Vasilliki Karagiorgos was born in Darwin, Australia and is known mononymously as Vassy. She is a Greek-Australian R&B singer-songwriter. Vassy, whose parents are both Greek immigrants, was discovered in 2003 after winning an Australian (Triple J) radio contest and quickly began to receive recognition in Australia for her vocal talent and style, heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. In late 2005, Vassy released her debut album My Affection.
Vassy is a singer/songwriter who’s written songs for other artists as well as hit television shows and film projects. Her music has been heard on several major network television episodes, motion pictures and video games such as Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), Ugly Betty (ABC), Windfall (NBC), Notes from the Underbelly (Warner Bros.), In The Motherhood (ABC), Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime, When in Rome (Disney Movie Trailer), Last Holiday (Paramount Pictures), Powder Blue (Blue Snow Productions), Chill Out to the Sounds of Vassy (Sprite Campaign), FIFA (EA Sports Video Game), The Sims (Video Game) and a recent Hilton Hotels ad campaign.
Vassy is currently working on a new album project between Los Angeles, New York and London. She is collaborating with top producers and remixers who include Richard Vission (U2, Lady GaGa, Radiohead, Weezer), Chico Bennett (Madonna, Hilary Duff), Camara Kambon (Mary J. Blige, Macy Gray, Dr. Dre, Eminem) and Track n Field (Nelly Furtado).
Her new single, “History” released in 2010 has already become a hit.
Vassy is also recognized for her philanthropy work with various charity groups in Australia. She was the Youth Ambassador for Australia Carers, an organization for young carers, people under the age of 26 who provide care in a family affected by illness, disability, mental health and/or drug or alcohol issues of one or more family members or friends.
The Greek community of Uruguay welcomes President Sakellaropoulou. Credit: Presidency of the Hellenic Republic
The President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou met members of the vibrant Greek community of Uruguay during her official visit to the country at the invitation of President Luis Lacalle Pou.
It is the first visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic to Uruguay. Uruguay is a country of philhellenes. Ancient Greece features prominently in the South American country.
Greek history holds an important place in Uruguay’s educational system, and visitors will come across numerous streets with Greek names in Montevideo, as well as statues of Greek philosophers, a central square called Greece and another named Athens.
Sakellaropoulou visited the offices of the historic Greek community of Montevideo, where President Panagiotis Hatzirallis, Vice President Pavlos Augustis and many expatriates welcomed her.
After the visit to the Greek Orthodox Church of Agios Nikolaos with the Metropolitan of Buenos Aires Iosif, and the guided tour of the Community’s premises, Sakellaropoulou hailed the contribution of the Greek diaspora in the South American country.
Credit: Presidency of the Hellenic Republic
“From the beginning of the 20th century, when a large wave of Greek immigrants was recorded in Uruguay, until today, you continue to contribute, with your hard work and perseverance, to the progress of your new homeland, being a dynamic part of it.
“Your settlement here is connected with difficult times of Hellenism since many of your ancestors immigrated during the years of the Asia Minor disaster, but also after the Second World War and the fratricidal heartbreak that followed,” the Greek president said.
“You are our worthy ambassadors, you highlight our cultural heritage and keep the flame of Hellenism unquenchable. Greece is watching your progress with pride,” she added.
The mural of Laskarina Bouboulina. Credit: Presidency of the Hellenic Republic
The painting of the heroine of the Greek Revolution is found at the entrance of the Tsakos Industrias Navales shipyard.
Sakellaropoulou at the Maria Tsakos Foundation in Uruguay
Sakellaropoulou also visited the Maria Tsakos Foundation, where she was welcomed by Panagiotis Tsakos who briefed her on the work of the foundation. She described the Foundation as “little Greece” founded in Montevideo, almost five decades ago, by Captain Panagiotis Tsakos.
The Maria Tsakos Fundacion founded in Montevideo in March 1978 inspired by the love of Uruguayans for the Hellenic spirit and culture. The Foundation developed into a principal center for teaching the Greek language and promoting Hellenic culture in the other side of the World, under the inspirational leadership of the late Maria Tsakos, Captain Tsakos’ daughter.
Sakellaropoulou meets Captain Panagiotis Tsakos. Credit: Presidency of the Hellenic Republic
“Your institution, with its great work for the learning of the Greek language and the dissemination of the ancient and modern Greek culture, fulfills a national mission by contributing to the strengthening of the feeling of philhellenism that strongly possesses the Uruguayans,” she said.
Sakellaropoulou with young students learning Greek at the Maria Tsakos Foundation. Credit: Presidency of the Hellenic Republic
“Many come every year to this precious cradle of Hellenism to learn our language and culture…The heart of Greece beats in Montevideo and makes us proud of the cultural ties forged between the two peoples,” she added.
The ancient theater of Dodona is being restored. Credit: Ministry of Culture
The ancient Greek sanctuary and theater of Dodona located in Epirus, northwestern Greece, are part of a uniquely historic site in the country, home to the oldest oracle, which even predated that of the more universally-known Delphi.
The theater is now being restored to its former glory. The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, said on Monday that the restoration project is “one of the most complex and difficult projects,” ever undertaken by Greece.
“The main cause of the difficulty is the construction material of the monument itself, as the limestone with which it was built was crumbling due to the environmental conditions prevailing in the area,” she added.
However, the bottom seats of the theater have already been restored and works now continue in the middle section of the theater.
Most of the bottom part of the theater has already been restored. Credit: Ministry of Culture
Dodona sanctuary dated to the second millennium BC
The historian Herodotus stated that the oracle there dated all the way back to the second millennium BC. Even Homer mentioned Dodona, saying that there was an oracle of Zeus there. Situated in a remote region, far from the main Greek poleis or city states, it was considered second only to the Oracle of Delphi in prestige.
Aristotle considered the region around Dodona to have been part of Hellas—even the region from which the Hellenes originated. The oracle, first under the control of the Thesprotians before it passed into the hands of the Molossians, remained an important religious sanctuary until the rise of Christianity during the Late Roman era.
During classical antiquity, according to various accounts, priestesses and priests in the sacred grove interpreted the rustling of the oak (or beech) leaves to determine the correct actions to be taken by people. According to a new interpretation, the oracular sound may even have originated from bronze objects hanging from oak branches, which sounded with the wind blowing, similar to a wind chime.
According to the great historian Nicholas Hammond, Dodona was originally an oracle devoted to a Mother Goddess (identified at other sites with Rhea or Gaia, but here called Dione) who was joined and partially supplanted in historical times by the Greek deity Zeus.
According to the Oracle, his consort was said to be Dione, by whom the Iliad states that he fathered Aphrodite. Although the earliest inscriptions at the site date back to c. 550–500 BC, archaeological excavations conducted for more than a century have recovered artifacts as early as the Mycenaean era (1600-1100 BC).
Remains at Dodona, the site of the most ancient oracle in Greece. Credit: Marcus Cyron /CC BY-SA 3.0
Dodona was a holy site from time immemorial
Religious cults at Dodona were already well established in some form during this Late Bronze Age, or Mycenaean, period. During the post-Mycenaean era, known as the “Greek Dark Ages,” there is little evidence of activity at Dodona; however, there was a resumption of contact between Dodona and southern Greece during the Archaic period in the 8th century BC with the presence of bronze votive offerings, including tripods, from southern Greek cities.
Archaeologists have found Illyrian dedications and offerings that were received by the oracle during the 7th century BC. Dodona served as a religious and oracular center mainly for northern groups until the year 650 BC; only after that time did it become important for those who lived in the south as well.
Zeus was worshipped at Dodona as “Zeus Naios” or “Naos” (god of the spring below the oak in the temenos or sanctuary, like the Naiads) and as “Zeus Bouleus” (Counsellor). According to Plutarch, the worship of Jupiter (Zeus) at Dodona was begun by Deucalion and Pyrrha.
Many dedicatory inscriptions that have been recovered from the site mention both “Dione” and “Zeus Naios.”
The earliest literary mention of Dodona is in Homer, and only Zeus is mentioned in this account. In the Iliad (written circa 750 BC), Achilles prays to “High Zeus, Lord of Dodona, Pelasgian, living afar off, brooding over wintry Dodona.”
Historians note that, significantly, this demonstrates that Zeus could be invoked from a distance, not just in one particular area dedicated to his worship. No buildings are mentioned as being there at the time, and the priests (called Selloi) slept on the ground with unwashed feet.
The oracle also features in another passage involving Odysseus, giving a story of his visit to Dodona. Odysseus’s words indicate that the site was already of great importance and that it was usual to go there to consult with Zeus on personal problems one might be experiencing.
In the epic, Odysseus tells the swineherd Eumaeus (possibly giving him a false account) that he (Odysseus) had been seen among the Thesprotians, having gone to inquire of the oracle at Dodona whether he should return to Ithaca openly or in secret (as the disguised Odysseus is actually doing).
Odysseus later repeated the same tale to Penelope after he returned to her, who may not at that point have seen through his disguise.
Dodona may have been oracle of Gaia, or Earth Goddess
According to some scholars, Dodona was originally an oracle of the Mother Goddess attended by priestesses. She was identified at other sites as Rhea or Gaia. The oracle also was shared by Dione (whose name simply means “deity”). By classical times, Dione was relegated to a minor role elsewhere in classical Greece, being made into an aspect of Zeus’s more usual consort, who was by that time referred to as Hera.
However, she was not served in those times at Dodona under that name.
According to some archaeologists, a small stone temple to Dione was added to the site sometime during the 4th century BC. By the time Euripides mentioned Dodona, in the fragment of a play, “Melanippe,” and Herodotus wrote about the oracle, there were priestesses at the site.
The supposed holiness of the oak grove at Dodona was so renowned that they were even mentioned in the “Argonautica,” written by Apollonius of Rhodes, a retelling of the original story of Jason and the Argonauts.
In his version, Jason’s ship, the Argo, had a gift of prophecy, since one of its oaken timbers was from a tree from the sacred grove at Dodona.
Origin of “doves” as priestesses serving at Dodona
Herodotus, in his work, the “Histories,” (2:54–57) states that he was told by priests at Egyptian Thebes in the 5th century BC “that two priestesses had been carried away from Thebes by Phoenicians; one, they said they had heard, was taken away and sold in Libya, the other in Hellas; these women, they said, were the first founders of places of divination in the aforesaid countries.”
Herodotus follows with what he was told by the prophetesses, called “peleiades,” or “doves” at Dodona itself:
Two black doves had come flying from Thebes in Egypt, one to Libya and one to Dodona; the latter settled on an oak tree, and there uttered human speech, declaring that a place of divination from Zeus must be made there; the people of Dodona understood that the message was divine, and therefore established the oracular shrine.
Such was the story told by the Dodonaean priestesses, the eldest of whom was Promeneia and the next Timarete and the youngest Nicandra; and the rest of the servants of the temple at Dodona similarly held it true.
Herodotus then explains the origin of the term “doves,” saying “I expect that these women were called ‘doves’ by the people of Dodona because they spoke a strange language, and the people thought it like the cries of birds; then the woman spoke what they could understand, and that is why they say that the dove uttered human speech; as long as she spoke in a foreign tongue, they thought her voice was like the voice of a bird.
“For how could a dove utter the speech of men? The tale that the dove was black signifies that the woman was Egyptian,” Herodotus said.
The goddess Aphrodite’s chariot was also drawn by a flock of doves, perhaps indicating a connection to these female oracles.
Thesprotia, on the coast west of Dodona, could have been reached by seagoing Phoenicians, making the story of the importation of the Egyptian women a plausible one.
The Pelasgi: “Earliest of all peoples who have held dominion in Greece”
According to the Greek geographer Strabo, who was born in 64 AD, the oracle was founded by the Pelasgi, who were mentioned in the Iliad, written in 750 BC.
Strabo noted that “This oracle, according to Ephorus, was founded by the Pelasgi. And the Pelasgi are called the earliest of all peoples who have held dominion in Greece.”
According to his understanding, however, prophecies at Dodona were originally uttered by males.
“At the outset, it is true, those who uttered the prophecies were men, but later on three old women were designated as prophets, after Dione also had been designated as temple-associate of Zeus,” Strabo said.
The introduction of female attendants probably took place in the fifth century BC since the timing of the change is clearly prior to Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC with his narrative about the doves and Egypt.
Origin of words “Greek,” Hellenes” may have been from Dodona area
Aristotle, in his “Meteorologica,” places ‘Hellas’ in the regions around Dodona and the Achelous, saying it was inhabited by “the Selloi, who were formerly called Graikoi, but now Hellenes.”
Thus, some scholars believe that the origin of the words “Hellenes,” “Hellas,” and “Greeks” was from Dodona.
Sometime around the year 290 BC, King Pyrrhus made Dodona the religious capital of his realm, making it much grander by rebuilding the Temple of Zeus, constructing many other buildings and adding a festival featuring athletic games, musical contests, and drama.
At that time, a wall was built around the oracle itself and the holy tree, as well as temples to Dione and Heracles.
A map showing all the principal religious sanctuaries of Ancient Greece. Credit: Marsyas /CC BY-SA 3.0
However, in 219 BC, the Aetolians, under the leadership of General Dorimachus, invaded the area, burning the temples to the ground. Later in the 3rd century BC, King Philip V of Macedon (along with the Epirotes) reconstructed all the buildings at Dodona.
In the year 167 BC, Dodona was again destroyed, this time by the Romans under the military leader Aemilius Paulus; however, the city was later rebuilt by Emperor Augustus in the year 31 BC.
By the time the traveler and geographer Pausanias visited Dodona in the 2nd century AD, the sacred grove had been reduced to a single oak. In the year 241, a priest named Poplius Memmius Leon organized the Naia festival at Dodona. In 362, the Emperor Julian consulted the oracle prior to his military campaigns against the Persians.
Pilgrims were still known to consult the oracle at Dodona until the year 391 to 392 AD, when Emperor Theodosius closed all pagan temples, banned all pagan religious activities, and cut down the ancient oak tree at the sanctuary of Zeus there.
Although the surviving town was insignificant, like so many other areas in Europe and the East, the pagan site which had been viewed as so holy since time immemorial must have retained a religious significance for Christians.
It had grown as a center of Christianity to the point that a bishop from Dodona named Theodorus attended the First Council of Ephesus, which took place in the year 431 AD.
Many of the priceless movable objects found at the many ancient sites at Dodona are now at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the archaeological museum in the nearby city of Ioannina.
Greeks can vote for the European parliament elections by post. Credit: Europarl/ CC-BY-SA 2.0
More than 33 thousand Greeks living abroad have registered for postal voting for the European Parliament elections in June, double the votes counted at the polling stations in the June parliamentary elections of 2023.
The deadline for postal voting applications is April 29.
According to data from the Ministry of Interior, the number of registered voters outside Greece stands at 33,350, almost double the 17,365 votes counted at the polling stations in the overseas region last June.
Overall more than 114,200 voters have registered on the platform to vote by post in the European elections on June 9th.
The number of voters within Greece who have declared their intention to vote by post currently stands at 80,908, indicating significant interest within the country in postal voting.
Greece launched the online platform for registration in the electoral roll for postal voting in February.
The initiative aims to streamline the process for Greek citizens to exercise their voting rights in the European Parliament elections and national referendums.
The mail-in system applies to all citizens registered in the electoral rolls who wish to participate in the elections, regardless of their location within or outside the country’s borders.
Greek residents living abroad can only participate in the upcoming European elections through postal voting.
“For the first time in the history of the Greek state, postal voting is introduced,” said Interior Minister Niki Kerameus. “The removal of all practical barriers for our fellow citizens in Greece and abroad to exercise their voting rights. Our democracy is expanding.”
Postal voting in Greece follows voting from country of residence
Announcing postal voting last November, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, “It is a brave reform, it widens the electorate that participates in elections and is the most powerful answer to abstention and inaction.”
He pointed out that many groups of citizens, including the elderly, students, and seasonal workers far from their place of residence, can participate in the election procedure through the postal vote. Furthermore, he added that the activation of this possibility in the elections for the European Parliament this spring would be followed in the national elections.
The PM said that postal voting is a “brave institutional reform’ that follows his government’s initiative in 2021 to allow the diaspora to vote without having to fly back home.”
Until then, Greece was the only country in Europe—and perhaps the entire Western world— where full citizens living abroad were denied the right to vote in Greek elections from the country of their residence either by casting a ballot at the Greek embassy or through postal voting.
Greek soccer is plagued by endemic fan violence, which often spreads to other sports in which the main clubs field teams, such as basketball and volleyball. Credit: AMNA
Police in Greece have arrested dozens of suspects in a crackdown on soccer violence that led to the death of a police officer in December.
Greek police chief Dimitris Mallios said 60 people were arrested by Monday afternoon, in an operation that started late Sunday.
All were organized Olympiacos fans, some described by police sources as leading members of Gate 7, the most popular association of organized fans of Olympiacos. They are to be charged on a case-by-case basis with incitement and complicity in the killing of the officer.
Some of them were found to have had not only a physical presence but also an organizational role in the attacks on the riot police unit outside the Melina Merkouri Stadium in Athens.
Their involvement emerged from witness statements, videos and the lifting of telephone privacy.
The leading suspects of soccer violence in Greece
Police have identified five people at the top of the hierarchy. One of them is known in the ranks of organized Olympiacos fans by the name Joseph.
In many videos of incidents in stadiums around Greece, he appears to participate in an organizational role with a team accreditation around his neck. He was also allegedly present during the December incident, instructing people in the stadium stands to come out and attack the police.
The second of the group of five is the 26-year-old manager of a trap singer and head of an association of organized fans. The third is a 30-year-old who a decade ago had been sentenced to a prison term without parole for setting fire in 2012 to the barber shop of a Pakistani national, acting then on behalf of the now defunct extreme-right Golden Dawn party.
Mallios said the arrests followed an investigation carried out under “high secrecy” over the past four months that confirmed links between sports violence and organized crime.
“Evidence emerged about a criminal organization, consisting of 158 people, that since 2019 at least carried out criminal acts” in the greater Athens region and the cities of Volos and Ioannina to the north, Mallios said.
He added that 58 homes and 15 vehicles were searched in the crackdown, and seized items included handguns, knives, drugs and wooden clubs.
“We have an absolute commitment to fight sports violence,” the police chief said.
Greek hooligans responsible for several deaths in the last decade
Greek soccer is plagued by endemic fan violence, which often spreads to other sports in which the main clubs field teams, such as basketball and volleyball.
In February 2022 in Thessaloniki, 19-year-old Alkis Kambanos was murdered by a gang of people, who attacked him and his friends in the street. The assailants, supporters of the football club PAOK, asked Kambanos and his friends what football team they supported.
The answer did not satisfy them, and they proceeded to beat and stabbing with knives Kambanos and his two friends.
In August 2023 Michalis Katsouris a fan of AEK Athens was stabbed to death during a brawl with hooligans of the Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb.
Police said nearly 100 people were arrested after the violent clashes, which led European football’s governing body, UEFA, to postpone the Champions League qualifying third-round, first-leg match between the two sides.
Since 1983, when the first death was recorded, at least 13 people have lost their lives in Greece as a result of football hooligan violence and a plethora of violent attacks against rival football team supporters or the police have taken place.
George Papandreou calls for international help to save Greece. Public Domain
On April 23, 2010, Greece entered the bailouts era by asking its EU partners and the IMF to rescue its economy that went bankrupt.
The dramatic call for help was made from the tiny Aegean island of Kastellorizo by then Prime Minister George Papandreou, who set in motion a dark chapter of austerity and human misery in the country’s history.
Wearing a black suit and a dark pink tie Papandreou addressed the nation through a live television link and gave Greeks the bad news while the picturesque houses of the Kastellorizo were bathing in the spring sun.
“We have inherited [from the previous conservative government] a boat ready to sink,” Papandreou said. “We have inherited a country that had lost credibility and the respect of its friends and partners,” he added before warning Greeks that things will get tough.
Papandreou asked the EU partners to activate the support mechanism, “an unprecedented mechanism in the history and practice of the European Union.”
The support mechanism, which was put in place by the European heads of state and government and further elaborated by Euro Group ministers, is a European mechanism to which the IMF is associated with financing, and it involves a comprehensive three-year economic program and financing conditions.
On April 23, 2010, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Greece made a request for a Stand-By Arrangement.
Papandreou and his Finance Minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou managed to convince the IMF and EU to participate in a €110bn bailout package on May 9, 2010. Greece’s sovereign debt crisis, considered part of the European sovereign debt crisis, was marked by massive strikes and demonstrations.
The European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund loaned debt-wracked Greece a total of 289 billion euros ($330 billion) in three successive programs in 2010, 2012, and 2015.
Greece suffered an economic hit comparable to the Great Depression in the U.S. in the 1930s. People became poorer, hundreds of thousands of businesses went bust, skilled workers emigrated, and extremist politicians made gains.
Timeline of bailouts and austerity in Greece
Here is a timeline of the bailout years since the first rescue in 2010.
May 2, 2010: Eurozone countries agree to rescue Greece with 110 billion euros (currently $125 billion) in loans over three years.
June 29, 2011: Parliament passes a 28 billion-euro package of spending cuts and tax hikes in the face of two days of violent protests that see some 300 protesters and police injured.
Oct. 27, 2011: European leaders reach a deal with Greek bondholders that would see the private investors take a 50 percent cut in the face value of their bonds. The leaders also agree in principle to give Greece a new 130 billion-euro bailout package.
Oct. 31, 2011: Papandreou announces a referendum on the bailout program, shocking bailout creditors and markets. He cancels the plan three days later.
March 9, 2012: Greece carries out the biggest debt restructuring in history, writing off 105 billion euros owed to private creditors.
April 10, 2014: Greece returns to bond markets for the first time in ten years, selling a five-year bond.
Jan. 25, 2015: Leftwing party Syriza wins the general election, pledging to tear up bailout-linked austerity deals. Relations with creditors quickly deteriorate.
June 28, 2015: Amid concern that Greece would fall out of the euro, the government limits money flows and bank withdrawals to avoid financial collapse.
June 30, 2015: Greece defaults on payment on IMF loan.
July 5, 2015: In a referendum called by the government, Greeks reject the proposed bailout deal.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras later accepts the deal nonetheless.
July 13, 2015: Greece signs up to a third bailout program worth 86 billion euros over the next three years.
June 22, 2018: Eurozone countries agree on terms to ease Greece’s debt repayment schedule, and approve the last details of a plan to end Greece’s bailout program on August 20th.
Urania, the Muse of Astronomy, Reveals to Thales of Miletus the Secrets of the Skies. Antonio Canova / Public Domain
Some scholars credit Thales of Miletus as the father of Western philosophy since he preceded Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and other more famous philosophers.
From a chronological point of view, this is true. He was indeed the first philosopher who laid the foundations of Greek philosophical thinking since he was born roughly two centuries earlier than all of the above.
Little to nothing is known about his date of birth and life. His parents were Examyas and Cleobulina and were likely wealthy. He was born in the ancient Greek Ionian city of Miletus in Anatolia. His estimated date of birth ranges from 626 to 620 BC and his death from 645 to 542 BC. There is nothing surviving of Thales’ work. Everything we know about him comes from later sources, some of which are not very reliable. We also know that in ancient times, history was interwoven with mythology.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) was the first to call Miletus the “First Philosopher” for his systematic method, accurate pronouncements, and, quite importantly, for introducing deductive reasoning.
Thales was credited for being one of the seven sages of ancient Greece. Other notable figures alongside Thales were Pittacus of Mytilene, Solon of Athens, and Bias of Priene. There are three more who are usually on the list, including Chilon of Sparta, Cleobulus of Lindos, and Periander of Corinth. Since the last three were known as tyrants, they were often replaced by more agreeable names such as those of Anacharsis, Myson of Chenae, or Pythagoras.
Thales contributed greatly not only to Western philosophy but also to mathematics, geometry, and astronomy as well. He was the first to break the tradition of using mythology to explain the physical world.
Theory in practice
Unlike most philosophers, Thales of Miletus was not only interested in theorizing. He liked to test his theories in practice, too. He famously counted the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza by studying its shadow.
On a more practical side, Herodotus wrote that he assisted the army of King Croesus of Lydia to cross the river Halys by simply instructing them to dig a dam that divided the river into two easy-to-cross straits.
More importantly, the Ionian philosopher was attributed with five theorems in geometry, including the famous one simply known as the “Thales Theorem.”
Thales’ theorem: if AC is a diameter and B is a point on the diameter’s circle, the angle ∠ ABC is a right angle. Credit: Inductiveload / Public Domain
Thales is said to have accurately predicted the solar eclipse of May 28, 585 BC. He also observed and studied constellations. It was a feat that would prove useful in sea navigation. His third most important astronomical achievement was the determination of the sun’s course from one solstice to the next.
Thales traveled to Egypt to study. The Egyptians were experts in geometry, as pyramid constructions prove. The expertise Thales developed on geometry had its roots in Egypt since the Egyptians were the first to develop the particular science. Furthermore, the Milesians had established a prosperous trading colony in Egypt, namely Naucratis. Therefore, it would have been easy for the philosopher to travel there.
“Thales…first went to Egypt and hence introduced this study [geometry] into Greece. He discovered many propositions himself, and instructed his successors in the principles underlying many others, his method of attack being in some cases more general, in others more empirical.”
Another one of Thales’ achievements was his measuring of the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza. His philosophy, exhibiting knowledge of the Egyptian views on cosmogony, is further proof of his travels.
Perhaps Thales learned the practical applications of geometry and mathematics from the Egyptians. The Egyptians had great practical skills, but they had little to do with abstract thought. The Greek philosopher would observe the land surveyors, those who used a knotted cord to make their measurements. They are otherwise known as rope-stretchers.
Egyptian mathematics had already reached its heights when The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus was written in about 1800 BC. More than a thousand years later, Thales would have likely watched the surveyors as they went about their work in the same manner: measuring the land using a knotted rope that they stretched to measure lengths and form angles.
Thales of Miletus philosophy
Scholars classify Thales’ philosophy as materialist monism. Substance monism is based on the idea that the world is created by one substance. For Thales of Miletus, this was water. He believed that matter, in the form of water, was above abstract ideas. In that respect, he was also a materialist. He held that the primary source of everything was to be found in water. The world was made of water and, at some point, everything would return to water.
Even though that was a difficult notion to grasp in his time, we can’t deny that water is one of the most necessary components for the existence of life. There is no life without water. Likewise, there is no planet Earth without the element. About 2,600 years later, scientists have found that the planet was completely covered in water 2.5 to 4.0 million years ago.
Looking for answers in the cosmogony of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, Thales probably found a common pattern. Both civilizations, for instance, revered water as a force of regeneration. In his poems, Homer considered gods of water such as Oceanus and Tethys the parents of all divine beings.
Thales believed the Earth floated on water and that earthquakes occurred as a result of the oceans’ turbulence. In Greek mythology, the god of the seas, Poseidon, was also called “the Earth Shaker” and was considered to be the one responsible for earthquakes.
However, Thales did not believe in the divine cause of natural phenomena. His hypotheses indicate that he saw phenomena as natural events with natural causes and possible explanations. From his new perspective of observation and reasoning, the Ionian philosopher studied the heavens and sought explanations of heavenly phenomena.
Milesian school of philosophy
The first three philosophers in the Western tradition were all cosmologists from Miletus, and Thales was the pioneer. He was followed by Anaximander, who was, in turn, followed by Anaximenes. They established what came to be known as the Milesian school of thought.
According to ancient sources, Thales had been the “teacher and kinsman” of Anaximander. Rather than water, Anaximander held that all was made of apeiron or the infinite. Aneximenes, perhaps following the line of his predecessors, believed everything was composed of air.
Thales’ hypotheses were rational and scientific. He was the first who sought knowledge for its own sake. To the Ionian philosopher, the world owes the development of the scientific method, as he was the first to adopt practical methods before general principles.
Olympiacos beat Milan 3-0 in the Youth League final, giving the team their first piece of European silverware. Credit: George M. Groutas. CC BY 2.0/flickr
Olympiacos have bested Milan 3-0 in the Youth League final with the “red and white” U19s winning the first European title in its history.
The Greek team stormed to victory in the Youth League final, with Sotiris Sylaidopoulos’s team putting away three goals to beat the Rossoneri and win the trophy.
In an action-packed final, Olympiacos U19s appeared determined to win right from the outset, and although there were no goals in the first half, things changed quickly in the second.
In the 60th minute, Christos Mouzakitis put the “red and whites” in front with a well-taken penalty kick, with Antonis Papakenallos scoring in the next phase of play to double his team’s lead, after an impressive personal effort.
With a comfortable two-goal lead, Olympiacos was controlling play on the pitch and even managed to bag a third goal, this time coming from Fanis Bakula.
In the 66th minute, after a well-placed cross from Koutsogoulas, Bakulas – with an unlikely reverse scissor kick – increased the score margin to 3-0, and gave a clear victory to his team.
After their third goal, Olympiacos managed to maintain their lead with grace and style, holding on to the 3-0 score until the end of the game, when the talented youth of Sotiris Sylaidopoulos officially won the Youth League.
Once the final whistle had been blown, the Olympiacos U19 players were absolutely elated, reveling in the joy of winning this great title. This was a historic victory for Olympiacos, who managed to win a trophy that leaves a legacy for the future.
The UEFA Youth League X account posted “What a performance by Olympiacos. Your 2024 UYL champions.”
What is the UEFA Youth League, Which Olympiacos Triumphed in?
The UEFA Youth League was introduced to the European scene in 2013/14, the first season of a two-year trial.
The Under-19 competition is UEFA’s first youth tournament at club level. Borne of a request from the European Club Association, the venture aims to further develop youth football at the professional club level, reduce the gap between sides’ youth and first teams, and offer unique international experience and competition matches for youngsters. The victors lift the Lennart Johansson trophy.
The UEFA Youth League website states “From the opening season each UEFA Champions League group stage club entered their U19 side and the autumn schedule is replicated in the UEFA Youth League: the same group stage draw and fixtures, with players having the chance to travel with their senior colleagues to away games.”
“In 2015/16 a second path was created with 32 national youth champions competing in a knockout competition for a chance to play-off with the group runners-up to join the group winners in the knockout phase.
“The four-team finals are usually played at Colovray Stadium opposite UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. In 2019/20, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the quarter-finals were also played there along with two outstanding round of 16 ties. In 2022/23, due to exceptional demand for tickets, the final four was moved to Stade de Genève but the next season returned to Nyon for the tenth decider, the last before an expansion in 2024/25 to mirror the new 36-team Champions League in the league phase, with the domestic champions path expanding to three rounds.”
Greek island is Europe’s cheapest summer vacation destination. Credit: Egmontaz. CC BY 3.0/Wikimedia Commons/Egmontaz
A lesser-known Greek island, which offers everything a tourist could want for a picture-perfect getaway, has been revealed as Europe’s cheapest destination based on analysis of vacation package deals for this summer.
It may not be as famous as other Greek paradises like Rhodes, Mykonos, or Santorini, but this lesser-known island offers pristine, white sandy beaches, crystalline waters, colorful villages, and tavernas that serve up a variety of sumptuous Greek food.
According to new research from Which? analyzing more than 4,500 vacation package deals for the first week of August, it’s also the island where travelers can find the best deals and cheapest vacations. Indeed, the study found that the average price of a seven-night getaway worked out at $1,046 (£847) per person.
Moreover, as luck would have it, there are plenty of vacation companies that offer great packages, too, including Jet2, Olympic Holidays, Loveholidays, and TravelRepublic, while TravelSupermarket is a useful place for comparing flights and hotel deals.
The Greek island summer vacation destination? Kalymnos!
“The tiny island is Greece as you imagine it—boasting secluded coves, sapphire seas, rugged mountains, and charming towns,” the Which? team told The Mirror. “Travelers “fly into the island’s busier [neighbor] Kos, before departing for Kalymnos by boat—a journey that takes just 40 minutes, and is included in the price of your package.”
The team added:
“The capital Pothia is the most competitively priced resort on the island—with the cheapest package found costing £794 per person. With its delightful mix of whitewashed and brightly painted houses looking out over the Aegean Sea, the town and its surrounds offer plenty to keep holidaymakers occupied—from an open air cinema to museums and monasteries. For those looking to relax on the sand, the island’s most popular beach resort, Massouri, costs an average of £856 for a week’s stay.”
Vacationing in Greece has proven to offer some of the cheapest packages with four of the top 10 destinations taken up by Greek islands. Traditionally cheap destinations like Bulgaria and Turkey did not feature on the list, but the Which? team explained it may be down to the type of packages still available.
The team explained:
“At the moment, the Amalfi Coast for example has a wide choice of room-only, self-catering and bed and breakfast accommodation still available to book (rather than pricier full board packages) which means that prices are lower. There are also lots of budget flights to the region. However, [vacationers] should still consider the cost of eating out and activities when choosing their next [destination].”
The top 10 cheapest package holiday destinations listed by the company include:
Archaeologists discovered an ancient grave near Oppin in Saxony-Anhalt. The individual buried there was held down by a large stone to prevent them from “coming back to life” and causing trouble.
The exact age of the grave is not yet known, but clues hint it is about 4,200 years old. If this early estimate is correct, is the first time such a strange burial from that period in Central Germany has been discovered.
During excavations before expanding power lines, scientists found a grave of a man aged between 40 and 60 years old. No objects were buried with him. He was laid on his left side with his legs bent, and a big stone was placed on his lower legs.
The stone is over three feet long, one-and-a-half feet wide, four inches high, and weighs 110 pounds. This heavy stone was placed there to ensure the person wouldn’t come back to life.
“We know that even in the Stone Age people were afraid of unpleasant revenants. People wanted to prevent that with magic,” said project manager and archaeologist Susanne Friederich.
“There are graves where the corpse even lies on its stomach,” she revealed. “Back then, people believed that dead people sometimes tried to free themselves from their graves. If it lies on its stomach, it burrows deeper and deeper instead of rising to the surface.”
“There are also dead bodies lying on their stomachs” and those “were also pierced with a lance, so they were practically fixed in the ground,” explained Friederich.
Outline of a house near the two burials
Last November, Friederich and her team discovered another possible revenant burial in the Oppin region, but this one was more recent from the 2nd or 3rd century. Three large stones were placed on the person’s legs.
They found a bronze fibula in the grave, indicating the person was not poor. Nearby, they found the skeletal remains of a woman without any measures against revenants. Moreover, there’s an outline of a house near both burials, suggesting that these two individuals might have lived there, according to “The History Blog.”
The Neolithic skeletal remains have been removed from the grave and are being transported to a lab in Halle for more examination.
The burial is linked to the Bell Beaker culture, also called the Bell Beaker complex, a group of people from the Bronze Age who appeared around 2800 BC. They spread out across most of Western Europe and parts of northwestern Africa.
The digging along the power line’s expansion path is ongoing, and there’s a lot to dig through with over 90 miles just in Saxony-Anhalt (335 miles in total). The plan is to keep digging until 2025.
A 3,400-year-old statue of the head of King Ramses II has been returned to Egypt after it was stolen and smuggled out of the country more than 30 years ago, the country’s antiquities ministry said on Sunday.
The statue is being kept in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, though not on display. The artifact will be restored, the ministry said in a statement.
The statue was stolen from the Ramses II temple in the ancient city of Abydos in Southern Egypt more than 30 years ago. The precise date is unknown, but Shaaban Abdel Gawad, who heads Egypt’s antiquities repatriation department, said the piece is estimated to have been stolen in the late 1980s or early 1990s, as reported by Reuters.
Egyptian authorities noticed the artifact when it was put up for sale in an exhibition in London in 2013. It was taken to several other countries before finally making its way to Switzerland, according to the antiquities ministry.
“This head is part of a group of statues depicting King Ramses II seated alongside a number of Egyptian deities,” Gawad told Reuters.
Ramses II was one of ancient Egypt’s most powerful rulers and was also known as Ramses the Great. He was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC.
Egypt worked with Swiss authorities to establish its rightful ownership, and Switzerland handed over the statue to the Egyptian embassy in Bern last year. The country only recently brought the artifact home.
Who was King Ramses II of Egypt?
In ancient Greek sources, King Ramses II was called Ozymandias, derived from the first part of his Egyptian-language regnal name: Usermaatre Setepenre. The pharaoh was also referred to as the “Great Ancestor” by successor pharaohs and Egyptians in general.
For the early part of his reign, he focused on building cities, temples, and monuments. After establishing the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta, he designated it as Egypt’s new capital and used it as the main staging point for his campaigns in Syria.
He led several military expeditions into the Levant, where he reasserted Egyptian control over Canaan and Phoenicia. King Ramses II also led a number of expeditions into Nubia, all commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein. Furthermore, he celebrated an unprecedented thirteen or fourteen Sed festivals. This was more than any other pharaoh.
Estimates of his age at death vary, although 90 or 91 is considered to be the most likely figure. Upon his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. His body was later moved to the Royal Cache, where it was discovered by archaeologists in 1881.
King Ramesses II’s mummy is now on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, located in the city of Cairo.
