1.
Francesco Primaticcio
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Francesco Primaticcio was an Italian Mannerist painter, architect and sculptor who spent most of his career in France. Together with Rosso Fiorentino he was one of the artists to work at the Chateau Fontainebleau spending much of his life there. Following Rossos death in 1540, Primaticcio took control of the direction at Fontainebleau, furnishing the painters and stuccators of his team, such as Nicolò dellAbate. Francis I trusted his eye and sent him back to Italy on buying trips in 1540, in Rome, part of Primaticcios commission was to take casts of the best Roman sculptures in the papal collections, some of which were cast in bronze to decorate the parterres at Fontainebleau. Primaticcio retained his position as painter to Francis heirs, Henry II. His masterpiece, the Salle dHercule at Fontainebleau, occupied him, Primaticcios crowded Mannerist compositions and his long-legged canon of beauty influenced French art for the rest of the century
2.
Homer
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Homer is the name ascribed by the ancient Greeks to the semi-legendary author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems which are the central works of Greek literature. The Odyssey focuses on the home of Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Many accounts of Homers life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread being that he was a bard from Ionia. The modern scholarly consensus is that these traditions do not have any historical value, the Homeric question - by whom, when, where and under what circumstances were the Iliad and Odyssey composed - continues to be debated. Broadly speaking, modern scholarly opinion on the authorship question falls into two camps, one group holds that most of the Iliad and the Odyssey is the work of a single poet of genius. The other considers the Homeric poems to be the crystallization of a process of working and re-working by many contributors and it is generally accepted that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century B. C. Most researchers believe that the poems were transmitted orally. The Homeric epics were the greatest influence on ancient Greek culture and education, to Plato, the chronological period of Homer depends on the meaning to be assigned to the word Homer. Was Homer a single person, an imaginary person representing a group of poets and this information is often called the world of Homer. The Homeric period would in that cover a number of historical periods, especially the Mycenaean Age. Considered word-for-word, the texts as we know them are the product of the scholars of the last three centuries. Each edition of the Iliad or Odyssey is a different, as the editors rely on different manuscripts and fragments. The term accuracy reveals a belief in an original uniform text. The manuscripts of the work currently available date to no earlier than the 10th century. These are at the end of a missing thousand-year chain of copies made as each generation of manuscripts disintegrated or were lost or destroyed and these numerous manuscripts are so similar that a single original can be postulated. The time gap in the chain is bridged by the scholia, or notes, on the existing manuscripts, librarian of the Library of Alexandria, he had noticed a wide divergence in the works attributed to Homer, and was trying to restore a more authentic copy. He had collected several manuscripts, which he named, the Sinopic, the one he selected for correction was the koine, which Murray translates as the Vulgate. Aristarchus was known for his selection of material
3.
Odyssey
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The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the Odyssey is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second-oldest extant work of Western literature, the Iliad is the oldest. Scholars believe the Odyssey was composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the poem mainly focuses on the Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed Odysseus has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of suitors, the Mnesteres or Proci. The Odyssey continues to be read in the Homeric Greek and translated into languages around the world. Many scholars believe the poem was composed in an oral tradition by an aoidos, perhaps a rhapsode. The details of the ancient oral performance and the conversion to a written work inspire continual debate among scholars. The Odyssey was written in a dialect of Greek—a literary amalgam of Aeolic Greek, Ionic Greek. Among the most noteworthy elements of the text are its non-linear plot, in the English language as well as many others, the word odyssey has come to refer to an epic voyage. The Odyssey has a lost sequel, the Telegony, which was not written by Homer and it was usually attributed in antiquity to Cinaethon of Sparta. In one source, the Telegony was said to have stolen from Musaeus by either Eugamon or Eugammon of Cyrene. The Odyssey begins ten years after the end of the ten-year Trojan War, and Odysseus has still not returned home from the war. Odysseus protectress, the goddess Athena, requests to Zeus, king of the gods, to finally allow Odysseus to return home when Odysseus enemy, then, disguised as a Taphian chieftain named Mentes, she visits Telemachus to urge him to search for news of his father. He offers her hospitality, they observe the suitors dining rowdily while the bard Phemius performs a poem for them. Penelope objects to Phemius theme, the Return from Troy, because it reminds her of her missing husband and that night Athena, disguised as Telemachus, finds a ship and crew for the true prince. The next morning, Telemachus calls an assembly of citizens of Ithaca to discuss what should be done with the suitors. Accompanied by Athena, he departs for the Greek mainland and the household of Nestor, most venerable of the Greek warriors at Troy, now at home in Pylos
4.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
5.
Odysseus
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Odysseus, also known by the Latin name Ulysses, was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homers epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homers Iliad and other works in that same epic cycle. Husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, and son of Laërtes and Anticlea, Odysseus is renowned for his brilliance, guile, and versatility and he is most famous for the Odyssey, ten eventful years he took to return home after the decade-long Trojan War. The name has several variants, in Greek the character was called Olysseus, Oulixeus, Oulixes, hence, there may originally have been two separate figures, one called something like Odysseus, the other something like Ulixes, who were combined into one complex personality. The etymology of the name is unknown, ancient authors linked the name to the Greek verbs odussomai to be wroth against, to hate, or to oduromai to lament, bewail. Homer in references and puns, relates it to various forms of this verb and it has also been suggested that the name is of non-Greek origin, probably not even Indo-European, with an unknown etymology, R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. In Book 19 of the Odyssey, where Odysseuss early childhood is recounted, Euryclea tries to guide him to naming the boy Polyaretos, for he has much been prayed for. Autolycus apparently in a sardonic mood, decided to give the child a name that would commemorate his own experience in life. Because I got odium upon myself before coming here, let the childs name be Odysseus to signify this. The pun was prophetic as well as commemorative, Odysseus often receives the patronymic epithet Laertiades, son of Laërtes. In the Iliad and Odyssey there are several epithets used to describe Odysseus and his name and stories were adopted into Etruscan religion under the name Uthuze. Hence, Odysseus was the great-grandson of the Olympian god Hermes, according to the Iliad and Odyssey, his father is Laertes and his mother Anticlea, although there was a non-Homeric tradition that Sisyphus was his true father. The rumor went that Laertes bought Odysseus from the conniving king, Odysseus is said to have a younger sister, Ctimene, who went to Same to be married and is mentioned by the swineherd Eumaeus, whom she grew up alongside, in Book 15 of the Odyssey. Homers Iliad and Odyssey portray Odysseus as a hero, but the Romans. In Virgils Aeneid, written between 29 and 19 BC, he is referred to as cruel Odysseus or deceitful Odysseus. Turnus, in Aeneid ix, reproaches the Trojan Ascanius with images of rugged, forthright Latin virtues, declaring, You shall not find the sons of Atreus here, nor need the frauds of sly Ulysses fear. While the Greeks admired his cunning and deceit, these qualities did not recommend themselves to the Romans, who possessed a rigid sense of honour. His attempts to avoid his sacred oath to defend Menelaus and Helen offended Roman notions of duty, the majority of sources for Odysseus pre-war exploits—principally the mythographers Pseudo-Apollodorus and Hyginus—postdate Homer by many centuries
6.
Suitors of Penelope
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The suitors of Penelope are one of the main subjects of Homers Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Homer describes Odysseus journey home from the Trojan War, prior to the Trojan War, Odysseus was King of Ithaca, a Greek island known for its isolation and rugged terrain. When Odysseus departs from Ithaca to fight for the Greeks in the war, he leaves behind a child, Telemachus. Although most surviving Greek soldiers return shortly after the end of the fighting, during Odysseus long absence, unmarried men start to suspect that Odysseus died in Troy or on the journey home. Under the pretense of courting Penelope, these men, called the suitors, take up residence in Odysseus home. Rather than simply rejecting the suitors, Penelope devises a plan to delay their courtship and she claims she will choose a husband after she has finished weaving a funeral shroud to present to Odysseus father, Laertes. For three years, Penelope weaves the shroud during the day and unravels it at night, awaiting her husbands return, the suitors learn of Penelopes delaying tactic when one of her maidservants, Melantho, reveals it to her lover Eurymachus. Upon finding out, the demand that she choose a husband from among them. The suitors behave badly in Odysseus home, drinking his wine, Odysseus son, Telemachus, now a young man, is frustrated with the suitors. Telemachus laments to Athena about the suitors behavior, in return, Athena urges Telemachus to stand up to the suitors and go search of his father. Once Odysseus returns home, his son Telemachus tells him there are 108 suitors,52 from Dulichium,24 from Same,20 Achaeans from Zacynthus. Together, Odysseus, Telemachus, Eumaeus and Philoetius kill the suitors, although there are many suitors, three are particularly important to the narrative of the epic. Although his plan to murder Telemachus is vetoed by Amphinomus, Antinous continues to behave arrogantly, when Odysseus finally returns home, disguised as a beggar, Antinous does not show him hospitality and throws a stool at him. Eurymachus, son of Polybus, is the second of the suitors to appear in the epic, Eurymachus acts as a leader among the suitors because of his charisma. He is noted to be the most likely to win Penelopes hand because her father and brothers support the union, although he is charismatic, Eurymachus is deceitful. Eurymachus discovers Penelopes plot because he is having an affair with one of Penelopes maidservants, further, when Odysseus reveals himself to the suitors, Eurymachus attempts to avoid punishment for the suitors misdeeds by blaming them all on Antinous. Amphinomus, son of King Nisos, is the most sympathetic of the suitors, Amphinomus attempts twice to dissuade the suitors from murdering Telemachus. Odysseus recognizes this and attempts to warn Amphinomus to leave the home before the final battle, despite this, Amphinomus stays and dies along with the other suitors
7.
Gloss (annotation)
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A gloss is a brief notation, especially a marginal one or an interlinear one, of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the language if that is different. A collection of glosses is a glossary, a collection of medieval legal glosses, made by glossators, is called an apparatus. The compilation of glosses into glossaries was the beginning of lexicography, in modern times a glossary, as opposed to a dictionary, is typically found in a text as an appendix of specialized terms that the typical reader may find unfamiliar. Also, satirical explanations of words and events are called glosses, the German Romantic movement used the expression of gloss for poems commenting on a given other piece of poetry, often in the Spanish Décima style. Glosses were originally made in the margin or between the lines of a text in a classical language, the meaning of a word or passage is explained by the gloss. Today parenthetical explanations in scientific writing and technical writing are often called glosses. Hyperlinks to a glossary sometimes supersede them, the word gloss was first used in the 1570s to refer to the insertion of a word as an explanation. It began to be used to mean to explain away in the 1630s, glosses and other marginal notes were a primary format used in medieval Biblical theology, and were studied and memorized for their own merit. Many Biblical passages came to be associated with a particular gloss, in the medieval legal tradition, the glosses on Roman law and Canon law created standards of reference, so-called sedes materiae. In common law countries, the term judicial gloss refers to what is considered an authoritative or official interpretation of a statute or regulation by a judge, judicial glosses are often very important in avoiding contradictions between statutes, and determining the constitutionality of various provisions of law. A gloss, or glosa, is a verse in traditional Iberian literature and music which follows, glosses are of some importance in philology, especially if one language—usually, the language of the author of the gloss—has left few texts of its own. A series of glosses in the Old English language to Latin Bibles give us a running translation of Biblical texts in that language, glosses of Christian religious texts are also important for our knowledge of Old Irish. In linguistics, a gloss in running text may be marked by single quotation marks. For example, A Cossack longboat is called a chaika seagull, the moose gains its name from the Algonquian mus or mooz. A longer or more complex transcription may rely upon an interlinear gloss, such a gloss may be placed between a text and its translation when it is important to understand the structure of the language being glossed, and not just the overall meaning of the passage. Sign languages are typically transcribed word-for-word by means of a written in the predominant oral language in all capitals, American Sign Language. Prosody is often glossed as superscript words, with its scope indicated by brackets, pure fingerspelling is usually indicated by hyphenation
8.
Hesychius of Alexandria
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Hesychius is important, not only for Greek philology, but also for studying lost languages and obscure dialects and in reconstructing Proto-Indo-European. Many of the words that are included in this work are not found in surviving ancient Greek texts, hesychius explanations of many epithets and phrases also reveal many important facts about the religion and social life of the ancients. Hesychius was probably not a Christian, explanations of words from Gregory Nazianzus and other Christian writers are later interpolations. The lexicon survives in one deeply corrupt 15th-century manuscript, which is preserved in the library of San Marco at Venice. The best edition is by Moriz Wilhelm Constantin Schmidt, but no complete edition of the manuscript has been published since it was first printed by Marcus Musurus in Venice,1514. A modern edition has been published under the auspices of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, begun by Kurt Latte and completed by Peter Allan Hansen, harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities,1898. Hesychii glossographi discipulus et epiglōssistēs russus in ipsa Constantinopoli, sec
9.
Eurasian wigeon
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The Eurasian wigeon, also known as widgeon or Eurasian widgeon is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus Anas. It is common and widespread within its range, the Eurasian wigeon was described by Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Anas penelope. Anas is the Latin for duck, and penelope refers to a duck which was supposed to have rescued Penelope when she was thrown into the sea. Her name derives from Ancient Greek πήνη pene, braid and ὤψ ops appearance and this dabbling duck is 42–52 cm long with a 71–80 cm wingspan, and a weight of 500–1,073 g. The breeding male has grey flanks and back, with a rear end, a dark green speculum. It has a pink breast, white belly, and a head with a creamy crown. In non-breeding plumage, the looks more like the female. The female is brown, with plumage much like a female American wigeon. It can be distinguished from most other ducks, apart from American wigeon, on shape, however, that species has a paler head and white axillaries on its underwing. The female can be a morph with a redder head. It breeds in the northernmost areas of Europe and Asia and it is the Old World counterpart of North Americas American wigeon. It is strongly migratory and winters further south than its breeding range and it migrates to southern Asia and Africa. It can be found as a winter visitor in the United States on the mid-Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It is a visitor to the rest of the United States except for the Four Corners. The Eurasian wigeon is a bird of open wetlands, such as wet grassland or marshes with some vegetation, and usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing. It nests on the ground, near water and under cover and it is highly gregarious outside of the breeding season and will form large flocks. They will join flocks of the American wigeon in the United States. The male has a whistle that sounds like, pjiew pjiew, whereas the female has a low growl
10.
Carl Linnaeus
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Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné, was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who formalised the modern system of naming organisms called binomial nomenclature. He is known by the father of modern taxonomy. Many of his writings were in Latin, and his name is rendered in Latin as Carolus Linnæus, Linnaeus was born in the countryside of Småland, in southern Sweden. He received most of his education at Uppsala University. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and also published a first edition of his Systema Naturae in the Netherlands and he then returned to Sweden, where he became professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants. In the 1750s and 1760s, he continued to collect and classify animals, plants, and minerals, at the time of his death, he was one of the most acclaimed scientists in Europe. The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau sent him the message, Tell him I know no man on earth. The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, With the exception of Shakespeare and Spinoza, Swedish author August Strindberg wrote, Linnaeus was in reality a poet who happened to become a naturalist. Among other compliments, Linnaeus has been called Princeps botanicorum, The Pliny of the North and he is also considered as one of the founders of modern ecology. In botany, the abbreviation used to indicate Linnaeus as the authority for species names is L. In older publications, sometimes the abbreviation Linn. is found, Linnæus was born in the village of Råshult in Småland, Sweden, on 23 May 1707. He was the first child of Nicolaus Ingemarsson and Christina Brodersonia and his siblings were Anna Maria Linnæa, Sofia Juliana Linnæa, Samuel Linnæus, and Emerentia Linnæa. One of a line of peasants and priests, Nils was an amateur botanist, a Lutheran minister. Christina was the daughter of the rector of Stenbrohult, Samuel Brodersonius, a year after Linnæus birth, his grandfather Samuel Brodersonius died, and his father Nils became the rector of Stenbrohult. The family moved into the rectory from the curates house, even in his early years, Linnæus seemed to have a liking for plants, flowers in particular. Whenever he was upset, he was given a flower, which calmed him. Nils spent much time in his garden and often showed flowers to Linnaeus, soon Linnæus was given his own patch of earth where he could grow plants
11.
Warp and weft
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In weaving, the weft is the term for the thread or yarn which is drawn through, inserted over-and-under, the lengthwise warp yarns that are held in tension on a frame or loom to create cloth. Warp is the lengthwise or longitudinal thread in a roll, while weft is the transverse thread, a single thread of the weft, crossing the warp, is called a pick. Each individual warp thread in a fabric is called an end or end. The weft is a thread or yarn usually made of spun fibre, the original fibres used were wool, flax or cotton. Today, man-made fibres are used in weaving. Because the weft does not have to be stretched on a loom in the way that the warp is, the weft is threaded through the warp using a shuttle, air jets or rapier grippers. Hand looms were the original weavers tool, with the shuttle being threaded through alternately raised warps by hand, inventions during the 18th century spurred the Industrial Revolution, with the picking stick and the flying shuttle speeding up production of cloth. The power loom patented by Edmund Cartwright in 1785 allowed sixty picks per minute, a useful way of remembering which is warp and which is weft is, one of them goes from weft to wight. The words woof and weft derive ultimately from the Old English word wefan, Warp means that which is thrown away. Very simple looms use a warp, in which a single. Because the warp is held under tension during the entire process of weaving and warp yarn must be strong, yarn for warp ends is usually spun. Traditional fibres for warping are wool, linen, alpaca, with the improvements in spinning technology during the Industrial Revolution, it became possible to make cotton yarn of sufficient strength to be used as the warp in mechanized weaving. Later, artificial or man-made fibres such as nylon or rayon were employed, while most people are familiar with weft-faced weavings, it is possible to create warp-faced weavings using densely arranged warp threads. In warp-faced weavings, the design for the textile is in the warp, warp-faced weavings are defined by length-wise stripes and vertical designs due to the limitations of color placement. The expression woof and warp is used metaphorically as one might similarly use fabric, e. g. the warp. The expression is used as a metaphor for the structure on which something is built. Warp or woof are also found in the Bible in the discussion of mildews found in cloth materials in Leviticus 13. Weft is also a term for temporary hair extensions
12.
Ithaca
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Ithaca or Ithaka is a Greek island located in the Ionian Sea, off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and to the west of continental Greece. Ithacas main island has an area of 96 square kilometres and had a population in 2011 of 3,231 and it is the second-smallest of seven main Ionian Islands, after Paxi. Ithaca is a regional unit of the Ionian Islands region. Modern Ithaca is generally identified with Homers Ithaca, the home of Odysseus, the fact that classical Greek authors often used eponymous explanations to explain away names through folk etymology makes it more likely that Ithakos derives from Ithaca rather than vice versa. It may have been the capital of Cephalonia during the Mycenaean period, the Romans occupied the island in the 2nd century BC, and later it became part of the Byzantine Empire. The Normans ruled Ithaca in the 13th century, and after a short Turkish rule it fell into Venetian hands, Ithaca was subsequently occupied by France under the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio. It became a French possession again in 1807, until it was taken over by the United Kingdom in 1809, under the 1815 Treaty of Paris, Ithaca became a state of the United States of the Ionian Islands, a protectorate of the British Empire. In 1830 the local community requested to join with the rest of the newly restored nation-state of Greece. Under the 1864 Treaty of London, Ithaca, along with the remaining six Ionian islands, were ceded to Greece as a gesture of friendship to Greeces new Anglophile king. The United Kingdom kept its use of the harbour at Corfu. The origins of the first people to inhabit the island, which occurred during the last years of the Neolithic period, are not clear. The traces of buildings, walls and a road from time period prove that life existed and continued to do so during the Early Hellenic era. In the years some of the migrated to part of the island. The buildings and walls that were excavated showed the lifestyle of this period had remained primitive, during the Mycenaean period, Ithaca rose to the highest level of its ancient history. The Ithacans were characterized as great navigators and explorers with daring expeditions reaching further than the Mediterranean Sea, the epic poems of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, shed some light on Bronze-Age Ithaca. Recent studies concluded that Homer recorded oral history from elders, after the end of the Mycenaean period Ithacas influence diminished, and it came under the jurisdiction of the nearest large island. During the ancient Hellenic prime, independent organized life continued in the northern and southern part of the island, in the southern part, in the area of Aetos, the town Alalcomenae was founded. From this period, many objects of important historical value have been found during excavations, among these objects are coins imprinted with the name Ithaca and the image of Odysseus which suggest that the island was self-governed
13.
Telemachus
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Telemachus is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, and a central character in Homers Odyssey. Telemachuss name in Greek means far from battle, or perhaps fighting from afar, as a bowman does. In Homers Odyssey, Telemachus, under the instructions of Athena, spends the first four books trying to gain knowledge of his father, Odysseus, who left for Troy when Telemachus was still an infant. At the outset of Telemachus journey, Odysseus had been absent from his home at Ithaca for twenty years due to the Trojan War, during his absence, Odysseus house has been occupied by hordes of suitors seeking the hand of Penelope. Telemachus first visits Nestor and is received by the old man who regales him with stories of his fathers glory. Telemachus then departs with Nestors son Peisistratus, who accompanies him to the halls of Menelaus, whilst there, Telemachus is again treated as an honored guest as Menelaus and Helen tell complementary yet contradictory stories of his fathers exploits at Troy. Telemachus focuses on his fathers return to Ithaca in Book XV and he visits Eumaeus, the swineherd, who happens to be hosting a disguised Odysseus. After Odysseus reveals himself to Telemachus due to Athenas advice, the two men plan the downfall of the suitors, Telemachus then returns to the palace to keep an eye on the suitors and to await his father as the beggar. When Penelope challenges the suitors to string Odysseus bow and shoot an arrow through the handle-holes of twelve axeheads and he would have completed the task, nearly stringing the bow on his fourth attempt, however, Odysseus subtly stops him before he can finish his attempt. Following the suitors failure at this task, Odysseus reveals himself and he and Telemachus bring swift, the Telegony was a short 2-book epic poem recounting the life and death of Odysseus after the events of the Odyssey. In this mythological postscript, Odysseus is accidentally killed by Telegonus, after Odysseus death, Telemachus returns to Aeaea with Telegonus and Penelope, and there marries Circe. From the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, The son of Odysseus and he was still an infant at the time when his father went to Troy, and in his absence of nearly twenty years he grew up to manhood. Telemachus followed the advice, but the refused to quit his house. There they were received by Nestor, who also sent his own son to conduct Telemachus to Sparta. Menelaus again kindly received him, and communicated to him the prophecy of Proteus concerning Odysseus, from Sparta Telemachus returned home, and on his arrival there, he found his father, with the swineherd Eumaeus. But as Athena had metamorphosed him into a beggar, Telemachus did not recognise his father until the latter disclosed to him who he was. Father and son now agreed to punish the suitors, and when they were slain or dispersed, according to some accounts, Telemachus became the father of Perseptolis either by Polycaste, the daughter of Nestor, or by Nausicaa, the daughter of Alcinous. He is also said to have had a daughter called Roma, one account states that Odysseus, in consequence of a prophecy that his son was dangerous to him, sent him away from Ithaca
14.
Trojan War
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In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably through Homers Iliad. The Iliad relates four days in the year of the decade-long siege of Troy. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the fairest, in exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helens husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris insult. After the deaths of heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods wrath, few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, in 1868, however, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was a real city at what is now Hissarlik in Turkey. On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars, whether there is any historical reality behind the Trojan War remains an open question. The events of the Trojan War are found in works of Greek literature. There is no single, authoritative text which tells the events of the war. Instead, the story is assembled from a variety of sources, the most important literary sources are the two epic poems traditionally credited to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, composed sometime between the 9th and 6th centuries BC. Each poem narrates only a part of the war, the Iliad covers a short period in the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey concerns Odysseuss return to his home island of Ithaca, following the sack of Troy. Other parts of the Trojan War were told in the poems of the Epic Cycle, also known as the Cyclic Epics, the Cypria, Aethiopis, Little Iliad, Iliou Persis, Nostoi, and Telegony. Though these poems survive only in fragments, their content is known from an included in Proclus Chrestomathy. The authorship of the Cyclic Epics is uncertain, both the Homeric epics and the Epic Cycle take origin from oral tradition. Even after the composition of the Iliad, Odyssey, and the Cyclic Epics, events and details of the story that are only found in later authors may have been passed on through oral tradition and could be as old as the Homeric poems
15.
Athena
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Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is the goddess of wisdom, craft, and war in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Minerva is the Roman goddess identified with Athena, Athena is known for her calm temperament, as she moves slowly to anger. She is noted to have fought for just reasons. Athena is portrayed as a companion of heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavour. She is the patroness of Athens. The Athenians founded the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her city, Athens. Veneration of Athena was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast to adapt to cultural changes, in her role as a protector of the city, many people throughout the Greek world worshipped Athena as Athena Polias. While the city of Athens and the goddess Athena essentially bear the same name, Athena is associated with Athens, a plural name, because it was the place where she presided over her sisterhood, the Athenai, in earliest times. Mycenae was the city where the Goddess was called Mykene, at Thebes she was called Thebe, and the city again a plural, Thebae. Similarly, at Athens she was called Athena, and the city Athenae, Athena had a special relationship with Athens, as is shown by the etymological connection of the names of the goddess and the city. According to mythical lore, she competed with Poseidon and she won by creating the olive tree, the Athenians would accept her gift and name the city after her. In history, the citizens of Athens built a statue of Athena as a temple to the goddess, which had piercing eyes, a helmet on her head, attired with an aegis or cuirass, and an extremely long spear. It also had a shield with the head of the Gorgon on it. A large snake accompanied her and she held Nike, the goddess of victory, therefore, Mylonas believes that Athena was a Mycenaean creation. On the other hand, Nilsson claims that she was the goddess of the palace who protected the king, a-ta-no-dju-wa-ja is also found in Linear A Minoan, the final part being regarded as the Linear A Minoan equivalent of the Linear B Mycenaean di-u-ja or di-wi-ja. Divine Athena also was a weaver and the deity of crafts, whether her name is attested in Eteocretan or not will have to wait for decipherment of Linear A. Perhaps, however, the name Theonoe may mean she who knows divine things better than others. Thus for Plato her name was to be derived from Greek Ἀθεονόα, Plato also noted that the citizens of Sais in Egypt worshipped a goddess whose Egyptian name was Neith, and which was identified with Athena. Neith was the war goddess and huntress deity of the Egyptians since the ancient Pre-Dynastic period, in addition, ancient Greek myths reported that Athena had visited many mythological places such as Libyas Triton River in North Africa and the Phlegraean plain
16.
Antoine Bourdelle
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Antoine Bourdelle, born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor, painter, and teacher. His studio became the Musée Bourdelle, an art museum dedicated to his work, located at 18, rue Antoine Bourdelle, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, Bourdelle was born at Montauban, Tarn-et-Garonne. He left school at the age of 13 to work as a carver in his fathers cabinet making shop. He learned drawing with the founder of the Ingres Museum in Montauban, at the age of 24 he won a scholarship to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, worked briefly in the atelier of Alexandre Falguière, and frequented the studio of Jules Dalou, who was his neighbor. In 1888 he did his first sculptures of Beethoven, producing authoritative work with an emphasis on order and he became one of the pioneers of 20th century monumental sculpture. During his last years, Bourdelle received several commissions for monuments and he was a participant in the 1913 Armory Show in New York, a founder and vice-president of the Parisian Salon des Tuileries. In 1909 he was named Knight of the Legion of Honor, in 1919 Officier of the Legion of Honor, Bourdelles son, Pierre Bourdelle, became an artist most active in the United States, notable for his work at Cincinnati Union Terminal in 1933. Bourdelle died at Le Vésinet, near Paris, on 1 October 1929 and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris, although the building itself is famously an early example of concrete construction, the friezes are marble. The museum consists of Bourdelles house, studio and garden where he worked from 1884 to 1929, a second Bourdelle garden-museum, in Égreville, was established by his heirs in the late 1960s hosts another 56 of his sculptures. 4 titled Bourdelle Speaks to His Pupils, From a Paris Diary, loeuvre à demeure, Paris, Paris-Musées,2009 Bourdelle, Émile-Antoine, “Émile-Antoine Bourdelle, Sculptures and Drawings”, Perth, Western Australian Art Gallery,1978. Ottawa. National Gallery of Canada, “Antoine Bourdelle, 1861-1929”, New York, leurythmie de la modernité”, exhibition catalogue by Colin Lemoine, Japan, 2007-2008. Works by or about Antoine Bourdelle at Internet Archive Musée Bourdelle Portrait of Rodin from Antoine Bourdelle, National Art Gallery and Alexander Soutzos Museum, Bourdelle Emile-Antoine, Biography Antoine Bourdelle in American public collections, on the French Sculpture Census website
17.
Artemis
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Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Some scholars believe that the name, and indeed the goddess herself, was originally pre-Greek, Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron, Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals. The Arcadians believed she was the daughter of Demeter, in the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. The deer and the cypress were sacred to her, in later Hellenistic times, she even assumed the ancient role of Eileithyia in aiding childbirth. The name Artemis is of unknown or uncertain origin and etymology although various ones have been proposed, for example, according to J. T. Jablonski, the name is also Phrygian and could be compared with the royal appellation Artemas of Xenophon. Anton Goebel suggests the root στρατ or ῥατ, to shake, babiniotis, while accepting that the etymology is unknown, states that the name is already attested in Mycenean Greek and is possibly of pre-Hellenic origin. It is believed that a precursor of Artemis was worshiped in Minoan Crete as the goddess of mountains and hunting, R. S. P. Beekes suggested that the e/i interchange points to a Pre-Greek origin. Artemis was venerated in Lydia as Artimus, various conflicting accounts are given in Classical Greek mythology of the birth of Artemis and her twin brother, Apollo. All accounts agree, however, that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, an account by Callimachus has it that Hera forbade Leto to give birth on either terra firma or on an island. Hera was angry with Zeus, her husband, because he had impregnated Leto, but the island of Delos disobeyed Hera, and Leto gave birth there. In ancient Cretan history Leto was worshipped at Phaistos and in Cretan mythology Leto gave birth to Apollo, a scholium of Servius on Aeneid iii. The myths also differ as to whether Artemis was born first, most stories depict Artemis as born first, becoming her mothers mid-wife upon the birth of her brother Apollo. The childhood of Artemis is not fully related in any surviving myth, the Iliad reduced the figure of the dread goddess to that of a girl, who, having been thrashed by Hera, climbs weeping into the lap of Zeus. She wished for no city dedicated to her, but to rule the mountains, Artemis believed that she had been chosen by the Fates to be a midwife, particularly since she had assisted her mother in the delivery of her twin brother, Apollo. All of her companions remained virgins, and Artemis closely guarded her own chastity and her symbols included the golden bow and arrow, the hunting dog, the stag, and the moon. Okeanus daughters were filled with fear, but the young Artemis bravely approached and asked for bow, Callimachus then tells how Artemis visited Pan, the god of the forest, who gave her seven bitches and six dogs. She then captured six golden-horned deer to pull her chariot, Artemis practiced with her bow first by shooting at trees and then at wild beasts. As a virgin, Artemis had interested many gods and men, Orion was accidentally killed either by Artemis or by Gaia
18.
Swineherd
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A swineherd /ˈswaɪnhɜːrd/ is a person who raises and herds pigs. The term has fallen out of use in favour of pig farmer. Hans Christian Andersen wrote a Fairy tale called, The Swineherd, in Greek mythology, Eumaeus was Odysseus swineherd. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger son wastes his inheritance, in Lloyd Alexanders books based on Welsh mythology, The Chronicles of Prydain, the hero is a pig keeper, or swineherd. The character Gurth, in Sir Walter Scotts book Ivanhoe is a swineherd, the main character in the Disney movie The Black Cauldron is a swineherd. Among Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáins most famous work is the poem Swineherd, lovecrafts story, The Rats In the Wall, has reoccurring nightmares of a bearded daemon swineherd. Mentioned as a class of labourer in the Statute of Labourers 1351 Pig farming Swineherd, Askoxford. com Swineherd, Bartleby. com
19.
Pastoral farming
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Pastoral farming is a form of agriculture aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, arable farming concentrates on crops rather than livestock, finally, Mixed farming incorporates livestock and crops on a single farm. Some mixed farmers grow crops purely as fodder for their livestock, some crop farmers grow fodder, pastoral farmers are also known as graziers and in some cases pastoralists. Pastoral farming is a form of pastoralism in which the livestock farmer has some form of ownership of the land used. Unlike other pastoral systems, pastoral farmers are sedentary and do not change locations in search for fresh resources, rather, pastoral farmers adjust their pastures to fit the needs of their animals. Improvements include drainage, stock tanks, irrigation and sowing clover, pastoral farming is common in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, and the Western United States and Canada, among other places. There are many factors that are taken into account to decide what type of farming should take place on an area of land including, topography, altitude, exposure. Soil plays a role in determining how land will be used. Mollisol lands are described as semi-arid to semi- humid areas that are grassy. This is where most intensive cattle operations occur which produce beef, although a majority of pastoral farming is conducted in Mollisol lands, pastoral farming can also be found in areas with soil made up of Entisol, Aridisol or Alfisol. Aside from soil order, pastoral farming is more likely to be found than arable farming in areas with steep slopes, cold strong winds, all of these conditions are more advantageous to raising live stock than crops. Raising of sheep is found in cooler regions with steep hills. The wetness of the area and incline would make it unsuitable to grow crops, a similar conclusion is drawn by looking at dairy farms which are often found in warm wet climates. The first settlers of Argentina arrived approximately twelve years ago. During the 16th century, the Incan Empire dominated the area, the Incas were highly advanced for their time and were able to domesticate llamas and alpacas. in 1532, the Spaniards arrived and found open grasslands perfect for their cattle and horses to graze. Quickly, these herds grew and changed the environment making it more nutritious, the large cattle population was then hunted and used for economic prosperity. This marked the beginning of farming in Argentina as land began to be used for raising cattle
20.
Alcmene
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In Greek mythology, Alcmene /ælkˈmiːniː/ or Alcmena /ælkˈmiːnə/ was the wife of Amphitryon by whom she bore two children, Iphicles and Laonome. She is, however, better known as the mother of Heracles whose father was the god Zeus, according to the Bibliotheca, Alcmene was born to Electryon, the son of Perseus and Andromeda, and king of Tiryns and Mycenae or Medea in Argolis. Her mother was Anaxo, daughter of Alcaeus and Astydamia, other accounts say her mother was Lysidice, the daughter of Pelops and Hippodameia, or Eurydice the daughter of Pelops. According to Pausanias, the poet Asius made Alcmene the daughter of Amphiaraus, hesiod describes Alcmene as the tallest, most beautiful woman with wisdom surpassed by no person born of mortal parents. It is said that her face and dark eyes were as charming as Aphrodites, according to the Bibliotheca, Alcmene went with Amphitryon to Thebes, where he was purified by Creon for accidentally killing Electryon. Alcmene refused to marry Amphitryon until he had avenged the death of her brothers, during Amphitryons expedition against the Taphians and Teleboans, Zeus visited Alcmene disguised as Amphitryon. Extending one night into three, Zeus slept with Alcmene, his great-granddaughter, thereby conceiving Heracles, while recounting Amphitryons victories against the Teleboans. When Amphitryon finally returned to Thebes, Alcmene told him that he had come the night before and slept with her, he learned from Tiresias what Zeus had done. In Homers Iliad, when Alcmene was about to give birth to Heracles, Zeus announced to all the gods that on that day a child by Zeus himself, would be born and this resulted in the fulfilment of Zeuss oath in that it was Eurystheus rather than Heracles. According to Ovids Metamorphoses, while in labour, Alcmene was having difficulty giving birth to such a large child. After seven days and nights of agony, Alcmene stretched out her arms and called upon Lucina, while Lucina did go to Alcmene, she had been previously instructed by Juno to prevent the delivery. With her hands clasped and legs crossed, Lucina muttered charms, Alcmene writhed in pain, cursed the heavens, and came close to death. Galanthis, a maid of Alcmene who was nearby, observed Lucinas behaviour, to put an end to her mistresss suffering, she announced that Alcmene had safely delivered her child, which surprised Lucina so much that she immediately jumped up and unclenched her hands. As soon as Lucina leapt up, Alcmene was released from her spell, as punishment for deceiving Lucina, Galanthis was transformed into a weasel, she continued to live with Alcmene. In Pausanias recounting, Hera sent witches to hinder Alcmenes delivery of Heracles, the witches were successful in preventing the birth until Historis, daughter of Tiresias, thought of a trick to deceive the witches. Like Galanthis, Historis announced that Alcmene had delivered her child, having been deceived, in contrast to the depictions of a difficult labor above, an alternative version is presented in Amphitryon, a comedic play by Plautus. Here Alcmene calls upon Jupiter, who performs a miracle allowing her to give birth quickly, after a crash of thunder and light, the baby arrives without anyones assistance. After the death of Amphitryon, Alcmene married Rhadamanthys, son of Zeus and it is said that after Heracles was apotheosised, Hyllus, having pursued and killed Eurystheus, cut off Eurystheus head and gave it to Alcmene, who gouged out the eyes with weaving pins
21.
Eurycleia
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In Greek mythology, Eurycleia, or Euryclea, is the daughter of Ops and granddaughter of Peisenor, as well as the wet-nurse of Odysseus. As a girl she was bought by Laertes, Odysseus father and he treated her as his wife, but she was never his consummated lover so as not to dishonor his real wife, Anticleia. Eurycleias name means broad fame, while Anticleia means anti-fame, the tension between the meanings of Eurycleias name and Anticleias name reflects the tension between the three pillars of Odysseus life. He was born to Anticleia, a woman, but was nursed by Eurycleia. Odysseus fame comes from his role as a noble hero paralleled to his role as an anonymous beggar. His heroism is essential for capturing Troy, his skills as an orator and schemer as well as his strength, however, he takes on the role of a beggar not once, but twice. He first appears as a beggar to sneak into Troy and kill unsuspecting Trojan soldiers, in many ways, his role as a beggar, especially when he returns to Ithaca is far more meaningful. Eurycleia is the person to recognize him without him first revealing himself after he returns home from the Trojan War. Odysseus stops her from telling Penelope or anyone else in the house of his identity, Gripping her by the throat he says, Nanny. Or. I will not spare even you my nurse, when I kill the women in this house. Eurycleia also informs Odysseus which of his servant girls had been unfaithful to Penelope during his absence, conspiring with Penelopes suitors and his son Telemachus hangs the twelve that Eurycleia identifies. Later, Eurycleia informs Penelope that Odysseus has returned, but Penelope does not believe the maid and she finally accepts that her husband has returned. In addition, it was Eurycleia who gives provisions and supplies to Telemachus from the storehouse before he leaves for Pylos to seek news about Odysseus. She takes an oath not to tell Penelope he had left until 12 days had passed, canada, Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.2000. Media related to Euryclea at Wikimedia Commons
22.
Olive
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Olea europeana sylvestris is a subspecies that corresponds to a smaller tree bearing noticeably smaller fruits. The olives fruit, also called the olive, is of agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil. The tree and its fruit give their name to the plant family, which includes species such as lilacs, jasmine, Forsythia. The word derives from Latin ŏlīva a borrowing from the Greek ἐλαία, the oldest attested forms of the Greek words are the Mycenaean
23.
Pindar
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Pindar was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved and his poems can also, however, seem difficult and even peculiar. The Athenian comic playwright Eupolis once remarked that they are reduced to silence by the disinclination of the multitude for elegant learning. His poetry, while admired by critics, still challenges the casual reader, Pindar was the first Greek poet to reflect on the nature of poetry and on the poets role. A dream of a shadow Is our mortal being, but when there comes to men A gleam of splendour given of heaven, Then rests on them a light of glory And blessed are their days. His poetry illustrates the beliefs and values of Archaic Greece at the dawn of the classical period, five ancient sources contain all the recorded details of Pindars life. One of them is a short biography discovered in 1961 on an Egyptian papyrus dating from at least 200 AD and it has been claimed that biographical interpretations of the poems are due to a fatal conjunction of historicism and Romanticism. In other words, we know almost nothing about Pindars life based on traditional sources or his own poems. However, the pendulum of fashion has begun to change direction again. He was probably born in 522 BC or 518 BC in Cynoscephalae and his fathers name is variously given as Daiphantus, Pagondas or Scopelinus, and his mothers name was Cleodice. It is reported that he was stung on the mouth by a bee in his youth, Pindar was about twenty years old in 498 BC when he was commissioned by the ruling family in Thessaly to compose his first victory ode. He studied the art of poetry in Athens, where his tutor was Lasos of Hermione. The early-to-middle years of Pindars career coincided with the Persian invasions of Greece in the reigns of Darius and it is possible that Pindar spent much of this time at Aegina. Thrasybulus had driven the winning chariot and he and Pindar were to form a lasting friendship, Pindar seems to have used his odes to advance his, and his friends, personal interests. In 462 BC he composed two odes in honour of Arcesilas, king of Cyrene, pleading for the return from exile of a friend, Demophilus. In the latter ode Pindar proudly mentions his own ancestry, which he shared with the king, as an Aegeid or descendent of Aegeus, the historian Herodotus considered the clan important enough to deserve mention. Pindar might not actually claim to be an Aegeid since his I statements do not necessarily refer to himself. He was possibly the Theban proxenos or consul for Aegina and/or Molossia, as indicated in another of his odes, Nemean 7, in which he glorifies Neoptolemus, a national hero of Aegina and Molossia
24.
Apollo
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Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros, Apollo has been recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. As the patron of Delphi, Apollo was an oracular god—the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague. Amongst the gods custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion over colonists, as the leader of the Muses and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument became an attribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called paeans, Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 3rd century CE. The name Apollo—unlike the related older name Paean—is generally not found in the Linear B texts, the etymology of the name is uncertain. The spelling Ἀπόλλων had almost superseded all other forms by the beginning of the common era and it probably is a cognate to the Doric month Apellaios, and the offerings apellaia at the initiation of the young men during the family-festival apellai. According to some scholars the words are derived from the Doric word apella, apella is the name of the popular assembly in Sparta, corresponding to the ecclesia. R. S. P. Beekes rejected the connection of the theonym with the noun apellai, several instances of popular etymology are attested from ancient authors. Thus, the Greeks most often associated Apollos name with the Greek verb ἀπόλλυμι, in the ancient Macedonian language πέλλα means stone, and some toponyms may be derived from this word, Πέλλα and Πελλήνη. The role of Apollo as god of plague is evident in the invocation of Apollo Smintheus by Chryses, the Hittite testimony reflects an early form *Apeljōn, which may also be surmised from comparison of Cypriot Ἀπείλων with Doric Ἀπέλλων. A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo The One of Entrapment, Apollos chief epithet was Phoebus, literally bright. It was very commonly used by both the Greeks and Romans for Apollos role as the god of light, like other Greek deities, he had a number of others applied to him, reflecting the variety of roles, duties, and aspects ascribed to the god. However, while Apollo has a number of appellations in Greek myth. Aegletes, from αἴγλη, light of the sun Helius, literally sun Lyceus light, the meaning of the epithet Lyceus later became associated with Apollos mother Leto, who was the patron goddess of Lycia and who was identified with the wolf
25.
Herodotus
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Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire and lived in the fifth century BC, a contemporary of Socrates. The Histories is the work which he is known to have produced. Despite Herodotus historical significance, little is known of his personal life and his place in history and his significance may be understood according to the traditions within which he worked. His work is the earliest Greek prose to have survived intact, of these only fragments of Hecataeuss work survive yet they allow us glimpses into the kind of tradition within which Herodotus wrote his own Histories. In his introduction to Hecataeus’s work, Genealogies, This points forward to the ‘folksy’ yet ‘international’ outlook typical of Herodotus. Yet, one scholar has described the work of Hecataeus as “a curious false start to history” since despite his critical spirit. It is possible that Herodotus borrowed much material from Hecataeus, as stated by Porphyry in a recorded by Eusebius. But Hecataeus did not record events that had occurred in living memory, unlike Herodotus, Herodotus claims to be better informed than his predecessors by relying on empirical observation to correct their excessive schematism. For example, He argues for continental asymmetry as opposed to the theory of a perfectly circular earth with Europe. Yet, he retains idealizing tendencies, as in his notions of the Danube. His debt to previous authors of prose ‘histories’ might be questionable, however, this point is one of the most contentious issues in modern scholarship. It is on account of the strange stories and the folk-tales he reported that his critics in early modern times branded him “The Father of Lies”. Even his own contemporaries found reason to scoff at his achievement, similarly, the Athenian historian Thucydides dismissed Herodotus as a “logos-writer”. Moreover, Thucydides developed a historical topic more in keeping with the Greek world-view, the interplay of civilizations was more relevant to Greeks living in Anatolia, such as Herodotus himself, for whom life within a foreign civilization was a recent memory. Modern scholars generally turn to Herodotus’s own writing for reliable information about his life, supplemented with ancient yet much later sources, modern accounts of his life typically go something like this, Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus around 484 BC. His name is not mentioned later in the tribute list of the Athenian Delian League, the epic poet Panyassis – a relative of Herodotus – is reported to have taken part in a failed uprising. Herodotus expresses affection for the island of Samos, and this is an indication that he might have lived there in his youth. So it is possible that his family was involved in an uprising against Lygdamis, leading to a period of exile on Samos, Herodotus wrote his Histories in the Ionian dialect, yet he was born in Halicarnassus, which was a Dorian settlement
26.
Cicero
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Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul, and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy family of the Roman equestrian order. According to Michael Grant, the influence of Cicero upon the history of European literature, Cicero introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher. Though he was an orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. During the chaotic latter half of the 1st century BC marked by civil wars, following Julius Caesars death, Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches. His severed hands and head were then, as a revenge of Mark Antony. Petrarchs rediscovery of Ciceros letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance in public affairs, humanism, according to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński, the Renaissance was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity. Cicero was born in 106 BC in Arpinum, a hill town 100 kilometers southeast of Rome and his father was a well-to-do member of the equestrian order and possessed good connections in Rome. However, being a semi-invalid, he could not enter public life, although little is known about Ciceros mother, Helvia, it was common for the wives of important Roman citizens to be responsible for the management of the household. Ciceros brother Quintus wrote in a letter that she was a thrifty housewife, Ciceros cognomen, or personal surname, comes from the Latin for chickpea, cicer. Plutarch explains that the name was given to one of Ciceros ancestors who had a cleft in the tip of his nose resembling a chickpea. However, it is likely that Ciceros ancestors prospered through the cultivation. Romans often chose down-to-earth personal surnames, the family names of Fabius, Lentulus, and Piso come from the Latin names of beans, lentils. Plutarch writes that Cicero was urged to change this name when he entered politics. During this period in Roman history, cultured meant being able to speak both Latin and Greek, Cicero used his knowledge of Greek to translate many of the theoretical concepts of Greek philosophy into Latin, thus translating Greek philosophical works for a larger audience. It was precisely his broad education that tied him to the traditional Roman elite, according to Plutarch, Cicero was an extremely talented student, whose learning attracted attention from all over Rome, affording him the opportunity to study Roman law under Quintus Mucius Scaevola. Ciceros fellow students were Gaius Marius Minor, Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the latter two became Ciceros friends for life, and Pomponius would become, in Ciceros own words, as a second brother, with both maintaining a lifelong correspondence. Cicero wanted to pursue a career in politics along the steps of the Cursus honorum
27.
De Natura Deorum
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De Natura Deorum is a philosophical dialogue by Roman orator Cicero written in 45 BC. It is laid out in three books, each of which discuss the theology of different Roman and Greek philosophers, the dialogue uses a discussion of Stoic, Epicurean, and skeptical theories to examine fundamental questions of theology. The dialogue is on the whole narrated by Cicero himself, though he does not play a part in the discussion. Gaius Velleius represents the Epicurean school, Quintus Lucilius Balbus argues for the Stoics, the first book of the dialogue contains Ciceros introduction, Velleius case for the Epicurean theology and Cottas criticism of Epicureanism. Book II focuses on Balbus explanation and defense of Stoic theology, book III lays out Cottas criticism of Balbus claims. Ciceros conclusions are ambivalent and muted, a strategy of civilized openness, he does, however, conclude that Balbus claims, in his mind, in particular, heated scholarly debate has focussed on this texts discussion at 1. This work, alongside De Officiis and De Divinatione was highly influential on the philosophes of the 18th century and we, on the contrary, make blessedness of life depend upon an untroubled mind, and exemption from all duties. For time destroys the fictions of error and opinion, while it confirms the determinations of nature, because all the sick do not recover, therefore medicine is not an art. Things perfected by nature are better than those finished by art, there never was a great man unless through divine inspiration
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Pausanias (geographer)
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Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the time of Roman emperors Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece, a work that describes ancient Greece from his first-hand observations. This work provides crucial information for making links between classical literature and modern archaeology, andrew Stewart assesses him as, A careful, pedestrian writer. interested not only in the grandiose or the exquisite but in unusual sights and obscure ritual. He is occasionally careless, or makes unwarranted inferences, and his guides or even his own notes sometimes mislead him, yet his honesty is unquestionable, before visiting Greece, he had been to Antioch, Joppa and Jerusalem, and to the banks of the River Jordan. In Egypt, he had seen the pyramids, while at the temple of Ammon, in Macedonia, he appears to have seen the alleged tomb of Orpheus in Libethra. Crossing over to Italy, he had something of the cities of Campania. He was one of the first to write of seeing the ruins of Troy, Alexandria Troas, Pausanias Description of Greece is in ten books, each dedicated to some portion of Greece. He begins his tour in Attica, where the city of Athens, subsequent books describe Corinthia, Laconia, Messenia, Elis, Achaea, Arcadia, Boetia, Phocis and Ozolian Locris. He famously leaves out key portions of Greece such as Crete, the project is more than topographical, it is a cultural geography. Pausanias digresses from description of architectural and artistic objects to review the mythological and historical underpinnings of the society that produced them and his work bears the marks of his attempt to navigate that space and establish an identity for Roman Greece. He is not a naturalist by any means, though he does from time to comment on the physical realities of the Greek landscape. He notices the pine trees on the sandy coast of Elis, the deer and the boars in the oak woods of Phelloe. Pausanias is most at home in describing the art and architecture of Olympia. Yet, even in the most secluded regions of Greece, he is fascinated by all kinds of depictions of gods, holy relics, Pausanias has the instincts of an antiquary. Some magnificent and dominating structures, such as the Stoa of King Attalus in the Athenian Agora or the Exedra of Herodes Atticus at Olympia are not even mentioned. While he never doubts the existence of the gods and heroes, he criticizes the myths. His descriptions of monuments of art are plain and unadorned and they bear the impression of reality, and their accuracy is confirmed by the extant remains. He is perfectly frank in his confessions of ignorance, when he quotes a book at second hand he takes pains to say so
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Dionysiaca
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The Dionysiaca is an ancient epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. The poem is thought to have written in the late 4th and/or early 5th century AD. It has been conjectured that a conversion to Christianity or death caused Nonnus to abandon the poem after some revisions. Editors have pointed out inconsistencies and the difficulties of Book 39 which appears to be a disjointed series of descriptions. Others have attributed these problems to copyists or later editors, the primary models for Nonnus are Homer and the Cyclic poets, Homeric language, metrics, episodes, and descriptive canons are central to the Dionysiaca. The influence of Euripides Bacchae is also significant, as is probably the influence of the other tragedians whose Dionysiac plays do not survive, hesiods poetry, especially the Catalogue of Women, Pindar, and Callimachus can all be seen in the work of Nonnus. Theocritus influence can be detected in Nonnus focus on pastoral themes, finally, Virgil and especially Ovid seem to have influenced Nonnus organization of the poem. Nonnus seems to have been an important influence for the poets of Late Antiquity, especially Musaeus, Colluthus, Christodorus, although it is difficult to determine whether Claudian influenced Nonnus or Nonnus influenced Claudian, the two poets have some striking similarities in their treatments of Persephone. Nonnus remained continuously important in the Byzantine world, and his influence can be found in Genesius, in the Renaissance, Poliziano popularized him to the West, and Goethe admired him in the 18th century. He was also admired by Thomas Love Peacock in 19th-century England, the metrics of Nonnus have been widely admired by scholars for the poets careful handling of dactylic hexameter and innovation. It is especially remarkable that Nonnus was so exacting with meter because the meter of classical poetry was giving way in Nonnus time to stressed meter. These metrical restraints encouraged the creation of new compounds, adjectives, and coined words, the poem is notably varied in its organization. Nonnus does not seem to arrange his poem in a chronology, rather, episodes are arranged by a loose chronological order and by topic. The poem states as its guiding principle poikilia, diversity in narrative, form, the appearance of Proteus, a shapeshifting god, in the proem serves as a metaphor for Nonnus varied style. Nonnus employs the style of the epyllion for many of his narrative sections, such as his treatment of Ampelus in 10–11, Nicaea in 15–16 and these epyllia are inserted into the general narrative framework and are some of the highlights of the poem. Nonnus also employs synkrisis, comparison, throughout his poem, most notably in the comparison of Dionysus, the complexity of organization and the richness of the language have caused the style of the poem to be termed Nonnian Baroque. The size of Nonnus poem and its late date between Imperial and Byzantine literature have caused the Dionysiaca to receive little attention from scholars. But the very correctness of the versification renders it monotonous and his influence on the vocabulary of his successors was likewise very considerable, expressing the 19th-century attitude to this poem as a pretty, artificial, and disorganized collection of stories
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Nonnus
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For other people named Nonnus, see Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis was a Greek epic poet of Hellenized Egypt of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis in the Egyptian Thebaid and probably lived at the end of the 4th or in the 5th century. He is known as the composer of the Dionysiaca, a tale of the god Dionysus, and of the Metabole. There is almost no evidence for the life of Nonnus and it is known that he was a native of Panopolis in Upper Egypt from his naming in manuscripts and the reference in epigram 9.198 of the Palatine Anthology. Scholars have generally dated him from the end of the 4th to the years of the 5th century. He must have lived after the composition of Claudians Greek Gigantomachy as he appears to be familiar with that work, agathias Scholasticus seems to have followed him, with a mid-6th-century reference to him as a recent author. Nonnus principal work is the 48-book epic Dionysiaca, the longest surviving poem from antiquity. It has 20,426 lines composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hexameters, the subject of which is the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India. The poem is thought to have written in the early 5th century. His Paraphrase of John also survives, a team of Italian scholars is currently producing a full commentary of the poem, book by book, of which several parts have already been published. They have shown that Nonnus was as learned in Christian theology as in pagan myth, a complete and updated bibliography of Nonnus scholarship may be found at Hellenistic Bibliographys page at Google Sites. F. Tissoni, Nonno di Panopoli, I Canti di Penteo, commento, Firenze 1998 Editions and translations of the Paraphrase include, The only complete translation into English, Prost, Mark Anthony. Nonnos of Panopolis, The Paraphrase of the Gospel of John, translated from the Greek by M. A. P. Parafrasi del Vangelo di S. Giovanni, canto sesto, Bologna K. Spanoudakis, Paraphrase of the Gospel of John XI, Oxford C. On Nonnus and his context, D. Accorinti - P. Chuvin, mélanges de mythologie et de poésie grecques offerts à Francis Vian. Alessandria L. Miguélez-Cavero, Poems in Context, Greek Poetry in the Egyptian Thebaid 200-600 AD, Berlin Robert Shorrock, Myth of Paganism, Nonnus, Dionysus and the World of Late Antiquity. Allusive Engagement in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus, leiden, Brill,2001 K. Spanoudakis, Nonnus of Panopolis in Context. On the Paraphrase, Konstantinos Spanoudakis, Icarius Jesus Christ, dionysiac Passion and Biblical Narrative in Nonnus Icarius Episode, Wiener Studien,120, 35–92
