1.
Trident of Poseidon
–
The trident of Poseidon and his Roman equivalent, Neptune, has been their traditional divine attribute featured in many ancient depictions. In Hesiods account, Poseidons trident was crafted by the three Cyclopes, in another view shared by Friedrich Wieseler, E. M. W. Tillyard and several other researchers, Poseidons trident is a fish spear, typical for coast-dwelling Greeks. In that sense it resembles the arrow-headed pronged fork, used by the Mediterranean fishermen to catch eels, Poseidon became particularly worshipped in coastal countries, where fish formed a basic commodity of trade. According to competing proposal by H. B, walters, Poseidons trident is derived from Zeus lotus sceptre, with Poseidon being Zeus in his marine aspect. In Greek myths, Poseidon wields his trident on a number of occasions, during the contest with Athena over the possession of Attica Poseidon strikes the Acropolis with the trident to produce a well of seawater. In a similar myth Poseidon strikes the ground with trident to produce a horse for mankind, the oldest coins of Poseidonia from the 6th century BC depict trident wielded by Poseidon in his right hand, similar to Zeuss thunderbolt. An Attic red figure kylix from c. 475 BC depicts Poseidon killing the Giant Polybotes with his trident, in another myth, Poseidon creates a spring or springs with the strike of his trident to reward Amymone for her encounter with him. In a version of another myth Poseidon wields his trident to scare off a satyr who tries to rape Amymone after she hits him with a hunting spear. There is also a myth where Poseidon touches the island of Delos with his trident, another myth tells how Poseidon, enraged by sacrilegious behavior of Ajax the Lesser, splits with trident the rock to which Ajax was clinging. According to the second and third Vatican Mythographer, Neptunes trident symbolizes the three properties of water, liquidity, fecundity and drinkability, a series of American fleet ballistic missiles Trident is named after Neptunes trident, as well as Operation Neptune Spear. The personification of Great Britain, Britannia is depicted with the trident of Poseidon as a symbol of naval power, the logo of car manufacturer Maserati is based on the trident from the statue of Neptune in Bologna. The trident of Poseidon is an artifact with destructive powers in Michael Livingstons 2015 historical fantasy novel The Shards of Heaven
2.
Tine (structural)
–
Tines or prongs or teeth are parallel or branching spikes forming parts of a tool or natural object. They are used to spear, hook, move or otherwise act on other objects and they may be made of metal, wood, bone or other hard, strong materials. The number of tines on tools varies widely – a pitchfork may have just two, a fork may have four, and a rake or harrow many. Tines may be blunt, such as those on a used as an eating utensil, or sharp, as on a pitchfork, or even barbed. The terms tine and prong are mostly interchangeable, a tooth of a comb is a tine. Tines and prongs occur in nature—for example, forming the branched bony antlers of deer or the horns of pronghorn antelopes. The term tine is also used for mountains, such as the fictional Silvertine in The Lord of the Rings, in chaos theory, the branches of a bifurcation diagram are called tines and subtines
3.
Spear
–
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The most common design for hunting or combat spears since ancient times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle, lozenge, the heads of fishing spears usually feature barbs or serrated edges. The word spear comes from the Old English spere, from the Proto-Germanic speri, from a Proto-Indo-European root *sper- spear, Spears can be divided into two broad categories, those designed for thrusting in melee combat and those designed for throwing. The spear has been used throughout history both as a hunting and fishing tool and as a weapon. Along with the axe, knife and club, it is one of the earliest and most important tools developed by early humans, as a weapon, it may be wielded with either one hand or two. It was used in every conflict up until the modern era, where even then it continues on in the form of the bayonet. Spear manufacture and use is not confined to human beings and it is also practiced by the western chimpanzee. Chimpanzees near Kédougou, Senegal have been observed to create spears by breaking straight limbs off trees, stripping them of their bark and side branches and they then used the weapons to hunt galagos sleeping in hollows. Orangutans also have used spears to fish, presumably after observing humans fishing in a similar manner, neanderthals were constructing stone spear heads from as early as 300,000 BP and by 250,000 years ago, wooden spears were made with fire-hardened points. From 200,000 BP onwards, Middle Paleolithic humans began to make stone blades with flaked edges which were used as spear heads. These stone heads could be fixed to the shaft by gum or resin or by bindings made of animal sinew. During this period, a clear difference remained between spears designed to be thrown and those designed to be used in hand-to-hand combat, by the Magdalenian period, spear-throwers similar to the later atlatl were in use. Spears were one of the most common weapons used in the Stone Age. They may be seen as the ancestor of such weapons as the lance, the pilum, the halberd, the naginata, the glaive, the bill. Spears may be used as both a projectile and melee weapons, Spears used primarily for thrusting may be used with either one or two hands and tend to have heavier and sturdier designs than those intended exclusively for throwing. From the atlatl dart, the arrow for use with bows eventually developed, short, one-handed spears featuring socketed metal heads were used in conjunction with a shield by the earliest Bronze Age cultures. They were wielded in either combat or in large troop formations. This tradition continued from the first Mesopotamian cultures, through the various ancient Egyptian dynasties, during this time the spear was also used by cavalry
4.
Spearfishing
–
Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing that has been used throughout the world for millennia. Early civilizations were familiar with the custom of spearing fish from rivers, today modern spearfishing makes use of elastic powered spearguns and slings, or compressed gas pneumatic powered spearguns, to strike the hunted fish. Specialised techniques and equipment have been developed for various types of aquatic environments, Spearfishing may be done using free-diving, snorkelling, or scuba diving techniques. Spearfishing while using scuba equipment is illegal in some countries, the use of mechanically powered spearguns is also outlawed in some countries and jurisdictions. Spearfishing is highly selective, normally uses no bait and has no by-catch, Spearfishing with barbed poles was widespread in palaeolithic times. Cosquer cave in Southern France contains cave art over 16,000 years old, there are references to fishing with spears in ancient literature, though, in most cases, the descriptions do not go into detail. An early example from the Bible is in Job 41,7, the Greek historian Polybius, in his Histories, describes hunting for swordfish by using a harpoon with a barbed and detachable head. Greek author Oppian of Corycus wrote a treatise on sea fishing. This is the earliest such work to have survived intact, Oppian describes various means of fishing including the use of spears and tridents. In a parody of fishing, a type of gladiator called retiarius carried a trident and he fought the murmillo, who carried a short sword and a helmet with the image of a fish on the front. Copper harpoons were known to the seafaring Harappans well into antiquity, early hunters in India include the Mincopie people, aboriginal inhabitants of Indias Andaman and Nicobar islands, who have used harpoons with long cords for fishing since early times. Spear fishing is an ancient method of fishing and may be conducted with a spear or a specialised variant such as an eel spear or the trident. A small trident type spear with a handle is used in the American South and Midwest for gigging bullfrogs with a bright light at night, or for gigging carp. Traditional spear fishing is restricted to shallow waters, but the development of the speargun allows fishing in deeper waters. With practice, divers are able to hold their breath for up to four minutes and sometimes longer, of course, in the 1920s, sport spearfishing using only watertight swimming goggles became popular on the Mediterranean coast of France and Italy. This led to development of the diving mask, fins. Modern scuba diving had its genesis in the use of rebreathers by Italian sport spearfishers during the 1930s. This practice came to the attention of the Italian Navy, which developed its frogman unit, by 1940 small groups of people in California, USA had been spearfishing for less than 10 years
5.
Pole weapon
–
A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the users effective range. Spears, Glaives, poleaxes, halberds, and naginata are all varieties of polearms, the purpose of using pole weapons is either to extend reach or to increase leverage and thus increase striking power. Because they contain relatively little metal, polearms are cheap to make and this has made them the favored weapon of peasant levies and peasants in rebellion the world over. Many are adapted from farm implements, or other tools, polearms were common weapons on medieval European battlefields. Their range and impact force made them effective weapons against armored warriors on horseback, the Renaissance saw a plethora of different varieties. Polearms in modern times are largely constrained to ceremonial military units such as the Papal Swiss Guard or Yeomen of the Guard or traditional martial arts, Chinese Martial Arts in particular have preserved a wide variety of weapons and techniques. The classification of pole weapons can be difficult, and European weapon classifications in particular can be confusing, for example, the word halberd is also used to translate the Chinese ji and also a range of medieval Scandinavian weapons as described in sagas, such as the atgeir. To add to this, we have various nineteenth century used by scholars. We must remember too that any particular weapon, while men-at-arms may have been armed with custom designed military weapons, militias were often armed with whatever was available. These may or may not have mounted on poles and described by one of more names. The problems with precise definitions can be inferred by a description of Royalist infantry which were engaged in the Battle of Birmingham during the first year of English Civil War. The infantry regiment that accompanied Prince Ruperts cavalry were armed, with pikes, half-pikes, halberds, hedge-bills, Welsh hooks, clubs, pitchforks, with chopping-knives, and pieces of scythes. Falx Rhomphaia Kontos The dagger-axe, or gee is a type of weapon that was in use from Shang dynasty until at least Han dynasty China and it consists of a dagger-shaped blade made of bronze mounted by the tang to a perpendicular wooden shaft. A common Bronze Age infantry weapon, some dagger axes include a spear-point. There is a variant type with a divided two-part head, consisting of the straight blade. Other rarities include archaeology findings with 2 or sometimes 3 blades stacked in line on top of a pole, though the weapon saw frequent use in ancient China, the use of the dagger-axe decreased dramatically after the Qin and Han dynasties. By the medieval Chinese dynasties, with the decline of chariot warfare, a Guan dao or Kwan tou is a type of Chinese pole weapon. In Chinese it is called a Yanyue dao which translates as reclining moon blade
6.
Poseidon
–
Poseidon was one of the twelve Olympian deities of the pantheon in Greek mythology. His main domain was the ocean, and he is called the God of the Sea, additionally, he is referred to as Earth-Shaker due to his role in causing earthquakes, and has been called the tamer of horses. He is usually depicted as a male with curly hair. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology, both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon. According to some folklore, he was saved by his mother Rhea, who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have birth to a colt. There is a Homeric hymn to Poseidon, who was the protector of many Hellenic cities, according to the references from Plato in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias, the island of Atlantis was the chosen domain of Poseidon. The form Ποτειδάϝων appears in Corinth, the origins of the name Poseidon are unclear. Walter Burkert finds that the second element da- remains hopelessly ambiguous, another theory interprets the second element as related to the word *δᾶϝον dâwon, water, this would make *Posei-dawōn into the master of waters. There is also the possibility that the word has Pre-Greek origin, Plato in his dialogue Cratylus gives two alternative etymologies, either the sea restrained Poseidon when walking as a foot-bond, or he knew many things. If surviving Linear B clay tablets can be trusted, the name occurs with greater frequency than does di-u-ja. A feminine variant, po-se-de-ia, is found, indicating a lost consort goddess. Poseidon carries frequently the title wa-na-ka in Linear B inscriptions, as king of the underworld, the chthonic nature of Poseidon-Wanax is also indicated by his title E-ne-si-da-o-ne in Mycenean Knossos and Pylos, a powerful attribute. In the cave of Amnisos Enesidaon is related with the cult of Eileithyia and she was related with the annual birth of the divine child. During the Bronze Age, a goddess of nature, dominated both in Minoan and Mycenean cult, and Wanax was her companion in Mycenean cult. It is possible that Demeter appears as Da-ma-te in a Linear B inscription, in Linear B inscriptions found at Pylos, E-ne-si-da-o-ne is related with Poseidon, and Si-to Po-tini-ja is probably related with Demeter. Tablets from Pylos record sacrificial goods destined for the Two Queens, the Two Queens may be related with Demeter and Persephone, or their precursors, goddesses who were not associated with Poseidon in later periods. The violated Demeter was Demeter Erinys, in Arcadia, Demeters mare-form was worshiped into historical times. Her xoanon of Phigaleia shows how the local cult interpreted her, a Medusa type with a horses head with snaky hair, holding a dove and a dolphin, probably representing her power over air and water
7.
Neptune (mythology)
–
Neptune was the god of freshwater and the sea in Roman religion. He is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon, in the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto, the brothers presided over the realms of Heaven, the earthly world, and the Underworld. Depictions of Neptune in Roman mosaics, especially those of North Africa, are influenced by Hellenistic conventions, Neptune was likely associated with fresh water springs before the sea. Like Poseidon, Neptune was worshipped by the Romans also as a god of horses, under the name Neptunus Equester, Neptune is the creator of horses and is the god of the sea as well as the owner of a powerful weapon, the Trident. Poseidon is the greek Neptune and is one of the big three gods Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon and he accidentally created horses when he had an affair with Medusa, and also created a boy who roams the seas as a pirate past the pillar of Hercules. The etymology of Latin Neptunus is unclear and disputed, the ancient grammarian Varro derived the name from nuptus i. e. covering, with a more or less explicit allusion to the nuptiae, marriage of Heaven and Earth. Among modern scholars Paul Kretschmer proposed a derivation from IE *neptu- moist substance, similarly Raymond Bloch supposed it might be an adjectival form in -no from *nuptu-, meaning he who is moist. Georges Dumézil though remarked words deriving root *nep- are not attested in IE languages other than Vedic and he proposed an etymology that brings together Neptunus with Vedic and Avestan theonyms Apam Napat, Apam Napá and Old Irish theonym Nechtan, all meaning descendant of the waters. By using the approach the Indo-Iranian, Avestan and Irish figures would show common features with the Roman historicised legends about Neptune. Dumézil thence proposed to derive the nouns from IE root *nepot-, descendant, IE root *nebh-, having the original meaning of damp, wet, has given Sanskrit nábhah, Hittite nepis, Latin nubs, nebula, German Nebel, Slavic nebo etc. The concept would be close to that expressed in the name of Greek god Όυράνος, derived from IE root *h2wórso-, to water, irrigate and *h2worsó- and this etymology would be more in accord with Varros. The district was connected to the cult of the god, Messapus and Halesus. Messapus led the Falisci and others to war in the Aeneid, nepi and Falerii have been famed since antiquity for the excellent quality of the water of their springs, scattered in meadows. Nepet is considered a hydronymic toponym of preIndoeuropean origin widespread in Europe and from an appellative meaning damp wide valley, plain, cognate with pre-Greek νάπη, such an identification may well be grounded in the strict relationship between the Latin and Greek theologies of the two deities. Servius the grammarian also explicitly states Neptune is in charge of all the rivers, springs and he also is the lord of horses because he worked with Minerva to make the chariot. He may find a parallel in Irish god Nechtan, master of the well from all the rivers of the world flow out. Poseidon on the other hand underwent the process of becoming the main god of the sea at an earlier time. For a time he was paired with Salacia, the goddess of the salt water, Neptune was also considered the legendary progenitor god of a Latin stock, the Faliscans, who called themselves Neptunia proles
8.
Classical mythology
–
Classical mythology or Greco-Roman mythology is both the body of and the study of myths from the ancient Greeks and Romans as they are used or transformed by cultural reception. Along with philosophy and political thought, mythology represents one of the major survivals of classical antiquity throughout later Western culture, the Greek word mythos refers to the spoken word or speech, but it also denotes a tale, story or narrative. Classical myths are also alluded to in scientific naming, particularly in astronomy, chemistry, and biology, and in the theory of Freud. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, when Latin remained the dominant language in Europe for international educated discourse, mythological names almost always appeared in Latinized form. With the Greek revival of the 19th century, however, Greek names began to be used more often, classical mythology is a term often used to designate the myths belonging to the Greek and Roman traditions. A classical myth as it appears in later Western culture is usually a syncretism of various versions from both Greek and Latin sources. Greek myths were narratives related to ancient Greek religion, often concerned with the actions of gods and other supernatural beings, major sources for Greek myths include the Homeric epics, that is, the Iliad and the Odyssey, and the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Known versions are preserved in sophisticated literary works shaped by the artistry of individuals and by the conventions of genre, or in vase painting. In these forms, mythological narratives often serve purposes that are not primarily religious, such as entertainment and even comedy, Roman myths have a dynamic relation to Roman historiography, as in the early books of Livys Ab urbe condita. The literary collection of Greco-Roman myths with the greatest influence on later Western culture was the Metamorphoses of the Augustan poet Ovid. The myths as they appear in popular culture of the 20th and 21st centuries often have only a tangential relation to the stories as told in ancient Greek and Latin literature
9.
Hindu mythology
–
As such, it is a subset of mainstream Indian and Nepali culture. The roots of mythology that evolved from classical Hinduism come from the times of the Vedic civilization, the four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain allusions to many themes. The characters, philosophy and stories make up ancient Vedic myths are indelibly linked with Hindu beliefs. The Vedas are four in number, namely RigVeda, YajurVeda, SamaVeda, in the period of Classical Sanskrit, much material is preserved in the Sanskrit epics. Besides mythology proper, the voluminous epics also provide a range of information about ancient Nepali and Indian society, philosophy, culture, religion. The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tell the story of two incarnations of Vishnu. These two works are known as Itihasa, the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana serve as both religious scriptures and a rich source of philosophy and morality. The most famous of these chapters is the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata, in which Lord Krishna explains the concepts of duty and these stories are deeply embedded in Hindu philosophy and serve as parables and sources of devotion for Hindus. The Mahabharata is the worlds longest epic in verse, running to more than 2,000,000 lines, the epics themselves are set in different Yugas, or periods of time. The Ramayana, written by the Maharshi Valmiki, describes the life and times of Lord Rama, the Mahabharata, describing the life and times of the Pandavas, occurs in the Dvapara Yuga, a period associated with Lord Krishna. In total, there are 4 Yugas and these are the Satya or Krita Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and the Kali Yuga. The avatara concept, however, belongs to the Puranic times, the Puranas deal with stories that are old and do not appear in the epics. They contain legends and stories about the origins of the world, and the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. They contain traditions related to ancient kings, seers, incarnations of God and legends about holy places, the Bhagavata Purana is probably the most read and popular of the Puranas. It chronicles the legends of the god Vishnu and his avatars on earth, the act of creation was thought of in more than one manner. One of the oldest cosmogonic myth in the Rigveda had come into existence as a cosmic egg, the Purusha Sukta narrates that all things were made out of the mangled limbs of Purusha, a magnified non-natural man, who was sacrificed by the gods. In the Puranas, Vishnu, in the shape of a boar, plunged into the cosmic waters, the Shatapatha Brahmana says that in the beginning, Prajapati, the first creator or father of all, was alone in the world. He differentiated himself into two beings, husband and wife, the wife, regarding union with her producer as incest, fled from his embraces assuming various animal disguises
10.
Shiva
–
Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism, Shiva is the transformer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects, in the goddess tradition of Hinduism called Shaktism, the goddess is described as supreme, yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power of each and he is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. At the highest level, Shiva is regarded as formless, limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, Shiva has many benevolent and fearsome depictions. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives a life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with wife Parvati. In his fierce aspects, he is depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also known as Adiyogi Shiva, regarded as the god of yoga, meditation. Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Lingam. Shiva is a deity, revered widely by Hindus, in India, Nepal. The Sanskrit word Śiva means, states Monier Williams, auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, the roots of Śiva in folk etymology is śī which means in whom all things lie, pervasiveness and va which means embodiment of grace. The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda, as an epithet for several Rigvedic deities, the term Shiva also connotes liberation, final emancipation and the auspicious one, this adjective sense of usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic layers of literature. The term evolved from the Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shiva in the Epics, Sharma presents another etymology with the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means to injure or to kill, interprets the name to connote one who can kill the forces of darkness. The Sanskrit word śaiva means relating to the god Shiva, and it is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism. Some authors associate the name with the Tamil word śivappu meaning red, noting that Shiva is linked to the Sun, the Vishnu sahasranama interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings, The Pure One, and the One who is not affected by three Guṇas of Prakṛti. Shiva is known by names such Viswanathan, Mahadeva, Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara, Trilochana, Devendra, Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha. The highest reverence for Shiva in Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva, Maheśvara, Sahasranama are medieval Indian texts that list a thousand names derived from aspects and epithets of a deity. There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, the version appearing in Book 13 of the Mahabharata provides one such list
11.
Trishula
–
The Trishula means trident in the Indian language. It is commonly used as a Indic religious symbol, the word means three-headed spear i. e. trident in Sanskrit and Pali. In India and Thailand, the term often refers to a short-handled weapon which may be mounted on a danda or staff. But unlike the Okinawan sai, the trishula is often bladed, in Malay and Indonesian, trishula usually refers specifically to a long-handled trident while the diminutive version is known as a chabang or tekpi. The trishula symbolism is polyvalent and rich, the trishula is wielded by the Hindu God Shiva and is said to have been used to sever the original head of Ganesh. Durga also holds a trishula, as one of her many weapons, there are many other gods and deities, who hold the weapon trishula. The three points have various meanings and significance, and, common to Hindu religion, have many stories behind them and they are commonly said to represent various trinities—creation, maintenance and destruction, past, present and future, the three gunas. When looked upon as a weapon of Shiva, the trishula is said to destroy the three worlds, the world, the world of the forefathers and the world of the mind. The three worlds are supposed to be destroyed by Shiva into a single plane of existence. In the human body, the trishula also represents the place where the three main nadi, or energy channels meet at the brow. Shushmana, the one, continues upward to the 7th chakra, or energy center. The trishulas central point represents Shushmana, and that is why it is longer than the two, representing ida and pingala. Trishula can sometimes also designate the Buddhist symbol of the triratna, the Goddess Durga holds a trishula among other weapons and attributes in her hands and amongst her accoutrement, having received celestial weapons from both Shiva and Vishnu. In Nepal, the trishula is the symbol of the Communist Party of Nepal. A similar word, Trishel, is the Romani word for cross
12.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
13.
Greek language
–
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
14.
Proto-Greek
–
The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants, who spoke the predecessor of the Mycenaean language, entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic or the Bronze Age. The evolution of Proto-Greek could be considered within the context of an early Paleo-Balkan sprachbund that makes it difficult to delineate exact boundaries between individual languages, Proto-Greek is mostly placed in the Early Helladic period, i. e. towards the end of Neolithic Europe. Strengthening of word-initial y- to dy-, palatalization of consonants followed by -y-, producing various affricate consonants and palatal consonants, they later simplified, mostly losing their palatal character. Vocalization of laryngeals between consonants and initially before consonants to /e/, /a/, /o/ from *h₁, *h₂, other unique changes involving laryngeals, see below. Raising of /o/ to /u/ between a resonant and a labial, merging of sequences of velar + *w into the labiovelars, with compensatory lengthening of the consonant in some cases. For example, PIE *h₁éḱwos > PG *íkkʷos > Mycenaean i-qo /íkkʷos/, Attic híppos, dissimilation of aspirates caused an initial aspirated sound to lose its aspiration when a following aspirated consonant occurred in the same word. It also postdates the change of /s/ > /h/, as it affects /h/ as well, ékhō I have < *hekh- < PIE *seǵʰ-oh₂ and it postdates even the loss of aspiration before /j/ that accompanied second-stage palatalization, which postdates both of the previous changes. On the other hand, it predates the development of the first aorist passive marker -thē- since the aspirate in that marker has no effect on preceding aspirates, Greek is unique in reflecting the three different laryngeals with distinct vowels. Most Indo-European languages can be traced back to a variety of late Proto-Indo-European in which all three laryngeals had merged, but Greek clearly cannot. For that reason, Greek is extremely important in reconstructing PIE forms, Greek shows distinct reflexes of the laryngeals in various positions, Most famously, between consonants, where original vocalic *h₁, *h₂, *h₃ are reflected as /e/, /a/, /o/ respectively. Greek vocalized them, Greek érebos darkness < PIE *h₁regʷos vs. Gothic riqiz- darkness, Greek áent- wind < *awent- < PIE *h₂wéh₁n̥t- vs. English wind, the sequence *CRHC becomes CRēC, CRāC, CRōC from H = *h₁, *h₂, *h₃ respectively. Sometimes, CeReC, CaRaC, CoRoC are found instead, Greek thánatos death vs. Doric Greek thnātós mortal and it is sometimes suggested that the position of the accent was a factor in determining the outcome. The sequence *CiHC tends to become *CyēC, *CyāC, *CyōC from H = *h₁, *h₂, *h₃ respectively, sometimes, the outcome CīC is found, as in most other Indo-European languages, or the outcome CiaC in the case of *Cih₂C. *CRHC > *CReHC > CRēC/CRāC/CRōC, or, *CRHC > *CeRHeC > *CeReC/CeRaC/CeRoC > CeReC/CaRaC/CoRoC by assimilation, *CiHC > *CyeHC > CyēC/CyāC/CyōC, or, *Cih₂C > *Cih₂eC > *CiHaC > *CiyaC > CiaC, or, *CiHC remains without vowel insertion > CīC. A laryngeal adjacent to a vowel develops along the lines as other Indo-European languages, The sequence *CRHV passes through *CR̥HV. In the sequence *CHV, the colors a following short /e/, as expected. In a *VHV sequence, the laryngeal again colours any adjacent short /e/ and that change appears to be uniform across the Indo-European languages and was probably the first environment in which laryngeals were lost. Proto-Greek underwent palatalization of consonants before *y and this occurred in two separate stages
15.
Retiarius
–
A retiarius was a Roman gladiator who fought with equipment styled on that of a fisherman, a weighted net, a three-pointed trident, and a dagger. The retiarius was lightly armoured, wearing an arm guard and a shoulder guard, typically, his clothing consisted only of a loincloth held in place by a wide belt, or of a short tunic with light padding. He wore no protection or footwear. The retiarius was routinely pitted against a heavily armed secutor, the net-fighter made up for his lack of protective gear by using his speed and agility to avoid his opponents attacks and waiting for the opportunity to strike. He first tried to throw his net over his rival, if this succeeded, he attacked with his trident while his adversary was entangled. Another tactic was to ensnare his enemys weapon in the net and pull it out of his grasp, should the net miss or the secutor grab hold of it, the retiarius likely discarded the weapon, although he might try to collect it back for a second cast. Usually, the retiarius had to rely on his trident and dagger to finish the fight, the trident, as tall as a human being, permitted the gladiator to jab quickly and keep his distance. It was a weapon, capable of inflicting piercing wounds on an unprotected skull or limb. The dagger was the retiariuss final backup should the trident be lost and it was reserved for when close combat or a straight wrestling match had to settle the bout. In some battles, a retiarius faced two secutores simultaneously. For these situations, the lightly armoured gladiator was placed on a raised platform, retiarii first appeared in the arena during the 1st century AD and had become standard attractions by the 2nd or 3rd century. The gladiators lack of armour and his reliance on evasive tactics meant that many considered the retiarius the lowliest of an already stigmatised class, nevertheless, Roman artwork, graffiti, and grave markers include examples of specific net-men who apparently had reputations as skilled combatants and lovers. Roman gladiators fell into stock categories modelled on real-world precedents, almost all of these classes were based on military antecedents, the retiarius, which was themed after the sea, was one exception. Rare gladiator fights were staged over water, these may have given rise to the concept of a gladiator based on a fisherman. Fights between differently armed gladiators became popular in the Imperial period, the retiarius versus the scaly secutor developed as the conflict of a fisherman with a stylised fish, the earlier murmillones had borne a fish on their helmets, the secutores with their scaly armour evolved from them. However, because of the differences in arms and armour between the two types, the pairing pushed such practices to new extremes. Nevertheless, graffiti and artifacts from Pompeii attest to the existence by this time. In addition to the symbolism inherent in such bouts, the lightly armoured retiarius was viewed as the effeminate counterpoint to the manly, heavily armoured secutor
16.
Secutor
–
A secutor was a class of gladiator in ancient Rome. Thought to have originated around 50 AD, the secutor was armed similarly to the Murmillo gladiator, a secutor usually carried a short sword, a gladius, or a dagger. The secutor was specially trained to fight a retiarius, a type of lightly armoured gladiator armed with a trident, the flanges protecting his neck were smooth and shaped like fish fins for this purpose. Because of the weight and lack of space in the helmet, the secutor wore a loincloth, and a wide belt. On his right arm, he wore a manica, and on his left leg and he also carried a scutum to protect himself. A Syrian, he died at the age of 30, after having fought 34 times—winning 21, drawing 9, james Grout, Secutor, part of the Encyclopædia Romana PBS. ORGs Secutor Profile AncientHistory. About. Coms Gladiator Profiles
17.
Karpathos
–
Karpathos is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, because of its remote location, Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs and dialect, the last resembling those of Crete and Cyprus. The island has also been called Carpathus in Latin, Scarpanto in Italian, the island is located about 47 kilometres southwest of Rhodes, in the part of the Mediterranean which is called the Carpathian Sea. The Sea of Crete, a sub-basin of the Mediterranean Sea, has its eastern limit defined by the island of Karpathos, Karpathos highest point is Mt. Lastos, at 1,215 metres. Pigadia, the capital and main port of the island, is located in the southeast of the island, the capital is surrounded by the villages of Menetes, Arkasa, Aperi, Volada, Othos, and Pyles. In the north Mesochori, Spoa and Olympos, there are two ports, in Karpathos and in the north of the island next to Olympos named Diafani. The island Saria was once united with Karpathos, but an earthquake divided them, the weather station of Karpathos alongside Ierapetra holds Greeces highest annual mean temperature,20.1 °C.800 km2, the municipal unit 219.924 km2. The island of Karpathos was in ancient and medieval times closely connected with Rhodes. Its current name is mentioned, with a shift of one letter. Apollonius of Rhodes, in his epic Argonautica, made it a port of call for the Argonauts travelling between Libya and Crete, the island is also mentioned by Virgil, Pliny the Elder, and Strabo. The Karpathians sided with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War in 431 BCE, in 42 BCE, the island fell to Rome. After the division of the Roman Empire in 395 CE, the became part of the Eastern Roman Empire. Of its Christian bishops, the names are known of Olympius, who was a supporter of Nestorius, Zoticus, Mennas, Ioannes, Leo, in the 14th century, the island was a see of the Latin Church, four of whose bishops bore the name Nicolaus. No longer a residential bishopric, Karpathos is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see. In 1304, Karpathos was given as fief to the Genoese corsairs Andrea and Lodovico Moresco, but in 1306 it fell to Andrea Cornaro, the Cornaro controlled Karpathos until 1538, when it passed into the possession of the Ottoman Turks. During the Greek War of Independence from 1821 to 1822, the island rebelled, but afterwards it fell again under the Ottoman rule. In 1835, Sultan Mahmud II conceded to the island the privilege of the Maktu tax system, that is, the tax was calculated as a lump sum. The Ottoman rule ended on 12 May 1912, when the Italians occupied the island, together with the whole Dodecanese, on that day, sailors from the Regia Marina ship Vittorio Emanuele and the destroyer Alpino landed in Karpathos
18.
Southern United States
–
The Southern United States, commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South, is a region of the United States of America. The South does not fully match the geographic south of the United States, arizona and New Mexico, which are geographically in the southern part of the country, are rarely considered part, while West Virginia, which separated from Virginia in 1863, commonly is. Some scholars have proposed definitions of the South that do not coincide neatly with state boundaries, while the states of Delaware and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia permitted slavery prior to the start of the Civil War, they remained with the Union. However, the United States Census Bureau puts them in the South, usually, the South is defined as including the southeastern and south-central United States. The region is known for its culture and history, having developed its own customs, musical styles, and cuisines, the Southern ethnic heritage is diverse and includes strong European, African, and some Native American components. Since the late 1960s, black people have many offices in Southern states, especially in the coastal states of Virginia. Historically, the South relied heavily on agriculture, and was rural until after 1945. It has since become more industrialized and urban and has attracted national and international migrants, the American South is now among the fastest-growing areas in the United States. Houston is the largest city in the Southern United States, sociological research indicates that Southern collective identity stems from political, demographic, and cultural distinctiveness from the rest of the United States. The region contains almost all of the Bible Belt, an area of high Protestant church attendance and predominantly conservative, indeed, studies have shown that Southerners are more conservative than non-Southerners in several areas, including religion, morality, international relations and race relations. Apart from its climate, the experience in the South increasingly resembles the rest of the nation. The arrival of millions of Northerners and millions of Hispanics meant the introduction of cultural values, the process has worked both ways, however, with aspects of Southern culture spreading throughout a greater portion of the rest of the United States in a process termed Southernization. The question of how to define the subregions in the South has been the focus of research for nearly a century, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, the Southern region of the United States includes sixteen states. As of 2010, an estimated 114,555,744 people, or thirty-seven percent of all U. S. residents, lived in the South, the nations most populous region. Other terms related to the South include, The Old South, the New South, usually including the South Atlantic States. The Solid South, region largely controlled by the Democratic Party from 1877 to 1964, before that, blacks were elected to national office and many to local office through the 1880s, Populist-Republican coalitions gained victories for Fusionist candidates for governors in the 1890s. Includes at least all the 11 former Confederate States, Southeastern United States, usually including the Carolinas, the Virginias, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. The Deep South, various definitions, usually including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, occasionally, parts of adjoining states are included
19.
Midwestern United States
–
It was officially named the North Central region by the Census Bureau until 1984. Illinois is the most populous of the states and North Dakota the least, a 2012 report from the United States Census put the population of the Midwest at 65,377,684. The Midwest is divided by the Census Bureau into two divisions, the East North Central Division includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, all of which are also part of the Great Lakes region. Major rivers in the include, from east to west, the Ohio River, the Upper Mississippi River. Chicago is the most populated city in the American Midwest and the third most populous in the entire country, other large Midwest cities include, Indianapolis, Columbus, Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Wichita and St. Louis. Chicago and its suburbs form the largest metropolitan area with 9.8 million people, followed by Metro Detroit. Paul, Greater St. Louis, Greater Cleveland, Greater Cincinnati, Kansas City metro area, the term Midwestern has been in use since the 1880s to refer to portions of the central United States. A variant term, Middle West, has used since the 19th century. Another term sometimes applied to the general region is the heartland. Other designations for the region have fallen out of use, such as the Northwest or Old Northwest, the Northwest Territory was one of the earliest territories of the United States, stretching northwest from the Ohio River to northern Minnesota and upper-Mississippi. The upper-Mississippi watershed including the Missouri and Illinois Rivers was the setting for the earlier French settlements of the Illinois Country, economically the region is balanced between heavy industry and agriculture, with finance and services such as medicine and education becoming increasingly important. Its central location makes it a crossroads for river boats, railroads, autos, trucks. Politically the region swings back and forth between the parties, and thus is heavily contested and often decisive in elections, after the sociological study Middletown, which was based on Muncie, Indiana, commentators used Midwestern cities as typical of the nation. The region has a higher ratio than the Northeast, the West. Traditional definitions of the Midwest include the Northwest Ordinance Old Northwest states, the states of the Old Northwest are also known as Great Lakes states and are east-north central in the United States. The Ohio River runs along the section while the Mississippi River runs north to south near the center. Many of the Louisiana Purchase states in the west-north central United States, are known as Great Plains states. The Midwest lies north of the 36°30′ parallel that the 1820 Missouri Compromise established as the line between future slave and non-slave states
20.
Gigging
–
Gigging is the practice of hunting fish or small game with a gig or similar multi-pronged spear. Commonly harvested wildlife include freshwater suckers, saltwater flounder, and small game, a gig can refer to any long pole which has been tipped with a multi-pronged spear. The gig pole ranges in length from 8 to 14 feet for fish gigs and 5 to 8 feet for frog gigs, a gig typically has three or four barbed tines similar to a trident, however gigs can be made with any number of tines. In the past people would attach illuminated pine knots to the end of gigs at night to give them light, suckers are a bottom-feeding fish common throughout many parts of the US. The gigging of suckers for food occurs predominately in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, sucker gigging is usually done at night with lights to maximize the visibility of the fast moving fish. Ozarks residents of the past often waded the clear local streams at night, the lighting system is often powered by gas, a generator, or a battery. Species such as Catostomus commersonii and Hypentelium nigricans are commonly sought for eating and they can be canned or smoked, but are most commonly fried. Traditionally, small incisions are made in the flesh before frying to allow small internal bones to soften, Flounder or flatfish live in coastal saltwater areas, and lie at the bottom of the shallow waters waiting for shrimp or minnows to swim nearby. Flounder gigging can be done in daylight, but is more successful done at night using powerful lights. This method targets nocturnally foraging fish, the light is used to spot the normally camouflaged fish. Historically hollow bamboo poles filled with coal were used for lighting, modern lights usually use halogen or LED lamps. This method is effective in shallow, clear water where fish are easily observable from the top, the temporarily blind fish are speared with the gig, or sometimes can be collected by hand. During fishing events, a person holds a lamp in the hand. Flounder gigging can be done by wading stealthily in shallow water, a flounder boat is specifically designed for gigging flounder. It typically has a flat, wide bottom to provide a stable platform, Flounder vessels are navigated with a push-pole along the banks and flats where flounder may be lying. A battery powers light arrays for viewing the flat fish, frog gigging is commonly done at night, but it can be done during the day as well. Traditionally, flashlights or spotlights are used to locate the frogs as their eyes reflect the light at night. In addition to help the locating of frogs, shining a light in their eyes stuns or dazes the frogs, and makes it less likely for the frog to see an approaching hunter, or the incoming gig itself
21.
Catostomidae
–
The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family of freshwater fishes. The Catostomidae are primarily native to North America, but Catostomus catostomus is found in both North America and Russia, and Myxocyprinus asiaticus is from China, the mouth of this fish is located on the underside of its head, with thick, fleshy lips. Most species are less than 60 cm in length, but the largest species can surpass 100 cm and they are distinguished from related fish by having a long pharyngeal bone in the throat, containing a single row of teeth. Catostomids are most often found in rivers, but can be found in any freshwater environment and their food ranges from detritus and bottom-dwelling organisms, to surface insects and small fishes. Catostomidae have been uncovered and dated to the Middle Eocene in Colorado, an enormous gap in the fossil record occurs from the Late Eocene to Early Pleistocene They can be taken by many fishing methods, including angling and gigging. Often, species such as Catostomus commersonii and Hypentelium nigricans are preferred for eating and they can be canned, smoked, or fried, but small incisions often must be made in the flesh before frying to allow small internal bones to be palatable. Comments on the genus Amyzon Journal of Paleontology 654, 678-686
22.
American bullfrog
–
The American bullfrog, often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is an amphibious frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or “true frogs”. This frog has a green back and sides blotched with brownish markings. The upper lip is bright green and males have yellow throats. It inhabits large, permanent water bodies, such as swamps, ponds, and lakes, the male bullfrog defends a territory during the breeding season. His call is reminiscent of the roar of a bull, which gives the frog its common name, the bullfrog is harvested for use as food in North America and in several countries into which it has been introduced. It is also cultured in controlled environments, though this is a difficult, some international trade in frog legs occurs for human consumption. Bullfrogs are used in classes in schools for dissection and are sometimes kept as pets. Some authorities use the name, Lithobates catesbeiana, although others prefer Rana catesbeiana. A systematic review of the Holaractic true frogs in 2016 used Rana catesbeiana, as does AmphibiaWeb, the specific name, catesbeiana or catesbeianus, is in honor of English naturalist Mark Catesby. The dorsal surface of the bullfrog has an olive-green basal color, the ventral surface is off-white blotched with yellow or gray. There is often a marked contrast in color between the upper lip and the pale lower lip. The teeth are tiny and are only in grasping. The eyes are prominent with brown irises and horizontal almond-shaped pupils, the tympani are easily seen just behind the eyes and the dorsolateral folds of skin end close to them. The limbs are blotched or banded with gray, the forelegs are short and sturdy and the hind legs long. The front toes are not webbed, but the toes have webbing between the digits with the exception of the fourth toe which is unwebbed. Bullfrogs are sexually dimorphic, with males being smaller than females, males have tympani larger than their eyes, whereas the tympani in females are about the same size as the eyes. Bullfrogs measure about 3.6 to 6 in from snout to vent and they grow fast in the first eight months of life, typically increasing in weight from 5 to 175 g, and large mature individuals can weigh up to 500 g. In some cases bullfrogs have been recorded as attaining 800 g, the bullfrog is native to eastern North America
23.
Flounder
–
Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish found at the bottom of oceans around the world, the name flounder is used for several only distantly related species, though all are in the suborder Pleuronectidae. One eye migrates to the side of the body as a process of metamorphosis as it grows from larval to juvenile stage. As an adult, a flounder changes its habits and camouflages itself by lying on the bottom of the floor as protection against predators. As a result, the eyes are then on the side faces up. The side to which the eyes migrate is dependent on the species type, flounders ambush their prey, feeding at soft muddy areas of the sea bottom, near bridge piles, docks and coral reefs. A flounders diet consists mainly of fish spawn, crustaceans, polychaetes, Flounder typically grow to a length of 22–60 centimeters, and as large as 95 centimeters. Their width is half their length. Male Platichthys are known to display a spirit, and have been found up to 80 miles off the coast of northern Sardinia. World stocks of large fish and large ground fish, including sole and flounder, were estimated in 2003 to be only about 10% of pre-industrial levels. Most overfishing is due to the activities of the fishing industry. Current estimates suggest that approximately 30 million flounder are alive in the world today. pollution, in the Gulf of Mexico, along the coast of Texas, research indicates the flounder population could be as low as 15 million due to heavy overfishing and industrial pollution. According to Seafood Watch, Atlantic flounders and soles are currently on the list of seafood that consumers should avoid. Common names containing flounder at FishBase Video of a Fresh Water Flounder on YouTube
24.
Rough fish
–
Rough fish is a term used by U. S. state agencies and U. S. anglers to describe fish that are less desirable to sport anglers within a limited region. The term usually refers to fish species that are not commonly eaten, are too rare to be commonly encountered. Many of these species are important in the commercial fishing industry. There is no standard list of rough fishes, a fish that is considered a rough fish in one region may be considered a desirable game and food fish in another, often due to cultural differences or simply tradition. For example, the carp is considered an undesirable rough fish in the United States and Australia, but is the premier game fish of Europe. Likewise, the longnose gar is considered a fish and undesirable nuisance in Ohio. In Louisiana, though, it is considered tasty by certain groups and, due to the many small bones, is rarely filleted. Some rough fishes are exotic species that have been transplanted into North American waters from other continents either intentionally or unintentionally, other rough fishes are native species that can be confused with carp because they look similar. Many of these fishes are difficult to process as food because of their many bones, still other rough fishes are native fishes completely unlike carp, but are categorized as such because they are underused or unpopular. The first reference to the term rough as applied to fish is in the historical work A History of Fish and they would then travel many miles up or down river to deliver these fish to market. In hot summer weather, the slow, heavily loaded boats often had to be lightened quickly to ensure that the entire catch did not become spoiled before reaching market. The common practice of the time was to save the fully processed fish, rough-dressed fish were discarded to lighten the boat, by dumping the carcasses into the river. Thus, originally a fish was a fish of any species that had been only partly processed. The term subsequently evolved into a term for any fish that was undesirable or unpopular. The term coarse fish is used in Europe to describe all fishes besides trout and salmon, many rough fish species are federally endangered, threatened, candidate, or species of concern. These native American fishes have limited and declining populations and are at risk of extinction, because of this, they are listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Html version Rob Buffler and Tom Dickson Fishing for Buffalo, A Guide to the Pursuit, Lore & Cuisine of Buffalo, Carp, Mooneye, Gar, and other Rough Fish Culpepper Press, Minneapolis
25.
Dangpa
–
Dangpa, or dang pa, is the Korean name for a trident first described in the Muyejebo, a Korean martial arts manual of the Joseon Dynasty. It was imported from the Gihyoshinseo of the Ming Dynasty, tactics against Japanese pirates, there were several types of dangpa, like the iron dangpa, called cheolpa and the wooden dangpa, called mokpa. The two outer teeth of the cheolpa would be slightly crooked, the teeth of the mokpa were made of wood, but covered with iron. The middle tip would always be longer than the two other tips. This design was intended to lessen the chance of the weapon becoming stuck in an opponents body, defending close combat weapon with stuck these between tips. In the Muyedobotongji one set of techniques is given and this form of 22 movements is called dangpa chongbo accompanied by a diagram to explain the same form called dangpa chongdo
26.
Korean martial arts
–
The history of Korean martial arts can be traced as far back as the prehistoric era. Consequently, the Korean people developed unique martial arts and military strategies in order to defend themselves, today, Korean martial arts are being practiced worldwide, more than one in a hundred of the worlds population practices some form of taekwondo. Among the best recognized Korean practices using weapons are traditional Korean archery and Kumdo, in November 2011, Taekkyeon was recognized by UNESCO and placed on its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List. There has also been a revival of traditional Korean swordsmanship arts as well as knife fighting, wrestling, called ssireum, is the oldest form of ground fighting in Korea, while subak/taekkyeon was the upright martial art of foot soldiers. Weapons were an extension of those unarmed skills, besides being used to train soldiers, both of these traditional martial arts were also popular among villagers during festivals for dance, mask, acrobatic, and sport fighting. These martial arts were considered basic physical education. However, Koreans relied more heavily on bows and arrows in warfare than they did on close-range weapons and it appears that during the Goguryeo dynasty, subak/taekkeyon or ssireum, swordsmanship, spear-fighting and horse riding were practiced. In 1935, paintings that showed martial arts were found on the walls of royal tombs believed to have built for Goguryeo kings sometime between the years 3 and 427 AD. Which techniques were practiced during that period is, however, something that cannot be determined from these paintings, references to Subak can be found in government records from the Goguryeo dynasty through the Joseon dynasty. It is believed that the warriors from the Silla Dynasty known as the Hwarang learned subak from the neighboring Goguryeo armies when they appealed for their help against invading Japanese pirates, but this remains a conjecture, as there is zero actual documentation of such in Korean records. This code consisted of five rules, 사군이충 / 事君以忠 – Loyalty to ones king, 사친이효 / 事親以孝 – Respect to ones parents. 교우이신 / 交友以信 – Faithfulness to ones friends, 임전무퇴 / 臨戰無退 – Courage in battle. 살생유택 / 殺生有擇 – Justice in killing, the development of Subak continued during the Goryeo Dynasty. Goryeo records that mention the martial arts always include passages about Subak, the Joseon government, however, outlawed the practice of Subak as a public spectacle in response to problems arising from the betting practices of large numbers of Korean farmers and landowners. As a concession to public pressure, the government allowed a lesser practice - Taekkyeon games - to be used as a form of civilian recreation, Joseon Dynasty records and books often mention taekkyeon, and taekkyeon players are portrayed in several paintings from that era. The most famous painting is probably the Daegwaedo, painted in 1846 by Hyesan Yu Suk, with the Mongol conquest, the Korean military was reorganized around the mounted archer. Armor and weaponry became very similar to Mongol armor and weaponry, acrobatic horsemanship, falconry and polo were imported. The Korean Composite bow was adopted at this time, the unique construction of the Korean Gakgung bow shows the original form of the Mongol bow, before the Manchus improved it with stronger and bigger ears
27.
Ancient Rome
–
In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
28.
Gladiator
–
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their lives and their legal and social standing by appearing in the arena, most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death. Irrespective of their origin, gladiators offered spectators an example of Romes martial ethics and, in fighting or dying well, they could inspire admiration and popular acclaim. They were celebrated in high and low art, and their value as entertainers was commemorated in precious, the origin of gladiatorial combat is open to debate. There is evidence of it in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC and its popularity led to its use in ever more lavish and costly games. The gladiator games lasted for nearly a thousand years, reaching their peak between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. The games finally declined during the early 5th century after the adoption of Christianity as state church of the Roman Empire in 380, early literary sources seldom agree on the origins of gladiators and the gladiator games. In the late 1st century BC, Nicolaus of Damascus believed they were Etruscan, a generation later, Livy wrote that they were first held in 310 BC by the Campanians in celebration of their victory over the Samnites. This was accepted and repeated in most early modern, standard histories of the games, reappraisal of pictorial evidence supports a Campanian origin, or at least a borrowing, for the games and gladiators. Campania hosted the earliest known gladiator schools, tomb frescoes from the Campanian city of Paestum show paired fighters, with helmets, spears and shields, in a propitiatory funeral blood-rite that anticipates early Roman gladiator games. Compared to these images, supporting evidence from Etruscan tomb-paintings is tentative, the Paestum frescoes may represent the continuation of a much older tradition, acquired or inherited from Greek colonists of the 8th century BC. This is described as a munus, a duty owed the manes of a dead ancestor by his descendants. The war in Samnium, immediately afterwards, was attended with equal danger, the enemy, besides their other warlike preparation, had made their battle-line to glitter with new and splendid arms. There were two corps, the shields of the one were inlaid with gold, of the other with silver, the Dictator, as decreed by the senate, celebrated a triumph, in which by far the finest show was afforded by the captured armour. His plain Romans virtuously dedicate the magnificent spoils of war to the Gods and their Campanian allies stage a dinner entertainment using gladiators who may not be Samnites, but play the Samnite role. Other groups and tribes would join the cast list as Roman territories expanded, most gladiators were armed and armoured in the manner of the enemies of Rome. The munus became a morally instructive form of historic enactment in which the only option for the gladiator was to fight well. In 216 BC, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, late consul and augur, was honoured by his sons with three days of gladiatora munera in the Forum Romanum, using pairs of gladiators
29.
Cast net
–
A cast net, also called a throw net, is a net used for fishing. It is a net with small weights distributed around its edge. The net is cast or thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out on the water and this technique is called net casting or net throwing. Fish are caught as the net is hauled back in and this simple device is particularly effective for catching small bait or forage fish, and has been in use, with various modifications, for thousands of years. On the US Gulf Coast, it is used especially to catch mullet, contemporary cast nets have a radius which ranges from 4 to 12 feet. Only strong people can lift the larger nets once they are filled with fish, standard nets for recreational fishing have a four-foot hoop. Weights are usually distributed around the edge at one pound per foot. Attached to the net is a handline, one end of which is held in the hand as the net is thrown, when the net is full, a retrieval clamp, which works like a wringer on a mop, closes the net around the fish. The net is then retrieved by pulling on this handline, the net is lifted into a bucket and the clamp is released, dumping the caught fish into the bucket. Cast nets work best in water no deeper than their radius, Casting is best done in waters free of obstructions. Reeds cause tangles and branches can rip nets, the line is then thrown out to the water, using both hands, in a circular motion rather as in hammer throwing. The net can be cast from a boat, or from the shore, there are also optional net throwers that can make casting easier. These look like a lid from a trash can, including the handle on top, the outside circumference has a deep gutter. The net is loaded along the gutter and the weights are placed inside the gutter, the net is then tossed into the water using the thrower. In Norse mythology the sea giantess Rán cast a net to trap lost sailors. In Ancient Rome, in a parody of fishing, a type of gladiator called a retiarius or net fighter was armed with a trident, the retiarius was traditionally pitted against a secutor. Between 177 and 180 the Greek author Oppian wrote the Halieutica and he described various means of fishing including the use of nets cast from boats. References to cast nets can also be found in the New Testament, hand net Shrimp baiting Net casting spider Burnley, Eric B Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast Stackpole Books
30.
Hindu
–
Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion
31.
Greece
–
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
32.
Horse
–
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. It is an ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, Eohippus, into the large, humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior. Horses anatomy enables them to use of speed to escape predators and they have a well-developed sense of balance. Related to this need to flee from predators in the wild is an unusual trait, female horses, called mares, carry their young for approximately 11 months, and a young horse, called a foal, can stand and run shortly following birth. Most domesticated horses begin training under saddle or in harness between the ages of two and four and they reach full adult development by age five, and have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years. There are more than 300 breeds of horse in the world today, horses were historically used in warfare, from which a wide variety of riding and driving techniques developed, using many different styles of equipment and methods of control. Many products are derived from horses, including meat, milk, hide, hair, bone, humans provide domesticated horses with food, water and shelter, as well as attention from specialists such as veterinarians and farriers. Specific terms and specialized language are used to describe equine anatomy, different life stages, colors, depending on breed, management and environment, the modern domestic horse has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. Uncommonly, a few animals live into their 40s and, occasionally, the oldest verifiable record was Old Billy, a 19th-century horse that lived to the age of 62. In modern times, Sugar Puff, who had listed in Guinness World Records as the worlds oldest living pony. The exception is in endurance riding, where the age to compete is based on the animals actual calendar age. The following terminology is used to describe horses of various ages, Colt, a common terminology error is to call any young horse a colt, when the term actually only refers to young male horses. Filly, A female horse under the age of four, foal, A horse of either sex less than one year old. A nursing foal is sometimes called a suckling and a foal that has been weaned is called a weanling, most domesticated foals are weaned at five to seven months of age, although foals can be weaned at four months with no adverse physical effects. Gelding, A castrated male horse of any age, mare, A female horse four years old and older
33.
Earthquake
–
An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earths lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that they cannot be felt to those violent enough to people around. The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type, Earthquakes are measured using measurements from seismometers. The moment magnitude is the most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are reported for the entire globe and these two scales are numerically similar over their range of validity. Magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes are mostly imperceptible or weak and magnitude 7 and over potentially cause damage over larger areas. The largest earthquakes in historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9, intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an earthquake, the damage to structures it causes. At the Earths surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground, when the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides, and occasionally volcanic activity, in its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event — whether natural or caused by humans — that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts. An earthquakes point of rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter, tectonic earthquakes occur anywhere in the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. The sides of a fault move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if there are no irregularities or asperities along the surface that increase the frictional resistance. Most fault surfaces do have such asperities and this leads to a form of stick-slip behavior, once the fault has locked, continued relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress and therefore, stored strain energy in the volume around the fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen sufficiently to break through the asperity, suddenly allowing sliding over the portion of the fault. This energy is released as a combination of radiated elastic strain seismic waves, frictional heating of the fault surface and this process of gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by occasional sudden earthquake failure is referred to as the elastic-rebound theory. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of a total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the energy is used to power the earthquake fracture growth or is converted into heat generated by friction
34.
Tsunami
–
A tsunami or tidal wave, also known as a seismic sea wave, is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Unlike normal ocean waves which are generated by wind, or tides which are generated by the pull of the Moon and Sun. Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea waves, Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called internal wave train. Wave heights of tens of metres can be generated by large events, numerous terms are used in the English language to describe waves created in a body of water by the displacement of water, however, none of the terms in frequent use are entirely accurate. The term tsunami, meaning harbour wave in literal translation, comes from the Japanese 津波, while not entirely accurate, as tsunami are not restricted to harbours, tsunami is currently the term most widely accepted by geologists and oceanographers. Tsunami are sometimes referred to as tidal waves and this once-popular term derives from the most common appearance of tsunami, which is that of an extraordinarily high tidal bore. Although the meanings of tidal include resembling or having the form or character of the tides, use of the tidal wave is discouraged by geologists. The term seismic sea wave also is used to refer to the phenomenon, prior to the rise of the use of the term tsunami in English-speaking countries, scientists generally encouraged the use of the term seismic sea wave rather than tidal wave. The Sumatran region is not unused to tsunamis either, with earthquakes of varying magnitudes regularly occurring off the coast of the island, Tsunamis are an often underestimated hazard in the Mediterranean Sea and parts of Europe. The tsunami claimed more than 123,000 lives in Sicily, the Storegga Slide in the Norwegian sea and some examples of tsunamis affecting the British Isles refer to landslide and meteotsunamis predominantly and less to earthquake-induced waves. The cause, in my opinion, of this phenomenon must be sought in the earthquake, at the point where its shock has been the most violent the sea is driven back, and suddenly recoiling with redoubled force, causes the inundation. Without an earthquake I do not see how such an accident could happen, the principal generation mechanism of a tsunami is the displacement of a substantial volume of water or perturbation of the sea. This displacement of water is attributed to either earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, glacier calvings or more rarely by meteorites. The waves formed in this way are then sustained by gravity, tides do not play any part in the generation of tsunamis. Tsunami can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water and they grow in height when they reach shallower water, in a wave shoaling process described below. A tsunami can occur in any state and even at low tide can still inundate coastal areas. On April 1,1946, the 8.6 Mw Aleutian Islands earthquake occurred with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI and it generated a tsunami which inundated Hilo on the island of Hawaii with a 14-metre high surge. Between 165 and 173 were killed, the area where the earthquake occurred is where the Pacific Ocean floor is subducting under Alaska
35.
God
–
In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith. The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, divine simplicity, many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent and all loving. Furthermore, some religions attribute only a purely grammatical gender to God, incorporeity and corporeity of God are related to conceptions of transcendence and immanence of God, with positions of synthesis such as the immanent transcendence of Chinese theology. God has been conceived as personal or impersonal. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, in pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism, God has also been conceived as the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent. Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God, there are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about Gods identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten, premised on being the one true Supreme Being and creator of the universe. In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, He Who Is, I Am that I Am, in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, in Islam, the name Allah is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a concept of God. In Chinese religion, God is conceived as the progenitor of the universe, intrinsic to it, other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Baháí Faith, Waheguru in Sikhism, and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism. The earliest written form of the Germanic word God comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus, the English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau-, in the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic God and gods in polytheism. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, in many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton. Allāh is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning The God, Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. Mazda, or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå and it is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means intelligence or wisdom. Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning placing ones mind, Waheguru is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God
36.
Greek mythology
–
It was a part of the religion in ancient Greece. Greek mythology is explicitly embodied in a collection of narratives. Greek myth attempts to explain the origins of the world, and details the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. These accounts initially were disseminated in a tradition, today the Greek myths are known primarily from ancient Greek literature. The oldest known Greek literary sources, Homers epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on the Trojan War, archaeological findings provide a principal source of detail about Greek mythology, with gods and heroes featured prominently in the decoration of many artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles, in the succeeding Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an influence on the culture, arts. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes, Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from the Geometric period from c. Mythical narration plays an important role in every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus and this work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c, 180–125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed the basis for the collection, however the Library discusses events that occurred long after his death, among the earliest literary sources are Homers two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other poets completed the cycle, but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no connection with Homer. They are choral hymns from the part of the so-called Lyric age. Hesiods Works and Days, a poem about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora. The poet gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides, and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion, additionally, myth was central to classical Athenian drama
37.
Roman mythology
–
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Romes legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. Roman mythology may also refer to the study of these representations. The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as historical, even when these have miraculous or supernatural elements, the stories are often concerned with politics and morality, and how an individuals personal integrity relates to his or her responsibility to the community or Roman state. When the stories illuminate Roman religious practices, they are concerned with ritual, augury. Romes early myths and legends also have a relationship with Etruscan religion. In particular, the versions of Greek myths in Ovids Metamorphoses, written during the reign of Augustus, because ritual played the central role in Roman religion that myth did for the Greeks, it is sometimes doubted that the Romans had much of a native mythology. This perception is a product of Romanticism and the scholarship of the 19th century. From the Renaissance to the 18th century, however, Roman myths were an inspiration particularly for European painting, the Roman tradition is rich in historical myths, or legends, concerning the foundation and rise of the city. These narratives focus on human actors, with only occasional intervention from deities, in Romes earliest period, history and myth have a mutual and complementary relationship. As T. P. Wiseman notes, The Roman stories still matter, as they mattered to Dante in 1300 and Shakespeare in 1600, what does it take to be a free citizen. Can a superpower still be a republic, how does well-meaning authority turn into murderous tyranny. Major sources for Roman myth include the Aeneid of Vergil and the first few books of Livys history as well as Dionysius s Roman Antiquities. Other important sources are the Fasti of Ovid, a six-book poem structured by the Roman religious calendar, scenes from Roman myth also appear in Roman wall painting, coins, and sculpture, particularly reliefs. The Aeneid and Livys early history are the best extant sources for Romes founding myths, material from Greek heroic legend was grafted onto this native stock at an early date. By extension, the Trojans were adopted as the ancestors of the Roman people. Rape of the Sabine women, explaining the importance of the Sabines in the formation of Roman culture, numa Pompilius, the Sabine second king of Rome who consorted with the nymph Egeria and established many of Romes legal and religious institutions. Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, whose mysterious origins were freely mythologized. The Tarpeian Rock, and why it was used for the execution of traitors, lucretia, whose self-sacrifice prompted the overthrow of the early Roman monarchy and led to the establishment of the Republic
38.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
–
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was the sculptor of his age. Bernini was also a figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture along with his contemporaries, the architect Francesco Borromini. Early in their careers they had all worked at the time at the Palazzo Barberini, initially under Carlo Maderno and, following his death. Later on, however, they were in competition for commissions, Peters Basilica, completed under Pope Paul V with the addition of Madernos nave and facade and finally re-consecrated by Pope Urban VIII on 18 November 1626, after 150 years of planning and building. Berninis design of the Piazza San Pietro in front of the Basilica is one of his most innovative, during his long career, Bernini received numerous important commissions, many of which were associated with the papacy. At an early age, he came to the attention of the nephew, Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Although he did not fare so well during the reign of Innocent X, under Alexander VII, he again regained pre-eminent artistic domination. Bernini and other artists fell from favor in later neoclassical criticism of the Baroque, the art historian Howard Hibbard concludes that, during the seventeenth century, there were no sculptors or architects comparable to Bernini. Bernini was born in Naples in 1598 to Angelica Galante and Mannerist sculptor Pietro Bernini and he was the sixth of their thirteen children. Gianlorenzo Bernini was the definition of childhood genius and he was “recognized as a prodigy when he was only eight years old, he was consistently encouraged by his father, Pietro. His precocity earned him the admiration and favor of powerful patrons who hailed him as ‘the Michelangelo of his century’” and his father was so impressed by his son’s obvious talent that he took him to Rome to showcase him to the cardinals and Pope. Bernini was presented before Pope Paul V, for whom he did a sketch of Saint Paul, once he was brought to Rome, he never left. “For Bernini there could be only one Rome, ‘You are made for Rome, ’ said Pope Urban VIII to him, ‘and Rome for you’”. It was in world of 17th century Rome and religious power. Under the patronage of the wealthy and most powerful Cardinal Scipione Borghese. By the time he was twenty-two, he was considered talented enough to have given a commission for a papal portrait. Berninis reputation, however, was established by four masterpieces
39.
Neptune and Triton
–
Neptune and Triton is an early sculpture by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum of London and was executed c, carved from marble, it stands 182.2 cm in height. The sculpture was commissioned by Cardinal Peretti Montalto, serving as a fountain to decorate the pond in the garden of his Villa Peretti Montalto on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. It was purchased by the Englishman Thomas Jenkins in 1786, from whom it was purchased later that year by the painter Joshua Reynolds. After Reynoldss death in 1792 it was sold to Charles Pelham and his descendants moved it in 1906 to their country house, Brocklesby Park, Lincolnshire. It was bought from the family by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1950, Bernini’s Neptune and Triton references the mythological characters of Neptune and his son Triton, the rulers of the seas. Neptune and Triton are deities that appear briefly in classical literature, however, they are deemed important as controllers of the earth. Triton is actually the character attributed to ruler of the seas, Neptune and Triton are often depicted in water-like settings, holding tridents and usually driving chariots that have horses shooting out from the water. Bernini’s sculpture gives a different representation of the duo. The story depicted in the sculpture was that Neptune was rescuing the Aenean fleet from raging seas, Bernini re-interpreted the myth, focussing on the responses of Neptune and Triton more than the actual story itself. In the myth, Neptune comes from beneath the seas to split the ships with his trident, Bernini flipped the appearance of the scene, with Neptune pointing the trident downwards and making no reference to the Aenean fleet, thereby giving the impression Neptune ruled the seas from above. In Bernini’s sculpture, you see Neptune towering over Triton and he appears to be a man in his early thirties, with a beard and wavy locks. Neptune has his legs apart and is balancing on a large seashell that carries both himself and Triton. Neptune only has a sheet covering his right shoulder and gliding in between his legs, revealing parts of the male anatomy. While standing, Neptune also holds a trident downward in motion that makes it look like he is about to thrust it at someone. “e turns his angry look towards the water, which gushes forth at his feet, imposing his command by thrusting down with his trident. ”His arms are tense, forcefully gripping it to dictate his divine power. There is an implication of wind in the sheet and Neptune’s hair drift backwards. Triton, Neptune’s son, is positioned below Neptune’s legs, thrusting himself forward to blow the conch shell and he is noticeably younger, maybe a teenage boy, though also with defined musculature
40.
Taoism
–
Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a religious or philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao. The Tao is an idea in most Chinese philosophical schools, in Taoism, however. Taoism differs from Confucianism by not emphasizing rigid rituals and social order, the Tao Te Ching, a compact book containing teachings attributed to Laozi, is widely considered the keystone work of the Taoist tradition, together with the later writings of Zhuangzi. By the Han dynasty, the sources of Taoism had coalesced into a coherent tradition of religious organizations. In earlier ancient China, Taoists were thought of as hermits or recluses who did not participate in political life, Zhuangzi was the best known of these, and it is significant that he lived in the south, where he was part of local Chinese shamanic traditions. Women shamans played an important role in this tradition, which was strong in the southern state of Chu. Early Taoist movements developed their own institution in contrast to shamanism, shamans revealed basic texts of Taoism from early times down to at least the 20th century. Institutional orders of Taoism evolved in various strains that in recent times are conventionally grouped into two main branches, Quanzhen Taoism and Zhengyi Taoism. After Laozi and Zhuangzi, the literature of Taoism grew steadily and was compiled in form of a canon—the Daozang—which was published at the behest of the emperor, throughout Chinese history, Taoism was nominated several times as a state religion. After the 17th century, however, it fell from favor, Chinese alchemy, Chinese astrology, Chan Buddhism, several martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, feng shui, and many styles of qigong have been intertwined with Taoism throughout history. Beyond China, Taoism also had influence on surrounding societies in Asia, Taoism also has a presence in Hong Kong, Macau, and in Southeast Asia. English speakers continue to debate the preferred romanization of the words Daoism and Taoism, the root Chinese word 道 way, path is romanized tao in the older Wade–Giles system and dào in the modern Pinyin system. In linguistic terminology, English Taoism/Daoism is formed from the Chinese loanword tao/dao 道 way, route, principle and the native suffix -ism. The debate over Taoism vs. Daoism involves sinology, phonemes, loanwords, Daoism is pronounced /ˈdaʊ. ɪzəm/, but English speakers disagree whether Taoism should be /ˈdaʊ. ɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊ. ɪzəm/. In theory, both Wade–Giles tao and Pinyin dao are articulated identically, as are Taoism and Daoism, an investment book titled The Tao Jones Averages illustrates this /daʊ/ pronunciations widespread familiarity. In speech, Tao and Taoism are often pronounced /ˈtaʊ/ and ˈtaʊ. ɪzəm/, lexicography shows American and British English differences in pronouncing Taoism. Taoist philosophy or Taology, or the mystical aspect — The philosophical doctrines based on the texts of the I Ching, the Tao Te Ching and these texts were linked together as Taoist philosophy during the early Han Dynasty, but notably not before. It is unlikely that Zhuangzi was familiar with the text of the Daodejing, however, the discussed distinction is rejected by the majority of Western and Japanese scholars
41.
Three Pure Ones
–
They are regarded as pure manifestation of the Tao and the origin of all sentient beings. From the Taoist classic Tao Te Ching, it was held that The Tao produced One, One produced Two, Two produced Three, Three produced All things and it is generally agreed that, Tao produced One—Wuji produced Taiji, One produced Two—Taiji produced Yin and Yang. However, the subject of how Two produced Three has remained a popular debate among Taoist Scholars, most scholars believe that it refers to the Interaction between Yin and Yang, with the presence of Chi, or life force. In religious Taoism, the theory of how Tao produces One, Two, yuánshǐ Tiānzūn oversees the earliest phase of Creation of the Universe, and is henceforth known as Dàobǎo Treasure of the Tao. Therefore, he is known as Jīngbǎo Treasure of the Law/Scripture. While Jīng in popular understanding means scriptures, in context it also mean passing through. In the final phase of Creation, Daode Tianzun is manifested from Língbăo Tiānzūn to bring civilization, therefore, He is also known as Shībǎo Treasure of the Master. Each of the Three Pure Ones represents both a deity and a heaven, Yuanshi tianzun rules the first heaven, Yu-Qing, which is found in the Jade Mountain. The entrance to heaven is named the Golden Door. He is the source of all truth, as the sun is the source of all light, Lingbao Tianzun rules over the heaven of Shang-Qing. Daode Tianzun rules over the heaven of Tai-Qing, the Three Pure Ones are often depicted as throned elders. Schools of Taoist thought developed around each of these deities, Taoist Alchemy was a large part of these schools, as each of the Three Pure Ones represented one of the three essential fields of the body, jing, qi and shen. The congregation of all three Pure Ones resulted in the return to Tao, the first Pure One is universal or heavenly chi. The second Pure One is human plane chi, and the third Pure One is earth chi, heavenly chi includes the chi or energy of all the planets, stars and constellations as well as the energy of God. Human plane chi is the energy that exists on the surface of our planet and sustains life. As the Three Pure Ones are manifestation of Primordial Celestial Energy, each of them holds onto a divine object associated with their task. Yuánshǐ Tiānzūn is usually depicted holding the Pearl of Creation, signifying his role in creating the Universe from void and chaos. The Ruyi held by Lingbao Tianzun represents authority, the phase of Creation where the Yang was separated from the Yin
42.
Thailand
–
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
43.
Hanuman
–
Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Rama. He is one of the figures in the Hindu epic Ramayana. As one of the Chiranjivi, he is mentioned in several other texts, including the Mahabharata. Hanuman participated in Ramas war against the demon king Ravana, several later texts also present him as an incarnation of Shiva. He is the son of Anjana and Kesari and is described as the son of the wind-god Pawan. The Sanskrit texts mention several legends about how Hanuman got his name, one legend is that Indra, the king of the gods, struck Hanumans jaw during his childhood. The child received his name from the Sanskrit words Hanu and -man, the name thus means one with prominent or disfigured jaw. Another theory says the name derives from the Sanskrit words Han and maana, some Jain texts mention that Hanuman spent his childhood on an island called Hanuruha, which is the origin of his name. According to another theory, the name Hanuman derives from the word for male monkey. Linguistic variations of Hanuman include Hanumat, Anuman, Hanumantha, Hanumanthudu, other names of Hanuman include, Anjaneya, Anjaniputra, Anjaneyar, Anjaneyudu, Anjanisuta all meaning the son of Anjana. Similar in meaning to - Vaanaraanaamadheesham, shreeraamadootam, the one who is the messenger of Rama. Atulita Bala Dhaamam, the one who is the repository of incomparable strength, hemshailaabha Deham, the one whose body resembles a golden mountain. Danujvana Krushanum, the one who is the destroyer of forces of demons, gyaaninaam Agraganyam, the one who is considered foremost among knowledgeable beings. Sakala Guna Nidhaanam, the one who is the repository of all the virtues, raghupati Priya Bhaktam, the one who is the dearest of all devotees to Rama. Sankata Mochana, the one who liberates from dangers In the 3rd chapter of Kishkindha Kaanda of Valmiki Ramayana, summarized as follows, Ablest sentence maker. The knower of all Vedas and Scriptures, scholar in nine schools of grammars. Possessing faultless speech and facial features Hanuman is mentioned in both the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, the word Vrsakapi or Vrishakapi, later used as an epithet for Hanuman, is mentioned in the Rigveda. Some writers, such as Nilakantha believe that the Vrishakapi of Rigveda alludes to Hanuman, however, other scholars believe that Hanuman is not mentioned in the Vedic mythology, the Vrsakapi of Rigveda refers to another deity or is a common name for the monkeys
44.
Ramayana
–
The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Along with the Mahabharata, it forms the Sanskrit Itihasa, the Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses, divided into seven Kandas, in Hindu tradition, it is considered to be the adi-kavya. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife. The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life, like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is not just a story, it presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements. The name Ramayana is a compound of the name Rāma and ayana. According to Hindu tradition—and according to the Ramayana itself—the epic belongs to the genre of itihasa like Mahabharata, the definition of itihāsa is a narrative of past events which includes teachings on the goals of human life. According to Hindu tradition, Ramayana takes place during a period of known as Treta Yuga. In its extant form, Valmikis Ramayana is a poem of some 24,000 verses. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which is a manuscript found in Nepal. A Times of India report dated 18 December 2015 informs about discovery of a 6th-century manuscript of the Ramayana at the Asiatic Society library, the Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions and subrecensions. Goldman differentiates two major regional recensions, the northern and the southern, scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind. There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last chapters of Valmikis Ramayana were composed by the original author. Most Hindus still believe they are parts of the book, in spite of some style differences. Some cultural evidence, such as the presence of sati in Mahabharata but not in the body of Ramayana. By tradition, the text belongs to the Treta Yuga, second of the four eons of Hindu chronology, Rama is said to have been born in the Treta yuga to king Dasharatha in the Ikshvaku dynasty. The names of the characters are all known in late Vedic literature, however, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry is there a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki. Also, in the epic Mahabharata, there is a version of Ramayana known as Ramopakhyana and this version is depicted as a narration to Yudhishthira
45.
Kohen
–
Kohen or cohen is the Hebrew word for priest used colloquially in reference to the Aaronic priesthood. Jewish kohanim are traditionally believed and halakhically required to be of direct descent from the biblical Aaron. The term is used colloquially in Orthodox Judaism in reference to modern day descendants of Aharon, during the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, kohanim performed the daily and holiday duties of sacrificial offerings. Today, kohanim retain a lesser though distinct status within Rabbinic and Karaite Judaism, in the Samaritan community, the kohanim have remained the primary religious leaders. The noun kohen is used in the Torah to refer to priests, the Hebrew noun kohen is most often translated as priest, whether Jewish or pagan, such as the priests of Baal or Dagon, though Christian priests are referred to in Hebrew by the term komer. The word derives from a Semitic root common, at minimum, to the Central Semitic languages, as a starkly different translation the title worker, Rashi on Exodus 29,30 and servant Targum to Jeremiah 48,7, have been offered as a translation as well. Some have attempted to resolve this contradiction by suggesting that, although the priest does enjoy specific privileges. The status of priest kohen was conferred on Aaron, the brother of Moses, during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and until the Holy Temple was built in Jerusalem, the priests performed their priestly service in the portable Tabernacle. Their duties involved offering the daily and Jewish holiday sacrifices, and blessing the people in a Priestly Blessing, in a broader sense, since Aaron was a descendant of the Tribe of Levi, priests are sometimes included in the term Levites, by direct patrilineal descent. However, not all Levites are priests, when the Temple existed, most sacrifices and offerings could only be conducted by priests. The Torah mentions Melchizedek king of Salem, identified by Rashi as being Shem the son of Noah, the second is Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, then Jethro, priest of Midian both pagan priests of their era. When Esau sold the birthright of the first born to Jacob, Rashi explains that the priesthood was sold along with it, because by right the priesthood belongs to the first-born. Only when the first-born sinned in the incident of the calf, the priesthood was given to the Tribe of Levi. Aaron received the priesthood along with his children and any descendants that would be born subsequently, however, his grandson Phinehas had already been born, and did not receive the priesthood until he killed the prince of the Tribe of Simeon and the princess of the Midianites. Thereafter, the priesthood has remained with the descendants of Aaron, in every generation when the Temple was standing, one kohen would be singled out to perform the functions of the High Priest. His primary task was the Day of Atonement service, another unique task of the high priest was the offering of a daily meal sacrifice, he also held the prerogative to supersede any priest and offer any offering he chose. Although the Torah retains a procedure to select a High Priest when needed, in the absence of the Temple in Jerusalem, prior to that time, the priestly courses numbered a mere eight. This newly instated a cycle of courses, or priestly divisions
46.
Neptune
–
Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun in the Solar System. In the Solar System, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter, the planet. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is more massive than its near-twin Uranus. Neptune orbits the Sun once every 164.8 years at a distance of 30.1 astronomical units. It is named after the Roman god of the sea and has the astronomical symbol ♆, Neptune is not visible to the unaided eye and is the only planet in the Solar System found by mathematical prediction rather than by empirical observation. Unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led Alexis Bouvard to deduce that its orbit was subject to perturbation by an unknown planet. Neptune was subsequently observed with a telescope on 23 September 1846 by Johann Galle within a degree of the predicted by Urbain Le Verrier. Its largest moon, Triton, was discovered shortly thereafter, though none of the remaining known 14 moons were located telescopically until the 20th century. The planets distance from Earth gives it a small apparent size. Neptune was visited by Voyager 2, when it flew by the planet on 25 August 1989, the advent of the Hubble Space Telescope and large ground-based telescopes with adaptive optics has recently allowed for additional detailed observations from afar. Neptunes composition can be compared and contrasted with the Solar Systems other giant planets, however, its interior, like that of Uranus, is primarily composed of ices and rock, which is why Uranus and Neptune are normally considered ice giants to emphasise this distinction. Traces of methane in the outermost regions in part account for the blue appearance. In contrast to the hazy, relatively featureless atmosphere of Uranus, Neptunes atmosphere has active, for example, at the time of the Voyager 2 flyby in 1989, the planets southern hemisphere had a Great Dark Spot comparable to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. These weather patterns are driven by the strongest sustained winds of any planet in the Solar System, because of its great distance from the Sun, Neptunes outer atmosphere is one of the coldest places in the Solar System, with temperatures at its cloud tops approaching 55 K. Temperatures at the centre are approximately 5,400 K. Neptune has a faint and fragmented ring system. On both occasions, Galileo seems to have mistaken Neptune for a star when it appeared close—in conjunction—to Jupiter in the night sky, hence. At his first observation in December 1612, Neptune was almost stationary in the sky because it had just turned retrograde that day and this apparent backward motion is created when Earths orbit takes it past an outer planet. Because Neptune was only beginning its yearly cycle, the motion of the planet was far too slight to be detected with Galileos small telescope
47.
Astronomy
–
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets, while the phenomena include supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, more generally, all astronomical phenomena that originate outside Earths atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy. A related but distinct subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with the study of the Universe as a whole, Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history, such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Nubians, Iranians, Chinese, during the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the results and observations being used to confirm theoretical results. Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can play an active role, especially in the discovery. Amateur astronomers have made and contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, Astronomy means law of the stars. Astronomy should not be confused with astrology, the system which claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the two share a common origin, they are now entirely distinct. Generally, either the term astronomy or astrophysics may be used to refer to this subject, however, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics. Few fields, such as astrometry, are purely astronomy rather than also astrophysics, some titles of the leading scientific journals in this field includeThe Astronomical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy and Astrophysics. In early times, astronomy only comprised the observation and predictions of the motions of objects visible to the naked eye, in some locations, early cultures assembled massive artifacts that possibly had some astronomical purpose. Before tools such as the telescope were invented, early study of the stars was conducted using the naked eye, most of early astronomy actually consisted of mapping the positions of the stars and planets, a science now referred to as astrometry. From these observations, early ideas about the motions of the planets were formed, and the nature of the Sun, Moon, the Earth was believed to be the center of the Universe with the Sun, the Moon and the stars rotating around it. This is known as the model of the Universe, or the Ptolemaic system. The Babylonians discovered that lunar eclipses recurred in a cycle known as a saros
_brought_as_offerings_to_Guna_Devi.,_near_Dharamsala,_Himachal_Pradesh.jpg)
