Philhellens join Armatomenoi Moraites Staikos – Staikopoulos Nafplio 1822 in Greek Independence Day march in Nafplio for the first time. Credit: fanistsiros.gr
This year, for the first time, a small group representing the Philhellenes, people who are great admirers of Greece and Greek culture, proudly marched together with the Armatomenoi Moraites (Αρματωμένοι Mωραΐτες) Staikos – Staikopoulos in Nafplio’s Greek Independence Day parade of March 25th.
The association Armed Moraites – Staikos – Staikopoulos was founded in 2020 with headquarters in the Municipality of Nafplio, with the aim of reviving the historical events of the Greek revolution of 1821.
Philhellenes join Armatomenoi Moraites Staikos – Staikopoulos Nafplio 1822 in Greek Independence Day march in Nafplio for first time. Credit: fanistsiros.gr
Participation in the Independence Day parade is always accompanied by emotion and pride for the Armored Moraites since it is a symbol of honor and glory. The Philhellenes flew the commemorative flag of Theodoros Kolokotronis, adorned with the blue cross of Saint Andrew, as a tribute to their compatriots who joined the Greeks in their struggle for freedom after centuries of Ottoman rule.
The flag was used in battles during the Greek Revolution and prominent military leaders, including Kolokotronis and Andreas Miaoulis, made their solemn vows to fight for liberation under it.
Through bravery and unwavering resolve, Greece eventually achieved independence from the Ottomans. A significant factor in their success was the intervention of the allied forces from Britain, France, and Russia in the critical naval battle of Navarino in 1827.
Armatomenoi Moraites Staikos – Staikopoulos Nafplio 1822 in Greek Independence Day march in Nafplio. Credit: fanistsiros.gr
The participation of the Philhellenes in the Independence Day parade pays tribute to the courageous individuals who fought selflessly and laid down their lives to help secure Greece’s independence.
One of the most beautiful towns in the area of Argolis, in the eastern Peloponnese, Nafplio was the first capital of the newly-founded Greek state between 1823 and 1834. According to mythology, the town was founded by Nafplios, the son of the god Poseidon and the daughter of Danaus Amymone.
The town’s history runs back to the prehistoric era when soldiers there took part in the Argonautic expedition and the Trojan War. The town declined during Roman times and flourished again during the Byzantine era. Frankish, Venetian, and Turkish conquerors left their mark on the town and influenced its culture and architecture throughout the centuries.
Philhellenes who advocated for Greek independence
Philhellenism, the collective term for Philhellenes, was an intellectual movement which reached its height at the turn of the nineteenth century. It gave fuel to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron, Charles Nicolas Fabvier, and Richard Church to advocate for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Well-known Philhellenes of history include Lord Byron, Victor Hugo, and Friedrich Nietzsche, the latter of which was one of the most staunch Philhellenes. Nietzsche wrote that “the Greek is the man who has achieved the most,” and “the Greek people are the only people of genius in the history of the world.” Lastly, according to Nietzsche, “the Greeks have never been overestimated.”
On Wednesday, Amazon announced it is investing an additional $2.75 billion in Anthropic, bringing its total investment in the artificial intelligence startup to a jaw-dropping $4 billion.
Anthropic is a leading AI company that has been focused for years on developing safe and responsible generative AI models. The substantial investment on behalf of Amazon to Anthropic deepens the strategic collaboration between Jeff Bezos’ company and Anthropic as they continue to work together to push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI.
Purpose of Amazon investment
Through this new mega-deal, Amazon gains a minority ownership stake in Anthropic. This stake of Amazon is now valued at $18.4 billion.
As part of this major collaboration, Anthropic will be allowed to use Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its primary cloud provider for mission-critical workloads. This will include safety research and the development of future foundation models.
Foundation models are large-scale, general-purpose artificial intelligence models trained on a wide range of data using self-supervised learning. After their initial training, foundation models can be adapted (e.g. fine-tuned) accordingly to perform a large variety of tasks across different topics.
The cutting-edge AI models developed by Anthropic, such as the ChatGPT rival Claude, will also be made accessible to AWS customers via Amazon Bedrock. Bedrock is a fully managed service that provides secure and easy access to a wide range of high-performing AI models.
The integration will enable organizations, regardless of their size, to rapidly test, build, and deploy generative AI applications to drive innovation even further.
This massive investment on Anthropic by Amazon is also aimed at accelerating the adoption of advanced generative AI technologies for Amazon’s vast customer base. Amazon is one of the largest businesses in the world after all.
Impact on AI Research by Amazon’s decision
Anthropic might be less known to the wider public, but it has emerged as a pioneer in the field of generative AI. Anthropic is known to the AI world for focusing on developing safe and controllable AI systems. Its flagship chatbot named Claude is seen by experts and users alike as a major rival to the wildly popular ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI.
Earlier in March, Anthropic introduced Claude 3, its most advanced version of AI models to date. According to the company, the top-of-the-line Claude 3 Opus model outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Google’s Gemini Ultra in numerous key areas such as reasoning, mathematics, and coding, among others.
The strategic collaboration between Amazon and Anthropic paves the way for building even more powerful, safe, and reliable AI models. By combining Anthropic’s cutting-edge research with Amazon’s unmatched scale and AI/ML capabilities, the two companies aim to not just advance the field of AI, but do so in a responsible manner.
The new deal that was finalized and made public on Wednesday now positions Amazon firmly as a central player in the rapidly evolving AI arms race, alongside OpenAI, Google, and Elon Musk’s xAI. With Microsoft going all-in on OpenAI and Google placing its own big bets in their own Gemini project, Amazon made clear to the world that it wants to be placed at the forefront of the generative AI revolution through its partnership with Anthropic.
Technological advancements
As part of this collaboration, Anthropic will most definitely leverage the custom-designed AI chips available by AWS. This includes Trainium and Inferentia to build and deploy its advanced AI models. These extremely specialized processors provide high performance and cost efficiency for compute-intensive AI workloads. They are needed by Anthropic to develop its projects.
Trainium, in particular, is optimized for training large AI models. It offers the highest performance at the lowest cost in the cloud. It is a combination that is very attractive nowadays. Inferentia, on the other hand, is built from the ground up for high-performance, deep-learning inference. By being able to use AWS’s purpose-built AI hardware and software solutions, Anthropic will now be able to train and run its models with better speed and much-needed efficiency.
The tight integration with AWS will definitely also enable Anthropic to scale its models and make them widely accessible to businesses and developers worldwide in a much easier manner. According to Amazon, with just a few lines of code, organizations and businesses alike will tap into the powerful AI capabilities through Amazon Bedrock and build new, innovative applications faster, making Amazon and Anthropic more competitive in the already tough terrain of AI competition.
Partnerships and collaborations
To help businesses adopt new AI technologies responsibly, Amazon and Anthropic have said they are working closely with the leading professional services firm Accenture. As part of this collaboration, over 1,400 Accenture engineers will soon be trained on how to effectively use the models developed by Anthropic on AWS to solve real-world business problems.
Over 1,400 Accenture engineers will be trained as specialists in using Anthropic’s models on AWS, allowing them to provide customers with end-to-end support that speeds up time from concept to production.
This collaboration between Anthropic and Amazon, however, is not new. Several high-profile organizations and businesses are already taking advantage of Anthropic’s AI technology through Amazon Bedrock. These companies leverage the new possibilities offered by AI to transform their operations and become more effective.
US-based Delta Air Lines, for example, is using it to enhance customer service, Germany-based Siemens is applying it for industrial automation that reduces time and costs, and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is employing it to accelerate drug discovery and innovate in the health sector.
Apart from the many commercial applications, Amazon and Anthropic have also declared they want to advance responsible AI development through engagement with key stakeholders and policymakers around the world. As it is known, there are a number of dangers in the uncontrollable development of artificial intelligence. Hence, ethical and controlled development is key to humanity’s well-being and safety. The two companies are actively collaborating with groups like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and others to help shape best practices and standards for safe and ethical AI.
As the age of artificial intelligence swiftly unfolds before our eyes, collaborations like the one between Amazon and Anthropic will play a crucial and fundamental role in unlocking the immense potential of AI. This, nonetheless, will have to be done whilst ensuring it benefits humanity as a whole rather than the selected few. With their combined expertise and resources, the two companies are now well-positioned not only to push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI but also to set the standard for responsible innovation in this transformative field. Only time will tell if they will be able to achieve that.
Thousands of Catholics attend a Holy Friday Mass during Easter in Valledupar, Colombia. Credit: AP / Greek Reporter
Now that Good Friday is upon us, it is useful to understand what this day and the rest of the Easter holiday means to Catholics, who see the day as a time for fasting and mourning.
Good Friday and Easter Sunday reminds people of Jesus’ journey to the cross, and ultimately, his death, burial, and the perils of evil defeating good. It is also emblematic of good triumphing once again with the resurrection of Christ.
The twelve gospels are read on Holy Thursday evening while five are read on Good Friday morning. These narrate the tragic events from the Evangelists’ point of view.
Good Friday is a reminder for the faithful of Christ’s betrayal and subsequent arrest, his interrogation and humiliation, his death sentence ordered by the high priests and Pilate, and Peter’s denial and repentance. It also recounts Christ’s road to calvary, as well as his crucifixion, death, burial, and the closing of his tomb.
Jesus was crucified at nine o’clock in the morning, and his unfathomable pain allegedly lasted for six hours until three in the afternoon, when he died, saying: “It is finished.” At sunset, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two of Christ’s secret disciples, removed his body from the cross and buried him in a rock-covered tomb.
The Vatican on Good Friday and Easter Weekend
Pope Francis presided over the liturgy of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Good Friday afternoon. Good Friday is the only day of the year on which there is no Holy Mass.
The Church celebrates the Solemn Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord, consisting of three parts. These include the Liturgy of the Word, culminating in the chanting of the Passion according to St. John; the Adoration of the Cross; and reception of Holy Communion.
📹HIGHLIGHTS | On Good Friday, Pope Francis presided over the Celebration of the Lord's Passion in St. Peter's Basilica, one of the most beautiful liturgical traditions of the Catholic Church #HolyWeek2024pic.twitter.com/LxX4XYZjoR
After the proclamation of the Passion, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the Preacher of the Pontifical Household, delivered the homily, taking as his starting point the passage: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I Am” (Jn 8:28).
Another part of Easter Weekend at the Vatican is the Urbi et orbi blessing, which is a cherished tradition in the city, where the Pope delivers his blessing to the city of Rome and the entire world, from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
This blessing is said to symbolize the universal reach of the Catholic Church and the message of hope and peace during Easter.
An Easter Vigil is also held at the Vatican on Saturday evening. This includes lighting the Paschal candle, readings from scripture, and the celebration of the Eucharist. This ceremony marks the anticipation of Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Christ.
Vatican Easter Mass usually takes place on the morning of Easter Sunday, and this year it will begin at 9:30 AM.
Alongside these activities, during Easter week, more generally, the Pope holds special papal audiences in the Vatican. Pilgrims and visitors gather in St. Peter’s Square to receive blessings and teachings from the Pope.
Catholic Good Friday in Jerusalem
Even amid the tumult of the current war in Gaza, the timeless tradition of the humble observance of Good Friday by Christian Catholic pilgrims and clergy members unfolds in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Thousands solemnly cross the Via Dolorosa and head towards the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, some carrying wooden crosses, while echoing chants and hymns reverberate in the background. This commemorates the sufferings of Christ in a ritual aligned with the Catholic calendar.
The Via Dolorosa, a religious route within Jerusalem’s Old City, is said to mark Jesus’ journey to the cross after judgement by Pontius Pilate. While the accuracy or authenticity of its historical location is debated, it remains extremely significant as an ancient tradition.
Christians marked this year’s Good Friday in the Old City of Jerusalem, where they followed the path which they believe was walked by Jesus Christ as he carried his cross, known as the Via Crucis. pic.twitter.com/dWBCwSZGAX
According to the Catholic calendar, Holy Week began this year on Palm Sunday, March 24th and will run until Easter Sunday, March 31st, with Good Friday being celebrated today. The Orthodox Church, which utilizes the old Julian calendar, observes Holy Friday (Good Friday) on May 3rd with Easter falling on Sunday, May 5th.
Philippines: Catholic devotees nailed to crosses to re-enact crucifixion
In the Philippines, Catholic devotees were nailed to crosses amidst sweltering heat north of the capital, Manila, on Good Friday, in a re-enactment of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Approximately 20,000 Filipino and foreign tourists gathered in San Pedro Cutud village in Pampanga province to witness this annual display of devotion, which the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines disapproves of.
Actors, dressed as Roman soldiers, whipped devotees who carried crosses and hammered three-inch nails through the hands and feet of three individuals. These crucifixions represented the most extreme displays of faith in the Philippines, a country where about 80% of its more than 110 million people identify as Roman Catholics.
Konstantinos Karamanlis proposed Latinizing the Greek alphabet: Wikipedia CC0
In the mid 1970s when Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis proposed changing the Greek alphabet to Latin and making the Greek language phonetic, the minister of culture and a Parliament member threatened to resign.
The unusual idea of the conservative PM came as a shock to those who learned of his proposal. It was quite unexpected coming from him.
Konstantinos Karamanlis returned triumphantly to Greece on July 24, 1974 following the fall of the seven-year military dictatorship. Upon becoming Greece’s PM, his vision was to introduce crucial reforms to make Greece a true, modern European country. The same day, he was sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece and the most suitable person to unite Greece after a tumultuous seven-year period.
When Karamanlis landed in Athens, Giscard D’Estaing was the President of France after the May 1974 French presidential election. In fact, the plane the Greek politician flew on was courtesy of the French President.
The friendship with Giscard D’Estaing helped Karamanlis materialize one of his bigger plans: to have Greece become a member of the European Economic Community (EEC), which was incorporated into the European Union (EU) in 1993.
On January 1st, 1981, Karamanlis’ vision materialized, and Greece became the tenth member of the EEC. It was a crucial step for Greece’s economic stability in the following years.
Konstantinos Karamanlis’ proposal to Latinize Greek letters
Once established in government, the Greek Prime Minister proceeded with the reforms he had envisioned. He abolished monarchy with a referendum, thus establishing the third Hellenic Republic. He televised the trial of the junta culprits and legalized the Greek Communist Party (KKE) to heal the leftist wounds of the Greek Civil War, and he also ushered Greece into the EEC.
In regards to foreign policy, for the first time since World War II, Greece followed a multi-polar approach between the US, the Soviet Union, and the Third World.
Towards the end of the 1970s, the Greek politician flirted with the idea of furthering Greece’s progress and European identity by introducing the Latin alphabet to the Greek language and making the writing phonetic.
On July 25, 1999, in an article by renowned journalist and newspaper editor of To Vima, Stavros Psycharis reported that the Greek Prime Minister had proposed the establishment of the Latin alphabet and phonetic writing. He described the proposal as a “crisis.”
Psycharis recounted a meeting in which Karamanlis met with Culture Minister Konstantinos Tsatsos and prominent educator and MP Evangelos Papanoutsos to discuss education issues:
“The first time the crisis broke out was in a meeting between Karamanlis and Konstantinos Tsatsos, before becoming President of the Republic, when he was minister of culture, and the late Evangelos Papanoutsos. The prime minister had invited them to his office to discuss Education issues. At one point Karamanlis told them that they should consider the possibility of combining the Greek alphabet with the Latin one, even considering the issue of phonetic writing.”
“Karamanlis’ interlocutors jumped up like springs. ‘I couldn’t believe my ears!’ Konstantinos Tsatsos would say several years later. In any case, the two interlocutors of the then prime minister declared that they would resign, and Karamanlis withdrew the proposal.”
A conservative with progressive ideas
The reason that Karamanlis shocked the two politicians was that he was not known for his involvement in language issues, and such an initiative surprised his party colleagues.
The unexpected proposal to radically change the writing of a language with a tradition of thousands of years of uninterrupted continuity, in which great works were written, would result in damaging Greece’s identity and legacy.
It was no surprise that the issue was not discussed further. Rather, it became an anecdote that very few would even consider repeating.
As for the two Konstantinos Karamanlis interlocutors, Konstantinos Tsatsos (July 1, 1899 – October 8, 1987) was a Greek diplomat, professor of law, scholar, and politician. He served as the second President of the Third Hellenic Republic from 1975 to 1980.
Evangelos Papanoutsos (July 27, 1900 – May 2, 1982) was an important Greek educator, philosopher, theologian, and essay-writer of the twentieth century who served in Parliament during the first Karamanlis term (1974-1977).His contribution to the rehaul of the Greek educational system is widely known.The main reforms attributed to Papanoutsos were, among others, the establishment of primary education and the separation of secondary education into middle school and high school.
Papanoutsos’ educational work was strongly criticized by coup plotters of the colonels’ dictatorship and was almost completely vilified in the 1967 to 1974 period.However, with the restoration of democracy, the Georgios Rallis’ educational reforms of 1976 were essentially based on Papanoutsos’ own philosophies of education.
Being bilingual or multilingual has many positive effects on the human brain, researchers have found. Credit: Beatrice Murch/Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0
Being bilingual or multilingual has been proven to have countless beneficial impacts on the brains of those who speak more than one language.
According to recent data, most of the world’s population, or 43 percent, are bilingual, 40 percent are monolingual, and the rest are multilingual.
Studies have shown that being bilingual comes with many more advantages other than simply having the ability to communicate in multiple languages.
In fact, bilingual children are better at multitasking and can focus more easily than their monolingual counterparts.
While it is clear that those who speak multiple languages have certain linguistic advantages over those who do not, research has shown that they may have other cognitive advantages, as well.
Speaking more than one language helps memory, attention
Psychologist and professor Ellen Bialystock of York University, who focuses on bilingualism and language acquisition, conducted studies which indicate that those who are bilingual successfully completed cognitive and psychological tasks more quickly than monolingual participants.
The tasks were constructed to test their attention span, memory, and ability to shift between one task and another successfully.
There also seems to be an advantage to maintaining a high level in both languages rather than having a preference for one, as it forces the brain to remain active during communication in both languages as they “compete” for dominance with each other in the mind.
Seamlessly switching from one language to another, called “code switching,” may also help bilingual people juggle multiple complex tasks at once and keep their brains active.
It can also help them express things in one language that may be absent in the other. Many bilingual people have likely told others about a word in one language that simply cannot be translated into another. Bilinguals, when talking to other people who speak the same languages, often speak in a mix of both tongues to better express themselves.
Being bilingual helps maintain brain structure, prevents cognitive decline
Studies have shown that speaking more than one language may actually slow cognitive decline as bilingual and multilingual people grow older.
As people age, the amount of white matter in the brain naturally begins to decline. However, scientists have shown through diffusion tensor imaging, which shows the quality and location of white matter in the brain, that older bilingual people had more and higher quality white matter than monolingual people of the same age.
This shows that speaking more than one language may inhibit cognitive decline and help preserve the brain’s white matter. Studies have shown that bilingualism may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Nina Kraus, Professor at Northwestern University, analyzed the brain activity of bilingual people to study the areas of their brains that process complex sounds.
Dr. Kraus found that, much like accomplished musicians, bilinguals were able to pick out and focus on an isolated sound after it was first played to them by itself and then when it was played along with distracting background noise while monolingual people were not.
Furthermore, bilingual people were shown to have a greater ability to “pick out” important sounds when tasked with clicking a mouse every time they heard a specific word during a jumbled recording than those who speak only one language.
This indicates that those who speak multiple languages can pay attention to selected, relevant sounds while disregarding others, filtering out what is necessary.
With Greek Orthodox Easter on May 5, Greeks and tourists alike are planning to rush out of urban centers to enjoy the unique holiday customs found in destinations across the country.
While there are some shared Easter traditions throughout the country, there are many distinct customs that are unique to specific locations. Many of these traditions are incredibly moving, spiritual, and visually striking.
For Greeks, Easter is not merely the most important Orthodox holiday but also a time to reconnect with the country’s deep traditions.
Corfu, one of the most popular Easter destinations in Greece
After the First Resurrection, which takes place in the island’s metropolitan church, the bells of all churches begin to toll and people begin throwing thousands of botides filled with water and laurel from their windows.
The botides crash on the road and make a terrible racket, which in combination with the water and laurel is supposed to chase “evil” away.
Easter Sunday is filled with music from the island’s numerous bands which march around the city center playing songs. This joyous and beautiful event alone attracts thousands of Greek tourists each year.
Other Greek islands with unique Easter traditions have become popular destinations. Hydra is a popular choice due to its proximity to Athens and its tradition of blessing an Epitaph from the region of Kamini and then placing it in the sea, following a long procession throughout the island.
Many travellers are also rushing to the island of Chios, which is famed for its unique and spectacular Easter tradition of launching rockets.
The rocket war, one of the most beautiful, spectacular and yet dangerous Easter spectacles in the country, is thought to date back to the days of the Ottoman occupation of Greece.
The custom traditionally involves two opposing parishes of the village spending the evening just before Orthodox Easter Sunday firing thousands of homemade rockets at each other’s church, while the more pious among them attend a service inside.
The two rival parishes are Saint Mark and Panagia Erythiani (which means ”Red Madonna” in English).
These two beautiful churches stand on two hilltops about 400 meters from each other.
Traditionally, the objective is to hit the bell tower of the church on the other side. The rockets are wooden sticks loaded with an explosive mixture containing gunpowder and launched from grooved platforms.
Areas of religious significance also popular
Many destinations that are known internationally for their religious significance are also popular choices for Easter. The most notable and popular are the Greek islands of Patmos and Tinos.
Patmos, also known as the “Island of the Apocalypse,” is best known as the location where the Apostle John, who found refuge on the island in the 1st century AD, saw the visions found in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, and where the book itself was written.
The Book of Revelation was written in 95 AD in the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse, where Saint John heard the voice of God.
The cave was later turned into a place of worship, and it is still open to travelers who are often Christians going on pilgrimage.
Each Easter, believers on the Greek island reenact two important scenes from the New Testament, namely the Last Supper and the Washing of the Feet, in the island’s central square.
Tinos is a holy island both for Greek Orthodox believers and for Catholics, as the island is home to a significant population of Greek Catholics who coexist peacefully with their Orthodox neighbors. The two groups often combine their holiday celebrations, showing their unity, even though the dates of Catholic and Orthodox Easter don’t often coincide.
On Good Friday, single women on the island bless the Epitaph of Agios Nikolaos which is then led to the sea in a procession. The Epitaph blazes with fire from burning torches that are used during the tradition.
Of course, Tinos is also known for the famous church called Our Lady of Tinos (Greek: Παναγία Ευαγγελίστρια της Τήνου), which is home to an Icon of the Virgin Mary that is said to be miraculous.
Meteora, which is known internationally for its impressive, moon-like landscapes and historic monasteries, is a popular destination for Easter time, as the faithful can visit the holy places and admire the stunning scenery.
Now home to one of the largest—and certainly the most precipitously built—complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, Meteora is second in importance only to Mount Athos in religious centers of Orthodox monasticism.
Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene by Simeon Solomon,1864 Credit: Simeon Solomon / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Modern English, and indeed many languages, borrow a plethora of words from ancient Greek. One particularly interesting word is “lesbian”, today used to describe a homosexual woman who is attracted to other women, but the root of the word is tied to the Greek island of Lesbos.
“Lesbian” is a demonym for the inhabitants of Lesbos, also spelled as Lesvos, so why does it today describe female homosexuality? The answer is bound to the reputation of the island itself and the written work of an ancient Greek poet named Sappho.
The ancient Greeks themselves would have been confused by the term as it is used today since sexuality in Classical Greece and elsewhere in the ancient world was conceived differently and typically had more to do with one’s romantic role than gender. To answer our question, we must therefore examine how language has evolved over time.
The etymology of “lesbian” and its link to Lesbos
Unsurprisingly, the island did not have an above-average population of women who were attracted to the same sex in ancient times. Rather, the etymology of the word lesbian is linked to one of Lesbos’ most famous inhabitants.
The island was the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, who lived around the 6th century BC. Sappho was known for her lyrical poems, many of which have been interpreted as expressing love and desire for other women.
The etymology of the word “lesbian” is therefore commonly attributed to Sappho herself. The word “Sapphic” also refers to feelings of desire between women.
Further explanation
However, Professor of Classical Studies Kate Gilhuly has suggested a more complex explanation.
Gilhuly writes: “Although Sappho’s poetry was well known throughout antiquity, her sexual orientation is not explicitly defined until centuries after her death, and when Lesbos is directly associated with women who love other women in Lucian’s Dialogues of the Courtesans, Sappho is not explicitly named.”
In other words, Sappho was not explicitly identified as a lesbian in ancient times, nor is it entirely clear that the association between Lesbos and same-sex attraction between women began with the ancient Greek poet.
Gilhuly continues, writing that “there is a significant gap bridged by associating one person’s birthplace and her sexual orientation, and a still more significant gap between every single person from all the cities and villages on the island of Lesbos and a collective sexual orientation.”
Instead, Gilhuly argues that ancient Athenian perceptions of Lesbos being an island full of beautiful but promiscuous women may also have contributed to the etymology of the word “lesbian”. These attitudes were entrenched as stereotypes in plays and written works by individuals like the ancient satirist Lucian.
According to Gilhuly, “a complex, centuries-long collocation of cultural conceptions about the culture of Lesbos, combined with Athenian comic practice, the representation of the courtesan, and the reception of Sappho, eventually paved the way for the strong association of Lesbos with an image of alternative feminine sexuality.”
35-year-old Roula Pispirigou was found guilty of murdering her daughter. Credit: AMNA
A Greek woman was sentenced to life in prison by a court in Athens on Friday after she was found guilty of the murder of her daughter in 2022.
35-year-old Roula Pispirigou from the western port city of Patras was found guilty of the death of her nine-year-old daughter, Georgina, who died in January 2022 following a lengthy hospital stay.
Both the jury and judges found her guilty as charged in the indictment. The court determined that Pispirigou committed both the offense of premeditated manslaughter and attempted premeditated manslaughter. Earlier, Prosecutor Eleftheria Spyridonakou argued that the evidence of Pispirigou’s guilt was overwhelming.
She was found guilty of murdering Georgina and of attempting to murder her when the child was hospitalized at Karamandaneio Hospital in Patra the previous year.
Her initial attempt failed, leaving the child paralyzed. Later, Pispirigou administered the anesthetic drug ketamine, resulting in the child’s death at the Children’s Hospital.
Toxicological and histological tests revealed the drug ketamine was not prescribed by any doctor.
Greek woman accused of the murder of her two other daughters
Georgina’s death had been preceded by those of her six-month-old sister, Iris, in 2021 and her 3.5-year-old sister Malena in 2019 and sparked investigations into the cause of death, which had baffled doctors, of all three children.
According to the indictment, Pispirigou also murdered her two other daughters. The trial for these deaths will begin in the next few months.
Greek media have nicknamed Pispirigou, a nurse by training, as a “modern-day Medea”, a figure in Greek mythology who murders her sons after their father leaves her for another woman.
The alleged triple infanticide has received widespread media attention in Greece, where such crimes are relatively rare. When she appeared in court shortly after her arrest, she wore a bullet-proof vest and riot police were deployed to control a crowd shouting: “Murderess, confess your crime.”
One person told Greek television she thought Pispirigou should be hanged, and the front of her house in Patras was daubed with the words “Death to child killers”.
“People can’t forgive the fact that she allegedly killed not one but three children and at different times,” Effi Lambropoulou, lecturer in criminology at the Athens Panteion University told AFP recently.
The trial of the case, which shocked public opinion and caused intense media interest, lasted almost a year, with a total of 89 courtroom sessions, and included the examination of more than 60 witnesses.
Pispirigou had throughout this time maintained her innocence and claimed that the media unfairly portrayed her as “a monster.”
PM Mitsotakis announced the increase in the minimum wage at a cabinet meeting on Friday. Credit: AMNA
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced an increase of €50 ($53.9) a month to the country’s minimum wage for employees, lifting the amount to €830 from €780.
The decision will take effect from April 1st and relieve workers “without affecting the strength of the economy and the competitiveness of businesses,” Mitsotakis said Friday at a meeting of his cabinet in Athens.
The new basic wage is accompanied by raises in 18 other benefits, Mitsotakis said. The wage hike affects approximately 600,000 workers. Similarly, employees with corresponding seniority entitled to an increase every three years will also receive a comparable raise.
Minimum wage in Greece “to reach €950 by 2027”
The Greek premier repeated the goal his government has set for 2027 which will mark the end of his second term in office. He said: “By 2027 the average salary in our country will be €1,500 and the minimum wage €950.”
The increase -he stressed- supports the income of families, but does not burden production costs so much.
“Despite the challenges, we remain committed to improving the quality of everyday life,” Mitsotakis said, highlighting efforts to mitigate price hikes.
The government is under pressure to do more to alleviate the cost of living crisis due to the price hikes.
In the latest Metron Analysis poll for Mega TV, the participants ranked high prices and the state of the economy as the country’s most significant problems.
Purchasing power of Greeks second from bottom in the EU
Greeks have the second to the bottom—just above Bulgaria—purchasing power in the EU according to Eurostat data released earlier in the week. These statistics put a dent in the Greek government’s triumphant claims about the rise in economic prosperity.
In 2023, substantial differences in GDP per capita, expressed in purchasing power standards, were recorded among EU countries.
Luxembourg and Ireland had the highest levels (140 percent and 112 percent above the EU average, respectively), well ahead of the Netherlands (30 percent above the EU average), Denmark (+28 percent), and Austria (+23 percent).
In contrast, Bulgaria registered the lowest GDP per capita, 36 percent below the EU average, while Greece (-33 percent) and Latvia (-29 percent) were just above that.
The countries of the European South that were also in the throes of the economic crisis in the previous decade, such as Portugal, Spain and Italy, are ranked much higher than Greece, with GDP per capita in purchasing power units set at 83 percent, 89 percent and 97 percent of the European average in 2023.
Greece is also ranked below many former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, and even Latvia, ranked 25th, which has a GDP per capita in purchasing power units of 70.1 percent of the European average.
At the same time, the price level is at 88.2 percent of the average (these are figures for 2022, as other data is not yet available from Eurostat), reinforcing the sense of extravagant prices in Greece, causing widespread dissatisfaction as all opinion polls of recent months have shown.
Chrysippos of Soli, the second founder of Stoicism. Marble, Roman copy after a lost Hellenistic original of the late 3rd century BC. Public Domain
Ancient Greek philosopher Chrysippus (279–206 BC) is believed to have died of laughter in a bizarre incident recorded by his contemporary historian Diogenes Laertius.
Chrysippus was a native of Soli, Cilicia, but moved to Athens as a young man, where he became a pupil of the Stoic philosopher Cleanthes.
When Cleanthes died, around 230 BC, Chrysippus became the third head of the Stoic school.
A prolific writer, Chrysippus expanded the fundamental doctrines of Cleanthes’ mentor Zeno of Citium, the founder and first head of the school, which earned him the title of the Second Founder of Stoicism.
How the ancient Greek philosopher died from laughter
He died during the 143rd Olympiad (208–204 BC) at the age of 73. Diogenes Laertius gives two different accounts of his death.
In the first account, Chrysippus was seized with dizziness having drunk undiluted wine at a feast, and died soon after.
In the second account, he was watching a donkey eat some figs and cried out: “Now give the donkey a drink of pure wine to wash down the figs”.
The sight of a drunk donkey triggered a fit of laughter from Chrysippus, after which he died in a fit of laughter. In his note, Diogenes Laertius documented the account that Chrysippus died “after laughing too much,” whereupon he died.
His nephew Aristocreon erected a statue in his honor in the Kerameikos, an ancient Athenian area formerly known as the Potters’ quarter, which is the largest necropolis in Greece.
Chrysippus was succeeded as head of the Stoic school by his pupil Zeno of Tarsus.
Death from laughter is an extremely rare form of death, usually resulting from either cardiac arrest or asphyxiation.
Intense laughter can put strain on your heart, especially for those with underlying heart conditions. This strain can lead to a heart attack. Laughing too hard can make it difficult to breathe, potentially leading to suffocation.
Laughter can also worsen existing health problems like asthma or cause complications with weakened blood vessels in the brain (aneurysm).
Dying from laughter
Though uncommon, death by laughter has been recorded from the times of ancient Greece to modern times.
For example, Zeuxis, a 5th-century BC Greek painter, is said to have died laughing at the humorous way in which he painted an old woman. He was famed for his ability to create images that appeared highly realistic.
None of his works survive, but anecdotes about Zeuxis’ art and life have been referenced often in the history and literature of art and in art theory.
There are modern cases of people dying from a fit of laughter. A Thai ice cream vendor in 2003 died in his sleep after two minutes of nonstop laughter. His wife witnessed it, but the cause of death (asphyxiation or heart failure) is unclear.
A Danish man called Ole Bentzen reportedly died in 1989 of a heart attack while laughing hysterically at a scene in the movie “A Fish Called Wanda.”
In most cases, it’s likely pre-existing health conditions played a role. While laughter itself might not be the sole culprit, it can be a trigger in vulnerable individuals.
