1.
Red-figure pottery
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Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. It developed in Athens around 520 BC and remained in use until the late 3rd century BC and it replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure vase painting within a few decades. Its modern name is based on the depictions in red colour on a black background. The most important areas of production, apart from Attica, were in Southern Italy, the style was also adopted in other parts of Greece. Etruria became an important centre of production outside the Greek World, Attic red-figure vases were exported throughout Greece and beyond. For a long time, they dominated the market for fine ceramics, only few centres of pottery production could compete with Athens in terms of innovation, quality and production capacity. Of the red figure vases produced in Athens alone, more than 40,000 specimens, from the second most important production centre, Southern Italy, more than 20,000 vases and fragments are preserved. Starting with the studies by John D. Beazley and Arthur Dale Trendall, some vases can be ascribed to individual artists or schools. The images provide evidence for the exploration of Greek cultural history, everyday life, iconography, red figure is, put simply, the reverse of the black figure technique. Both were achieved by using the three-phase firing technique, the paintings were applied to the shaped but unfired vessels after they had dried to a leathery, near-brittle texture. In Attica, the normal unburnt clay was of orange colour at this stage, the outlines of the intended figures were drawn either with a blunt scraper, leaving a slight groove, or with charcoal, which would disappear entirely during firing. Then the contours were redrawn with a brush, using a clay slip. Occasionally, the decided to somewhat change the figural scene. In such cases the grooves from the original sketch sometimes remain visible, important contours were often drawn with a thicker slip, leading to a slightly protruding outline, less important lines and internal details were drawn with diluted glossy clay. Detail in other colours, like white or red, were applied at this point, the relief line was probably drawn with a bristle brush or a hair, dipped in thick paint. The suggestion of a hollow needle seems somewhat unlikely, the application of relief outlines was necessary, as the rather liquid glossy clay would otherwise have turned out too dull. After the techniques initial phase of development, both alternatives were used, so as to differentiate gradations and details more clearly, the space between figures was filled with a glossy grey clay slip. Then, the vases underwent triple-phase firing, during which the glossy clay reached its characteristic black or black-brown colour through reduction, the new technique had the primary advantage of permitting a far better execution of internal detail
2.
Vulci
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Vulci or Volci was a rich and important Etruscan city. As George Dennis wrote, Vulci is a city whose very name, was scarcely remembered, but which now, for the enormous treasures of antiquity it has yielded, is exalted above every other city of the ancient world. Many impressive remains of the city can be seen today, Vulci was located near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea about 80 km northwest of Rome, on the Fiora River, between Montalto di Castro and Canino. The Vulci, like other Etruscans, became master sculptors in bronze as acknowledged by ancient writers, although most large bronzes have been lost, there remain some magnificent examples of Etruscan bronze work such as the Chimera of Arezzo and the Monteleone chariot, possibly made in Vulci. Despite these discoveries most of these tombs were later forgotten and lost, in the Villanovan period, the wealth of metal resources in the Colline Metallifere hills was important in the development of trade especially with Sardinia. Among the funeral contents is a magnificent bronze statue of a now in the National Etruscan Museum museum in the Villa Giulia. Numerous Villanovan fibulas have also found in Sardinia. Vulcis golden age of influence and wealth was in the 6th century BC when it ruled over the cities of Orbetello, Saturnia, Sovana, Castro, Pitigliano, in return it exported its treasures throughout the Mediterranean, pottery, bronzes and wine. Originally the Etruscans were co-founders of Rome and they continued to dominate it, Vulci had some influence on early Rome, as Servius Tullius and the Vibenna brothers were from Vulci. Their names and pictures appear on a fresco in the François Tomb, after the population of Rome had become predominantly Italic, the Etruscan kings were overthrown. After a time of crisis in the 2nd half of the 5th century, the Roman–Etruscan Wars lasted many years before the Romans gained control over Etruria and the Etruscans were soundly defeated at Lake Vadimo in 310 and 283 BC. Nevertheless, Vulci was strong enough to further resist until Tiberius Coruncanius triumphed over Vulci in 280 BC, the Romans took the coast from Vulci, cutting the base of their power which seems to have led to the decline of the city. The Etruscan league splintered apart during the war and the Etruscans were soon assimilated, Vulci does not seem to have been of great importance in the remaining Roman period, even though the Romans built the Via Aurelia through it in 240 BC. However, rich and impressive buildings in the city date to this period, a surviving milestone gives the distance to Rome as 70 milia passuum. The road outside the gate was repaved probably under Trajans reign. Later Vulci became an episcopal see, the final abandonment seems to be in the 8th c. Recent excavations are discovering much more information on the history and importance of the city, the former wealth of the town was shown first by the discoveries made in its extensive necropoli starting from the 18th century - Greek vases, bronzes and other remains. From these tombs more Attic vases have been found in Vulci than at any other ancient site, many of the finds were sold by the excavators and many found their way into the major museums of the world where they can be seen today
3.
Etruria
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Etruria was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria. Such trade occurred either directly with Egypt, or through intermediaries such as Greek or Phoenician sailors, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany styled itself in Latin as Magnus Ducatus Etruriae. The name Etruria was also applied to the Kingdom of Etruria, a particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H. Lawrences Sketches of Etruscan Places and other Italian essays. Etruscan was the language for meetings. When Etruria was conquered by the Roman Republic, Latin became the official language, cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, by George Dennis, an overview of Etruscan civilisation
4.
Legendary creature
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A legendary creature is an animal or part human described in non-historical stories that sometimes involve the supernatural. In the classical era, monstrous creatures such as the Cyclops, other creatures, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity. Some legendary creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and were believed to be creatures, for example dragons, griffins. Others were based on real encounters, originating in garbled accounts of travelers tales, such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, a variety of mythical animals appear in the art and stories of the Classical era. For example in the Odyssey, monstrous creatures include the Cyclops, Scylla, in other tales there appear the Medusa to be defeated by Perseus, the Minotaur to be destroyed by Theseus, and the Hydra to be killed by Heracles, while Aeneas battles with the harpies. These monsters thus have the function of emphasising the greatness of the heroes involved. Some classical era creatures, such as the centaur, chimaera, Triton, similarly, sphinxes appear as winged lions in Indian art. In Medieval art, animals, both real and mythical, played important roles and these included decorative forms as in Medieval jewellery, sometimes with their limbs intricately interlaced. Animal forms were used to add humour or majesty to objects, in Christian art, animals carried symbolic meanings, where for example the lamb symbolised Christ, a dove indicated the Holy Spirit, and the classical griffin represented a guardian of the dead. Medieval bestiaries included animals regardless of reality, the basilisk represented the devil. One function of animals in the Middle Ages was allegory. Unicorns, for example, were described as swift and unable to be caught by traditional methods. It was believed that the way for one to catch this beast was to lead a virgin to its dwelling. Then, the unicorn was supposed to leap into her lap and go to sleep, in terms of symbolism, the unicorn was a metaphor for Christ. Unicorns represented the idea of innocence and purity, in the King James Bible, Psalm 92,10 states, My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn. This is because the translators of the King James erroneously translated the Hebrew word reem as unicorn, later versions translate this as wild ox. The unicorn’s small size signifies the humility of Christ, another common legendary creature which served allegorical functions within the Middle Ages was the dragon. Dragons were identified with serpents, though their attributes were greatly intensified, the dragon was supposed to have been larger than all other animals
5.
Mythological hybrid
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Mythological hybrids are legendary creatures combining body parts of more than one species, one of which is often human. Remains similar to those of hybrids have been found in burial sites discovered by archaeologists. Known combinations include horse-cows, sheep-cows, and a six-legged sheep, the skeletons were formed by ancient peoples who joined together body parts from animal carcasses of different species. The practice is believed to have been done as an offering to their gods and these forms motifs appear across cultures, in many mythologies around the world. Such hybrids can be classified as partly human hybrids or non-human hybrids combining two or more animal species. Hybrids often originate as zoomorphic deities who, over time, are given an anthropomorphic aspect, partly human hybrids appear in petroglyphs or cave paintings from the Upper Paleolithic, in shamanistic or totemistic contexts. Religious historian Mircea Eliade has observed that beliefs regarding animal identity, the iconography of the Vinca culture of Neolithic Europe in particular is noted for its frequent depiction of an owl-beaked bird goddess. Examples of humans with animal heads in the ancient Egyptian pantheon include jackal-headed Anubis, cobra-headed Amunet, lion-headed Sekhmet, falcon-headed Horus, etc. Most of these also have a purely zoomorphic and a purely anthropomorphic aspect. Non-human hybrids also appear in ancient Egyptian iconography as in Ammit, Mythological hybrids became very popular in Luwian and Assyrian art of the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age. The angel the mermaid and the Shedu all trace their origins to Assyro-Babylonian art, in Mesopotamian mythology the urmahlullu, or lion-man served as a guardian spirit, especially of bathrooms. The Old Babylonian Lilitu demon, particularly as shown in the Burney Relief prefigures the harpy/siren motif, the motif of otherwise human figures sporting horns may derive from partly goat hybrids or as partly bull hybrids. The Gundestrup cauldron and the Pashupati figure have stags antlers, the Christian representation of Moses with horns, however, is due to a mistranslation of the Hebrew text of Exodus 34, 29-35 by Jerome. The most prominent hybrid in Hindu iconography is elephant-headed Ganesha, god of wisdom, knowledge, both Nāga and Garuda are non-hybrid mythical animals in their early attestations, but become partly human hybrids in later iconography. The god Vishnu is believed to have taken his first four incarnations in human-animal form, namely, Matsya, Kurma, Varaha Narasimha. Kamadhenu, the cow which is considered to be the mother of all other cattle is often portrayed as a cow with human head, peacock tail. Hornung E. Komposite Gottheiten in der ägyptischen Ikonographie // Uehlinger C, sources for the cultural history of the Near East and the eastern Mediterranean, Freiburg / Göttingen, 1-20. Nash H. Judgment of the humanness/animality of mythological hybrid figures // The Journal of Social Psychology, Nash H. Human/Animal Body Imagery, Judgment of Mythological Hybrid Figures // The Journal of General Psychology
6.
Faun
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The faun is a mythological half human–half goat manifestation of forest and animal spirits that would help or hinder humans at whim. They are often associated with the satyrs of Greek mythology, romans believed fauns inspired fear in men traveling in lonely, remote or wild places. They were also capable of guiding humans in need, as in the fable of The Satyr, satyrs also were more woman-loving than fauns, and fauns were rather foolish where satyrs had more knowledge. Ancient Roman mythological belief also included a god named Faunus often associated with enchanted woods and the Greek god Pan, the Barberini Faun is a Hellenistic marble statue from about 200 BCE, found in the Mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian and installed at Palazzo Barberini by Cardinal Maffeo Barberini. Gian Lorenzo Bernini restored and refinished the statue, the House of the Faun in Pompei, dating from the 2nd century BCE, was so named because of the dancing faun statue that was the centerpiece of the large garden. The original now resides in the National Museum in Naples and a copy stands in its place and it has become a noticeable trend recent years for some fantasy artists to depict fauns as having the hind legs, tail, and antlers of a deer instead those of a goat. This may be due to the English word faun sounding the same as the English word for baby deer fawn, the Marble Faun is a romance set in Italy by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was said to have been inspired after viewing the Faun of Praxiteles in the Capitoline Museum, mr. Tumnus, in C. S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia, is a faun. In Lolita, the protagonist is attracted to pubescent girls whom he dubs nymphets, faunlets are the male equivalent, in the 1981 film My Dinner With Andre it is related how fauns befriend and take a mathematician to meet Pan. In Guillermo del Toros 2006 film Pans Labyrinth, a faun guides the films protagonist, Ofelia, to a series of tasks, don, in Rick Riordans The Son of Neptune, is a faun. In the book, several fauns appear, begging for money, due to his memory of the Greek satyrs, Percy Jackson feels like there should be more to fauns. Also, in the prequel to The Son of Neptune, The Lost Hero, in the third instalment in the series, The Mark of Athena, Frank Zhang calls Hedge a faun. In The Goddess Within, a fiction novel written by Iva Kenaz
7.
Minotaur
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In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being part man and part bull. The Minotaur dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, the Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. The term Minotaur derives from the Ancient Greek Μῑνώταυρος, a compound of the name Μίνως, in Crete, the Minotaur was known by the name Asterion, a name shared with Minos foster-father. Minotaur was originally a noun in reference to this mythical figure. The use of minotaur as a noun to refer to members of a generic species of bull-headed creatures developed much later. After he ascended the throne of the island of Crete, Minos competed with his brothers to rule, Minos prayed to Poseidon, the sea god, to send him a snow-white bull, as a sign of support. He was to kill the bull to show honor to the deity and he thought Poseidon would not care if he kept the white bull and sacrificed one of his own. To punish Minos, Poseidon made Pasiphaë, Minoss wife, fall deeply in love with the bull, Pasiphaë had craftsman Daedalus make a hollow wooden cow, and climbed inside it in order to mate with the white bull. The offspring was the monstrous Minotaur, Pasiphaë nursed him, but he grew and became ferocious, being the unnatural offspring of a woman and a beast, he had no natural source of nourishment and thus devoured humans for sustenance. Minos, after getting advice from the oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus construct a labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. Its location was near Minos palace in Knossos, the Minotaur is commonly represented in Classical art with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. One of the figurations assumed by the river spirit Achelous in seducing Deianira is as a man with the head of a bull, from Classical times through the Renaissance, the Minotaur appears at the center of many depictions of the Labyrinth. This alternative tradition survived into the Renaissance, and still figures in modern depictions. Androgeus, son of Minos, had killed by the Athenians. Others say he was killed at Marathon by the Cretan bull, his mothers former taurine lover, the common tradition is that Minos waged war to avenge the death of his son and won. Catullus, in his account of the Minotaurs birth, refers to another version in which Athens was compelled by the plague to pay penalties for the killing of Androgeos. Aegeus had to avert the plague caused by his crime by sending young men at the time as the best of unwed girls as a feast to the Minotaur. Minos required that seven Athenian youths and seven maidens, drawn by lots, when the third sacrifice approached, Theseus volunteered to slay the monster
8.
Centaur
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A centaur, or occasionally hippocentaur, is a mythological creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse. The centaurs were usually said to have born of Ixion. Another version, however, makes them children of a certain Centaurus and this Centaurus was either himself the son of Ixion and Nephele or of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. In the later version of the story his twin brother was Lapithes, ancestor of the Lapiths, Centaurs were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia. Another tribe of centaurs was said to have lived on Cyprus, according to Nonnus, they were fathered by Zeus, who, in frustration after Aphrodite had eluded him, spilled his seed on the ground of that land. Unlike those of mainland Greece, the Cyprian centaurs were horned, there were also the Lamian Pheres, twelve rustic daimones of the Lamos river. They were set by Zeus to guard the infant Dionysos, protecting him from the machinations of Hera, the Lamian Pheres later accompanied Dionysos in his campaign against the Indians. Centaurs subsequently featured in Roman mythology, and were familiar figures in the medieval bestiary and they remain a staple of modern fantastic literature. The strife among these cousins is a metaphor for the conflict between the lower appetites and civilized behavior in humankind, theseus, a hero and founder of cities, who happened to be present, threw the balance in favour of the right order of things, and assisted Pirithous. The Centaurs were driven off or destroyed, another Lapith hero, Caeneus, who was invulnerable to weapons, was beaten into the earth by Centaurs wielding rocks and the branches of trees. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as wild as untamed horses, like the Titanomachy, the defeat of the Titans by the Olympian gods, the contests with the Centaurs typify the struggle between civilization and barbarism. The Centauromachy is most famously portrayed in the Parthenon metopes by Phidias, a painted terracotta centaur was found in the Heros tomb at Lefkandi, and by the Geometric period, centaurs figure among the first representational figures painted on Greek pottery. An often-published Geometric period bronze of a warrior face-to-face with a centaur is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in Greek art of the Archaic period, centaurs are depicted in three different forms. Some centaurs are depicted with a human torso attached to the body of a horse at the withers, where the neck would be. Class B centaurs are depicted with a body and legs, joined at the waist with the hindquarters of a horse. A third type, designated Class C, depicts centaurs with human forelegs terminating in hooves, Baur describes this as an apparent development of Aeolic art, which never became particularly widespread. At a later period, paintings on some amphoras depict winged centaurs, Centaurs were also frequently depicted in Roman art. The most common theory holds that the idea of centaurs came from the first reaction of a culture, as in the Minoan Aegean world
9.
Harpy
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In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, a harpy was a female monster in the form of a bird with a human face. They steal food from their victims while they are eating and carry evildoers to the Erinyes and they seem originally to have been wind spirits. Homer wrote that a harpy was the mother of the two horses of Achilles sired by the West Wind Zephyrus, hesiod calls them two lovely-haired creatures, the daughters of Thaumas and the Oceanid Electra, who were sisters of Iris. Pottery art depicting the harpies featured beautiful women with wings, Roman and Byzantine writers detailed their ugliness. King Phineus of Thrace was given the gift of prophecy by Zeus and this continued until the arrival of Jason and the Argonauts. The dogs of great Zeus returned to their cave in Minoan Crete, thankful for their help, Phineus told the Argonauts how to pass the Symplegades. In this form they were agents of punishment who abducted people and they were vicious, cruel and violent. They lived on the islands of the Strophades and they were usually seen as the personifications of the destructive nature of wind. The harpies in this tradition are now thought of as three sisters instead of the original two, hesiods two Harpies are named Aello and Ocypete, and Virgil added Celaeno as a third. Homer knew of a Harpy named Podarge, aeneas encountered harpies on the Strophades as they repeatedly made off with the feast the Trojans were setting. Celaeno utters a prophecy, the Trojans will be so hungry they will eat their tables before they reach the end of their journey, Harpies remained vivid in the Middle Ages. The harpy eagle is a bird named after the mythological animal. The term is used metaphorically to refer to a nasty or annoying woman. Harpies are referenced in present-day culture, especially in fiction and fantasy and he was forced to use this name, because harpy was also a slang term for street prostitute. The award-winning short film Harpya by Raoul Servais features a man being terrorized by a harpy, in George R. R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire, the harpy is the heraldric emblem of the cities of Slavers Bay, and of their predecessor the Ghiscari Empire. Harpies are villainous characters in Astrid Lindgrens childrens novel Ronia the Robbers Daughter, Harpies appear in Rick Riordans Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, in which they are employed by Dionysus and Chiron at Camp Half-Blood. In the spin-off series, Heroes of Olympus, Ella, a recurring character, in the Harry Potter series, the name of the Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies, is derived from the mythological harpies. Alkonost Hybrid Karura Kinnara Lamia Sirin Tengu Media related to Harpies at Wikimedia Commons
10.
Siren (mythology)
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In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on small islands called Sirenum scopuli. All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks, although a Sophocles fragment makes Phorcys their father, when Sirens are named, they are usually as daughters of the river god Achelous, with Terpsichore, Melpomene, Sterope, or Chthon. In Euripides play, Helen, Helen in her anguish calls upon Winged maidens, although they lured mariners, the Greeks portrayed the Sirens in their meadow starred with flowers and not as sea deities. Roman writers linked the Sirens more closely to the sea, as daughters of Phorcys, Sirens are found in many Greek stories, notably in Homers Odyssey. Their number is reported as from two to five. In the Odyssey, Homer says nothing of their origin or names, according to Ovid, the Sirens were the companions of young Persephone. They were given wings by Demeter to search for Persephone when she was abducted, however, the Fabulae of Hyginus has Demeter cursing the Sirens for failing to intervene in the abduction of Persephone. Their song is continually calling on Persephone, the term siren song refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad conclusion. As Jane Ellen Harrison notes of The Ker as siren, It is strange and beautiful that Homer should make the Sirens appeal to the spirit, not to the flesh. The siren song is a promise to Odysseus of mantic truths, with a promise that he will live to tell them, they sing, Once he hears to his hearts content, sails on. We know all the pains that the Greeks and Trojans once endured on the plain of Troy when the gods willed it so— all that comes to pass on the fertile earth. They are mantic creatures like the Sphinx with whom they have much in common and their song takes effect at midday, in a windless calm. The end of song is death. That the sailors flesh is rotting away, suggests it has not been eaten and it has been suggested that, with their feathers stolen, their divine nature kept them alive, but unable to provide food for their visitors, who starved to death by refusing to leave. According to Hyginus, sirens were fated to live only until the mortals who heard their songs were able to pass by them, Sirens were believed to combine women and birds in various ways. In early Greek art, Sirens were represented as birds with womens heads, bird feathers. Later, they were represented as female figures with the legs of birds, with or without wings, playing a variety of musical instruments, especially harps
11.
Greek mythology
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It was a part of the religion in ancient Greece. Greek mythology is explicitly embodied in a collection of narratives. Greek myth attempts to explain the origins of the world, and details the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. These accounts initially were disseminated in a tradition, today the Greek myths are known primarily from ancient Greek literature. The oldest known Greek literary sources, Homers epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on the Trojan War, archaeological findings provide a principal source of detail about Greek mythology, with gods and heroes featured prominently in the decoration of many artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles, in the succeeding Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an influence on the culture, arts. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes, Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from the Geometric period from c. Mythical narration plays an important role in every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus and this work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c, 180–125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed the basis for the collection, however the Library discusses events that occurred long after his death, among the earliest literary sources are Homers two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other poets completed the cycle, but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no connection with Homer. They are choral hymns from the part of the so-called Lyric age. Hesiods Works and Days, a poem about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora. The poet gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides, and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion, additionally, myth was central to classical Athenian drama
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Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
13.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
14.
Phallus
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A phallus is a penis, especially when erect, an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely, iconically—resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus, however, such symbols often represent fertility and cultural implications that are associated with the male sexual organ, as well as the male orgasm. The term is a loanword from Latin phallus, itself borrowed from Greek φαλλός, compare with Old Norse boli bull, Old English bulluc bullock, Greek φαλλή whale. The Hohle phallus, a 28, 000-year-old siltstone phallus discovered in the Hohle Fels cave, in traditional Greek mythology, Hermes, god of boundaries and exchange is considered to be a phallic deity by association with representations of him on herms featuring a phallus. There is no consensus on this depiction and it would be speculation to consider Hermes a type of fertility god. Pan, son of Hermes, was depicted as having an exaggerated erect phallus. Priapus is a Greek god of fertility whose symbol was an exaggerated phallus, the son of Aphrodite and either Dionysus or Adonis, according to different forms of the original myth, he is the protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens, and male genitalia. His name is the origin of the medical term priapism, the city of Tyrnavos in Greece holds an annual Phallus festival, a traditional phallophoric event on the first days of Lent. The phallus was ubiquitous in ancient Roman culture, particularly in the form of the fascinum, the ruins of Pompeii produced bronze wind chimes that featured the phallus, often in multiples, to ward off the evil eye and other malevolent influences. Statues of Priapus similarly guarded gardens, Roman boys wore the bulla, an amulet that contained a phallic charm, until they formally came of age. According to Augustine of Hippo, the cult of Father Liber, the phallic deity Mutunus Tutunus promoted marital sex. A sacred phallus was among the objects considered vital to the security of the Roman state which were in the keeping of the Vestal Virgins, sexuality in ancient Rome has sometimes been characterized as phallocentric. Evidence of phallic worship in India dates back to prehistoric times, stone Lingams with several varieties of stylized heads, or the glans, are found to this date in many of the old temples, and in museums in India and abroad. The almost naturalistic giant lingam is distinguished by its prominent, bulbous glans, linguistic evidence indicates that the post-Vedic Hindus not only adopted the tradition/ cult of the linga from the pre-Vedic non-Aryans, but even the term itself is of Austric origin. Chakravarti further says that when two words entered Sanskrit, they, along with another word langula were derivations of the same root syllable lang or lng. Stone lingams have been found in several Indus Civilization sites, varying in size from 3 feet in length to very small pieces and these are found to be of steatite, sandstone and burnt clay. Some among these are unmistakably naturalistic in their rendition, Phallic worship was prevalent in India from the Chalcolithic period itself, and it was closely associated with magical rites based religion of that time. The phallus played a role in the cult of Osiris in ancient Egyptian religion, supposedly, Isis made a wooden replacement
15.
Dionysus
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Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and religious ecstasy in ancient Greek religion and myth. Wine played an important role in Greek culture, and the cult of Dionysus was the religious focus for its unrestrained consumption. He may have been worshipped as early as c, 1500–1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks, traces of Dionysian-type cult have also been found in ancient Minoan Crete. His origins are uncertain, and his cults took many forms, some are described by ancient sources as Thracian, in some cults, he arrives from the east, as an Asiatic foreigner, in others, from Ethiopia in the South. He is a god of epiphany, the god that comes and his festivals were the driving force behind the development of Greek theatre. The earliest cult images of Dionysus show a male, bearded and robed. He holds a staff, tipped with a pine-cone and known as a thyrsus. Later images show him as a beardless, sensuous, naked or half-naked androgynous youth, in its fully developed form, his central cult imagery shows his triumphant, disorderly arrival or return, as if from some place beyond the borders of the known and civilized. His procession is made up of female followers and bearded satyrs with erect penises, some are armed with the thyrsus. The god himself is drawn in a chariot, usually by exotic beasts such as lions or tigers and this procession is presumed to be the cult model for the followers of his Dionysian Mysteries. He is also known as Bacchus, the adopted by the Romans. His thyrsus, sometimes wound with ivy and dripping with honey, is both a beneficent wand and a used to destroy those who oppose his cult and the freedoms he represents. As Eleutherios, his wine, music and ecstatic dance free his followers from self-conscious fear and care and those who partake of his mysteries are possessed and empowered by the god himself. The cult of Dionysus is also a cult of the souls, his maenads feed the dead through blood-offerings and he is sometimes categorised as a dying-and-rising god. Some scholars believe that Dionysus is a syncretism of a local Greek nature deity, Dionysus had a strange birth that evokes the difficulty in fitting him into the Olympian pantheon. His mother was a woman, Semele, the daughter of king Cadmus of Thebes, and his father was Zeus. Zeus wife, Hera, discovered the affair while Semele was pregnant, appearing as an old crone, Hera befriended Semele, who confided in her that Zeus was the actual father of the baby in her womb. Hera pretended not to believe her, and planted seeds of doubt in Semeles mind, curious, Semele demanded of Zeus that he reveal himself in all his glory as proof of his godhood
16.
Black-figure pottery
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Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BC, although there are specimens dating as late as the 2nd century BC, stylistically it can be distinguished from the preceding orientalizing period and the subsequent red-figure pottery style. Figures and ornaments were painted on the body of the vessel using shapes, delicate contours were incised into the paint before firing, and details could be reinforced and highlighted with opaque colors, usually white and red. The principal centers for this style were initially the commercial hub Corinth, other important production sites are known to have been in Laconia, Boeotia, eastern Greece, and Italy. Particularly in Italy individual styles developed which were at least in part intended for the Etruscan market, Greek black-figure vases were very popular with the Etruscans, as is evident from frequent imports. Greek artists created customized goods for the Etruscan market which differed in form, the Etruscans also developed their own black-figure ceramic industry oriented on Greek models. Black-figure painting on vases was the first art style to give rise to a significant number of identifiable artists, some are known by their true names, others only by the pragmatic names they were given in the scientific literature. Especially Attica was the home of well-known artists, some potters introduced a variety of innovations which frequently influenced the work of the painters, sometimes it was the painters who inspired the potters’ originality. Red- as well as black-figure vases are one of the most important sources of mythology and iconography, since the 19th century at the latest, these vases have been the subject of intensive investigation. The foundation for pottery painting is the carrier, in other words the vase onto which an image is painted. Popular shapes alternated with passing fashions, whereas many recurred after intervals, others were replaced over time. But they all had a method of manufacture, after the vase was made. The workshops were under the control of the potters, who as owners of businesses had a social position. The extent to which potters and painters were identical is uncertain and it is likely that many master potters themselves made their main contribution in the production process as vase painters, while employing additional painters. It is, however, not easy to reconstruct links between potters and painters, but such attributions can only be made with confidence if the signatures of potter and painter are at hand. The painters, who were slaves or craftsmen paid as pottery painters, worked on unfired. In the case of production the subject was painted on the vase with a clay slurry which turned black after firing. This was not a color in the sense, since this surface slip was of the same material as the vase itself
17.
Goat
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The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bovidae and is related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat, Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species, and have been used for their milk, meat, hair, and skins over much of the world. In 2011, there were more than 924 million live goats around the globe, according to the UN Food, female goats are referred to as does or nannies, intact males are called bucks or billies, and juveniles of both sexes are called kids. Goat meat from animals is called kid or cabrito, while meat from older animals is known simply as goat or sometimes called chevon. To refer to the male, Old English used bucca until ousted by hegote, hegoote in the late 12th century, nanny goat originated in the 18th century and billy goat in the 19th. Goats are among the earliest animals domesticated by humans, the most recent genetic analysis confirms the archaeological evidence that the wild Bezoar ibex of the Zagros Mountains is the likely original ancestor of probably all domestic goats today. The earliest remnants of domesticated goats dating 10,000 years before present are found in Ganj Dareh in Iran. Goat remains have been found at sites in Jericho, Choga Mami Djeitun and Çayönü. Studies of DNA evidence suggests 10,000 years BP as the domestication date, historically, goat hide has been used for water and wine bottles in both traveling and transporting wine for sale. It has also used to produce parchment. Goats are considered small livestock animals, compared to animals such as cattle, camels and horses, but larger than microlivestock such as poultry, rabbits, cavies. Each recognized breed of goats has specific weight ranges, which vary from over 140 kg for bucks of larger breeds such as the Boer, within each breed, different strains or bloodlines may have different recognized sizes. At the bottom of the range are miniature breeds such as the African Pygmy. Most goats naturally have two horns, of various shapes and sizes depending on the breed, Goats have horns unless they are polled or the horns have been removed, typically soon after birth. There have been incidents of polycerate goats, although this is a genetic rarity thought to be inherited, the horns are most typically removed in commercial dairy goat herds, to reduce the injuries to humans and other goats. Unlike cattle, goats have not been bred to be reliably polled, as the genes determining sex. Breeding together two genetically polled goats results in a number of intersex individuals among the offspring, which are typically sterile
18.
Satyress
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Satyresses are the female equivalent to satyrs, depicted with a human head and torso, generally including bare breasts, but the body of a goat from waist down. They were an invention by poets and artists and are comparatively rare in classical art. Such a creature may also be known as a fauness, but this nomenclature is rarely seen in English, though not often seen compared to the omnipresent depictions of male satyrs and centaurs, the satyress figure was certainly not unknown to Renaissance artists. Michelangelo included a haggard satyress nursing drunken toddlers at her breasts in his 1533 work. The Art Institute of Chicago has an example of a beautiful, mature satyress accompanied by putti, a third satyr figure is presented in rear three-quarter view and its gender cannot be definitively determined, though the glimpse of the chest suggests small female breasts are present. The Art Institute also holds a bronze candlestand or oil lamp of a mature female satyr seated with her satyr son leaning against her knee while she holds a light aloft, the tentative date on this work is circa 1500, pushing the motif back into the 15th century. Clodion used the motif in a work which is now in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland and this young and healthy satyress is striding upright, carrying a squirming putto in each arm. At least one terra cotta satyress depicted reclining was created by a student of Clodion in the late 18th or early 19th Century. Although satyrs are generally shown seducing human women, Tiepolo drew Satyr Surprising A Satyress, the satyress is common in modern fantasy art. They may be portrayed as normal human women with the legs of a goat. In modern fantasy art, they commonly are shown with pointed ears, aubrey Beardsley has drawn the satyress figure in this style
19.
Silenus
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In Greek mythology, Silenus was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue, the original Silenus resembled a folkloric man of the forest with the ears of a horse and sometimes also the tail and legs of a horse. The later sileni were drunken followers of Dionysus, usually bald and fat with thick lips and squat noses, later still, the plural sileni went out of use and the only references were to one individual named Silenus, the teacher and faithful companion of the wine-god Dionysus. A notorious consumer of wine, he was drunk and had to be supported by satyrs or carried by a donkey. Silenus was described as the oldest, wisest and most drunken of the followers of Dionysus, and was said in Orphic hymns to be the young gods tutor. This puts him in a company of phallic or half-animal tutors of the gods, a group that include Priapus, Hermaphroditus, Cedalion and Chiron, but also includes Pallas, when intoxicated, Silenus was said to possess special knowledge and the power of prophecy. The Phrygian King Midas was eager to learn from Silenus and caught the old man by lacing a fountain from which Silenus often drank, as Silenus fell asleep, the kings servants seized and took him to their master. Silenus shared with the king a pessimistic philosophy, That the best thing for a man is not to be born, an alternative story was that when lost and wandering in Phrygia, Silenus was rescued by peasants and taken to King Midas, who treated him kindly. In return for Midas hospitality Silenus told him some tales and Midas, enchanted by Silenus’s fictions, entertained him for five days, Dionysus offered Midas a reward for his kindness towards Silenus, and Midas chose the power of turning everything he touched into gold. Another story was that Silenus had been captured by two shepherds, and regaled them with wondrous tales, in Euripidess satyr play Cyclops, Silenus is stranded with the satyrs in Sicily, where they have been enslaved by the Cyclops. They are the elements of the story, a parody of Homers Odyssey IX. Silenus refers to the satyrs as his children during the play, Silenus commonly figures in Roman bas-reliefs of the train of Dionysus, a subject for sarcophagi, embodying the transcendent promises of Dionysian cult. The Papposilenus is a representation of Silenus that emphasizes his old age, in vase painting, his hair is often white, and as in statuettes he has a pot belly, flabby breasts and shaggy thighs. In these depictions, it is clear that the Papposilenus is an actor playing a part. His costuming includes a body stocking tufted with hair that seems to have come into use in the mid-5th century BC. This thought is indeed so old that the one who first uttered it is no known, it has been passed down to us from eternity. Moreover, you know what is so often said and passes for a trite expression and he answered, It is best not to be born at all, and next to that, it is better to die than to live, and this is confirmed even by divine testimony. Pertinently to this say that Midas, after hunting, asked his captive Silenus somewhat urgently
20.
Hermes
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Hermes is an Olympian god in Greek religion and mythology, the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maia, and the second youngest of the Olympian gods. Hermes is considered a god of transitions and boundaries and he is described as quick and cunning, moving freely between the worlds of the mortal and divine. He is also portrayed as an emissary and messenger of the gods and he has been viewed as the protector and patron of herdsmen, thieves, oratory and wit, literature and poetry, athletics and sports, invention and trade, roads, boundaries and travelers. In some myths, he is a trickster and outwits other gods for his own satisfaction or for the sake of humankind and his attributes and symbols include the herma, the rooster, the tortoise, satchel or pouch, winged sandals, and winged cap. His main symbol is the Greek kerykeion or Latin caduceus, which appears in a form of two snakes wrapped around a staff with carvings of the other gods. The earliest form of the name Hermes is the Mycenaean Greek *hermāhās, most scholars derive Hermes from Greek ἕρμα herma, prop, heap of stones, boundary marker, from which the word hermai also derives. The etymology of ἕρμα itself is unknown, R. S. P. Beekes rejects the connection with herma and suggests a Pre-Greek origin. Scholarly speculation that Hermes derives from a primitive form meaning one cairn is disputed. In Greek, a find is a hermaion. It is also suggested that Hermes is a cognate of the Vedic Sarama, homer and Hesiod portrayed Hermes as the author of skilled or deceptive acts and also as a benefactor of mortals. In the Iliad, he is called the bringer of luck, guide and guardian. He was an ally of the Greeks against the Trojans. However, he did protect Priam when he went to the Greek camp to retrieve the body of his son Hector and he also rescued Ares from a brazen vessel where he had been imprisoned by Otus and Ephialtes. In the Odyssey, Hermes helps his son, the protagonist Odysseus, by informing him about the fate of his companions. Hermes instructed Odysseus to protect himself by chewing a magic herb, when Odysseus killed the suitors of his wife, Hermes led their souls to Hades. Hermes was then instructed to take her as wife to Epimetheus, aesop featured him in several of his fables, as ruler of the gate of prophetic dreams, as the god of athletes, of edible roots, and of hospitality. He also said that Hermes had assigned each person his share of intelligence, Hermes, as an inventor of fire, is a parallel of the Titan Prometheus. In addition to the lyre, Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and the sports of wrestling and boxing, in 1820 Shelley translated this hymn
21.
Priapus
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For the ancient city in Asia Minor, see Karabiga. In Greek mythology, Priapus was a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens, Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism. He became a figure in Roman erotic art and Latin literature. Priapus was described as the son of Aphrodite by Dionysus, or the son of Dionysus and Chione, perhaps as the father or son of Hermes, and the son of Zeus or Pan, depending on the source. The other gods refused to him to live on Mount Olympus and threw him down to Earth. He was eventually found by shepherds and was brought up by them, Priapus joined Pan and the satyrs as a spirit of fertility and growth, though he was perennially frustrated by his impotence. In a ribald anecdote told by Ovid, he attempted to rape the goddess Hestia but was thwarted by an ass, whose braying caused him to lose his erection at the critical moment and woke Hestia. The episode gave him a hatred of asses and a willingness to see them destroyed in his honour. The emblem of his nature was his permanent erection and his large penis. Another myth states that he pursued the nymph Lotis until the gods took pity on her, the first extant mention of Priapus is in the eponymous comedy Priapus, written in the 4th century BC by Xenarchus. Originally worshipped by Greek colonists in Lampsacus in Asia Minor, the cult of Priapus spread to mainland Greece and eventually to Italy during the 3rd century BC. Lucian tells that in Bithynia Priapus was accounted as a god, a rustic tutor to the infant Ares. Arnobius is aware of the importance accorded Priapus in this region near the Hellespont, in later antiquity, his worship meant little more than a cult of sophisticated pornography. Outside his home region in Asia Minor, Priapus was regarded as something of a joke by urban dwellers, however, he played a more important role in the countryside, where he was seen as a guardian deity. He was regarded as the god of sailors and fishermen and others in need of good luck. Priapus does not appear to have had a cult and was mostly worshiped in gardens or homes. His sacrificial animal was the ass, but agricultural offerings were very common. Long after the fall of Rome and the rise of Christianity, Priapus continued to be invoked as a symbol of health and fertility
22.
Satyr play
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Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of tragicomedy, similar in spirit to the bawdy satire of burlesque. They featured choruses of satyrs, were based on Greek mythology, and were rife with drunkenness, brazen sexuality, pranks, sight gags. Satyric drama was one of the three varieties of Athenian drama, the two being tragedy and comedy. It can be traced back to Pratinas of Phlius, c.500 BC, after settling in Athens, he probably adapted the dithyramb, customary in his native home, with its chorus of satyrs, to complement the form of tragedy which had been recently invented in Athens. It met with approval and was developed by his son Aristeas, by Choerilus, by Aeschylus. They were short, half the duration of a tragedy, the general theme of heaven, fate, and the gods affecting human affairs in the tragedies was carried through into the festivities of the chorus of satyrs and Sileni, companions of Dionysus. The origins of culture and the emergence of the satyr play can be traced to ancient rural celebrations in honour of the god Dionysus. Brockett also suggests the possibility that the play was the first form of drama from which both tragedy and comedy gradually emerged. A. E. Haigh however maintained that the play is a survival from “the primitive period of Bacchic worship”. Haigh lists several examples of recorded entries to the City Dionysia, thus, in 472 BC Aeschylus won the first prize with Phineaus, Persae, Glaucus and the satyr play Prometheus. Among Euripides’ entries, Haigh underlines Theristae, Sisyphus and Alcestis which Euripides was allowed to present as a replacement of the satyr play. The mythological origins of the satyrs are closely linked to the advent of Dionysus into Hellenic culture, the satyrs and their female counterpart, the maenads, were followers of Dionysus, a “late-comer to Olympus and probably of Asiatic origin”. According to Roger Lancelyn Green, the satyrs probably began as minor deities, while their designated leader Silenus originated as a water spirit. Silenus was already an attendant to Dionysus when the satyrs joined the god’s following, the satyrs characterised themselves by amorality, excessive drinking and the breaking down of traditional values and barriers. The amusing effect of the play did not depend so much on the action itself, as was the case in comedy and that relation was in keeping with the wanton, saucy, and insolent, and at the same time cowardly, nature of the satyrs. The number of persons in the chorus is not known, although there were probably either twelve or fifteen, the dance of the chorus in the satyric drama was called sicinnis, and consisted of a fantastic kind of skipping and jumping. The only satyr play to survive in its entirety is Euripides Cyclops, based on Odysseus encounter with the cyclops, Polyphemus, in Book 9 of the Odyssey. We also have fragments of a satyr play of Sophocles called Ichneutae, in which the satyrs are employed by Apollo to track down his stolen cattle
23.
Euripides
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Euripides was a tragedian of classical Athens. He is one of the few plays have survived, with the others being Aeschylus, Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed 95 plays to him but according to the Suda it was 92 at most, of these,18 or 19 have survived more or less complete and there are also fragments, some substantial, of most of the other plays. This new approach led him to pioneer developments that later writers adapted to comedy, yet he also became the most tragic of poets, focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown. He was also unique among the writers of ancient Athens for the sympathy he demonstrated towards all victims of society and his contemporaries associated him with Socrates as a leader of a decadent intellectualism, both of them being frequently lampooned by comic poets such as Aristophanes. Whereas Socrates was eventually put on trial and executed as an influence, Euripides chose a voluntary exile in old age. Recent scholarship casts doubt on ancient biographies of Euripides, for example, it is possible that he never visited Macedonia at all, or, if he did, he might have been drawn there by King Archelaus with incentives that were also offered to other artists. Upon the receipt of a saying that his son was fated to win crowns of victory. In fact the boy was destined for a career on the stage and he served for a short time as both dancer and torch-bearer at the rites of Apollo Zosterius. His education was not confined to athletics, he studied painting and philosophy under the masters Prodicus. He had two marriages and both his wives—Melite and Choerine —were unfaithful. He became a recluse, making a home for himself in a cave on Salamis, there he built an impressive library and pursued daily communion with the sea and sky. Eventually he retired to the court of King Archelaus in Macedonia. However, as mentioned in the introduction, biographical details such as these should be regarded with scepticism and this biography is divided into three sections corresponding to the three kinds of sources. The apocryphal account that he composed his works in a cave on Salamis island was a late tradition, much of his life and his whole career coincided with the struggle between Athens and Sparta for hegemony in Greece but he didnt live to see the final defeat of his city. In an account by Plutarch, the failure of the Sicilian expedition led Athenians to trade renditions of Euripides lyrics to their enemies in return for food. Tragic poets were often mocked by comic poets during the dramatic festivals Dionysia and Lenaia, Aristophanes scripted him as a character in at least three plays, The Acharnians, Thesmophoriazusae and The Frogs. Yet Aristophanes borrowed rather than just satirized some of the methods, he was once ridiculed by a colleague, Cratinus, as a hair-splitting master of niceties
24.
Sophocles
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Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were later than those of Aeschylus. He competed in 30 competitions, won 18, and was never judged lower than second place, Aeschylus won 14 competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles, while Euripides won 5 competitions. Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor and he also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights such as Aeschylus. Sophocles, the son of Sophilus, was a member of the rural deme of Hippeios Colonus in Attica, which was to become a setting for one of his plays. Sophocles was born a few years before the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, Sophocles was born into a wealthy family and was highly educated. Sophocles first artistic triumph was in 468 BC, when he took first prize in the Dionysia theatre competition over the master of Athenian drama. According to Plutarch, the victory came under unusual circumstances, instead of following the usual custom of choosing judges by lot, the archon asked Cimon and the other strategoi present to decide the victor of the contest. Plutarch further contends that following this loss Aeschylus soon left for Sicily, although Plutarch says that this was Sophocles first production, it is now thought that his first production was probably in 470 BC. Triptolemus was probably one of the plays that Sophocles presented at this festival, in 480 BC Sophocles was chosen to lead the paean, celebrating the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. Early in his career, the politician Cimon might have one of his patrons, although if he was, there was no ill will borne by Pericles, Cimons rival. In 443/2 he served as one of the Hellenotamiai, or treasurers of Athena, in 420 BC, he welcomed and set up an altar for the image of Asclepius at his house, when the deity was introduced to Athens. For this, he was given the posthumous epithet Dexion by the Athenians and he was also elected, in 413 BC, one of the commissioners who responded to the catastrophic destruction of the Athenian expeditionary force in Sicily during the Peloponnesian War. Sophocles died at the age of ninety or ninety-one in the winter of 406/5 BC, as with many famous men in classical antiquity, his death inspired a number of apocryphal stories. The most famous is the suggestion that he died from the strain of trying to recite a long sentence from his Antigone without pausing to take a breath, another account suggests he choked while eating grapes at the Anthesteria festival in Athens. A third holds that he died of happiness after winning his final victory at the City Dionysia, one of his sons, Iophon, and a grandson, also called Sophocles, also became playwrights. Several ancient sources mention Sophocles homosexuality or bisexuality, Athenaios reported that Sophocles loved boys like Euripides loved women. The poet Ion of Chios relates an anecdote involving Sophocles seducing a serving boy at a symposium, Aeschylus, who dominated Athenian playwriting during Sophocles early career, followed suit and adopted the third character into his own work towards the end of his life
25.
Ichneutae
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The Ichneutae, also known as the Searchers, Trackers or Tracking Satyrs, is a fragmentary satyr play by the fifth-century BC Athenian dramatist Sophocles. The plot of the play was derived from the myth of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. A newborn Hermes has stolen Apollos cattle, and the god sends a chorus of satyrs to retrieve the animals, promising them the dual rewards of freedom. The satyrs set out to find the cattle, tracking their footprints, approaching the cave in which baby Hermes is hiding, they hear him playing the lyre, which he has just invented. Scared by the sound, the satyrs debate their next move. The nymph of the mountain in which Hermes is hiding, Cyllene, outside the cave the satyrs see some sewn cow-hides and are convinced that they have found the thief. Apollo returns as the papyrus breaks off, Sophocles, The Searchers in Sophocles, vol. 3, translated by Hugh Lloyd-Jones, Loeb Classical Library Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard Hunt, catalogue of the Literary Papyri in the British Museum. Antonopoulos, A. P. Sophocles Ichneutai 1-220, edited with introduction & commentary, antonopoulos, A. P. Select Notes on the Papyrus Text of Sophocles Ichneutai, ZPE186, 77-91. Antonopoulos, A. P. Sophocles Ichneutai 176-202, A lyric dialogue featuring an impressive mimetic scene, Hermes 142, a Puzzling Threat by Silenos, On Sophocles’ Ichneutai 168’, GRBS54, 579-583. The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus English translation of the Ichneutae by Ann Mahoney at the Perseus Digital Library, Hunt, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Part IX, including the editio princeps of the first discovered fragments at the Internet Archive
26.
Cult of Dionysus
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The Cult of Dionysus is strongly associated with satyrs, centaurs, and sileni, and its characteristic symbols are the bull, the serpent, tigers/leopards, the ivy, and the wine. The Dionysia and Lenaia festivals in Athens were dedicated to Dionysus, initiates worshipped him in the Dionysian Mysteries, which were comparable to and linked with the Orphic Mysteries, and may have influenced Gnosticism. Orpheus was said to have invented the Mysteries of Dionysus, the Cult of Dionysus traces back to at least Mycenaean Greece, since his name is found on Mycenean Linear B tablets as
27.
Aeschylus
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Aeschylus was an ancient Greek tragedian. He is often described as the father of tragedy, academics knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier tragedies is largely based on inferences from his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in theater allowing conflict among them, fragments of some other plays have survived in quotes and more continue to be discovered on Egyptian papyrus, often giving us surprising insights into his work. He was probably the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy, at least one of his plays was influenced by the Persians second invasion of Greece. This work, The Persians, is the surviving classical Greek tragedy concerned with contemporary events. Despite this, Aeschylus work – particularly the Oresteia – is generally acclaimed by modern critics and scholars. As soon as he woke from the dream, the young Aeschylus began to write a tragedy, and his first performance took place in 499 BC and he won his first victory at the City Dionysia in 484 BC. In 510 BC, when Aeschylus was 15 years old, Cleomenes I expelled the sons of Peisistratus from Athens, Cleisthenes reforms included a system of registration that emphasized the importance of the deme over family tradition. In the last decade of the 6th century, Aeschylus and his family were living in the deme of Eleusis, the Persian Wars played a large role in the playwrights life and career. In 490 BC, Aeschylus and his brother Cynegeirus fought to defend Athens against the army of Darius I of Persia at the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians emerged triumphant, a victory celebrated across the city-states of Greece, Cynegeirus, however, died in the battle, receiving a mortal wound while trying to prevent a Persian ship retreating from the shore, for which his countrymen extolled him as a hero. In 480, Aeschylus was called into service again, this time against Xerxes Is invading forces at the Battle of Salamis. Ion of Chios was a witness for Aeschyluss war record and his contribution in Salamis, Salamis holds a prominent place in The Persians, his oldest surviving play, which was performed in 472 BC and won first prize at the Dionysia. Aeschylus was one of many Greeks who were initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, initiates gained secret knowledge through these rites, likely concerning the afterlife. Firm details of specific rites are sparse, as members were sworn under the penalty of not to reveal anything about the Mysteries to non-initiates. Nevertheless, according to Aristotle, Aeschylus was accused of revealing some of the secrets on stage. Other sources claim that a mob tried to kill Aeschylus on the spot. Heracleides of Pontus asserts that the tried to stone Aeschylus
28.
Horn (anatomy)
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A horn is a permanent pointed projection on the head of various animals consisting of a covering of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of live bone. Horns are distinct to antlers which are not permanent, in mammals, true horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae. One pair of horns is usual, however, two or more occur in a few wild species and domesticated breeds of sheep. Polycerate sheep breeds include the Hebridean, Icelandic, Jacob, Manx Loaghtan, horns usually have a curved or spiral shape, often with ridges or fluting. In many species only males have horns, horns start to grow soon after birth, and continue to grow throughout the life of the animal. Partial or deformed horns in livestock are called scurs, similar growths on other parts of the body are not usually called horns, but spurs, claws or hoofs depending on the part of the body on which they occur. These are covered with furred skin, cervidae, Most deer have antlers, which are not true horns. When fully developed, antlers are dead bone without a horn or skin covering, they are only by adults and are shed. Rhinocerotidae, The horns of rhinoceroses are made of keratin, the substance as fingernails, and grow continuously. Chamaeleonidae, Many chameleons, most notably the Jacksons Chameleon, possess horns on their skulls, ceratopsidae, The horns of the Triceratops were extensions of its skull bones although debate exists over whether they had a keratin covering. Horned lizards, These lizards have horns on their heads which have a keratin covering over a bony core. Insects, Some insects have horn-like structures on the head or thorax and these are pointed outgrowths of the hard chitinous exoskeleton. Some have greatly enlarged jaws, also made of chitin, canidae, Golden jackals are known to occasionally develop a horny growth on the skull, which is associated with magical powers in south-eastern Asia. Many mammal species in various families have tusks, which serve the same functions as horns. These include the Moschidae, Suidae, Proboscidea, Monodontidae and Odobenidae, Polled animals or pollards are those of normally-horned species whose horns have been removed, or which have not grown. In some cases animals have small horny growths in the skin where their horns would be – these are known as scurs. Cutaneous horns are the examples of horns growing on people. They are most often benign growths and can be removed by a razor, cases of people growing horns have been historically described, sometimes with mythical status
29.
Apollonian and Dionysian
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The Apollonian and Dionysian is a philosophical and literary concept, or dichotomy, based on certain features of ancient Greek mythology. Many Western philosophical and literary figures have invoked this dichotomy in critical, in Greek mythology, Apollo and Dionysus are both sons of Zeus. Apollo is the god of reason and rational thinking, while Dionysus is the god of the irrational and chaos, the Greeks did not consider the two gods to be opposites or rivals, although often the two deities were entwined by nature. Although the use of the concepts of the Apollonian and Dionysian is linked to Nietzsches The Birth of Tragedy, the poet Hölderlin spoke of them, while Winckelmann talked of Bacchus, the god of wine. Nietzsches aesthetic usage of the concepts, which was later developed philosophically, first appeared in his book The Birth of Tragedy and his major premise here was that the fusion of Dionysian and Apollonian Kunsttriebe form dramatic arts, or tragedies. He goes on to argue that this fusion has not been achieved since the ancient Greek tragedians, Nietzsche is adamant that the works of Aeschylus and Sophocles represent the apex of artistic creation, the true realization of tragedy, it is with Euripides that tragedy begins its downfall. To further the split, Nietzsche diagnoses the Socratic Dialectic as being diseased in the manner that it deals with looking at life. The scholarly dialectic is directly opposed to the concept of the Dionysian because it seeks to negate life, it uses reason to always deflect. Socrates rejects the intrinsic value of the senses and life for higher ideals, Nietzsche claims in The Gay Science that when Socrates drinks the hemlock, he sees the hemlock as the cure for life, proclaiming that he has been sick a long time. In contrast, the Dionysian existence constantly seeks to affirm life, however, he later dropped this concept saying it was. burdened with all the errors of youth, the overarching theme was a sort of metaphysical solace or connection with the heart of creation. Different from Kants idea of the sublime, the Dionysian is all-inclusive rather than alienating to the viewer as a sublimating experience, the sublime needs critical distance, while the Dionysian demands a closeness of experience. According to Nietzsche, the distance, which separates man from his closest emotions, originates in Apollonian ideals. The Dionysian embraces the chaotic nature of experience as all-important, not just on its own. The Dionysian magnifies man, but only so far as he realizes that he is one, according to Peter Sloterdijk, the Dionysian and the Apollonian form a dialectic, they are contrasting, but Nietzsche does not mean one to be valued more than the other. Truth being primordial pain, our existential being is determined by the Dionysian/Apollonian dialectic, anthropologist Ruth Benedict used the terms to characterize cultures that value restraint and modesty and ostentatiousness and excess. An example of an Apollonian culture in Benedicts analysis was the Zuñi people as opposed to the Dionysian Kwakiutl people, the theme was developed by Benedict in her main work Patterns of Culture. Albert Szent-Györgyi, who realized that a discovery must be, by definition, at variance with existing knowledge and he called scientific dissenters, who explored the fringes of knowledge, Dionysians. Support mostly takes the form of grants, and the present methods of distributing grants unduly favor the Apollonian, american humanities scholar Camille Paglia writes about the Apollonian and Dionysian in her 1990 bestseller Sexual Personae
30.
Aulos
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An aulos or tibia was an ancient Greek wind instrument, depicted often in art and also attested by archaeology. An aulete was the musician who performed on an aulos, the ancient Roman equivalent was the tibicen, from the Latin tibia, pipe, aulos. There were several kinds of aulos, single or double, the most common variety was a reed instrument. Archeological finds, surviving iconography and other evidence indicate that it was double-reeded, like the modern oboe, a single pipe without a reed was called the monaulos. A single pipe held horizontally, as the flute, was the plagiaulos. A pipe with a bag to allow for sound, that is a bagpipe, was the askaulos. Like the Great Highland Bagpipe, the aulos has been used for martial music and it was the standard accompaniment of the passionate elegiac poetry. It also accompanied physical activities such as wrestling matches, the broad jump, plato associates it with the ecstatic cults of Dionysus and the Korybantes, banning it from his Republic but reintroducing it in Laws. It appears that some variants of the instrument were loud, shrill, sometimes a second strap was used over the top of the head to prevent the phorbeiá from slipping down. Aulos players are depicted with puffed cheeks. The playing technique almost certainly made use of breathing, very much like the Sardinian launeddas and Armenian duduk. Nevertheless, such musicians could achieve fame, the Romano-Greek writer Lucian discusses aulos playing in his dialogue Harmonides, in which Alexander the Greats aulete Timotheus discusses fame with his pupil Harmonides. Timotheus advises him to impress the experts within his profession rather than seek popular approval in big public venues, if leading musicians admire him, popular approval will follow. However, Lucian reports that Harmonides died from excessive blowing during practicing, in myth, Marsyas the satyr was supposed to have invented the aulos, or else picked it up after Athena had thrown it away because it caused her cheeks to puff out and ruined her beauty. But Apollo and his lyre beat Marsyas and his aulos, and since the pure lord of Delphis mind worked in different ways from Marsyass, he celebrated his victory by stringing his opponent up from a tree and flaying him alive. King Midas was cursed with donkeys ears for judging Apollo as the lesser player, Marsyass blood and the tears of the Muses formed the river Marsyas in Asia Minor. This tale was a warning against committing the sin of hubris, or overweening pride, some of this is a result of 19th century AD classical interpretation, i. e. Apollo versus Dionysus, or Reason opposed to Madness. In the temple to Apollo at Delphi, there was also a shrine to Dionysus, and his Maenads are shown on drinking cups playing the aulos, so a modern interpretation can be a little more complicated than just simple duality
31.
Cymbal
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A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys, the majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note. Cymbals are used in ensembles ranging from the orchestra, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, heavy metal bands. Drum kits usually incorporate at least a crash, ride or crash/ride, a player of cymbals is known as a cymbalist. The word cymbal is derived from the Latin cymbalum, which is the latinisation of the Greek word κύμβαλον kymbalon, cymbal, which in turn derives from κύμβη kymbē, cup, bowl. In orchestral scores, cymbals may be indicated by the French cymbales, German Becken, Schellbecken, Tellern, or Tschinellen, Italian piatti or cinelli, many of these derive from the word for plates. Cymbals have existed since ancient times, representations of cymbals may be found in reliefs and paintings from Hittite Anatolia, Larsa, Babylon, Assyria, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome. References to cymbals also appear throughout the Bible, through many Psalms, cymbals may have been introduced to China from Central Asia in the 3rd or 4th century AD. Cymbals were employed by Turkish janissaries in the 14th century or earlier, by the 17th century, such cymbals were used in European music, and more commonly played in military bands and orchestras by the mid 18th century. Since the 19th century, some composers have called for larger roles for cymbals in musical works, and a variety of shapes, techniques. The anatomy of the plays a large part in the sound it creates. A hole is drilled in the center of the cymbal, which is used to mount the cymbal on a stand or for tying straps through. The bell, dome, or cup is the section immediately surrounding the hole. The bell produces a higher pinging pitch than the rest of the cymbal, the bow is the rest of the surface surrounding the bell. The bow is sometimes described in two areas, the ride and crash area, the ride area is the thicker section closer to the bell while the crash area is the thinner tapering section near the edge. The edge or rim is the circumference of the cymbal. Cymbals are measured by their diameter either in inches or centimeters, the size of the cymbal affects its sound, larger cymbals usually being louder and having longer sustain. The weight describes how thick the cymbal is, Cymbal weights are important to the sound they produce and how they play
32.
Castanets
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Castanets are a percussion instrument, used in Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. The instrument consists of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by a string and they are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for rhythmic accents or a ripping or rattling sound consisting of a rapid series of clicks. They are traditionally made of hardwood, although fibreglass is becoming increasingly popular, in practice a player usually uses two pairs of castanets. One pair is held in hand, with the string hooked over the thumb. Each pair will make a sound of a different pitch. The origins of the instrument are not known, the practice of clicking hand-held sticks together to accompany dancing is ancient, and was practiced by both the Greeks and the Egyptians. In more modern times, the bones and spoons used in Minstrel show, during the baroque period, castanets were featured prominently in dances. Composers like Jean-Baptiste Lully scored them for the music of dances which included Spaniards, Egyptians, Ethiopians, in addition, they are often scored for dances involving less pleasant characters such as demons and nightmares. Their association with African dances is even stated in the ballet Flore by Lully, Les Africains inventeurs des danses de Castagnettes entrent dun air plus gai. A rare occasion where the accompanying instrument is given concertant solo status is Leonardo Baladas Concertino for Castanets. The Conciertino für Kastagnetten und Orchester by the German composer Helmut M. Timpelan, in cooperation with the castanet virtuoso, see also the tocatta festiva for castanets by Allan Stephenson. Sonia Amelio has also performed her castanet arrangements as a concert soloist, also referred to as clackers in the United States. Castanets are often played by singers or dancers, contrary to popular belief, castanets are not commonly used in the flamenco dance, except for two specific forms, zambra and siguiriyas. In fact, Spanish folk dance Sevillanas is the style typically performed using castanet, escuela bolera, a balletic dance form, is also accompanied by castanets. The name is derived from the form of castaña, the Spanish word for chestnut. In Andalusia they are referred to as palillos instead. Castanets were used to evoke a Spanish atmosphere in Georges Bizets opera and they are also found in the Dance of the Seven Veils from Richard Strauss opera Salome and in Richard Wagners Tannhäuser. An unusual variation on the standard castanets can be found in Darius Milhauds Les Choëphores, other uses include Rimsky-Korsakovs Capriccio espagnol, Ravels Rapsodie espagnole, Francis Poulencs Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in D minor and Karl Jenkinss Tangollen
33.
Bagpipes
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Bagpipes are a wind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The term bagpipe is equally correct in the singular or plural, though pipers usually refer to the bagpipes as the pipes, a set of bagpipes minimally consists of an air supply, a bag, a chanter, and usually at least one drone. Many bagpipes have more than one drone in various combinations, held in place in stocks—sockets that fasten the various pipes to the bag, the most common method of supplying air to the bag is through blowing into a blowpipe, or blowstick. In some pipes the player must cover the tip of the blowpipe with their tongue while inhaling, an innovation, dating from the 16th or 17th century, is the use of a bellows to supply air. In these pipes, sometimes called cauld wind pipes, air is not heated or moistened by the players breathing, the bag is an airtight reservoir that holds air and regulates its flow via arm pressure, allowing the player to maintain continuous even sound. The player keeps the bag inflated by blowing air into it through a blowpipe or pumping air into it with a bellows, materials used for bags vary widely, but the most common are the skins of local animals such as goats, dogs, sheep, and cows. More recently, bags made of materials including Gore-Tex have become much more common. A drawback of the bag is the potential for fungal spores to colonise the bag because of a reduction in necessary cleaning. An advantage of a bag is that they have a zip which allows the user to fit a more effective moisture trap to the inside of the bag. Bags cut from larger materials are usually saddle-stitched with an extra strip folded over the seam, holes are then cut to accommodate the stocks. The chanter is the pipe, played with two hands. Almost all bagpipes have at least one chanter, some pipes have two chanters, particularly those in North Africa, the Balkans in Southern Europe, and Southwest Asia. A chanter can be bored internally so that the walls are parallel for its full length. The chanter is usually open-ended, so there is no way for the player to stop the pipe from sounding. Thus most bagpipes share a constant, legato sound where there are no rests in the music, primarily because of this inability to stop playing, technical movements are used to break up notes and to create the illusion of articulation and accents. Because of their importance, these embellishments are often highly technical systems specific to each bagpipe, a few bagpipes have closed ends or stop the end on the players leg, so that when the player closes the chanter becomes silent. A practice chanter is a chanter without bag or drones, allowing a player to practice the instrument quietly, the term chanter is derived from the Latin cantare, or to sing, much like the modern French word chanteur. The note from the chanter is produced by a reed installed at its top, the reed may be a single or double reed
34.
Maenad
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In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the gods retinue. Their name literally translates as raving ones, often the maenads were portrayed as inspired by Dionysus into a state of ecstatic frenzy through a combination of dancing and intoxication. During these rites, the maenads would dress in fawn skins and carry a thyrsus and they would weave ivy-wreaths around their heads or wear a bull helmet in honor of their god, and often handle or wear snakes. They went into the mountains at night and practiced strange rites, according to Plutarchs Life of Alexander, maenads were called Mimallones and Klodones In Macedon, epithets derived from the feminine art of spinning wool. Nevertheless, these warlike parthenoi from the hills, associated with a Dionysios pseudanor fake male Dionysus, in southern Greece they were described with Bacchae, Bassarides, Thyiades, Potniades and other epithets. The term maenad has come to be associated with a variety of women, supernatural, mythological. In Euripides play The Bacchae, maenads of Thebes murder King Pentheus after he bans the worship of Dionysus, Dionysus, Pentheus cousin, himself lures Pentheus to the woods, where the maenads tear him apart. His corpse is mutilated by his own mother, Agave, who tears off his head, a group of maenads also kill Orpheus. In ceramic art, the frolicking of Maenads and Dionysus is often a theme depicted on kraters, used to mix water and these scenes show the maenads in their frenzy running in the forests, often tearing to pieces any animal they happen to come across. They strike rocks with the thyrsus, and water gushes forth and they lower the thyrsus to the earth, and a spring of wine bubbles up. If they want milk, they scratch up the ground with their fingers, honey trickles down from the thyrsus made of the wood of the ivy, they gird themselves with snakes and give suck to fawns and wolf cubs as if they were infants at the breast. No weapon of iron can wound them, and the snakes harmlessly lick up the sweat from their heated cheeks, fierce bulls fall to the ground, victims to numberless, tearing female hands, and sturdy trees are torn up by the roots with their combined efforts. Having symbolically eaten his body and drunk his blood, the celebrants became possessed by Dionysus, Maenads are found the later references as priestesses of the Dionystic cult. They will give to you both the rites and good practices, and they will establish dance groups of Bacchus in your city. Dionysus came to his birthplace, Thebes, where neither Pentheus, his cousin who was now king, nor Pentheus’ mother Agave, Dionysus punished Agave by driving her insane, and in that condition, she killed her son and tore him to pieces. From Thebes, Dionysus went to Argos where all the women except the daughters of King Proetus joined in his worship, Dionysus punished them by driving them mad, and they killed the infants who were nursing at their breasts. He did the same to the daughters of Minyas, King of Orchomenos in Boetia, according to Opian, Dionysus delighted, as a child, in tearing kids into pieces and bringing them back to life again. He is characterized as the one, and the mad one
35.
Nymph
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A nymph in Greek mythology and in Latin mythology is a minor female nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. They are beloved by many and dwell in mountainous regions and forests by lakes, charybdis and Scylla were once nymphs. Other nymphs, always in the shape of young maidens, were part of the retinue of a god, such as Dionysus, Hermes, or Pan, or a goddess, nymphs were the frequent target of satyrs. The Greek word νύμφη has bride and veiled among its meanings, other readers refer the word to a root expressing the idea of swelling. The mythologies of classicizing Roman poets were unlikely to have affected the rites and cult of individual nymphs venerated by people in the springs. Among the Roman literate class, their sphere of influence was restricted, the ancient Greek belief in nymphs survived in many parts of the country into the early years of the twentieth century, when they were usually known as nereids. At that time, John Cuthbert Lawson wrote and they might appear in a whirlwind. Such encounters could be dangerous, bringing dumbness, besotted infatuation, when parents believed their child to be nereid-struck, they would pray to Saint Artemidos. Due to widespread use of the term among lay persons and stereotypes attached, professionals nowadays prefer the term hypersexuality, the word nymphet is used to identify a sexually precocious girl. The term was made famous in the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, the main character, Humbert Humbert, uses the term many times, usually in reference to the title character. Thus the classes of nymphs tend to overlap, which complicates the task of precise classification, rose mentions dryads and hamadryads as nymphs of trees generally, meliai as nymphs of ash trees, and naiads as nymphs of water, but no others specifically. She is the consort of Acheron, and the mother of Ascalaphus, leuce, lover of Hades Minthe, lover of Hades, rival of Persephone Melinoe Orphic nymph, daughter of Persephone and Zeus disguised as Pluto. Her name is an epithet of Hecate. Nymphs in such groupings could belong to any of the mentioned above. For lists of Naiads, Oceanids, Dryades etc and this motif supposedly came from an Italian report of a Roman sculpture of a nymph at a fountain above the River Danube
36.
Gandhara
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Gandhara is also an ancient name for Kandahar, Afghanistan. Gandhāra was an ancient Indic kingdom situated in the region of Pakistan. It encompassed the Peshawar valley and later extended to both Jalalabad district of modern-day Afghanistan as well as Taxila, in Pakistan. During the Achaemenid period and Hellenistic period, its city was Charsadda. It is mentioned in the Zend Avesta as Vaēkərəta, the sixth most beautiful place on earth and it was known as the crown jewel of Bactria and also held sway over Takṣaśilā. Gandhara existed since the time of the Rigveda and formed part of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC, after it was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1001 AD, the name Gandhara disappeared. During the Muslim period, the area was administered from Lahore or from Kabul, during Mughal times, it was an independent district which included the Kabul province. The name Gāndhāra occurs later in the classical Sanskrit of the epics and it is recorded in Avestan as Vaēkərəta. The Gandhari people are a tribe mentioned in the Rigveda, the Atharvaveda, one proposed origin of the name is from the Sanskrit word gandha, meaning perfume and referring to the spices and aromatic herbs which they traded and with which they anointed themselves. Some authors have connected the modern name Kandahar to Gandhara, Herodotus records that those Iranic tribes, which were adjacent to the city of Caspatyrus and the district of Pactyïce, had customs similar to the Bactrians, and are the most warlike amongst them. These are also the people who obtain gold from the ant-hills of the adjoining desert, on the identity of Caspatyrus, there have been two opinions, one equating it with Kabul, the other with the name of Kashmir. The boundaries of Gandhara varied throughout history, sometimes the Peshawar Valley and Taxila were collectively referred to as Gandhara, sometimes the Swat Valley was also included. The heart of Gandhara, however, was always the Peshawar Valley, the kingdom was ruled from capitals at Kapisa, Pushkalavati, Taxila, Puruṣapura and in its final days from Udabhandapura on the River Indus. Evidence of the Stone Age human inhabitants of Gandhara, including stone tools, the artifacts are approximately 15,000 years old. More recent excavations point to 30,000 years before the present, the region shows an influx of southern Central Asian culture in the Bronze Age with the Gandhara grave culture, and the nucleus of Vedic civilisation. This culture flourished from 1500 to 500 BC and its evidence has been discovered in the hilly regions of Swat and Dir, and even at Taxila. The name of the Gandhāris is attested in the Rigveda and in ancient inscriptions dating back to Achaemenid Persia, the Behistun inscription listing the 23 territories of King Darius I includes Gandāra along with Bactria and Sattagydia. In the book Histories by Herodotus, Gandhara is named as a source of tax collections for King Darius, the Gandhāris, along with the Balhika, Mūjavants, Angas, and the Magadhas, are also mentioned in the Atharvaveda, as distant people
37.
Hellenistic period
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It is often considered a period of transition, sometimes even of decadence or degeneration, compared to the enlightenment of the Greek Classical era. The Hellenistic period saw the rise of New Comedy, Alexandrian poetry, the Septuagint, Greek science was advanced by the works of the mathematician Euclid and the polymath Archimedes. The religious sphere expanded to include new gods such as the Greco-Egyptian Serapis, eastern deities such as Attis and Cybele, the Hellenistic period was characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization which established Greek cities and kingdoms in Asia and Africa. This resulted in the export of Greek culture and language to new realms. Equally, however, these new kingdoms were influenced by the cultures, adopting local practices where beneficial, necessary. Hellenistic culture thus represents a fusion of the Ancient Greek world with that of the Near East, Middle East and this mixture gave rise to a common Attic-based Greek dialect, known as Koine Greek, which became the lingua franca through the Hellenistic world. Scholars and historians are divided as to what event signals the end of the Hellenistic era, Hellenistic is distinguished from Hellenic in that the first encompasses the entire sphere of direct ancient Greek influence, while the latter refers to Greece itself. The word originated from the German term hellenistisch, from Ancient Greek Ἑλληνιστής, from Ἑλλάς, Hellenistic is a modern word and a 19th-century concept, the idea of a Hellenistic period did not exist in Ancient Greece. Although words related in form or meaning, e. g, the major issue with the term Hellenistic lies in its convenience, as the spread of Greek culture was not the generalized phenomenon that the term implies. Some areas of the world were more affected by Greek influences than others. The Greek population and the population did not always mix, the Greeks moved and brought their own culture. While a few fragments exist, there is no surviving historical work which dates to the hundred years following Alexanders death. The works of the major Hellenistic historians Hieronymus of Cardia, Duris of Samos, the earliest and most credible surviving source for the Hellenistic period is Polybius of Megalopolis, a statesman of the Achaean League until 168 BC when he was forced to go to Rome as a hostage. His Histories eventually grew to a length of forty books, covering the years 220 to 167 BC, another important source, Plutarchs Parallel Lives though more preoccupied with issues of personal character and morality, outlines the history of important Hellenistic figures. Appian of Alexandria wrote a history of the Roman empire that includes information of some Hellenistic kingdoms, other sources include Justins epitome of Pompeius Trogus Historiae Philipicae and a summary of Arrians Events after Alexander, by Photios I of Constantinople. Lesser supplementary sources include Curtius Rufus, Pausanias, Pliny, in the field of philosophy, Diogenes Laertius Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is the main source. Ancient Greece had traditionally been a collection of fiercely independent city-states. After the Peloponnesian War, Greece had fallen under a Spartan hegemony, in which Sparta was pre-eminent but not all-powerful
38.
Perizoma (loincloth)
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Perizoma is a type of loincloth that originated with the Minoan civilization in Crete. Surviving depictions show it being worn by male and female acrobats, a perizoma was possibly worn by Jesus during his crucifixion. It is a feature of the crucifixion in the arts. However, Roman custom was to crucify victims naked, and there is no evidence to suggest that Jesus was an exception, perizoma was likely added by later artists to preserve modesty and first appeared in the 8th century. Aachen Cathedral claims to have the relic of the perizoma
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Walters Art Museum
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The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th Century, located across the back alley, a block south of the Walters mansion on West Monument Street/Mount Vernon Place, on the northwest corner of North Charles Street at West Centre Street. The following year, The Walters reopened its original building after a dramatic three-year physical renovation and replacement of internal utilities. The Archimedes Palimpsest was on loan to the Walters Art Museum from a collector for conservation. This was one of the largest and most comprehensive such releases made by any museum, the Walters collection of ancient art includes examples from Egypt, Nubia, Greece, Rome, Etruria and the Near East. In 1911, Henry Walters purchased almost 100 gold artifacts from the Chiriqui region of western Panama in Central America, the museum owns the oldest surviving Chinese wood-and-lacquer image of the Buddha. It is exhibited in a gallery dedicated solely to this work, the Museum holds one of the largest and finest collections of Thai bronze, scrolls, and banner paintings in the world. Islamic art in all media is represented at the Walters, the Walters Museum owns an array of Islamic manuscripts. Walters Art Museum, MS W.613 contains five Mughal miniatures from a very important Khamsa of Nizami made for the Emperor Akbar, Henry Walters assembled a collection of art produced during the Middle Ages in all the major artistic media of the period. This forms the basis of the Walters medieval collection, for which the Museum is best known internationally. Considered one of the best collections of art in the United States, the Museums holdings include examples of metalwork, sculpture, stained glass, textiles, icons. Sculpted heads from the royal Abbey of St. Denis are rare surviving examples of sculptures that are directly connected with the origins of Gothic art in 12th Century France. An ivory casket covered with scenes of jousting knights is one of about a dozen such objects to survive in the world, many of these works are on display in the Museums galleries. Works in the collection are the subject of active research by the curatorial and conservation departments of the museum. The collection of European Renaissance and Baroque art features holdings of paintings, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, metal work, arms, the museum has one of ten surviving examples of the Sèvres pot-pourri vase in the shape of a ship from the 1750s and 1760s. William and Henry Walters collected works by late 19th Century French academic masters, Henry Walters was particularly interested in the courtly arts of 18th Century France. The museum’s collection of Sèvres porcelain includes a number of pieces that were made for members of the Royal Bourbon Court at Versailles Palace outside of Paris. Portrait miniatures and the examples of works, especially snuffboxes and watches, are displayed in the Treasury, along with some exceptional 19th-
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Baltimore
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Baltimore is the largest city in the U. S. state of Maryland, and the 29th-most populous city in the country. It was established by the Constitution of Maryland and is not part of any county, thus, it is the largest independent city in the United States, with a population of 621,849 as of 2015. As of 2010, the population of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area was 2.7 million, founded in 1729, Baltimore is the second largest seaport in the Mid-Atlantic. Baltimores Inner Harbor was once the leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States. With hundreds of identified districts, Baltimore has been dubbed a city of neighborhoods, in the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner, later the American national anthem, in Baltimore. More than 65,000 properties, or roughly one in three buildings in the city, are listed on the National Register, more than any city in the nation. The city has 289 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the historical records of the government of Baltimore are located at the Baltimore City Archives. The city is named after Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, of the Irish House of Lords, Baltimore Manor was the name of the estate in County Longford on which the Calvert family lived in Ireland. Baltimore is an anglicization of the Irish name Baile an Tí Mhóir, in 1608, Captain John Smith traveled 210 miles from Jamestown to the uppermost Chesapeake Bay, leading the first European expedition to the Patapsco River. The name Patapsco is derived from pota-psk-ut, which translates to backwater or tide covered with froth in Algonquian dialect, a quarter century after John Smiths voyage, English colonists began to settle in Maryland. The area constituting the modern City of Baltimore and its area was first settled by David Jones in 1661. He claimed the area today as Harbor East on the east bank of the Jones Falls stream. In the early 1600s, the immediate Baltimore vicinity was populated, if at all. The Baltimore area had been inhabited by Native Americans since at least the 10th millennium BC, one Paleo-Indian site and several Archaic period and Woodland period archaeological sites have been identified in Baltimore, including four from the Late Woodland period. During the Late Woodland period, the culture that is called the Potomac Creek complex resided in the area from Baltimore to the Rappahannock River in Virginia. It was located on the Bush River on land that in 1773 became part of Harford County, in 1674, the General Assembly passed An Act for erecting a Court-house and Prison in each County within this Province. The site of the house and jail for Baltimore County was evidently Old Baltimore near the Bush River. In 1683, the General Assembly passed An Act for Advancement of Trade to establish towns, ports, one of the towns established by the act in Baltimore County was on Bush River, on Town Land, near the Court-House
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Pottery of ancient Greece
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The shards of pots discarded or buried in the 1st millennium BC are still the best guide available to understand the customary life and mind of the ancient Greeks. There were various specific regional varieties, such as the South Italian ancient Greek pottery, throughout these places, various types and shapes of vases were used. Some were highly decorative and meant for consumption and domestic beautification as much as serving a storage or other function. As the culture recovered Sub-Mycenaean pottery finally blended into the Protogeometric style, the rise of vase painting saw increasing decoration. Geometric art in Greek pottery was contiguous with the late Dark Age and early Archaic Greece, the pottery produced in Archaic and Classical Greece included at first black-figure pottery, yet other styles emerged such as red-figure pottery and the white ground technique. Styles such as West Slope Ware were characteristic of the subsequent Hellenistic period, interest in Greek art lagged behind the revival of classical scholarship during the Renaissance and revived in the academic circle round Nicholas Poussin in Rome in the 1630s. Though modest collections of vases recovered from ancient tombs in Italy were made in the 15th and 16th centuries these were regarded as Etruscan. It is possible that Lorenzo de Medici bought several Attic vases directly from Greece and it was Gerhard who first outlined the chronology we now use, namely, Orientalizing, Black Figure, Red Figure, Polychromatic. Where the 19th century was a period of discovery and the out of first principles the 20th century has been one of consolidation. Efforts to record and publish the totality of public collections of vases began with the creation of the Corpus vasorum antiquorum under Edmond Pottier, Beazley and others following him have also studied fragments of Greek pottery in institutional collections, and have attributed many painted pieces to individual artists. Scholars have called these fragments disjecta membra and in a number of instances have been able to identify fragments now in different collections that belong to the same vase, some vase shapes were especially associated with rituals, others with athletics and the gymnasium. Within each category the forms are roughly the same in scale and whether open or closed, some have a purely ritual function, for example white ground lekythoi contained the oil used as funerary offerings and appear to have been made solely with that object in mind. Many examples have a second cup inside them to give the impression of being full of oil. There was a market for Greek pottery since the 8th century BC. An idea of the extent of trade can be gleaned from plotting the find maps of these vases outside of Greece. Only the existence of a second hand market could account for the number of found in Etruscan tombs. South Italian wares came to dominate the trade in the Western Mediterranean as Athens declined in political importance during the Hellenistic period. The process of making a pot and firing it is fairly simple, the first thing a potter needs is clay
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Beard
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A beard is the collection of hair that grows on the chin and cheeks of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually only pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards, from an evolutionary viewpoint the beard is a part of the broader category of androgenic hair. It is a trait from a time when humans had hair on their face. Women with hirsutism, a condition of excessive hairiness, may develop a beard. Throughout the course of history, societal attitudes toward male beards have varied depending on factors such as prevailing cultural-religious traditions. Some religions have considered a full beard to be essential for all males able to grow one. Other cultures, even while not officially mandating it, view a beard as central to a mans virility, exemplifying such virtues as wisdom, strength, sexual prowess and high social status. However, in cultures where facial hair is uncommon, beards may be associated with poor hygiene or a savage, uncivilized, the beard develops during puberty, during the Gluk cycle. Beard growth is linked to stimulation of hair follicles in the area by dihydrotestosterone, various hormones stimulate hair follicles from different areas. DHT, for example, may also promote short-term pogonotrophy, for example, a scientist who chose to remain anonymous spent several weeks on a remote island in comparative isolation. He noticed that his beard growth diminished, but the day before he was due to leave the island it increased again and he studied the effect and concluded that the stimulus for increased beard growth was related to the resumption of sexual activity. However, at that time professional pogonologists, such as R. M, subjects with a greater preponderance of receptors will develop more terminal adult facial hairs. Beard growth rate is also genetic, biologists characterize beards as a secondary sexual characteristic because they are unique to one sex, yet do not play a direct role in reproduction. Charles Darwin first suggested possible evolutionary explanation of beards in his work The Descent of Man, some scholars assert that it is not yet established whether the sexual selection leading to beards is rooted in attractiveness or dominance. A beard can be explained as an indicator of an overall condition. The rate of facial hairiness appears to influence male attractiveness, the presence of a beard makes the male vulnerable in fights, which is costly, so biologists have speculated that there must be other evolutionary benefits that outweigh that drawback. Excess testosterone evidenced by the beard may indicate mild immunosuppression, which may support spermatogenesis, the ancient Semitic civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent and centered on the coastline of modern Lebanon gave great attention to the hair and beard. The beard has mostly a strong resemblance to that affected by the Assyrians and it is arranged in three, four, or five rows of small tight curls, and extends from ear to ear around the cheeks and chin
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Wreath
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For the wreath used in heraldry, see torse. A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, in English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, mainly as an Advent and Christmas decoration. They are also used in events in many cultures around the globe. Wreaths have much history and symbolism associated with them and they are usually made from evergreens and symbolize strength, as evergreens last even throughout the harshest winters. Bay laurel may also be used, and these wreaths are known as laurel wreath, the word wreath comes from Middle English wrethe and from Old English writha, band. Wreaths were a used in ancient times in southern Europe. The most well-known are pieces of Etruscan civilization jewelry, made of gold or other precious metals, symbols from Greek myths often appear in the designs, embossed in precious metal at the ends of the wreath. Ancient Roman writers referred to Etruscan corona sutilis, which were wreaths with their leaves sewn onto a background and these wreaths resemble a diadem, with thin metal leaves being attached to an ornamental band. Wreaths also appear stamped into Etruscan medallions, the plants shown making the wreaths in Etruscan jewelry include ivy, oak, olive leaves, myrtle, laurel, wheat and vines. Wreaths were worn as crowns by Etruscan rulers, the Etruscan symbolism continued to be used in Ancient Greece and Rome. Roman magistrates also wore golden wreaths as crowns, as a testament to their lineage back to Romes early Etruscan rulers. Roman magistrates also used several other prominent Etruscan symbols in addition to a golden crown, fasces, a curule chair, a purple toga. In the Greco-Roman world, wreaths were used as an adornment that could represent a person’s occupation, rank, their achievements, the wreath that was commonly used was the laurel wreath. The use of this comes from the Greek myth involving Apollo, Zeus’ son and the god of life and light. When he pursued her she fled and asked the river god Peneus to help her, Peneus turned her into a laurel tree. From that day, Apollo wore a wreath of laurel on his head, Laurel wreaths were used to crown victorious athletes at the original Olympic Games and are still worn in Italy by university students who just graduated. Other types of plants used to make wreath crowns also had symbolic meaning, for example, oak leaves symbolized wisdom, and were associated with Zeus, who according to Greek mythology made his decisions while resting in an oak grove. The Twelve Tables, dating to 450 BC, refer to funeral wreaths as a long-standing tradition, olive wreath was the prize for the winner at the ancient Olympic Games
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