea World Monorail System at Sea World on the Gold Coast. The other trains are running now at the Europapark in Rust/ Germany, a ticket to the fair allowed entry to the World Expo Park amusement park at the same location. Although originally intended to be a permanent feature, the park remained open for one year after Expo had closed. The Expo sunsails and the Expo tower Night Companion can be seen clearly here, some of the rides of the World Expo Park can be seen in the background. The cubistic flotilla can be seen in the foreground, World Expo 88 was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on Saturday,30 April 1988 to much fanfare. With Expo 88 Queensland had transformed itself from a backwater into Australias most progressive state. The Commissioner General for World Expo 88 was Sir Edward Williams, the Chairman and Chief Executive former State Government Minister, Sir Llewellyn Edwards was appointed in February 1984. The General Manager was Bob Miniken and the Entertainment Director was Ric Birch, landscaping at the site was done by Brisbane landscape architect Lawrie Smith
31.
Androgeus
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Androgeos or Androgeus was the name of two individuals in Classical mythology. Androgeos was a son of Minos and Pasiphaë and his own sons were Sthenelus and Alcaeus, who later became companions of Heracles. Sources vary as to the circumstances of his death. Servius suggests that Androgeos was murdered upon his triumph by the Athenians themselves, plutarch writes that Androgeos was thought to have been treacherously killed, without clarifying whether this was supposed to be the truth or not. In another version, Aegeus, King of Athens, sent him against the Marathonian Bull which resulted in Androgeos death, in Pausanias interpretation, Androgeos being killed by the bull is presented as more of an accident, which, however, Minos is remarked to not have believed. According to Diodorus Siculus, Aegeus killed Androgeos out of fear that the latter would support the sons of Pallas against him, in yet another version, Androgeos was killed in a battle between the Athenians and the Cretans. The Athenians eventually established a cult of Androgeos, there was an altar dedicated to him at Phaleron. The consequences of Androgeos death are described in the Bibliotheca as follows, Minos received the news of his sons death when he was performing a sacrificial rite in honor of the Charites at Paros. Minos led a war against Athens to avenge the death of his son, the city was struck with famine and pestilence. The Athenians consulted an oracle as to how to avert the calamity, and were instructed to sacrifice the daughters of Hyacinthus the Lacedaemonian, the citizens consulted the oracle once again and were told to give Minos whatever he might ask in retribution. The king obliged the Athenians to send several youths every seven or nine years to be devoured by the Minotaur and this continued until the Minotaur was killed by Theseus. Propertius in one of his elegies refers to a version in which Androgeos was brought back to life by Asclepius
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Athens
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Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
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Panathenaic Games
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The Panathenaic Games were held every four years in Athens in Ancient Greece since 566 BC. They continued into the 3rd century AD and these Games incorporated religious festival, ceremony, athletic competitions, and cultural events hosted within a stadium. The competitions for which this came to be known were only part of a much larger religious occasion. These ritual observances consisted of numerous sacrifices to Athena as well as Poseidon, a sister-event to the Great Panathenaea was held every year - the Lesser Panathenaea, which was 3–4 days shorter in celebration. The competitions were the most prestigious games for the citizens of Athens, the first Great Panathenaea was held during the rule of Peisistratos in 566 BC, and was modelled on the Olympic Games. Peisistratos also added music and poetry competitions, which were part of the Pythian Games, the games were divided into games for Athenians only, and games for Athenians and any other Greeks who wanted to participate. These games in only the Athenians were allowed to participate were somewhat different. These included a race from the Piraeus to the Acropolis, mock infantry and cavalry battles, a javelin throw on horseback, the apobatai, the pyrriche. The prestigious event was a four-horse chariot race and the received a prize larger than for any of the athletic contests. In later years there was also a rowing competition, the procession to the Parthenon was more important than the games themselves. During the Great Panathenaia, a robe was made by the women of Athens for the statue of Athena. There was also a large sacrifice made to Athena, the hekatombe and the meat from the animals was used in an enormous banquet on the final night of the festival. Many scholars believe that this procession is the theme of the inner Ionic Parthenon Frieze, award ceremonies included the giving of Panathenaic amphora which were the large ceramic vessels that contained the oil given as prizes. The winner of the race received as a prize one-hundred. The Panathenaea also included poetic and musical competitions, prizes were awarded for rhapsodic recitation of Homeric poetry, for instrumental music on the aulus and cithara, and for singing to the accompaniment of the aulus and cithara. In addition, the Games included a reading of both the Odyssey and the Iliad, the athletic events were staged at the Panathenaic Stadium, which is still in use today. The Panathenaic stadium has hosted modern Olympic Games in 1870,1875,1896,1906 and 2004, the Panathenaic Games held contests in a number of musical, athletic, and equestrian events. Due to the fact there were so many contests held
34.
Marathon, Greece
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Marathon is a town in Greece, the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. The tumulus or burial mound of the 192 Athenian dead, also called the Soros, the Tymbos is now marked by a marble memorial stele and surrounded by a small park. The name Marathon comes from the herb fennel, called marathon or marathos in Ancient Greek and it is believed that the town was originally named so because of an abundance of fennel plants in the area. After Miltiades defeated Darius Persian forces, the Persians decided to sail from Marathon to Athens in order to sack the unprotected city. Miltiades ordered all his forces to march double time back to Athens. Although the name Marathon had a resonance in Europe in the nineteenth century, for some time that was sullied by the Dilessi murders. The sophist and magnate Herodes Atticus was born in Marathon, in 1926, the American company ULEN began construction on the Marathon Dam in a valley above Marathon, in order to ensure water supply for Athens. About 10 km² of forested land were flooded to form Lake Marathon, the beach of Schinias is located southeast of the town and it is a popular windsurfing spot and the Olympic Rowing Center for the 2004 Summer Olympics is also located there. At the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics, Marathon was the point of the marathon races. The area is susceptible to flooding, because of forest fires having denuded parts of the eastern slopes of Mount Penteli especially in 2006.747 km2. The other settlements in the unit are Agios Panteleimonas, Kato Souli, Vranas, Avra, Vothon, Ano Souli. Kato Souli Naval Transmission Facility with its 250-metre tall radio mast, the tallest structure in Greece. e-marathon. gr
35.
Aegeus
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In Greek mythology, Aegeus or Aegeas, was an archaic figure in the founding myth of Athens. The goat-man who gave his name to the Aegean Sea was, next to Poseidon, the father of Theseus, the founder of Athenian institutions and one of the kings of Athens. Upon the death of the king, Pandion II, Aegeus and his three brothers, Pallas, Nisos, and Lykos, took control of Athens from Metion and they divided the government in four and Aegeus became king. Aegeus first wife was Meta, and his wife was Chalciope. Still without a heir, Aegeus asked the oracle at Delphi for advice. Her cryptic words were Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens, Aegeus did not understand the prophecy and was disappointed. This puzzling oracle forced Aegeus to visit Pittheus, king of Troezen, Pittheus understood the prophecy and introduced Aegeus to his daughter, Aethra, when Aegeus was drunk. They lay with other, and then in some versions, Aethra waded to the island of Sphairia. When Aethra became pregnant, Aegeus decided to return to Athens, upon his return to Athens, Aegeus married Medea, who had fled from Corinth and the wrath of Jason. Aegeus and Medea had one son named Medus, while visiting in Athens, King Minos son, Androgeus managed to defeat Aegeus in every contest during the Panathenaic Games. Out of jealousy, Aegeus sent him to conquer the Marathonian Bull, Minos was angry and declared war on Athens. He offered the Athenians peace, however, under the condition that Athens would send seven men and seven young women every nine years to Crete to be fed to the Minotaur. This continued until Theseus killed the Minotaur with the help of Ariadne, in Troezen, Theseus grew up and became a brave young man. He managed to move the rock and took his fathers weapons and his mother then told him the identity of his father and that he should take the weapons back to him at Athens and be acknowledged. Theseus decided to go to Athens and had the choice of going by sea, young, brave and ambitious, Theseus decided to go to Athens by land. When Theseus arrived, he did not reveal his true identity and he was welcomed by Aegeus, who was suspicious about the stranger who came to Athens. Medea tried to have Theseus killed by encouraging Aegeus to ask him to capture the Marathonian Bull and she tried to poison him, but at the last second, Aegeus recognized his son and knocked the poisoned cup out of Theseus hand. Father and son were reunited, and Medea was sent away to Asia
36.
Catullus
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Not to be confused with Romans named Catulus, see Catulus. Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote in the style of poetry. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry, Catullus poems were widely appreciated by other poets. He greatly influenced poets such as Ovid, Horace, and Virgil, after his rediscovery in the late Middle Ages, Catullus again found admirers. His explicit writing style has shocked many readers, indeed, Catullus work was never canonical in schools, although his body of work is still frequently read from secondary school to graduate programs across the world. Gaius Valerius Catullus was born to an equestrian family of Verona. The social prominence of the Catullus family allowed the father of Gaius Valerius to entertain Julius Caesar when he was the Promagistrate of both Gallic provinces. Catullus was raised primarily by his mother, Blandus, who exposed him to poetry, in a poem, Catullus describes his happy homecoming to the family villa at Sirmio, on Lake Garda, near Verona, he also owned a villa near the resort of Tibur. Catullus appears to have spent most of his adult years in Rome. He appears to have been acquainted with the poet Marcus Furius Bibaculus, a number of prominent contemporaries appear in his poetry, including Cicero, Caesar and Pompey. In his poems Catullus describes several stages of their relationship, initial euphoria, doubts, separation, and his wrenching feelings of loss. Clodia had several partners, “From the poems one can adduce no fewer than five lovers in addition to Catullus, Egnatius, Gellius, Quintius, Rufus. Yet, a sensitive and passionate Catullus could not relinquish his flame for Clodia, regardless of her obvious indifference to his desire for a deep, in his poems, Catullus wavers between devout, sweltering love and bitter, scornful insults that he directs at her blatant infidelity. His passion for her is unrelenting— yet it is unclear when exactly the couple split up for good, Catulluss poems about the relationship display striking depth and psychological insight. He spent the provincial command year summer 57 to summer 56 BC in Bithynia on the staff of the commander Gaius Memmius, while in the East, he traveled to the Troad to perform rites at his brothers tomb, an event recorded in a moving poem. There survives no ancient biography of Catullus, his life has to be pieced together from scattered references to him in ancient authors. Thus it is uncertain when he was born and when he died, st. Jerome says that he died in his 30th year, and was born in 87 BC. But the poems include references to events of 55 and 54 BC, other authors suggest 52 or 51 BC as the year of the poets death
37.
Ariadne
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Ariadne, in Greek mythology, was the daughter of Minos, King of Crete, Son of Zeus and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios. She is mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and her father put her in charge of the labyrinth where sacrifices were made as part of reparations, later, she helped Theseus overcome the Minotaur and save the potential sacrificial victims. In other stories, she became the bride of the god Dionysus, since ancient Greek myths are passed down through oral tradition, many variations of this and other myths exist. According to an Athenian version of the legend, Minos attacked Athens after his son was killed there, the Athenians asked for terms, and were required to sacrifice seven young men and seven maidens to the Minotaur every seven or nine years. One year, the party included Theseus, the son of King Aegeus. Ariadne fell in love at first sight, and helped him by giving him a sword and a ball of thread, so that he could find his way out of the Minotaurs labyrinth. She eloped with Theseus after he achieved his goal, but according to Homer he had no joy of her, for ere that, Artemis slew her in seagirt Dia because of the witness of Dionysus. Homer does not expand on the nature of Dionysuss accusation, in Hesiod and most other accounts, Theseus abandoned Ariadne sleeping on Naxos, and Dionysus rediscovered and wedded her. The vase-painters of Athens often showed Athena leading Theseus from the sleeping Ariadne to his ship. With Dionysus, she was the mother of Oenopion, the personification of wine, Staphylus, Thoas, Peparethus, Phanus, Eurymedon, Enyeus, Ceramus, Maron, Euanthes, Latramys and her wedding diadem was set in the heavens as the constellation Corona Borealis. Ariadne remained faithful to Dionysus but was killed by Perseus at Argos. In other myths she hanged herself from a tree, like Erigone and the hanging Artemis, some scholars have posited, due to her thread-spinning and winding associations, that she was a weaving goddess, like Arachne, supporting this theory with the mytheme of the Hanged Nymph. Dionysus descended into Hades and brought her and his mother Semele back and they then joined the gods in Olympus. Karl Kerenyi and Robert Graves theorize that Ariadne was a Great Goddess of Crete, Kerenyi notes a Linear B inscription from Knossos, to all the gods, honey. To the mistress of the honey in equal amounts, suggesting to him that the Mistress of the Labyrinth was a Great Goddess in her own right. Professor Barry Powell has suggested she was Minoan Cretes Snake Goddess, in a kylix by the painter Aison Theseus drags the Minotaur from a temple-like labyrinth, but the goddess who attends him, in this Attic representation, is Athena. Theseus, attempting to secure the ship, was swept out to sea. The Cypriote women cared for Ariadne, who died in childbirth and was memorialized in a shrine, Theseus, overcome with grief upon his return, left money for sacrifices to Ariadne and ordered two cult images, one of silver and one of bronze, set up
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Naxos (island)
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Naxos is a Greek island—at 429 km2 the largest of the Cyclades island group in the Aegean. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture, the island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern time was one of the best abrasives available. The largest town and capital of the island is Chora or Naxos City, the main villages are Filoti, Apiranthos, Vivlos, Agios Arsenios, Koronos and Glinado. Climate is Mediterranean, with mild winters and very warm summers. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Csa, according to Greek mythology, the young Zeus was raised in a cave on Mt. Zas. Homer mentions Dia, literally the sacred island of the Goddess, dionysus who was the protector of the island, met Ariadne and fell in love with her. But eventually Ariadne, unable to bear her separation from Theseus, either killed herself, the Naxos portion of the Ariadne myth is also told in the Richard Strauss opera Ariadne auf Naxos. Zas Cave, inhabited during the Neolithic era, contained objects of stone from Melos and copper objects including a dagger, the presence of gold and other objects within the cave indicated to researchers the status of the inhabitant. Emery was sourced during the time to other islands, during the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Naxos dominated commerce in the Cyclades. Naxos was the first Greek city-state to attempt to leave the Delian League circa 476 BC, Athens quickly squashed the notion, Athens then demanded all future payments from Naxos in the form of gold rather than military aid. Herodotus describes Naxos circa 500 BC as the most prosperous Greek island, under the Byzantine Empire, Naxos was part of the thema of the Aegean Sea, which was established in the mid-9th century. Of all the islands, only on Naxos was there any opposition to Sanudo, to steel his bands resolve, Sanudo burnt his galleys and bade his companions to conquer or die. The pirates surrendered the castle after a five weeks siege, Naxos became the seat of Sanudos realm, which he ruled with the title of Duke of Naxia, or Duke of the Archipelago. Twenty-one dukes in two dynasties ruled the Archipelago, until 1566, Venetian rule continued in scattered islands of the Aegean until 1714, under Venetian rule, the island was called by its Italian name, Nasso. The Ottoman administration remained essentially in the hands of the Venetians, very few Turks ever settled on Naxos, and Turkish influence on the island is slight. Under Ottoman rule the island was known as Turkish, Nakşa, Ottoman sovereignty lasted until 1821, when the islands revolted, Naxos finally became a member of the Greek state in 1832. Naxos is a popular tourist destination, with several ruins and it has a number of beaches, such as those at Agia Anna, Agios Prokopios, Alikos, Kastraki, Mikri Vigla, Plaka, and Agios Georgios, most of them near Chora. As other cycladic islands, Naxos is considered a place perfect for windsurfing
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Aegean Sea
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The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the Greek and Anatolian peninsulas, i. e. between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles, the Aegean Islands are within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes. The sea was known as Archipelago, but in English this words meaning has changed to refer to the Aegean Islands and, generally. In ancient times, there were various explanations for the name Aegean, a possible etymology is a derivation from the Greek word αἶγες – aiges = waves, hence wavy sea, cf. also αἰγιαλός, hence meaning sea-shore. The Venetians, who ruled many Greek islands in the High and Late Middle Ages, popularized the name Archipelago, in some South Slavic languages the Aegean is often called White Sea. The Aegean Sea covers about 214,000 square kilometres in area, the seas maximum depth is 3,543 metres, east of Crete. The Aegean Islands are found within its waters, with the following islands delimiting the sea on the south, Kythera, Antikythera, Crete, Kasos, Karpathos, many of the Aegean Islands, or chains of islands, are actually extensions of the mountains on the mainland. One chain extends across the sea to Chios, another extends across Euboea to Samos, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Aegean Sea as follows, On the South. In the Dardanelles. A line joining Kum Kale and Cape Helles, the dense Mediterranean water sinks below the Black Sea inflow to a depth of 23–30 metres, then flows through the Dardanelles Strait and into the Sea of Marmara at velocities of 5–15 cm/s. The Black Sea outflow moves westward along the northern Aegean Sea, Aegean Sea Intermediate Water – Aegean Sea Intermediate Water extends from 40–50 m to 200–300 metres with temperatures ranging from 11–18 °C. Aegean Sea Bottom Water – occurring at depths below 500–1000 m with a uniform temperature. The current coastline dates back to about 4000 BC, before that time, at the peak of the last ice age sea levels everywhere were 130 metres lower, and there were large well-watered coastal plains instead of much of the northern Aegean. When they were first occupied, the islands including Milos with its important obsidian production were probably still connected to the mainland. The present coastal arrangement appeared c.7000 BC, with post-ice age sea levels continuing to rise for another 3,000 years after that, the subsequent Bronze Age civilizations of Greece and the Aegean Sea have given rise to the general term Aegean civilization. In ancient times, the sea was the birthplace of two ancient civilizations – the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenean Civilization of the Peloponnese, later arose the city-states of Athens and Sparta among many others that constituted the Athenian Empire and Hellenic Civilization. Plato described the Greeks living round the Aegean like frogs around a pond, the Aegean Sea was later invaded by the Persians and the Romans, and inhabited by the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarians, the Venetians, the Genoese, the Seljuq Turks, and the Ottoman Empire. The Aegean was the site of the democracies, and its seaways were the means of contact among several diverse civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean. Many of the islands in the Aegean have safe harbours and bays, in ancient times, navigation through the sea was easier than travelling across the rough terrain of the Greek mainland
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Attica
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Attica is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea, the modern administrative region of Attica is more extensive than the historical region and includes the Saronic Islands, Cythera, and the municipality of Troizinia on the Peloponnesian mainland. The history of Attica is tightly linked with that of Athens, Attica is a triangular peninsula jutting into the Aegean Sea. It is naturally divided to the north from Boeotia by the 10 mi long Cithaeron mountain range, to the west, it is bordered by the sea and the canal of Corinth. The Saronic Gulf lies to the south, and the island of Euboea lies off the north, mountains separate the peninsula into the plains of Pedias, Mesogaia, and Thriasion. The mountains of Attica are the Hymettus, the portion of the Geraneia, the Parnitha, the Aigaleo. Four mountains—Aigaleo, Parnitha, Penteli and Hymettus —delineate the hilly plain on which the Athens-Piraeus metroplex now spreads, Athens water reservoir, Lake Marathon, is an artificial lake created by damming in 1920. Pine and fir forests cover the area around Parnitha, Hymettus, Penteli, Myrrhinous and Laurium are forested with pine trees, whereas the rest are covered by shrubbery. The Kifisos is the longest river of Attica, according to Plato, Atticas ancient boundaries were fixed by the Isthmus, and, toward the continent, they extended as far as the heights of Cithaeron and Parnes. The boundary line came down toward the sea, bounded by the district of Oropus on the right, during antiquity, the Athenians boasted about being autochthonic, which is to say that they were the original inhabitants of the area and had not moved to Attica from another place. The traditions current in the classical period recounted that, during the Greek Dark Ages, Attica had become the refuge of the Ionians, who belonged to a tribe from the northern Peloponnese. Supposedly, the Ionians had been forced out of their homeland by the Achaeans, supposedly, the Ionians integrated with the ancient Atticans, who, afterward, considered themselves part of the Ionian tribe and spoke the Ionian dialect. Many Ionians later left Attica to colonize the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, during the Mycenaean period, the Atticans lived in autonomous agricultural societies. The main places where prehistoric remains were found are Marathon, Rafina, Nea Makri, Brauron, Thorikos, Agios Kosmas, Eleusis, Menidi, Markopoulo, Spata, Aphidnae, all of these settlements flourished during the Mycenaean period. According to tradition, Attica comprised twelve small communities during the reign of Cecrops, strabo assigns these the names of Cecropia, Tetrapolis, Epacria, Decelea, Eleusis, Aphidna, Thoricus, Brauron, Cytherus, Sphettus, Cephisia, and possibly Phaleron. These were said to have been incorporated in an Athenian state during the reign of Theseus. Modern historians consider it likely that the communities were progressively incorporated into an Athenian state during the 8th. Until the 6th century BC, aristocratic families lived independent lives in the suburbs, only after Peisistratoss tyranny and the reforms implemented by Cleisthenes did the local communities lose their independence and succumb to the central government in Athens
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Kylix (drinking cup)
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In the pottery of ancient Greece, a kylix is the most common type of wine-drinking cup. It has a broad, relatively shallow, body raised on a stem from a foot, the main alternative wine-cup shape was the kantharos, with a narrower and deeper cup and high vertical handles. As the representations would be covered with wine, the scenes would only be revealed in stages as the wine was drained and they were often designed with this in mind, with scenes created so that they would surprise or titillate the drinker as they were revealed. The word comes from the Greek kylix cup, which is cognate with Latin calix, the term seems to have been rather more generally used in ancient Greece. Individual examples and the many named sub-varieties of kylix are often called names just using cup, like all other types of Greek pottery vessels, they are also covered by the general term of vase. Dionysos, the god of wine, and his satyrs or related komastic scenes, are common subjects, on the external surface sometimes, large eyes were depicted, probably also with humorous purposes. The shape of the kylix enabled the drinker to drink whilst recumbent and it also enabled them to play kottabos, a game played by flinging wine lees at targets. A typical bowl held roughly 8 oz/250ml of fluid, though this varied greatly with size and shape. There are many sub-types of kylix, variously defined by their basic shape, several of these are grouped under the term of Little-Master cup. The sub-types include, After the kylikes were formed, an artisan drew a depiction of an event from Greek mythology or everyday life with a glaze on the outer surface of the formation. Inside the drinking bowl was often a portrait of dancing and/or festive drinking, unique compositional skills were necessary for the artisans to attain due to the lack of verticals and horizontals on the surface. Onesimos, Makron, and Douris were famous painters in this field, individual kylixes with articles include, Arkesilas Cup, very unusual because it shows a living political figure, Arkesilaos II, king of Kyrene. It is dated to about 565/560 BC, and is now in Paris, dionysus Cup, famous for its painting, 540–530 BC. It is one of the masterpieces of the Attic Black-figure potter Exekias, berlin Foundry Cup, a red-figure kylix from the early 5th century BC. It is the vase of the Attic vase painter known conventionally as the Foundry Painter. Its most striking feature is the depiction of activities in an Athenian bronze workshop or foundry. It is an important source on ancient Greek metal-working technology, Brygos Cup of Würzburg, an Attic red-figure kylix from about 480 BC. It was made by the Brygos potter and painted by the man known as the Brygos Painter and its symposium scenes are some of the best-known images of Greek pottery
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Vulci
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Vulci or Volci was a rich and important Etruscan city. As George Dennis wrote, Vulci is a city whose very name, was scarcely remembered, but which now, for the enormous treasures of antiquity it has yielded, is exalted above every other city of the ancient world. Many impressive remains of the city can be seen today, Vulci was located near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea about 80 km northwest of Rome, on the Fiora River, between Montalto di Castro and Canino. The Vulci, like other Etruscans, became master sculptors in bronze as acknowledged by ancient writers, although most large bronzes have been lost, there remain some magnificent examples of Etruscan bronze work such as the Chimera of Arezzo and the Monteleone chariot, possibly made in Vulci. Despite these discoveries most of these tombs were later forgotten and lost, in the Villanovan period, the wealth of metal resources in the Colline Metallifere hills was important in the development of trade especially with Sardinia. Among the funeral contents is a magnificent bronze statue of a now in the National Etruscan Museum museum in the Villa Giulia. Numerous Villanovan fibulas have also found in Sardinia. Vulcis golden age of influence and wealth was in the 6th century BC when it ruled over the cities of Orbetello, Saturnia, Sovana, Castro, Pitigliano, in return it exported its treasures throughout the Mediterranean, pottery, bronzes and wine. Originally the Etruscans were co-founders of Rome and they continued to dominate it, Vulci had some influence on early Rome, as Servius Tullius and the Vibenna brothers were from Vulci. Their names and pictures appear on a fresco in the François Tomb, after the population of Rome had become predominantly Italic, the Etruscan kings were overthrown. After a time of crisis in the 2nd half of the 5th century, the Roman–Etruscan Wars lasted many years before the Romans gained control over Etruria and the Etruscans were soundly defeated at Lake Vadimo in 310 and 283 BC. Nevertheless, Vulci was strong enough to further resist until Tiberius Coruncanius triumphed over Vulci in 280 BC, the Romans took the coast from Vulci, cutting the base of their power which seems to have led to the decline of the city. The Etruscan league splintered apart during the war and the Etruscans were soon assimilated, Vulci does not seem to have been of great importance in the remaining Roman period, even though the Romans built the Via Aurelia through it in 240 BC. However, rich and impressive buildings in the city date to this period, a surviving milestone gives the distance to Rome as 70 milia passuum. The road outside the gate was repaved probably under Trajans reign. Later Vulci became an episcopal see, the final abandonment seems to be in the 8th c. Recent excavations are discovering much more information on the history and importance of the city, the former wealth of the town was shown first by the discoveries made in its extensive necropoli starting from the 18th century - Greek vases, bronzes and other remains. From these tombs more Attic vases have been found in Vulci than at any other ancient site, many of the finds were sold by the excavators and many found their way into the major museums of the world where they can be seen today
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Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
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Jean-Etienne Ramey
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Étienne-Jules Ramey, called Ramey fils, was a French sculptor. He worked in partnership with Augustin-Alexandre Dumont and taught at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, one of his pupils there was the Belgian sculptor Guillaume Geefs, another was Jean-Joseph Perraud. His careful, mannered drawings appear on the market from time to time
