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Turkey’s Erdogan Postpones Visit to US, Amid Regional Tensions

Nick Kampouris
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Turkey’s Erdogan Postpones Visit to US, Amid Regional Tensions
turkish prime minister erdogan in front of turkish flag
Turkish President Erdogan. Photo credit: Mikhail Klimentyev, Wikimedia Commons,  CC BY 4.0

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Friday that he is postponing his scheduled meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House.

This was initially planned to take place on May 9. The postponement occurred due to ”changes in his schedule”, Turkish officials said.

This development is significant for the bilateral relations between Washington and Ankara. It comes amidst continuing tensions between the two NATO allies over a wide range of issues, particularly Turkey’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Erdogan has been a particularly loud and vocal critic of the current actions of Israel in Gaza. On numerous occasions, he has been describing them as “war crimes” bordering on “genocide”. ”Israel, we will proclaim you as a war criminal to the world,” Erdogan had said in late 2023, causing a strong reaction from Tel Aviv.

He has also openly defended Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, and the EU. Erdogan has said in the past that Hamas is a group “waging a battle to protect its lands and people”.

Turkey also hosted Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh recently, something that was the tipping point for the postponement of the upcoming visit to the US.

In response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Turkey and Israel have both announced on many occasions reciprocal trade restrictions on each other. Turkey imposed immediate export restrictions on 54 product types to Israel a few weeks ago, while Israel is reportedly preparing to impose a ban on Turkish products too. It is worth noting that Turkish exports to Israel amounted to $5.4 billion in 2023.

The postponement of Erdogan’s visit to the White House also comes amid strained relations between Turkey and Greece, another strategic US ally within the NATO alliance. However, bilateral relations between Athens and Ankara have shown signs of improvement since las year.

Turkey’s Stance on Greece

In recent months, a series of diplomatic gestures and high-level meetings have signaled a thaw in Greek-Turkish relations. Following Greece’s rapid assistance to Turkey after the devastating earthquake of early 2023, both the public mood and the political priorities of the leadership of the two nations changed very quickly.

The Turkish people were moved not only by the amount of humanitarian aid that ordinary Greeks sent to Turkey but also by the efforts of the Greek rescuers who rushed to the epicenter of the destruction, saving lives.

This shift in the public mood was sealed by following meetings between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The two men signed a friendship declaration between Greece and Turkey in Athens last December, in a symbolic move that confirms the warming of relations between the two nations.

The declaration committed both countries ”to refrain from any statement, initiative, or act likely to undermine or discredit the letter and spirit of this Declaration or endanger the maintenance of peace and stability in their region”

This recent improvement in Greek-Turkish relations can be attributed to many external and internal factors, apart from the ”diplomacy of the earthquakes”. Externally, the European Union’s under-the-radar diplomatic efforts pushed primarily Ankara to a more relaxed stance towards Greece.

Germany was at the forefront of this nearly-undercover effort, as Berlin wants Turkey to remain a strategic economic partner of the EU. Additionally, regional security concerns, such as the strategic importance of NATO unity at a time when Russia wages war against Ukraine, also played a crucial role in the recent rapprochement.

As for internal factors that helped the amelioration of the relations, these were mainly the victory of President Erdogan in Turkey’s elections in 2023. This caused a shift in the economic priorities of his government. Because of this and due to a growing recognition of the benefits of cooperation over confrontation, Erdogan chose to ease the tensions between the two nations. The mutual interest in energy exploration and addressing migration issues were crucial factors after all.

Greece’s Petrounias Wins Gold At European Championship

Nick Kampouris
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Greece’s Petrounias Wins Gold At European Championship
Greek athlete Eleutherios Petrounias performing on still rings
Eleutherios Petrounias won gold at the European Championships in Rimini and is not looking for his 2024 Olympics participation in Paris. Credit: Ministerio do Esporte, Flickr, CC BY 2.0

Eleftherios Petrounias, the celebrated Greek gymnastics athlete once again proved his dominance in the still rings event on Friday evening by winning a gold medal in the 2024 European Championships in Artistic Gymnastics that was held in Rimini, Italy.

This was the 7th European Championship gold medal for Petrounias.

The 33-year-old Greek Olympic champion showed once again to the European audience his exceptional strength, precision, and unmatched artistry in a breathtaking performance.

Petrounias earned a score of 15.000 points, something that brought him to the top, ahead of Azerbaijan’s Nikita Simonov who earned 14,900, and Turkey’s Adem Asil who gained the same amount of points.

Cheered on by his beloved wife Vasiliki Millousi, who is a former Olympic gymnast herself, as well as their two daughters, Petrounias executed his routine flawlessly, leaving the audience and judges in awe with, yet again, another win.

These successes of Petrounias have not come without their fair share of obstacles. In 2018, he had to deal with a persistent shoulder injury that required surgery and forced him to miss the 2019 European Championships. However, Petrounias refused to let this setback derail his Olympic dreams and worked tirelessly to regain his form and fitness for the then-upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

Their postponement, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic offered Petrounias a truly unexpected opportunity to strengthen his bid for a second consecutive Olympic gold medal even further, as the Games would take place in 2021 rather than 2020. With an extra year to prepare, he was able to adjust his routines and maintain his competitive edge.

Thus, despite this surgery, Petrounias managed to win a bronze medal in the Japanese capital, only to be followed by more medals in the coming European competitions.

Who is Eleftherios Petrounias?

Petrounias is the 2016 Olympic champion, 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, three-time World champion (2015, 2017, 2018), and now a seven-time (2011, 2015–18, 2021, 2022, 2024) European medalist on the still rings.

He is considered by many experts and fans of the sport one of the greatest gymnasts of all time and was named Best Greek Male Athlete for four consecutive years, from 2015 to 2018.

Born in Athens in 1990, he was brought to the Panionios Gymnastics Club at the age of five by his mother so that he ”could release his energy” as he had said before in an interview.

At the age of 20, Petrounias won his debut major international medal at the 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Berlin.

The European Gymnastics Championship

The European Gymnastics Championships are gymnastics competitions that have been organized by the European Gymnastics Federation for decades. They include championships for various gymnastics disciplines, including artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline, acrobatic, and aerobic as well as TeamGym championships.

Petrounias is taking part in the artistic gymnastics championships that are being held every two years. The last time such a competition was held in Greece was in 2006, when the city of Volos hosted the prestigious event.

April 27, 1941: The Day German Troops Stormed Athens

Philip Chrysopoulos
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April 27, 1941: The Day German Troops Stormed Athens
German troops Athens
German soldiers hoist the swastika at the Acropolis. Public Domain

It was on Sunday, April 27, 1941, when German troops entered Athens. The capital’s residents remained stubbornly locked up in their homes.

The hoisting of the Nazi swastika flag on the Acropolis marked the beginning of the German Occupation. Soon, the Germans set up a puppet government with Georgios Tsolakoglou, the general who signed the capitulation, as prime minister.

As the Wehrmacht motor units began rolling into the empty streets, the voice of the Athens Radio Station announcer Konstantinos Stavropoulos echoed inside the homes of Athenians— and still echoes eerily through the decades.

“Attention! Attention!” Stavropoulos’ voice thundered through homes, “The capital is falling into the hands of the conquerors. On the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, the blue and white is no longer flying proud. Instead, it is replaced by the banner of violence. The guard of our flag, ordered to take it down to raise the German flag, committed suicide by jumping off the cliff at the point where the blue and white was flying. Long live Greece!”

National Anthem played for the last time as German troops stormed Athens

Then the Hellenic National Anthem played for the last time on the radio, not to be heard again until three and a half years later when Athens was liberated. It was followed by the last free announcement.

German troops Athens
German tanks under the Acropolis. Public Domain

“Attention! The Athens Radio Station will no longer be Greek after a while,” it was said, as “it will be German and will be broadcasting lies! Greeks! Do not listen to it. Our war continues and will continue until the final victory! Long live the Nation of Greece!” The announcement was followed by a silence that was equally chilling.

The radio silence was broken several hours later with the first announcement of the Nazi conquerors, in Greek and German as follows.

“The Mayor of Athens, retaining all the powers in the city of Athens under German Occupation, announces that today, Sunday, April 27th, at eight o’clock am, German troops entered the city of Athens and took possession of it.”

“Under the German troops, unequivocal assurances were given that the population of Athens have nothing to fear,” the announcer reassured citizens, and “We call upon everybody as to behave in an orderly manner, with dignity and courtesy. The Mayor of Athens commands that, as of this time, the normal life of the city resumes smoothly.”

A list of instructions, which can be seen below, followed. These included:

1. Shops normally closed on Sundays, should open immediately.
2. Immediately, people can begin moving around the city, allowed until 11pm. From 11pm (Greece time) until 6am, traffic is forbidden. Police officers may, under their own responsibility, issue special permission for free movement during the forbidden hours when necessary.
3. The Gendarmerie and the City Police will keep their arms to preserve order.
4. Holders of any army rifles, hunting rifles, pistols or other handguns should immediately surrender them to their local police stations and receive pertinent proof of surrender.
5. Wherever there is a Greek flag hoisted, a German flag must also be raised to the right.
6. Newspapers may be published and circulate at regular times and editions.
7. Everyone is obliged to accept German banknotes at a price of 50 GRD per Deutsche mark.
8. On the morning of Monday, all public, municipal, and other agencies and offices should open and employees should be in their positions and all other employees at their workplace.
9. The German Occupation Armed Forces Guard headquarters are stationed in the “KING GEORGE” Hotel at Syntagma Square. The German Army headquarters are at “GREAT BRITAIN” Hotel.

German troops Athens
German troops at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in Athens. Public Domain

Greek author commits suicide: Better to die a patriot

Penelope Delta, the famous Greek author, decided to take her own life just as Nazi Germany’s forces occupied Athens.

Delta was well known for the children’s books that she had written throughout her life. Aspects of her own childhood and family were utilized as starting points for her stories, including for her Romiopoules (“Young Greek Girls”) trilogy that she completed toward the end of her life.

On April 27th, the day German forces entered Athens, Delta committed suicide by poisoning herself and dying days later on May 2nd. For Delta, it was better to die a patriot to her beloved Greece than see it ravaged by the Nazis. Before committing suicide, Delta left one last note to her children.

Delta’s note read: “My dear children, I do not want to have a priest nor an official funeral upon my death. Bury me at a corner of our garden, but only when you are certain I do not breathe anymore. I kiss you all, With love Penelope Delta.”

Her children followed her request and buried her in the family garden. One exception they made to her will was inviting the Archbishop of Athens to preside over her burial. The archbishop, Chrysanthus of Trebizond, was not only her friend but one of her earlier inspirations. 

Germany imposes harsh measures on Athenians

When German forces entered the Greater Athens area, they were under strict orders to behave in a civilized and courteous manner, and to treat the Greeks as though they had been “liberated from British occupation.”

After a while, they came to be hated as they imposed increasingly harsh measures on the population. A curfew was enforced. All shutters had to be kept closed even during the oppressive heat of the summer nights.

Criticism of German soldiers was completely outlawed no matter the circumstances, and even so much as a glance could land one in trouble. The Germans themselves were the arbiters of what constituted a ‘critical glance.’

The conquerors were afraid to sleep in camps for fear of bombardment by the Allies, so they appropriated private homes for their own use. They requisitioned all public and most private transport so that citizens had to walk or use the home-made two-wheeled push-carts which were used as ‘taxis.’

Hospitals were emptied of the sick, including war casualties, to ensure that they would be available, if required, for German soldiers. The wounded victors of the Albanian campaign were turned out of their beds to be quartered in vacant warehouses, or were forced to wander the streets in pyjamas. Medicines were reserved for the use of the conquerors.

What followed was infinitely worse, as in the three and a half years of German Occupation, about 600,000 Greeks died of hunger, various diseases, and harsh conditions. Furthermore, 105,000 passed away in concentration camps.

Over 56,000 Greeks were executed by the Germans, mostly in retaliation to acts of the Greek Resistance. Finally, over 20,000 Greek Resistance fighters died fighting the occupying forces.

The Forgotten Story of the Last Greek Pope in Rome

Nick Kampouris
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The Forgotten Story of the Last Greek Pope in Rome
St Peter's Basilica
The Cathedral of Saint Peter in Vatican, the epicentre of the Roman Catholic Church. Credit: Alvesgaspar Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Pope Zachary (Zacharias in Greek and Latin) was the last ethnically Greek pope, serving as the head of the Roman Church. Zachary reigned from 741 to 752 AD during a tumultuous period of change and uncertainty in papal history.

Despite the numerous difficulties and challenges that he faced, Zachary managed to emerge as a strong figure, who became renowned for his diplomatic skills and long-lasting accomplishments that solidified the authority of the papacy for the centuries to come.

Pope Zachary led the Roman Church before the great schism which was known as the East-West Schism of 1054. This was the formal and official break of communion between the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. A series of minor and more important theological as well as political disputes between the Greek East and Latin West led to this momentous event of the formal split.

These included many disagreements over the procession of the Holy Spirit (Filioque), the use of leavened or unleavened bread in the Eucharist, as well as the claim of the Pope to hold universal jurisdiction. The mutual excommunications in 1054 by Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I Cerularius of Constantinople resulted in the official creation of the two largest denominations in Christianity – the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths.

Early Life and Rise to the Papacy

Zachary was born in 679 AD in the region of the predominately Greek-speaking Calabria in southern Italy. He was born to a devoutly Greek family and was very soon drawn into the church from a young age. He served as a deacon in the Roman Church of the area and signed decrees of the Roman synod that took place in 732. This demonstrated clearly his involvement in church affairs from an early age, showing his devotion to Christianity. On December 3 or 5, 741, Zachary was chosen to succeed Pope Gregory III, becoming the latest in a long line of Greek popes that had guided the Roman church during a period that is now known as the Byzantine papacy.

The Byzantine Papacy was actually a rather long period of more than two centuries when the popes in Rome were strongly influenced by the Byzantine Empire. It lasted from 537 to 752 AD and during this time, popes required the official approval of the Byzantine Emperor for their episcopal consecration, or in other words, for them to take office.

Pope Zachary
”Zacharias the Greek”. Credit: Giovanni Battista de Cavalieri-Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Many of the popes during that period were chosen from the apocrisiarii, which was a body of people that were papal representatives to the emperor. The popes that were elected during this time were primarily Greeks from Greece, Syria, or Byzantine Sicily and southern Italy.

This period officially began when Justinian I conquered the Italian peninsula in the famous Gothic War and appointed the next three popes himself, a practice continued by later Byzantine emperors. The Byzantine Papacy played a significant role in the history of Western Christianity. It saw the introduction of many Eastern theological and liturgical influences into the Roman church. However, this period of heavy Greek influence in the Roman Church ended in 752 when Pope Zachary became the last pope to announce his election to a Byzantine ruler or seek their approval.

Diplomatic Relations and Peacemaking

One of the greatest strengths of Pope Zachary was his unique ability to negotiate and maintain peaceful relations with many secular rulers who had conflicting interests. He personally met with the Lombard King Liutprand in an attempt to persuade him to return several important cities and territories that had been seized from the Church back to the Roman Church. Additionally, following the request of the Exarchate of Ravenna, Zachary convinced Liutprand to abandon his planned attack on the city and restore lands he had taken previously.

These astonishing diplomatic efforts made by the Pope extended to the Byzantine Empire as well, showing how well-connected the final Greek Pope was. For example, Zachary corresponded with Emperor Constantine V, advising him to restore the veneration of icons, returning back to the original Orthodox practices of the Christian Church. It is noted that the veneration of the icons had been banned during the iconoclastic controversy that lasted for several with the influential St. Boniface and supporting his efforts to reform the clergy in the bro decades. The pope also maintained very close ties with the Frankish church in the West and with the corresponding region of Western Europe.

Momentous Decision on Frankish Succession

One of the most significant decisions of Pope Zachary came in 751-752. It was then that the Greek Pope supported the deposition of the last Merovingian king, Childeric III. The pope then officially authorized the Frankish church to anoint Pepin the Short as the new king. This marked a historic turning point in European history. This decision that was officialized and effectively allowed by Pope Zachary established the influential Carolingian-papal alliance, which would shape the future of Western Christianity profoundly. This also paved the way for a new, much more active relationship between church and state for centuries to come.

Pope Zachary
Pope Zachary. Credit: Wolfgang Sauber, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Legacy and Sainthood of the Pope

Pope Zachary is regarded by both the Catholic and the Orthodox Church as an excellent, very capable, and charitable pope who proved himself during a troubled and tough historical era; an era that was marked by conflicts and power struggles across the continent.

Among his major achievements was the fact that he forbade the practice of slave trafficking in Rome and used his very own papal funds to buy and free enslaved individuals, demonstrating his commitment to Christian teachings and human dignity. Zachary also translated the Dialogues of Pope Gregory the Great into the Greek language, further connecting the papacy to its Byzantine heritage and the epicenter of the Eastern Roman Empire.

In recognition of his virtuous life and great leadership, Zachary was venerated as a saint in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, with his feast day celebrated on the 15th of March. His Greek heritage and early life in Byzantine Calabria undoubtedly shaped his personality and his worldview, facts that shaped profoundly his approach to the papacy and the way he led the Roman Church.

Pope Zachary, the last of the so-called Greek popes, left a timeless impact on the institution of the papacy and the course of Western Christianity as a whole. His unmatched leadership and diplomatic skills, Christian saintly character, and crucially momentous decisions regarding the Frankish succession solidified the authority of the Holy See during a period of great upheaval.

John Koudounis Highlights Sustainability at Eastern Mediterranean Business Summit

Matthew Norman
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John Koudounis Highlights Sustainability at Eastern Mediterranean Business Summit
John Koudounis
John Koudounis spoke today at the Fifth New York – Eastern Mediterranean Business Summit. Credit: Economist Impact / YouTube

Speaking at the Economist-hosted Fifth New York-Eastern Mediterranean Business Summit Greek-American CEO of Calamos Investments John Koudounis, said there is a strong appetite for investment in Environmental and sustainable products, and although the sector has been politicized by far right and far left, the future is bright for investing in sustainability.

Sustainability in Business According to Koudounis

Addressing the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) in future investment opportunities, Koudounis shared that Calamos Investments had partnered with Greek Milwaukee Bucks NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo, stating “We partnered with Giannis Antetokounmpo because of our shared values. Giannis and I agree that family, community, fair economics, and the environment are key areas in which we can do some good. We look for companies that bring positive sustainable benefits.”

The partnership comes as Calamos Investments announces a new sustainable usage fund available to investors, which, according to Koudounis, is built on the company’s belief that ESG and sustainable business investing has a strong future.

He added “A couple of years ago ESG was the largest sector of growth in all mutual fund businesses, and for the first time last year they saw some offload, which is bound to happen in any market. The important thing is that in the long term, ESG is not going anywhere. Sustainable investment is here to stay. It has been politicized, and there’s been a lot of backlash, but that will pass.”

Koudounis also took the opportunity to talk about greenwashing, saying that businesses need to stick to a system for sustainability, not just undergo random, arbitrary changes and then announce them.

The other panelist in this section of the event was Roger Martella, chief sustainability officer at GE Vernova, an energy equipment manufacturing and services company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He spoke about the demand for renewable energy, claiming that “we will see a doubling in demand for renewable energy in 2040 from 2020, and we need to merge electrification and decarbonization. We innovate technology to both electrify and decarbonize.”

He went on to speak about the future of renewable energy, stating “This decade is a decade of action, we need to grow renewables as soon as possible, including nuclear energy and making the grid more efficient. Now, in our research centers, we are preparing for the next decade. We are innovating renewable technology such as carbon capture and others, which gives us a road map to increase capacity in the future.”

The Eastern Mediterranean is playing a pivotal role with significant investments in energy infrastructure, security, ESG, innovation, real estate, tourism, healthcare, and financial services contributing significantly to the strengthening of investment and trade on both sides of the Atlantic.

As such, the Economist saw fit to center this year’s Economist New York – Eastern Mediterranean Business Summit on “expanding corridors of stability, investment and trade.”

Olympic Flame Officially Handed over in Athens Ceremony

Matthew Norman
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Olympic Flame Officially Handed over in Athens Ceremony
Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony took place in Athens.
Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony took place in Athens. Credit: Μanu. CC BY 2.0/flickr

A dusky glow over the Parthenon provided the backdrop for the lighting of the Olympic lantern as part of the flame handover ceremony, ready to make its journey to Marseille and then around the rest of the world.

A magnificent Olympic flame handover ceremony took place earlier today at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens, with traditional Greek-garbed Presidential Guardsmen parading and the high priestess being followed by her priestess procession.

The slightly stubborn lantern took a few attempts to light, but once it had been lit up there was tremendous cheer from the crowd. The flame will now make its way across the Mediterranean to Marseille, and then across the Atlantic to the US, passing and gracing many other countries along the way.

The Olympic flame will be carried on Le Belem, a three-masted ship and the last of the great French merchant ships of the 19th century still sailing. It is 126 years old, has changed nationality three times, and finally regained its French flag.

The commentator described the ceremony as a “magical and memorable occasion.”

A Greek spokesperson addressing the crowd said “In a few hours the flame will travel by sea to Marseille, on a boat named Belem, jewel of the French maritime tradition. We Greeks don’t believe in coincidence, the flame will go to Marseille, which was founded by Greeks more than 2,600 years ago.”

He added “Greece and France have lived together on a cultural level for a very long time, and this ceremony makes links, and builds bridges between people. We also remember that big ideas are the ones people need when they listen to the sound of war around them. The Greek poet laureate Girogos Seferis wrote ‘in our gradually sinking world, everyone is in need of all the others. We must look for man wherever we can find him.”

The speaker concluded by saying “The Olympic flame is part of mankind, a promise of a better world which represents the courage of those who will overcome their limits. Paris 2024 will be an absolute success.” This was followed by hoorays and cheers for France and Greece.

The Olympic Opening Ceremony in Paris

The Olympics website states that the “Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games will be bold, original and unique. On July 26, Paris 2024 will offer an Opening Ceremony that is certain to join the most memorable moments in Olympic history.”

Adding “For the first time in the history of the Olympic Summer Games, the Opening Ceremony will not take place in a stadium. Paris 2024 is breaking new ground by bringing sports into the city and the same will be true of the Opening Ceremony, set to be held in the heart of the city along its main artery: the Seine.”

Making Diamonds Doesn’t Require Extreme Pressure Anymore

Abdul Moeed
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Making Diamonds Doesn’t Require Extreme Pressure Anymore
The price of natural diamonds has plummeted due to decreased demand and growth of lab-grown diamonds.
Researchers have found a new way of making diamonds at low pressure. Credit: Kim Alaniz / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0

Researchers, led by Director Rod Ruoff at the Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM) in the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), as well as graduate students from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), have successfully grown diamonds.

They achieved this breakthrough under conditions of 1-atmosphere pressure and at 1025°C. Their method involved using a special liquid metal alloy made of gallium, iron, nickel, and silicon.

This achievement marks a significant departure from previous methods. The discovery offers promising ways for more scientific exploration and the potential to scale up diamond production in innovative ways, as reported by “ScienceDaily.”

Growing diamonds using a home-built vacuum system

Under Ruoff’s guidance, the research team carried out numerous experiments. They made several hundred adjustments to various parameters and explored different experimental methods.

After rigorous efforts, they successfully grew diamonds using a home-built, cold-wall vacuum system.

Ruoff explained research progress was hindered by the lengthy setup process in the large chamber, RSR-A. It took over three hours.

This involved pumping out air for about three minutes, purging with inert gas for ninety minutes, pumping down to vacuum level again for three minutes, and then filling the chamber with a pure hydrogen/methane mixture for another ninety minutes before the experiment could commence.

To address this issue, Ruoff enlisted the expertise of Dr. Won Kyung Seong to develop a more efficient chamber. Seong commented that they designed and constructed a smaller chamber, called RSR-S, with a volume of only nine liters. This new system drastically reduced setup time to just fifteen minutes.

With quicker pumping, purging, and filling processes, they were able to accelerate the parametric studies significantly. This acceleration was crucial in identifying the parameters necessary for diamond growth within the liquid metal.

Diamond growing in the sub-surface of a liquid metal

The team uncovered that diamonds form beneath the surface of a liquid metal blend composed of 77.75 percent gallium, 11 percent nickel, 11 percent iron, and 0.25 percent silicon (based on atomic percentages). This phenomenon occurs when the mixture is exposed to methane and hydrogen under 1-atmosphere pressure at approximately 1025°C.

Yan Gong, a graduate student from UNIST and the primary author, said that, during one experiment with the RSR-S system, he observed a “rainbow pattern” spanning a few millimeters on the bottom surface of the solidified metal piece. This was after conducting the experiment and cooling down the graphite crucible to solidify the liquid metal.

Upon further investigation, they discovered the rainbow colors were indicative of diamond presence. This revelation enabled them to pinpoint the parameters conducive to consistent diamond growth.

In this new method, diamond formation initiates without requiring the presence of traditional seed particles. These are typically used in conventional high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) settings as well as during chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis methods.

When Jerusalem Was Under Ancient Greek Rule

Philip Chrysopoulos
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When Jerusalem Was Under Ancient Greek Rule
Ptolemy I was the first Greek ruler of Jerusalem
Marble bust (cropped) of Ptolemy I, the first Greek ruler of Jerusalem during the Hellenistic era. Credit: Public Domain

The ancient Greek period in Jerusalem lasted from 332 to 152 BC following the death of Alexander the Great and the dividing of his empire by his generals, the so-called diadochi.

Alexander’s successors imposed the Hellenistic culture on their new subjects. For about a century and a half, interaction between the Greeks and Jews was regular and nuanced. Hellenism was also followed during their reign. This came to an end when Herod the Great became king.

For the first twenty years after Alexander’s death, Judea was assigned to Laomedon but was fiercely contested by the generals. When the Wars of the Diadochi ended in the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Ptolemy I Soter took control of Judea along with all of Palestine and Egypt, establishing the Ptolemaic dynasty rule until 200 BC.

The vision of Alexander the Great was to make Greek culture universal in his colonized territories, having as prototype 5th century BC Athens during the Golden Age of Pericles.  His diadochi succeeded in that respect, and Hellenism influenced the lands they ruled.

Hellenistic Judaism

Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD) related the story of how Ptolemy took over Jerusalem. He wrote that Ptolemy appeared before the city on a Sabbath, pretending he wanted to make a sacrifice, and seized it, knowing that the Jews did not fight on the Sabbath. Josephus took this story from Greek author Agatharchides of Cnidus.

On this occasion, Ptolemy is said to have taken many captives from Jerusalem. He also took captives from the rest of Judea as well as from Samaria, and he settled them in Egypt. Knowing how sacred the oath was to Jewish people, he is said to have used them to garrison important strongholds. Thereafter, many Jews voluntarily went to Egypt to live, partly on account of the fertile land and partly on Ptolemy’s just rule.

Ptolemy soon turned Jerusalem into a polis. The Greek city was the vehicle for the assimilation and Hellenization of the indigenous peoples of the Near East. The Greeks founded new cities which were populated mostly by local people. While many Jews opposed the idea of Hellenization, they were not actively against the changes the Greeks brought. A cultural melting pot was created, as the institutions of the Greek way of life were opened to all who wished to participate. The Greek language was rapidly adopted by wealthy Jews indicating that locals were generally open to Hellenization.

The Ptolemies were benevolent toward the Jews. Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who ruled from 285 to 246 BC, commissioned a translation of the Hebrew Bible around the year 250 BC. At the same time, 72 scholars from Jerusalem translated the Torah, the five books of Moses, into Greek.

People from the surrounding villages and settlements began coming to Jerusalem to enjoy the advantages of living in a city. Furthermore, the concept of a citizen participating in municipal decision-making and government was something unknown and sounded promising. The upper class in Jerusalem and other newly founded cities in Judea were soon acculturated through the schools and other institu­tions of the Hellenistic world.

During the Hellenistic period, the important developments in literature were in Greek. Homer, the tragedians of the 5th century, especially Euripides, and the orators and historians of the 4th century were the models of the new Classicism.

The Seleucids bring changes

During the late 3rd century BC, many battles took place between the Ptolemies, led by General Scopas in the south, and two Seleucid armies in the north, one led by Antiochus the Younger and the other by Antiochus III. In 200 BC, a final battle between the armies of the two diadochi took place in Panion (modern-day Banias) with the Seleucids winning the war and control of Jerusalem falling into their hands.

The Seleucids were determined to Hellenize Judea. They instituted the Olympic Games in Jerusalem and invited locals to participate. Some Jews participated, but they did so at the price of being derided by their community. Furthermore, since these were Greek games, the participants needed to look Greek. Since Olympic athletes competed naked, Jewish would-be Olympians often had to undergo painful operations to hide their circumcisions before they could participate.

Other Jews weren’t pleased about the ancient Olympics. Many were horrified to see such a celebration of the human body on the grounds of God’s holy temple, as it seemed idolatrous and insulting. The conflict over the Games was a major factor leading to the Maccabean Revolt later.

While the Ptolemies were kind rulers, the Seleucids were the exact opposite. When the most infamous of the Seleucid rulers, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, went to Jerusalem in 169 BC, he plundered the sacred Temple Mount, sacrificed a pig on the Temple altar, and took all the Temple furniture and treasures away to Antioch.

In 168 BC, Antiochus IV Epiphanes built the Akra, a fortress for his Macedonian garrison, from which the Jewish population could be controlled. Hellenized Jews also joined this garrison.

Antiochus was determined to Hellenize all the Jews in Judea. As a first step, he forbade worship on the Temple Mount and the practice of rituals, such as sacrifice and circumcision, and forced them, on penalty of death, to sacrifice to pagan gods. But when an imperial emissary went to the nearby town of Modiin demanding that people be sacrificed on a pagan altar, Mattathias the priest refused to obey. When one of his countrymen came forward to sacrifice, Mattathias killed him and the emissary.

This was the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt. Mattathias, his five sons, Eleazar, Simon, Judah, John, and Jonathan, known as the Maccabees, along with many villagers decided to revolt against the Greeks. They left Modiin immediately and set up camp in the Gophna Hills. That was where they fought many battles against the Seleucid army from 167 to 160 BC.

The Seleucids remained in control of Judea, but the opposition of the Maccabees to the Seleucids and the Hellenized Jews continued until 134 BC. The Maccabees eventually attained the independence of Jerusalem and Judea in general.

The Curious Story of Greek Strongman Gust Lessis

Matthew Norman
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The Curious Story of Greek Strongman Gust Lessis
Greek strongman Gust Lessis wowed American crowds with his superior displays of strength.
Greek strongman Gust Lessis wowed American crowds with his superior displays of strength. Credit: RyanKemmers. CC BY 2.0/flickr

Greek strongman Gust Lessis first found fame after moving to the US in 1919. There, he performed feats of incredible strength before audiences at Brighton Beach and was soon discovered by two New York photographers. Unfortunately, Lessis met a sad end.

Lessis’ fame and popularity grew from then on, and even prompted then ultra-famous strongman Sandow the Magnificent to tell a group of reporters that the young Greek will “surpass others in his strength when he reaches the age of thirty,” as per “The Courier-News” of Bridgewater on April 29, 1926.

Eugen Sandow, 'Sandow the Magnificent'.
Eugen Sandow, “Sandow the Magnificent.” Credit: whatsthatpicture. CC BY 1.0/flickr

Lessis, the Greek strongman’s rise in fame

The Greek strongman astonished Americans in the early 1900s right through World War II, and via surviving photographs and newsreels of the 1920s and 1930s, he even sparked a new generation of admirers.

Most sources point to Lessis as having been born in Livadia, Greece sometime around 1891 to William Lessis and Panagian Lessis. The young strongman arrived in the US around the year 1919 and moved in with his two uncles then living in Omaha, Nebraska.

Not long after this, Lessis started working in the Pittsburgh Bethlehem Steel Works while trying to establish himself as a professional strongman but breaking into the realm of public life proved a difficult feat. He was eventually discovered at Brighton Beach by Jack Sussman and Bill McGrath, two New York photographers who pictured Lessis easily wrapping a one-inch bar around his wrist. “The sensational new strongman, whose feats have astounded all who have seen him, is but 22 years old and weighs only 185 pounds,” read a “New-York Tribune” article in 1922.

Lessis gains the attention of the media

This performance, which caught the attention of the media, firmly established the young Greek’s future career as a strongman.

“On a recent afternoon in a quiet corner of Brighton Beach Park, he held a one-ton boulder on his chest while a workman pounded it to pieces with a giant sledgehammer. Lessis supported himself on the ground with his hands and feet (like a table) as ten workmen put the stone on him. He didn’t quiver as the huge hammer pounded with terrific blows, sending sparks and fragments into his face and eyes. It took nearly ten minutes to shatter the stone, but Lessis stood under the terrific weight without a sign of exhaustion. Furthermore, there was nothing between Lessis’ skin, which is unnaturally tough, and the sharp, jagged rock,” reported “The Evening World” of New York in September 1922.

From that moment on, and once Lessis had been dubbed the “Human Anvil,” photographs of the breaking of large pavement stones across his chest, along with other feats of strength, began appearing on front pages and in the entertainment sections of newspapers all across the nation.

The young Greek’s abilities can be viewed by searching for YouTube footage titled “Strongmen, costauds, fakirs 1922-1931.”

Lessis’ breakthrough

However, things didn’t really pick up until “after weeks during which he almost starved, Gust attracted the attention of theatrical promoters. At one time he was giving exhibitions in Greek restaurants in New York. He further demonstrated his strength by lifting an office safe bodily from the floor. In the end, he signed a vaudeville contract to appear for $600 a week,” reported the Pittsburgh “Daily Post” on July 18, 1923.

Following his breakthrough performance at Brighton Beach, Lessis started to exhibit his feats of strength in theaters, circuses, and other public venues.

What is less clear about Lessis at this time is his apparent attempts to also establish himself as both a professional wrestler and boxer. In his theater shows, he was celebrated for his ability to “break a railroad spike with his teeth.”

Another demonstration of Greek Lessis’ great power was his ability to stretch a rubber spring to 1,200 pounds. Another was his placement of a several-feet-long, inch-and-a-half iron bar in his mouth while three individuals on each side bent the bar as he stood on a rock.

The October 1923 issue of “Popular Science Monthly” shows a photo of Lessis bending and breaking a thick iron spike with his teeth, with the spike embedded eight inches into a wooden beam.

At his many performances, Greek strongman Lessis would offer $5,000 to anyone who was able to duplicate his feats of strength, but according to public records, nobody ever did. he toured the country “winning many medals for his wonderful feats of strength,” according to “Central New Jersey Home News.”

The Greek strongman’s personal life

In 1921, Lessis met and fell in love with an 18-year-old American woman from Rawlings, Wyoming. Most news accounts cite this young lady’s name as Lola, and some other sources state her surname was Gottschalk.

In 1922, when the newlywed couple arrived in New York City, “the strong man saw that his wife could not resist the lure of the bright lights. He liked the simple life; she wanted always to be ‘on the go,’ it is said. He wanted children; she disliked them. At length Lessis saw that, although he loved Lola, they could never get along together,” reported the “Pittsburgh Daily Post” on July 18, 1923.

Sadly, by 1923, the same newspaper reported that Lessis had “filed suit for divorce. Lola, his wife, hasn’t been true to him…Lola won’t stay at home, it is said. She left him four times, but always came back. He was glad to see her and always made her welcome, no matter how long she had been away. Even now that his suit is filed Lessis says maybe he’ll give her another chance—if she will promise to be good and stay with him. But he fears it wouldn’t do much good.” The couple was officially divorced in 1923.

Although his love life suffered, the Greek strongman’s professional life continued to flourish. For the next ten years, Lessis made his way back and forth across performance types. As a wrestler, boxer, and circus strongman, Lessis’ fame grew and grew. Even today, websites devoted to wrestling and bodybuilding have rediscovered Lessis.

The murder of Greek strongman Gust Lessis

A newspaper clipping from “The Tampa Times” on May 7, 1932 discusses how, within a few hours after the Pinellas County grand jury’s indictment of Tom Kappas, a Tampa musician, for first-degree murder in the death of Gust Lessis, a man by the name of Tony Kappas was arrested at Pensacola and held as the “slayer of Lessis.”

“The man arrested at Pensacola denied any connection with the crime, however,” it was reported. “Officers there said he answered the description of the man wanted and also said he lived at Tarpon Springs (where Lessis lived at this point) and knew Tom Kappas.”

China Green-Lights Mass Production of Autonomous Flying Taxis

Abdul Moeed
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China Green-Lights Mass Production of Autonomous Flying Taxis
Ehang flying taxi
China has given the greenlight for Ehang’s autonomous flying taxis. Credit: Oronbb / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

EHang, a vehicle maker, got the first-ever production certificate in China to produce self-flying taxis. These taxis are called EH216-S. They don’t need a pilot and can carry passengers. They can take off and land vertically, and they run on electricity.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) gave the green light for EHang to make these taxis in large numbers. The news came out on April 7th in a statement from the company.

While many companies make eVTOLs, they’ve mostly served as test models for trial flights. However, now, EHang’s move is a big step toward bringing eVTOLs into regular use.

Huazhi Hu, the CEO of EHang, shared in the statement, “Our vision is to introduce safe and reliable pilotless eVTOL aircraft to the global market, thereby offering safe, autonomous and eco-friendly air mobility services to everyone.”

With the production certificate, EHang can now make flying cars. This includes getting raw materials, managing the supply chain, checking quality, and performing tests. They’re also responsible for fixing and maintaining the cars after they’ve been sold. These steps are all thoroughly verified through reviews and inspections, as reported by “Live Science.”

EH216-S can fly at 10,000 feet with a speed of 62 mph

EHang introduced the EH216-S in 2018. It is a small electric craft that can take off and land vertically (VTOL). This flying taxi has a body made of carbon fiber and runs on sixteen motors connected to sixteen propellers. It can cruise at 62 mph (100 km/h) and fly as high as 10,000 feet (3,000 meters).

Made for carrying passengers, it can accommodate two people. It’s equipped with a self-driving system, so there’s no need for a pilot.

EHang says they’ve tested this VTOL many times with and without people on board. Before the EH216-S, EHang had another model known as the EHang 184, which they introduced in 2016, according to “Live Science.”

EHang intends the EH216-S to serve various purposes, including being used as air taxis, sightseeing flights, shuttles to airports, and travel between islands.

Getting approval for mass production of the EH216-S is a significant step in making unmanned eVTOLs and similar aircraft a part of everyday life. This certification makes the EH216-S the first of its kind. It could also make China the pioneer in offering flying taxi services to the public.

Although the EH216-S is cleared for mass production, the CAAC released the Green Aviation Manufacturing Development Outline (2023-2035) in October 2023. This document gives directions for getting a pilot-operated eVTOL flying by 2025 and having fully autonomous services widely available by 2035.

It emphasizes the importance of creating practical rules and insurance plans for flying cars, according to “Live Science.”

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