Ancient Greek Statue of Woman Using “Laptop” Sparks Conspiracy Theories

ancient Greek statue some think shows a laptop
The ancient Greek statue some conspiracy theorists think shows a laptop. Credit: Getty Villa / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

A recurring conspiracy theory which has gone viral claims that an ancient Greek statue supposedly depicting a woman “using a laptop” is “proof” of time travel. The statue once marked a grave and was created around 100 BC.

Many inventions beyond their time are associated with the ancient Greek civilization, but the laptop was certainly not one of them…until now.

Of course, historians have dismissed the theory as nonsense and provided more grounded explanations, suggesting that the object in the statue may be a box or wax tablet.

Does this ancient Greek statue depict a laptop?

The statue that spurred on the conspiracy theory is called the “Grave Naiskos Of An Enthroned Woman With An Attendant” and is on display at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, California.

The ancient Greek statue portrays a seated woman with a slave standing in front of her, holding a slim folding container. The woman, who appears to be the mistress, touches the top of the container with her fingers while looking up towards the upper part of it with her stone eyes.

However, various conspiracy theorists believe that the container depicted is actually a laptop, complete with USB ports on the side of the device.

In one viral YouTube video, an uploader claims that the ancient Greek statue “depicts an astonishing object that bears a striking resemblance to a modern laptop or some handheld device”.

“When I look at the sculpture I can’t help but think about the Oracle of Delphi, which was supposed to allow the priests to connect with the gods to retrieve advanced information,” continued the video’s upload.

They dismissed more feasible explanations, arguing that the container’s base is too shallow to be a jewellry box.

This is not the first time the conspiracy theory has popped up. In 2016, the Daily Mail published an article questioning whether the funerary statue was indeed proof that a time traveler had brought back a laptop to ancient Greece.

Expert opinion

Back in 2016, archaeologist Kristina Killgrove wrote in Forbes debunking the theory that the ancient Greeks had somehow come across advanced computer technology.

“It’s a typical funeral marker, depicting the deceased individual in a vibrant way, often, in the case of women, in a household scene,” explained Killgrove. “These stelai were carved in relief, and were almost always painted, although the painting doesn’t survive in most cases.”

“In this stele, a woman reclines on a chair and reaches to touch the lid of an object that is held by a girl whose hairstyle and clothes indicate she is a slave. This is a rather typical trope in funeral stelai, the image of a wealthy adult woman reaching to a servant, and may have reflected her family’s desire for her to retain her status into the afterlife,” continued Killgrove.

Killgrove suggested a variety of more tangible explanations for what the object held by the woman in the statue may have been, including a wax tablet or some kind of jewellery box or other container.

Rather than being USB ports, the holes on the side of the container may have originally been used to hold wooden items that have long since rotted away.

It is also possible that the holes were made during efforts to rework or copy the sculpture. Other parts of the stele are missing, so this is certainly a plausible explanation.

Julian Assange Wins Reprieve in Case Against Extradition to US

0
Julian Assange
The WikiLeaks founder has been battling for years against extradition to the US. Credit: Embassy of Ecuador in London, CC2/Flickr

The UK’s High Court gave reprieve to the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by ruling that the US must give assurances that he will not face the death penalty if extradited.

According to the ruling on Tuesday, US authorities have three weeks to provide this before judges will consider dismissing Assange’s appeal against extradition to the US. UK judges also want assurances over whether Assange will be able to rely on free speech rights.

In a written judgment, judges said the concerns that had real prospects of success at appeal but which “may be capable of being addressed by assurances” were “that the applicant [Assange] is permitted to rely on the first amendment, that the applicant is not prejudiced at trial, including sentence, by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same first amendment protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed.”

At a two-day hearing last month, which Assange was too unwell to attend, his lawyers argued that he faced a “flagrant denial of justice” if extradited to the US to face charges relating to the publication by Assange and WikiLeaks of thousands of classified and diplomatic documents they said had exposed torture, rendition, extrajudicial killings, and war crimes.

His wife, Stella Assange, expressed dismay at the judges’ decision. “What the courts have done has been to invite a political intervention from the United States…send a letter saying ‘its all OK,’” she said. “I find this astounding.”

“This case is a retribution,” she said. “It is a signal to all of you that if you expose the interests that are driving war they will come after you, [and] they will put you in prison and will try to kill you.

“The Biden administration should not issue assurances. They should drop this shameful case that should never have been brought.”

Julian Assange is left “in limbo”

The delay to the High Court’s ruling on Julian Assange’s extradition appeal leaves the WikiLeaks founder “in limbo,” says Amnesty International’s legal adviser.

Simon Crowther said that, instead of allowing this “protracted legal process to continue,” the US should drop all charges against Assange.

According to Crowther, “While the US has allegedly assured the UK that it will not violate Assange’s rights, we know from past cases that such ‘guarantees’ are deeply flawed—and the diplomatic assurances so far in the Assange case are riddled with loopholes.”

“In trying to imprison him, the US is sending an unambiguous warning to publishers and journalists everywhere that they too could be targeted and that it is not safe for them to receive and publish classified material—even if doing so is in the public interest,” Crowther added.

Assange, whose extradition proceedings have drawn international attention, faces prolonged solitary confinement and a potential prison term of up to 175 years if convicted.

The controversial figure behind WikiLeaks faces eighteen criminal counts in the US for his alleged role in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to national defense, including evidence exposing alleged war crimes.

Related: The CIA “Plotted to Kidnap and Assassinate” Julian Assange

Why the Volcano Eruption in Santorini 1,300 Years Ago Is Ominous

Santorini volcano
Scientists warn of an “elevated hazard potential” from the Santorini volcano. Credit: AMNA

An international team of scientists has discovered that a 726 AD eruption of the Santorini volcano was a lot bigger than initially estimated, suggesting explosive blasts can occur even in periods of relative quiet.

Published in the Nature Geoscience journal on Monday, the study’s findings change “the prevailing view that Kameni Volcano has been in a predominately effusive state since the Minoan eruption and implies that the Santorini volcanic system has been capable of producing highly explosive eruptions in its current early stage in the caldera cycle,” the paper says.

The team’s analysis, based on drilling carried out as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 398, found that the magnitude of the 726 AD eruption was greater than assumed and that pumice from the blast may have traveled all the way to the coast of Asia Minor.

“Historical accounts mention that, during the summer of 726 CE, the sea within the Santorini caldera began to boil until dense smoke rose and was accompanied by pyroclastic eruptions,” researchers wrote in the study.

According to the team, “Large pumice blocks were ejected in such quantity that they covered the sea over an immense area, reaching the coasts of Macedonia and Asia Minor more than 400 km [kilometers, or 250 miles] away.”

“Our results demonstrate that Kameni Volcano has been capable of producing a major VEI 5 explosive eruption in the recent past,” the paper argues. “This changes the prevailing view that Kameni Volcano has been in a predominately effusive state since the Minoan eruption and implies that the Santorini volcanic system has been capable of producing highly explosive eruptions in its current early stage in the caldera cycle.”

“A similar eruptive event today would have severe consequences not only for the inhabitants of Santorini and its neighboring islands but also for the broader eastern Mediterranean,” it was said.

“Eruption phenomena may include tsunamis generated by submarine explosions, extensive pumice rafts and large airborne ash plumes with significant impacts on coastal communities, aviation, maritime transportation and submarine cables,” it was added.

Underwater eruption detected at Santorini volcano

In January, an international scientific team discovered a previously unknown underwater volcano eruption off Santorini. It is believed to be six times larger and 520,000 years older than the Minoan eruption.

The underwater Santorini volcano eruption was one of the largest in the volcanic arc of the southern Aegean. An expedition carried out by the research vessel JOIDES Resolution Science Operator brought the eruption to light. The research program International Ocean Discovery Program maintains and runs the particular vessel.

The team identified a huge pumice, or volcanic rock, deposit. They drew samples from this at seven underwater locations around the island of Santorini.

The results of the study have been published in a subset of Nature, titled Communications Earth & Environment.

The pumice layer, colloquially referred to as “ancient tophos,” points to a shallow underwater eruption of the prehistoric volcano of Santorini that took place around 520,000 years ago. This is with a possible deviation of 10,000 years.

Thin layers of volcanic pumice deposits that were fired from the eruption covered three islands in the area.

The pyroclastic flows discharged under the sea, carried water away and turned into currents of turbidity and mud that covered the seabed up to approximately 45 miles (around 70 km) from their source. This formed a submarine deposit with a volume of more than about 22 cubic miles (90 cubic km) and a thickness of up to 493 feet (150 meters).

This deposit is six times larger than the pyroclastic flow deposits of the great Minoan explosion that occurred during the Late Bronze Age (about 3,600 years ago) and contributed to the decline of the Minoan civilization of Crete.

Related: Growing Magma Under Santorini Volcano a ‘Real Threat’

Centuries-Old Aztec Texts Detail History of Their Capital

0
Centuries-old Aztec texts
Centuries-old Aztec texts sharing the ancient history. Credit: SC / INAH / BNAH

According to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), a set of ancient books from Mexico have revealed a wealth of information on the Aztecs. These books are written in the Aztec language and tell us about how their capital was built, their victories, and how they were defeated by the Spanish.

Based on a report by the Spanish newspaper El País, the Mexican government just purchased three special books called codices. They are known as the Codices of San Andrés Tetepilco. These books are filled with drawings and have been kept by a family for many years.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Aztecs were in charge of a big part of Mexico. Their main city was Tenochtitlán, located where Mexico City stands today. Between 1519 and 1521, Spanish invaders took over the Aztec Empire, making it part of Spain’s territory.

Even after that, books written in the Aztec language, Nahuatl, and Spanish were still being made until the early 17th century, as reported by Live Science.

Tenochtitlán founded approximately in 1300

INAH representatives explained that there were recently talks on one of the codices, specifically about how Tenochtitlan was founded approximately in 1300. The leaders who governed it before the Spanish arrived were also a topic of discussion.

According to the codex, the Aztecs took over Tetepilco around 1440, and the ruler of Tetepilco pledged loyalty to the Aztecs. Furthermore, the codex also describes the Spanish arrival in 1519, their authority until 1611, and their maintaining control over Mexico until 1821.

A family in Mexico City, who preferred not to be named, owned the particular codices. Researchers at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City studied these and discovered that two of the pages were made of amate, a type of bark paper.

They also found that the inks used in the codices were made from plants, charcoal, and indigo, which resulted in colors such as red, yellow ochre, black, and blue.

Government bought all the codices for $570,000

Once the authenticity of the documents was confirmed, the government started negotiations with the family. Eventually, the government bought all three codices for 9.5 million pesos, which is about $570,000.

El País mentioned that the family also sold two other codices. One of them is about how Tetepilco was founded, while the other describes the belongings of a church there.

Now, all three codices are part of the National Library of Anthropology and History’s Collection of Mexican Codices (BNAH). Researchers are excited to look deeper into these texts to uncover more about Mexico’s past, as stated by INAH.

UNAM researchers clarified that the map of the founding of Tetepilco holds valuable historical and geographical data. It includes records that match real locations, such as Culhuacan, Tetepilco, Tepanohuayan, Cohuatlinchan, Xaltocan, and Azcapotzalco.

Earth Hit by Radiation From Rare Double X-Class Solar Flare

0
Earth Hit by ‘Double’ X-Class Solar Flare
Earth hit by double x-class solar flare. Credit: NASA / SOHO

A super strong geomagnetic storm hit Earth recently, sparked by a rare “double” X-class flare from the sun. This storm, the strongest in over six years, lit up the skies worldwide with colorful auroras and other bright phenomena.

The event reveals the sun is probably at the peak of its eleven-year cycle of activity, known as solar maximum. This means Earth might face more of these powerful solar storms in the next few months, as reported by Live Science.

Last Saturday, March 23rd, the sun shot out a whopping 1.1 magnitude X-class solar flare. This type of explosion is the strongest the sun can possibly produce. The important thing is that this blast was a bit different.

It was actually two explosions happening at the same time. This is known as a sympathetic solar flare. These explosions stemmed from two separate sunspots, AR3614 and AR3615, which were far apart and hundreds of thousands of miles away from each other, according to Spaceweather.com.

The double explosion made the Earth’s protective layer weaker

The double explosion resulted in a huge cloud of plasma and radiation into space called a coronal mass ejection (CME). This cloud reached Earth’s magnetosphere on Sunday, March 24th.

When it collided with our planet’s protective shield, it sent shockwaves through it, making it temporarily weaker. Because of this, solar radiation could penetrate further into the atmosphere than usual.

As a result, auroras were seen in Australia and New Zealand. Additionally, a phenomenon similar to auroras, called STEVE (also known as strong thermal emission velocity enhancement), appeared in Alaska, as reported by Spaceweather.com.

The geomagnetic storm hit its strongest point, reaching severe (G4) status, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center, managed by both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service.

The last time Earth faced a geomagnetic disturbance this strong was back in September 2017, as noted by Spaceweather.com. Geomagnetic storms are categorized based on intensity, ranging from minor (G1) to extreme (G5).

Sun might have entered the solar maximum phase a year ago

The rareness of this solar blast and the strength of the resulting geomagnetic storm strongly suggest the sun is approaching solar maximum.

Some scientists think the sun might have already entered this active phase, possibly about a year earlier than expected. However, we won’t have a precise confirmation of when this phase began until several months after the sun begins to settle down.

During solar maximum, X-class flares tend to happen more often. Thus far in 2024, the sun has already unleashed six X-class flares. This is half as many as what we saw in the entire year of 2023, according to SpaceWeatherLive.com.

With these big explosions happening more frequently, the chances of powerful geomagnetic storms happening increase.

Besides creating beautiful auroras, these storms can affect things on the ground such as infrastructure, cause satellites to fall back to Earth, and heat up the upper atmosphere, as reported by Live Science.

When Exactly Is Atlantis Believed to Have Existed?

Map of Lost Atlantis
Map of lost Atlantis. Credit: Public Domain

Plato’s story of Atlantis is famously set a very long time ago in the past. The figure “9000 years before Solon” is thrown around a lot in discussions of when Atlantis supposedly existed. However, did Plato really set his story of Atlantis so far in the past? According to all the information he provided, when did Atlantis exist?

The traditional date for Atlantis’ existence

Traditionally, Atlantis is believed to have existed around the year 9400 BCE. Where does this date come from, though? It comes from the information provided in Plato’s account of Atlantis as found in Critias. There, we find the narrative of Critias relating the story of Atlantis. Critias was almost certainly the poet and leader of Athens in the late-fifth century BCE.

In Plato’s account, Critias specifically says the following:

Let me begin by observing first of all, that nine thousand was the sum of years which had elapsed since the war which was said to have taken place between those who dwelt outside the Pillars of Heracles and all who dwelt within them; this war I am going to describe.

The war he refers to here is the war between Atlantis and Athens. Thus, according to this, Atlantis is said to have existed at least 9,000 years before the time of Critias. This places it around 9400 BCE. This is where the traditional date for Atlantis comes from.

How reliable is that date likely to be?

A lot of independent researchers firmly stick to this date when investigating Atlantis. For this reason, some theories attempt to connect Atlantis to the proposed Younger Dryas impact, which supposedly occurred in about 10,600 BCE. Needless to say, mainstream academics reject such a proposal on the basis that there is no evidence of major civilizations in that era in addition to other reasons.

On the other hand, many mainstream academics also stick firmly to the timeframe provided in the Critias. But for them, this is a reason to reject the story as fictional, because no archaeological or geological evidence from that era matches the story of Atlantis. It also doesn’t make sense that a story could have been preserved for so long before being recorded by Plato.

Yet, both of these viewpoints are flawed. In reality, there are countless examples of ancient writers who exaggerate people and events. For instance, Herodotus placed the adoption of the Phoenician alphabet by the Greeks 1,600 years before his own time. In reality, this occurred just 400 years before Herodotus.

Another example is Menes, the legendary first king of Egypt. The Egyptian historian Manetho placed him some 6,000 or 7,000 years before his time, yet most scholars today believe that he actually lived less than 3,000 years before Manetho.

Acropolis Parthenon
The Acropolis at Athens. Credit: Gary Bembridge/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-2.0

Evidence from Athens

Rather than taking a timeframe at face value, it is far more beneficial to examine other details in the account of Atlantis to see when it supposedly existed. As it so happens, Plato does provide some highly relevant evidence beyond just the figure of 9,000 years.

In his other account of Atlantis, found in Timaeus, an Egyptian priest explains to Solon that the city of Athens in Greece was founded 9,000 years ago. This is truly a remarkable statement that most researchers have entirely ignored. By looking at the evidence as a whole, we see that the war between Atlantis and Athens supposedly happened at approximately the same time as when Athens was founded.

Consider one important fact that this highlights. Plato’s account makes the city of Athens 9,000 years old, yet there is no archaeological evidence that it existed for so long ago. Despite this, no modern scholar would argue that this means that Athens was a fictional city. It is merely the case that Plato’s account is not wholly accurate.

Therefore, this refutes the logic that Plato’s statement about when Atlantis existed must mean that Atlantis was fictional. That is clearly not the case, as the example of Athens proves.

Furthermore, archaeology and other Ancient Greek records point to the founding of Athens as a city in approximately 1500 BCE.

How personal names show when Atlantis existed

There is more evidence in Plato’s account that points to c. 1500 BCE for the true era of Atlantis. As well as associating the era of Atlantis with the time in which Athens was founded, Plato’s account also connects the war between Athens and Atlantis with several personal names.

Plato specifically says that the Egyptian account of the war between Athens and Atlantis contained the names of several Greeks. These must have been prominent Greek participants in the war. Otherwise their names would not have been recorded. Presumably, they were military leaders or kings.

With this in mind, note that the names mentioned by Plato are: Cecrops, Erechtheus, Erichthonius, and Erysichthon. Why are these names so interesting? The very first name, Cecrops, was the legendary founder of Athens for instance. This virtually confirms that when Plato associated the Atlantean war with the era of Athens’ founding, he really was referring to the founding of Athens mentioned in other Greek records in which Cecrops was involved.

The other Greek records, such as the Parian Chronicle, place Cecrops in the 16th century BCE. Erysichthon was the son of Cecrops. Erechtheus and Erichthonius seem to be duplicates for the same king, who ruled in the 15th century BCE.

When Atlantis really existed

The sum of all this evidence is that Plato’s account points to approximately 1500 BCE as the era when Atlantis existed. While it is true that the explicit timeframe he provides places it in the distant past, it would be extremely inconsistent for a researcher of Greek legend to accept this at face value.

According to Plato, the founding of Athens also occurred 9,000 years before his time, yet other Greek records and archaeology point to c.1500 BCE as the approximate year of its true founding. Plato also mentions Cecrops in the account of the Atlantean war. Other Greek records speak of Cecrops as the founder of Athens who lived in the 16th century BCE. The other names mentioned also agree with this date.

This information is quite significant. If we can establish when Atlantis was really supposed to have existed, then we can potentially identify it with an actual civilization. As it happens, this date of c. 1500 BCE is a perfect match for the Minoan civilization. The Minoans really did go to war against the Greeks during that time period, and the Greeks really did win, just like in the legend of Atlantis. Various other pieces of evidence indeed support the identification of Atlantis with the Minoan civilization.

The Bible’s First Translation Was in Greek

The bible
The bible, the best-selling and most translated book in all of history, also the most influential of all time. Credit: NYC Wanderer (Kevin Eng) / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Bible is the biggest-selling and most read book in human history; originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, the first translation of the Bible into another language, called the Septuagint, was in Greek.

The translation of the Old Testament into Koine Greek in the third century BC took place within a historical context that was important for the development of the “Tanakh,” or Hebrew Bible, and the growth of Judaism and Christianity.

The Septuagint

Letter of Aristeas
Beginning of the Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates where he writes about the Septuagint. Credit: Aristeas/Unknown author / Public domain

Hebrew, the original language of the Jews, ceased to be a spoken language during the exile or post-exile period, and Aramaic became the lingua franca or common language of the Jewish people.

With the rise of Alexander the Great and the Greek Empire, Diaspora Jews became Hellenized; and for some Jews, especially those living in Ptolemaic Egypt, Greek had become their primary language. Therefore, it became necessary for the Hebraic laws to be translated into Greek.

Demetrius of Phalerum, the chief librarian of the library of Alexandria, urged Egypt’s Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus to translate the Hebrew law into Greek to increase the library’s collection of books.

The high priest chose six men from each of the twelve Hebrew tribes, for 72 in all; after a sermon regarding the law, the translators arrived in Alexandria. For the next seven days he posed philosophical questions to the translators.

The work of the 72 was reportedly completed in 72 days. They mainly translated the Hebrew law, or the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible today.

The Jews of Alexandria, upon reading the law in Greek, asked for copies of the translation and cursed those who dared to change the translation. The king rewarded the translators handsomely and sent them home.

pSalm 90 greek translation bible
Psalm 90 translated into Greek from the Septuagint in one of the Oxyrhynchus papyri (ca. 450). Credit: 5thCentury monk / Public domain

This story is recounted in “The Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates,” a Hellenistic-era work from the 3rd century BC, known to be the oldest text that mentions the library of Alexandria.

The work bears this name because it was written by Aristeas, a courtier of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, to his brother Philocrates. In the missive he recounts the reasons for the Greek translation of the Hebrew laws. However, it should be pointed out that the letter is considered by many scholars as questionable.

The main intention of the translation was to impose the Greek Septuagint over any other version of the Hebrew Bible. In the translation, moreover, they portray Zeus as another name for the God of Israel.

Twenty handwritten copies of the letter in Greek, written from the 11th to the 15th century, survive.

The 70 translators

Originally there were 72 translators, six from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, but it was shortened to 70, and therefore they gave the work the name “Septuagint,” or “the book of the 70s.”

When the Jewish scholars were brought to Alexandria, the king asked them philosophical and profound questions for seven days. Ptolemy II Philadelphus was amazed at the wisdom of the 72 men.

A miraculous event supposedly occurred, when, after 72 days, the translators drew up exact copies of the Septuagint separately.

The story that is known through the Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates was repeated in later sources, including Philo of Alexandria, and Josephus in “Antiquities of the Jews.” It is also found in the Tractate Megillah of the Babylonian Talmud, where it says:

“King Ptolemy once gathered 72 Elders. He placed them in 72 chambers, each of them in a separate one, without revealing to them why they were summoned. He entered each one’s room and said: ‘Write for me the Torah of Moshe, your teacher.’ God put it in the heart of each one to translate identically as all the others did.”

The importance of the Septuagint

old greek bible translation
Old Bible from a Greek monastery. Credit: Alinea / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

After the translation of the Torah, the other books of the Old Testament were translated. The New Testament was originally written in Greek.

This Greek translation of the Bible is important because it added theological concepts that help to better understand the religious and political context in which the prophets lived. The Septuagint has helped scholars determine which manuscripts are most reliable, giving a faithful translation of the Old Testament.

In addition, the Septuagint helps to better understand Jewish theology, by better understanding the worship practices of the Jewish people.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are names entered into the Bible through the Septuagint. Just as the division of the books into law, history, poetry, and prophets, as well as the subdivision of books like 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, etc., are due to the Septuagint.

The Septuagint was the Bible of the early church, and the most cited text by the Apostles and authors of the New Testament. Mark 7: 6-7 says: ‘Jesus replied, “Isaiah was right about you hypocrites when he said, ‘These people claim they honor me, but in their thinking they are far from me. There’s no point in their worship of me, for what they teach as doctrines are merely human rules’, referring to the Septuagint.

And the Apostle Paul, the greatest writer of the New Testament, didn’t write his letters in vulgate Greek, he wrote in language worthy of a learned man who knew Greek perfectly and already had the Septuagint in his mind.

Before the New Testament was written, the Old Testament had already been translated into Greek. This facilitated the understanding and creation of the Bible as we know it today.

Today, the Bible has been fully translated into 450 languages.

What Has Russia Ever Done For Greece?

Russia Greece
A common religion may not be enough to stem the deterioration of relations between Greece and Russia. Credit: Twitter/Russian Embassy in Athens

The state of ties between Greece and Russia is dire. The negative energy is evident in the words and deeds of both parties.

The Greek government ordered all its embassies abroad to refrain from inviting diplomats from Belarus and Russia to their receptions on March 25, the anniversary of the start of the War of Independence.

Maria Zakharova, the director of the information and press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, hit back at Greece and accused the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis of a “boundless hostile campaign,” against Russia.

“The Mitsotakis government continues its boundless hostile campaign to erase from the collective memory everything related to Russia, sacrificing for the sake of temporary circumstances – the eternal historical, cultural, and spiritual ties between our two peoples”.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reignited the debate in Greece on the historic relations between the two nations that share a common religion.

The destruction of towns and villages in eastern Ukraine, especially Mariupol where tens of thousands of ethnic Greeks live, has led many Greeks to rethink and re-evaluate those relations.

Greece and Russia have “strong historical ties of friendship based on shared spiritual and cultural values,” the Foreign Ministry in Athens notes on its website. But, what exactly was the role of Russia and the Soviet Union in modern Greek history?

Russia and the Greek revolution of 1821

The Greeks planned the Greek War of Independence in Ukraine, part of the Russian Empire at the time. Russia had long been hostile to the Ottoman Empire, and their support of smaller revolts—some Greek, some among other Balkan communities—in Ottoman territory only exacerbated tensions between the two powers during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The uprising was put on course with the founding in Odessa in modern Ukraine of a clandestine organization named Filiki Eteria (Friendly Society) in September 1814. The aim of the organization was Greek independence with Russian support.

One of its early outstanding members was Alexandros Ypsilantis, a prince and high-ranking officer of the Imperial Russian Cavalry.

Ypsilantis issued a declaration on October 8, 1820 announcing a revolt against the Ottoman Empire. He went on to say that the Greeks did not need foreign help as they could defeat the Turks on their own before going on to say that Russian support was assured.

Russia Greece
Alexandros Ypsilantis crosses the Pruth, by Peter von Hess, Benaki Museum, Athens. Public Domain

Ypsilantis began the revolt in the spring of 1821 in the Danubian Principalities. During his march into Moldavia and Wallachia, he was counting on Russia for support, but Alexander I not only refused to help but also condemned the revolt and discharged Ypsilantis from his army.

The Ottomans slaughtered the Sacred Band, a force mainly composed of volunteers and students of the Greek communities of Moldavia, Wallachia, and Odessa.

Diplomatic and ideological issues regarding the European balance of power and the preservation of peace on the continent following the fall of Napoleon made Russia very reluctant to support the revolutionary activity of the Greeks.

This international political climate prevented the Russian government from taking any formal action despite the ties that bound the Greek and Russian communities together.

Kapodistrias and Moscow

Ioannis Kapodistrias who served as the Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire was the first head of state of Greece.

Kapodistrias became increasingly active in support of Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire but did not succeed in obtaining Alexander’s support for the Greek revolution of 1821.

This put Kapodistrias in an untenable situation, and in 1822 he took an extended leave of absence from his position as Foreign Minister and retired to Geneva where he applied himself to supporting the Greek revolution by organizing material and moral support.

On March 30, 1827 the National Assembly of Trizina elected him Governor of the newly established Greek state. After arduous consultations in European capitals to ensure the necessary support for the Greek state, he arrived in Nafplio on January 7, 1828 and was welcomed with enthusiasm and celebrations.

Being one of the most distinguished politicians and diplomats of Europe, he championed the recognition of Greece’s sovereignty by the Great Powers and worked tirelessly to set the foundations for the nascent republic.

Russia and the Battle of Navarino

Russia played a decisive role in the Battle of Navarino, a naval battle fought on October 20, 1827, during the Greek War of Independence. Allied forces from Britain, France, and Russia decisively defeated Ottoman and Egyptian forces attempting to suppress the Greeks, thereby inching closer to Greek independence.

Russia Greece
Russians at the naval battle of Navarino. Public Domain

The sinking of the Ottomans’ Mediterranean fleet saved the fledgling Greek Republic from collapse. However, it required two additional military interventions by Russia, in the form of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, and a French expeditionary force to the Peloponnese to force the withdrawal of Ottoman forces from Central and Southern Greece and finally secure Greek independence.

Russia and the Asia Minor Catastrophe

A century later, Soviet Russia and Kemalist Turkey were temporarily united by the struggle against a common enemy: The Greeks and Armenians who were supported by the Western powers.

Russia’s valuable aid to Kemal was a key factor in the Asia Minor catastrophe suffered by Greece. It was a cataclysmic event of such enormous importance for modern Greek history that it shaped generation upon generation after 1922, adding yet another unforgettable—and unutterably tragic—milestone to Greece’s long history.

On April 26, 1920, Mustafa Kemal formally approached Vladimir Lenin with a proposal for mutual recognition and  request for military assistance. The Bolsheviks responded positively.

According to Russia Beyond, in the period from 1920 to 1922, Soviet Russia sent Atatürk almost 80 million lire (twice the outlays of the country’s Ministry of Defense), supplied 39,000 rifles, 327 machine guns, 147,000 shells, machinery and raw materials for the production of cartridges, and two destroyers, namely Zhivoy (Alive) and Zhutky (Terrible). Under the stewardship of Soviet experts, two gunpowder factories were built in Turkey.

Russian military aid played a key role in allowing Atatürk’s troops to defeat their two main adversaries: the Democratic Republic of Armenia to the east and the Greek army to the west.

A group of Soviet military experts under the leadership of one of the most prominent Red Army commanders, Mikhail Frunze, took part in the victorious offensive against the Greeks. Aralov, who likewise had extensive combat experience, shared his knowledge of guerrilla warfare with Atatürk’s officers. At one point, even the future Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Voroshilov served as an adviser to Kemal, Russia Beyond notes.

Russia and the Civil War in Greece

The role of Moscow and Stalin in the tragic Greek Civil War that transpired between 1943 to 1949 was decisive. Despite concluding the Yalta Agreement with the United States and Britain which specified that Greece would belong to the West, Stalin allowed and encouraged the outbreak of the Civil War.

The Yalta agreement, which remained secret until the 1960s and was fully respected by all three powers, had made the Civil War a pointless disaster.

Russia not only did not aid its Communist allies in Greece but simply allowed the tragedy to unfold. The Civil War left Greece in ruins and in even greater economic distress than it had been following the end of the German occupation.

Additionally, it divided Greeks well into the ensuing decades with both sides vilifying their opponents.

Greece Russia
The military prison camp of Makronisos opened during the civil war for communist or left-sympathizers. Public Domain

Thousands languished in prison for many years or were sent into internal exile on the islands of Gyaros and Makronisos. Many others sought refuge in communist countries or emigrated to Australia, Germany, the US, the UK, and Canada among other places.

Russia-Greece relations today

Recently, Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned Greece that relations between the two nations that “share the same faith” have been “reduced to almost nothing.”

Maria Zakharova warned that the “historical parallels” between Greece and Russia were in danger of becoming “a solid double line between us.”

Greece has joined its EU and NATO allies in condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has sent military and humanitarian aid to Kyiv.

Relations reached a nadir when Greece expelled 12 Russian diplomats in April 2022.

Greece is also concerned about the close ties between Turkey and Russia. Moscow has been providing Ankara with weapons, including the controversial S400 missile system and has been financing a nuclear power plant built in Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin remotely inaugurated the construction of a third nuclear reactor at the Akkuyu power plant in southern Turkey in 2021.

Erdogan said the plant would launch Turkey into the ”league of nuclear energy countries” and called it a “symbol of Turkish-Russian cooperation.”

Russia is building Turkey’s first nuclear power plant on the Mediterranean coast in Mersin province. The two countries signed a cooperation agreement in 2010 and began construction in 2018.

Greece-Russia common faith, divided Church

Greece and Russia are both Orthodox nations. Their common faith has helped cultural, political, and economic relations throughout history.

Saints Cyril and Methodius, brothers born in Thessaloniki, were responsible for establishing Greek Orthodoxy in Russia and Ukraine.

However, the Russian Church’s stance on the Ukraine invasion has alienated many Greeks. Recently, Archbishop Elpidophoros of the United States slammed Russia’s Orthodox Church for supporting the invasion of Ukraine, signaling out its head Patriarch Kirill.

“Responsibility rests squarely on the leadership of the Russian Church and clearly on Patriarch Kirill,” Elpidophoros had said.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has supported the war, which he claimed in a sermon was a struggle to defend “human civilization” against the “sin” of “gay-pride parades.”

The schism between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople began on October 15, 2018 when the former unilaterally severed full communion with the latter.

The resolution was taken in response to a decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople of October 11, 2018, confirming its intentions to grant autocephaly (independence) to the Eastern Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

Baltimore Bridge Collapses After Being Struck by Ship

0
Baltimore bridge
A vessel crashed into the bridge. Credit: @sentdefender/X

A bridge in Baltimore, Maryland has partially collapsed after being struck by a container ship early on Tuesday morning.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge crumbled after a vessel crashed into it, prompting the structure to fall apart into the Patapsco River shortly before 1:30 AM.

Multiple vehicles fell into the water. Authorities were trying to rescue at least seven people. “All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority wrote on X.

Emergency responders were searching for at least seven people believed to be in the water, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press.

He said agencies received 911 calls around 1:30 AM, reporting a vessel traveling outbound from Baltimore that had struck a column on the bridge, causing it to collapse. Multiple vehicles were on the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer.

“Our focus right now is trying to rescue and recover these people,” Cartwright said. He said it’s too early to know how many people were affected but called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event.”

Cartwright said it appears there are “some cargo or retainers hanging from the bridge,” creating unsafe and unstable conditions and that emergency responders are operating cautiously as a result.

The bridge was the longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area

Baltimore bridge
The bridge was 8,636 feet (2,632 m) long and carried an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually. Credit: Patorjk , CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikipedia

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, also known originally as the Outer Harbor Crossing (until it was renamed in 1977) or simply as the Key Bridge or Beltway Bridge, was a steel arch-shaped continuous through truss bridge spanning the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor / Port carrying Maryland Route 695 in Baltimore, Maryland.

The main span of 1,200 feet (366 m) was the third longest span of any continuous truss in the world. It was also the longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area.

The bridge was opened in March 1977 and is named for the author of the American national anthem, the poem originally called “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” written in September 1814 and later set to music. It was entitled the “Star Spangled Banner” by Frederick and Georgetown lawyer /amateur poet Francis Scott Key (1779–1843).

The bridge was the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore’s Harbor (two tunnels and one bridge). Upon completion, the bridge structure and its approaches became the final links in Interstate 695 (the “Baltimore Beltway”), completing a two decades long project.

The bridge is 8,636 feet (2,632 m) long and carries an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually. It is a designated hazardous materials truck route, as HAZMATs are prohibited in the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels.

Greece’s Mitsotakis Faces No-Confidence Vote in Parliament

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Mitsotakis is being challenged for his government’s handling of the Tempe disaster. Credit: AMNA

Greece’s conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis is facing a no-confidence vote in parliament after five opposition parties joined forces to table the motion last week. The ruling New Democracy has accepted the challenge.

The vote was triggered by allegations that audio recordings related to the deadly Tempe train collision were tampered with before being leaked to the media.

It was first the socialist PASOK that demanded a non-confidence vote, while main opposition SYRIZA asked for a no-confidence vote, the resignation of the Prime Minister, and early elections.

The no-confidence vote is supported also by New Left, communist KKE and nationalist Greek Solution.

Allegations of tampered audio spark political turmoil in Greece

The move came after a report in the newspaper To Vima on Sunday claimed that conversations between the Larissa station master—the one closest to the site of the Tempe train crash—the trains’ drivers, and other persons had been stitched together and offered to pro-government media to give the impression the deadly accident was due exclusively to human error.

“It is infuriating that at a time when 57 people lost their lives in an unjust and tragic way, when their families were grieving and millions of Greeks were thinking that their own children could be on the fatal train, some persons had as priority to remove the conversations of the station master in question, to alter them and feed them to friendly media to boost the narrative of human error,” PASOK Leader Nikos Androulakis said.

Main opposition leader Stefanos Kasselakis of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance called on Prime Minister Mitsotakis to resign “so Greece can be led in an orderly manner to democratic elections.”

Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis expressed his surprise at how soon the opposition had reacted to the newspaper’s publication and responded that justice had the entire original conversations before the accident, provided through the Hellenic Police criminal unit.

“It is now becoming obvious that this antigovernment campaign based on a national tragedy and using the cynical manipulation of pain was nothing but part of an effort to destabilize Greece itself,” Marinakis said.

What do the parties imply? he asked. “That there is no personal responsibility but it’s ‘generally’ the government’s fault?” Marinakis said. “Greece will not return to times of uncertainty and blackmail by powerful interests and party motives.”

No-confidence vote against Mitsotakis set to begin

According to the Greek constitution, the submission of a motion of no confidence against the government needs the signatures of 1/6 of the 300 deputies in total, that is 50 MPs’ signatures.

The debate on the motion of confidence or no confidence begins two days after the submission of the relevant motion, unless the government, in the case of a motion of no confidence, requests that the debate begin immediately, which cannot be extended beyond three days from its start.

The vote on the motion of confidence or no-confidence is held immediately after the debate ends, but it can be postponed for forty-eight hours if the government so requests.

A motion of no confidence is accepted only if an absolute majority of the entire number of deputies approves it.

Even if all opposition parties join forces, their 142 MPs are not enough to pass the motion—unless, some ND lawmakers vote in favor or abstain.

Related: Maria Karystianou, the ‘Mother of Tempe’, Upends Greek Politics