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Pnyx
The Pnyx (; grc, Πνύξ ; ell, Πνύκα, ''Pnyka'') is a hill in central Athens, the capital of Greece. Beginning as early as 507 BC (Fifth-century Athens), the Athenians gathered on the Pnyx to host their popular assemblies, thus making the hill one of the earliest and most important sites in the creation of democracy. The Pnyx is located less than west of the Acropolis and south-west of the Syntagma Square in the centre of Athens. Historical significance The Pnyx was used for popular assemblies in Athens as early as 507 BC, when the reforms of Cleisthenes transferred political power to the citizenry. It was then outside the city proper, but close enough to be convenient. It looks down on the ancient Agora, which was the commercial and social centre of the city. At this site all the great political struggles of Athens of the "Golden Age" were fought out. Pericles, Aristides and Alcibiades spoke here, within sight of the Parthenon, temple of Athena. Here Demosthenes de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecclesia (ancient Athens)
The ecclesia or ekklesia ( el, ) was the assembly of the citizens in city-states of ancient Greece. The ekklesia of Athens The ekklesia of ancient Athens is particularly well-known. It was the popular assembly, open to all male citizens as soon as they qualified for citizenship.In the fourth century, this would have been after two years of military service, i.e. at 20 years of age rather than 18. In 594 BC, Solon allowed all Athenian citizens to participate, regardless of class. The assembly was responsible for declaring war, military strategy and electing the strategoi and other officials. It was responsible for nominating and electing magistrates ( árchontes), thus indirectly electing the members of the Areopagus. It had the final say on legislation and the right to call magistrates to account after their year of office. A typical meeting of the Assembly probably contained around 6,000 people, out of a total citizen population of 30,000–60,000. It would have been difficult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bema
A bema was an elevated platform used as an orator's podium in ancient Athens. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues, where it is used for Torah reading during services, the term used is bima or bimah. Ancient Greece The Ancient Greek ''bēma'' () means both 'platform' and 'step', being derived from '' bainein'' (, 'to go'). The original use of the bema in Athens was as a tribunal from which orators addressed the citizens as well as the courts of law, for instance, in the Pnyx. In Greek law courts the two parties to a dispute presented their arguments each from separate bemas. By metonymy, bema was also a place of judgement, being the extension of the raised seat of the judge, as described in the New Testament, in and , and further, as the seat of the Roman emperor, in , and of God, in , when speaking in judgment. Judaism Etymology The post-Biblical Hebrew ''bima'' (), 'platform' or 'pulpit', is almost certainly derived from the Anc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Athens
Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC, and its cultural achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of Western civilization. During the early Middle Ages, the city experienced a decline, then recovered under the later Byzantine Empire and was relatively prosperous during the period of the Crusades (12th and 13th centuries), benefiting from Italian trade. Following a period of sharp decline under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Athens in the 19th century as the capital of the independent and self-governing Greek state. Name The name of Athens, connected to the name of its patron goddess Athena, originates from an earlier Pre-Greek language. The origin myth explaining how Athens acquired this name through the legendary contest between Poseidon and Athena was described by Herodotus,Hero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates and is the capital of the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years and its earliest human presence beginning somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. It was a centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, and the home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. It is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely because of its cultural and political influence on the European continent—particularly Ancient Rome. In modern times, Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fifth-century Athens
Fifth-century Athens is the Greek city-state of Athens in the time from 480 to 404 BC. Formerly known as the Golden Age of Athens, the later part being the Age of Pericles, it was buoyed by political hegemony, economic growth and cultural flourishing. The period began in 478 BC, after the defeat of the Persian invasion, when an Athenian-led coalition of city-states, known as the Delian League, confronted the Persians to keep the liberated Asian Greek cities free. After peace was made with Persia in the mid-5th century BC, what started as an alliance of independent city-states became an Athenian empire after Athens abandoned the pretense of parity among its allies and relocated the Delian League treasury from Delos to Athens, where it funded the building of the Athenian Acropolis, put half its population on the public payroll, and maintained its position as the dominant naval power in the Greek world. With the empire's funds, military dominance and its political fortunes guided by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acropolis, Athens
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several Ancient Greek architecture, ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word ''acropolis'' is from the Greek words (''akron'', "highest point, extremity") and (''polis'', "city"). The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. During ancient times the Acropolis of Athens was known also more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary snake, serpent-man, Cecrops I, Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king. While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site's most important ones, including the Parthenon, the Propylaia_(Acropolis_of_Athens), Propylaea, the Erechtheion and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syntagma Square
Syntagma Square ( el, Πλατεία Συντάγματος, , "Constitution Square") is the central square of Athens. The square is named after the Constitution that Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant after a popular and military uprising on 3 September 1843. It is located in front of the 19th-century Old Royal Palace, housing the Greek Parliament since 1934. Syntagma Square is the most important square of modern Athens from both a historical and social point of view, at the heart of commercial activity and Greek politics. The name Syntagma ( el, Σύνταγμα) alone also refers to the neighbourhood surrounding the square. The metro station underneath the square, where lines 2 and 3 connect, along with the tram terminal and the numerous bus stops, constitutes one of the busiest transport hubs in the country. Description The square is bordered by Amalia Avenue (''Leofóros Amalías'') to the east, Otto Street (''Óthonos'') to the south and King George I S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Themistoclean Wall
The Themistoclean Wall ( el, Θεμιστόκλειον τείχος), named after the Athenian statesman Themistocles, was built in Athens, Greece during the 5th century BC as a result of the Persian Wars and in the hopes of defending against further invasion. History The Persian Wars were waged by the Achaemenid Empire of Persia in an attempt to conquer the Greeks. King Darius I was unsuccessful in his invasion attempt and was followed by his son, Xerxes I, who led the Second Persian Wars which lasted from 480 to 479 BC. Xerxes saw more victories than his father, successfully burning down Athens. Following the Persian Wars the Greek city states were left in disarray. Many buildings, statues, and fortifications of the Greek city states were destroyed. The people of Athens were worried by a return of the Persians, and Themistocles advocated rebuilding the walls before anything else so they decided to act upon this plan. This project was opposed by the Spartans and their Pelopon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoa
A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually of the Doric order, lining the side of the building; they created a safe, enveloping, protective atmosphere. Later examples were built as two stories, and incorporated inner colonnades usually in the Ionic style, where shops or sometimes offices were located. These buildings were open to the public; merchants could sell their goods, artists could display their artwork, and religious gatherings could take place. Stoas usually surrounded the marketplaces or agora of large cities and were used as a framing device. Other examples were designed to create safe, protective atmospheres which combined useful inside and outside space. The name of the Stoic school of philosophy derives from "stoa". Famous stoas *Stoa Poikile, "Painted Porch", ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Flacelière
Robert Flacelière (; 29 May 1904, Paris – 23 May 1982, Montpellier) was a scholar of Classical Greek. He was educated at the Collège Sainte-Barbe, the Lycée Henri IV and the École Normale Supérieure. From 1925 to 1930, he was a member of the French School in Athens and from 1932-1948 a Professor of the Faculty of Letters at University of Lyon. He was then appointed to the Chair of Greek Language and Literature at the University of Paris, a post he held until 1963 when he was appointed Director of the École Normale Supérieure. Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * with Jean Daniélou Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou (; 14 May 1905 – 20 May 1974) was a French Jesuit and cardinal, an internationally well known patrologist, theologian and historian and a member of the Académie Française. Biography Early life and studies Jean ... Jean Chrysostome, Homélies sur l'incompréhensible, Sources Chrétiennes 28 English translations (selected) * * * * References École N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its Metropolitan France, metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin (island), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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