History and Culture

Greek Mythology

Intorduction The ancient Greek spiritual beliefs, religion, and oral tradition are all reflected and formulated through rich myths and legends that besides entertainment provided an articulation of Greek culture’s moral fiber. Taken as a whole, what we call “mythology” today…
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Minoan Culture

Language The first written scripts of the Minoans resemble egyptian hieroglyphs. The Phaistos Disk which dates back to 1700 BC, is an example of such script. Later the emergence of a syllable based script we call Linear A permeates the island. Numerous…
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History of Minoan Crete

The Minoans (c. 3500-1100 BCE) had developed significant naval power and for many centuries lived in contact with all the major civilizations of the time. With their powerful navy they flourished in the island of Crete and in several other…
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Olympic Games History

For the ancient Greeks, the Olympic games existed since mythical times, but no definitive time of their inauguration can be identified with any certainty. The first Olympiad was held in 776 BCE, and this is the year that provides the…
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History of Ancient Olympia

The sanctuary at Olympia (Ολυμπία) is positioned in a serene and fertile valley between the Alpheios and the Kladeos rivers in western Peloponnese, in Elis. In antiquity it was the host of the Olympic games for a thousand years, and…
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Dodona History

Dodona (Δωδώνα, Δωδώνη, Dodoni) is an important ancient Greek oracle, second in fame only to Delphi. It is located in a strategic pass at the eastern slopes of the imposing Mt. Tomaros, close to the modern city of Ioannina in Epiros.…
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Delphi History

Apollo squinted in the bright sunlight and calmly tensed his muscles as he pulled his bow. He released his arrows one after the other until Python’s blood was spilled and his life escaped in the thin air. Python-dragon,the faithful guardian…
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Agora of Athens History

Prehistory to Iron Age The Agora of Athens has been in use since the late Neolithic era, and it was used as a cemetery during the Mycenaean and the later Iron Ages. Excavations have unearthed around 50 tholos tombs with…
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Acropolis in Modern Era

The Acropolis After the Liberation of Greece In 1821, after three and a half centuries of occupation, the Greeks revolted to overthrow the Ottoman Empire from their land. During the struggle, the Acropolis changed hands several times and the monuments…
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Post-Classical Acropolis

Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Eras During the Hellenistic era, the King of Pergamon, Eumenes II, commissioned the Pedestal of Agrippas to support a composition of four bronze sculptures. A few minor buildings were added, and some modifications of existing structures also…
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