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Hippalectryon
A hippalectryon or hippalektryon ( el, ἱππαλεκτρυών), is a type of fantastic Hybrid (mythology), hybrid creature of Ancient Greek folklore, half-horse (front) and half-chicken, rooster (hind), including the tail, wings and hind legs. Its colour varies between yellow and reddish. No myths related to it are currently known. The oldest representation currently known dates back to the 9th century BCE, and the motif grows most common in the 6th century, notably in Pottery of ancient Greece, vase painting and sometimes as statues, often shown with a rider. It is also featured on some pieces of currency. A few literary works of the 5th century mention the beast, most notably Aeschylus and Aristophanes, who used it as one of his favourite insults. The precise function of the Hippalectryon remains a mystery; as an Apotropaic magic, apotropaic and prophylactic animal, it might have been dedicated to Poseidon and tasked to protect ships. Other studies interpret it as a grotesque ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippalectryon
A hippalectryon or hippalektryon ( el, ἱππαλεκτρυών), is a type of fantastic Hybrid (mythology), hybrid creature of Ancient Greek folklore, half-horse (front) and half-chicken, rooster (hind), including the tail, wings and hind legs. Its colour varies between yellow and reddish. No myths related to it are currently known. The oldest representation currently known dates back to the 9th century BCE, and the motif grows most common in the 6th century, notably in Pottery of ancient Greece, vase painting and sometimes as statues, often shown with a rider. It is also featured on some pieces of currency. A few literary works of the 5th century mention the beast, most notably Aeschylus and Aristophanes, who used it as one of his favourite insults. The precise function of the Hippalectryon remains a mystery; as an Apotropaic magic, apotropaic and prophylactic animal, it might have been dedicated to Poseidon and tasked to protect ships. Other studies interpret it as a grotesque ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippogriff
The hippogriff, or sometimes spelled hippogryph ( el, Ἱππόγρυπας), is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse. It was invented by Ludovico Ariosto in his ''Orlando Furioso'', at the beginning of the 16th century. Within the poem, the hippogriff is a steed born of a mare and a griffin—something considered impossible. It is extremely fast and is presented as being able to fly around the world and to the Moon. It is ridden by magicians and the wandering knight Ruggiero, who, from the creature's back, frees the beautiful Angelica. Astolfo also borrows the hippogriff from Bradamante to go search for Roland's wits. Sometimes depicted on coats of arms, the hippogriff became a subject of visual art in the 19th century, when it was often drawn by Gustave Doré. Etymology The word ''hippogriff'', also spelled ''hippogryph'', is derived from the grc, ἵππος , meaning "horse", and the Italian ''grifo'' meaning "griffin" (from Lati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Birds (play)
''The Birds'' ( grc-gre, Ὄρνιθες, Órnithes) is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed in 414 BC at the City Dionysia in Athens where it won second place. It has been acclaimed by modern critics as a perfectly realized fantasy remarkable for its mimicry of birds and for the gaiety of its songs. Unlike the author's other early plays, it includes no direct mention of the Peloponnesian War and there are few references to Athenian politics, and yet it was staged not long after the commencement of the Sicilian Expedition, an ambitious military campaign that greatly increased Athenian commitment to the war effort. In spite of that, the play has many indirect references to Athenian political and social life. It is the longest of Aristophanes's surviving plays and yet it is a fairly conventional example of Old Comedy. The plot of the play revolves around Pisthetaerus, an Athenian who convinces the birds to create a great city in the sky, and thus r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Achilleis (trilogy)
Priam (right) entering the hut of Achilles in his effort to ransom the body of Hector. The figure at left is probably one of Achilles' servant boys. (Attic red-figure kylix of the early fifth century BCE) The ''Achilleis'' (after the Ancient Greek , ''Achillēis'', ) is a lost trilogy by the Athenian dramatist Aeschylus. The three plays that make up the ''Achilleis'' exist today only in fragments, but aspects of their overall content can be reconstructed with reasonable certainty. Like the ''Oresteia'' which forms "a narratively connected unit with a continuous plot," the trilogy had a unified focus, presumably treating the story of Achilles at Troy in a version comparable to the plot of the latter two-thirds of the ''Iliad''. In the ''Myrmidons'' (, ''Myrmidónes''), Achilles' refusal to fight after his quarrel with Agamemnon led to the death of Patroclus. The title of the play traditionally placed second in the trilogy is the ''Nereids'' (, ''Nēreídes''). The chorus was thu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prophylactic
Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health and efficiency. Leavell, H. R., & Clark, E. G. (1979). Preventive Medicine for the Doctor in his Community (3rd ed.). Huntington, NY: Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company. Disease and disability are affected by environmental factors, genetic predisposition, disease agents, and lifestyle choices, and are dynamic processes which begin before individuals realize they are affected. Disease prevention relies on anticipatory actions that can be categorized as primal, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Each year, millions of people die of preventable deaths. A 2004 study showed that about half of all deaths in the United States in 2000 were due to preventable behaviors and exposures. Leading causes included cardiovascular disease ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apotropaic
Apotropaic magic (from Greek "to ward off") or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of superstition or out of tradition, as in good luck charms (perhaps some token on a charm bracelet), amulets, or gestures such as crossed fingers or knocking on wood. Many different objects and charms were used for protection throughout history. Symbols and objects Ancient Egyptian Apotropaic magical rituals were practiced throughout the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt. Fearsome deities were invoked via ritual in order to protect individuals by warding away evil spirits. In ancient Egypt, these household rituals (performed in the home, not in state-run temples) were embodied by the deity who personified magic itself, Heka. The two gods most frequently invoked in these rituals were the hippopotamus-formed fertility goddess, Taweret, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-figure Pottery
Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure vase painting within a few decades. Its modern name is based on the figural depictions in red color on a black background, in contrast to the preceding black-figure style with black figures on a red background. The most important areas of production, apart from Attica, were in Southern Italy. The style was also adopted in other parts of Greece. Etruria became an important center of production outside the Greek World. Attic red-figure vases were exported throughout Greece and beyond. For a long time, they dominated the market for fine ceramics. Few centers of pottery production could compete with Athens in terms of innovation, quality and production capacity. Of the red-figure vases produced in Athens alone, more than 40,000 specimens and fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Frogs
''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC and received first place. Plot ''The Frogs'' tells the story of the god Dionysus, who, despairing of the state of Athens' tragedians, travels to Hades (the underworld) to bring the playwright Euripides back from the dead. (Euripides had died the year before, in 406 BC.) He brings along his slave Xanthias, who is smarter and braver than Dionysus. As the play opens, Xanthias and Dionysus argue over what kind of jokes Xanthias can use to open the play. For the first half of the play, Dionysus routinely makes critical errors, forcing Xanthias to improvise in order to protect his master and prevent Dionysus from looking incompetent—but this only allows Dionysus to continue to make mistakes with no consequence. To find ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Period Of Ancient Egypt
The Late Period of ancient Egypt refers to the last flowering of native Egyptian rulers after the Third Intermediate Period in the 26th Saite Dynasty founded by Psamtik I, but includes the time of Achaemenid Persian rule over Egypt after the conquest by Cambyses II in 525 BC as well. The Late Period existed from 664 BC until 332 BC, following a period of foreign rule by the Nubian 25th Dynasty and beginning with a short period of Neo-Assyrian suzerainty, with Psamtik I initially ruling as their vassal. The period ended with the conquests of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great and establishment of the Ptolemaic dynasty by his general Ptolemy I Soter, one of the Hellenistic diadochi from Macedon in northern Greece. With the Macedonian Greek conquest in the latter half of the 4th century BC, the age of Hellenistic Egypt began. History 26th Dynasty The Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, also known as the Saite Dynasty after its seat of power the city of Sais, reigned from 672 to 5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pegasus
Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing when his mother was decapitated by Perseus. Greco-Roman poets wrote about his ascent to heaven after his birth and his obeisance to Zeus, king of the gods, who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus (mythology), Olympus. Pegasus is the creator of Hippocrene, the fountain on Mount Helicon. He was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon, near the fountain Pirene (fountain), Peirene, with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allowed Bellerophon to ride him in order to defeat the monster Chimera (mythology), Chimera, which led to many more exploits. Bellerophon later fell from Pegasus's back while trying to reach Mount Olym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knossos
Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the name Knossos survives from ancient Greek references to the major city of Crete. The palace of Knossos eventually became the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace was abandoned at some unknown time at the end of the Late Bronze Age, c. 1380–1100 BC; the reason is unknown, but one of the many disasters that befell the palace is generally put forward. In the First Palace Period (around 2000 BC), the urban area reached a size of as many as 18,000 people. Spelling The name Knossos was formerly latinization of names, Latinized as Cnossus or Cnossos and occasionally Knossus, Gnossus, or Gnossos but is now almost always written Knossos. Neolithic period The site of Knossos has had a very long history ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
