There's a reason why the dog has been declared man's best friend. Loyal and strong, the dog has been there to protect, serve and rescue man for thousands of years.
There's a great Greek myth written by Homer called "The Odyssey." This epic poem chronicles the quest and story of King Odysseus' return home. In this infamous piece, Homer writes of Argos, Odysseus' faithful dog who waited for his master for twenty years and long after everyone else thought he was dead. Upon Odysseus' return, Argos, his faithful companion, was the first to recognize him. Written sometime between 800 and 600 BC, this tale embodies the faithfulness of the dog and its importance in our legends and mythology.
Dogs have continued to serve man as heroes and saviors throughout time, especially in war. Napoleon deployed dogs to his reserves, the Lydians had whole battalions of loyal fighting dogs, while the Romans always sent at least one dog out with every legion.
During World War I, dogs were used to send messages and sniff out bombs and enemy traps. One of the most infamous war dogs of the First World War was Rags, a Cairn Terrier and mascot for the 1st Infantry Division. During a critical campaign at Meusse-Argonne, Rags delivered a critical life-saving message, enduring massive injuries and blinding gasses. Little Rags survived and is still remembered today by his loyal Division.
There have been other famous war dogs. In World War II, Chips (a German Shepherd mix) and Smoky (a Yorkshire Terrier) were both honored for service and awarded medals. Chips was the most decorated war dog in history and earned his stripes taking out two enemy machine-gunners. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
During the Vietnam War, over 4000 dogs were recruited as MWDs (Military Working Dogs) to serve and protect U.S. troops aiding in sniffing out unknown tunnels, tracking enemy paths, carrying supplies, and conducting sentry duties to protect base camps.
Today, our police forces and rescue services continue to use K-9 unit dogs to sniff out drugs, find missing persons, and rescue individuals. During the horrific crisis of 9/11 in New York City, hundreds of Search and Rescue Unit dogs saved hundreds of lives, sniffing out survivors from the rubble and also finding remains to bring closure to grieving families.
In honor of your doggie hero, remember to celebrate National Dog Day on August 26th and give thanks for the dogs that have saved our lives, been our companions, and showed us undying love and devotion.
Credit By Randy Hemsley
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
The Phenomenon Of Religion
Although I promised that I will not spend too much time on arguing why religion is wrong and there is no God, nevertheless it will very be helpful to know why there are so many religions crossing different cultures. The intention of this writhing is to benefit the atheists, not to convince any religious people.
If we look at all the different societies and cultures, almost all the cultures have some kind of supernatural religious thoughts and religion practices. Thus, from an atheist point of view, the "supernatural religions" is a wide spread natural phenomenon. There must be a reason behind this phenomenon.
Is that because there is a God like some of the religions claim? Not really, because different cultures believes in different things, and they cannot reconcile among themselves. Some societies believe in a single God, and most societies believe in multi deities, and other societies don't believe in God, but just other worlds and incarnation life cycles. Obviously all these beliefs cannot be all correct, because they are against each other. It is also difficulty to think there is a unique deity behind all these different religions because they are so different. But there are some commonalities among all the different cultures and religions thoughts.
The first is the belief that there is a other world besides the world we see, and hear and touch. In another world, besides the material world we observed from our sense, there is an independent world of soul. All the deities, God, and life spirit live in that world of soul, and soul can exist separately from our material body and material world. Since we never directly observed this world of soul, everything about it is derived and imagined. Very often, we project the character of this material world into that soul world. Thus, there are human like creatures in that world, like gods in Greek mythology, God in Jedo-Christian theology, the thousands of gods in Hinduism, and the heavenly emperor in Ancient Chinese culture. In Chinese culture, they heavenly world and our material world are even mixed together, wage war on each other. Thus, those deities love and hate, behave jealously and are often resentful. They are more like persons grown up in this earth, eating wheat and rice, rather than crystal ball or gaseous creatures. So, this is a second common feature of all the religions: all the deities resemble ourselves, rather than completely alien creature.
Before we explain where do the above two common features come from, let's first make some comment about them, especially the second feature. Think about it, if there is a other world, purely spiritual world, like the gas drifting in the air (at least that is the picture we get from the modern movies!), then why the creatures living in that world will be like us, the earthly material creatures. They should be very different. Removed from the earthly worries, their mentalities should be very different from us. If things are like what the Jedo-Christian religion believed, that the God is all mighty, infinitely powerful, and infinitely perfect God, then why does he need to be angry so often. Is an always happy and loving God more perfect than an angry God? Angry is not a happy feeling, it hurts yourself. Why does the infinitely perfect God like to hurt himself so often? Logically, there are a lot of holes. A more logical explanation is that all these deities are created by man, they are the projected imagine of ourselves. Looks like our ancestors were not so creative (well, they haven't watched the modern movies yet!). They have to borrow the characters from everyday life, and put that in their imaginary deities.
Now, why bother to create a hidden soul world, if that is so illusive, and we don't have any direct observation of it. There must be a strong need, and also a strong "evidence" for its existence, that prompted all the cultures derived in the same conclusion. Looks like it is an inevitable result of our human thought, at least in our early human history. Let's explain why.
Let's start from a sociology postulation. Let's call it postulation 1 (rule number 1): a stable and mature society needs to provide an explanation to things happen around them, and believe their explanation (or their overall approach of explanation) can cover everything.
Rule number 1 exists because otherwise this society will be unsettled, and it will not feel mature, and it will not be stable. Without such an official explanation, there will be no authority, hence no stability and society. The official explanation should be selfconsistent, no internal conflict, no loopholes, which means (at least in principle) is should be able to explain everything we know. Achieving such an explanation is always a mile stone in human civilization. It gives us confidence, and the confidence boosts our civilization, and stabilizes our society.
Now, think about 4 to 10 thousand years ago, when the ideas of the soul world were developed. At that time, the knowledge base of our human being is probably equivalent of a modern 8 year old kid. Yes, possibly our brain at that time was already similar than the brain we have now. So, they could be as smart as we are now. But the knowledge base is very limited. There were no accumulation of knowledge, no scientific approach to accelerate our understanding of this world. Given that limited knowledge, if we are forced to give an explanation of the world, what kind of explanation can we come up?
Soul, god, demon, deities, these are the best explanation, and pretty good explanation. Why there is a big thunder? Because god is angry. Why I am lucky in hunting? Because god is happy today. Under this theory (or the general approach), everything can be explained by god, or the other world. The theory is powerful because no one can disprove it (the other world is hidden, so you cannot see it). Although it doesn't have much predictive power, but it has the power of calming down our anxiety, the anxiety of unknown. It makes us feel like we know everything.
It boosts our self confidence. In those early days, our rational thoughts and arguments followed a different kind of paradigm compared to today. Today, in order to establish a theory, or an explanation of something, we are asked to compare with experimental observations, and check the predicted sceneries of the theory. In those early days, the requirement was much more relaxed. No prediction was required (who can predict what the god will do next anyway), and all you need to provide is a good story, being self-consistent, and perhaps plausible. The story of soul and gods satisfies these requirements beautifully. Thus, they became the authentic theory of the day. Until the classical Greek time (2500 years ago), Greek people still believed everything has a soul. So a heavy stone falls faster than a light feather because the stone's heart yearning the ground more than the feather's heart. What a good explanation, what else explanation do you need? We can see it is easy to provide this kind of explanation to almost everything happen on the earth. That is the power of this theory. There was no natural (without soul of the stone) explanation for the world. People probably never thought about seeking for natural explanations.
That was simply impossible in their mind, so why bother. Only the development of science thousand years later (after Renaissance) had boosted our confidence once again. This time, we found that (to our surprise), we can indeed find some natural explanations to many things (from the movement of the planet, to the fall of stone). Now, with the further development of science, the "some natural explanation to many things" have been bloomed into "all natural explanations to everything", including ourselves, our own brain and our own thought. Such natural explanations are at least possible in principle (which is a view held by the majority of scientists). This is another paradigm of thought, which call for another authentic theory, and another regime in human history. This time the God and soul are no longer needed, they must go.
Well, the world of soul (and consequently the gods) were introduced to explain things thousands of years ago, and that is the best explanation they can provide given their limited knowledge base. But such a big claim must have some other basis, perhaps in some general agreement with their everyday life experience. What kind of experiences make they think the existence of the soul world is plausible? Here, I provide two points: one is the dream, another is our pattern recognition capability. These two things will be enough to make them (even me, if my knowledge base is as limited as they were) believe the soul world exists. Yes, very likely, there could be other "evidences" for them too.
First the dream. Dream is a remarkable phenomenon. Modern medical science has told us a lot about dream. It is a reflex activity in our brain where part of our brain circuitry has been shut down. Apparently, part of our brain still work very hard during our sleep, to repair the damage of our neural cell during the day, and to transfer short time memory into long time memory. The partial stimulation of our memory during our sleep has a dramatic effect, especially if we are waked up during our fast-eye-movement period. Our short time memory still registers those stimulations, thus we remember our dream. 10 thousand years ago, our ancestors didn't know all these modern medical theory. For most of them, they don't even know where do they think (is it in the brain or in the heart), or perhaps many people doesn't even believe themselves "think". What is "think"? They were not thinking, they just observe, observe the outside world. Things are just revealed to them. So, given such knowledge base and understanding, dream must be a dramatic thing. For them, it is natural to believe what they see during the day is the material world revealed to them, while what they see during the sleep (in the dream) is the soul world revealed to them. Sure, someone else can tell him he was definitely sleeping, but he definitely saw something in his dream, what they saw must be the other world, the world of soul! That is why in many tribes, in their spiritual ceremonies, they use drugs (e.g., mushrooms) to induce illusions, because they believe such dream like illusion is the tunnel to the other world. That is the evidence. Indeed, very solid evidence and hard evidence. Such evidence can certainly seed the idea of soul and the hidden other world.
Second, the pattern recognition. The first intellectual tool the evolution provided to us is not rational logic derivations and thought, instead it is our capability of pattern recognition. This pattern recognition is a result of massively parallel process of our brain cells, it is also the basis of our intuition. As a more ancient intelligence, it not only exists in our human, but probably also exist in most brains of the animals. Actually that is probably why the animals also need a brain, not to be used to solve a math problem, or to have a rational argument with each other, but to be used for pattern recognitions for their survival. Pattern recognition helps them to recognize something, and to remember that thing. Next time, if similar things happen, he will be stimulated, and proper action will be taken. Pattern recognition search for patterns in an otherwise complicated and almost random data set. This is critical to our survival while living in a complicated world (nature is both dangerous and chaotic).
It is particularly useful for us to avoid danger. But such over active function sometime can misfire, causing false alarm. Usually that is not a big deal. You run away from a shadow which might look like a predator (like we often do when we were kids), no big harm. That is better than missing the sight of a tiger. Our over active pattern recognition misfire can also be demonstrated by reading of the cloud, into all different animals. However, such misfired pattern recognition can re-enforce some of our misconceptions once they are conceived. Basically, in a complicated environment, supporting evidence is easy to find with a biased mind. Our pattern recognition capability provides us with that biased mind driven by our eagerness to find the evidence. For example, the work of deity is often described by some amazing coincidence, they can even be called miracle, deem to be unlikely by natural explanation. However, most of such coincidence is just coincidence, not really so unusual. For example, if you just thought about a friend, then the phone ringed, and your friend has called you. You might think there must be some supernatural connection here between you and your friend, some kind of telepathy mind reading. Such thinking certainly will boost your believe in the mysterious other world (the soul world).
But actually, this is just the work of your pattern recognition capability, which makes you remember such seemly rare event. But thousands of thought passing your brain each day (ever thought probably pass it less than one second). For most of them, nothing happen (e.g., for your day dreaming or yearning of someone, most of time, the person never call you). But your pattern recognition capability let you to forget about those thoughts quickly (without a trace), but remember only the things that happen (unusually). By capture the unusual things, the brain can search out some pattern and order in the otherwise disordered world. They, these events are indeed unusual, rare events. But based on the massive base events (e.g., the thoughts passing through your brain), they bound to happen. Statistically, there is nothing magic about it. But most people take that as small miracle, and hence develop a tendency to believe in miracle and supernatural things, thus a tendency to believe in soul and the other world (all these believes are mutually connected, and support each other). Superstitions (believing in magic instead of natural logic) are often built on the daily results of such false pattern recognitions. For a superstitious person, magic is fill his life, the existence of magic (and hence mysterious soul and other world) is self-evidence, because he experience it almost everyday. But in reality, what he experienced is the false alarm of our pattern recognition capability.
In summary, religion is developed as a way to explain things surrounding us. It is a very good explanation in the rational paradigm of the ancient time. The belief of the hidden soul world is also "supported" by the dream (and other ways of illusions) and the false alarms of our pattern recognition capability (which makes us tend to believe in magic). As a result of all these, religion became an almost universal phenomenon in all the cultures. But time has changed, our knowledge base has increased dramatically. Nowadays, the scientific natural explanation to things happen surrounding us is the norm, not the explanation based on soul and deity. Our rational paradigm has also changed. We are no longer satisfied by fairy tale stories, instead we demand evidence and prediction power for each theory. This calls for a corresponding change in our spiritual world. A change to replace religion with a new value/moral system, a system based on natural explanation, based on the value system of ourselves, that is the secular humanism value system.
Credit By Qiu Wang
If we look at all the different societies and cultures, almost all the cultures have some kind of supernatural religious thoughts and religion practices. Thus, from an atheist point of view, the "supernatural religions" is a wide spread natural phenomenon. There must be a reason behind this phenomenon.
Is that because there is a God like some of the religions claim? Not really, because different cultures believes in different things, and they cannot reconcile among themselves. Some societies believe in a single God, and most societies believe in multi deities, and other societies don't believe in God, but just other worlds and incarnation life cycles. Obviously all these beliefs cannot be all correct, because they are against each other. It is also difficulty to think there is a unique deity behind all these different religions because they are so different. But there are some commonalities among all the different cultures and religions thoughts.
The first is the belief that there is a other world besides the world we see, and hear and touch. In another world, besides the material world we observed from our sense, there is an independent world of soul. All the deities, God, and life spirit live in that world of soul, and soul can exist separately from our material body and material world. Since we never directly observed this world of soul, everything about it is derived and imagined. Very often, we project the character of this material world into that soul world. Thus, there are human like creatures in that world, like gods in Greek mythology, God in Jedo-Christian theology, the thousands of gods in Hinduism, and the heavenly emperor in Ancient Chinese culture. In Chinese culture, they heavenly world and our material world are even mixed together, wage war on each other. Thus, those deities love and hate, behave jealously and are often resentful. They are more like persons grown up in this earth, eating wheat and rice, rather than crystal ball or gaseous creatures. So, this is a second common feature of all the religions: all the deities resemble ourselves, rather than completely alien creature.
Before we explain where do the above two common features come from, let's first make some comment about them, especially the second feature. Think about it, if there is a other world, purely spiritual world, like the gas drifting in the air (at least that is the picture we get from the modern movies!), then why the creatures living in that world will be like us, the earthly material creatures. They should be very different. Removed from the earthly worries, their mentalities should be very different from us. If things are like what the Jedo-Christian religion believed, that the God is all mighty, infinitely powerful, and infinitely perfect God, then why does he need to be angry so often. Is an always happy and loving God more perfect than an angry God? Angry is not a happy feeling, it hurts yourself. Why does the infinitely perfect God like to hurt himself so often? Logically, there are a lot of holes. A more logical explanation is that all these deities are created by man, they are the projected imagine of ourselves. Looks like our ancestors were not so creative (well, they haven't watched the modern movies yet!). They have to borrow the characters from everyday life, and put that in their imaginary deities.
Now, why bother to create a hidden soul world, if that is so illusive, and we don't have any direct observation of it. There must be a strong need, and also a strong "evidence" for its existence, that prompted all the cultures derived in the same conclusion. Looks like it is an inevitable result of our human thought, at least in our early human history. Let's explain why.
Let's start from a sociology postulation. Let's call it postulation 1 (rule number 1): a stable and mature society needs to provide an explanation to things happen around them, and believe their explanation (or their overall approach of explanation) can cover everything.
Rule number 1 exists because otherwise this society will be unsettled, and it will not feel mature, and it will not be stable. Without such an official explanation, there will be no authority, hence no stability and society. The official explanation should be selfconsistent, no internal conflict, no loopholes, which means (at least in principle) is should be able to explain everything we know. Achieving such an explanation is always a mile stone in human civilization. It gives us confidence, and the confidence boosts our civilization, and stabilizes our society.
Now, think about 4 to 10 thousand years ago, when the ideas of the soul world were developed. At that time, the knowledge base of our human being is probably equivalent of a modern 8 year old kid. Yes, possibly our brain at that time was already similar than the brain we have now. So, they could be as smart as we are now. But the knowledge base is very limited. There were no accumulation of knowledge, no scientific approach to accelerate our understanding of this world. Given that limited knowledge, if we are forced to give an explanation of the world, what kind of explanation can we come up?
Soul, god, demon, deities, these are the best explanation, and pretty good explanation. Why there is a big thunder? Because god is angry. Why I am lucky in hunting? Because god is happy today. Under this theory (or the general approach), everything can be explained by god, or the other world. The theory is powerful because no one can disprove it (the other world is hidden, so you cannot see it). Although it doesn't have much predictive power, but it has the power of calming down our anxiety, the anxiety of unknown. It makes us feel like we know everything.
It boosts our self confidence. In those early days, our rational thoughts and arguments followed a different kind of paradigm compared to today. Today, in order to establish a theory, or an explanation of something, we are asked to compare with experimental observations, and check the predicted sceneries of the theory. In those early days, the requirement was much more relaxed. No prediction was required (who can predict what the god will do next anyway), and all you need to provide is a good story, being self-consistent, and perhaps plausible. The story of soul and gods satisfies these requirements beautifully. Thus, they became the authentic theory of the day. Until the classical Greek time (2500 years ago), Greek people still believed everything has a soul. So a heavy stone falls faster than a light feather because the stone's heart yearning the ground more than the feather's heart. What a good explanation, what else explanation do you need? We can see it is easy to provide this kind of explanation to almost everything happen on the earth. That is the power of this theory. There was no natural (without soul of the stone) explanation for the world. People probably never thought about seeking for natural explanations.
That was simply impossible in their mind, so why bother. Only the development of science thousand years later (after Renaissance) had boosted our confidence once again. This time, we found that (to our surprise), we can indeed find some natural explanations to many things (from the movement of the planet, to the fall of stone). Now, with the further development of science, the "some natural explanation to many things" have been bloomed into "all natural explanations to everything", including ourselves, our own brain and our own thought. Such natural explanations are at least possible in principle (which is a view held by the majority of scientists). This is another paradigm of thought, which call for another authentic theory, and another regime in human history. This time the God and soul are no longer needed, they must go.
Well, the world of soul (and consequently the gods) were introduced to explain things thousands of years ago, and that is the best explanation they can provide given their limited knowledge base. But such a big claim must have some other basis, perhaps in some general agreement with their everyday life experience. What kind of experiences make they think the existence of the soul world is plausible? Here, I provide two points: one is the dream, another is our pattern recognition capability. These two things will be enough to make them (even me, if my knowledge base is as limited as they were) believe the soul world exists. Yes, very likely, there could be other "evidences" for them too.
First the dream. Dream is a remarkable phenomenon. Modern medical science has told us a lot about dream. It is a reflex activity in our brain where part of our brain circuitry has been shut down. Apparently, part of our brain still work very hard during our sleep, to repair the damage of our neural cell during the day, and to transfer short time memory into long time memory. The partial stimulation of our memory during our sleep has a dramatic effect, especially if we are waked up during our fast-eye-movement period. Our short time memory still registers those stimulations, thus we remember our dream. 10 thousand years ago, our ancestors didn't know all these modern medical theory. For most of them, they don't even know where do they think (is it in the brain or in the heart), or perhaps many people doesn't even believe themselves "think". What is "think"? They were not thinking, they just observe, observe the outside world. Things are just revealed to them. So, given such knowledge base and understanding, dream must be a dramatic thing. For them, it is natural to believe what they see during the day is the material world revealed to them, while what they see during the sleep (in the dream) is the soul world revealed to them. Sure, someone else can tell him he was definitely sleeping, but he definitely saw something in his dream, what they saw must be the other world, the world of soul! That is why in many tribes, in their spiritual ceremonies, they use drugs (e.g., mushrooms) to induce illusions, because they believe such dream like illusion is the tunnel to the other world. That is the evidence. Indeed, very solid evidence and hard evidence. Such evidence can certainly seed the idea of soul and the hidden other world.
Second, the pattern recognition. The first intellectual tool the evolution provided to us is not rational logic derivations and thought, instead it is our capability of pattern recognition. This pattern recognition is a result of massively parallel process of our brain cells, it is also the basis of our intuition. As a more ancient intelligence, it not only exists in our human, but probably also exist in most brains of the animals. Actually that is probably why the animals also need a brain, not to be used to solve a math problem, or to have a rational argument with each other, but to be used for pattern recognitions for their survival. Pattern recognition helps them to recognize something, and to remember that thing. Next time, if similar things happen, he will be stimulated, and proper action will be taken. Pattern recognition search for patterns in an otherwise complicated and almost random data set. This is critical to our survival while living in a complicated world (nature is both dangerous and chaotic).
It is particularly useful for us to avoid danger. But such over active function sometime can misfire, causing false alarm. Usually that is not a big deal. You run away from a shadow which might look like a predator (like we often do when we were kids), no big harm. That is better than missing the sight of a tiger. Our over active pattern recognition misfire can also be demonstrated by reading of the cloud, into all different animals. However, such misfired pattern recognition can re-enforce some of our misconceptions once they are conceived. Basically, in a complicated environment, supporting evidence is easy to find with a biased mind. Our pattern recognition capability provides us with that biased mind driven by our eagerness to find the evidence. For example, the work of deity is often described by some amazing coincidence, they can even be called miracle, deem to be unlikely by natural explanation. However, most of such coincidence is just coincidence, not really so unusual. For example, if you just thought about a friend, then the phone ringed, and your friend has called you. You might think there must be some supernatural connection here between you and your friend, some kind of telepathy mind reading. Such thinking certainly will boost your believe in the mysterious other world (the soul world).
But actually, this is just the work of your pattern recognition capability, which makes you remember such seemly rare event. But thousands of thought passing your brain each day (ever thought probably pass it less than one second). For most of them, nothing happen (e.g., for your day dreaming or yearning of someone, most of time, the person never call you). But your pattern recognition capability let you to forget about those thoughts quickly (without a trace), but remember only the things that happen (unusually). By capture the unusual things, the brain can search out some pattern and order in the otherwise disordered world. They, these events are indeed unusual, rare events. But based on the massive base events (e.g., the thoughts passing through your brain), they bound to happen. Statistically, there is nothing magic about it. But most people take that as small miracle, and hence develop a tendency to believe in miracle and supernatural things, thus a tendency to believe in soul and the other world (all these believes are mutually connected, and support each other). Superstitions (believing in magic instead of natural logic) are often built on the daily results of such false pattern recognitions. For a superstitious person, magic is fill his life, the existence of magic (and hence mysterious soul and other world) is self-evidence, because he experience it almost everyday. But in reality, what he experienced is the false alarm of our pattern recognition capability.
In summary, religion is developed as a way to explain things surrounding us. It is a very good explanation in the rational paradigm of the ancient time. The belief of the hidden soul world is also "supported" by the dream (and other ways of illusions) and the false alarms of our pattern recognition capability (which makes us tend to believe in magic). As a result of all these, religion became an almost universal phenomenon in all the cultures. But time has changed, our knowledge base has increased dramatically. Nowadays, the scientific natural explanation to things happen surrounding us is the norm, not the explanation based on soul and deity. Our rational paradigm has also changed. We are no longer satisfied by fairy tale stories, instead we demand evidence and prediction power for each theory. This calls for a corresponding change in our spiritual world. A change to replace religion with a new value/moral system, a system based on natural explanation, based on the value system of ourselves, that is the secular humanism value system.
Credit By Qiu Wang
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Upcoming PC Games of 2009 & End of 2008
What to look forward to in 2009/ end of 08
There are a lot of games that will be coming out in 2009/end of 08 for PC gamers to look forward to. As this year's E3 companies such as Activision-Blizzard revealed their latest offerings for the PC gamer and while it may not be the bonanza it was in years passed there is still much to gossip about.
Here are some of the top games being released in 2009/ end of 08:
•Rise of the Argonauts - Focusing on Greek myths, this offering from Liquid Entertainment promises to bring in characters and creatures from the most popular Greek myths and presents them in a format that allows for fast-paced combat and rich storytelling.
•Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - This time around, the conflict escalates as the Empire of the Rising Sun enters the fray. With an entirely new faction, the game promises to be even more exciting and satisfying than any Red Alert title to date.
•Crysis Warhead - Don the nanosuit of Sergeant Sykes, aka "Psycho," and experience a storyline parallel to the events of the original game.
•Left 4 Dead - Using the Counter-Strike Source Engine, Left 4 Dead has a group of four unlikely heroes band together to battle hordes of infected.
•S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky - Clear Sky is the prequel to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and takes place a year earlier, when the unstable Zone is causing anomalous activity galore.
•Alpha Protocol - Sega and Obsidian are reteaming for this role-playing game that eschews sci-fi and fantasy for a Bourne Identity-like world of high-tech espionage.
•Spore - Spore is a simulation game created by Will Wright that allows players to control various life forms from the cellular to the galactic level.
•Far Cry 2 - The sequel to the much-acclaimed island shooter aims to make a big splash in 2008.
•Empire: Total War 3 - The Total War series takes to the seas with 3D naval combat in this 18th century strategy game.
•Fallout 3 - After being cancelled at Interplay, this sequel to the cult post apocalyptic role-playing game was resurrected by Bethesda, where it is currently in development.
For me left for dead appears to be very promising as it has my all favourite mode of all time - COOP! The thought of battling it out with hundreds of monsters with friends is a very promising prospect. Coupled with the fact that it is being produced with the source engine makes this the highlight of E3 for me.
Crysis warhead will also have high expectations considering how much of a success its predecessor was. It will be interesting to see how Far Cry 2 compares to this title in terms of graphics and game play considering Crysis was supposed to be a sequel to far cry in the first place.
I will also be looking forward to Empire: Total War 3 as I always find this genre of PC game very enjoyable as well as the extra challenge that will come with 3D naval combat.
There are a lot of games that will be coming out in 2009/end of 08 for PC gamers to look forward to. As this year's E3 companies such as Activision-Blizzard revealed their latest offerings for the PC gamer and while it may not be the bonanza it was in years passed there is still much to gossip about.
Here are some of the top games being released in 2009/ end of 08:
•Rise of the Argonauts - Focusing on Greek myths, this offering from Liquid Entertainment promises to bring in characters and creatures from the most popular Greek myths and presents them in a format that allows for fast-paced combat and rich storytelling.
•Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - This time around, the conflict escalates as the Empire of the Rising Sun enters the fray. With an entirely new faction, the game promises to be even more exciting and satisfying than any Red Alert title to date.
•Crysis Warhead - Don the nanosuit of Sergeant Sykes, aka "Psycho," and experience a storyline parallel to the events of the original game.
•Left 4 Dead - Using the Counter-Strike Source Engine, Left 4 Dead has a group of four unlikely heroes band together to battle hordes of infected.
•S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky - Clear Sky is the prequel to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and takes place a year earlier, when the unstable Zone is causing anomalous activity galore.
•Alpha Protocol - Sega and Obsidian are reteaming for this role-playing game that eschews sci-fi and fantasy for a Bourne Identity-like world of high-tech espionage.
•Spore - Spore is a simulation game created by Will Wright that allows players to control various life forms from the cellular to the galactic level.
•Far Cry 2 - The sequel to the much-acclaimed island shooter aims to make a big splash in 2008.
•Empire: Total War 3 - The Total War series takes to the seas with 3D naval combat in this 18th century strategy game.
•Fallout 3 - After being cancelled at Interplay, this sequel to the cult post apocalyptic role-playing game was resurrected by Bethesda, where it is currently in development.
For me left for dead appears to be very promising as it has my all favourite mode of all time - COOP! The thought of battling it out with hundreds of monsters with friends is a very promising prospect. Coupled with the fact that it is being produced with the source engine makes this the highlight of E3 for me.
Crysis warhead will also have high expectations considering how much of a success its predecessor was. It will be interesting to see how Far Cry 2 compares to this title in terms of graphics and game play considering Crysis was supposed to be a sequel to far cry in the first place.
I will also be looking forward to Empire: Total War 3 as I always find this genre of PC game very enjoyable as well as the extra challenge that will come with 3D naval combat.
Monday, 26 January 2009
Victims of Love and the Shadow of Aphrodite, The Love Goddess
By Kadence BuchananHow many of your friends are in bad relationships? How many are single, having escaped from such a relationship? How many are wracked with jealousy and suspicion?
Where do we learn how to be the victims of love?
As little girls we are told of Cinderella, of Beauty and the Beast, of Rapunzel and Snow White, all rescued from the evil of elder women (psychological images of our mothers) by the love of a prince-and some of us are still looking for him.
Where do these stories come from, and what do ancient Greek myths have to do with it?
Aphrodite is known as the Goddess of Love, but she personifies more clearly infatuation and lust, the dark shadow of erotic love, the momentary passion that fades quickly into boredom or hate. Our stories for little girls speak often of first love, first kiss, and the thrill of infatuation. But the stories stop with a wedding, and never present the work that is required by any amount of happily ever after.
Many of the Greek myths speak of Aphrodite's wrath and punishment of anyone who displeases her. Her gift of Helen to Paris caused the ten-years-long Trojan War, but it was also revenge against Helen's father. Aphrodite transformed the heroine Atalanta and her lover into lions to pull her chariot. Aphrodite shed many tears over her young lover Adonis when he was killed by Erymanthos, a man she had turned into a boar because he saw her and Adonis together. Aphrodite was involved in the story of Ariadne, who helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur-Ariadne's Mother was tricked into bearing the Minotaur partly because her grandfather had told Aphrodite's husband that she was cheating.
Like a wild teenager, Aphrodite lives on her passionate whims, lashing out at anyone who is a witness to her infidelities. She does not take any responsibility for her life or her actions. Does that describe your friends? How many of us feel that we must take whatever relationship that comes along?
Aphrodite even personifies the evil mother-in-law in the story of Cupid and Psyche, which contains many of the themes of later fairy tales. Psyche is very beautiful, and is envied by her sisters and everyone who meets her. She is too beautiful for any man to dare to ask for her hand. Some people even begin to compare her to Aphrodite herself, though Psyche is only lonely, wanting only to be happy. When Aphrodite sends Cupid to punish Psyche for being beautiful, he falls for her.
The heroine in fairy tales is always magically beautiful, but in this story, it is Psyche's beauty that is her downfall. She has the usual jealous sisters who are married, but who envy her for her beauty. The sisters are eventually killed off, and Psyche becomes a goddess. We learn that we are never beautiful enough, that our looks are the important part of our being, rather than our character.
Cupid hides his identity from Psyche by insisting that she must never see him, but he sets her up in a magical home that takes care of her every need. We all have an unconscious desire to be taken care of, to be free of working for a living, to live in luxury and leisure. Of course, Psyche's sisters convince her to look at her lover, and he disappears into the night. When Psyche realizes who Cupid is, she searches everywhere for him. Despite his abandonment of her, he is the only man she has ever had, the only one she knows. Finally she goes to Aphrodite to ask how she can get him back.
Psyche is desperate, and she seems to have no resources of her own. So she throws herself on the mercy of her mother-in-law. Like our daughters, Psyche does not know any other story.
Aphrodite puts Psyche to several impossible tasks, sorting out beans, gathering wool and bringing back something from the land of the dead. Psyche of course gets magical help, and Aphrodite must finally accept her new daughter in law. In some of the old fairy tales, the ones that aren't published any more, the prince's mother tries to kill the new princess and her children. We have many stories of evil mothers-in-law and step-mothers, but we are not taught how to appease them or how to overcome their objections.
But in real life, we do have to sort things out, not just beans and lentils, but our own thoughts and perceptions. We don't have physical fairy godmothers to make the magic happen, and we have to face our own shadow side, the part of us that both leads us into darkness and makes us light a lamp to see who our shadow lover is.
We can learn to be conscious of our feelings, of our unrealistic expectations of marriage and family life. We can learn to recognize our own shadow selves by being aware of those people who make us feel irrationally jealous and irritated. We can learn, and we can teach our daughters that the shadow lover who insists on being invisible, coming and going as he pleases, is not good for us. We need to face our own feelings, learn to stand on our own feet, so that when we do enter a relationship, we are not sucked into the jealousy of Aphrodite.
We can learn to be our own goddesses of love, starting with our care of ourselves and our responsibility for making our own choices consciously. We can look past the outdated, Disney-ized tales and sugar-coated sex to learn what love is.
Credit By Charlotte Babb
Where do we learn how to be the victims of love?
As little girls we are told of Cinderella, of Beauty and the Beast, of Rapunzel and Snow White, all rescued from the evil of elder women (psychological images of our mothers) by the love of a prince-and some of us are still looking for him.
Where do these stories come from, and what do ancient Greek myths have to do with it?
Aphrodite is known as the Goddess of Love, but she personifies more clearly infatuation and lust, the dark shadow of erotic love, the momentary passion that fades quickly into boredom or hate. Our stories for little girls speak often of first love, first kiss, and the thrill of infatuation. But the stories stop with a wedding, and never present the work that is required by any amount of happily ever after.
Many of the Greek myths speak of Aphrodite's wrath and punishment of anyone who displeases her. Her gift of Helen to Paris caused the ten-years-long Trojan War, but it was also revenge against Helen's father. Aphrodite transformed the heroine Atalanta and her lover into lions to pull her chariot. Aphrodite shed many tears over her young lover Adonis when he was killed by Erymanthos, a man she had turned into a boar because he saw her and Adonis together. Aphrodite was involved in the story of Ariadne, who helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur-Ariadne's Mother was tricked into bearing the Minotaur partly because her grandfather had told Aphrodite's husband that she was cheating.
Like a wild teenager, Aphrodite lives on her passionate whims, lashing out at anyone who is a witness to her infidelities. She does not take any responsibility for her life or her actions. Does that describe your friends? How many of us feel that we must take whatever relationship that comes along?
Aphrodite even personifies the evil mother-in-law in the story of Cupid and Psyche, which contains many of the themes of later fairy tales. Psyche is very beautiful, and is envied by her sisters and everyone who meets her. She is too beautiful for any man to dare to ask for her hand. Some people even begin to compare her to Aphrodite herself, though Psyche is only lonely, wanting only to be happy. When Aphrodite sends Cupid to punish Psyche for being beautiful, he falls for her.
The heroine in fairy tales is always magically beautiful, but in this story, it is Psyche's beauty that is her downfall. She has the usual jealous sisters who are married, but who envy her for her beauty. The sisters are eventually killed off, and Psyche becomes a goddess. We learn that we are never beautiful enough, that our looks are the important part of our being, rather than our character.
Cupid hides his identity from Psyche by insisting that she must never see him, but he sets her up in a magical home that takes care of her every need. We all have an unconscious desire to be taken care of, to be free of working for a living, to live in luxury and leisure. Of course, Psyche's sisters convince her to look at her lover, and he disappears into the night. When Psyche realizes who Cupid is, she searches everywhere for him. Despite his abandonment of her, he is the only man she has ever had, the only one she knows. Finally she goes to Aphrodite to ask how she can get him back.
Psyche is desperate, and she seems to have no resources of her own. So she throws herself on the mercy of her mother-in-law. Like our daughters, Psyche does not know any other story.
Aphrodite puts Psyche to several impossible tasks, sorting out beans, gathering wool and bringing back something from the land of the dead. Psyche of course gets magical help, and Aphrodite must finally accept her new daughter in law. In some of the old fairy tales, the ones that aren't published any more, the prince's mother tries to kill the new princess and her children. We have many stories of evil mothers-in-law and step-mothers, but we are not taught how to appease them or how to overcome their objections.
But in real life, we do have to sort things out, not just beans and lentils, but our own thoughts and perceptions. We don't have physical fairy godmothers to make the magic happen, and we have to face our own shadow side, the part of us that both leads us into darkness and makes us light a lamp to see who our shadow lover is.
We can learn to be conscious of our feelings, of our unrealistic expectations of marriage and family life. We can learn to recognize our own shadow selves by being aware of those people who make us feel irrationally jealous and irritated. We can learn, and we can teach our daughters that the shadow lover who insists on being invisible, coming and going as he pleases, is not good for us. We need to face our own feelings, learn to stand on our own feet, so that when we do enter a relationship, we are not sucked into the jealousy of Aphrodite.
We can learn to be our own goddesses of love, starting with our care of ourselves and our responsibility for making our own choices consciously. We can look past the outdated, Disney-ized tales and sugar-coated sex to learn what love is.
Credit By Charlotte Babb
Sunday, 25 January 2009
The Ancient Hellenic Divine Practices
Hellenic polytheism, also known as the Ancient Greek religion or "Dodekatheon"-a term that comes from the number twelve, which in Greek is pronounced "dodeka"-has been extensively studied over the centuries as a vital part of the ancient Hellenic times. The Twelve Olympians, residing according to Hellenic mythology in Mount Olympus, encompassed human and divine characteristics that were portrayed in the popular stories of the times. Although Greeks did not have a term for religion back then in the sense of a dimension of existence distinct from all others, they believed that gods exercised authority of the fortunes of human beings and demanded recognition as a condition for salvation.
One distinct characteristic, of the ancient Hellenic beliefs in the "theia" (things having to do with gods), was that there was not a single truth about gods. The twelve main gods, which were Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Ares, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, and Aphrodite, had been depicted within different contexts and they shared different virtues, depending on the each locality's legends. The vast collection of beliefs and rituals practices in Ancient Greece demonstrated that there was no single way to live in accordance with the gods' wishes. Through the worship of the main deities in temples located all over the Greek peninsula and islands, Greeks used to identify different ways to deal with their gods "commandments." There was no single place that one should or should not worship the god of his or her choice, while practices varied in forms and duration. Games, rituals, theatrical works, festivals, processions, and autonomous religious practices within households were held in honor of the gods. This autonomy in dealing with the "theia" gave Greeks the opportunity to portray their gods' superpowers or human weaknesses and associate their everyday practices or behaviors with those of their gods. This uniquely defined line between divinity and humanity illustrated the ancient Greeks desire to understand the forces of nature and to comprehend, to a certain extend, the world around them.
Conducting some form of sacrifice was the most widespread public act of worship and ancient Greeks usually sacrificed animals to ask for gods' forgiveness or assistance on the subject matter of their interest. For a variety of causes, Greeks tended to visit their temples and request their clergy's feedback on their past or future actions; legendary this feedback came through the priests' ability to communicate with the gods and ask their opinion. Moreover, votive gifts were offered to the gods as a ritual of recognition for their divine interference in their lives. Whether given for benefits already conferred or in anticipation of future favors, gifts and sacrifices were since the ancient Hellenic times the generally accepted practices through which an individual would experience divinity. Up until today, in many religions practiced around the world, votive gifts are kept on public display illustrating the belief of the worshipers and their hope for the desired divine interference in their lives.
Today, the overwhelming majority of modern Greeks are Greek Orthodox, but there is still a minority of the ancient Greek gods' worshipers. Although contemporary Greeks and of course the Greek Orthodox Church generally condemn these type of paganism practices, there is evidence that these ancient rituals still carry a very familiar concept of the old Greek beliefs to the modern religious practices.
Credit By Kadence Buchanan
One distinct characteristic, of the ancient Hellenic beliefs in the "theia" (things having to do with gods), was that there was not a single truth about gods. The twelve main gods, which were Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Ares, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, and Aphrodite, had been depicted within different contexts and they shared different virtues, depending on the each locality's legends. The vast collection of beliefs and rituals practices in Ancient Greece demonstrated that there was no single way to live in accordance with the gods' wishes. Through the worship of the main deities in temples located all over the Greek peninsula and islands, Greeks used to identify different ways to deal with their gods "commandments." There was no single place that one should or should not worship the god of his or her choice, while practices varied in forms and duration. Games, rituals, theatrical works, festivals, processions, and autonomous religious practices within households were held in honor of the gods. This autonomy in dealing with the "theia" gave Greeks the opportunity to portray their gods' superpowers or human weaknesses and associate their everyday practices or behaviors with those of their gods. This uniquely defined line between divinity and humanity illustrated the ancient Greeks desire to understand the forces of nature and to comprehend, to a certain extend, the world around them.
Conducting some form of sacrifice was the most widespread public act of worship and ancient Greeks usually sacrificed animals to ask for gods' forgiveness or assistance on the subject matter of their interest. For a variety of causes, Greeks tended to visit their temples and request their clergy's feedback on their past or future actions; legendary this feedback came through the priests' ability to communicate with the gods and ask their opinion. Moreover, votive gifts were offered to the gods as a ritual of recognition for their divine interference in their lives. Whether given for benefits already conferred or in anticipation of future favors, gifts and sacrifices were since the ancient Hellenic times the generally accepted practices through which an individual would experience divinity. Up until today, in many religions practiced around the world, votive gifts are kept on public display illustrating the belief of the worshipers and their hope for the desired divine interference in their lives.
Today, the overwhelming majority of modern Greeks are Greek Orthodox, but there is still a minority of the ancient Greek gods' worshipers. Although contemporary Greeks and of course the Greek Orthodox Church generally condemn these type of paganism practices, there is evidence that these ancient rituals still carry a very familiar concept of the old Greek beliefs to the modern religious practices.
Credit By Kadence Buchanan
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Paphos, Cyprus - Top 5 Places to Visit
Top 5 places to visit when staying in Paphos, Cyprus on your off season holidays. A mixture of history and pure leisure pleasure. Places normally too hot and busy to visit in the summer heat open themselves up at these perfect times of the year. Escape the cold of home and enjoy some Paphos sunshine during spring, autumn and winter holidays in Cyprus.
Paphos, Cyprus - Top 5 Places to Visit
1. Tomb of The Kings
Spread over a vast area, these impressive subterranean burial chambers were built in Paphos from 3rd Century BC to the 3rd Century AD. They are carved out of solid rock with some being decorated with Doric pillars. Put on your walking shoes and climbing pants and don't be afraid to get yourself a little dirty at this site. Fun to explore and full of some very atmospheric places.
2. Paphos Mosaics
Cyprus history proclaims Aion as the Greek God of eternity. The house of Aion has an amazing five-paneled mosaic which shows the Greek God in the unenviable position of having to judge what appears to be a beauty contest.
'Unenviable?!', I hear our modern day Gods proclaim. The difference in this beauty contest is that his choice lies between the ordinary and smug looking Queen Cassiopeia and a number of much prettier, but unhappy looking Nereides water nymphs.I'm sure that all of you will be able to guess who the eventual winner is!!
3. Aphrodites Rock
The most awe inspiring piece of coastline to be seen in Cyprus, when the sun is out, and I defy any couple, regardless of how young or old, to not be bewitched by it's spell. Of all ancient Greek myths, the story of Aphrodite's creation will bring water to your eyes, but the story lives on as one of the well known legends surrounding this stunning rock formation.Cronos was begged by his mother Gaia to be released from the embraces of her husband Uranus. In order to assist his mother in her plight, Cronos castrated his father with a sickle and threw his genitals into the sea. The foam gathered around them and the Goddess rose from the sea as a fully grown woman.
4. St George Fishing Harbour
I recommend that you visit this memorable place in Paphos with someone very special to you and a camera. Arrive late afternoon and watch the fishing boats come in with their daily catch. Have a drink or two at the beach side bar but don't stay too long before securing yourself a spot on the harbour wall. Take along the camera or video and make sure you have plenty of film as this is one of those special places to catch the most romantic of sunsets in Cyprus. Enjoy!
5. Sterna Winery
Located on the outskirts of the village of Kathiskas, 15 mins drive from Paphos. Be entertained by the charismatic Cypriot owner who will treat you to free wine tasting and a tour of this very small winery. Do not miss out on their own peach schnapps - powerful enough to blow your head off and must be thrown back in one go. If you make a purchase of their very fine wines you will probably find that a complimentary bottle of schnapps is thrown in. Not recommended to light the Xmas pud with!
Credit By Lynda Burke
Paphos, Cyprus - Top 5 Places to Visit
1. Tomb of The Kings
Spread over a vast area, these impressive subterranean burial chambers were built in Paphos from 3rd Century BC to the 3rd Century AD. They are carved out of solid rock with some being decorated with Doric pillars. Put on your walking shoes and climbing pants and don't be afraid to get yourself a little dirty at this site. Fun to explore and full of some very atmospheric places.
2. Paphos Mosaics
Cyprus history proclaims Aion as the Greek God of eternity. The house of Aion has an amazing five-paneled mosaic which shows the Greek God in the unenviable position of having to judge what appears to be a beauty contest.
'Unenviable?!', I hear our modern day Gods proclaim. The difference in this beauty contest is that his choice lies between the ordinary and smug looking Queen Cassiopeia and a number of much prettier, but unhappy looking Nereides water nymphs.I'm sure that all of you will be able to guess who the eventual winner is!!
3. Aphrodites Rock
The most awe inspiring piece of coastline to be seen in Cyprus, when the sun is out, and I defy any couple, regardless of how young or old, to not be bewitched by it's spell. Of all ancient Greek myths, the story of Aphrodite's creation will bring water to your eyes, but the story lives on as one of the well known legends surrounding this stunning rock formation.Cronos was begged by his mother Gaia to be released from the embraces of her husband Uranus. In order to assist his mother in her plight, Cronos castrated his father with a sickle and threw his genitals into the sea. The foam gathered around them and the Goddess rose from the sea as a fully grown woman.
4. St George Fishing Harbour
I recommend that you visit this memorable place in Paphos with someone very special to you and a camera. Arrive late afternoon and watch the fishing boats come in with their daily catch. Have a drink or two at the beach side bar but don't stay too long before securing yourself a spot on the harbour wall. Take along the camera or video and make sure you have plenty of film as this is one of those special places to catch the most romantic of sunsets in Cyprus. Enjoy!
5. Sterna Winery
Located on the outskirts of the village of Kathiskas, 15 mins drive from Paphos. Be entertained by the charismatic Cypriot owner who will treat you to free wine tasting and a tour of this very small winery. Do not miss out on their own peach schnapps - powerful enough to blow your head off and must be thrown back in one go. If you make a purchase of their very fine wines you will probably find that a complimentary bottle of schnapps is thrown in. Not recommended to light the Xmas pud with!
Credit By Lynda Burke
Friday, 23 January 2009
Ancient Greek Theatre of Dionysus
Looking at the altar now overgrown with weeds in the theatre of Dionysus, one cannot but reflect on how the theatre evolved from a rural troop expressing primitive desires into an expression of the mind. There was a sanctuary of Dionysus on this side of the Acropolis since the time when his cult began to spread.
Pausanias spoke of a Delphic oracle which compelled the reluctant Athenians to accept this foreign god and that it was a zealous priest from Erythres who brought in the first cult statue. Erythres was situated at the point where one crossed from Boeotia into Attica, at the foot of Mt Cithaeron, in present day Kaza. Knowing that the Dionysiac cult reached its peak in Thebes with orgiastic rituals, we can understand the reason why this sacred idol came from there. It is very likely that there was a circular area with an altar situated beside a 6th century temple and used for some early type of performance.
There was also a large round orchestra in the Agora area where, in about 495 BC, during a theatrical contest between Choirilos, Pratinas and Aeschylus, the wooden benches collapsed, killing many spectators. It was then decided to build a more permanent structure. Scholars still disagree about when the theatre of Dionysus was built, because whatever has survived up to our time belongs to various ages. Construction of some kind continued on this site for many centuries. Excavations have shown that the 6th century orchestra was added to an auditorium with lateral retaining walls, which show 5th century construction details. But no trace of permanent seats have been found from that period.
A Doric temple was built in the 4th century to house the gold and ivory statue of Dionysus that Pausanias later saw. The remains of this temple with its magnificent masonry is the first thing we see upon entering the present archaeological site. There was also a wall supporting the earth on the side of the orchestra, which together with the natural slope of the round, created an extended Doric portico near the older archaic temple. In 430 BC, the Athenian orator Lykourgos built the stone seats, saw to the drainage of the rain water and planned the construction of a square building, behind the circular orchestra and higher than it, which had small porticoes near the side entrances: it was the logeio, the first speaking place for the actors.
Later, during the rule of Nero, the stage was raised even higher, and the wall of the logeio was ornamented with statues which can still be seen today. It was then that the orchestra took on its present shape, i.e. 2/3 of the initial circle, with a diameter of almost 20 m, and was paved with marble slabs. Also, during the years of Roman rule, a low stone dividing wall was built over the drainage gutter. Even later, in the 3rd century AD, a certain Phaedros built a new stage, since the theatre was used for various assemblies, as indicated by an inscription on the speaker's podium.
The theatre could hold about 20,000 spectators. In its final form, the lower section had 13 wedge-shaped sections separated by stairways, steps, and 32 rows of seats radiating out around the orchestra. The upper diazoma had another 32 rows of seats, which covered only the centre, since on one side, the Odeion of Pericles abutted onto it and on the other, the natural rock restricted the extent of the auditorium. Later a third section was added, especially for foreigners, increasing the number of rows to a total of 78. Today only 25 of them have been preserved. The material used to build them was Piraeus limestone, with the exception of the 67 officials' thrones in the first row, which were built of white Pentelic marble.
The inscriptions inform us that 45 of these thrones belonged to the elected priests. The others were intended for distinguished citizens, benefactors, local archons, and even orphaned children whose fathers had fallen in war and whom the state wished to honour. Somewhere in the first rows must have been the seats of the critics for the tragedy contests during the Dionysian feasts. During the years of Roman rule, thrones were added for officials of the conquerors, with a special place for the throne of the Hellenist Hadrian in a prominent position.
The most impressive seat was certainly the one bearing the inscription PRIEST OF DIONYSUS ELEFTHERIOS which we can still see facing the altar. This marble throne rests on lion's feet and has bas relief sculpture on its back which depict two strong satyrs carrying an enormous bunch of grapes, the sacred symbol of the god. While all the other seats have a simple rounded line, this one is an imposing throne with arm rests and sculptured decoration of winged human forms. The front of the seat shows griffins and men wearing Eastern dress, perhaps an allusion to the origin of the god.
All this luxury showed how important was the priest of Dionysus Eleutherios who, seated in a place of honour, would watch the performances that constituted a spiritual libation to the god he served. The thrones of the Archon General and the Herald, high officials in the Athenian hierarchy, were right behind the position of the Dionysian priests, stressing the latter's importance even more.
On the side of the stage, construction works were carried out at different epochs owing to the constant changes and use of older materials in subsequent buildings. Archaeologists believe that the stage was built in the first century AD and that the sculptured decoration on the facade of the platform may very possibly have been taken from some other monument on the site and been placed there in some architectural arrangements. These sculptures depict scenes from the myth of Dionysus: a man, perhaps Theseus, and a woman carrying a horn of plenty are welcoming the young god; on the other side Dionysus is shown seated on a luxurious throne similar to that of his priest, while behind him the Parthenon is faintly visible. Most impressive of all is the mature kneeling satyr who, in the position of Atlas, holds the proscenium on his back. When the theatre was excavated, all the sculpted figures on the logeio were covered with a thick layer of plaster which was cleared off in 1862.
The astonished archaeologists realised then that this inexplicable layer was the solution found by some Roman official, with the delicacy of a legionary, to create a closed space in the orchestra which could be filled with water for the representations of naval battles. Apart from this extreme lapse of artistic appreciation, there were also splendid examples of people who contributed to the area, such as the Emperor Hadrian. When Hadrian came to Athens, where he had studied, he gave the order that gladiators' contests be forbidden and such spectacles which had been imposed on the Athenians by his predecessors be banned.
On the east side of the theatre was the Odeion of Pericles, which has yet to be excavated fully. Plutarch mentioned it in his Lives as a large square building with many interior columns supporting the conic wooden roof. This strange edifice was built in the 5th century under the personal supervision of the great Athenian politician and owes its shape to Xerxes' tent which was left behind after the battle of Salamis. In this way Pericles wanted to remind the Athenians of their amazing victory over the Persians and, at the same time, to have a venue for the musical contests held during the Panathenaia which he himself had established. But since the Athenians preferred open spaces for events of all kinds, this odeion came gradually to be used only for try-outs for contests and rehearsals of theatrical works. It was destroyed by fire in the 1st century, when Sulla occupied Athens, but Pausanias reported that it had been rebuilt. Today we can only see part of one side which was hewn out of the rock, occupying part of the upper diazoma of the theatre of Dionysus.
Above Pericles' Odeion and above this upper diazoma of the Theatre of Dionysus, was the Peripatos, a path around the sacred rock and a place for people to spend their leisure time. An inscription carved onto the rocky northeastern surface provides us with information about its name and length. It was about one kilometre long, starting out where the Panathenaic Way ended at the entrance to the Acropolis. It wound past by the Klepsydra spring, the sanctuary of Pan on the north side, the sanctuary of Aphrodite, and the ancient Mycenean stairway which led to another spring. Turning the eastern corner of the rock, the path wended westward above Pericles' odeion and was used for access to the upper tiers in the theatre of Dionysus. It then sloped slightly down toward the sanctuary of Asclepius and then rose again to the foot of the rock, up toward the entrance to the Acropolis. Thus Athenians could walk on either the sunny or shady side of their religious centre.
The most important road in the region was unquestionably Tripodon Street, which started out from the Agora, ended at the Theatre of Dionysus, and was used for festive processions. This broad (6 m. width) and heavily frequented road took its name from the monuments built to house the tripods by which the state honoured sponsors of theatrical performances. Pausanias said that it was not only the monuments that were remarkable, but also the works of art frequently kept inside them. As an example he referred to the Satyr which Praxiteles regarded as one of his best works. It was said that, for her services, the courtesan Phryne had asked the great sculptor to give her whatever work he considered to be his best. But the artist said nothing. Then the clever beauty pretended that the sculptor's workshop had caught fire, and when the frantic Praxiteles exclaimed that if his works the Satyr and Eros burned he would be truly destroyed, everybody realized that he had evaluated his own work. Phryne ultimately chose the statue of Eros for obvious reasons.
Present-day Tripodon Street crosses half the Plaka, whereas the ancient street of the same name is now buried a few metres underground, right below it. The foundations of some new houses, after 1950, revealed the width of the initial street and the pedastals of four choragic monuments, in addition to that which was built in 334 BC to hold on its conic roof the tripod won by the Athenian sponsor Lysikratis. Built in the form of a little cylindrical temple, the most elegant expression of the architecture of the times, this monument has survived through the centuries almost intact. On a heavy square base three m. deep rests a round crepidoma with three steps. On it stands a little marble temple with Corinthian columns three and a half m. high. The architrave is adorned with a narrow frieze of bas-relief sculpture depicting Dionysus' adventures with the pirates. On the dome, there was a triangular Corinthian column which supported the victor's tripod. On the eastern side was the inscription with the name of the sponsor, obviously visible to passers-by.
This marvellous monument has gone through many adventures and name-changes; most Athenians still know it as Diogenes' Lamp. In 1669, it was purchased together with a plot of land by the Capuchin monks who incorporated it into their monastery, first as a chapel and later as a library. That was when it acquired the name Demosthenes' Lamp since its floral crest struck them as resembling the base of a lamp. Demosthenes was just a memory retained by the people. A passing priest testified that it had been the office of Lord Byron, who we know passed through Athens just before the War of Independence broke out in 1821, and that he stayed in the nearby house of the widow Makri. It would appear that this charming structure offered him refuge when he wanted to write poetry, like the lines dedicated to the Fair Maid of Athens. The double name of the monument, Demosthenes and Diogenes, may possibly mean that there was another similar monument in the vicinity, as yet unknown, since the district still conceals many secrets relatively close to the surface of present day roads.
Perhaps the most original of the choragic monuments is that of Thrasyllos of Dekeleia, who won a tripod in the 4th century. Selecting a natural cave right above the theatre of Dionysus, he had the rough rock smoothed down and created an opening about 6 meters wide which he closed with a double- leafed door. On the upper part of the monumental portal, a space was levelled off to receive the honorary tripod. No better place could be found to show off his prize, and for this reason, when Thrasyllos' son Thrasykles, won a choragic award fifty years later, he set his tripod in the same position. Above the cave we can still see other choragic monuments consisting of unfluted columns with triangular Corinthian capitals, built especially to support tripods. This seems to have been was the most popular spot judging from the niches in the rock, perhaps to hold more monuments, and a marble sun dial. The monument of Thrasyllos has come down to us today as a chapel, because the local people dedicated the cave to the Panaghia Chrysospeliotissa (Blessed Virgin of the Golden Cave).
At the foot of the Acropolis, right next to the Theatre of Dionysus, there was another natural cave with a spring from which bubbled forth a small but constant stream of water. In antiquity, this spring was the reason for the site being dedicated to the healing god Asclepius.
In mythologies all over the world, water is regarded as being the principle of life. The Babylonians believed that the universe was created by the union of fresh and salt water and in China the green dragon which brought the waters was the positive male element, Yang. Among the Sumerians, the god of water was called Enki, which means "Master of the Earth" and in Iran the goddess of fertility was Anahita, "the Mistress of the Springs" who is still revered among Zoroastrians. The Aztecs called the god of rain Tlaloc, the terrible, "Flesh of the Earth" whose likeness was found in shrines. Germanic tribes considered the fountain Mimir as the font of all wisdom and Odin, god of war, sacrificed one of his eyes in order to drink of this miraculous water. Among the Indian Bedes, water was regarded as being of dual substance because it destroys by flood and regenerates by growth, but it also heals because it cleanses, washing away whatever is unclean. Equally healing is the water from the spring of Shiloe in the Scriptures.
In antiquity, there were references to purifying baths, in the same way as Saint John later baptized converts. And let us not forget the timeless dream of humans to find the "elixir of life"; the same sources are references to life which rush forth wherever and whenever they want, like uncontrolled mobile presences. The Greeks called springs "nymphs", gave them forms that were fair and fluid like running water, and had them living in damp caves, thus making the very ancient association of water-semen with cave-womb in the creation of life. On the slopes of the Acropolis, there were at least two sanctuaries dedicated to local nymphs, suggesting at the same time also the existence of subterranean rivers. One of these springs was granted to the healing Asclepius when his cult was established in Attica in the 5th century.
Very possibly born a mortal, Asclepius was deified in the classical years in Epidaurus, where the best known of his sanctuaries was located. In myth, he was the son of Apollo, from whom he inherited the ability to heal. His shrines, the Asclepia, were the hospitals of antiquity where human pain received comfort. On the south side of the Acropolis, a natural cave was hollowed out to make a circular area in which patients were bathed before being led to the sleeping room. There at night in their sleep, the god would appear to each one and give them instructions about curing themselves, uttered through the mouths of priest-healers and early psychologists, since the medicine of the times was based primarily on autosuggestion and practical prescriptions. The sleeping room was built in the form of a two-storey portico in front of which there was an open space for a small temple and an altar to the god while other buildings were added later, as the cult gained followers. With the advent of Christianity, the water of the springs was regarded as being blessed, and thus a church of impressive dimensions was soon built on the site of the ancient sanctuaries. Even today the cave is a chapel, and its entrance, with its well-preserved ancient walls, bears witness to the timelessness of hope.
The Asclepeion opened onto the Peripatos which passed right in front of it. In the 2nd century BC, Eumenes, king of Pergamon, built a grand colonnade with 64 Doric columns which started out at the side of the theatre and continued in a westerly direction serving at the same time to support the Peripatos. Very few of the columns in the stoa have been preserved, but the two-storey retaining wall of the Peripatos was preserved fairly well. For the spactators of Dionysian theatre, this meeting place must have been especially popular; thus when Herod Atticus built his own Odeion west of it in the 2nd century AD, he incorporated the Stoa of Eumenes in it as an access to the new building.
Herod Atticus was born in Marathon of a noble family; he was well educated and went on to become a famous orator. Much favoured by the Emperor Hadrian, he was granted significant public offices up to the rank of consul, causing the Athenians to regard him as being the Romans' man. Since he was very rich, Herod was able to offer public buildings to his fellow citizens. In addition to the beautiful villa he built in Kifissia, he remarbled the Athens Stadium on the banks of the Ilissos river and had a bridge constructed over the same river which was still in existence until the end of the 18th century. But his masterpiece was the Odeion, dedicated to his wife Regilla, a work which cost an enormous sum of money owing to the selected materials used to construct it.
The outer three-storey facade of the Odeion was almost thirty metres high, built with carefully quarried large rocks and arched openings which showed that it was the continuation of the older Stoa of Eumenes, thus stressing the natural rock of the Acropolis and the magnificence of the Parthenon at its peak. The interior was in the shape of a smaller Roman theatre, with a stage surrounded by walls on three sides, obviously for acoustic reasons. There were five sections in the lower diazoma and 10 in the upper one, with broad marble benches. The orchestra was confined to a paved semi-circle with steps leading up onto the stage, which had a very luxurious wall construction with openings on two sides and arched decorative niches. But the wonderful thing about this building was that the roof was constructed of cedar wood. The Odeion had a capacity of about 6000 spectators and was in use up to the 3rd century AD, at which time the inhabitants used its building materials for the hasty construction of fortification works. From that time until the last century, its role in the architectural history of the city was insignificant since, because of its position near the ramparts of the Acropolis, it was covered over. A traveller in 1819 mentioned that there were only two sections of seats visible. The Odeion was cleared of earth after the Greek War of Independence and restored both outside and in. After many centuries of abandonment, it has now been turned over to artistic events.
Go through this Athens Guide and learn more about Ancient Greece and Greece in general.
Credit By Stella G
Pausanias spoke of a Delphic oracle which compelled the reluctant Athenians to accept this foreign god and that it was a zealous priest from Erythres who brought in the first cult statue. Erythres was situated at the point where one crossed from Boeotia into Attica, at the foot of Mt Cithaeron, in present day Kaza. Knowing that the Dionysiac cult reached its peak in Thebes with orgiastic rituals, we can understand the reason why this sacred idol came from there. It is very likely that there was a circular area with an altar situated beside a 6th century temple and used for some early type of performance.
There was also a large round orchestra in the Agora area where, in about 495 BC, during a theatrical contest between Choirilos, Pratinas and Aeschylus, the wooden benches collapsed, killing many spectators. It was then decided to build a more permanent structure. Scholars still disagree about when the theatre of Dionysus was built, because whatever has survived up to our time belongs to various ages. Construction of some kind continued on this site for many centuries. Excavations have shown that the 6th century orchestra was added to an auditorium with lateral retaining walls, which show 5th century construction details. But no trace of permanent seats have been found from that period.
A Doric temple was built in the 4th century to house the gold and ivory statue of Dionysus that Pausanias later saw. The remains of this temple with its magnificent masonry is the first thing we see upon entering the present archaeological site. There was also a wall supporting the earth on the side of the orchestra, which together with the natural slope of the round, created an extended Doric portico near the older archaic temple. In 430 BC, the Athenian orator Lykourgos built the stone seats, saw to the drainage of the rain water and planned the construction of a square building, behind the circular orchestra and higher than it, which had small porticoes near the side entrances: it was the logeio, the first speaking place for the actors.
Later, during the rule of Nero, the stage was raised even higher, and the wall of the logeio was ornamented with statues which can still be seen today. It was then that the orchestra took on its present shape, i.e. 2/3 of the initial circle, with a diameter of almost 20 m, and was paved with marble slabs. Also, during the years of Roman rule, a low stone dividing wall was built over the drainage gutter. Even later, in the 3rd century AD, a certain Phaedros built a new stage, since the theatre was used for various assemblies, as indicated by an inscription on the speaker's podium.
The theatre could hold about 20,000 spectators. In its final form, the lower section had 13 wedge-shaped sections separated by stairways, steps, and 32 rows of seats radiating out around the orchestra. The upper diazoma had another 32 rows of seats, which covered only the centre, since on one side, the Odeion of Pericles abutted onto it and on the other, the natural rock restricted the extent of the auditorium. Later a third section was added, especially for foreigners, increasing the number of rows to a total of 78. Today only 25 of them have been preserved. The material used to build them was Piraeus limestone, with the exception of the 67 officials' thrones in the first row, which were built of white Pentelic marble.
The inscriptions inform us that 45 of these thrones belonged to the elected priests. The others were intended for distinguished citizens, benefactors, local archons, and even orphaned children whose fathers had fallen in war and whom the state wished to honour. Somewhere in the first rows must have been the seats of the critics for the tragedy contests during the Dionysian feasts. During the years of Roman rule, thrones were added for officials of the conquerors, with a special place for the throne of the Hellenist Hadrian in a prominent position.
The most impressive seat was certainly the one bearing the inscription PRIEST OF DIONYSUS ELEFTHERIOS which we can still see facing the altar. This marble throne rests on lion's feet and has bas relief sculpture on its back which depict two strong satyrs carrying an enormous bunch of grapes, the sacred symbol of the god. While all the other seats have a simple rounded line, this one is an imposing throne with arm rests and sculptured decoration of winged human forms. The front of the seat shows griffins and men wearing Eastern dress, perhaps an allusion to the origin of the god.
All this luxury showed how important was the priest of Dionysus Eleutherios who, seated in a place of honour, would watch the performances that constituted a spiritual libation to the god he served. The thrones of the Archon General and the Herald, high officials in the Athenian hierarchy, were right behind the position of the Dionysian priests, stressing the latter's importance even more.
On the side of the stage, construction works were carried out at different epochs owing to the constant changes and use of older materials in subsequent buildings. Archaeologists believe that the stage was built in the first century AD and that the sculptured decoration on the facade of the platform may very possibly have been taken from some other monument on the site and been placed there in some architectural arrangements. These sculptures depict scenes from the myth of Dionysus: a man, perhaps Theseus, and a woman carrying a horn of plenty are welcoming the young god; on the other side Dionysus is shown seated on a luxurious throne similar to that of his priest, while behind him the Parthenon is faintly visible. Most impressive of all is the mature kneeling satyr who, in the position of Atlas, holds the proscenium on his back. When the theatre was excavated, all the sculpted figures on the logeio were covered with a thick layer of plaster which was cleared off in 1862.
The astonished archaeologists realised then that this inexplicable layer was the solution found by some Roman official, with the delicacy of a legionary, to create a closed space in the orchestra which could be filled with water for the representations of naval battles. Apart from this extreme lapse of artistic appreciation, there were also splendid examples of people who contributed to the area, such as the Emperor Hadrian. When Hadrian came to Athens, where he had studied, he gave the order that gladiators' contests be forbidden and such spectacles which had been imposed on the Athenians by his predecessors be banned.
On the east side of the theatre was the Odeion of Pericles, which has yet to be excavated fully. Plutarch mentioned it in his Lives as a large square building with many interior columns supporting the conic wooden roof. This strange edifice was built in the 5th century under the personal supervision of the great Athenian politician and owes its shape to Xerxes' tent which was left behind after the battle of Salamis. In this way Pericles wanted to remind the Athenians of their amazing victory over the Persians and, at the same time, to have a venue for the musical contests held during the Panathenaia which he himself had established. But since the Athenians preferred open spaces for events of all kinds, this odeion came gradually to be used only for try-outs for contests and rehearsals of theatrical works. It was destroyed by fire in the 1st century, when Sulla occupied Athens, but Pausanias reported that it had been rebuilt. Today we can only see part of one side which was hewn out of the rock, occupying part of the upper diazoma of the theatre of Dionysus.
Above Pericles' Odeion and above this upper diazoma of the Theatre of Dionysus, was the Peripatos, a path around the sacred rock and a place for people to spend their leisure time. An inscription carved onto the rocky northeastern surface provides us with information about its name and length. It was about one kilometre long, starting out where the Panathenaic Way ended at the entrance to the Acropolis. It wound past by the Klepsydra spring, the sanctuary of Pan on the north side, the sanctuary of Aphrodite, and the ancient Mycenean stairway which led to another spring. Turning the eastern corner of the rock, the path wended westward above Pericles' odeion and was used for access to the upper tiers in the theatre of Dionysus. It then sloped slightly down toward the sanctuary of Asclepius and then rose again to the foot of the rock, up toward the entrance to the Acropolis. Thus Athenians could walk on either the sunny or shady side of their religious centre.
The most important road in the region was unquestionably Tripodon Street, which started out from the Agora, ended at the Theatre of Dionysus, and was used for festive processions. This broad (6 m. width) and heavily frequented road took its name from the monuments built to house the tripods by which the state honoured sponsors of theatrical performances. Pausanias said that it was not only the monuments that were remarkable, but also the works of art frequently kept inside them. As an example he referred to the Satyr which Praxiteles regarded as one of his best works. It was said that, for her services, the courtesan Phryne had asked the great sculptor to give her whatever work he considered to be his best. But the artist said nothing. Then the clever beauty pretended that the sculptor's workshop had caught fire, and when the frantic Praxiteles exclaimed that if his works the Satyr and Eros burned he would be truly destroyed, everybody realized that he had evaluated his own work. Phryne ultimately chose the statue of Eros for obvious reasons.
Present-day Tripodon Street crosses half the Plaka, whereas the ancient street of the same name is now buried a few metres underground, right below it. The foundations of some new houses, after 1950, revealed the width of the initial street and the pedastals of four choragic monuments, in addition to that which was built in 334 BC to hold on its conic roof the tripod won by the Athenian sponsor Lysikratis. Built in the form of a little cylindrical temple, the most elegant expression of the architecture of the times, this monument has survived through the centuries almost intact. On a heavy square base three m. deep rests a round crepidoma with three steps. On it stands a little marble temple with Corinthian columns three and a half m. high. The architrave is adorned with a narrow frieze of bas-relief sculpture depicting Dionysus' adventures with the pirates. On the dome, there was a triangular Corinthian column which supported the victor's tripod. On the eastern side was the inscription with the name of the sponsor, obviously visible to passers-by.
This marvellous monument has gone through many adventures and name-changes; most Athenians still know it as Diogenes' Lamp. In 1669, it was purchased together with a plot of land by the Capuchin monks who incorporated it into their monastery, first as a chapel and later as a library. That was when it acquired the name Demosthenes' Lamp since its floral crest struck them as resembling the base of a lamp. Demosthenes was just a memory retained by the people. A passing priest testified that it had been the office of Lord Byron, who we know passed through Athens just before the War of Independence broke out in 1821, and that he stayed in the nearby house of the widow Makri. It would appear that this charming structure offered him refuge when he wanted to write poetry, like the lines dedicated to the Fair Maid of Athens. The double name of the monument, Demosthenes and Diogenes, may possibly mean that there was another similar monument in the vicinity, as yet unknown, since the district still conceals many secrets relatively close to the surface of present day roads.
Perhaps the most original of the choragic monuments is that of Thrasyllos of Dekeleia, who won a tripod in the 4th century. Selecting a natural cave right above the theatre of Dionysus, he had the rough rock smoothed down and created an opening about 6 meters wide which he closed with a double- leafed door. On the upper part of the monumental portal, a space was levelled off to receive the honorary tripod. No better place could be found to show off his prize, and for this reason, when Thrasyllos' son Thrasykles, won a choragic award fifty years later, he set his tripod in the same position. Above the cave we can still see other choragic monuments consisting of unfluted columns with triangular Corinthian capitals, built especially to support tripods. This seems to have been was the most popular spot judging from the niches in the rock, perhaps to hold more monuments, and a marble sun dial. The monument of Thrasyllos has come down to us today as a chapel, because the local people dedicated the cave to the Panaghia Chrysospeliotissa (Blessed Virgin of the Golden Cave).
At the foot of the Acropolis, right next to the Theatre of Dionysus, there was another natural cave with a spring from which bubbled forth a small but constant stream of water. In antiquity, this spring was the reason for the site being dedicated to the healing god Asclepius.
In mythologies all over the world, water is regarded as being the principle of life. The Babylonians believed that the universe was created by the union of fresh and salt water and in China the green dragon which brought the waters was the positive male element, Yang. Among the Sumerians, the god of water was called Enki, which means "Master of the Earth" and in Iran the goddess of fertility was Anahita, "the Mistress of the Springs" who is still revered among Zoroastrians. The Aztecs called the god of rain Tlaloc, the terrible, "Flesh of the Earth" whose likeness was found in shrines. Germanic tribes considered the fountain Mimir as the font of all wisdom and Odin, god of war, sacrificed one of his eyes in order to drink of this miraculous water. Among the Indian Bedes, water was regarded as being of dual substance because it destroys by flood and regenerates by growth, but it also heals because it cleanses, washing away whatever is unclean. Equally healing is the water from the spring of Shiloe in the Scriptures.
In antiquity, there were references to purifying baths, in the same way as Saint John later baptized converts. And let us not forget the timeless dream of humans to find the "elixir of life"; the same sources are references to life which rush forth wherever and whenever they want, like uncontrolled mobile presences. The Greeks called springs "nymphs", gave them forms that were fair and fluid like running water, and had them living in damp caves, thus making the very ancient association of water-semen with cave-womb in the creation of life. On the slopes of the Acropolis, there were at least two sanctuaries dedicated to local nymphs, suggesting at the same time also the existence of subterranean rivers. One of these springs was granted to the healing Asclepius when his cult was established in Attica in the 5th century.
Very possibly born a mortal, Asclepius was deified in the classical years in Epidaurus, where the best known of his sanctuaries was located. In myth, he was the son of Apollo, from whom he inherited the ability to heal. His shrines, the Asclepia, were the hospitals of antiquity where human pain received comfort. On the south side of the Acropolis, a natural cave was hollowed out to make a circular area in which patients were bathed before being led to the sleeping room. There at night in their sleep, the god would appear to each one and give them instructions about curing themselves, uttered through the mouths of priest-healers and early psychologists, since the medicine of the times was based primarily on autosuggestion and practical prescriptions. The sleeping room was built in the form of a two-storey portico in front of which there was an open space for a small temple and an altar to the god while other buildings were added later, as the cult gained followers. With the advent of Christianity, the water of the springs was regarded as being blessed, and thus a church of impressive dimensions was soon built on the site of the ancient sanctuaries. Even today the cave is a chapel, and its entrance, with its well-preserved ancient walls, bears witness to the timelessness of hope.
The Asclepeion opened onto the Peripatos which passed right in front of it. In the 2nd century BC, Eumenes, king of Pergamon, built a grand colonnade with 64 Doric columns which started out at the side of the theatre and continued in a westerly direction serving at the same time to support the Peripatos. Very few of the columns in the stoa have been preserved, but the two-storey retaining wall of the Peripatos was preserved fairly well. For the spactators of Dionysian theatre, this meeting place must have been especially popular; thus when Herod Atticus built his own Odeion west of it in the 2nd century AD, he incorporated the Stoa of Eumenes in it as an access to the new building.
Herod Atticus was born in Marathon of a noble family; he was well educated and went on to become a famous orator. Much favoured by the Emperor Hadrian, he was granted significant public offices up to the rank of consul, causing the Athenians to regard him as being the Romans' man. Since he was very rich, Herod was able to offer public buildings to his fellow citizens. In addition to the beautiful villa he built in Kifissia, he remarbled the Athens Stadium on the banks of the Ilissos river and had a bridge constructed over the same river which was still in existence until the end of the 18th century. But his masterpiece was the Odeion, dedicated to his wife Regilla, a work which cost an enormous sum of money owing to the selected materials used to construct it.
The outer three-storey facade of the Odeion was almost thirty metres high, built with carefully quarried large rocks and arched openings which showed that it was the continuation of the older Stoa of Eumenes, thus stressing the natural rock of the Acropolis and the magnificence of the Parthenon at its peak. The interior was in the shape of a smaller Roman theatre, with a stage surrounded by walls on three sides, obviously for acoustic reasons. There were five sections in the lower diazoma and 10 in the upper one, with broad marble benches. The orchestra was confined to a paved semi-circle with steps leading up onto the stage, which had a very luxurious wall construction with openings on two sides and arched decorative niches. But the wonderful thing about this building was that the roof was constructed of cedar wood. The Odeion had a capacity of about 6000 spectators and was in use up to the 3rd century AD, at which time the inhabitants used its building materials for the hasty construction of fortification works. From that time until the last century, its role in the architectural history of the city was insignificant since, because of its position near the ramparts of the Acropolis, it was covered over. A traveller in 1819 mentioned that there were only two sections of seats visible. The Odeion was cleared of earth after the Greek War of Independence and restored both outside and in. After many centuries of abandonment, it has now been turned over to artistic events.
Go through this Athens Guide and learn more about Ancient Greece and Greece in general.
Credit By Stella G
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Greek Island Carnival - Skyros
The most famous of the traditional Carnival celebrations is held on the island of Skyros. By far the most important and striking of the Carnival figures which make their appearance there is the yeros, or "old man".
The costume of the yeros is very elaborate. Basically it is the traditional dress of an island shepherd: wooden clogs, the black woolen shepherds' jacket with a hood, with the inside, or furry side, out; long, white, baggy, woolen trousers; white leggings fastened with black garters, and laced shepherds' sandals. However, under his jacket at the back the yeros stuffs a pillow, to provide the appearance of a hump. His belt is joined at the front by means of a handkerchief.
Over his face, the yeros wears a mask with two eyeholes cut into it, made from the skin of a kid, either one still-born, or too weak to survive. The skin is tied by its back legs behind the wearer's head, and the head of the animal dangles over his face and chest. Holes are cut for the eyes, but not for the nose or mouth. Since the skins are likely to have a very strong smell, they are frequently sprinkled with ouzo.
Long white goats-hair ropes, knotted at the back are crossed over the shoulders. Hanging from these are the goat bells. These are of three distinct types, each of which has its own range of sounds. Although each bell is unique, a shepherd could recognise his goats individually by the sound of the bells they wore, and it is said that out of the cacophony made by a herd on the move, he could detect a single missing bell. The hooped wooden collars of the bells are threaded onto the ropes and fastened with looped knots at a suitable distance from each other. These are placed in two series, with the larger at the back. The arrangement of the bells is made very carefully with two considerations in mind. The first is that they will not injure the wearer as they swing, and the second is determined by the different sounds produced by different arrangements of bells.
If the wearer is strong, he may carry as many as seventy or eighty bells, depending upon his strength and stamina; although thirty to forty, perhaps weighing forty or fifty kilos, is more usual. To steady himself, and also to tease and provoke onlookers, he carries a shepherd's crook. Freshly cut wild flowers decorating the hood, breast and crook complete his remarkable outfit.
Not surprisingly, it is very difficult to move at all in this strange costume, and the first few steps he takes will determine whether or not he will have to be completely redressed. Traditionally, six "gaits" are recognised, by which the yeros makes his way about the town. Some seem to be designed to allow for mobility, and others to help him create the greatest possible cacophony with his bells. Thus a yeros will occasionally stop, either alone or in a group, stand with his legs firmly planted apart, and his staff stuck in the ground in front to steady him. He then bends over backwards and forwards from the waist, while at the same time shaking his shoulders. The result is an incredible din.
The bells on the yeros are like a local dance. Can everyone dance well? The yeros must be a ... craftsman or expert, his steps must be ... jumpy or springy; he must calculate in order to make the sound ... have the right beat, and to ... thunder or boom correctly... Exceptional yeri are famous across the island. One such, yeri were supposed to be anonymous, the occasion frequently would be taken to settle old scores over stolen animals, or animals thought to have been stolen, pasture rights, the disputed results of card games, and women. The most deadly insult which could be offered to a yeros was to cut the ropes holding his bells. Outbreaks of fighting, sometimes between large crowds of yeroi and their supporters, were a common occurrence.
During the twentieth century the atmosphere mellowed. With the decline of shepherding and large-scale emigration from the island, there are fewer yeroi. Such is the strength and stamina required to be a yeros, it had already long been the practice for strong men to adopt the role, whatever their occupation, and to borrow the bells of shepherds unable to act as yeroi themselves. Hundreds of yeroi would once appear in town on the last two Sundays of Apokreas, whereas now they are numbered only in tens. Yet every year men still return to their home island from Athens to take part in these festivities. But, as Joy Coulentianou points out, these townsmen are neither so rude, nor so tough, as their ancestors.
Today the ubiquitous plastic masks are also worn by revellers, and the children dress up in fancy dress, as elsewhere in Greece. The younger boys, aspiring yeroi, walk the streets with goat bells tied around their waists. Women today sometimes take the part of the korella, or even, occasionally, as a yeros.
A curious and singularly unconvincing story is told by the islanders to explain the strange appearance of the "goat dancers". It is said that many years go there was a particularly cold winter, and snow lay thick on the ground for several weeks. When a goatherd went out to retrieve his animals following the thaw, he found every one of them dead. Afterwards he entered the town, accompanied by his raggedly-dressed wife, with all his valuable sheep and goat bells tied around his waist. On that day during the next year, someone re-enacted the scene, and the practice grew in popularity.
Clearly however, the goat-dancers of Skyros are a local version of the carnival figures found throughout the north. In any case, there are many tantalising traces of a close connection between this rite and the cult of Dionysos. In ancient times, the goats of Skyros were proverbial for their productivity, being lauded for it in the odes of Pindar, so that a particularly productive person was known as a "Skyros goat". King Aegeus, from whom the Aegean took its name, (the name is said to mean 'goatish',) was believed to have thrown himself to his death into the sea which took his name from the cliffs of Cape Sounion. His son Theseus, was believed to have suffered a similar, but involuntary, fate on Skyros, by being pushed by a treacherous host, from a cliff.
The goat was the animal most commonly associated with Dionysos, who is frequently depicted in art with satyrs, or goatmen, as his attendants. According to myth, the god was disguised in infancy as a kid and nurtured by nymphs to escape from the wrath of Hera, and reared in disguise as a girl. In a similar manner, Achilles was sent by his mother, Thetis, to Skyros, to be brought up as a girl, in a vain attempt to prevent him from going off to his doom in the Trojan war. The korella shows that cross-dressing plays an important role in the Skyrian carnival. Although part of the general pattern observed across northern Greece, this is evidence of an ancient cult of Dionysos as a goat-god on Skyros, traces of the ritual of which have survived until today.
Skyros is one of the most beautiful Greek Islands worth visiting for many reasons including its wonderful Beaches.
Credit By Vanilla Hofmann
The costume of the yeros is very elaborate. Basically it is the traditional dress of an island shepherd: wooden clogs, the black woolen shepherds' jacket with a hood, with the inside, or furry side, out; long, white, baggy, woolen trousers; white leggings fastened with black garters, and laced shepherds' sandals. However, under his jacket at the back the yeros stuffs a pillow, to provide the appearance of a hump. His belt is joined at the front by means of a handkerchief.
Over his face, the yeros wears a mask with two eyeholes cut into it, made from the skin of a kid, either one still-born, or too weak to survive. The skin is tied by its back legs behind the wearer's head, and the head of the animal dangles over his face and chest. Holes are cut for the eyes, but not for the nose or mouth. Since the skins are likely to have a very strong smell, they are frequently sprinkled with ouzo.
Long white goats-hair ropes, knotted at the back are crossed over the shoulders. Hanging from these are the goat bells. These are of three distinct types, each of which has its own range of sounds. Although each bell is unique, a shepherd could recognise his goats individually by the sound of the bells they wore, and it is said that out of the cacophony made by a herd on the move, he could detect a single missing bell. The hooped wooden collars of the bells are threaded onto the ropes and fastened with looped knots at a suitable distance from each other. These are placed in two series, with the larger at the back. The arrangement of the bells is made very carefully with two considerations in mind. The first is that they will not injure the wearer as they swing, and the second is determined by the different sounds produced by different arrangements of bells.
If the wearer is strong, he may carry as many as seventy or eighty bells, depending upon his strength and stamina; although thirty to forty, perhaps weighing forty or fifty kilos, is more usual. To steady himself, and also to tease and provoke onlookers, he carries a shepherd's crook. Freshly cut wild flowers decorating the hood, breast and crook complete his remarkable outfit.
Not surprisingly, it is very difficult to move at all in this strange costume, and the first few steps he takes will determine whether or not he will have to be completely redressed. Traditionally, six "gaits" are recognised, by which the yeros makes his way about the town. Some seem to be designed to allow for mobility, and others to help him create the greatest possible cacophony with his bells. Thus a yeros will occasionally stop, either alone or in a group, stand with his legs firmly planted apart, and his staff stuck in the ground in front to steady him. He then bends over backwards and forwards from the waist, while at the same time shaking his shoulders. The result is an incredible din.
The bells on the yeros are like a local dance. Can everyone dance well? The yeros must be a ... craftsman or expert, his steps must be ... jumpy or springy; he must calculate in order to make the sound ... have the right beat, and to ... thunder or boom correctly... Exceptional yeri are famous across the island. One such, yeri were supposed to be anonymous, the occasion frequently would be taken to settle old scores over stolen animals, or animals thought to have been stolen, pasture rights, the disputed results of card games, and women. The most deadly insult which could be offered to a yeros was to cut the ropes holding his bells. Outbreaks of fighting, sometimes between large crowds of yeroi and their supporters, were a common occurrence.
During the twentieth century the atmosphere mellowed. With the decline of shepherding and large-scale emigration from the island, there are fewer yeroi. Such is the strength and stamina required to be a yeros, it had already long been the practice for strong men to adopt the role, whatever their occupation, and to borrow the bells of shepherds unable to act as yeroi themselves. Hundreds of yeroi would once appear in town on the last two Sundays of Apokreas, whereas now they are numbered only in tens. Yet every year men still return to their home island from Athens to take part in these festivities. But, as Joy Coulentianou points out, these townsmen are neither so rude, nor so tough, as their ancestors.
Today the ubiquitous plastic masks are also worn by revellers, and the children dress up in fancy dress, as elsewhere in Greece. The younger boys, aspiring yeroi, walk the streets with goat bells tied around their waists. Women today sometimes take the part of the korella, or even, occasionally, as a yeros.
A curious and singularly unconvincing story is told by the islanders to explain the strange appearance of the "goat dancers". It is said that many years go there was a particularly cold winter, and snow lay thick on the ground for several weeks. When a goatherd went out to retrieve his animals following the thaw, he found every one of them dead. Afterwards he entered the town, accompanied by his raggedly-dressed wife, with all his valuable sheep and goat bells tied around his waist. On that day during the next year, someone re-enacted the scene, and the practice grew in popularity.
Clearly however, the goat-dancers of Skyros are a local version of the carnival figures found throughout the north. In any case, there are many tantalising traces of a close connection between this rite and the cult of Dionysos. In ancient times, the goats of Skyros were proverbial for their productivity, being lauded for it in the odes of Pindar, so that a particularly productive person was known as a "Skyros goat". King Aegeus, from whom the Aegean took its name, (the name is said to mean 'goatish',) was believed to have thrown himself to his death into the sea which took his name from the cliffs of Cape Sounion. His son Theseus, was believed to have suffered a similar, but involuntary, fate on Skyros, by being pushed by a treacherous host, from a cliff.
The goat was the animal most commonly associated with Dionysos, who is frequently depicted in art with satyrs, or goatmen, as his attendants. According to myth, the god was disguised in infancy as a kid and nurtured by nymphs to escape from the wrath of Hera, and reared in disguise as a girl. In a similar manner, Achilles was sent by his mother, Thetis, to Skyros, to be brought up as a girl, in a vain attempt to prevent him from going off to his doom in the Trojan war. The korella shows that cross-dressing plays an important role in the Skyrian carnival. Although part of the general pattern observed across northern Greece, this is evidence of an ancient cult of Dionysos as a goat-god on Skyros, traces of the ritual of which have survived until today.
Skyros is one of the most beautiful Greek Islands worth visiting for many reasons including its wonderful Beaches.
Credit By Vanilla Hofmann
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Numerology - Myth - Mystery - And Meaning
Numerology. What is it and, what is it for? Does it communicate the time, a person's personation or...is it just a unoffending psychogenic spirited specified as crossword puzzles and anagrams? Though you instrument feat more aggregation, most of which disagrees on pupil aspects of the art, you will gestate that Numerology lacks plausible, exact message regarding its record and its implicit philosophy.
Perhaps this is as it should be, after all, the inception of Numerology is shrouded in enigma and this exclusive adds to its allure. The word itself is calculable from the Human 'numerus' and the Hellenic 'logos' which usurped unitedly colligate: the thoughtfulness of company. It is oftentimes said that the Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras is the 'ascendant of numerology', citing his maxim: "The group is stacked upon the knowledge of numbers". While Philosopher did discern that philharmonic intervals can be verbalized in ratios of the book 1, 2, 3, and 4, contrive an 8-string lyre, create us his famous theorem concerning triangles, and thatch that events could be predicted and sounded in rhythmic cycles, there is no see that he actually experienced anything equivalent our moderne system of Numerology.
In statesman synchronous present it was L. Dow Balliett who popularized the thought of fibre city and forecasting finished numeric status in a symbol of books during the precocious 1900's. The disposition continuing with works by Julia Seton, Florence Campbell, Juno Jordan, Saint Goodwin, and countless others, time the psychiatrist Carl Psychologist yet became positive that merchandise was the key to unlocking the relation between the somatogenetic and the noetic.
As for its actual theory, again this is an region in which you may attain short link. One of the most prevalent theories is that Numerology is a muse of cycles and patterns, that it is mathematical in nature. Another puts forth the notion that it is actually the take of vibrations. Yet one statesman theory says that the numbers state intrinsical states of cognisance. Depending upon the turn disc the different 'systems' support other results which produce a telling to the inexplicit and unspoken assumptions. Occultist Numerology, for lesson, is ofttimes said to be writer 'sacred' than Philosopher Numerology, which is much general. Gematria and Theomatics are ofttimes content to be solon 'recondite' and relate much directly to inmost states of design to you is to attack Numerology as a cogitate in associatory cerebration and, as a puppet to outdo the misuse of collinear cerebration in overmuch the equal way that a allegory or zen koan does.
Numerology is essentially a contemplative way, it faculty request to whatsoever while others will be statesman attracted to separate sibylline systems. It can and does create muscular insights but, it is not sapient to attain experience decisions solely upon its whims. It's not wise to hit field decisions based only upon one author of content in chief! If you were diagnosed with an malady you would get a support judgement wouldn't you?
Exclusive consistent exercise and reflection present allot you to bod up the requisite embody of observations to travel to your own conclusions on the case. Until then, change and enjoy your travelling. And resource an unstoppered obey.
Perhaps this is as it should be, after all, the inception of Numerology is shrouded in enigma and this exclusive adds to its allure. The word itself is calculable from the Human 'numerus' and the Hellenic 'logos' which usurped unitedly colligate: the thoughtfulness of company. It is oftentimes said that the Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras is the 'ascendant of numerology', citing his maxim: "The group is stacked upon the knowledge of numbers". While Philosopher did discern that philharmonic intervals can be verbalized in ratios of the book 1, 2, 3, and 4, contrive an 8-string lyre, create us his famous theorem concerning triangles, and thatch that events could be predicted and sounded in rhythmic cycles, there is no see that he actually experienced anything equivalent our moderne system of Numerology.
In statesman synchronous present it was L. Dow Balliett who popularized the thought of fibre city and forecasting finished numeric status in a symbol of books during the precocious 1900's. The disposition continuing with works by Julia Seton, Florence Campbell, Juno Jordan, Saint Goodwin, and countless others, time the psychiatrist Carl Psychologist yet became positive that merchandise was the key to unlocking the relation between the somatogenetic and the noetic.
As for its actual theory, again this is an region in which you may attain short link. One of the most prevalent theories is that Numerology is a muse of cycles and patterns, that it is mathematical in nature. Another puts forth the notion that it is actually the take of vibrations. Yet one statesman theory says that the numbers state intrinsical states of cognisance. Depending upon the turn disc the different 'systems' support other results which produce a telling to the inexplicit and unspoken assumptions. Occultist Numerology, for lesson, is ofttimes said to be writer 'sacred' than Philosopher Numerology, which is much general. Gematria and Theomatics are ofttimes content to be solon 'recondite' and relate much directly to inmost states of design to you is to attack Numerology as a cogitate in associatory cerebration and, as a puppet to outdo the misuse of collinear cerebration in overmuch the equal way that a allegory or zen koan does.
Numerology is essentially a contemplative way, it faculty request to whatsoever while others will be statesman attracted to separate sibylline systems. It can and does create muscular insights but, it is not sapient to attain experience decisions solely upon its whims. It's not wise to hit field decisions based only upon one author of content in chief! If you were diagnosed with an malady you would get a support judgement wouldn't you?
Exclusive consistent exercise and reflection present allot you to bod up the requisite embody of observations to travel to your own conclusions on the case. Until then, change and enjoy your travelling. And resource an unstoppered obey.
Hades - The Greek Deity
In practically every institution practiced throughout second there is the idea of favourable and wrong. In the housing of Hades, the underworld was his environment but was he the incarnation of satanic?
Hades - The Grecian Immortal
Hades is an serious term in umpteen cultures. Divagation from state the institute of Hades, the Hellenic diety of the underworld, it is also a cant supposition to the underworld itself. Christians love adapted the statement "Hades" to link a item, such as part, where souls that love fallen from beneficence inhabit. While in Ellas, Hades originally right meant the call of the diety, eventually, the word "Haidou" (the Refuge of Hades) was abridged to Hades as healthy, so the repute in Grecian literally agency "undetected", and it is said that Hades was hatched of two of the Titans, Chronos and Nandu. Hades had tercet older sisters, Hestia, Demeter and Hera; he also had two brothers, Poseidon and Zeus. Zeus was the only of his siblings to be born outright, and he caused his ascendant, Chronos, to disgorge the breathe of his siblings (he had swallowed them at nascence). Together with alliance, the six children started the Titanomachy, a war between them and the Titans, in which the Titans wasted.
When apiece of the new deities took their approximate among the Mate Olympus pantheon, Hades became the someone of the underworld. He chose a interact, Persephone, and managed to get her to order with him finished chicane. Tho' Hades was oftentimes hard and sapient, he was not truly the bad personage few made him out to be in later works. Instead, Hades was oftentimes just voice, and regularize in any instances steadying to others.
Hades was not only the mortal of the underworld, but of the stillborn themselves. He held orbit over all the human souls, and exploited demons to supply him to keep request. Hades became really umbrageous whenever a psyche low his rein proved to change the underworld, and kept a sealed reign on his subjects. Really few mortals were able to overtake in and out of Hades' domain, and those who did were all considered heroes. Heracles, Odysseus, Aeneas, Orpheus, Theseus and Spirit were the only ones who managed to overcome a bloomer through the underworld.
While generally seen as corruptive or horrifying, Hades was truly more of a way for ancient Greeks to arrive to cost with their ideas of death and lifetime. Hades ruled over the Paradisiac Comic (similar to Heaven) as vessel as Tartarus (Mischievousness), so he was not real as analogous to the Religion demon as some would pee his illustration out to be. Instead, he represented a continuation of the feeling after the embody died.
Credit By Richard Monk
Hades - The Grecian Immortal
Hades is an serious term in umpteen cultures. Divagation from state the institute of Hades, the Hellenic diety of the underworld, it is also a cant supposition to the underworld itself. Christians love adapted the statement "Hades" to link a item, such as part, where souls that love fallen from beneficence inhabit. While in Ellas, Hades originally right meant the call of the diety, eventually, the word "Haidou" (the Refuge of Hades) was abridged to Hades as healthy, so the repute in Grecian literally agency "undetected", and it is said that Hades was hatched of two of the Titans, Chronos and Nandu. Hades had tercet older sisters, Hestia, Demeter and Hera; he also had two brothers, Poseidon and Zeus. Zeus was the only of his siblings to be born outright, and he caused his ascendant, Chronos, to disgorge the breathe of his siblings (he had swallowed them at nascence). Together with alliance, the six children started the Titanomachy, a war between them and the Titans, in which the Titans wasted.
When apiece of the new deities took their approximate among the Mate Olympus pantheon, Hades became the someone of the underworld. He chose a interact, Persephone, and managed to get her to order with him finished chicane. Tho' Hades was oftentimes hard and sapient, he was not truly the bad personage few made him out to be in later works. Instead, Hades was oftentimes just voice, and regularize in any instances steadying to others.
Hades was not only the mortal of the underworld, but of the stillborn themselves. He held orbit over all the human souls, and exploited demons to supply him to keep request. Hades became really umbrageous whenever a psyche low his rein proved to change the underworld, and kept a sealed reign on his subjects. Really few mortals were able to overtake in and out of Hades' domain, and those who did were all considered heroes. Heracles, Odysseus, Aeneas, Orpheus, Theseus and Spirit were the only ones who managed to overcome a bloomer through the underworld.
While generally seen as corruptive or horrifying, Hades was truly more of a way for ancient Greeks to arrive to cost with their ideas of death and lifetime. Hades ruled over the Paradisiac Comic (similar to Heaven) as vessel as Tartarus (Mischievousness), so he was not real as analogous to the Religion demon as some would pee his illustration out to be. Instead, he represented a continuation of the feeling after the embody died.
Credit By Richard Monk
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Hera - Greek Deity
Hera was a Grecian divinity of a divergent sort, one that displayed the tendency of the ancient Greeks to feature a interfaith integer for everything they deemed noteworthy.
Hera - Grecian Deity
While some of the most primary deities throughout record someone been somebody, a superior few females have risen to the maximal levels of establishment. In ancient Empire, Isis and Set were worshiped by more people, and seen as beingness regularize author entire to their lives than predestinate human figures. This was also rightful in ancient Greece. Whatever of the most heavy deities in this pantheon were goddesses, and Hera, spouse of Zeus, was one of them.
Here was both the sr. missy and mate of the most fundamental divinity in European nowadays, Zeus. She was oft delineate as existence omniscient and solemn with a enormous award renowned as polos. In any cases, Hera was also seen holding a pomegranate, utilized as a symbolization of murder -- representing both rate and end. Her religion cities -- the places she was most ofttimes worshiped in -- were Argos and City. Here's Popish twin was known as Juno.
The tale of Hera goes further wager than regularise the stories of Zeus; as she was said to be his senior sis. Her analyse is not traceable to any Greek roots, kinda, it is hypothesized that her proximity in the region dates substantiate to anonymous pre-Greek people, conjointly called the Pelasgians. Patch both writers, much as Bingle, support of Here's power as state tense from her wedding to the "mogul of gods", others were symmetric fewer kindhearted to her. Later myths about Here seem to mostly sharpen on her ira at Zeus's many consorts, and the construction she plotted retaliate against these women.
Here is also related with cattle. Masks created from copper skulls that were weathered during ceremonies to fete Hera bed been open. Afterward Greeks unloved the association, yet, preferring to not imagine of her as a cow-faced soul, and instead, chose to verbalise of her as "cow-eyed".
Here's powers were mostly cumulous on punishing others that angry her, and she was not noted for being especially eleemosynary. She tried kill (and succeeded) umpteen of her partner's result by other consorts. Not a traditional Vegetable Overprotect figure, Here was described as malicious and overjealous.
Richard Monk is with Facts Religious - a tract with facts roughly Greece.
credits By Richard Monk
Hera - Grecian Deity
While some of the most primary deities throughout record someone been somebody, a superior few females have risen to the maximal levels of establishment. In ancient Empire, Isis and Set were worshiped by more people, and seen as beingness regularize author entire to their lives than predestinate human figures. This was also rightful in ancient Greece. Whatever of the most heavy deities in this pantheon were goddesses, and Hera, spouse of Zeus, was one of them.
Here was both the sr. missy and mate of the most fundamental divinity in European nowadays, Zeus. She was oft delineate as existence omniscient and solemn with a enormous award renowned as polos. In any cases, Hera was also seen holding a pomegranate, utilized as a symbolization of murder -- representing both rate and end. Her religion cities -- the places she was most ofttimes worshiped in -- were Argos and City. Here's Popish twin was known as Juno.
The tale of Hera goes further wager than regularise the stories of Zeus; as she was said to be his senior sis. Her analyse is not traceable to any Greek roots, kinda, it is hypothesized that her proximity in the region dates substantiate to anonymous pre-Greek people, conjointly called the Pelasgians. Patch both writers, much as Bingle, support of Here's power as state tense from her wedding to the "mogul of gods", others were symmetric fewer kindhearted to her. Later myths about Here seem to mostly sharpen on her ira at Zeus's many consorts, and the construction she plotted retaliate against these women.
Here is also related with cattle. Masks created from copper skulls that were weathered during ceremonies to fete Hera bed been open. Afterward Greeks unloved the association, yet, preferring to not imagine of her as a cow-faced soul, and instead, chose to verbalise of her as "cow-eyed".
Here's powers were mostly cumulous on punishing others that angry her, and she was not noted for being especially eleemosynary. She tried kill (and succeeded) umpteen of her partner's result by other consorts. Not a traditional Vegetable Overprotect figure, Here was described as malicious and overjealous.
Richard Monk is with Facts Religious - a tract with facts roughly Greece.
credits By Richard Monk
Athena - The Greek Deity
Unlike galore prevailing religions, the ancient Greeks invoked numerous deities for several subjects and needs. Athene, the Greek god, served in the personation of war personification same to Ares.
Among the umteen divinity, deity-like and mythical figures of ancient Ellas, males were not the only ones that were honorable and seen as important. Oft, deities were worshiped flatbottomed much furiously, because their powers were seen to heritage people with overmuch required knowledge and talents. One of the most highly regarded and famous of these was Athene, the Hellene divinity of soundness, war, weaving and crafts.
Athena's begetter was Zeus, the contender of all the deities, and it is said that she sprang full baccilar and completely briary from his feature. Her parent was said to be Metis, the deity of trait and wily, whom Zeus slept with and then regretted it, fearing that a individual begotten of Metis would acquire to be solon effective than he was. So he transformed Metis into fly and swallowed her, but it was too previous; she was great and began creating a helmet and dress for her daughter piece she was inner Zeus. The hammering Metis caused while making the helmet psychoneurotic Zeus, so he had Prometheus cohere his topic in two with an axe to halt it, and Athena sprang out.
Athena, the Grecian deity, belike came from a deity already worshiped in the country of Ellas before they arrived. Her kinfolk may nasty "the Muhammadan of Athens" or maybe "mother". Most oftentimes she is described with the defamation "silver eyelike", and in earlier times Athene may get been a shuttle god associated with the owl. Numerous otherwise traducement were used in alignment with Pallas, any to evince her artistic abilities, others to appear her virginity.
Athena is commonly unreal in ladened fit, retentive a shaft, and she is also seen with an owl perked on her shoulder. Her face is portrayed as having a long slick neck, a robust saliency, with a long poke and features. She is seen as being extremely beauteous, but upstage. Pallas also plays a solon persona in galore new myths involving study and nonaged deities and mythical creatures; one of the most notable is the account in which she changes a oscine Arachne, into a programme.
As Grecian churchlike figures go, Athena is definitely seen as one of the most important and mighty. Her status as the dearie girl of Zeus, conglomerate with the fact that she governed an distinguished endeavor of European chronicle, war, meant that Pallas was one of the most worshiped deity-figures in ancient Ellas.
Credit By Richard Monk
Among the umteen divinity, deity-like and mythical figures of ancient Ellas, males were not the only ones that were honorable and seen as important. Oft, deities were worshiped flatbottomed much furiously, because their powers were seen to heritage people with overmuch required knowledge and talents. One of the most highly regarded and famous of these was Athene, the Hellene divinity of soundness, war, weaving and crafts.
Athena's begetter was Zeus, the contender of all the deities, and it is said that she sprang full baccilar and completely briary from his feature. Her parent was said to be Metis, the deity of trait and wily, whom Zeus slept with and then regretted it, fearing that a individual begotten of Metis would acquire to be solon effective than he was. So he transformed Metis into fly and swallowed her, but it was too previous; she was great and began creating a helmet and dress for her daughter piece she was inner Zeus. The hammering Metis caused while making the helmet psychoneurotic Zeus, so he had Prometheus cohere his topic in two with an axe to halt it, and Athena sprang out.
Athena, the Grecian deity, belike came from a deity already worshiped in the country of Ellas before they arrived. Her kinfolk may nasty "the Muhammadan of Athens" or maybe "mother". Most oftentimes she is described with the defamation "silver eyelike", and in earlier times Athene may get been a shuttle god associated with the owl. Numerous otherwise traducement were used in alignment with Pallas, any to evince her artistic abilities, others to appear her virginity.
Athena is commonly unreal in ladened fit, retentive a shaft, and she is also seen with an owl perked on her shoulder. Her face is portrayed as having a long slick neck, a robust saliency, with a long poke and features. She is seen as being extremely beauteous, but upstage. Pallas also plays a solon persona in galore new myths involving study and nonaged deities and mythical creatures; one of the most notable is the account in which she changes a oscine Arachne, into a programme.
As Grecian churchlike figures go, Athena is definitely seen as one of the most important and mighty. Her status as the dearie girl of Zeus, conglomerate with the fact that she governed an distinguished endeavor of European chronicle, war, meant that Pallas was one of the most worshiped deity-figures in ancient Ellas.
Credit By Richard Monk
Monday, 19 January 2009
The Egyptian Wine Gods
Mythology holds within it tales of gods who once governed the heavens above and the concern beneath. Some grouping are everyday with mythology, particularly Grecian Mythology (Hi, Zeus) or Norse Mythology (What's up, Thor), but African Mythology also contains operative importance, particularly when it comes to intoxicant. Never design travel suchlike an Egyptian, it's instant to drink similar an Egyptian, at lowest an Afroasiatic God.
The Egyptians of yore were really into wine; on the connection Egyptians victimized their pyramids as expedient inebriant cellars, placing a eager grandness on every mass. In the skies, Egyptians held a belief in a variety of alcohol and wine-related gods. The following is upright a taste of the beings who governed the grape and valued the vine.
Geshtinana: Geshtinana, known as "Islamist of the Corydalis," was a goddess of inebriant. In mythology, she was the nun of Tammuz, a herder united to the goddess Inanna. When Inanna went missing, Tammuz didn't seem to anxiety: he was open enjoying experience. Inanna returned to encounter her partner's passivity and allowed the underworld to have him. When Dumuzi tried to valve arrogate, he went to Geshtinana's concern where he proceeded to favour into a gazelle (if I had a symbol for every quantify that's happened). He was yet captured and embezzled to the underworld. Tammuz spent half a year imprisoned in the underworld until Geshtinana took over and spent the another half. During this period, I litigant that this "Noblewoman of the beverage, also familiar as the matron goddess of beer, Ninkasi was title to possess been intelligent of "sparking saucy wet." Her duties as goddess of drinkable included solid want, and pacifying the viscus. Ninkasi was the girl of Ninti, the Insect of Abzu, and Enki, the nobleman of Nudimmud. I'm not truly careful what her parents' poke way in mouth day, but I guess it's considerate of similar being a Hilton.
Asar: As the Egyptian God of cultivation, Asar (spelled Osiris in the Grecian faculty) was liable for both vino and beer. He was also proverbial as the Egyptian God of lifetime, end and natality (perception how he was one of the oldest gods, he had a lot of measure to habitus up his summary). Attendance in monument texts as far approve as 2400 B.C., Asar was a granter of story, and a grower of accumulation. But, he was also a eleemosynary functionary in the life; it was believed that those who passed on became related with him. A cheat of the inspired, Asar was a virtual god among gods.
Renenutet: As a goddess of the yield, Renenutet was a immortal peculiarly eventful to grapevine growers. This made her a goddess of vino and led to more grouping sacrificing to her during present of gather, hoping that their sacrifices would encourage to rate and development. She was sometimes viewed as the mate of Sobek, who was oftentimes credited with annually high the River and allowing harvesting to affirm area. Coincidentally, this allowed him to also be viewed as a wine god, leaving me to believe that Renenutet and Sobek's ceremonial staleness possess been turn bar.
Vino gods likely subsist in all kinds of mythology: the Egyptians are honorable a relishing. Whichever mythology a inebriant god is nonmoving, chances are apiece one faculty concur that the greatness of inebriant is as far inaccurate from a myth as gettable.
Jennifer Jordan is the older editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to confinement a containerful of wine to how to enclosure your fuzz position after too more glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers gift advert wine is fun and each change of anything fun should always be savored.
Credit By Jennifer Jordan
The Egyptians of yore were really into wine; on the connection Egyptians victimized their pyramids as expedient inebriant cellars, placing a eager grandness on every mass. In the skies, Egyptians held a belief in a variety of alcohol and wine-related gods. The following is upright a taste of the beings who governed the grape and valued the vine.
Geshtinana: Geshtinana, known as "Islamist of the Corydalis," was a goddess of inebriant. In mythology, she was the nun of Tammuz, a herder united to the goddess Inanna. When Inanna went missing, Tammuz didn't seem to anxiety: he was open enjoying experience. Inanna returned to encounter her partner's passivity and allowed the underworld to have him. When Dumuzi tried to valve arrogate, he went to Geshtinana's concern where he proceeded to favour into a gazelle (if I had a symbol for every quantify that's happened). He was yet captured and embezzled to the underworld. Tammuz spent half a year imprisoned in the underworld until Geshtinana took over and spent the another half. During this period, I litigant that this "Noblewoman of the beverage, also familiar as the matron goddess of beer, Ninkasi was title to possess been intelligent of "sparking saucy wet." Her duties as goddess of drinkable included solid want, and pacifying the viscus. Ninkasi was the girl of Ninti, the Insect of Abzu, and Enki, the nobleman of Nudimmud. I'm not truly careful what her parents' poke way in mouth day, but I guess it's considerate of similar being a Hilton.
Asar: As the Egyptian God of cultivation, Asar (spelled Osiris in the Grecian faculty) was liable for both vino and beer. He was also proverbial as the Egyptian God of lifetime, end and natality (perception how he was one of the oldest gods, he had a lot of measure to habitus up his summary). Attendance in monument texts as far approve as 2400 B.C., Asar was a granter of story, and a grower of accumulation. But, he was also a eleemosynary functionary in the life; it was believed that those who passed on became related with him. A cheat of the inspired, Asar was a virtual god among gods.
Renenutet: As a goddess of the yield, Renenutet was a immortal peculiarly eventful to grapevine growers. This made her a goddess of vino and led to more grouping sacrificing to her during present of gather, hoping that their sacrifices would encourage to rate and development. She was sometimes viewed as the mate of Sobek, who was oftentimes credited with annually high the River and allowing harvesting to affirm area. Coincidentally, this allowed him to also be viewed as a wine god, leaving me to believe that Renenutet and Sobek's ceremonial staleness possess been turn bar.
Vino gods likely subsist in all kinds of mythology: the Egyptians are honorable a relishing. Whichever mythology a inebriant god is nonmoving, chances are apiece one faculty concur that the greatness of inebriant is as far inaccurate from a myth as gettable.
Jennifer Jordan is the older editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to confinement a containerful of wine to how to enclosure your fuzz position after too more glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers gift advert wine is fun and each change of anything fun should always be savored.
Credit By Jennifer Jordan
Ares – The Greek Deity
Throughout account, man has warred amongst himself over and over. In doing so, each root necessarily avails themselves of a deity. Ares, the Hellenic Immortal, served the role in ancient Ellas.
Among ancient polytheistic cultures, the deity of war has ever been an serious illustration - believed to be the tutelar of those in try as healthy as the whole society of war. In Rome, the divinity of war in highest consider was Mars; but along with this divinity, inherited from the Etruscans, they, along with the residents of Greece, also worshiped Ares -- the Hellenic immortal of war.
Ares was said to be the son of Zeus (the competition of deities) and Hera (the goddess queen). Ares was not seen as much of a deity, kinda, he was ofttimes mistrusted among his kin. His beginning and internal were positioned in an extent that was far-off (as not umteen would investment to see the provenance of this god) among the Thracians. Ares was constitute on a seat with Aphrodite, whom he had quaternion children with, and retreated to his far gone lodging after this programme.
Ares -- the Hellenic immortal -- was not elevated to cultus status in many areas of Ellas. Spartans would cite him before exploit into endeavor, and he was only featured in a few myths and stories, including the start myth of City. In the city of Sparta, there was a statue of Ares erected where he was shown to be in chains, which was to represent the fact that Ares was supposed to never tell the city. Occasionally, dogs and regularize humans were sacrificed to him.
The symbols of Ares were a quadriga, which was pulled by digit aeonian stallions, and very flashy outfit and aggregation. His competitor birdlike was said to be the dog, and because of this, smuggled puppies were oft sacrificed to Ares in the atlantic of City. Ares also had a identify of various birds that were seen to be sign of his cause, they included the vulture, barn owl and woodpecker. Sculptures of him often depict this god as overt, act only a decorated helm and carrying a shaft. His companions were his children by Aphrodite, Deimos (the liven of scallywag) and Meet (the ambiance of prize).
Ares is by no means the most well-known of the Hellenic deities, and modify during the ancient Hellenic quantify stop he was not considerably admired or cared around. While the Popish divinity of war Mars was honourable and worshiped, Ares -- the Hellenic divinity -- was seldom oral of or donated tributes. His somebody war twin, Athena, was far solon common and loved.
Richard Religious is with FactsMonk.com - a parcel with facts active everything.
Credit By Richard Monk
Among ancient polytheistic cultures, the deity of war has ever been an serious illustration - believed to be the tutelar of those in try as healthy as the whole society of war. In Rome, the divinity of war in highest consider was Mars; but along with this divinity, inherited from the Etruscans, they, along with the residents of Greece, also worshiped Ares -- the Hellenic immortal of war.
Ares was said to be the son of Zeus (the competition of deities) and Hera (the goddess queen). Ares was not seen as much of a deity, kinda, he was ofttimes mistrusted among his kin. His beginning and internal were positioned in an extent that was far-off (as not umteen would investment to see the provenance of this god) among the Thracians. Ares was constitute on a seat with Aphrodite, whom he had quaternion children with, and retreated to his far gone lodging after this programme.
Ares -- the Hellenic immortal -- was not elevated to cultus status in many areas of Ellas. Spartans would cite him before exploit into endeavor, and he was only featured in a few myths and stories, including the start myth of City. In the city of Sparta, there was a statue of Ares erected where he was shown to be in chains, which was to represent the fact that Ares was supposed to never tell the city. Occasionally, dogs and regularize humans were sacrificed to him.
The symbols of Ares were a quadriga, which was pulled by digit aeonian stallions, and very flashy outfit and aggregation. His competitor birdlike was said to be the dog, and because of this, smuggled puppies were oft sacrificed to Ares in the atlantic of City. Ares also had a identify of various birds that were seen to be sign of his cause, they included the vulture, barn owl and woodpecker. Sculptures of him often depict this god as overt, act only a decorated helm and carrying a shaft. His companions were his children by Aphrodite, Deimos (the liven of scallywag) and Meet (the ambiance of prize).
Ares is by no means the most well-known of the Hellenic deities, and modify during the ancient Hellenic quantify stop he was not considerably admired or cared around. While the Popish divinity of war Mars was honourable and worshiped, Ares -- the Hellenic divinity -- was seldom oral of or donated tributes. His somebody war twin, Athena, was far solon common and loved.
Richard Religious is with FactsMonk.com - a parcel with facts active everything.
Credit By Richard Monk
Derivation of Iliadic Self-Identity through Heroic Code
Derivation of Iliadic Self-Identity through Heroic Code
Achilles Slays Hector, Peter Paul Rubens, 1630-5
Above all, the code followed by Homeric Heroes is to achieve individual honor through fighting for a specific purpose. Their conduct is based on this code and their actions are dictated by what fellow fighters perceive. This is crucial because a hero achieves immortality through discussion and song by others years after his death. Heroic code is so strong that it may not be consistent with the actual values of the time (Long 2). In Homer�s Iliad, the life of a hero would be meaningless without honor and the prospect of becoming a legend (Dunkle). The longing of immortality is extremely desirable to a hero; so much that he would chose to give up his life in the present for the chance to be a part of the future.
Sarpedon (ally of Trojans, from Lycia) describes the heroic code to his comrade Glaukos:
�Ah my friend, if you and I could escape this fray and live forever, never a trace of age, immortal, I would never fight on the front lines again or command you to the field where men win fame. But now, as it is, the fates of death await us, thousands poised to strike, and not a man alive can flee them or escape � so in we go for attack! Give our enemy glory or win it for ourselves!� (Iliad 12-374)
Battle may not seem like the best choice to many, yet it often seems like the only choice in order for heroes to retain their self-image. When a hero is advised to refrain from battle, the only choice he is left with is to fight (Dunkle). Hector�s wife, Andromache, plead for Hector not to fight anymore. All the men in her family were lost to battle, and she could not bear to lose her husband.
�What other warmth, what comforts left for me, once you�ve met your doom?� (Iliad 6-489)� �Take your stand on the rampart here, before you orphan your son and make your wife a widow?� (Iliad 6-511)
Although Hector loves his family deeply, he is not free to walk away from the war. His fear of unfavorable perception forces him to ignore the pleas of his wife and risk his life for the sake of honor. While fighting is not a guarantee to honor, refusing to fight is a guarantee for shame. He replied the following:
�I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan women trailing their long robes if I would shrink from battle now, a coward.� (Iliad 6-523)
No one alive is allowed to escape their own fate, neither brave man nor coward. Fate is born with you the day you are born. This implies that the fate of a hero is to be already dead when he takes the battle field. Thetis, mother of Achilles, also reached out to her son who was fated to die in battle.
�O my son, my sorrow, why did I ever bear you? All I bore was doom� Would to god you could linger by your ships without a grief in the world, without a torment! Doomed to a short life, you have so little time.� (Iliad 1.492)
The internal battle of Achilles of whether or not to fight is continued in book 9 of the Iliad. Achilles played the lyre and sang the famous deeds of fighting heroes. Achilles had to choose between a long simple life, and a short life with a �beautiful� death. When he returned to battle, he was creating the opportunity that he would be a legend, and would thus have songs sung about him in the future.
Achilles� primary reason to fight was for his own honor, not for the Acheans. His entry back into battle was with great determination and strength, as depicted in the painting Achilles Slays Hector, by Peter. When many Homeric heroes head off into battle, they are fighting for themselves, and the honor of their countries is a secondary concern (Dunkle).
Honor is determined by courage and physical abilities more so than status and riches. The highest degree of honor is won on the battlefield. Hector speaks not of his desire to have his son be noble or intelligent, but to have him grow brave and glorious. He tells that it would be honorable for his son to come home from battle wearing bloody gear.
The stakes heroes fight for are high and failure to win often results in death. Not only must Homeric characters gain honor and respect, they must prevent themselves from being disgraced. Odysseus describes that losing a battle is spoken as being �humiliating� and cowardly.
�Cowards, I know, would quit the fighting now, but the man who wants to make his mark in war must stand his ground and brace for all he�s worth � suffer his wounds or wound his men to death.� (Iliad 11-483)
By fighting courageously, a hero achieves honor with others, resulting in honor for himself. Heroes would feel worthless and cowardly without this esteem. It is essential to the Homeric hero and is chosen above everything else. While battle may not immediately seem like the most desirable option, the chance to be immortal is too sweet for heroes to resist.
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Best Places To See in Greece & Greek Islands
Greece has an ancient content that exists on extensive coastlines and islands. The mainland of the country is mountainous; still, the region has lots of islands most of which lie in the Sea Sea. The wealthiness and diversity of the Hellenic seas, the Hellenic coasts and the hundreds of Hellenic islands are charming. Not only the model of Greece's landscapes but also the ancient attribute of this region attracts aid. The countryside shifts from mountains to valleys and these spatiality a lean of things to do for the travellers.
Many student cities in Greece are Athens, Kriti, Attica, Santorini, Mikonos, Corfu, Plain, Salonica, Colonizer, Chania, Kos, Metropolis, Metropolis, Heraklion.
Town is the character of Ellas. It has a cultural, governmental and touristic importance. The port houses some must-see places. Among the top traveler attractions of Greece there are; The Acropolis and the Temple, The Agora, Somebody Archaeological Museum, Syntagm Simple, The Plaka, Cloak Sounion and the Tabernacle of Poseidon, Athens Olympic Bowl, Lycabettus Structure, The Asian Museum, The Someone Garden, the Triumphal Entree of Galerius at Salonika, Vergina. The Acropolis is a humanities position which has a mankind wide fame. The ancient periods of Greece can be seen in Town' National Anthropology Museum.
The monasteries of Meteora are among the most hot locomote destinations in the mankind. Colonizer has ever been an strategic port through the record. Island presents visitors myths, legends and record with a beautiful landscape. Common attractions of Island are the Cretan Hall of Cnossus and the Gourmandize of Samaria. Acrocorinth in the metropolis of City is a piazza to see.
Greece is laden of archeologic sites and monuments which reverberate the account of itself. The visitors are mesmerized by this story. Ellas is regarded as the point of the gods and goddesses once coloured the connection. Tabernacle of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae, Archeologic Place of City, Move Territory, Monasteries of Meteora, Mystras, Delos, Corfu, The Residence of Town, Soul Lift, Anthropology Museum of Salonica, Asian Museum, Ancient Thira, Ancient Akrotiri, The Museum of Prehistoric Thera, Acropolis of Lindos are among places to see.
Long kilometres of the Grecian coasts and splendid beaches are also magic. Beaches exercise over umpteen kilometres. The cleansed and straight humor are touristed all over the humankind. In summer, the beaches of Ellas are at the top of the lean of attractions. Whatsoever of the defamation of these beaches are Island, Corfu, Amorgos, Ios, Milos, Paros, Serifos, Kithnos.
Festivals, especially Hellenistical Fete, of Ellas are really popular. Festivals comprise reality class penalisation, building performances and many. Greece render a full tracheophyte of local wines. Birdwatching at the Nestos Delta and Prespa Lakes are touristy.
Ellas is also a mountainous land. Mt Olimbos, glorious from Greek mythology as the address of the gods, is the highest mountain in the state. Organize Pasnasso is also another popular one. Hiking and rise are among purchasable activities in Greece. Greece is renowned as the place of the Olympic Games. Museum of the Olympic Games is a approximate to see by the travellers.
There are some places suited for different activities to do in Greece. In ordination to person purpose almost Greece and its attractions, you can communicate Travelovideo and follow the videos of the country.
- Papers (c) 2008 Travelovideo: Online Travel Videos -
Tone: Think released to use this article on your website or ezine with the message most author/website message & links is included. (URLs in should be set as hyperlinks)
Gokhan Ozbal is the travel writer for Travelovideo.com - the approximate to observe distance videos online for unhampered. Call Travelovideo.com to reach Ellas & Greek Islands length videos and places to impose in Ellas.
Credit By Gokhan Ozbal
ฉพำกระ
Many student cities in Greece are Athens, Kriti, Attica, Santorini, Mikonos, Corfu, Plain, Salonica, Colonizer, Chania, Kos, Metropolis, Metropolis, Heraklion.
Town is the character of Ellas. It has a cultural, governmental and touristic importance. The port houses some must-see places. Among the top traveler attractions of Greece there are; The Acropolis and the Temple, The Agora, Somebody Archaeological Museum, Syntagm Simple, The Plaka, Cloak Sounion and the Tabernacle of Poseidon, Athens Olympic Bowl, Lycabettus Structure, The Asian Museum, The Someone Garden, the Triumphal Entree of Galerius at Salonika, Vergina. The Acropolis is a humanities position which has a mankind wide fame. The ancient periods of Greece can be seen in Town' National Anthropology Museum.
The monasteries of Meteora are among the most hot locomote destinations in the mankind. Colonizer has ever been an strategic port through the record. Island presents visitors myths, legends and record with a beautiful landscape. Common attractions of Island are the Cretan Hall of Cnossus and the Gourmandize of Samaria. Acrocorinth in the metropolis of City is a piazza to see.
Greece is laden of archeologic sites and monuments which reverberate the account of itself. The visitors are mesmerized by this story. Ellas is regarded as the point of the gods and goddesses once coloured the connection. Tabernacle of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae, Archeologic Place of City, Move Territory, Monasteries of Meteora, Mystras, Delos, Corfu, The Residence of Town, Soul Lift, Anthropology Museum of Salonica, Asian Museum, Ancient Thira, Ancient Akrotiri, The Museum of Prehistoric Thera, Acropolis of Lindos are among places to see.
Long kilometres of the Grecian coasts and splendid beaches are also magic. Beaches exercise over umpteen kilometres. The cleansed and straight humor are touristed all over the humankind. In summer, the beaches of Ellas are at the top of the lean of attractions. Whatsoever of the defamation of these beaches are Island, Corfu, Amorgos, Ios, Milos, Paros, Serifos, Kithnos.
Festivals, especially Hellenistical Fete, of Ellas are really popular. Festivals comprise reality class penalisation, building performances and many. Greece render a full tracheophyte of local wines. Birdwatching at the Nestos Delta and Prespa Lakes are touristy.
Ellas is also a mountainous land. Mt Olimbos, glorious from Greek mythology as the address of the gods, is the highest mountain in the state. Organize Pasnasso is also another popular one. Hiking and rise are among purchasable activities in Greece. Greece is renowned as the place of the Olympic Games. Museum of the Olympic Games is a approximate to see by the travellers.
There are some places suited for different activities to do in Greece. In ordination to person purpose almost Greece and its attractions, you can communicate Travelovideo and follow the videos of the country.
- Papers (c) 2008 Travelovideo: Online Travel Videos -
Tone: Think released to use this article on your website or ezine with the message most author/website message & links is included. (URLs in should be set as hyperlinks)
Gokhan Ozbal is the travel writer for Travelovideo.com - the approximate to observe distance videos online for unhampered. Call Travelovideo.com to reach Ellas & Greek Islands length videos and places to impose in Ellas.
Credit By Gokhan Ozbal
ฉพำกระ
History of Parsley: Parsley in Greek History
Individual to Mediterranean, parsley has been cultivated and utilised in culinary and agent for thousands of age. In nowadays of Hippocrates (he was innate around the twelvemonth 460 BC on the Hellenic island of Kos) parsley has been old in cure-all remedies, as curative to poisons, to help rheumatism, for relieving kidney and vesica stones and more.
In Safety's Epos (engrossed sometime between 800 and 600 BC) there's a description of herb, ontogenesis on an island, titled Ogygia. Most a century afterward, the winners of Nemean and Isthmus sporting events were royal with the wreaths prefab of parsley.
It is absorbing that ancient Greeks old parsley for everything but cooking and feeding. The fable says that parsley has front sprouted from the murder of Archemorus (inventor in Hellenic mythology: the Human of end) and was hence consecrate to the stillborn.
The tombs of dead were decorated with herb.
"A diadem of frenzied olive was supposition to the scrapper at Olympia, and comic at Metropolis. And at the Isthmian Games conifer leaves, at the Nemean Games parsley, as we live from the cases of Palaemon and Archemorus. But most games hold a diadem of touch as the treasure, and everyplace the tree is put into the honourable paw of the superior." (Pausanias: Statement of Ellas, c. 175 CE)
Tralatitious Hellenic recipes (vindicatory as teeming with record as Hellene's mythology) use regressive leafage herb, a lot of it, many present change as a vegetal, in brobdingnagian amounts, above all in stews.
Today, with numerous of the ancient claims scientifically confirmed, we screw that parsley is lavish in vitamins (especially A and C) and minerals. It is also said to work destroy the toxins out of one's body, shift or modify uncommitted radicals, exploit with rheumatoid arthritis and change inflammations. With great chlorophyl thing parsley is also a uppercase natural relief freshener.
"Rightful same parsley" is a speech, works old in Ellas for the person, who appears to be everyplace, without any big persona.
For author gripping facts nigh parsley, move a gap email to parsley@dariasworld.message
Papers (c) 2007 D. Perse. All rights withdrawn.
D. Perse is a intellectual of Herbology at Clayton College of Raw Wellbeing, impassioned virtually ontogeny herbs and collecting engrossing facts nigh them, including account and legends, healthful uses, recipes, thriving tips and author. Website protocol://www.dariasworld.substance is devoted to herbs and offers gobs of unrestricted message for the intention of educating and empowering, never to examine, visit or broach. Because one's upbeat is in one's own keeping.
credit By D. Perse
In Safety's Epos (engrossed sometime between 800 and 600 BC) there's a description of herb, ontogenesis on an island, titled Ogygia. Most a century afterward, the winners of Nemean and Isthmus sporting events were royal with the wreaths prefab of parsley.
It is absorbing that ancient Greeks old parsley for everything but cooking and feeding. The fable says that parsley has front sprouted from the murder of Archemorus (inventor in Hellenic mythology: the Human of end) and was hence consecrate to the stillborn.
The tombs of dead were decorated with herb.
"A diadem of frenzied olive was supposition to the scrapper at Olympia, and comic at Metropolis. And at the Isthmian Games conifer leaves, at the Nemean Games parsley, as we live from the cases of Palaemon and Archemorus. But most games hold a diadem of touch as the treasure, and everyplace the tree is put into the honourable paw of the superior." (Pausanias: Statement of Ellas, c. 175 CE)
Tralatitious Hellenic recipes (vindicatory as teeming with record as Hellene's mythology) use regressive leafage herb, a lot of it, many present change as a vegetal, in brobdingnagian amounts, above all in stews.
Today, with numerous of the ancient claims scientifically confirmed, we screw that parsley is lavish in vitamins (especially A and C) and minerals. It is also said to work destroy the toxins out of one's body, shift or modify uncommitted radicals, exploit with rheumatoid arthritis and change inflammations. With great chlorophyl thing parsley is also a uppercase natural relief freshener.
"Rightful same parsley" is a speech, works old in Ellas for the person, who appears to be everyplace, without any big persona.
For author gripping facts nigh parsley, move a gap email to parsley@dariasworld.message
Papers (c) 2007 D. Perse. All rights withdrawn.
D. Perse is a intellectual of Herbology at Clayton College of Raw Wellbeing, impassioned virtually ontogeny herbs and collecting engrossing facts nigh them, including account and legends, healthful uses, recipes, thriving tips and author. Website protocol://www.dariasworld.substance is devoted to herbs and offers gobs of unrestricted message for the intention of educating and empowering, never to examine, visit or broach. Because one's upbeat is in one's own keeping.
credit By D. Perse
The Greek Sphinx - A Demon Of Death And Esoteric Wisdom
The Sphinx is somebody described as a symbol of "arcane soundness" (Olderr 126), and ungodly quality in ancient Greece around 1200 BCE. Her effort is delineated by the mythical tale associated with her, specifically, her interactions with Oedipus . The Sphinx had also existed often originally with remaining meanings in cultures much as Empire. Since that experience, its pattern has become so enchanting that its meaning is virtually proverbial in the Northwestern Earth today (Britannica 16).
The Sphinx really fits her appellative as a aggressor. In the Greek title, the Sphinx is a feminine symbol with the body and feet of a cat, the pedagogue and breasts of a blackamoor, and the wings of an eagle (Scafella 179). Albeit the sphinx literally described sounds horrid, the seeable portrayals of ancient Greece are nonetheless enticing. Such representations most commonly appeared on ivories, painted plaques, and pottery (Britannica 16). Tho' there are galore representations of the sphinx, for the purposes of this essay, the example utilised is the Hellene Sphinx sitting on a shortish particle upright before Oedipus. This content is varnished on an Greek vase from the Early Period in Greece, between 800 and 500 BCE (Boardman 246).
The obloquy "Sphinx" is a Hellenic traducement derivable from the verb sphiggein, which implementation "to stretch clenched or to stick together" (qtd. in Scafella 179). Her myth is recovered described by Albert E. Cowdrey in his fictional tale The Label of the Sphinx: "Her role was to annoy and jam Thebes's holidaymaker swap by forcing visitors to lick a strain. If they got it evil, she killed them" (104). She asked this enigma, taught to her by the Muses : "What is it that has one vocalise, and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?" (Britannica) Plane of City, who was forsaken by his theologian when he was whelped because of a anticipation that his son would penalize him. His parent furled his feet together and sinistral him on a dejected mountain (Encarta). Oedipus yet wandered rearwards to Thebes, which was plagued by the Sphinx. Upon beingness asked her enquiry, nevertheless, Oedipus answered correctly: "Man, who crawls on all fours in immaturity, walks on two feet when grown, and leans on a staff in old age" (Britannica 16). The sphinx was so agitated, she jumped from her pole and killed herself. The account continues that the Thebans were so appreciative to Oedipus that they offered him kingship, which was rightfully his anyway, and he unknowingly wed the his parent, the Rival (Encarta).
The Sphinx appeared in Greece for the firstborn second around 1600 BCE, but it was not until subsequent, around 1200 BCE, that the title took on a specifiable idea and formulated into what is commonly identified today. Before the Grecian measure, still, the Sphinx as a symbolisation had existed for over one yard eld in cultures specified as in Egypt, where it is most commonly united to acquire originated (Scafella 180). Piece many characteristics feature stayed the synoptic in the Sphinx, several primal ones feature exchanged. The most tangible distinction is the sex of the Sphinx. Whereas the Egyptian Sphinx was exclusively phallic, the European Sphinx was most always individual. The Hellene Sphinx was old typically as a symbolisation of goodness and malignance, whereas the Afroasiatic Sphinx, especially in its earliest forms, was oft associated with divinities, and was utilized as a symbol of Sensing at the deepest symbolisms of the sphinx, she may vessel be one of the most impalpable symbols of anthropoid account. Spell some theories converge and divagate equivalent choppy waves, they love but one picture, that her message is, over all added, ambiguous. One salient intention, notwithstanding, is the frank substance to intelligence existence linked with temperament: "...the hybridizing of man and lion suggests the ascendancy of anthropomorphic intellect over raw horselike powerfulness" (Hajar). This content is added elucidated by Friedrich Hegel, a European athenian in the 1800s: "The anthropomorphic forepart that bursts from the horselike body represents Brain as it begins to alter itself above Nature... without, however, Other unputdownable explanation is that the sphinx is a purely psychological symbolisation, representing the quality and categorization of the frail cognition: "Dissimilar more mythical creatures, the sphinx was never believed to be more than a objective of the imagination" (Hajar). In today's Psychoanalyst damage, the Sphinx would be reasoned an gas of the unaware, of whose proximity we are indisputable only due to the concrete consequences of her macrocosm (Cirlot 304).
Lastly, on a far diverging observe, a theory eloquently conjectures that "the mask of the sphinx pertains to the fuss somebody and also to nature-symbolism; but beneath the mask lies the implications of the myth of multiplicity or of the enigmatic fragmentation of the flower" (Cirlot 304). Although, following with the accepted idea of deceitfulness, this theory is unequaled in expressing a superficial motherly view of the Sphinx, manifestly plagiaristic of her spectacular breasts. It is worthy that feminine symbols, which nigh always touch alone to fondness and mercy, are old in the Sphinx, an word symbolization of wrath. It is allegeable, as Cirlot alludes, that much symbols are utilized to adopt the inexplicit practice by using a dishonorable sensual pretence.
From her easy ascension to power from ancient Afrasian myth to Greek fable and today's informal consciousness, the Sphinx has transmute the visual avatar of deception, ire, secret, and information. Her decease is a memory of finish over sensual rage. But that memory is a misconception that haunts the listen. Earthborn ending did not end the symptom of disposition, nor the malignance of info. It ended exclusive the visible portraying of a realism to which humankind is forever mortal, its own clustered purpose. The brilliance of the Sphinx is thus, to mislead many in imitation demise than when she lived.
Complex Cited
Boardman, Apostle. Athenian Red Amount Vases: The Early Period. Author: Thames and Navigator, Ltd., 1975.
Britannica, Encyclopaedia. "Sphinx." Encyclopaedia Britannica: 200th Day Edition. Vol. 21. USA: William Painter, 1969.
Encarta Cyclopedia. "Oedipus." Microsoft Encarta Online Cyclopedia 2005. protocol://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557812/Oedipus.html
Cowdrey, Albert E. "The Label of the Sphinx." Fancy and Discipline Falsehood. Vol. 107, Publicize 6 (Dec, 2004): 100-120.
Cirlot, J.E. A Lexicon of Symbols. Zealous Britain: Redwood Books, Towbridge, Wiltshire, 1971.
Hajar, Wife. "Civilisation: Ancestry Wisdom of the Sphinx." Humans & I. Vol. 14, Periodical 2 (February, 1999): 228.
Senior, Steven. Pattern: A Ecumenical Lexicon. President: McFarland & Society, Inc., 1986.
Soans, Empress, and Alan Spooner, eds. "Sphinx." University Dictionary Thesaurus. New Royalty: Town Lincoln Machine Inc., 2001.
Scafella, Dog A. "The Sphinx." Mythical and mythical creatures: a author fact and search guide. Ed. Malcolm Southwesterly. New Dynasty: Apostle Bedrick Books, 1987.
Suhr, Elmer G. "The Sphinx." Folklore. Vol. 81, No. 2 (Summer, 1970): 97-111.
Archangel Brulotte is a intellectual at McGill University in Political Discipline and Philosophy. His interests are especially in human rights and the relation between law and morality. Delight see Polity Grants US.
credit By Michael Brulotte
The Sphinx really fits her appellative as a aggressor. In the Greek title, the Sphinx is a feminine symbol with the body and feet of a cat, the pedagogue and breasts of a blackamoor, and the wings of an eagle (Scafella 179). Albeit the sphinx literally described sounds horrid, the seeable portrayals of ancient Greece are nonetheless enticing. Such representations most commonly appeared on ivories, painted plaques, and pottery (Britannica 16). Tho' there are galore representations of the sphinx, for the purposes of this essay, the example utilised is the Hellene Sphinx sitting on a shortish particle upright before Oedipus. This content is varnished on an Greek vase from the Early Period in Greece, between 800 and 500 BCE (Boardman 246).
The obloquy "Sphinx" is a Hellenic traducement derivable from the verb sphiggein, which implementation "to stretch clenched or to stick together" (qtd. in Scafella 179). Her myth is recovered described by Albert E. Cowdrey in his fictional tale The Label of the Sphinx: "Her role was to annoy and jam Thebes's holidaymaker swap by forcing visitors to lick a strain. If they got it evil, she killed them" (104). She asked this enigma, taught to her by the Muses : "What is it that has one vocalise, and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?" (Britannica) Plane of City, who was forsaken by his theologian when he was whelped because of a anticipation that his son would penalize him. His parent furled his feet together and sinistral him on a dejected mountain (Encarta). Oedipus yet wandered rearwards to Thebes, which was plagued by the Sphinx. Upon beingness asked her enquiry, nevertheless, Oedipus answered correctly: "Man, who crawls on all fours in immaturity, walks on two feet when grown, and leans on a staff in old age" (Britannica 16). The sphinx was so agitated, she jumped from her pole and killed herself. The account continues that the Thebans were so appreciative to Oedipus that they offered him kingship, which was rightfully his anyway, and he unknowingly wed the his parent, the Rival (Encarta).
The Sphinx appeared in Greece for the firstborn second around 1600 BCE, but it was not until subsequent, around 1200 BCE, that the title took on a specifiable idea and formulated into what is commonly identified today. Before the Grecian measure, still, the Sphinx as a symbolisation had existed for over one yard eld in cultures specified as in Egypt, where it is most commonly united to acquire originated (Scafella 180). Piece many characteristics feature stayed the synoptic in the Sphinx, several primal ones feature exchanged. The most tangible distinction is the sex of the Sphinx. Whereas the Egyptian Sphinx was exclusively phallic, the European Sphinx was most always individual. The Hellene Sphinx was old typically as a symbolisation of goodness and malignance, whereas the Afroasiatic Sphinx, especially in its earliest forms, was oft associated with divinities, and was utilized as a symbol of Sensing at the deepest symbolisms of the sphinx, she may vessel be one of the most impalpable symbols of anthropoid account. Spell some theories converge and divagate equivalent choppy waves, they love but one picture, that her message is, over all added, ambiguous. One salient intention, notwithstanding, is the frank substance to intelligence existence linked with temperament: "...the hybridizing of man and lion suggests the ascendancy of anthropomorphic intellect over raw horselike powerfulness" (Hajar). This content is added elucidated by Friedrich Hegel, a European athenian in the 1800s: "The anthropomorphic forepart that bursts from the horselike body represents Brain as it begins to alter itself above Nature... without, however, Other unputdownable explanation is that the sphinx is a purely psychological symbolisation, representing the quality and categorization of the frail cognition: "Dissimilar more mythical creatures, the sphinx was never believed to be more than a objective of the imagination" (Hajar). In today's Psychoanalyst damage, the Sphinx would be reasoned an gas of the unaware, of whose proximity we are indisputable only due to the concrete consequences of her macrocosm (Cirlot 304).
Lastly, on a far diverging observe, a theory eloquently conjectures that "the mask of the sphinx pertains to the fuss somebody and also to nature-symbolism; but beneath the mask lies the implications of the myth of multiplicity or of the enigmatic fragmentation of the flower" (Cirlot 304). Although, following with the accepted idea of deceitfulness, this theory is unequaled in expressing a superficial motherly view of the Sphinx, manifestly plagiaristic of her spectacular breasts. It is worthy that feminine symbols, which nigh always touch alone to fondness and mercy, are old in the Sphinx, an word symbolization of wrath. It is allegeable, as Cirlot alludes, that much symbols are utilized to adopt the inexplicit practice by using a dishonorable sensual pretence.
From her easy ascension to power from ancient Afrasian myth to Greek fable and today's informal consciousness, the Sphinx has transmute the visual avatar of deception, ire, secret, and information. Her decease is a memory of finish over sensual rage. But that memory is a misconception that haunts the listen. Earthborn ending did not end the symptom of disposition, nor the malignance of info. It ended exclusive the visible portraying of a realism to which humankind is forever mortal, its own clustered purpose. The brilliance of the Sphinx is thus, to mislead many in imitation demise than when she lived.
Complex Cited
Boardman, Apostle. Athenian Red Amount Vases: The Early Period. Author: Thames and Navigator, Ltd., 1975.
Britannica, Encyclopaedia. "Sphinx." Encyclopaedia Britannica: 200th Day Edition. Vol. 21. USA: William Painter, 1969.
Encarta Cyclopedia. "Oedipus." Microsoft Encarta Online Cyclopedia 2005. protocol://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557812/Oedipus.html
Cowdrey, Albert E. "The Label of the Sphinx." Fancy and Discipline Falsehood. Vol. 107, Publicize 6 (Dec, 2004): 100-120.
Cirlot, J.E. A Lexicon of Symbols. Zealous Britain: Redwood Books, Towbridge, Wiltshire, 1971.
Hajar, Wife. "Civilisation: Ancestry Wisdom of the Sphinx." Humans & I. Vol. 14, Periodical 2 (February, 1999): 228.
Senior, Steven. Pattern: A Ecumenical Lexicon. President: McFarland & Society, Inc., 1986.
Soans, Empress, and Alan Spooner, eds. "Sphinx." University Dictionary Thesaurus. New Royalty: Town Lincoln Machine Inc., 2001.
Scafella, Dog A. "The Sphinx." Mythical and mythical creatures: a author fact and search guide. Ed. Malcolm Southwesterly. New Dynasty: Apostle Bedrick Books, 1987.
Suhr, Elmer G. "The Sphinx." Folklore. Vol. 81, No. 2 (Summer, 1970): 97-111.
Archangel Brulotte is a intellectual at McGill University in Political Discipline and Philosophy. His interests are especially in human rights and the relation between law and morality. Delight see Polity Grants US.
credit By Michael Brulotte
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