1.
Tetradrachm
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The tetradrachm was an Ancient Greek silver coin equivalent to four drachmae. In Athens it replaced the earlier type of didrachms and it was in wide circulation from c.510 to c.38 BC. The transition from didrachms to tetradrachms occurred during c, 525–510 BC, the abandonment of the heraldic-type didrachms and the Archaic tetradrachms of the polis of Athens apparently took place shortly after the Battle of Salamis,480 BC. This transition is supported by the discovery of contemporary coin hoards, the Athenian tetradrachm was widely used in transactions throughout the ancient Greek world, including in cities politically unfriendly to Athens. Athens had silver mines in state ownership, which provided the bullion, most well known were the silver mines of Laurium at a close distance from Athens. According to Philochorus, it was known as glaux throughout the ancient world, the design was kept essentially unchanged for over two centuries, by which time it had become stylistically archaic. To differentiate their currency from the coinage of Aegina using the Aeginetic stater of about 12.3 grams. The tetradrachms use as a currency was adopted by many other city-states of the ancient Greece, Asia Minor, Magna Grecia. With the armies of Alexander the Great it spread to the Greek-influenced areas of present-day Iran, Coin Coin in the fishs mouth Greek drachma List of historical currencies Stater Pictures of Athenian tetradrachms
2.
Alexander the Great
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Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty and he was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of historys most successful military commanders. During his youth, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16, after Philips assassination in 336 BC, he succeeded his father to the throne and inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. Alexander was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his fathers Panhellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquest of Persia, in 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Following the conquest of Anatolia, Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of battles, most notably the battles of Issus. He subsequently overthrew Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety, at that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. He sought to reach the ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea and invaded India in 326 BC and he eventually turned back at the demand of his homesick troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city that he planned to establish as his capital, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in the establishment of several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexanders surviving generals, Alexanders legacy includes the cultural diffusion which his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt, Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and he is often ranked among the most influential people in human history. He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his wife, Olympias. Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his wife for some time. Several legends surround Alexanders birth and childhood, sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wifes womb with a seal engraved with a lions image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of dreams, that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb. On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies, and it was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception
3.
Alexander IV of Macedon
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Alexander IV, erroneously called sometimes in modern times Aegus, was the son of Alexander the Great and Princess Roxana of Bactria. Alexander IV was the son of a Macedonian father, Alexander the Great and he was Philip II of Macedons grandson. Because Roxana was pregnant when her died and the sex of the baby was unknown. The factions compromised, deciding that Perdiccas would rule the Empire as regent while Philip would reign, if the child was male, then he would be king. Alexander IV was born in August,323 BC and he brought with him Roxana and the two kings to Macedon and gave up the pretence of ruling Alexanders Empire, leaving former provinces in Egypt and Asia in control of the satraps. When Antipater died in 319 BC he left Polyperchon, a Macedonian general who had served under Philip II and Alexander the Great, as his successor, passing over his own son, Cassander. Cassander allied himself with Ptolemy Soter, Antigonus and Eurydice, the wife of king Philip Arrhidaeus. Polyperchon was allied with Eumenes and Olympias, although Polyperchon was successful at first, taking control of the Greek cities, his fleet was destroyed by Antigonus in 318 BC. When, after the battle, Cassander assumed full control of Macedon, Polyperchon was forced to flee to Epirus, followed by Roxana, a few months later, Olympias was able to persuade her relative Aeacides of Epirus to invade Macedon with Polyperchon. When Olympias took the field, Eurydices army refused to fight against the mother of Alexander and defected to Olympias, after which Polyperchon and Aeacides retook Macedon. Philip and Eurydice were captured and executed on December 25,317 BC, leaving Alexander IV king, Cassander returned in the following year, conquering Macedon once again. Olympias was immediately executed, while the king and his mother were taken prisoner, cassanders response was definitive, to secure his rule, in 309 BC he commanded Glaucias to secretly assassinate the 14-year-old Alexander IV and his mother. The orders were carried out, and they were both poisoned, one of the royal tombs discovered by the archaeologist Manolis Andronikos in the so-called Great Tumulus in Vergina in 1977/8 is believed to belong to Alexander IV. Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Alexander IV, livius. org, Alexander IV Wiki Classical Dictionary, Alexander IV
4.
Pharaoh of Egypt
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The word pharaoh ultimately derive from the Egyptian compound pr-ˤ3 great house, written with the two biliteral hieroglyphs pr house and ˤ3 column, here meaning great or high. It was used only in larger phrases such as smr pr-ˤ3 Courtier of the High House, with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace. From the twelfth dynasty onward, the word appears in a wish formula Great House, may it live, prosper, and be in health, but again only with reference to the royal palace and not the person. During the reign of Thutmose III in the New Kingdom, after the rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period. During the eighteenth dynasty the title pharaoh was employed as a designation of the ruler. From the nineteenth dynasty onward pr-ˤ3 on its own was used as regularly as hm. f, the term, therefore, evolved from a word specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the ruler, particularly by the twenty-second dynasty and twenty-third dynasty. For instance, the first dated appearance of the pharaoh being attached to a rulers name occurs in Year 17 of Siamun on a fragment from the Karnak Priestly Annals. Here, an induction of an individual to the Amun priesthood is dated specifically to the reign of Pharaoh Siamun and this new practice was continued under his successor Psusennes II and the twenty-second dynasty kings. Shoshenq I was the successor of Siamun. Meanwhile, the old custom of referring to the sovereign simply as pr-ˤ3 continued in traditional Egyptian narratives, by this time, the Late Egyptian word is reconstructed to have been pronounced *par-ʕoʔ whence Herodotus derived the name of one of the Egyptian kings, Φερων. In the Bible, the title also occurs as פרעה, from that, Septuagint φαραώ pharaō and then Late Latin pharaō, both -n stem nouns. The Quran likewise spells it فرعون firawn with n, interestingly, the Arabic combines the original pharyngeal ayin sound from Egyptian, along with the -n ending from Greek. English at first spelt it Pharao, but the King James Bible revived Pharaoh with h from the Hebrew, meanwhile in Egypt itself, *par-ʕoʔ evolved into Sahidic Coptic ⲡⲣ̅ⲣⲟ prro and then rro. Scepters and staves were a sign of authority in ancient Egypt. One of the earliest royal scepters was discovered in the tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called mks-staff. The scepter with the longest history seems to be the heqa-scepter, the earliest examples of this piece of regalia dates to pre-dynastic times. A scepter was found in a tomb at Abydos that dates to the late Naqada period, another scepter associated with the king is the was-scepter. This is a long staff mounted with an animal head, the earliest known depictions of the was-scepter date to the first dynasty
5.
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
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The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt. It symbolises worldly power and holy might and also acts as a sort of mission statement for the reign of a monarch. The full titulary, consisting of five names, did not come into standard usage until the Middle Kingdom, the Horus name is the oldest form of the pharaohs name, originating in the Predynastic Period. Many of the oldest-known Egyptian pharaohs were known only by this title, the Horus name was usually written in a serekh, a representation of a palace façade. The name of the pharaoh was written in hieroglyphs inside this representation of a palace, typically an image of the falcon God Horus was perched on top of or beside it. At least one Egyptian ruler, the 2nd dynasty Seth-Peribsen, used an image of the god Seth instead of Horus and he was succeeded by Khasekhemwy, who placed the symbols of both Seth and Horus above his name. Thereafter, the image of Horus always appeared alongside the name of the pharaoh, by the time of the New Kingdom the Horus name was often written without the enclosing serekh. The name is first definitively used by the First Dynasty pharaoh Semerkhet and this particular name was not typically framed by a cartouche or serekh, but always begins with the hieroglyphs of a vulture and cobra resting upon two baskets, the dual noun nebty. Also known as the Golden Horus Name, this form of the name typically featured the image of a Horus falcon perched above or beside the hieroglyph for gold. The meaning of this title has been disputed. One belief is that it represents the triumph of Horus over his uncle Seth, Gold also was strongly associated in the ancient Egyptian mind with eternity, so this may have been intended to convey the pharaohs eternal Horus name. Similar to the Nebty name, this particular name typically was not framed by a cartouche or serekh, the pharaohs throne name, the first of the two names written inside a cartouche, and usually accompanied the title nsw-bity. The term nsw-bity It has been suggested that the Berber term for strong man, the epithet neb tawy, Lord of the Two Lands, referring to valley and delta regions of Egypt, often occurs as well. This was the name given at birth and it was first introduced to the set of royal titles in the Fourth Dynasty and emphasizes the kings role as a representative of the solar god Ra. For women who became pharaoh, the title was interpreted as daughter also. Modern historians typically refer to the ancient kings of Egypt by this name, Middle Egyptian, An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Cairo, London, and New York, The American University in Cairo Press and Thames and Hudson. The Great Name, Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary, Egyptian Grammar, Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs
6.
Maat
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Maat or Maat was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also personified as a goddess regulating the stars, seasons, cuneiform texts indicate that the word mˤ3t was pronounced /múʕʔa/ during the New Kingdom period, having lost the feminine ending t. Sound shifts from u to e later produced the cognate Coptic word ⲙⲉⲉ/ⲙⲉ truth, later, as a goddess in other traditions of the Egyptian pantheon, where most goddesses were paired with a male aspect, her masculine counterpart was Thoth, as their attributes are similar. In other accounts, Thoth was paired off with Seshat, goddess of writing and measure and her feather was the measure that determined whether the souls of the departed would reach the paradise of afterlife successfully. Pharaohs are often depicted with the emblems of Maat to emphasise their role in upholding the laws of the Creator, Maat represents the ethical and moral principle that every Egyptian citizen was expected to follow throughout their daily lives. They were expected to act with honor and truth in manners that involve family, the community, the nation, the environment, Maat as a principle was formed to meet the complex needs of the emergent Egyptian state that embraced diverse peoples with conflicting interests. The development of such rules sought to avert chaos and it became the basis of Egyptian law, from an early period the King would describe himself as the Lord of Maat who decreed with his mouth the Maat he conceived in his heart. The ancient Egyptians had a conviction of an underlying holiness. Cosmic harmony was achieved by public and ritual life. Any disturbance in cosmic harmony could have consequences for the individual as well as the state, an impious King could bring about famine or blasphemy blindness to an individual. In opposition to the order expressed in the concept of Maat is the concept of Isfet, chaos, lies. In one Middle Kingdom text the Creator declares I made every man like his fellow, a passage in the Instruction of Ptahhotep presents Maat as follows, Maat is good and its worth is lasting. It has not been disturbed since the day of its creator and it lies as a path in front even of him who knows nothing. Wrongdoing has never yet brought its venture to port and it is true that evil may gain wealth but the strength of truth is that it lasts, a man can say, It was the property of my father. There is little surviving literature that describes the practice of ancient Egyptian law, Maat was the spirit in which justice was applied rather than the detailed legalistic exposition of rules. Maat represented the normal and basic values that formed the backdrop for the application of justice that had to be carried out in the spirit of truth and fairness. From the 5th dynasty onwards the Vizier responsible for justice was called the Priest of Maat, later scholars and philosophers also would embody concepts from the wisdom literature, or Sebayt. These spiritual texts dealt with social or professional situations and how each was best to be resolved or addressed in the spirit of Maat
7.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
8.
Argead dynasty
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The Argead dynasty was an ancient Greek royal house. They were the founders and the dynasty of Macedon from about 700 to 310 BC. Their tradition, as described in ancient Greek historiography, traced their origins to Argos, initially the rulers of the homonymous tribe, by the time of Philip II they had expanded their reign further, to include under the rule of Macedonia all Upper Macedonian states. The mythical founder of the Argead dynasty is King Caranus, the words Argead and Argive derive from the Greek Ἀργεῖος, of or from Argos, which is first attested in Homer, where it was also used as a collective designation for the Greeks. The Argead dynasty claimed descent from the Temenids of Argos, in the Peloponnese, whose ancestor was Temenus. In the excavations of the royal Palace at Aegae Manolis Andronikos discovered in the room an inscription relating to that belief. The latter asked them to leave his territory, believing in an omen that something great would happen to Perdiccas, the boys went to another part of Macedonia, near the garden of Midas, above which mount Bermio stands. There they made their abode and gradually formed their own kingdom, the Hellanodikai, however, after examining his Argead claim confirmed that the Macedonians were Greeks and allowed him to participate. They also added Mygdonia in their territory through the expulsion of the Edoni, Eordians, the Kings of Makedon, 399–369 BC. Archived from the original on 26 April 2008
9.
Philip II of Macedon
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Philip II of Macedon was the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty of Macedonian kings, the son of King Amyntas III. However, his assassination led to the succession of his son Alexander. Philip was the youngest son of the king Amyntas III and Eurydice I, in his youth, Philip was held as a hostage in Thebes, which was then the leading city of Greece. In 364 BC, Philip returned to Macedon, the deaths of Philips elder brothers, King Alexander II and Perdiccas III, allowed him to take the throne in 359 BC. Originally appointed regent for his infant nephew Amyntas IV, who was the son of Perdiccas III, Philips military skills and expansionist vision of Macedonian greatness brought him early success. He first had to remedy a predicament which had greatly worsened by the defeat against the Illyrians in which King Perdiccas himself had died. Using diplomacy, Philip pushed back the Paionians and Thracians promising tributes, momentarily free from his opponents, he concentrated on strengthening his internal position and, above all, his army. Philip had married Audata, great-granddaughter of the Illyrian king of Dardania, however, this did not prevent him from marching against the Illyrians in 358 and crushing them in a ferocious battle in which some 7,000 Illyrians died. By this move, Philip established his authority inland as far as Lake Ohrid, the Athenians had been unable to conquer Amphipolis, which commanded the gold mines of Mount Pangaion. So Philip reached an agreement with Athens to lease the city to them after its conquest, however, after conquering Amphipolis, Philip kept both cities. As Athens had declared war against him, he allied Macedon with the Chalkidian League of Olynthus and he subsequently conquered Potidaea, this time keeping his word and ceding it to the League in 356. In 357 BC, Philip married the Epirote princess Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of the Molossians, Alexander was born in 356, the same year as Philips racehorse won at the Olympic Games. During 356 BC, Philip conquered the town of Crenides and changed its name to Philippi and he then established a powerful garrison there to control its mines, which yielded much of the gold he later used for his campaigns. In the meantime, his general Parmenion defeated the Illyrians again, in 355–354 he besieged Methone, the last city on the Thermaic Gulf controlled by Athens. During the siege, Philip was injured in his eye, despite the arrival of two Athenian fleets, the city fell in 354. Philip also attacked Abdera and Maronea, on the Thracian coast, Philip was involved in the Third Sacred War which had begun in Greece in 356. In summer 353 he invaded Thessaly, defeating 7,000 Phocians under the brother of Onomarchus, the latter however defeated Philip in the two succeeding battles
10.
Larissa
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Larissa is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region, the fifth most populous in Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is an agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos. Larissa, within its municipality, has 162,591 inhabitants, legend has it that Achilles was born here, and that Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, died here. Today, Larissa is a commercial and industrial centre in Greece. The region is linked to the rest of Europe through the International Airport of Central Greece located in Nea Anchialos a short distance from Larissa. Larissa lies on the river Pineios, the municipality Larissa has an area of 335.98 km2, the municipal unit Larissa has an area of 122.586 km2, and the community Larissa has an area of 88.167 km2. The Larissa Chasma, a gash in the surface of Dione. The climate of Larissa is transitional, the winter is cold and wet, and some snowstorms may occur. The summer is hot, and temperatures of 40 °C may occur, thunderstorms or heavy rain may cause agricultural damage. Larissa receives 450 mm of rain per year, according to Greek mythology it is said that the city was founded by Acrisius, who was killed accidentally by his grandson, Perseus. There lived Peleus, the hero beloved by the gods, in mythology, the nymph Larissa was a daughter of the primordial man Pelasgus. In this paragraph, Homer shows that the Pelasgians, Trojan allies and it is likely that this city of Larissa was different to the city that was the birthplace of Achilles. The Larissa that features as a Trojan ally in the Iliad was likely to be located in the Troad, traces of Paleolithic human settlement have been recovered from the area, but it was peripheral to areas of advanced culture. The area around Larissa was extremely fruitful, it was agriculturally important, the name Larissa is in origin a Pelasgian word for fortress. There were many ancient Greek cities with this name, the name of Thessalian Larissa is first recorded in connection with the aristocratic Aleuadai family. Larissa is thought to be where the famous Greek physician Hippocrates, when Larissa ceased minting the federal coins it shared with other Thessalian towns and adopted its own coinage in the late 5th century BC, it chose local types for its coins. The obverse depicted the nymph of the spring, Larissa, for whom the town was named. The reverse depicted a horse in various poses, the horse was an appropriate symbol of Thessaly, a land of plains, which was well known for its horses
11.
Ancient Greek religion
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Ancient Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology originating in ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. These groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or cults in the plural, many ancient Greeks recognized the twelve major gods and goddesses, although philosophies such as Stoicism and some forms of Platonism used language that seems to assume a single transcendent deity. Different cities often worshiped the deities, sometimes with epithets that distinguished them. Greek religion was tempered by Etruscan cult and belief to form much of the later ancient Roman religion, while there were few concepts universal to all the Greek peoples, there were common beliefs shared by many. Ancient Greek theology was polytheistic, based on the assumption there were many gods. There was a hierarchy of deities, with Zeus, the king of the gods, having a level of control all the others. Some deities had dominion over aspects of nature. Other deities ruled over abstract concepts, for instance Aphrodite controlled love, while being immortal, the gods were certainly not all-good or even all-powerful. They had to obey fate, known to Greek mythology as the Moirai, which overrode any of their divine powers or wills. For instance, in mythology, it was Odysseus fate to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, and the gods could only lengthen his journey and make it harder for him, the gods acted like humans, and had human vices. They would interact with humans, sometimes even spawning children with them, at times certain gods would be opposed to others, and they would try to outdo each other. In the Iliad, Aphrodite, Ares and Apollo support the Trojan side in the Trojan War, while Hera, Athena, some gods were specifically associated with a certain city. Athena was associated with the city of Athens, Apollo with Delphi and Delos, Zeus with Olympia, other deities were associated with nations outside of Greece, Poseidon was associated with Ethiopia and Troy, and Ares with Thrace. The Greeks believed in an underworld where the spirits of the dead went after death, one of the most widespread areas of this underworld was ruled over by Hades, a brother of Zeus, and was known as Hades. Other well known realms are Tartarus, a place of torment for the damned, and Elysium, in the early Mycenean religion all the dead went to Hades, but the rise of mystery cults in the Archaic age led to the development of places such as Tartarus and Elysium. Such beliefs are found in the most ancient of Greek sources, such as Homer and this belief remained strong even into the Christian era. For most people at the moment of death there was, however, no hope of anything, some Greeks, such as the philosophers Pythagoras and Plato, also embraced the idea of reincarnation, though this was only accepted by a few. Epicurus taught that the soul was simply atoms which dissolved at death, Greek religion had an extensive mythology
12.
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
13.
Macedonia (ancient kingdom)
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Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and at first ruled by the royal Argead dynasty, the reign of Philip II saw the rise of Macedonia, during which the kingdom rose to control the entire Greek world. With a reformed army containing phalanxes wielding the sarissa pike, Philip II defeated the old powers of Athens and Thebes in the decisive Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, Sparta was kept isolated and was occupied a century later by Antigonus III Doson. Alexander then led a roughly decade-long campaign of conquest against the Achaemenid Empire, in the ensuing wars of Alexander the Great, he overthrew the Achaemenid Empire and conquered a territory that stretched as far as the Indus River. For a brief period, his Macedonian empire was the most powerful in the world – the definitive Hellenistic state, Greek arts and literature flourished in the new conquered lands and advances in philosophy, engineering, and science were spread throughout much of the ancient world. Of particular importance were the contributions of Aristotle, who had been imported as tutor to Alexander, important cities such as Pella, Pydna, and Amphipolis were involved in power struggles for control of the territory. New cities were founded, such as Thessalonica by the usurper Cassander, Macedonias decline began with the Macedonian Wars and the rise of Rome as the leading Mediterranean power. At the end of the Second Macedonian War in 168 BC, a short-lived revival of the monarchy during the Third Macedonian War in 150–148 BC ended with the establishment of the Roman province of Macedonia. The name Macedonia comes from the ethnonym Μακεδόνες, which itself is derived from the ancient Greek adjective μακεδνός, meaning tall and it also shares the same root as the noun μάκρος, meaning length in both ancient and modern Greek. The name is believed to have meant either highlanders, the tall ones. Robert S. P. Beekes supports that both terms are of Pre-Greek substrate origin and cannot be explained in terms of Indo-European morphology. Contradictory legends state that either Perdiccas I of Macedon or Caranus of Macedon were the founders of the Argead dynasty, the kingdom of Macedonia was situated along the Haliacmon and Axius rivers in Lower Macedonia, north of Mount Olympus. Historian Malcolm Errington posits the theory one of the earliest Argead kings must have established Aigai as their capital in the mid-7th century BC. Prior to the 4th century BC, the kingdom covered a region corresponding to the western. Achaemenid Persian hegemony over Macedonia was briefly interrupted by the Ionian Revolt, although Macedonia enjoyed a large degree of autonomy and was never made a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire, it was expected to provide troops for the Achaemenid army. Following the Greek victory at Salamis in 480 BC, Alexander I was employed as an Achaemenid diplomat to strike a treaty and alliance with Athens. Soon afterwards the Achaemenid forces were forced to withdraw from mainland Europe, although initially a Persian vassal, Alexander I of Macedon fostered friendly diplomatic relations with his former Greek enemies, the Athenian and Spartan-led coalition of Greek city-states. Two separate wars were fought against Athens between 433 and 431 BC, spurred by an Athenian alliance with a brother and cousin of Perdiccas II who had rebelled against him
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Plutarch
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Plutarch was a Greek biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist, Plutarchs surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers. Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the town of Chaeronea, about 80 km east of Delphi. The name of Plutarchs father has not been preserved, but based on the common Greek custom of repeating a name in alternate generations, the name of Plutarchs grandfather was Lamprias, as he attested in Moralia and in his Life of Antony. His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are mentioned in his essays and dialogues. Rualdus, in his 1624 work Life of Plutarchus, recovered the name of Plutarchs wife, Timoxena, from internal evidence afforded by his writings. A letter is still extant, addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not to grieve too much at the death of their two-year-old daughter, interestingly, he hinted at a belief in reincarnation in that letter of consolation. The exact number of his sons is not certain, although two of them, Autobulus and the second Plutarch, are often mentioned. Plutarchs treatise De animae procreatione in Timaeo is dedicated to them, another person, Soklarus, is spoken of in terms which seem to imply that he was Plutarchs son, but this is nowhere definitely stated. Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy at the Academy of Athens under Ammonius from 66 to 67, at some point, Plutarch took Roman citizenship. He lived most of his life at Chaeronea, and was initiated into the mysteries of the Greek god Apollo. For many years Plutarch served as one of the two priests at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the site of the famous Delphic Oracle, twenty miles from his home. By his writings and lectures Plutarch became a celebrity in the Roman Empire, yet he continued to reside where he was born, at his country estate, guests from all over the empire congregated for serious conversation, presided over by Plutarch in his marble chair. Many of these dialogues were recorded and published, and the 78 essays, Plutarch held the office of archon in his native municipality, probably only an annual one which he likely served more than once. He busied himself with all the matters of the town. The Suda, a medieval Greek encyclopedia, states that Emperor Trajan made Plutarch procurator of Illyria, however, most historians consider this unlikely, since Illyria was not a procuratorial province, and Plutarch probably did not speak Illyrian. Plutarch spent the last thirty years of his serving as a priest in Delphi. He thus connected part of his work with the sanctuary of Apollo, the processes of oracle-giving
15.
Olympias
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Olympias was a daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the fourth wife of the king of Macedonia, Philip II, and mother of Alexander the Great. She was a member of the orgiastic snake-worshiping cult of Dionysus, and it is suggested by the 1st century AD biographer, Plutarch. Olympias was the daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of the Molossians, an ancient Greek tribe in Epirus and her family belonged to the Aeacidae, a well-respected family of Epirus, which claimed descent from Neoptolemus, son of Achilles. The name Olympias was the third of four names by which she was known and she probably took it as a recognition of Philips victory in the Olympic Games of 356 BC, the news of which coincided with Alexanders birth. She was finally named Stratonice, which was probably an epithet attached to Olympias following her victory over Eurydice in 317 BC, when Neoptolemus I died in 360 BC, his brother Arymbas succeeded him on the Molossian throne. In 358 BC, Arymbas made a treaty with the new king of Macedonia, Philip II, the alliance was cemented with a diplomatic marriage, when Arymbas niece Olympias became Philips wife in 357 BC and, consequently, queen consort of Macedonia. Philip had first fallen in love with Olympias when both were initiated into the mysteries of Cabeiri at the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, on the island of Samothrace. One year later, in 356 BC, Philips race horse won in the Olympic Games, for this victory his wife, in the summer of the same year, Olympias gave birth to her first child, Alexander. In ancient Greece people believed that the birth of a man was accompanied by portents. After the marriage Philip dreamed that he put a seal upon his wifes womb, aristanders interpretation was that Olympias was pregnant of a son whose nature would be bold and lion-like. Philip and Olympias also had a daughter, Cleopatra and their marriage was very stormy, Philips volatility and Olympias jealous temper had led to a growing estrangement. Things got even worse in 337 BC when Philip married a noble Macedonian woman, Cleopatra, who was given the name Eurydice by Philip, the marriage caused great tensions between Philip, Olympias and Alexander. Olympias went into exile in Epirus along with her son Alexander, who sided with her, staying at the Molossian court of her brother Alexander I. After the death of Philip II, Olympias ordered the execution of Eurydice and her child, during Alexanders campaigns, she regularly corresponded with him and may have confirmed her sons claim in Egypt that his father was not Philip but Zeus. The relationship between Olympias and Alexander was cordial, but her son tried to keep her away from politics, however, she wielded great influence in Macedonia and caused troubles to Antipater, the regent of the kingdom. In 330 BC, she returned to Epirus and served as a regent to her cousin Aeacides in the Epirote state, after Alexander the Greats death in Babylon in 323 BC, his wife Roxana bore him a posthumous son who was called Alexander IV. At the same time, Olympias offered Perdiccas the hand of her daughter Cleopatra, Perdiccas chose Cleopatra, which angered Antipater, who invaded Macedon, deposed Perdiccas, and declared himself regent, only to die within the year. Polyperchon succeeded Antipater in 319 BC as regent, but Antipaters son Cassander established Philip II’s simpleminded son Philip III as king and he fled to Epirus, taking Roxana and her son Alexander IV with him
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Achaemenid Empire
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The Achaemenid Empire, also called the Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. The empires successes inspired similar systems in later empires and it is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built in a Hellenistic style in the empire as well. By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis. From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, Alexander, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered the empire in its entirety by 330 BC. Upon his death, most of the former territory came under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire. The Persian population of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire, the historical mark of the Achaemenid Empire went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious influences as well. Many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their lives in a reciprocal cultural exchange. The impact of Cyruss edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts, the empire also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of modern Iran. Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details Due to the duration of their reigns, Smerdis, Xerxes II. The Persian nation contains a number of tribes as listed here, the Pasargadae, Maraphii, and Maspii, upon which all the other tribes are dependent. Of these, the Pasargadae are the most distinguished, they contain the clan of the Achaemenids from which spring the Perseid kings. Other tribes are the Panthialaei, Derusiaei, Germanii, all of which are attached to the soil, the Achaemenid Empire was created by nomadic Persians. The Achaemenid Empire was not the first Iranian empire, as by 6th century BC another group of ancient Iranian peoples had established the short lived Median Empire. The Iranian peoples had arrived in the region of what is today Iran c.1000 BC and had for a number of centuries fallen under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, based in northern Mesopotamia. However, the Medes and Persians, Cimmerians, Persians and Chaldeans played a role in the overthrow of the Assyrian empire. The term Achaemenid means of the family of the Achaemenis/Achaemenes, despite the derivation of the name, Achaemenes was himself a minor seventh-century ruler of the Anshan in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of Assyria. At some point in 550 BC, Cyrus rose in rebellion against the Medes, eventually conquering the Medes and creating the first Persian empire
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Satrap
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Satraps were the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The word satrap originates ultimately from Old Persian xšaçapāvan, Sanskrit kshatrapam or kshtrapa, from xšaça, in Greek, the word was rendered as satrápēs —which later borrowed into Latin as satrapes—from a Western Iranian cognate xšaθrapā. In modern Persian the descendant of xšaθrapāvan is shahrbān, but the components have undergone semantic shift so the word now means town keeper. The first large use of satrapies, or provinces, originates from the conception of the First Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great. However, provincial organization originated during the Median era from at least 648 BCE, up to the time of the conquest of Media by Cyrus the Great, emperors ruled the conquered lands, through client kings and governors. The chief difference was that in Persian culture the concept of kingship was indivisible from divinity and he was responsible for the safety of the roads, and had to put down brigands and rebels. But the satrap was allowed to have troops in his own service, the great satrapies were often divided into smaller districts, the governors of which were also called satraps and also hyparchs. The distribution of the great satrapies was changed repeatedly, and often two of them were given to the same man, as the provinces were the result of consecutive conquests, both primary and sub-satrapies were often defined by former states and/or ethno-religious identity. When his office became hereditary, the threat to the authority could not be ignored. Rebellions of satraps became frequent from the middle of the 5th century BCE, darius I struggled with widespread rebellions in the satrapies, and under Artaxerxes II occasionally the greater part of Asia Minor and Syria was in open rebellion. The last great rebellions were put down by Artaxerxes III and they would ultimately be replaced by conquering empires, especially the Parthians. In the Parthian Empire, the power rested on the support of noble families who ruled large estates. City-states within the empire enjoyed a degree of self-government, and paid tribute to the king, shahrabs ruled both the city and the surrounding rural districts. Exceptionally, the East Roman Empire also adopted the title satrap for the princes that governed one of its Armenian provinces. The Western Satraps or Kshatrapas were Saka rulers in the western and central part of the Sindh region of Pakistan, and it is also used in modern times to refer to the loyal subservient lieutenants or clients of some powerful figure, in politics or business. In Portuguese, Italian and Spanish, the word not only carries the aforementioned ancient historical meaning. It can refer as well to living in luxurious and ostentatious conditions or to individuals who act astutely. The College of Pataphysics used the title Transcendent Satrap for certain of its members, including Marcel Duchamp, Jean Baudrillard, in the Serbian language, satrap is used to mock a person who displays servile tendencies to an authority figure
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Caria
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Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there, the inhabitants of Caria, known as Carians, had arrived there before the Greeks. The Carians did speak an Anatolian language, known as Carian, cramers detailed catalog of Carian towns in classical Greece is based entirely on ancient sources. The multiple names of towns and geomorphic features, such as bays and headlands, coastal Caria begins with Didyma south of Miletus, but Miletus had been placed in the pre-Greek Caria. South of it is the Iassicus Sinus and the towns of Iassus and Bargylia, giving a name of Bargyleticus Sinus to Güllük Körfezi, and nearby Cindye. After Bargylia is Caryanda or Caryinda, and then on the Bodrum Peninsula Myndus,56 miles miles from Miletus, in the vicinity is Naziandus, exact location unknown. On the tip of the Bodrum Peninsula is Termera, and on the other side Ceramicus Sinus and it was formerly crowded with numerous towns. Halicarnassus, a Dorian Greek city, was planted there among six Carian towns, Theangela, Sibde, Medmasa, Euranium, Pedasa or Pedasum and these with Myndus and Synagela constitute the eight Lelege towns. Also on the north coast of the Ceramicus Sinus is Ceramus and Bargasus, on the south of the Ceramicus Sinus is the Carian Chersonnese, or Triopium Promontory, also called Doris after the Dorian colony of Cnidus. At the base of the peninsula is Bybassus or Bybastus from which an earlier names and it was now Acanthus and Doulopolis. South of the Carian Chersonnese is Doridis Sinus, the Gulf of Doris, there are three bays in it, Bubassius, Thymnias and Schoenus, the last enclosing the town of Hyda. In the gulf somewhere are Euthene or Eutane, Pitaeum, on the south shore is the Cynossema, or Onugnathos Promontory, opposite Symi. South of there is the Rhodian Peraea, a section of the coast under Rhodes and it includes Loryma or Larymna in Oedimus Bay, Gelos, Tisanusa, the headland of Paridion, Panydon or Pandion with Physicus, Amos, Physca or Physcus, also called Cressa. Beyond Cressa is the Calbis River, on the other side is Caunus, with Pisilis or Pilisis and Pyrnos between. Then follow some cities that some assign to Lydia and some to Caria, Calynda on the Indus River, Crya, Carya, Carysis or Cari and Alina in the Gulf of Glaucus, other Carian towns in the gulf are Clydae or Lydae and Aenus. At the base of the east end of Latmus near Euromus, the name Chrysaoris once applied to all of Caria, moreover, Euromus was originally settled from Lycia. Its towns are Tauropolis, Plarassa and Chrysaoris and these were all incorporated later into Mylasa. Connected to the latter by a way is Labranda
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Babylon
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Babylon was a major city of ancient Mesopotamia in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city was built upon the Euphrates and divided in parts along its left and right banks. Babylon was originally a small Semitic Akkadian city dating from the period of the Akkadian Empire c.2300 BC, the town attained independence as part of a small city-state with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in 1894 BC. Babylon grew and South Mesopotamia came to be known as Babylonia, the empire quickly dissolved after Hammurabis death and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian, Kassite and Elamite domination. After being destroyed and then rebuilt by the Assyrians, Babylon became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 609 to 539 BC, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the city came under the rule of the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman, and Sassanid empires. It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world from c.1770 to 1670 BC and it was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200,000. Estimates for the extent of its area range from 890 to 900 hectares. The remains of the city are in present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometres south of Baghdad, comprising a large tell of broken mud-brick buildings, the English Babylon comes from Greek Babylṓn, a transliteration of the Akkadian Babili. The Babylonian name in the early 2nd millennium BC had been Babilli or Babilla, by the 1st millennium BC, it had changed to Babili under the influence of the folk etymology which traced it to bāb-ili. The Gate of God or Gate of El being from the Aramaic Hebrew Bab for Gate and El for God and this being similar to the Hebrew word for confusion Balal. In the Bible, the name appears as Babel, interpreted in the Hebrew Scriptures Book of Genesis to mean confusion, the modern English verb, to babble, or to speak meaningless words, is popularly thought to derive from this name, but there is no direct connection. The remains of the city are in present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad, comprising a large tell of broken mud-brick buildings and debris. The site at Babylon consists of a number of mounds covering an area of about 2 by 1 kilometer, oriented north to south, along the Euphrates to the west. Originally, the river roughly bisected the city, but the course of the river has since shifted so that most of the remains of the western part of the city are now inundated. Some portions of the city wall to the west of the river also remain, remains of the city include, Kasr—also called Palace or Castle, it is the location of the Neo-Babylonian ziggurat Etemenanki and lies in the center of the site. Amran Ibn Ali—the highest of the mounds at 25 meters, to the south and it is the site of Esagila, a temple of Marduk which also contained shrines to Ea and Nabu. Homera—a reddish colored mound on the west side, most of the Hellenistic remains are here
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Perdiccas
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Perdiccas became a general in Alexander the Greats army and participated in Alexanders campaign against Persia. Following Alexanders death, he rose to supreme commander of the imperial army and regent for Alexanders half brother and intellectually disabled successor. In response to this formidable coalition and a provocation from another general, Ptolemy, Perdiccas invaded Egypt, according to Arrian, Perdiccas was a son of the Macedonian nobleman, Orontes, a descendant of the independent princes of the Macedonian province of Orestis. While his actual date of birth is unknown, he would seem to have been of an age to Alexander. As the commander of a battalion of the Macedonian phalanx, heavy infantry, Perdiccas distinguished himself during the conquest of Thebes, subsequently, he held an important command in the Indian campaigns of Alexander. In 324 BC, at the nuptials celebrated at Susa, Perdiccas married the daughter of the satrap of Media, when Hephaestion unexpectedly died the same year, Perdiccas was appointed his successor as commander of the Companion cavalry and chiliarch. As Alexander lay dying on 11 June 323 BC, he gave his ring to Perdiccas, following the death of Alexander the Great, his generals met to discuss what should be their next steps. Perdiccas proposed that a final decision wait until Alexanders wife Roxana, if the child was a boy, then Perdiccas proposed that the child would be chosen as the new king. This meant that Perdiccas would be the regent and effectively the ruler of Alexanders empire until the boy was old enough to rule on his own, despite misgivings amongst the other generals, most accepted Perdiccas proposal. However, the commander, Meleager, disagreed with Perdiccas plans. Meleager argued in favour of Alexanders half brother, Arridaeus, who he considered to be first in line of succession, the infantry supported this proposal with Meleagars troops willing to fight in favour of Arridaeus. Through the Partition of Babylon a compromise was reached under which Perdiccas was to serve as Regent of the Empire, Arridaeus and the unborn child of Alexanders wife Roxana were recognized as joint kings. While the general Craterus was officially declared Guardian of the Royal Family, Perdiccas effectively held this position, Perdiccas soon showed himself intolerant of any rivals, and, acting in the name of the two kings, sought to hold the empire together under his own hand. Alexander the Greats second wife, Stateira, was murdered, Perdiccas had Meleager arrested and murdered. Perdiccas authority as regent and his control over the family were immediately challenged. Perdiccas appointed Leonnatus, one of Alexanders bodyguards or somatophylakes, as satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia on the western coast of Asia Minor. However, instead of assuming that position, Leonnatus sailed to Macedonia when Alexanders sister, Cleopatra, widow of King Alexander I of Epirus, upon learning of this, in spring 322 BC Perdiccas marched the imperial army towards Asia Minor to reassert his dominance as regent. Perdiccas ordered Leonnatus to appear before him to trial for disobedience
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Companion cavalry
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Chosen Companions/Hetairoi formed the elite guard of the king. The name of the unit derives from the Hetairoi, those near the king. The Hetairoi could be members of the Macedonian aristocracy or commoners of any Greek origin who enjoyed the trust, the Royal friends or the kings Companions were named for life by the king among the Macedonian aristocracy. Companion cavalry would ride the best horses, and receive the best weaponry available, in Alexanders day, each carried a xyston, and wore a bronze muscle cuirass or linothorax, shoulder guards and Boeotian helmets, but bore no shield. A kopis or xiphos was also carried for combat, should the xyston break. The Companion cavalry was composed of the Hetairoi of the king, mainly upper class citizens who were able to acquire and maintain armour, in the age of Philip II and Alexander they were organized into 8 territorial squadrons, termed ilai. Each ile numbered between 200 and 300 horsemen and was commanded by two men, because as Arrian claims, Alexander did not want anyone, not even his intimate friend, after receiving reinforcements in Susa, Alexander established two companies in each squadron. They were referred to by the name of the territory they were mustered in or by the name of its captain, the Royal Ile was commanded by Alexander himself and contained twice the number of soldiers the other units contained, c. In Alexanders Balkan campaigns, we find mention of Companions from upper Macedonia, during the advance on Granicus, a squadron commanded by Socrates of Macedon hailed from Apollonia on Lake Bolbe. During the Battle of Issus, Arrian names the ile of Anthemus, another, by 338 BC, Alexander is reported to have had around 2600 in his Companion Cavalry. As Alexanders force campaigned towards India, barbarians played a role in the Companion Cavalry. At one point, there were four hipparchies made up of entirely oriental forces and one that was a mix of Macedonians and orientals. The Companions probably constituted the first real shock cavalry in history, able to conduct charges against massed infantry, contemporary cavalry, even when heavily armored, would most usually be equipped with javelins and would avoid melee. In battle, it would part of a hammer and anvil tactic, the Companion cavalry would be used as a hammer, in conjunction with the Macedonian phalanx-based infantry. The phalanx would pin the enemy in place, while the Companion cavalry would attack the enemy on the flank or from behind, in battle, Alexander the Great personally led the charge at the head of the royal squadron of the Companion cavalry, usually in a wedge formation. In a pitched battle, the Companions usually fought on the wing of the Macedonian army, next to the shield-bearing guards, the Hypaspists. Other cavalry troops would protect the flanks of the Macedonian line during battle, under Alexanders command, the Companions role was decisive in most of his battles in Asia. The Companion cavalry of the Diadochoi, were more heavily equipped
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Phalanx
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The phalanx was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons. In Greek texts, the phalanx may be deployed for battle, on the march, even camped and they marched forward as one entity. The word phalanx is derived from the Greek word phalangos, meaning finger, the term itself, as used today, does not refer to a distinctive military unit or division, but to the general formation of an armys troops. Thus a phalanx does not have a combat strength or composition but includes the total number of infantry. Many spear-armed troops historically fought in what might be termed phalanx-like formations, the word has come into use in common English to describe a group of people standing, or moving forward closely together, c. f. This article focuses on the use of the phalanx formation in Ancient Greece, the Hellenistic world. The earliest known depiction of a phalanx-like formation occurs in a Sumerian stele from the 25th century BC, here the troops seem to have been equipped with spears, helmets, and large shields covering the whole body. Ancient Egyptian infantry were known to have employed similar formations, the first usage of the term phalanx comes from Homers, used to describe hoplites fighting in an organized battle line. Homer used the term to differentiate the formation-based combat from the individual duels so often found in his poems, historians have not arrived at a consensus about the relationship between the Greek formation and these predecessors of the hoplites. Traditionally, historians date the origin of the phalanx of ancient Greece to the 8th century BC in Sparta. It is perhaps more likely that the formation was devised in the 7th century BC after the introduction of the aspis by the city of Argos and this is further evidenced by the Chigi vase, dated to 650 BC, identifying hoplites armed with aspis, spear and panoply. Two of the basic strategies seen in earlier warfare include the principle of cohesion and this would suggest that the Greek phalanx was rather the culmination and perfection of a slowly developed idea that originated many years earlier. As weaponry and armour advanced through the years in different city-states, the hoplite phalanx of the Archaic and Classical periods in Greece was a formation in which the hoplites would line up in ranks in close order. The hoplites would lock their shields together, and the first few ranks of soldiers would project their spears out over the first rank of shields, the phalanx therefore presented a shield wall and a mass of spear points to the enemy, making frontal assaults against it very difficult. It also allowed a higher proportion of the soldiers to be engaged in combat at a given time. Battles between two phalanxes usually took place in open, flat plains where it was easier to advance, rough terrain or hilly regions would have made it difficult to maintain a steady line and would have defeated the purpose of employing the use of a phalanx. As a result, battles between Greek city-states would not take place in any location, nor would they be limited to sometimes obvious strategic points. Rather, many times, the two opposing sides would find the most suitable piece of land where the conflict could be settled, mostly, the battle ended with one of the two fighting sides fleeing to safety
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Roxana
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Roxana was a Sogdian princess of Bactria and a wife of the Greek Macedonian king, Alexander the Great. She was born in c.340 BC though the date remains uncertain. Roxana was born in c.340 BC—she was the daughter of a Bactrian nobleman named Oxyartes, who served Bessus and he was thus probably also involved in the murder of the last Achaemenid king Darius III. Alexander thereafter made an expedition into India and while there he appointed Oxyartes as the governor of the Hindu Kush region which was adjoining India, during this period, Roxana was in a safe place in Susa. When Alexander returned to Susa, he promoted a brother of Roxana to the elite cavalry. After Alexanders sudden death at Babylon in 323 BC, Roxana is believed to have murdered Alexanders other widow, Stateira II, and possibly Stateiras sister, Drypteis, Roxana had borne a son to Alexander after his death and would have wanted no competition. Roxana and her Greek-Persian son, named Alexander IV after his father, were protected by Alexanders mother, Olympias. Olympias assassination in 316 BC allowed Cassander, who imprisoned Roxana and Alexander in the citadel of Amphipolis under the supervision of Glaucias, since Alexander IV was the legitimate heir to the Alexandrian empire, Cassander ordered Glaucias to poison Alexander and Roxana c.310 BC. Roxana is one of the characters in The Romance of Alexander and Roxana by Marshall Monroe Kirkman,1909, reprinted 2010. Roxana appears as one of the characters in A Conspiracy of Women by Aubrey Menen,1965, Roxana appears as one of the minor characters in The Persian Boy by Mary Renault,1972, ISBN 0-394-48191-7. Roxana appears as one of the characters in Funeral Games by Mary Renault,1981, Roxana appears as one of the characters in Alexander, The Ends of the Earth by Valerio Massimo Manfredi,2002, ISBN 978-0-7434-3438-6. Roxana is the character in Roxana Romance by A. J. Cave,2008, Hardcover ISBN 978-0-9802061-0-4. Roxana is one of the characters in The Conquerors Wife by Stephanie Thornton,2015, Softcover ISBN 978-0-451-47200-7 In the film Alexander. Balkh Alexandre et Roxane, opera by Mozart Badian, Ernst, the Nature of Alexander the Great. Horn, LT Bernd, Spencer, Emily, eds, no Easy Task, Fighting in Afghanistan, Dundurn Press Ltd, p.40, ISBN9781459701649 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Roxana. Roxane by Jona Lendering Wiki Classical Dictionary, Roxane, daughter of Oxyartes Roxana from Charles Smiths Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
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Regent
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A regent is a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated. The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency, a regent or regency council may be formed ad hoc or in accordance with a constitutional rule. Regent is sometimes a formal title, if the formally appointed regent is unavailable or cannot serve on a temporary basis, a Regent ad interim may be appointed to fill the gap. In a monarchy, a regent usually governs due to one of these reasons and this was the case in the Kingdom of Finland and the Kingdom of Hungary, where the royal line was considered extinct in the aftermath of World War I. In Iceland, the regent represented the King of Denmark as sovereign of Iceland until the country became a republic in 1944, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, kings were elective, which often led to a fairly long interregnum. In the interim, it was the Roman Catholic Primate who served as the regent, in the small republic of San Marino, the two Captains Regent, or Capitani Reggenti, are elected semi-annually as joint heads of state and of government. Famous regency periods include that of the Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, giving rise to terms such as Regency era. Strictly this period lasted from 1811 to 1820, when his father George III was insane, as of 1 December 2016, Liechtenstein is the only country with an active regency. The term regent may refer to lower than the ruler of a country. The term may be used in the governance of organisations, typically as an equivalent of director, some university managers in North America are called regents and a management board for a college or university may be titled the Board of Regents. The term regent is used for members of governing bodies of institutions such as the national banks of France. This type of group portrait was popular in Dutch Golden Age painting during the 17th century, in the Dutch East Indies, a regent was a native prince allowed to rule de facto colonized state as a regentschap. Consequently, in the state of Indonesia, the term regent is used in English to mean a bupati. Again in Belgium and France, Regent is the title of a teacher in a lower secondary school. In the Philippines, specifically, the University of Santo Tomas, the Father Regent and they also form the Council of Regents that serves as the highest administrative council of the university. In the Society of Jesus, a regent is a training to be a Jesuit. A regent in the Jesuits is often assigned to teach in a school or some other academic institution as part of the formation toward final vows, list of regents Viceroy, an individual who, in a colony or province, exercised the power of a monarch on his behalf
25.
Diadochi
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The Diadochi were the rival generals, families and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The Wars of the Diadochi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period, an army on campaign changes its leadership at any level frequently for replacement of casualties and distribution of talent to the current operations. The institution of the Hetairoi gave the Macedonian army a flexible capability in this regard, there were no fixed ranks of Hetairoi, except as the term meant a special unit of cavalry. The Hetairoi were simply a pool of de facto general officers, without any or with changing de jure rank. They were typically from the nobility, many related to Alexander, a parallel flexible structure in the Persian army facilitated combined units. Staff meetings to adjust command structure were nearly a daily event in Alexanders army and they created an ongoing expectation among the Hetairoi of receiving an important and powerful command, if only for a short term. At the moment of Alexanders death, all possibilities were suddenly suspended, the Hetairoi vanished with Alexander, to be replaced instantaneously by the Diadochi, men who knew where they had stood, but not where they would stand now. As there had no definite ranks or positions of Hetairoi. They expected appointments, but without Alexander they would have to make their own, for purposes of this presentation, the Diadochi are grouped by their rank and social standing at the time of Alexanders death. These were their initial positions as Diadochi and they are not necessarily significant or determinative of what happened next. In Hellenistic times the title Diadoch was actually the lowest in a system of official rank titles and it was first used in the 19th century to denote the immediate successors of Alexander. Craterus was an infantry and naval commander under Alexander during his conquest of Persia, after the revolt of his army at Opis on the Tigris River in 324, Alexander ordered Craterus to command the veterans as they returned home to Macedonia. When Craeterus arrived at Cilicia in 323 BC, news reached him of Alexanders death, though his distance from Babylon prevented him from participating in the distribution of power, Craterus hastened to Macedonia to assume the protection of Alexanders family. The news of Alexanders death caused the Greeks to rebel in the Lamian War, Craeterus and Antipater defeated the rebellion in 322 BC. Despite his absence, the gathered at Babylon confirmed Craterus as Guardian of the Royal Family. However, with the family in Babylon, the Regent Perdiccas assumed this responsibility until the royal household could return to Macedonia. Antipater was an adviser to King Philip II, Alexanders father, when Alexander left Macedon to conquer Persia in 334 BC, Antipater was named Regent of Macedon and General of Greece in Alexanders absence. In 323 BC, Craterus was ordered by Alexander to march his veterans back to Macedon, Alexanders death that year, however, prevented the order from being carried out
26.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
27.
Cassander
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Cassander, was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 305 BC until 297 BC, and de facto ruler of much of Greece from 317 BC until his death. Eldest son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the Great, in his youth, Cassander was taught by the philosopher Aristotle at the Lyceum in Macedonia. He was educated alongside Alexander the Great in a group that included Hephaestion, Ptolemy and his family were distant collateral relatives to the Argead dynasty. Whatever the truth of this suggestion, Cassander stood out amongst the Diadochi in his hostility to Alexanders memory, cassanders decision to restore Thebes, which had been destroyed under Alexander, was perceived at the time to be a snub to the deceased King. It was later said that he could not pass a statue of Alexander without feeling faint. Cassander has been perceived to be ambitious and unscrupulous, and even members of his own family were estranged from him, Cassander rejected his father’s decision, and immediately went to seek the support of Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus as his allies. Waging war on Polyperchon, Cassander destroyed his fleet, put Athens under the control of Demetrius of Phaleron, after Olympias’ successful move against Philip III later in the year, Cassander besieged her in Pydna. When the city two years later, Olympias was killed, and Cassander had Alexander IV and Roxanne confined at Amphipolis. Cassander associated himself with the Argead dynasty by marrying Alexander’s half-sister, Thessalonica, by 309 BC, Polyperchon began to claim that Heracles was the true heir to the Macedonian inheritance, at which point Cassander bribed him to have the boy killed. After this, Cassander’s position in Greece and Macedonia was reasonably secure, and he proclaimed himself king in 305 BC. After the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, in which Antigonus was killed, he was undisputed in his control of Macedonia, however, he had time to savour the fact. When Alexander was ousted as joint king by his brother, Demetrius I took up Alexanders appeal for aid and ousted Antipater II, killed Alexander V, the remaining Antipatrids, such as Antipater Etesias, were unable to re-establish the Antipatrids on the throne. Of more lasting significance was Cassander’s refoundation of Therma into Thessalonica, Cassander also founded Cassandreia upon the ruins of Potidaea. In the Oliver Stone film Alexander, he is portrayed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca chapters xviii, xix, xx Green, Peter, Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age, Weidenfeld & Nicolson,2007. ISBN9780297852940 Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Demetrius,18,31, Phocion,31 Franca Landucci Gattinoni, vita e opere di Cassandro di Macedonia. ISBN 3-515-08381-2 A genealogical tree of Cassander
28.
Hellenistic Greece
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During the Hellenistic period the importance of Greece proper within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply. The great centers of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria and Antioch, capitals of Ptolemaic Egypt, cities such as Pergamon, Ephesus, Rhodes and Seleucia were also important, and increasing urbanization of the Eastern Mediterranean was characteristic of the time. The quests of Alexander had a number of consequences for the Greek city-states and it greatly widened the horizons of the Greeks, making the endless conflicts between the cities which had marked the 5th and 4th centuries BC seem petty and unimportant. It led to a steady emigration, particularly of the young and ambitious, the Greeks valued their local independence too much to consider actual unification, but they made several attempts to form federations through which they could hope to reassert their independence. Following Alexanders death a struggle for power broke out among his generals, which resulted in the break-up of his empire, Macedon fell to Cassander, son of Alexanders leading general Antipater, who after several years of warfare made himself master of most of the rest of Greece. He founded a new Macedonian capital at Thessaloniki and was generally a constructive ruler, Cassanders power was challenged by Antigonus, ruler of Anatolia, who promised the Greek cities that he would restore their freedom if they supported him. This led to successful revolts against Cassanders local rulers, in 307 BC, Antigonuss son Demetrius captured Athens and restored its democratic system, which had been suppressed by Alexander. But in 301 BC a coalition of Cassander and the other Hellenistic kings defeated Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus, after Cassanders death in 298 BC, however, Demetrius seized the Macedonian throne and gained control of most of Greece. He was defeated by a coalition of Greek rulers in 285 BC. Lysimachus was in turn defeated and killed in 280 BC, the Macedonian throne then passed to Demetriuss son Antigonus II, who also defeated an invasion of the Greek lands by the Gauls, who at this time were living in the Balkans. The battle against the Gauls united the Antigonids of Macedon and the Seleucids of Antioch, an alliance which was directed against the wealthiest Hellenistic power. Antigonus II ruled until his death in 239 BC, and his family retained the Macedonian throne until it was abolished by the Romans in 146 BC. Their control over the Greek city states was intermittent, however, since other rulers, particularly the Ptolemies, Sparta also remained independent, but generally refused to join any league. In 267 BC, Ptolemy II persuaded the Greek cities to revolt against Antigonus, in became the Chremonidian War. The cities were defeated and Athens lost her independence and her democratic institutions, the Aetolian League was restricted to the Peloponnese, but on being allowed to gain control of Thebes in 245 BC became a Macedonian ally. This marked the end of Athens as a actor, although it remained the largest, wealthiest and most cultivated city in Greece. In 255 BC, Antigonus defeated the Egyptian fleet at Cos and brought the Aegean islands, except Rhodes, in spite of their decreased political power and autonomy, the Greek city state or polis continued to be the basic form of political and social organization in Greece. Classical city states such as Athens and Ephesus grew and even thrived in this period, the Aetolians and the Achaeans developed strong federal states or leagues, which were governed by councils of city representatives and assemblies of league citizens
29.
Aeacides of Epirus
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Aeacides may also refer to Peleus, son of Aeacus, or Achilles, grandson of Aeacus. Aeacides, king of Epirus, was a son of king Arymbas, Aeacides married Phthia, the daughter of Menon of Pharsalus, by whom he had the celebrated son Pyrrhus and two daughters, Deidamia and Troias. He succeeded to the throne of Epirus on the death of his cousin Alexander, in 317 BC he assisted Polyperchon in restoring his cousin Olympias and the five-year-old king Alexander IV, to Macedonia. In the following year he marched to the assistance of Olympias, who was pressed by Cassander, but the Epirots disliked the service, rose against Aeacides. Pyrrhus, who was only two years old, was with difficulty saved from destruction by some faithful servants. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
30.
Epirus
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Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It is currently divided between the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece and the counties of Gjirokastër, Vlorë, the largest city in Epirus is Ioannina, seat of the region of Epirus, with Gjirokastër the largest city in the Albanian part of Epirus. A rugged and mountainous region, Epirus was the north-west area of ancient Greece. It was inhabited by the Greek tribes of the Chaonians, Molossians, and Thesprotians, and home to the sanctuary of Dodona, the oldest ancient Greek oracle, and the most prestigious one after Delphi. Unified into a state in 370 BC by the Aeacidae dynasty, Epirus achieved fame during the reign of Pyrrhus of Epirus. Epirus subsequently became part of the Roman Empire along with the rest of Greece in 146 BC, following the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade, Epirus became the center of the Despotate of Epirus, one of the successor states to the Byzantine Empire. Conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, Epirus became semi-independent during the rule of Ali Pasha in the early 19th century, but the Ottomans re-asserted their control in 1821. Following the Balkan Wars and World War I, southern Epirus became part of Greece, the name Epirus is derived from the Greek, Ἤπειρος, Ḗpeiros, meaning mainland or terra firma. It is thought to come from an Indo-European root *apero- coast, and was applied to the mainland opposite Corfu. The local name was stamped on the coinage of the unified Epirote commonwealth, the Albanian name for the region, which derives from the Greek, is Epiri. The historical region of Epirus is generally regarded as extending from the end of the Ceraunian mountains, located just south of the Bay of Aulon. The northern boundary of ancient Epirus is alternatively given as the mouth of the Aoös river, epiruss eastern boundary is defined by the Pindus Mountains, that form the spine of mainland Greece and separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly. To the west, Epirus faces the Ionian Sea, the island of Corfu is situated off the Epirote coast but is not regarded as part of Epirus. The definition of Epirus has changed over time, such that modern administrative boundaries do not correspond to the boundaries of ancient Epirus, the region of Epirus in Greece only comprises a fraction of classical Epirus and does not include its easternmost portions, which lie in Thessaly. Epirus is a rugged and mountainous region. It is largely made up of the Pindus Mountains, a series of limestone ridges that are a continuation of the Dinaric Alps. The Pindus mountains form the spine of mainland Greece and separate Epirus from Macedonia, the ridges of the Pindus are parallel to the sea and generally so steep that the valleys between them are mostly suitable for pasture rather than large-scale agriculture. Altitude increases as one moves east, away from the coast, reaching a maximum of 2, 637m at Mount Smolikas, most of Epirus lies on the windward side of the Pindus, and the prevailing winds from the Ionian Sea make the region the rainiest in mainland Greece
31.
Amphipolis
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Amphipolis is best known for the magnificent ancient Greek city, and later Roman city, whose impressive remains can still be seen. Excavations in and around the city have revealed important buildings, ancient walls, at the nearby vast Kasta burial mound, an important ancient Macedonian tomb has recently been revealed. The unique and beautiful Lion of Amphipolis monument nearby is a destination for visitors. It is today a municipality in the Serres regional unit of Greece, the seat of the municipality is Rodolivos. A second attempt took place in 437 BC on the site under the guidance of Hagnon, son of Nicias. The city and its first walls date from this time, the new settlement took the name of Amphipolis, a name which is the subject of much debate about its etymology. However, a probable explanation is the one given by Julius Pollux. Amphipolis became the power base of the Athenians in Thrace and, consequently. The Athenian population remained very much in the minority in the city, for this reason Amphipolis remained an independent city and an ally of the Athenians, rather than a colony or member of the confederacy. However, in 424 BC the Spartan general Brasidas easily took control of the city, a new Athenian force under the command of Cleon failed once more in 422 BC during the Battle of Amphipolis at which both Cleon and Brasidas lost their lives. Brasidas survived long enough to hear of the defeat of the Athenians and was buried at Amphipolis with impressive pomp, from then on he was regarded as the founder of the city and honoured with yearly games and sacrifices. The city itself kept its independence until the reign of king Philip II despite several Athenian attacks, in 357 BC, Philip succeeded where the Athenians had failed and conquered the city, thereby removing the obstacle which Amphipolis presented to Macedonian control over Thrace. The city was not immediately incorporated into the Macedonian kingdom, and for some time preserved its institutions, the border of Macedonia was not moved further east, however, Philip sent a number of Macedonian governors to Amphipolis, and in many respects the city was effectively Macedonianized. Nomenclature, the calendar and the currency were all replaced by Macedonian equivalents, the importance of the city in this period is shown by Alexander the Greats decision that it was one of the six cities at which large luxurious temples costing 1500 talents were built. Alexander prepared for campaigns here against Thrace in 335BC and the his army, the port was also used as naval base during his campaigns in Asia. After Alexanders death, his wife Roxane and their small son Alexander IV were exiled by Cassander and later murdered here, throughout Macedonian sovereignty Amphipolis was a strong fortress of great strategic and economic importance, as shown by inscriptions. Amphipolis became one of the stops on the Macedonian royal road, and later on the Via Egnatia. Apart from the ramparts of the town, the gymnasium
32.
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki
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The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki is a museum in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece. It holds and interprets artifacts from the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods, mostly from the city of Thessaloniki, the museum is housed in a building designed by architect Patroklos Karantinos and is an example of the modern architectural trends of Greece. Built in 1962, the museum had a new wing added to it in 1980, in which the findings from Vergina were displayed, in 2001 and 2004, in the run-up to the 2004 Athens Olympics, the museum was extensively renovated and its permanent exhibits reorganized. The central rooms hold exhibits from the excavations conducted in Thessaloniki. At present, the collection of Archaic to Late Roman sculptures from Thessaloniki and they illustrate the history of Thessaloniki from prehistoric times to Late Antiquity. Apart from its permanent displays, the Archaeological Museum also hosts major temporary, a showcase in the lobby of the museum displays some finds from the excavation of the Neolithic settlement at Makrygialos in Pieria, accompanied by information about the progress of the excavation. In the new wing, the The Gold of Macedon exhibition includes finds from excavations in Central Macedonia. There are also finds from cemeteries, and their role in burial customs is described. The Thessaloniki in Prehistory exhibition aims to recreate a picture of the Thermaic Gulf littoral before the city of Thessaloniki was built. On 26 February 2010, Greek authorities arrested two men found in possession of various antiquities, including a bronze statue of Alexander. If confirmed, this would make it the first original work of Lysippos ever discovered, the statue is currently being examined at the laboratory of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, which is expected to confirm or deny its authenticity
33.
Vergina
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Vergina is a small town in northern Greece, part of Veroia municipality in Imathia, Central Macedonia. It is now a unit within Veroia, with an area 69.047 km2. Vergina is best known as the site of ancient Aigai, the first capital of Macedon and it was here in 336 BC that Philip II was assassinated in the theatre and Alexander the Great was proclaimed king. It is also the site of a royal palace and of many rich ancient tombs. The objects and paintings found in the tombs at Vergina are of high quality. A museum now contains Philips tomb and a new museum is being constructed for the palace, the existence of an early Macedonian fortress named Aegae is reported by Justin, and was long identified as Edessa. Only with the discovery of substantial remains near Vergina, just east of the Haliacmon, in 1976, ancient sources give conflicting accounts of the origins of the Argead dynasty. Alexander I is the first truly historic figure and, based on the line of succession, herodotus says that the Argead dynasty was an ancient Greek royal house led by Perdiccas I who fled from Argos, in approximately 650 BC. Indeed, Aigai never became a city and most of its inhabitants lived in surrounding villages. From Aigai the Macedonians spread to the part of Macedonia. From 513 to 480 BC Aigai was part of the Persian Empire, the city wall was built in the 5th century probably by Perdiccas II. At the beginning of the 4th century BC, Archelaus transferred the Macedonian capital north-east to Pella on the central Macedonian plain. Nevertheless, Aegae retained its role as the city of the Macedonian kingdom, the site of the traditional cult centres, a royal palace. For this reason it was here that Philip II was attending the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to King Alexander of Epirus when he was murdered by his bodyguard in the theatre and his was the most lavish funeral ceremony of historic times held in Greece. Laid on a gold and ivory deathbed wearing his precious golden oak wreath. The bitter struggles between the heirs of Alexander, the Diadochi, in the 3rd century adversely affected the city, in 276 BC the Gauls of Pyrrhus plundered many of the tombs. After the overthrow of the Macedonian kingdom by the Romans in 168 BC both old and new capitals were destroyed, the walls pulled down and the palace, theatre, in the 1st century AD a landslide completely destroyed the city. However excavations prove that parts were inhabited in the 1st century AD
34.
Manolis Andronikos
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Manolis Andronikos was a Greek archaeologist and a professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Andronikos was born on October 23,1919 at Bursa, later, his family moved to Thessaloniki. He studied philosophy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and in 1952 became a professor of Classical Archeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, later he continued his studies at Oxford University with the professor Sir John D. Beazley. He came back to the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1957 where he taught Archeology first as instructor and he was married to the school teacher Olympia Kakoulidou and loved reading poetry, especially Kostis Palamas, Giorgos Seferis and Odysseas Elitis. He was the founder of a cultural group named Art. His greatest discovery occurred on November 8,1977, when he found a tomb at Vergina which he identified as that of Philip II of Macedon and it was unplundered and contained many valuable items, such as a golden larnax. The finds from this tomb were later included in the travelling exhibit The Search for Alexander displayed at four cities in the United States from 1980 to 1982 and he lived permanently in Thessaloniki on Papafi Street and died on March 30,1992. Vergina Philip II of Macedon Vergina Sun Macedon Ancient Macedonians Eugene N. Borza, american Journal of Archaeology 96.4 757-758
35.
Funeral Games (novel)
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Funeral Games is a 1981 historical novel by Mary Renault, dealing with the death of Alexander the Great and its aftermath, the gradual disintegration of his empire. It is the book of her Alexander trilogy. The historical sources listed for this book are, Quintus Curtius, Book X, diodorus Siculus, Books XVIII and XIX, for subsequent events. All human characters are actual historical individuals, unless otherwise noted, Alexander the Great, king of Macedon, Emperor of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt. He dies in the first chapter of the book but nevertheless remains the main character, Alexander IV, presumed son of Alexander the Great. Amyntas, already dead as the novel starts, but important as the husband of Kynna, Antigonos, usually called Monophtalmos, but One Eye in Funeral Games. Satrap of Phrygia, and later founder of the Antigonid dynasty, Antipatros, more commonly known as Antipater, regent of Macedon, too proud and too loyal to seize the throne for himself. Aristonous, staff officer of Alexander the Great, Arrhidaios, also known as Phillip Arrhidaios and Philip III. King, in only, of Macedon and of its empire. Suffers from epilepsy and from some sort of mental retardation, arybbas, Macedonian nobleman, famous for designing and building Alexanders magnificent funeral chariot. His name was actually Arridaios, but Renault changed his name, for the purposes of the novel, badia, one of three fictitious characters invented by Renault for the purposes of the novel. The former chief concubine of Persian king Artaxerxes Ochos, she is persuaded by Roxane to join a murderous conspiracy, Bagoas, the beloved of the late Alexander, who helps Ptolemy relocate Alexanders mummy to Alexandria. Darius III, Great King of Persia, assassinated by his own generals after he ran away from Alexander. Already dead as the novel begins and he lived from 337 to 283 BCE. Drypetis, younger daughter of king Darius III and widow of Hephaistion, the feeble-minded king of Macedon, Phillip Arrhidaios, is very fond of Eos and objects strenuously to the sacrifice, disrupting the ceremony, with serious consequences for world history. Eumenes, General and Chief Secretary of Alexander the Great, Eurydike or Eurydice, also known as Adeia. Granddaughter of two kings of Macedon, Philip II and Perdiccas III, Queen by virtue of her marriage to Philip Arrhidaios, she sought to become Queen on her own right. Ambitious, charismatic and courageous, she almost succeeded, Hephaistion, close lifelong friend of Alexander
36.
Mary Renault
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Mary Renault, born Eileen Mary Challans, was an English writer best known for her historical novels set in Ancient Greece. In addition to vivid fictional portrayals of Theseus, Socrates, Plato and Alexander the Great, she wrote a non-fiction biography of Alexander. Born at Dacre Lodge,49 Plashet Road, Forest Gate, Essex, Renault was educated at St Hughs College, Oxford, then an all-womens college, in 1933 she began training as a nurse at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. During her training she met Julie Mullard, a nurse with whom she established a lifelong romantic relationship. She worked as a nurse while beginning a career, treating Dunkirk evacuees at the Winford Emergency Hospital in Bristol. Her novel The Friendly Young Ladies, which is about a relationship between a writer and a nurse, seems to have been inspired by her own relationship with Mullard. In 1948, after her novel Return to Night won an MGM prize worth $150,000, Renault and Mullard emigrated to South Africa, where they remained for the rest of their lives. There, according to Proud, they found a community of gay expatriates who had escaped the repressive attitudes towards homosexuality in Britain for the liberal atmosphere of Durban. Mary and Julie found themselves able to set up together in this new land without causing the outrage they had sometimes provoked at home. However, both Renault and Mullard were critical of the less liberal aspects of their new home, shortly before her death, Mary was listed as one of the famous alumnae who had brought the Radcliffe Infirmary Nurses Home much honour. Due to the wet winter of 1983 in Cape Town. At first, the cough was no more than a mild irritant for Mary, after Julie voiced her fears to their mutual friend Dr. Sonnenberg, x-rays were performed, and Mary was diagnosed with pneumonia and was directed to a nursing home. After failing to eliminate the pneumonia with antibiotics, a visiting British surgeon performed a bronchoscopy under general anaesthetic, shortly after, the doctor revealed to Julie that he had found fluid on the lung and had aspirated some it, the cause was cancer. Julie begged the doctors to say nothing to Mary unless she demanded to be told, by October, a friend of Dr. Sonnenberg, Dr. Slome, was draining off liquid twice a week and was convinced that there was a pocket he could not reach. Mary was then put on oxygen in order to ease her breathing, on 12 December 1983, as a last hope, the doctors decided to inject a new chemical into the pleura early the next morning, in the hope that it would stop further fluid from forming. Before the operation began, Julie received a phone call. Mary Renault died in Cape Town on 13 December 1983, in South Africa Renault was able to write forthrightly about homosexual relationships for the first time. Her sympathetic treatment of love between men won her a gay readership, but it also led to rumours that Renault was really a gay man writing under a female pseudonym
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