US Air Force Man Dies After Setting Himself on Fire at Israeli Embassy

0
Israeli embassy in Washington, US, where a US Air Force member set himself on fire.
Israeli embassy in Washington, US, where a man of the US Air Force set himself on fire. Credit: tedeytan. CC BY 2.0/flickr

An active-duty airman of the US Air Force has died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. while shouting, “Free Palestine, free Palestine!”

US Air Force Man Dies After Setting Himself on Fire at Israeli Embassy

In a video, the man, identified as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio, Texas, declared that he will “no longer be complicit in genocide” before setting himself alight in full military uniform. Bushnell was on fire for about a minute before the Metropolitan Police Department extinguished it, arriving in response to the incident on International Drive at around 1 PM yesterday, Sunday, February 25th, to assist the Secret Service.

The deceased military man walked up to the embassy and began livestreaming on the video streaming platform Twitch, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press. US serviceman Bushnell then put his phone on the ground in front of the embassy and doused himself with with accelerant before drawing his lighter and setting himself on fire. The video was later removed from the video platform.

An air force spokesperson confirmed to Agence France-Presse that Bushnell was an active member but did not provide any further details. A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy said no staff were injured and the man was “unknown to them.”

A Facebook post, which has been attributed to Bushnell, was shared numerous times on Twitter today, stating, “Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.” The authenticity of the post could not be immediately verified.

The police said an explosive ordinance disposal unit was called to the scene as a supposedly suspicious vehicle was present, possibly linked to the individual. No hazardous material was found, according to The Guardian.

Leading up to the Fire at the Israeli Embassy in the US

The Israeli embassy in the US has been at the center of protests by pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for a ceasefire to the Israeli military onslaught in Gaza in which Hamas-run agencies claim the death toll is nearing 30,000. The offensive comes after cross-border attacks in Israel by Hamas on October 7th, which killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 200 people taken hostage.

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health service, Israeli strikes have killed 29,692 Palestinians in Gaza since October, two-thirds of them women and children, and injured 69,879.

In a different incident in December last year in Atlanta, US outside the city’s Consulate General of Israel, a demonstrator also partook in an act of immolation. That individual was taken to the hospital with burns shortly afterwards.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently seeking cabinet approval for a military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where over half of the enclave’s population is seeking refuge.

If you find yourself negatively affected by the contents of this article, you can visit the Samaritans site for support.

Vanishing Y Chromosome in Males Casts Uncertainty About Future of Men

0
The Y Chromosome in male humans is gradually degenerating, which may mean the end of the human race.
The Y Chromosome in male humans is gradually degenerating, which may mean the end of the human race. Credit: Flickr / Sekgei Public Domain

The Y chromosome, which contains the male-determining gene in humans and other mammals, is degenerating in the human species and may cease to exist after a few million years. This would lead to extinction unless humans evolve a new sex gene.

How the Y chromosome, the “Male Gene,” works

Female humans, along with other mammals, have two X chromosomes, while males have just one. This is paired with a much smaller Y chromosome in men. The X chromosome contains around nine hundred genes, which carry out lots of tasks unrelated to sex, and the Y contains far fewer genes (55) along with a great deal of non-coding DNA, such as simple, repetitive DNA that appears not to have any particular function.

The Y chromosome is important because it contains the gene that initiates male development in the embryo, which switches on at around twelve weeks into pregnancy. This male-inducing gene switches on others that regulate the development of a testis, and the embryonic testis produces male hormones (testosterone, among others), which leads to the development of a baby boy.

This master sex gene was identified as SRY (sex region on the Y) in 1990 and works by triggering a genetic pathway beginning with a gene called SOX9, which is crucial for male determination in all vertebrates.

The Y is disappearing

The majority of mammals have an X and Y chromosome similar to those of humans. The X carried lots of genes, while the Y contains SRY and a few others. This biological system has innate difficulties, due to the uneven amount of X chromosome genes in males and females.

In discovering the evolution of this system, it is useful to look at the duck-billed platypus, which has entirely different sex chromosomes. In platypuses, the XY pair is simply an ordinary chromosome with two equal members. This suggests the mammal X and Y were an ordinary pair of chromosomes not too far back in evolutionary history.

This further suggests that the Y chromosome has lost around almost nine hundred active genes over the 166 million years that humans and platypuses have been evolving separately. Consequently, this amounts to a loss of around five genes per million years, meaning the last fifty-five genes will have disappeared within the next eleven million years.

The case of the Y chromosome in rodents

There are two species of rodents that have already lost their Y chromosome and continue to survive. This includes the mole voles of eastern Europe and the spiny rats of Japan. Their X chromosome remains in a single or double form in both sexes.

Spiny Rat.
Spiny rat. Credit: Jo Richmond. CC BY-2.0/flickr

It is unknown how the mole voles determine sex without the SRY gene, but a team led by Hokkaido University biologist Asato Kuroiwa has made headway with the spiny rat. It is a group of three species on different Japanese islands. Kuroiwa’s team discovered that most of the genes on the Y of spiny rats had been relocated to other chromosomes, but the SRY was not found, nor was the gene that substitutes for it.

In 2022, the research team published their study in the academic journal PNAS, having eventually discovered sequences that were in the genomes of males but not females. They refined them and then tested for the sequence on every individual rat. The team discovered a very minute difference near the key sex gene SOX9. It was on chromosome three of the spiny rat. A small duplication—just seventeen thousand base chromosome pairs out of more than three billion—was present in all males and no females.

The researchers posited that this tiny bit of duplicated DNA contains the switch that would usually turn on SOX9 in response to SRY. When they introduced this duplication into mice, they found that it boosts SOX9 activity, meaning the change could allow SOX9 to work without SRY.

The future of the Y chromosome?

Much speculation has been made about the eventual disappearance of the human Y chromosome, particularly with regard to the future of the human race. Several lizards and snake species are female-only and can produce eggs from their own genes via parthenogenesis. However, this is not possible in humans and other mammals because they have at least thirty crucial “imprinted” genes that only work if they come from the father via sperm.

In order for humans to reproduce, sperm is needed. By association, males are hence necessary. This means the end of the Y chromosome could spell the extinction of the human race unless, as the new findings suggest, humans can evolve a new sex-determining gene.

The Story of the Greek Tycoon Who Married a Jordanian Princess

greek thermiotis jordan princess
Jordanian Princess Iman and her fiance, Greek-Venezuelan Jameel Alexander Thermiotis. Credit: Royal Hashemite Court

When Jordanian Princess Iman married Jameel Alexander Thermiotis in March 2023, Greeks across the world wondered about the groom’s connection to the country.

Thermiotis, whose first name is Dimitrios, or Jimmy, was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1994 to Alexandros Thermiotis and Corina Hernández.

He was referred to as Jameel in the official announcement of the couple’s wedding because it is the closest Arabic name to Jimmy.

The young Greek businessman has one brother and a sister, Alejandros and Alexia, both of whom are younger.

A video shared by Jordan TV then showed the couple walking into a reception area where they were joined by the Ma’an traditional zaffe troupe before cutting their wedding cake surrounded by family members.

A live broadcast of the intimate ceremony and celebration was carried by Jordan TV.

The princess was accompanied by her brother Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II as they made their way to the religious ceremony.

 

Fiancé of Jordanian princess Iman has roots from Andros

Thermiotis, 30, studied Business Administration and Business at Florida International University and founded a venture capital firm called Outbound Ventures LLC, which is based in New York, in 2015.

Princess Iman, 27, is the second child of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan. She has one sister, Princess Salma, who is 23, and two brothers, Crown Prince Hussein, 30, and Prince Hashem, 19.

The Princess’ grandfather was King Hussein and her grandmother is the English-born Princess Muna, his second wife. Princess Iman completed her degree at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Thermiotis has ancestral links to the Greek island of Andros, where his grandfather was born. Dimitrios Thermiotis, from whom the young man took his name, was born on the island in 1922 and grew up there.

As an adult, he left Greece for Venezuela, where he started several successful companies and soon became one of the most significant businessmen in Latin America.

The elder Thermiotis married his wife Leonor Felizari, and the couple had three children, Diana, Katerina, and Alexandros, the younger Thermiotis’s father.

The couple were known for their extensive charity work in Latin America and the US, where they relocated to later in life.

In 2017, the entire Thermiotis family visited Andros. Sadly, just one year later, the elder Dimitrios Thermiotis passed away in Miami.

Princess Iman of Jordan engaged to Greek Jimmy (Jameel) Thermiotis

The princess got engaged in July 2022 and it was followed by the announcement of her brother, Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II’s engagement to Saudi national Rajwa Khaled bin Musaed bin Said bin Abdulaziz al-Saif a month later.

“The Royal Hashemite Court is pleased to announce the engagement of Her Royal Highness Princess Iman bint Abdullah II to Mr. Jameel Alexander Thermiotis, on Tuesday, 5 July 2022, in the presence of Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah, as well as Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, Prince Hashem bin Abdullah II, and Princess Salma bint Abdullah II, in addition to members of Mr. Thermiotis’ family,” the announcement from the Royal Hashemite Court states.

“The Royal Hashemite Court extends its sincere congratulations to Her Royal Highness Princess Iman and Mr. Thermiotis on this occasion and wishes them a lifetime of happiness,” it concludes.

The Princess’ mother, Queen Rania, congratulated her daughter and her fiancé on social media, writing: “Congratulations my dearest Iman; your smile has always been a gift of love that I’ve cherished since the day you were born. I wish you and Jameel a life filled with love and laughter!”

Tourist Development Threatens Iconic Beach on Mykonos

Agrari Beach, Mykonos island, greece
Agrari Beach, Mykonos Island, Greece. Credit: wikimedia commons / karlygr CC BY 3.0

A massive tourist development threatens one of the few unspoiled beaches of Mykonos, the Agrari Beach, local site Mykonoslive.tv reports.

According to the report, locals are disturbed by a 154 million euro proposed development plan which foresees the creation of a 5-star hotel, with a capacity of 82 bedrooms and 12 furnished houses.

Company Southrock has reportedly purchased 47 acres of the area overlooking the long sandy beach, which, although popular with locals and tourists, still offers plenty of space for yourself.

Agrari Beach is usually split in half — umbrellas and sunbeds on one side, just sand on the other.

It offers crystal-clear water and a more reasonably-priced restaurant when compared to the rest of Mykonos. The gay crowds that can’t find space at neighboring Elia, often spill over to this beach.

Related: Mykonos Beach Among the Most Expensive in the World

Tourist development on Mykonos may lead to the destruction of natural beauty

Residents complain that the development will bring about the destruction of the natural beauty of the area, Mykonoslive.tv reports.

It says that Agrari is one of the last corners of the island that offers tranquility and the possibility for Mykonians and tourists to enjoy swimming and sunbathing by spreading their towels on the golden sand or paying for sunbeds at reasonable prices.

The few businesses operating in the area offer authentic Mykonian hospitality, treating customers as friends.

Mykonos does not need investments that decisively alter the natural landscape. Because it is certain that the relief of the area, the impressive rocks that in mythology were called the Stone Forest, will be destroyed, the report claims.

Social media users are angry about the development at Agrari

The report also carries comments from social media with many expressing anger and disappointment at the news.

One Facebook user writes: “The island has lost its soul a long time ago. Very rarely do you find a quiet and natural corner without cement, electric cables and garbage… It will be the beginning of the end for the beauty of Mykonos… This is called GREED which the ordinary Mykonian is not interested in”.

Another user comments: “Money has become the nightmare of a paradise like Mykonos. Don’t you locals leave this little island. Hours upon hours it looks like a war zone to my eyes. Whatever natural beauty God gave to this magical island, they destroyed it. I am a foreigner, but Mykonos has stolen a part of my heart.”

A third user from France says: “Don’t let it happen! In France and especially in Corsica when something like this happens, we go to court and if we don’t get justice there we go and camp on the spot and prevent the trucks from starting work. Agrari is the last authentic spot of Mykonos. I remember years ago turtles jumping out of the sand. Turn to environmentalists and the European Commission for help. Organize a big protest.”

With more than two million visitors a year, Mykonos is one of the world’s hottest vacation destinations — and a source of prosperity in Greece’s economic revival.

Since the country’s decade-long financial crisis ended in 2018, Greece has surfed on a recovery fueled by tourism and investment. Investors have come to Mykonos in droves, eager to cash in on a gold mine of development for luxury properties, sprawling hotels and high-wattage nightclubs for the free-spending crowds.

Related: The Island of Mykonos Throughout the Millennia

Unanswered Questions Remain Over Greece’s Railway Disaster

Greece Railway Disaster
At least 57 people were killed in February 2023 in the worst railway disaster in the history of Greece. Credit: AMNA

A year after the railway disaster, which claimed the lives of 57 people on February 28, 2023, in Tempe of Central Greece, many questions remain unanswered. Relatives of the victims have intensified their campaign for justice.

Federations have called for strikes and organized rallies to protest what is perceived as a systematic attempt to obscure the circumstances of the tragedy and cover up responsibilities.

The Association of Victims of the Tempe Accident, for example, claims that, in the aftermath of the disaster, the affected area was covered up by the state to conceal vital evidence.

“The Tempe disaster is the result of chronic corruption and the quagmire our society has sunk into…Citizens who are disturbed by corruption have also been deeply hurt by this crime,” a representative said.

“The explosion in the wagons cannot be explained,” the technical expert of the association of the victims’ families, Vassilis Kokotsakis, said in his report submitted to judicial authorities in Larissa. The collision site was described as “contaminated” and altered, having been filled with gravel and concrete.

Last week, MPs from three opposition parties walked out of the parliamentary committee probing the disaster after accusing the ruling New Democracy party of trying to engineer a “cover-up” and acquit those responsible.

“Need to clarify every claim” on Greece’s railway disaster

Supreme Court Prosecutor Georgia Adeilini has issued an order to the prosecutor’s office in the appeals court of Larissa, located in Central Greece, which oversees the investigations to comprehensively clarify “every claim and every allegation” regarding the disaster to ensure there is no shadow over the investigation.

Adeilini defended the judicial actions taken so far, stating that “the superhuman efforts over the past year of the prosecutorial and investigative authorities for a thorough investigation as quickly as possible of the above crime, sparing no time and effort, are unquestionable.”

“Nevertheless,” she added, “protests and complaints from relatives of the victims persist regarding unanswered questions, pieces of evidence that were not properly evaluated, investigative actions that were overlooked, and even accusations of judicial cover-ups, which continue to circulate both domestically and internationally, fueled by certain media outlets.”

“Therefore, it is imperative that you ensure every claim and allegation made by the victims’ relatives or the victims themselves and their legal representatives is investigated and addressed, following an assessment, according to your discretion,” the Supreme Court prosecutor said.

“[This will ensure that] the conclusion of the investigation leaves no doubt that the prosecutorial and investigative authorities have examined every aspect of the case, fulfilling their duty entirely,” Adeilini concluded.

32 people are charged so far

With each aspect of the accident examined, more people have come under scrutiny and more are likely to be charged.

Just last Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office in the appeals court of Larissa, the city closest to the site of the crash, filed charges against the CEO and a senior manager of Hellenic Train, the privatized train operator, raising the number of charged individuals to 32.

That number is likely to rise and include officials from the railways’ regulatory authority. So far, it has been established that the stationmaster on duty, who has been remanded pending trial, made the fatal error to route two trains, a northbound passenger one and a southbound cargo one, on the same line.

On February 28, 2023, a head-on collision occurred between two trains south of the Tempe Valley in Greece about halfway between the Greek towns of Tempi and Evangelismos in the Thessaly region.

The collision, involving the InterCity 62 (IC62) passenger train and an intermodal freight train, killed at least 57 people, with an official number of 342 passengers, 10 onboard railway staff on the passenger train, and 2 staff on the freight train totaling 354 passengers between the two trains.

It is the deadliest railway disaster in Greek history. It was discovered that the IC62 passenger train had been allowed to proceed on the wrong track and pass signals of danger despite the presence of the freight train on the same track.

Vigils, angry protests, and clashes with the police occurred throughout Greece following the accident.

Related: Train Disaster Derails Greece’s Political Establishment

Nine Mathematical Equations that Changed the World

mathematical equations
Gravity Probe B orbiting the Earth to measure “space-time,” a four-dimensional description of the universe including height, width, length, and time. Credit: NASA/Public Domain

Mathematical equations have been the greatest tool for mankind to explain the world around him and the key to advance our knowledge about the Universe. The most important one of them all was created by, of course, an ancient Greek mathematician.

Galileo famously stated that the universe is a “grand book” written in the language of mathematics.

The brightest minds in history have used mathematical equations to lay the foundation for the way we measure and understand our entire universe.

Thanks to those great minds which contributed to the writing of this “grand book,” all the giant scientific leaps humanity has made brought us to explore new planets, an idea that belonged to science fiction just a few decades ago.

The following mathematical equations shaped our world

equations
The Pythagorean Theorem. Public Domain

1. The Pythagorean Theorem

“Everything is a number” was the motto of the Pythagorean School. Pythagoras, one of the greatest of all ancient Greek thinkers, was influenced by the Babylonians, who assigned numerical values ​​to everything around them.

This ancient theorem—first recorded circa 570 to 495 BC—is a fundamental principle in Euclidean Geometry, and the basis for the definition of distance between two points.

The Pythagorean Theorem is summed up by the following statement: “In a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the two perpendicular sides.”

It may sound like a simple equation, but the Greek philosopher’s theorem remains current 2,500 years later.

2. Isaac Newton’s Law Of Universal Gravitation

Newton’s Law explains why the planets move the way they do and how gravity works both on Earth and throughout the universe.

All objects attract each other with a force of gravitational attraction. Gravity is universal. This force is directly dependent upon the masses of both objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance that separates their centers.

First published in The Principia in July of 1687, the Law of Universal Gravitation was the de facto reference equation for nearly two hundred years until it was replaced by Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

equations
Theory of Relativity: Lattice analogy of the deformation of space-time caused by a planetary mass. Credit: Mysid/Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

3. Albert Einstein’s Theory Of Relativity

Einstein’s most famous work is the generally accepted theory on the relationship between space and time.

The basic idea here is that instead of being an invisible force that attracts objects to one another, gravity is a curving or warping of space. The more massive an object is the more it warps the space around it.

First proposed in 1905, the Theory of Relativity has both radically altered the course of physics and deepened our knowledge of the Universe’s past, present, and future.

equations
Maxwell’s electromagnetic wave. Credit: Lookang/Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

4. Maxwell’s Equations

Upon the discovery of electricity, James Clerk Maxwell formulated equations that describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated and altered both by each other and by charges and currents.

First published between 1861 and 1862, they are to classical electromagnetism what Newton’s Laws of Motion and universal gravitation are to classical mechanics.

Maxwell’s equations paved the way for Einstein’s special theory of relativity, which established the equivalence of mass and energy.

mathematical equations
Carnot engine diagram based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Public Domain

5. Clausius’ Second Law Of Thermodynamics

Rudolf Clausius’ law states that energy always flows from higher concentration to lower concentrations. It also states that whenever energy changes or moves, it becomes less useful.

In 1865, he introduced the concept of entropy. In 1870, he introduced the virial theorem which applied to heat.

Clausius’ theorems have led to the development of technologies like internal combustion engines, cryogenics, and electricity generation.

“The total energy of the universe is constant; the total entropy is continually increasing,” Clausius famously wrote.

equations
Napier’s calculating tables c. 1680. Credit: Kim Traynor/Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

6. Napier’s Logarithms

John Napier is best known as the discoverer of logarithms. He also made common the use of the decimal point in arithmetic and mathematics.

Logarithms were introduced by Napier in the early 17th century as a way to simplify calculations. They answer the question, “How many of X number do we multiply to get Y number?”

Logarithms were adopted by early navigators, scientists, and engineers. Today, scientific calculators and digital computers do this work for us.

7. The Schrödinger Equation

This equation describes how the quantum state of a quantum system changes with time. It provides a way to calculate the wave function of a system and how it changes dynamically in time.

Developed by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1926, it governs the behavior of atoms and subatomic particles in quantum mechanics.

Schrödinger’s Equation underpins many modern computer-based gadgets and paved the way for nuclear power, microchips, electron microscopes, and quantum computing.

equations
Fourier series harmonic analysis by William Elwood Byerly (1893). Wikipedia

8. Fourier’s equations

In 1822, French baron Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier recorded certain equations that have allowed researchers to break down complex and messy data into combinations of simple waves that are much easier to analyze.

The Fourier transform, as it is known, was a radical notion in its time but was later applied to many modern fields of science, including data processing, image analysis, optics, communication, astronomy, and engineering.

equations
Evolution of the scale parameter of the universe for different parameters of the Friedmann mathematical equations. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Geek3 – Own work This file was derived from: Évolution de l’univers.svg
CC BY-SA 3.0

9. Friedmann’s equations

In the 1920s, Russian physicist Alexander Friedmann used Einstein’s theories of relativity to show that the characteristics of an expanding universe could be expressed from the Big Bang onward using two equations.

They combine the curvature of the cosmos, the amount of matter and energy containe, and rate of expansion.

They also combine other constants, such as the speed of light, the gravitational constant, and The Hubble constant, which captures the accelerating expansion of the universe.

The Friedmann Equation now forms the backbone of contemporary cosmological theory, which is known as ΛCDM (Lambda CDM, where CDM stands for cold dark matter) and accounts for all the known components of reality.

The Concepts of Heaven and Hell in Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece Heaven and Hell
The Hades Amphora, depicting Hades (right) and Persephone (left). Painted by “The Oionokles Painter.” Detail from an Attic red-figure amphora, ca. 470 BC. Louvre Museum. Credit: User:Jastrow/CC BY 3.0

The Ancient Greece concepts for Heaven and Hell are of course different in many ways from those propounded by Christianity, but in other aspects they closely mirror the horror and the ecstasies of these places that we associate them with today.

Like the Christian concept of Hell, the Greek underworld had a ruler who was closely associated with its domain, the eponymous god, Hades.

But strangely, the Greek concept of Heaven did not have a god or goddess who personified its rarefied realms; the ruler of Elysium varies from author to author in Greek history. Pindar and Hesiod name Cronus as the ruler while the poet Homer in his Odyssey describes fair-haired Rhadamanthus as the one who dwelt there.

Hades and Persephone
A depiction of Hades abducting Persephone, from the fresco in the small Macedonian royal tomb at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece, c. 340 BC. Credit: Unknown/Public Domain

Elysium, or the Elysian Fields (Ancient Greek: Ἠλύσιον πεδίον, Ēlýsion pedíon) is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was a tenet of some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults.

It was initially separated from the Greek underworld and realm of Hades, and only mortals related to the gods and other heroes could be admitted here.

Later, in a version that was more closely akin to the later beliefs of Christianity, the conception of who could enter the heavenly realm was expanded to include those chosen by the gods, as well as the righteous and those who were heroic.

They would remain luxuriating in the Elysian Fields after death to live a blessed and happy life and indulge in whatever employment they had enjoyed while they were living, according to the belief system of Ancient Greece.

Hades
Hades and his three-headed dog, Cerberus. Detail of Pluto/Serapis, statue group of Persephone (as Isis) and Pluto (as Serapis), from the Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods at Gortyna, mid-2nd century AD, Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0

Hades was Ancient Greece God of the Dead, King of the Underworld

Hades (ᾍδης Hádēs; Ἅιδης Háidēs), in ancient Greek mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld with which his name became synonymous.

Hades was the grandson of Uranus, the god of the heavens, and Gaia, the goddess of the Earth. He was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea although he was the last son regurgitated by his father. He and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, defeated their father’s generation of gods, the Titans, and claimed rulership over the cosmos.

Perhaps from fear of even pronouncing his name, around the 5th century BC, the Greeks started referring to Hades as Plouton (Πλούτων, Ploútōn), with a root meaning “wealthy,” considering that from the abode below (i.e., the soil) come riches (e.g., fertile crops, metals and so on).

People would sometimes refer to him as “Zeus katachthonios” (Ζεὺς καταχθόνιος), meaning “the Zeus of the Underworld,” by those who felt they had to avoid saying his actual name since he had complete control over the Underworld.

Hades, as the god of the dead, was a fearsome figure to those still living; in no hurry to meet him, they were reluctant to swear oaths in his name and averted their faces when sacrificing to him. Since to many, simply to say the word “Hades” was frightening, euphemisms were pressed into use.

In addition, he was called Clymenus (“notorious”), Polydegmon (“who receives many”) and perhaps Eubuleus (“good counsel” or “well-intentioned”); all of them were euphemisms for a name that was unsafe to pronounce, which evolved into epithets.

Since precious minerals come from under the earth (i.e., the “underworld” ruled by Hades), he was considered to have control of these as well. Sophocles explained the notion of referring to Hades as Plouton with these words: “the gloomy Hades enriches himself with our sighs and our tears.”

He spent most of the time in his dark realm. Formidable in battle, he proved his ferocity in the famous Titanomachy, the battle of the Olympians versus the Titans, which established the rule of Zeus, according to the mythology of Ancient Greece.

Feared and loathed, Hades embodied the inexorable finality of death: “Why do we loathe Hades more than any god, if not because he is so adamantine and unyielding?” This rhetorical question is Agamemnon’s in Homer’s Iliad.

As his birthright, Hades received the underworld, Zeus the sky, and Poseidon the sea; however, the earth, which had long been the province of Gaia, was open to all three gods concurrently for any actions they wished to carry out.

Hades was often portrayed with his three-headed guard dog, Cerberus.

Sacrifices to Hades involved black animals, touching heads to ground

Hades was not, however, an evil god, for although he was stern, cruel, and unpitying, he was viewed as a just one. Hades ruled the Underworld and was therefore most often associated with death and feared by men, but he was not Death itself. That was Thanatos, the son of Nyx and Erebus, who was the actual personification of death in Ancient Greece.

When the Greeks propitiated Hades, they banged their hands on the ground to be sure he would hear them. Black animals, such as sheep, were sacrificed to him. The blood from all chthonic sacrifices, including those to propitiate Hades, dripped into a pit or cleft in the ground. The person who offered the sacrifice had to avert his face.

The Etruscan god Aita and the Roman gods Dis Pater and Orcus were eventually taken as equivalent to Hades and merged into Pluto, a Latinization of Plouton (Greek: Πλούτων, Ploútōn), which was itself a more euphemistic title often given to Hades.

Plouton became the Roman god who both rules the underworld and distributed riches from below. This deity was a mixture of the Greek god Hades and the Eleusinian icon Ploutos.

The origin of Hades’ name is uncertain, but has generally been seen as meaning “the unseen one” since the time of Ancient Greece. An extensive section of Plato’s dialogue Cratylus is devoted to the etymology of the god’s name in which Socrates is arguing for a folk etymology—not from “unseen” but from “his knowledge (eidenai) of all noble things.”

Other epithets of Hades include Agesander (Ἀγήσανδρος) and Agesilaos (Ἀγεσίλαος), both from ágō (ἄγω, “lead”, “carry” or “fetch”) and anḗr (ἀνήρ, “man”) or laos (λαός, “men” or “people”). These describe Hades as the god who carries people away.

The Origin and Life of Hades in Ancient Greece mythology

He had three older sisters—Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, as well as a younger brother, Poseidon, the god of the sea—all of whom had been swallowed whole by their father as soon as they were born. Zeus was the youngest child and, through the machinations of their mother, Rhea, he was the only one that had escaped this fate.

Upon reaching adulthood, Zeus managed to force his father to disgorge his siblings. After their release, the six younger gods, along with allies they managed to gather, challenged the elder gods for power in the Titanomachy, a divine war.

The war lasted for ten years and ended with the victory of the younger gods. Following their victory, according to a single famous passage in the Iliad (Book XV, ln.187–93), Hades and his two brothers, Poseidon and Zeus, drew lots for realms to rule.

Zeus received the sky, Poseidon received the seas, and Hades received the underworld, the unseen realm to which the souls of the dead go upon leaving the world. Some Ancient Greece myths suggest that Hades was dissatisfied with his inheritance but having no choice, he moved to his new realm.

Hades and his consort, Persephone

Hades obtained his wife and queen, Persephone, in the usual, violent way that occurred throughout Greek mythology—through abduction, at the behest of Zeus. This myth is the most important one in which Hades takes part.

It also connected the Eleusinian Mysteries with the Olympian pantheon, particularly as represented in the “Homeric Hymn to Demeter,” which is the oldest story of the abduction and most likely dates back to the beginning of the 6th century BC. Helios, the god of the sun, told the grieving Demeter that Hades was worthy as a consort for her daughter Persephone.

Helios said: “Aidoneus, the Ruler of Many, is no unfitting husband among the deathless gods for your child, being your own brother and born of the same stock: also, for honor, he has that third share which he received when division was made at the first, and is appointed lord of those among whom he dwells.”

Hades as a being and a place in the world of Ancient Greece differs in a meaningful way with the concept of Hell and Satan as Christianity traditionally understands these concepts.

Hades himself was often portrayed as passive rather than evil; his role was often maintaining a relative balance between the worlds. He was depicted usually as merely cold and stern, and he held all of his subjects equally accountable to his laws.

Interestingly, any other individual aspects of his personality have not been noted in the literature since apparently Greeks refrained from giving him much thought to avoid attracting his attention.

Hell—Underworld “Full of Guests” who could not leave

The House of Hades was described as full of “guests,” though he himself rarely left the Underworld. He cared little about what happened in the world above since his primary attention appeared to be ensuring that none of his subjects ever left his domain.

Underworld
Red Krater with Scene from the Underworld, by a follower of the “Baltimore Painter,” Hermitage Museum. Credit: Wmpearl /CC0

He strictly forbade his subjects from leaving his domain and would become enraged when anyone tried to leave or if someone tried to steal souls from his realm. His wrath was equally terrible for anyone who tried to cheat death or otherwise crossed him, as Sisyphus and Pirithous found out to their sorrow.

While usually indifferent to his subjects, Hades was very focused on the punishment of these two people and particularly Pirithous since he had entered the underworld in an attempt to steal Persephone for himself and was consequently forced onto the “Chair of Forgetfulness.”

Hades was only depicted outside of the Underworld once in the mythology of Ancient Greece, and even that is believed to have been an instance where he had just left the gates of the Underworld. Heracles shot Hades with an arrow as the latter was attempting to defend the city of Pylos.

After he was shot, however, he traveled to Mount Olympus to heal. Besides Heracles, the only other living people who ventured to the Underworld were also heroes: Odysseus, Aeneas (accompanied by the Sibyl), and Orpheus—to whom Hades, who was moved by Orpheus’ music, showed uncharacteristic mercy at Persephone’s urging.

In addition, Theseus appeared there with Pirithous, and, in a late romance, Psyche did, as well. None of them were pleased with what they witnessed in the realm of the dead. In particular, the Greek war hero Achilles, whom Odysseus conjured with a blood libation, said in the Odyssey:

“O shining Odysseus, never try to console me for dying.
I would rather follow the plow as thrall to another
Man, one with no land allotted to him and not much to live on,
Than be a king over all the perished dead.”

Hades and Persephone
Hades is shown with his consort, Persephone. Tondo of an Attic red-figured kylix, ca. 440–430 BC Credit: User:Jastrow/CC BY 2.5

According to the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Persephone did not submit to Hades willingly but was abducted by him while picking flowers in the fields of Nysa. Her father, Zeus, had previously given Persephone to Hades to be his wife, as is stated in the first lines of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.

In protest of his act of violence, Demeter cast a curse on the land and there was a great famine in Ancient Greece; despite the gods requesting that she lift it, lest mankind perish and cause the gods to be deprived of their receiving gifts and sacrifices, Demeter declared that the earth would remain barren until she saw her beloved daughter again.

Zeus then sends for his son, Hermes, and instructs him to go down to the Underworld in hopes that he may be able to convince Hades to allow Persephone to return to Earth so that Demeter might see her daughter once again and cause the famine to stop.

Hermes relays Zeus’ message, and Hades complies, saying:

“Go now, Persephone, to your dark-robed mother, go, and feel kindly in your heart towards me: be not so exceedingly cast down; for I shall be no unfitting husband for you among the deathless gods, that am own brother to father Zeus. And while you are here, you shall rule all that lives and moves and shall have the greatest rights among the deathless gods: those who defraud you and do not appease your power with offerings, reverently performing rites and paying fit gifts, shall be punished for evermore.”

Zeus, however, had previously proposed a compromise, to which all parties had agreed: of the year, Persephone would spend one-third with her husband. It is during this time, when Persephone is down in the Underworld with her husband, that winter falls upon the earth, “an aspect of sadness and mourning.”

Hades Abduction of Persephone
Hades’ Abduction of Persephone. 18th Century. Oil on wood with gilt background. Credit: Property of Missing Link Antiques. Public Domain

The Dichotomy of Hades and Dionysus in Ancient Greece

The philosopher Heraclitus, unifying opposites, declared that Hades and Dionysus, the very essence of indestructible life (zoë), were the same god. Among other evidence, Karl Kerényi notes in “Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter” that the Homeric Hymn To Demeter, votive marble images, and epithets all link Hades to being Dionysus.

He also notes that the grieving goddess Demeter refused to drink wine, as she states that it would be unfit for her to drink wine, which is the gift of Dionysus, after Persephone’s abduction, because of this association. This indicates that Hades may in fact have been a “cover name” for the underworld Dionysus.

He suggests that this dual identity may have been familiar to those who came into contact with the Mysteries. Dionysus also shared several epithets with Hades, such as Chthonios (“the subterranean”), Eubouleus (“Good Counselor”), and Euclius (“glorious” or “renowned”).

Evidence for a cult connection is quite extensive, particularly in southern Italy, especially when considering the death symbolism included in Dionysian worship. Statues of Dionysus found in the Ploutonion at Eleusis gives further evidence as the statue bears a striking resemblance to the statue of Eubouleus, also known as the youthful depiction of the Lord of the Underworld.

Both Hades and Dionysus were associated with a divine tripartite deity with Zeus. The Orphics, in particular, believed that Zeus and Hades were the same deity and portrayed them as such.

Zeus was portrayed as having an incarnation in the underworld, identifying him as literally being Hades and leading to Zeus and Hades essentially being two representations and different facets of the same god and extended divine power. This is strikingly similar to Satan in Christian theology, who was once an angel himself before being sent to Hell to rule there.

This nature and aspect of Hades and Zeus displayed in the Orphic stories is the explanation for why both Hades and Zeus are considered to be the father of Melinoë and Zagreus. The role of unifying Hades, Zeus, and Dionysus as a single tripartite god was used to represent the birth, death, and resurrection of a deity and to unify the ‘shining’ realm of Zeus and the dark realm of Hades that lay beneath the Earth.

Artistic representations of Hades or Hell very few and far between

Hades was depicted so infrequently in artwork, as well as mythology, because the Greeks were so afraid of him. His artistic representations are generally found in Archaic pottery.

He was later presented in the classical arts in the depictions of the Rape of Persephone. Within these illustrations, Hades was often young, yet he was also shown at various ages in other works.

Due to this lack of depictions, there weren’t very strict guidelines when representing the deity. On pottery, he has a dark beard and is presented as a stately figure on an “ebony throne.” His attributes in art include a scepter, cornucopia, rooster, and a key, which both represented his control over the underworld and acted as a reminder that the gates of the Underworld were always locked so that souls could not leave.

Even if the doors were open, Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld, ensured that while all souls were allowed to enter into The Underworld freely, none could ever escape. The dog is often portrayed next to the god as a means of easy identification since no other deity relates to it so directly.

Sometimes, artists painted Hades as looking away from the other gods, as he was disliked by them as well as humans.

As Plouton, he was regarded in a more positive light. He holds a cornucopia representing the gifts he bestows upon people as well as fertility to which he becomes connected.

Elysium Funeral vase
An Ancient Greek funeral vase showing a scene from the afterlife believed to represent Elysium. On the face a young woman and a youth pick apples from a tree. This unique allegoric theme apparently alludes to the afterlife in the Elysian Fields. Credit: Jerónimo Roure Pérez/CC BY-SA 4.0

Realm of Hades included Elysium, Asphodel Meadows, and Tartarus

There were several sections of the realm of Hades according to the mythology of Ancient Greece, including Elysium, the Asphodel Meadows, and Tartarus. The mythographer Apollodorus, describes Tartarus as “a gloomy place in Hades as far distant from Earth, as Earth is distant from the sky.” This realm, of course, most closely resembles what may Christians may conceive of as Hell.

For Hellenes, the deceased entered the underworld by crossing the Styx, ferried across by Charon, who charged an obolus, a small coin for passage placed in the mouth of the deceased by pious relatives.

Greeks offered propitiatory libations to prevent the deceased from returning to the upper world to “haunt” those who had not given them a proper burial. The far side of the river was guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed dog defeated by Heracles. Passing beyond Cerberus, the shades of the departed entered the land of the dead to be judged.

The Styx formed the boundary between the upper and lower worlds.

The first region of Hades comprised the Fields of Asphodel, described in the Odyssey, where the shades of heroes wander despondently among lesser spirits, who twitter around them like bats. Only libations of blood offered to them in the world of the living can reawaken in them for a time the sensations of humanity.

Beyond lay Erebus, which could be taken for a euphonym of Hades, whose own name was dread. There were two pools, that of Lethe, where the common souls flocked to erase all memory, and the pool of Mnemosyne (“memory”), where the initiates of the Mysteries drank instead.

In the forecourt of the palace of Hades and Persephone sit the three judges of the Underworld: Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus. There at the trivium sacred to Hecate, where three roads meet, souls are judged, returned to the Fields of Asphodel if they are neither virtuous nor evil, sent by the road to Tartarus if they are impious or evil, or sent to Elysium (Islands of the Blessed) with the “blameless” heroes.

Elysium
Elysium, or “Serenity,” by Henri Martin, based on the Classical understanding of heaven. Credit: Public Domain

Elysium was Heaven in Ancient Greece

The Elysian Fields were, according to Homer, located on the western edge of the Earth by the stream of Okeanos. In the time of the Greek poet Hesiod, Elysium would also be known as the “Fortunate Isles,” or the “Isles (or Islands) of the Blessed,” located in the western ocean at the end of the earth.

The Isles of the Blessed would be reduced to a single island by the Theban poet Pindar, describing it as having shady parks, with residents indulging in athletic and musical pastimes.

In Homer’s Odyssey, Elysium is described as a “paradise”:

“(T)o the Elysian plain…where life is easiest for men. No snow is there, nor heavy storm, nor ever rain, but ever does Ocean send up blasts of the shrill-blowing West Wind that they may give cooling to men.”

According to Eustathius of Thessalonica, the word “Elysium” (Ἠλύσιον) derives from ἀλυουσας (ἀλύω, to be deeply stirred from joy) or from ἀλύτως, synonymous of ἀφθάρτως (ἄφθαρτος, incorruptible),referring to souls’ lives in this place.

The Greek poet Hesiod refers to the “Isles of the Blest” in his didactic poem “Works and Days”:

“And they live untouched by sorrow in the islands of the blessed along the shore of deep-swirling Ocean, happy heroes for whom the grain-giving earth bears honey-sweet fruit flourishing thrice a year, far from the deathless gods, and Cronos rules over them.”

Pindar’s “Odes” describes the reward waiting for those living a righteous life:

“The good receive a life free from toil, not scraping with the strength of their arms the earth, nor the water of the sea, for the sake of a poor sustenance. But in the presence of the honored gods, those who gladly kept their oaths enjoy a life without tears, while the others undergo a toil that is unbearable to look at.”

In “Odes,” it is further written that: “Those who have persevered three times, on either side, to keep their souls free from all wrongdoing, follow Zeus’ road to the end, to the tower of Cronus, where ocean breezes blow around the island of the blessed, and flowers of gold are blazing, some from splendid trees on land, while water nurtures others. With these wreaths and garlands of flowers they entwine their hands according to the righteous counsels of Rhadamanthys, whom the great father, the husband of Rhea whose throne is above all others, keeps close beside him as his partner.”

In the Greek historian Plutarch’s “Life of Sertorius,” Elysium is described as:

“(T)he Islands of the Blest enjoy moderate rains at long intervals, and winds which for the most part are soft and precipitate dews, so that the islands not only have a rich soil which is excellent for plowing and planting, but also produce a natural fruit that is plentiful and wholesome enough to feed, without toil or trouble, a leisured folk.”

Additional descriptions of Elysium state: “Moreover, an air that is salubrious, owing to the climate and the moderate changes in the seasons, prevails on the islands…Therefore a firm belief has made its way, even to the Barbarians, that here is the Elysian Field and the abode of the blessed, of which Homer sang.”

Concept of Elysium, Heaven Continued Throughout History

Elysium as a pagan expression for paradise would eventually pass into usage by early Christian writers.

In Dante’s epic The Divine Comedy, Elysium is mentioned as the abode of the blessed in the lower world in the meeting of Aeneas with the shade of Anchises in the Elysian Fields: “With such affection did Anchises’ shade reach out, if our greatest muse is owed belief, when in Elysium he knew his son.”

In the Renaissance, the heroic population of the Elysian Fields tended to outshine its formerly dreary pagan reputation; the Elysian Fields borrowed some of the bright allure of paradise.

In Paris, the Champs-Élysées retains its name, the Elysian Fields, which was first applied in the late 16th century to a formerly rural outlier beyond the formal parterre gardens behind the royal French palace of the Tuileries. The nearby Élysée Palace houses the President of the French Republic, for which reason “l’Élysée” frequently appears as a metonym for the French presidency itself.

In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, when Viola says “My brother, he is in Elysium” she and Elizabethan audiences understand this as Paradise. In Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Papageno compares being in Elysium to winning his ideal woman: “Des Lebens als Weiser mich freun, Und wie im Elysium sein.” (“Enjoy life as a wise man, And feel like I’m in Elysium.”)

Miguel de Cervantes’ epic hero Don Quixote describes Dulcinea del Toboso as “beauty superhuman, since all the impossible and fanciful attributes of beauty which the poets apply to their ladies are verified in her; for her hairs are gold, her forehead Elysian fields.”

Concept of Heaven Strikingly Similar Throughout the Ages; Hades and Hell Differ Markedly

Whereas the ancient Greeks viewed Hades as cold and an impersonal judge of souls, Hell as most people conceive of it today is the very embodiment of evil. Perhaps that version of him and the place he ruled was nebulous and incomplete because they didn’t even dare to think of or write much about Hades since they were in fear of him.

Sometimes, Elysium is imagined as a place where heroes are free to continue their interests which they pursued in their lives. Others suppose it is a location filled with feasting, sport, and song. However one views Heaven, it seems clear that the concept of Heaven that has passed down through the ages from Ancient Greece bears a much greater resemblance to the Christian version that we have today than does the concept of Hell, or Hades.

Joy is the “daughter of Elysium” in Friedrich Schiller’s ode “To Joy”—the very hymn that embodies Europe itself as an anthem.

 

 

Tens of Thousands of Ancient Coins Found Off Sardinia

Ancient coins Sardinia
The ancient coins are in an exceptional state of preservation. Credit: Italy’s Culture Ministry.

At least 30,000 ancient coins were discovered off the northeastern shores of Sardinia, Italy’s culture ministry announced recently.

The bronze coins dating from the first half of the fourth century were found nestled in the seagrass, a stone’s throw away from the Mediterranean island’s coast near the town of Arzachena.

The ministry has kept the timeline of the discovery discreet, mentioning only that the first sight of metal by the unnamed diver spurred a full-scale archaeological investigation.

Under the guidance of Italy’s art protection squad and the ministry’s undersea archaeology department, the seabed revealed its secrets—a vast spread of coins mainly across a sandy expanse between the seagrass and the beach. This area, intriguingly shaped and positioned, hints at the possibility of a shipwreck’s remnants lingering nearby.

Exactly how many coins have been retrieved hasn’t been determined yet, as they are being sorted. A ministry statement estimated that there are at least about 30,000 and possibly as many as 50,000, given their collective weight.

Ancient coins Sardinia
The hoard of coins in situ on the seabed. Credit: Italy’s Culture Ministry.

Find on Sardinia among the “most important coin discoveries”

“All the coins were in an excellent and rare state of preservation,” the ministry said. The few coins that were damaged still had legible inscriptions, it said.

“The treasure found in the waters off Arzachena represents one of the most important coin discoveries,” in recent years, said Luigi La Rocca, a Sardinian archaeology department official, per Associated Press.

La Rocca added in a statement that the find is “further evidence of the richness and importance of the archaeological heritage that the seabed of our seas, crossed by men and goods from the most ancient of epochs, still keep and preserve.”

Firefighters, divers and border police divers were also involved in locating and retrieving the coins.

The coins were mainly found in a wide area of sand between the underwater seagrass and the beach, the ministry said. Given the location and shape of the seabed, there could be remains of ship wreckage nearby, the ministry said.

The investigation continues as the site, potentially one of the most significant numismatic finds in years, is explored further, promising to shed light on ancient maritime trade and the vast reach of the Roman Empire.

Sardinia was included for centuries in the Roman province of Sardinia and Corsica, which would be incorporated into the diocese of Italia suburbicaria in 3rd and 7th centuries.

Related: The Sardinia Village Founded by Greeks of Mani

Nammos: How the Modest Tavern in Mykonos Became a Global Brand

Nammos Mykonos
Mykonos town. Credit: Greek Reporter

Nammos in Mykonos is regarded as one of the best beach clubs in the world, a place to see and be seen.

Well-known stars from all over the planet, the biggest names in showbiz, shipowners, businessmen, and modeling personalities visit its sunbeds every summer, while the concerts it organizes with the biggest Greek and foreign singers are considered global events.

The opening of this luxurious beach club each year signals the coming of the summer months and the arrival of glitterati from all over the world, ready to party and relax on the golden beach.

While there are numerous places on the Greek isles where gastronomic delights, yachts, and champagne are plentiful, the combination of those with such an exquisite setting makes a visit to Nammos an absolute must for travelers to Mykonos.

The Greek hospitality brand for millionaires has expanded all over the world. Nammos has opened in Dubai, Cannes, Limassol, and Qatar. If Mykonos was a country, then all these ‘Nammos’ operations abroad would be its global embassies.

The humble beginnings

Yet, the hospitality empire began as a humble fish tavern on Mykonos at the famous Psarou beach, built on an undervalued plot of land to become over the years, one of the best and most expensive beach bars on the planet.

The incredible story of Nammos began in the mid-sixties when Kyriakos Angeletakis and his wife Eleni opened a tavern. It was a time Psarou was relatively unknown and visited by few people who arrived by boat.

In the first years, the tavern was not doing very well. The tourists who chose to go to Mykonos on vacation preferred to stay in Chora, the capital, since the rest of the island lacked basic infrastructure, such as accommodations and roads. Back then, a visit to Psarou seemed unimaginable to the few tourists.

In 1985, everything changed when Kyriakos Angeletakis, the son of Andreas, took over. A young and active Mykonian, he had ambitions to fill his beach and restaurant with the crème de la crème of Athenian society. It was then that Mykonos slowly became the ultimate tourist destination for the elite of the country.

In 2002, Angeletakis sold the business to two Mykononians and an Egyptian, who renamed the taverna Nammos.

Today, ‘Nammos’ has been transformed into a luxury ‘village’ with its own mall, glamorous boutiques, spa, gym, and restaurant.

With the sunbeds on the golden sand, the cool drinks and cocktails served in the company of the best music, the authentic yet relaxing atmosphere it exudes, and the unique design that characterizes all its spaces, Nammos has all the necessary features that make up the most idyllic beach bar in the whole of Greece.

Nammos Hotel Mykonos

Although part of Nammos has been closed due to building irregularities, the brand has recently announced that it will open Nammos Hotel Mykonos, the brand’s first property, with resorts in the Maldives and Abu Dhabi on the horizon.

The pivot into hotels and resorts marks an ambitious and scalable plan from Alpha Dhabi and Monterock International to extend Nammos World’s reach and global footprint, whilst diversifying its offering, further establishing its reputation as a luxury hospitality brand that provides an unrivaled culinary experience.

Commenting on the announcement, Zannis Fratzeskos, founding partner of Nammos World, said: “Over the last decade we’ve mastered the art of creating a daytime experience like no other, and are delighted that Alpha Dhabi and Monterock International have set a vision to further fortify the Nammos World brand with the launch of Nammos Hotels & Resorts.

“The properties are set to embody the lifestyle we’ve created within an unrivaled hospitality experience, and we’re excited for Nammos’ global customers to experience the brand within a hotel setting,” Fratzeskos added.

The Lost Letters of the Greek Alphabet

Early Greek alphabet painted on the body of an Attic black-figure cup
Early Greek alphabet painted on the body of an Attic black-figure cup. Today, there are missing letters in the Greek alphabet. Credit: Marsyas / Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA-2.5

The Greek alphabet has changed in many ways over the course of its existence. This is hardly surprising, given that the Greeks have been using it for nearly three millennia. One way in which it has changed is that some letters that used to exist in the Greek alphabet are now missing. Which letters were these, and what do we know about them?

The first letters of the Greek alphabet

To start, let us establish how the Greek alphabet acquired its letters in the first place. According to ancient Greek historians, the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet after the arrival of a Phoenician prince named Cadmus. Archaeology confirms that this occurred at some point in the ninth century BCE.

The Phoenician alphabet was composed of only consonants. When the Greeks adopted it, they modified it to include vowels as well. This was a major step forward in the development of writing.

According to Plutarch, a Greek historian of the first century CE, there were originally sixteen Greek letters. However, Hyginus, an earlier writer, reports that there were originally eighteen.

In reality, it appears that neither version is correct. Physical evidence in the form of ancient inscriptions reveals that the earliest Greek inscriptions made use of all twenty-two letters in the Phoenician alphabet. However, four of these were for sounds which did not exist in Greek, so they were modified into vowels.

Perhaps this is where Hyginus’ idea of eighteen original letters comes from, being a distorted memory of the eighteen original consonants. In any case, the total number of letters in the Greek alphabet increased over time.

Why are there some missing letters in the Greek alphabet?

Some of the letters used in ancient Greek inscriptions are simply not in the modern Greek alphabet. Why is this? Simply put, the reason is that the Greek language itself has evolved over time, and the alphabet exists to comply to the needs of the language rather than vice versa.

Additionally, different dialects of the Greek language existed within the Greek world at the same time. Therefore, the needs of each dialect would not necessarily be covered by the same letters.

In the late fifth century BCE, the alphabet used by the Ionian Greeks became the official, standardized alphabet of Athens. Over the following century, it then replaced the local alphabets of other Greek regions. By that time, the dialect of the Ionian Greeks was such that their alphabet did not make use of all the letters that had once been in use. Rather, their alphabet used just twenty-four letters. Hence, what were the letters that the Greek alphabet used to have but no longer does?

Digamma

One of the most famous lost letters of the Greek alphabet is Digamma. This had the following form:

Ϝ

It is superficially very similar to the modern F, but the sound was completely different. It was essentially the modern w sound. In fact, the original name for this letter was ‘wau’, taken directly from the Phoenician name for this letter.

San

Another lost letter is San. This had the following form:

Ϻ

Like Digamma, this looks almost identical to a more familiar letter. In this case, it looks just like the modern letter M. However, like with Digamma, the sound indicated by this ancient letter was completely different. Unlike the modern M, the ancient San, or Ϻ, was used to indicate an s sound. This fell out of use in favor of the alternative letter Sigma, written as Σ.

Koppa

Another letter that is no longer in use is Koppa, which had the following written form:

Ϙ

This is similar to the modern Q in the English alphabet, and that is no coincidence. Koppa was still part of the Greek alphabet when the Latins adopted it, which led to this letter eventually becoming the Q in English. The English alphabet originated from the Romans. The sound Koppa indicated was a k sound. It eventually fell out of favor in Greek, being replaced by the alternative letter Kappa, written as Κ.

Sampi

This next letter is called Sampi. It was written as:

Ͳ

This is very similar to the modern T, but it is unrelated. That modern letter comes from the ancient Greek Tau which, of course, had a t sound. In contrast, the ancient Greek Sampi had some kind of s or sh sound, although the exact vocalization is unknown. In any case, it fell out of favor when this sound was no longer used.