Easter in Santorini. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Clearchos Kapoutsis CC BY 2.0
Greek Easter is the most revered time of the year for religious Greeks as they fast for forty days, go to confession, and attend long church liturgies.
On Holy Week, liturgies intensify and run for hours and hours. Also called Passion Week, the gospels read in church tell of the Passion of Christ, the painful days that led Him to the Cross and then to Resurrection.
Greek Easter Liturgies
Holy Monday begins the Greek Easter Holy Week with a liturgy commemorating the blessed and noble Joseph and the fig tree which was cursed and withered by the Lord.
The evening liturgy begins with the Hymn of the Bridegroom: “Behold the Bridegroom comes in the midst of the night…beware, therefore, O my soul, lest thou be borne down in sleep…and lest thou be shut out from the Kingdom…”
The Tuesday of Holy Week liturgy commemorates the parable of the Ten Virgins. It is about ethical preparation and wakefulness. It is at this time that the protopsaltis, or cantor, along with the choir, chants the centuries-old Troparion of Kassiane, a hauntingly lovely song written by Kassiane, a Byzantine nun.
The Hymn of Kassiane, sung every Tuesday of Holy Week around the world, is one of the many hymns composed by one of the few women known to have been writing music during Byzantine times.
Born in 805/810 and passing away before 865, Kassiane was a Byzantine abbess, poet, composer, and hymnographer.
Her hymn, called the Doxastikon on the Aposticha of the Bridegroom for Orthros, but better known as the Hymn of the Sinful Woman, is sung every Tuesday evening during Holy Week as the apex of the service on that day.
On Holy Wednesday, there is The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. This very ancient Liturgy is a Vespers service.
In the evening, the sacred ceremony of the Mysterion of the Holy Unction takes place. It is the evening of repentance, confession, and the remission of sins by the Lord, preparing the faithful to receive Holy Communion, usually the next day.
Holy Thursday liturgies are the most heartbreaking of Greek Easter as Jesus Christ is betrayed and is led to his death at the end of the day. It is the day of the Last Supper, when He celebrated Passover with His disciples.
On Holy Thursday morning, the liturgy celebrates four Events: the washing of the disciples’ feet, the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the Marvelous Prayer, and the betrayal.
After the washing of His Apostles’ feet, Christ pointed out Judas the betrayer, inaugurated the Eucharist, and pronounced the new commandment of love for one another.
Upon leaving His Apostles, Christ spoke to them about the descent of the Holy Spirit to complete man’s union with Christ. The descent of the Holy Spirit, Christ said, would bring joy and peace to them and the world.
Holy Friday: a day of mourning
The Holy Friday liturgy is mourning for the painful Passion of Christ. To take away our sins, Christ willingly endured all kinds of torture, and finally the Cross and Death, purging all our sins with His death.
On Holy Friday, church bells throughout Greece ring mournfully all day long and in the evening there is the Procession of the Epitaphios – representing the coffin of Christ – in each parish.
In the morning, the Epitaphios is decorated with spring flowers — mostly white, red, and purple — until it is entirely covered.
The Epitaphios is often sprinkled with flower petals and rosewater, decorated with candles and ceremonially censed as a mark of respect. Traditionally, the faithful walk underneath it as a gesture of faith.
In the evening, the ceremonial Epitaphios Procession takes place, led by the parish priests and followed by the faithful holding lit beeswax candles.
On Holy Saturday, psalms are read and Resurrection hymns are sung, telling of Christ’s descent into Hades: “Today Hades cried out groaning,” the psalm says.
The hymns speak of the conquering of death and the day’s celebration is called “First Resurrection.” Most of the readings of this day are from the Old Testament on the prophecies and promise of the conquering of death.
Christos Anesti!
Finally, at midnight, there is the moment that all Greeks around the world eagerly anticipate: The Resurrection ceremony with the joyous proclamation of “Christos Anesti!” (Christ is risen!).
On this glorious Greek Easter night, people wear their Sunday best, take a white candle, the lampatha (λαμπάδα), and go to church to attend the liturgy, waiting for midnight.
At midnight, all the priests come out and chant “Christos Anesti!” while they pass the Holy Light from which all the faithful light their candles and pass the light saying “Christos Anesti!” with the recipient replying”Alithos Anesti!” (Truly, He is risen!”
It is a night of joy after forty days of mourning as Orthodox Christians honor the Son of God who died for our sins and was then resurrected from the dead to show us the path of eternal life in faith.
George Logothetis and General Poppas during their candid discussion. Credit: Supplied by Libra Group
George Logothetis, the Executive Chairman of Libra Group, recently opened his house to a number of students and other individuals from the American College of Greece (ACG) for a special event featuring General Andrew Poppas.
During the get-together, attendees had the chance to enjoy a candid chat with the decorated Greek American General. The event, which took place on April 16th, brought together the successful sons of Greek immigrants who joined the Greek diaspora decades ago. There, the two men shared their insights on a wide variety of issues, including leadership, history, and the importance of their Greek heritage for the development of their characters and careers.
The attendees and connection to ACG
The event that took place at George Logothetis’ house in NYC brought together over sixty alumni, staff, and interns from ACG, currently based in the New York City area. These individuals are part of the group of undergraduate students for the Libra Internship Program. ACG, also known as Deree in Greece, is a private, independent, non-profit liberal arts college located in Northern Athens, Greece.
ACG students and alumni, who were invited to this special evening, had the opportunity to reflect on their deep connection to the Libra Internship Program. This unique scheme offers unmatched opportunities to ACG’s students and was founded by Logothetis in partnership with ACG in 2011.
The program selects a number of ACG undergraduate students each year to relocate to the States and undertake paid internships with Libra Group and its global subsidiaries. This provides them with valuable work experience and exposure to various industries, boosting their CVs and confidence as they enter the competitive global job market.
General Poppas: “Steel and empathy”
Logothetis introduced General Poppas as “the best combination of steel and empathy.” These genuine words set the stage for the frank and engaging conversation that was about to follow. The two leaders did not hesitate to explore issues important to circles of the Greek diaspora, including strong leadership, the importance of knowing history to avoid mistakes and chart the future, and how Greek family ties and values have been integral to people’s success outside of the motherland.
General Poppas, who is now the commanding officer of the US Army Forces Command, shared the moving and inspiring story of his father and his emigration from Greece during tough times. Poppas explained that his father quite literally left with “only a shirt on his back,” joining so many others who embarked upon a life-changing journey of hope to the unknown.
Upon arriving in the US, his father was rescued by fellow Greeks who had already established their presence there. They provided him with a job at a diner, a crucial first step in his life story across the pond. Through the warmth and support of the Greek community, he survived, flourished, and ultimately built a beautiful family. In talking about his father, General Poppas had some warm words. “The commitment to the nation, commitment to the family, and commitment to your community was something that he had inculcated [in] us. And that’s carried me through,” Poppas noted emotionally.
During the conversation, General Poppas also talked candidly about one of his greatest leadership challenges—overcoming the loss of soldiers under his command in Iraq. He explained how he had to put his own grief aside to offer his unit a boost in morale and keep them focused on the mission. “You have to take the responsibility first for the formations that you’re in charge of because every decision you make, you know that there’s often lethal consequences on the back end,” Poppas noted strongly, emphasizing the true weight of leadership needed during times of crisis in the military.
Attendees during the event. Credit: Supplied by Libra Group
Logothetis’ sustainable investments
The two men had the opportunity to discuss Libra Group’s sustainable investments in the US. These include an impressive 120 renewable energy projects. Additionally, Logothetis’ group is engaged in a shipyard producing CTVs for offshore wind, an LNG bunkering facility in Texas, as well as Lomarlabs, the maritime innovation arm of Lomar Shipping.
“After visiting Fort Bragg (a military installation in North Carolina also known as Fort Liberty) with Poppas, there were many emotions that I had. One of them was this is the first line of deterrent and the last line of defense of the West,” Logothetis remarked.
The conversation between Logothetis and General Poppas is another example of how the Greek American community can thrive and become a true asset to the US as a whole. Both men highlighted the importance of their Greek heritage and credited these values for shaping their leadership and achievements throughout their lives. The event also showed the importance of Libra Group’s investments in crucial areas for the future of the US economy, particularly in sustainable projects, which aim to create a better future for generations to come.
Their conversation was a great opportunity for students who attended to draw inspiration and understand the significance of strong leadership and Greek family ties and values.
Part of the Metope that depicts the Twelve Labors of Hercules, or Herakles, originally on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. Ca. 460 BC. Archaeological Museum of Olympia, Greece. Credit: Nicholas Hartmann – Own work/CC BY-SA 4.0
The Twelve Labors of Hercules, or Herakles (Greek: οἱ Ἡρακλέους ἆθλοι, hoi Hērakléous âthloi) occupy a special place in the pantheon of Greek mythology, and in the worldview of the ancient Greeks.
Touching on the themes of madness, murder, and atonement, the Twelve Labors of Hercules exemplify a great many of the ancient beliefs of the Greeks about human nature, and even explain how the constellations and the Milky Way itself were formed.
Many areas in Greece, especially on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, are mentioned as part of the Labors he performed, and many of them today are recognized for the part they played in Greek mythology.
Ancient Greek bust of Hercules, famous for his twelve labors. British Museum. Credit: Facebook/British Museum
The mythological figure’s “Labors” are a series of feats carried out as penance for crimes he committed yet was not fully responsible for like so many other figures from Greek mythology, such as Oedipus, he was a tragic individual, fated to carry out his crimes by powers that controlled his life.
Herakles, whose name was later Romanized as Hercules, was the greatest of all Greek heroes. He undertook his feats at the service of King Eurystheus, who was continually portrayed as being a comic figure who was cowed by the great man’s strength and derring-do.
The Twelve Labors were later connected by a continuous narrative, in the form of one epic poem, which has tragically since been now lost, written by Peisander, dating back to about 600 BC.
Hera, the wife of the Greek god Zeus, had tried to kill Hercules ever since he was born because she was angry that her husband had fathered him with the lovely Alcmene. After being tricked into suckling the infant, she was fixated on getting revenge for the indignity. She sent two snakes into his crib, but he dispatched them immediately with the strength that he had received from Hera through her milk.
She later induced a madness in Hercules that made him unknowingly kill his wife, Megara, and their sons. Our hero, filled with shame and racked with guilt, went to Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi to atone. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and was told to go to Tiryns to serve the king of Mycenae, Eurystheus, for ten years as atonement for his crimes.
He was then tasked with performing a series of astoundingly difficult feats, called Labors, which took place all over ancient Greece. If he succeeded, he would not only atone for his crimes but be rewarded with immortality as well.
“The Heracles Papyrus,” a fragment of a 3rd-century Greek manuscript of a poem about the twelve Labors of Hercules (Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 2331); located in the Sackler Library at Oxford University. Credit: Public Domain
Hercules actually despaired at the words of the Oracle, loath to serve a man whom he knew to be far inferior to himself yet fearing to oppose his father, Zeus. Eventually, he placed himself at King Eurystheus’ disposal.
Eurystheus originally ordered Hercules to perform ten labors. He duly accomplished these tasks, but Eurystheus refused to recognize two of them: the slaying of the Lernaean Hydra, since Heracles’ nephew and charioteer Iolaus had helped him, and the cleansing of the Augean stables because Heracles had accepted payment for the labor.
The king set two more tasks (fetching the Golden Apples of Hesperides and capturing the dog Cerberus), which Heracles also performed, bringing the total number of tasks to twelve.
The Twelve Labors of Hercules
Of the Twelve Labors of Hercules, the first six were located in the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Six others took the hero farther afield, to places that were all previously strongholds of Hera or the ‘Goddess,’ and were believed to be entrances to the Netherworld.
In each case, the pattern was the same: Hercules was sent to kill or subdue, or to fetch back for King Eurystheus a magical animal or plant.
In the completion of his monumental tasks, Hercules was sometimes accompanied by a male companion (an eromenos), or Iolaus, his nephew. A traditional order of the Twelve Labors of Hercules found in the “Bibliotheca,” by Pseudo-Apollodorus is:
Slaying the Nemean lion.
Slaying the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra.
Capturing the Ceryneian Hind.
Capturing the Erymanthian Boar.
Cleaning the Augean stables in a single day.
Slaying the Stymphalian birds.
Capturing the Cretan Bull.
Stealing the Mares of Diomedes.
Obtaining the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons.
Obtaining the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon.
Stealing three of the golden apples of the Hesperides.
Capturing and bringing back Cerberus, the dog belonging to Hades.
Mosaic showing Hercules slaying the Nemean. Lliria, Valencia, Spain. Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0
Slaying the Nemean Lion
Hercules wandered until he came to the town of Cleonae. There, he met a boy who said that if he slew the Nemean lion and returned alive within thirty days, the town would sacrifice a lion to Zeus. However, if Hercules did not return within thirty days, or if he died, the boy would sacrifice himself to Zeus.
Another version of the story says that he met Molorchos, a shepherd who had lost his son to the lion, saying that if he came back within thirty days, a ram would be sacrificed to Zeus. If he did not return within thirty days, it would be sacrificed to the dead Heracles as an offering of mourning.
When he found and shot the lion, firing at it with his bow, he discovered the fur’s protective property as the arrow bounced harmlessly off the creature’s thigh.
After some time, Hercules made the lion return to his cave. In those close quarters, Heracles was able to stun the beast with his club and, using his immense strength, strangle it to death.
During the fight the lion bit off one of his fingers. Others say that he shot arrows at it, eventually shooting it in the unarmored mouth. After slaying the lion, our hero tried to skin it with a knife from his belt, but failed. He then tried sharpening the knife with a stone — and even tried with the stone itself. Finally, the goddess Athena, noticing the hero’s plight, told Heracles to use one of the lion’s own claws to skin the pelt.
When he returned on the 30th day carrying the carcass of the lion on his shoulders, King Eurystheus was amazed and terrified. Afraid of the man’s incredible powers, Eurystheus forbade him ever again to enter the city; from then on he was to display the fruits of his labors outside the city gates.
Eurystheus would not even announce Hercules’ tasks personally, opting to go through a herald. The king was so afraid of he hero’s incredible power that he even had a large bronze jar made for himself in which to hide from Hercules if the need arose. Eurystheus then warned Hercules that his assigned tasks would become increasingly difficult.
Hercules slaying the Laernaean Hydra. Black figure pottery. By the Eagle Painter. Etruscan Pottery, Getty Villa Credit: Eagle Painter/Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0
Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra
Hercules’ second labor was to slay the Lernaean Hydra, which Hera had specifically raised in order to slay him. Upon reaching the swamp near Lake Lerna, where the Hydra dwelt, Hercules used a cloth to cover his mouth and nose to protect himself from the poisonous fumes. He fired flaming arrows into the Hydra’s lair, the spring of Amymone, which was in a deep cave that it only emerged from to terrorize nearby villages.
He then confronted the Hydra, wielding either a harvesting sickle, a sword or his famed club. But of course, upon cutting off each of its heads he found that two grew back — an expression of the hopelessness of such a struggle for any but our hero. Additionally, one of the Hydra’s heads, the middle one, was immortal.
The details of the struggle are laid out in the Bibliotheca: realizing that he could not defeat the Hydra in this way, Hercules called on his nephew Iolaus for help. His nephew then came upon the idea (possibly inspired by Athena) of using a firebrand to scorch the neck stumps after each decapitation.
Hercules cut off each head and Iolaus then cauterized the open stumps. Seeing that Hercules was winning the struggle, Hera sent a giant crab to distract him but of course crushed it under his foot.
He cut off the Hydra’s one immortal head with a golden sword which had been given to him by Athena. Hercules placed it under a great rock on the sacred way between Lerna and Elaius, and dipped his arrows in the Hydra’s poisonous blood, thereby completing his second task.
Hera, upset that Hercules had slain the beast that she had raised to kill him, placed it in the dark blue vault of the sky as the constellation Hydra. She then turned the crab into the constellation Cancer.
Later, Hercules used an arrow dipped in the Hydra’s poisonous blood to kill the centaur Nessus, and Nessus’ tainted blood was applied to the tunic of Nessus by which the centaur had his posthumous revenge on Hercules.
Both the geographer Strabo and the Greek writer Pausanias stated that the stench of the river Anigrus in Elis, making all the fish of the river inedible, was reputed to be due to the Hydra’s venom, which had been washed from the arrows Hercules used on the centaur.
Hercules slaying the Ceryneian Hind while Athena (on the left) and Artemis (on the right) look on. Attic black-figured neck-amphora, ca. 540–530 BC. Said to be from Vulci. Credit: Jastrow (2006)/Public Domain
Hercules captures the Ceryneian Hind
Eurystheus and Hera were greatly angered that Hercules had survived both the Nemean Lion and the Lernaean Hydra. For the third labor, they found a task which they thought would spell doom for the hero. Since it was clear that Hercules could overcome even the most fearsome opponents by his great strength, Eurystheus ordered him to capture the Ceryneian Hind, which was so fast that it could outrun an arrow.
One day, Hercules awoke from sleeping and spotted the hind by a glint of sunlight on its antlers. Hercules then chased the animal on foot through Greece, Thrace, Istria, and the land of the Hyperboreans for one entire year.
In some versions of the story, he captured the hind while it slept; in other versions, Artemis told him to leave the hind and tell Eurystheus all that had happened, and his third labor would be considered to be completed. Yet another version states that Heracles brought down the Hind with an arrow between its forelegs.
King Eurystheus had given Hercules this task hoping to incite Artemis’ anger at Heracles for his desecration of her sacred animal. As he was returning with the hind, Hercules encountered Artemis and her brother Apollo. He begged the goddess for forgiveness, explaining that he had to catch it as part of his penance, but he promised to return it.
Artemis forgave him, foiling Eurystheus’ plan.
Upon bringing the hind to Eurystheus, Hercules was told that it was to become part of the King’s menagerie. Hercules knew that he had to return the hind as he had promised, so he agreed to hand it over as long as Eurystheus himself came out and took it from him.
The King then appeared, but the moment that Hercules let the hind go, it sprinted back to its mistress; Hercules left, commenting that Eurystheus had not been quick enough.
Hercules subduing the Erymanthian Boar. Black figure Amphora.ca. 525 BC. From Etruria. Credit: User:Bibi Saint-Pol, own work, 2007-06-06/Public Domain
Heracles and the Erymanthian Boar
By some accounts, the fourth labor was to bring the fearsome Erymanthian Boar back to Eurystheus alive. On the way to Mount Erymanthos where the boar lived, Hercules visited Pholus (“the caveman”), a kind and hospitable centaur and old friend. Hercules ate with Pholus in his cavern and asked for wine. Pholus had only one jar of wine, a gift from Dionysus to all the centaurs on Mount Erymanthos.
Hercules convinced him to open it, and the scent attracted the other centaurs. They did not understand that wine needs to be tempered with water, so they became drunk and attacked Hercules. He shot at them with his poisonous arrows, killing many, and the centaurs retreated all the way to Chiron’s cave.
Pholus was curious why the arrows caused so much death. He picked one up but dropped it, and the arrow stabbed his hoof, poisoning him. One version states that a stray arrow hit Chiron as well. He was immortal, but he still felt the pain.
Chiron’s pain was so great that he volunteered to give up his immortality and take the place of Prometheus, who had been chained to the top of a mountain to have his liver eaten daily by an eagle. Prometheus’ torturer, the eagle, continued its tormenting of Chiron, so Hercules shot it dead with an arrow.
The tale is believed to be meant to show Hercules as being the recipient of Chiron’s surrendered immortality. However, this tale contradicts the fact that Chiron later taught Achilles. The tale of the centaurs sometimes appears in other parts of the twelve labors, as does the freeing of Prometheus.
Hercules had visited Chiron to gain advice on how to catch the boar, and Chiron had told him to drive it into thick snow, which sets this labor in mid-winter. Hercules indeed caught the boar, bound it, and carried it back to King Eurystheus, who was so frightened of it that he ducked down in his custom-made storage pithos, begging Hercules to get rid of the fearsome beast.
Hercules cleaning ou the Augean Stables mosaic. Third century, Valencia, Spain. Credit: Luis Garcia/ CC BY-SA 3.0
Hercules cleans Augean stables by redirecting river
The fifth labor was to clean the stables of King Augeas. This assignment was intended to be both humiliating and impossible, since these divine livestock were immortal, and produced prodigious quantities of manure. The Augean stables had not been cleaned in over thirty years, and over a thousand cattle lived there.
However, Hercules succeeded by rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to wash out the filth.
Before starting on the gargantuan task, Hercules had asked Augeas for one-tenth of the cattle if he finished the task in one day, and Augeas agreed; however, Augeas refused to honor the agreement on the grounds that Heracles had been ordered to carry out the task by Eurystheus anyway.
Hercules claimed his reward in court, and was supported by Augeas’ son Phyleus. Augeas banished them both before the court had ruled. Heracles returned, slew Augeas, and gave his kingdom to Phyleus.
The success of this labor was ultimately discounted as the rushing waters had done the work of cleaning the stables, and because Heracles was paid for completing the task; King Eurystheus therefore determined that Hercules still had seven labors to perform.
Hercules and the Stymphalian birds. Attic amphora. ca. 540 BC. Credit: Jastrow (2006)/Public Domain
Hercules and the Stymphalian birds
The sixth labor was to defeat the Stymphalian birds, who were known to eat men, having beaks made of bronze and sharp metallic feathers which they could launch at their victims.
The avians were sacred to Ares, the Greek god of war. In addition, their droppings were highly toxic. They had migrated to Lake Stymphalia in Arcadia, where they bred quickly and took over the countryside, destroying local crops, fruit trees, and even townspeople.
Hercules could not go too far into the swamp where they dwelt because it would not support his weight. Athena, taking pity on Hercules, gave him a rattle which Hephaestus had made especially for the occasion. Heracles shook the rattle and frightened the birds into the air. Hercules s then shot many of them with his arrows.
The rest flew far away, never to return. The Argonauts would later encounter these creatures in their own exploits.
Hercules and the Cretan Bull, one of the twelve labors of Hercules. Mosaic, Valencia, Spain. Credit: Luis Garcia/CC BY-SA 3.0
Hercules forces the Cretan Bull to the ground
The seventh labor was to capture the Cretan Bull, the father of the Minotaur. Hercules sailed to the island of Crete, where King Minos gave him permission to take the bull away, and even offered him assistance.
The bull had been wreaking havoc on Crete by uprooting crops and leveling orchard walls. Hercules snuck up behind the powerful animal and then used his hands to throttle it (stopping before it was killed), and then shipping it back to Tiryns.
King Eurystheus, who hid again in his pithos at the sight of the creature, wanted to sacrifice the bull to Hera, who hated Hercules. She refused the sacrifice because it reflected glory on Hercules. The bull was then released and wandered into Marathon, becoming known as the Marathonian Bull. Theseus would later sacrifice the bull to Athena and/or Apollo.
Hercules and the Mares of Diomedes. Valencia, Spain. Credit: Luis Garcia/CC BY-SA 3.0
The Mares of Diomedes
As the eighth of his Twelve Labors, also categorized as the second of the Non-Peloponneisan labors, Hercules was sent by King Eurystheus to steal the Mares from Diomedes. The mares’ madness was attributed to their unnatural diet which consisted of the flesh of unsuspecting guests or strangers to the island.
Some versions of the myth say that the mares also expelled fire when they breathed. The Mares, which were the terror of Thrace, were kept tethered by iron chains to a bronze manger in the now vanished city of Tirida. They were named Podargos (The Swift), Lampon (The Shining), Xanthos (The Yellow), and Deinos (or Deinus, The Terrible).
In one version of this feat, Herakles brought a number of volunteers to help him capture the giant horses. After overpowering Diomedes’ men, he broke the chains that tethered the horses and drove the mares down to sea.
Unaware that they were man-eating and uncontrollable, Heracles left them in the charge of his favored companion, Abderus, while he left to fight Diomedes. Upon his return, Heracles found that the boy had been eaten. As revenge, Heracles fed Diomedes to his own horses and then founded Abdera next to the boy’s tomb.
In another version, Heracles, who was visiting the island, stayed awake so that he didn’t have his throat cut by Diomedes in the night and cut the chains binding the horses once everyone was asleep. Having scared the horses onto the high ground of a knoll, Heracles quickly dug a trench through the peninsula, filling it with water and thus flooding the low-lying plain. When Diomedes and his men turned to flee, Heracles killed them with an axe and fed Diomedes’ body to the horses to calm them.
In yet another version, Heracles first captured Diomedes and fed him to the mares before releasing them. Only after realizing that their King was dead did his men, the Bistonians, attack Heracles. Upon seeing the mares charging at them, led in a chariot by Abderus, the Bistonians turned and fled.
All the versions of this disturbing story relate how eating human flesh makes the horses calmer, giving Heracles the opportunity to bind their mouths shut, and easily take them back to King Eurystheus, who dedicated the horses to Hera.
In some versions, they were allowed to roam freely around Argos, having become tamed, but in others, Eurystheus ordered the horses taken to Olympus to be sacrificed to Zeus. He refused them, however, and sent wolves, lions, and bears to kill them.
After this feat was accomplished by our hero, King Eurystheus sent Heracles to bring back Hippolyta’s Girdle.
The Magic belt of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons
King Eurystheus’ daughter Admete desired the Belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, which had been a gift from her father Ares. To please his daughter, Eurystheus ordered Heracles to retrieve the belt as his ninth great labor.
Taking a band of friends with him, Heracles set sail, stopping at the island of Paros, which was inhabited by the sons of Minos. Herakles took two of Minos’ grandsons, Alcaeus and Sthenelus, continuing on their voyage and landing at the court of Lycus, whom Heracles defended in a battle against King Mygdon of Bebryces. After killing King Mygdon, Heracles gave much of the land to his friend Lycus. Lycus called the land Heraclea. The crew then set off for Themiscyra, where Hippolyta lived.
All would have gone well for Heracles had it not been for Hera. Hippolyta, impressed with Heracles and his exploits, agreed to give him the belt and would have done so had Hera not disguised herself and walked among the Amazons, sowing seeds of distrust.
She claimed the strangers were plotting to carry off the queen of the Amazons. Alarmed, the women set off on horseback to confront Heracles. When Heracles saw them, he thought Hippolyta had been plotting such treachery all along and had never meant to hand over the belt, so he killed her, took the belt and returned to Eurystheus.
The tenth labor was to obtain the Cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon. In the fullest account in the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, Heracles had to go to the island of Erytheia in the far west (sometimes identified with the Hesperides, or with the island which forms the city of Cádiz, Spain) to obtain the cattle.
On the way there, he crossed the Libyan desert and became so frustrated at the heat that he shot an arrow at the Sun. The sun-god Helios “in admiration of his courage” gave Heracles the golden cup Helios used to sail across the sea from west to east each night. Heracles delivered the cup to Erytheia.
Heracles portrayed riding in this cup was a favorite motif on Ancient Greek black-figure pottery. Such a magical conveyance, of course, undercuts any literal geographic location for Erytheia, the “red island” of the sunset.
When Heracles landed at Erytheia, he was confronted by the two-headed dog Orthrus. With one blow from his olive-wood club, Heracles killed the beast. Eurytion the herdsman came to assist Orthrus, but Heracles dealt with him the same way.
On hearing the commotion, Geryon sprang into action, carrying three shields and three spears, and wearing three helmets. He attacked Heracles at the River Anthemus, but was slain by one of Heracles’ poisoned arrows. Heracles shot so forcefully that the arrow pierced Geryon’s forehead, “and Geryon bent his neck over to one side, like a poppy that spoils its delicate shapes, shedding its petals all at once” [25].
Heracles then had to herd the cattle back to Eurystheus. In Roman versions of the narrative, Heracles drove the cattle over the Aventine Hill on the future site of Rome. The giant Cacus, who lived there, stole some of the cattle as Heracles slept, making the cattle walk backwards so that they left no trail, a repetition of the trick of the young Hermes. According to some versions, Heracles drove his remaining cattle past the cave, where Cacus had hidden the stolen animals, and they began calling out to each other. In other versions, Cacus’ sister Caca told Heracles where he was. Heracles then killed Cacus, and set up an altar on the spot, later the site of Rome’s Forum Boarium (the cattle market).
To annoy Heracles, Hera sent a gadfly to bite the cattle, irritate them, and scatter them. Within a year, Heracles retrieved them. Hera then sent a flood which raised the level of a river so much that Heracles could not cross with the cattle. He piled stones into the river to make the water shallower. When he finally reached the court of Eurystheus, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera.
Hercules in the garden of the Hesperides, one of the Twelve labors of Hercules. Attic red figure pottery. 380–370 BC. From Cyrenaica. Credit: User:Bibi Saint-Pol, own work, 2007-07-21/Public Domain
Golden Apples of the Hesperides
After Heracles completed the first ten labors, Eurystheus gave him two more, after claiming that slaying the Hydra and cleaning the Augean Stables did not count.
The first additional labor was to steal three of the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides. Hercules had to first catch the Old Man of the Sea, the shapeshifting sea god, in order to learn where the Garden of the Hesperides was located.
In some variations of the tale, Hercules, either at the start or at the end of this task, meets Antaeus, who was invincible as long as he touched his mother, Gaia, the Earth. Heracles then killed Antaeus by holding him aloft and crushing him in a bear hug.
Herodotus claims that Hercules stopped in Egypt, where King Busiris decided to make him the yearly sacrifice, but Heracles burst out of his chains.
Hercules finally made his way to the garden of the Hesperides, where he encountered Atlas holding up the heavens on his shoulders. Hercules persuaded Atlas to get the three golden apples for him by offering to hold up the heavens in his place for a little while. Atlas could get the apples because, in this version, he was the father or otherwise related to the Hesperides.
This would have made the labor – like the Hydra and the Augean stables – void because Heracles had received help. When Atlas returned, he decided that he did not want to take the heavens back, and instead offered to deliver the apples himself, but Hercules tricked him by agreeing to remain in place of Atlas on the condition that Atlas relieve him temporarily while Heracles adjusted his cloak.
Atlas agreed, but Hercules reneged and walked away with the apples. According to an alternative version, Hercules slew Ladon, the dragon who guarded the apples instead. King Eurystheus was again furious that Heracles had accomplished something that he had thought could not possibly be done.
The twelfth and final labor was the capture of Cerberus, the three-headed, dragon-tailed dog that was the guardian of the gates of the Underworld. To prepare for his descent into the Underworld, Heracles went to Eleusis (or Athens) to be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries. He then entered the Underworld with the gods Hermes and Athena as his guides.
While in the Underworld, Hercules met Theseus and Pirithous. The two companions had been imprisoned by Hades for attempting to kidnap Persephone. One tradition tells of snakes coiling around their legs, then turning into stone; another that Hades feigned hospitality and prepared a feast, inviting them to sit.
They unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were permanently ensnared. When Heracles had pulled Theseus first from his chair, some of his thigh stuck to it (this explains the supposedly lean thighs of Athenians), but the Earth shook at the attempt to liberate Pirithous, whose desire to have the goddess for himself was so insulting that he was doomed to stay behind.
Hercules found Hades and asked permission to bring Cerberus to the surface, which Hades agreed to if Hercules could subdue the beast without using weapons. Heracles overpowered Cerberus with his bare hands and slung the beast over his back.
He carried Cerberus out of the Underworld through a cavern entrance in the Peloponnese and brought it to King Eurystheus, who again fled into his pithos in fear. Eurystheus begged Hercules to return Cerberus to the Underworld, offering in return to release him from any further labor when Cerberus disappeared back to his master.
What did he do for an encore?
After completing the Twelve Labors, one tradition says Hercules joined Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece. However, Herodorus, who lived c. 400 BC, disputed this and denied Hercules ever sailed with the Argonauts. A separate tradition, the Argonautica, relates Hercules accompanying the Argonauts, but he did not travel with them as far as Colchis.
According to Euripides’ play “Herakles,” it is at this point after his labors are completed and he is returning home to meet his wife and family that he is driven mad and kills them, after which he is exiled from Thebes and leaves for Athens.
He also successfully fought the river god Achelous for the hand of Deianeira, according to some legends. As he was taking her home, a Centaur called Nessus attempted to violate her, and Heracles shot him with one of his poisoned arrows.
As the Centaur lay dying, he told Deianeira to preserve the blood from his wound, and if Heracles wore a garment rubbed with it he would love only her forever. Several years later, however, Heracles fell in love with Iole, the daughter of Eurytus, who was the king of Oechalia.
Deianeira then sent Hercules a garment smeared with the blood of the centaur. A grim plot twist occurred at that point, however, as the blood acted as a powerful poison, and the great Heracles died.
His body was then placed on a pyre on Mount Oeta (Modern Greek Oíti), and his mortal remains were consumed; however, true to his mythological powers, his divine part ascended to heaven, becoming a god. After arriving there he was reconciled to Hera and then married Hebe.
A three-member misdemeanors court issued its verdict on the 21 defendants on Monday. Credit: Greek Reporter
A Greek court on Monday found six people, five top officers from the Fire Brigade and Civil Protection and a resident, guilty of the 2018 fire in Mati. Mati is east of Athens. The wildfire claimed the lives of 104 people.
None of the politicians among the 21 defendants was found guilty by the three-member misdemeanors court. All five convicted officials were let go and allowed to pay fines in lieu of serving their sentences, estimated at up to 40,000 euros ($43,000) each.
The verdict announcement triggered an angry reaction among victims’ relatives and the burn victims present in the courtroom.
“They should have walked into prison on their own. All of them innocent? There is no justice!” exclaimed a relative of a victim, who approached the front of the courtroom and began shouting at the defendants.
“Damned, you have no shame! Not even a single apology,” yelled another relative of a victim, as many others broke into tears.
Among those found guilty is Sotiris Terzoudis, the chief of the Fire Department at the time, Vasilis Matthaiopoulos then deputy chief, and Ioannis Fostieris then head of the Unified Operations Coordination Center (ESKE).
Furthermore, a guilty verdict was passed on Konstantinos Angelopoulos, the man who with criminal negligence, lit a fire in Daou Penteli, even though there were gale-force winds, which ultimately led to the disaster.
In February, the trial prosecutor, Panagiotis Maniatis, recommended guilty verdicts for nine defendants and the acquittal of twelve
others, including the then-Attica regional governor, Rena Dourou, and the then-mayor of Marathon, Ilias Psinakis. The court dismissed the guilty verdict on the above.
The risk of the statute of limitations looms even though the decision will finally be issued. Until the decision becomes final, after possible appeals to the Supreme Court, the time limits remain tight.
The Mati fire was the worst disaster of modern Greek history
It has been six years since the devastating fires of July 23, 2018 at the seaside Athens resort of Mati that left the nation plagued by unforgettable and horrifying images and accounts of the incident. That day’s fear and devastation still haunt the Greek people.
As photos and footage from that day re-emerge in the media and the posts of victim’s relatives and friends again flood social media, a resounding “WHY” still looms unanswered. The Mati fire was the worst of a series of wildfires in Greece that began in the coastal areas of Attica in July 2018.
The fires were, at that time, the second-deadliest wildfire event in the 21st century, following the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Australia that killed 173.
The flames were so intense they trapped and burned people in their homes, cars, or even a few meters away from the beach. Thousands of vehicles and houses were destroyed before the fire was brought under control hours later. An entire summer camp of 620 children was evacuated in an overnight operation. Many animals (wild and domestic) died or were injured due to the fire.
Over 700 residents were evacuated or rescued, mainly from the seaside settlements located north of the port town of Rafina, namely Kokkino Limanaki and Mati, where rescuers found 26 corpses trapped just meters away from the sea, apparently hugging each other as they died.
Boats also recovered corpses from the water and rescued hundreds of people from beaches and the sea. Two people drowned when the boat rescuing them from a hotel in Mati capsized.
Μore than 4,000 residents were affected by the wildfires. Then-Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared a state of emergency in Attica and announced three days of national mourning, stating in a televised address, “The country is going through an unspeakable tragedy.”
It’s fairly well known that the words to the US National Anthem were written by a 33-year old lawyer named Francis Scott Key, as he watched the British Royal Navy bombarding Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbour on the 13th and 14th September 1814.
The words that he wrote convey perfectly the sense of pride he felt as he saw the huge US flag still flying over the fort in “the dawn’s early light”.
Oh! Say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there. Oh! Say, does the Star-Spangled Banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
He wrote the words as a song, and with a very specific tune in mind. Known as “Anacreon in Heaven,” the tune was well-known in America at the time and was often used for patriotic songs. Francis Scott Key himself had earlier written another patriotic song, called “The Warrior Returns,” to the same tune.
What Francis Scott Key didn’t know was that the tune had been written 36 years earlier—and in Britain.
Tune of US National Anthem created in honor of Greek poet Anacreon
In 1766, a gentlemen’s club was formed in London with the aim of creating a society dedicated to conviviality, wit, and good wine. Notable members included Samuel Johnson, the poet and playwright; Sir Joshua Reynolds, the renowned portrait painter; and Henry Purcell, the composer. Franz Joseph Hayden, the composer, was a frequent guest.
They called their club The Anacreontic Society, after the Ancient Greek lyric poet who was noted for his drinking songs and erotic poems.
Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ancient Ionic dialect. Like all early lyric poetry, it was composed to be sung or recited to the accompaniment of music, usually the lyre. Anacreon’s poetry touched on universal themes of love, infatuation, disappointment, revelry, parties, festivals, and the observations of everyday people and life.
A long-term president of the society, Ralph Tomlinson, wrote the words to what he intended to be an anthem for the society; he called it “To Anacreon In Heaven.”
To Anacreon in Heav’n, where he sat in full Glee, A few Sons of Harmony sent a Petition, That he their Inspirer and Patron would be; When this answer arriv’d from the Jolly Old Grecian “Voice, Fiddle, and Flute, “no longer be mute, “I’ll lend you my Name and inspire you to boot, “And, besides I’ll instruct you, like me, to intwine “The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.”
On his death in 1778, the society decided to commission suitable music to accompany Tomlinson’s words so that it could be sung as the anthem that Tomlinson had intended.
The organist and composer John Stafford Smith was given the job of creating music for Tomlinson’s words. Unfortunately, the words that he had written were quite torturous and the music that Stafford Smith created meant that the anthem was particularly difficult to sing. It was often used as a test of sobriety in the society; if you could sing the first verse and stay in tune and in time, then you clearly weren’t drunk enough!
The sobriety test aspect of the song soon escaped from the society into the pubs and taverns in England as a drinking song. It was common to make up different words to the tune, and these were often bawdy, as might be expected in a drinking house.
The tune became a firm favorite in America
When the disaffected and the persecuted left Britain for a better life in the United States, they took their drinking songs with them, and the tune became a firm favorite in America, where it was known as “Anacreon in Heaven.” What happened to the preceding “To” isn’t known.
Whilst the British had made up bawdy words to the tune, Americans generally made up patriotic words. In quite a short time, the British origins of the tune were lost and it became accepted as American.
When Francis Scott Key sent his patriotic song to be published, he gave it the title of “The Defence Of Fort McHenry” and added that it was to the tune “Anacreon in Heaven.”
The music and words were later reprinted by the Carr’s Music Store in Baltimore under the title The Star-Spangled Banner—and the name stuck. The sheet music also indicated that the tune was “Anacreon in Heaven” so that those who couldn’t read music were still able to sing it.
Soon the song was everywhere; all who heard it felt the same sense of pride in the stout defiance of the little fort against the might of the greatest navy on the planet.
Although the US Navy began using The Star-Spangled Banner at all flag-raising ceremonies in 1898, it wasn’t until March 3, 1931 that President Herbert Hoover signed the bill that made The Star-Spangled Banner the national anthem of the United States of America.
Although every American knows how to sing their anthem, it’s less well known that the tune is British and even less well known that it was written to honor a Greek.
Konstantinos Cavafy or Kavafis, the Greek poet and master at saying a lot with very little.
Konstantinos Kavafis — or Constantine Peter Cavafy as he was internationally known — was one of the greatest Greek poets.
He was born in Alexandria, Egypt on April 29, 1863, the last of nine children of the wealthy merchant Petros-Ioannou Kavafis. He died on the very same date seventy years later, in 1933.
In a short autobiography, Kavafis wrote of his life:
“I hail from Constantinople, but I was born in Alexandria – in a house on Sherif Street. When I was very young I left and spent much of my childhood in England. I visited this country after a long time but stayed for a short while. I lived in France too. In my teenage years, I lived for over two years in Constantinople. I had not visited Greece for many years. My last job was as an employee of a government office of the Egyptian Ministry of Public Works. I speak English, French, and a little Italian.”
Incredibly, the man known above all else for his poetry Kavafis never published his poems in book form during his lifetime.
Instead, he preferred to give them to newspapers and magazines to publish, or simply handwrote them and gave them away to anyone who was interested.
Beloved Alexandria was Kafavis’ base
He wrote 154 poems and dozens of sketches and left behind a number of unfinished pieces. The first book of his poems was only published in 1935, two years after his death.
Kavafis lost his father at the age of seven, the death forcing his mother Harikleia to take the family and move to London, and then to Liverpool.
The young Konstantinos learned English and cultivated an interest in literature early on in life. However, financial problems forced the family to move again in 1878, this time back to Alexandria.
In 1882 the nationalist riots in Egypt prompted the Kavafis family to relocate yet again, but to Constantinople this time. He made his first systematic efforts to write poetry during his stay in this great city, with the very first poem in his archives appearing to have been written in 1882.
The works “Beizades to His Mistress” (1884), “Dunya Guzeli” (1884) and “Nihori” (1885) show how deeply the Byzantine city had inspired him.
In October of 1885 Kavafis returned to Alexandria, along with his mother and his two brothers, Alexander and Paul, after receiving compensation for the destructive riots of 1882.
One of his first decisions upon his return there was to acquire Greek citizenship. Kavafis then began to work, first as a journalist and then as a broker at Egypt’s Cotton Stock Exchange.
In 1889, he was initially recruited to work as an unpaid secretary to the country’s Irrigation Service; in 1892 he became a salaried employee there, a post in which he would remain until 1922, even reaching the rank of Deputy Mayor.
In 1891, Kavafis saw his first remarkable poem “Builders,” published. He wrote some of his most important pieces, such as “Candles” (1893), “Walls” (1896) and “Waiting for the Barbarians” (1899) from 1893 until the end of the century.
Greek poet Kavafis. Public Domain
The poet’s mother passed away in 1899, and Kavafis wallowed in his grief for a long period of time.
In 1902 Kavafis traveled to Greece for the very first time in his life; it was in Athens where he met his future colleagues Grigorios Xenopoulos and Ioannis Polemis.
In a letter he wrote upon arriving in the Greek capital, he said he felt like a Muslim pilgrim who travels to Mecca.
He visited Athens again during the next year, and on Nov. 30 of the same year, Xenopoulos wrote the historical article “A Poet,” which appeared in Panathenaea magazine.
This was the first time Kavafis’ work had received any attention and praise from the Greek public.
Kavafis settled in the house at 10 Lepsius Street in Alexandria, where he would spend the rest of his life writing the most important poems of his oeuvre, in December of 1907.
With his literary reputation on the rise, he received a number of renowned visitors to his home, including Tommaso Marinetti, Andres Malraux, Nikos Kazantzakis, Kostas Ouranis and Myrtiotissa.
Kavafis and his famous poem, “Ithaca”
In 1911, Kavafis wrote his famous poem, “Ithaca.” Three years later, he met the great English novelist Edward Morgan Forster and became friends with him; five years later, Forster would introduce the poetry of Kavafis to the English-speaking world.
Kavafis was finally able to resign from his work as a public servant to dedicate himself to his poetry in April of 1922.
“At last, I was released from that hateful thing,” he later wrote.
In the following year the poet’s last living brother, John Kavafis, who had been the first admirer and translator of Konstantinos’ work, passed away.
In 1926, the Greek government awarded Kavafis their greatest honor, the Medal of the Order of the Phoenix.
He began to suffer from problems with his larynx and doctors diagnosed cancer in 1930.
Kavafis soon found himself unable to speak, and in 1932 he was subjected to a tracheotomy operation in Athens.
The poet returned to Alexandria, with his health constantly deteriorating, in 1933. In early April he was transferred to the Hellenic Hospital and at 2 AM on April 29, 1933, the poet breathed his last breath at the age of 70.
Kavafis brought an international aura to modern Greek poetry
Scholar Maria Akritidou wrote about the great man’s work “Konstantinos Kavafis is a hypermodern poet, a poet for later generations.”
“Apart from its historical, psychological and philosophical value, the austerity of his style, which sometimes touches on laconism, his weighted enthusiasm that appeals to emotional intellectualism, his correct phrasing, the result of a classy naturalness, his slight irony, represent elements which will be further appreciated by future generations, motivated by the progress of the discoveries and the subtlety of the mental mechanism.”
Greece 2021, the organization which organizes the events of the Greek Bicentennial, wrote about Kavafis:
“The ‘Alexandrian’ (1863-1933) brought an international aura to modern Greek poetry. Modern, even before modernism was a term, a scholar and an aesthetician, a realist, and lover of detailed verse. He compelled Greek poetry with his hedonistic, esoteric sentiment in the social context of the time. He glorified beauty and pleasure of the flesh.
“He was a master at saying a lot with very little. His style was ironic, esoteric, unrhymed, focused on detail and precise expression, qualities that made him a novelty among the poets of his time. Although his bibliography is rather small, just 154 published poems, it is an inexhaustible field for humanistic and poetry studies.”
The first of the seven days leading up to Easter, called Great and Holy Week in the Greek Orthodox Church, is Holy Monday. The Church has dedicated this day to the memory of Saint Joseph Pangalos, the 11th son of the great Hebrew patriarch Jacob.
Joseph was a virtuous man who chose to live his life as such—something which bothered his older brothers, who decided to sell him as a slave.
He was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard in Egypt.
Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, but he refused her advances. This enraged the rejected woman, who then made false claims that Joseph tried to rape her. Joseph was then thrown into prison.
Joseph was able to leave prison after interpreting one of Pharaoh’s dreams in which he predicted seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine.
St. Joseph is honored on Holy Monday in Greek Orthodox Church
“St. Joseph Explaining his Dream,” Wurzinger, 1845. Credit: Public Domain
Joseph advised the Pharaoh to store surplus grain against the coming famine, and by doing so, he saved the people of Egypt.
Following the fulfillment of the prediction, Joseph became Vizier and took the name of Zaphnath-Paaneah.
The man who was once sold into slavery by his brothers was now one of the most powerful men in Egypt, responsible for food distribution in the kingdom.
As Joseph’s brothers were on the verge of starving to death, they traveled to Egypt and presented themselves to him, begging for his help.
Although the brothers did not recognize Joseph, he realized who they were and helped them, showing the greatness of his soul.
Holy Monday sets the stage for Greek Orthodox Easter
For Christians, Joseph is seen as a prototype of Jesus, one who endures great hardships yet perseveres and goes on to save his people.
For the Greek Orthodox Church, Holy Monday is also known as the day which commemorates the withering of the fruitless fig tree, a symbol of judgment which befalls those who do not bring forth the fruits of repentance.
In addition, for Greeks, Holy Monday marks the beginning of the preparations for the celebration of Easter in villages across the country. People paint flower pots red and use paint to outline their yards in white.
About Easter in the Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Easter, or Pascha, is the most important religious feast of the year with customs and traditions that have been part of Christianity for over two thousand years.
The 40-day period of Lent before Easter (Πάσχα-Pascha), the solemnity of Holy Week, the rich symbolism, and the unique traditions of Orthodox Easter make it a very different experience from the Easter celebrated by Western Christians.
The way Greek Orthodox Easter is observed by the faithful is very unlike the way it is commemorated by Western Christians; different symbols are used to symbolize the Resurrection, and Easter is often observed on different dates.
Every Easter, Greeks thank and honor Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins, and we celebrate the miracle of the Resurrection, the rise of Jesus Christ from the dead and the promise of an afterlife.
Gold stater of the Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides. Credit: Public Domain, illustration by Greek Reporter
Bactria, a huge area in what is today Afghanistan, was the eastern edge of the ancient Greek empire, established by Alexander the Great. After Alexander’s death, amid the constant wars and squabbling of his generals, Bactria eventually rose to become an independent Hellenistic successor state.
The Kingdom of Bactria was located north of the Hindu Kush mountain range and south of the Amu Darya river on the plateau where Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are today.
After the death of Alexander, his empire was divided up among the generals in his army. Bactria became a part of the Seleucid Empire, named after its founder, General Seleucus.
Seleucus I and his son Antiochus I went on to establish a great many Greek towns. The Greek presence was so overpowering that the Greek language remained prominent in the region for some time.
Bactria the eastern edge of the Greek empire
However, one of the lesser-known reasons for the overwhelming Greek cultural influence in the region was the mass deportations of Greeks to Bactria. During the reign of Darius I, every single one of the inhabitants of the Greek city of Barca in Cyrenaica was deported to Bactria for refusing to surrender suspected assassins to authorities.
The Persian King Xerxes also sent prisoners to the area. The “Branchidae” were the descendants of Greek priests who had once lived near Didyma and had surrendered the temple to him. The Greek historian Herodotus also records a Persian commander threatening to enslave the daughters of the revolting Ionians and send them to Bactria.
Diodotus I, the satrap, or ruler, of Bactria, declared independence from the Seleucid kings in the year 245 B.C., conquering Sogdia and becoming the founder of the great Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Diodotus and his successors resisted continued attacks from the Seleucids, particularly from Antiochus III the Great, who was ultimately defeated by the Romans in 190 BC.
Map of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Credit: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
The Greco-Bactrians became very powerful militarily and succeeded in expanding their territory as far as present-day India.
The Greeks who had instigated the Bactrian revolt had become extremely wealthy, partially due to the great fertility of their country. Their great wealth enabled them to become masters not only of Bactria but also of India.
Greek language for administrative purposes
The Greco-Bactrians used the Greek language for administrative purposes, and the local languages were also influenced by Hellenism, as suggested by their adoption of the Greek alphabet and Greek words.
Bactrian King Euthydemus I and his son Demetrius I crossed the Hindu Kush mountains and began their conquest of the Indus Valley. Within a short time, they were so powerful that a Greek empire seemed to be on the rise in the East.
However, corruption and internal feuds tore the nascent empire apart. When Demetrius advanced far east of the Indus River, one of his generals, Eucratides, pronounced himself king of Bactria.
Usurpers suddenly arose in every province. All of them desired to be kings, and they fought bitterly against each other.
Many of them did become kings, as evidenced by the many gold coins found centuries later in Afghanistan, but they were kings only within their own provinces. The internecine wars between them had taken a great and irreversible toll, destroying much of what had made their societies progressive and diminishing the Hellenic element.
After Demetrius and Eucratides, the kings abandoned the Attic standard of coinage and introduced a native one to attract support from non-Greeks.
In the Indus Valley, the Indo-Greek king Menander I converted to Buddhism. The last known Indo-Greek ruler, King Strato II, ruled in the Punjab region until around 55 B.C., according to some sources. Others place the end of Strato II’s reign as late as 10 A.D.
A violent altercation took place on Sunday morning in Athens. Credit: Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons, CC0-1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication
A violent altercation between two young men took place outside a popular nightclub in Marousi, Athens in the early hours of Sunday morning at around 03:30 AM EEST (00:30 UTC).
The altercation unfortunately ended in tragedy, as one of the young men involved lost his life soon after. The victim was a 23-year-old man. However, he was not the only one. A 26-year-old man was also seriously injured in the event.
According to reports from Greece’s public broadcaster ERT, which is quoting unverified police sources, the two men engaged in a heated argument as they were leaving the nightclub. However, no clear reason or motive has been established as of yet. This altercation quickly escalated into a physical confrontation. During the altercation, gunshots were fired, and a knife was allegedly used, as the 23-year-old was found to have sustained knife wounds.
Emergency services, including ambulances from Greece’s EKAB service, were promptly dispatched, and they rushed to the scene. Upon arrival, police officers and paramedics discovered the 23-year-old man bleeding from a neck wound, likely caused by a knife.
Additionally, a bullet as well as a 22-caliber pistol were found nearby in a flower pot. Despite every possible effort to save his life, the young man succumbed to his injuries during transport to Athens‘ Red Cross hospital.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old man who was also found on the scene with a serious abdominal injury was rushed to the hospital, too. His injuries were possibly from a gunshot wound. The man is currently receiving treatment for his injuries.
Greek police (ELAS) have now launched an investigation into the incident, trying to determine the motive behind this violent confrontation and to identify any additional individuals who may have been involved.
Authorities are urging anyone with information related to this case in Marousi, Athens to come forward and assist in the ongoing investigation.
Gun violence in Athens: A concerning trend
While Greece has been historically known for having a relatively low rate of gun violence compared to other Western nations, recent data suggests the country, and particularly Athens, is experiencing a noticeable increase in firearm-related incidents.
Approximately two months ago, in February 2024, four people died during a shooting incident at a Greek shipping company in the southern Athens suburb of Glyfada.
The gunman, who was a former employee of the shipping company, entered the building and opened fire on employees, resulting in the deaths of three individuals before turning the gun on himself.
The perpetrator was later identified as a 70-year-old Egyptian national who was indeed working for the company. However, some reports at the time suggested he had been terminated from his position at the firm.
April 28 is Palm Sunday according to the Orthodox Christian calendar and Greeks across the country flocked to their churches to attend beautiful and moving church services.
Thousands of devoted Christians across the nation went to commemorate the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
This unique feast for the Christian faith is always one of the most joyous of the year and marks the beginning of the Orthodox Holy Week that leads up to Easter Sunday, a week later.
From small chapels and churches to impressive Cathedrals and from the mainland to the islands, the faithful gathered holding beautiful crosses that had been woven from palm fronds.
A key moment of the Orthodox Palm Sunday service in every church is the Blessing and Distribution of the Palms, with a special prayer that is always read over the basket of crosses placed before the icon of Christ.
A series of beautiful age-old traditions and customs surround Palm Sunday in Greece, with every place having its own little piece to place in the puzzle of customs for that day. Although it falls during the solemn period of Lent, the Greek Orthodox Church in particular allows the consumption of fish, oil, and wine on this important day. However, the faithful need to continue abstaining from products such as dairy, eggs, chicken, and red meat.
Many families gather for a traditional seafood meal, often the classic dish of fried cod with garlic mash called ”bakaliaros skordalia”.
In some other regions, people use the blessed palm crosses that they receive from their church to decorate their homes as well as boats, and even their animals and pets to ensure blessings and protection. Children may also weave the palms into different shapes like crosses, fish, or wreaths depending on the local tradition.
Another beautiful example of a Palm Sunday tradition comes from the Ionian island of Corfu, where a large procession with a marching band carries the relics of the island’s patron Saint Spyridon. The Corfiots do that to commemorate the deliverance from a past plague that, according to legend, happened after the intervention of the island’s patron saint.
This uniquely joyous atmosphere in churches is also palpable as beautiful hymns that glorify Christ – such as the “Vanquisher of Death” – are resounded in the temples.
The Story Behind Palm Sunday
According to the Bible, the entry of Jesus into the ancient holy city of Jerusalem took place just a few days before he was betrayed at the Last Supper, and is deemed to have marked the beginning of Christ’s Passion, or the events leading up to his suffering and eventual death on the cross.
Although the circumstances leading up to Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem differ somewhat in each of the Gospels, all describe the entrance of Jesus into the city as a joyous event, as citizens gathered around him and proclaimed him to be the Lord.
