Greek City of Kalamata Reenacts Liberation From Ottoman Rule

Kalamata Liberation Reenactment
Dressed in traditional costumes, citizens of Kalamata reenacted the events of the Greek War of Independence that led to the liberation of the city from the Ottoman rule in 1821. Credit: Youtube / Municipality of Kalamata / Screen capture

Dressed in traditional costumes in the fashion of two hundred years ago, citizens of Kalamata, located in the Peloponnese in Southern Greece, celebrated 203 years since the liberation of the city from Ottoman rule with a majestic reenactment of the events of the Greek War of Independence on Saturday, March 23rd.

Hundreds of visitors were joined by Greek officials to watch the reenactment at the old town center from 4 p.m. local time.

The oath taken by the generals of the Greek War of Independence and reenacted today was the same oath taken by ancient Greek soldiers before they marched to war.

First Greek city liberated from the Ottomans

Kalamata was the first city to be liberated from the Ottomans, as the Greeks rose in the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

On March 23rd of that year, the harbor city was taken over by the Greek revolutionary forces under the command of generals Theodoros Kolokotronis, Petros Mavromichalis, and Papaflessas.

Mavromichalis declared the revolt against Ottoman rule in the Church of the Holy Apostles, located in the middle of the city’s square.

Sadly, a few years later, in 1825, the invading Ottoman forces destroyed the city, but once it was rebuilt in independent Greece, Kalamata became one of the most important harbors in the Mediterranean Sea. The second-oldest Chamber of Commerce in the Mediterranean, after that of Marseille, was founded in Kalamata.

Petrompeis Mavromihalis Kalamata
Petrompeis Mavromihalis liberating Kalamata by Hess. Public Domain

Rich history and culture of the city of Kalamata

In the 20th century, Kalamata gained a reputation for its homonymous olive variety, its excellent quality olive oil, raisins, and figs, which are exported worldwide.

It became the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula after Patras and is the capital of the Messenia regional unit.

Visitors today can still walk around the historical city and learn about the different aspects of life in the area throughout the centuries thanks to its many boutique museums. These include the Municipal Gallery, the Archaeological Museum of Messenia, the Military Museum, and the Folk Art Museum.

Some of the city’s most important sites are the Villehardouin castle, the Ypapanti Byzantine church, the Kalograion monastery with its silk-weaving workshop where the famed Kalamata scarves are made, and the municipal railway park.

The city is particularly popular during the summer season thanks to its beautiful beaches and nature, attracting visitors from across the world with several direct flights from Greek and international airports.

The Brutal Torture of Athanasios Diakos During the Greek War of Independence

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Battle of Alamana
Battle of Alamana, in which Athanasios Diakos made his final stand, painted by Alexandros Isaias. Credit: Alexandros Isaias / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Athanasios Diakos is one of the most famous and tragic figures of the Greek War of Independence.

He spent the early years of his life in theological training at the Monastery of Agios Ioannis Prodromos near Artotina. However, he was forced to flee the serenity of monastic life after an altercation with an Ottoman official and took up arms as a klepht (independence fighter).

Diakos is best known for his courageous last stand at the Battle of Alamana, where he was severely wounded and captured by the Ottomans. The Ottomans offered to spare his life and grant him a position in the Ottoman army on the condition that he go against his own people and renounce his Christian faith. However, Diakos refused and was subjected to torture and death as a result.

Early life of Athanasios Diakos

The man who would later become better known by his pseudonym Athanasios “Diakos”, was born Athanasios Nikolaos Massvetas in the village of Ano Mousounista in Phocis, in 1788, athough some accounts say he was born later in 1791, or that he was from the village of Artotina.

His family lineage was perhaps a clue as to his future activities: his grandfather was also a klepht. Klephts were Greek guerrilla fighters who resisted the Ottomans, mainly in the mountainous and rural areas of Greece.

However, in the early years of his life, Athanasios was drawn more to the Bible than to flintlocks and sabers. He was strongly drawn to his Greek Orthodox faith and was subsequently sent by his parents to the Monastery of Agios Ioannis Prodromos (St John the Baptist) near Artotina to commence theological training.

He became a fully-fledged monk at the age of seventeen and was quickly promoted to take on the role of deacon on account of his strong faith and commendable disposition.

Athanasios Diakos
Portrait of Athanasios Diakos by Dionysios Tsokos. 1861. Credit: Dionysios Tsokos / Public Domain / Wikimimedia Commons

Flight from the monastery

The young Athanasios was not destined for a quiet life, and his time spent at the monastery would come to an abrupt end.

According to the traditional story of his life, an Ottoman pasha and his troops visited the monastery where Athanasios lived. The pasha took a liking to the young clergyman and indecently propositioned him

Athanasios took great offense at the Ottoman pasha’s remarks, and in the ensuing altercation the latter was killed.

Athanasios was forced to flee the monastery for fear of Ottoman reprisals and took refuge in the mountains where he became a klepht like his grandfather before him. In reference to his previous life as a clergyman, he took on the pseudonym “Diakos”, meaning Deacon.

Diakos
Sketch of Athanasios Diakos by an unknown author, 1883. Credit: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Life as a klepht

Athanasios Diakos, as he then became known, served under the klepht leaders in the region of Roumeli. He bolstered his reputation as a capable warrior in several skirmishes with the Ottomans during this time.

Diakos also served as a mercenary in Ioannina, Epirus, in the army of the infamous Ali Pasha. It was during this time that he befriended the klepht Odysseas Androutsos, who would also go on to become a prominent hero of the Greek War of Independence.

Diakos later served under Androutsos as his second-in-command when the latter was made captain of a band of irregular fighters stationed in the town of Livadeia in Central Greece.

After a stint as Androutsos’ trusted lieutenant, Diakos founded and led his own band of klepthes in the years preceding the outbreak of the revolutionary war. Like many of the klepht leaders, Diakos joined the Filiki Eteria, or “Society of Friends”, founded in 1814 with the purpose of overthrowing Ottoman rule and establishing an independent Greece.

Diakos fresco
Fresco of Diakos by Theophilos Hatzimihail, 1931. Credit: Theophilos Hatzimihail / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

The final stand of Athanasios Diakos at the Battle of Alamana

Soon after the war began in 1821, Diakos and his friend Vasilis Bousgos, who also led a band of fighters, set out to capture the town of Livadeia.

It took three days to liberate the city of Livadeia and involved grueling urban warfare and hand-to-hand fighting in the houses of the town. However, the Greeks prevailed on April 1, and liberated the town, also burning the residence of Mir Aga, the Ottoman official in charge there.

It did not take long for the Ottomans to respond. Hurshid Ahmed Pasha, the Ottoman governor of the Peloponnese, dispatched 8,000 men led by two of his most capable generals, Omer Vrioni and Köse Mehmed, to crush the rebellion.

The Greeks were heavily outnumbered. Even with reinforcements provided by Dimitrios Panourgias and Yiannis Dyovouniotis, Diakos and Bousgos only had about 1,500 men at their disposal to oppose the Ottoman advance. Nevertheless, they decided to take up defensive positions near the legendary site of Thermopylae.

The Greeks split their force in three to defend the most valuable positions. Dyovouniotis positioned his men to defend the bridge at Gorgopotamos, Panourgias took to the heights of Halkomata, and Diakos covered the bridge at Alamana.

The Ottomans also split their force in three to take on the Greeks at each of their defensive positions. The main Turkish contingent attacked Diakos, but he resisted the assault the longest.

Dyovouniotis’ force could not hold the bridge at Gorgopotamos and Panourgias’ men fled when he was wounded. This left Diakos and his men to face the full force of the Ottoman assault alone.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Bousgos, who had been fighting alongside his friend, urged him to retreat, but Diakos refused and fought on alongside 48 of his men who also chose to stay.

Diakos and his men put up a valiant struggle for a number of hours, despite being massively outnumbered. The fighting was not confined to musket fire and developed into a close melee struggle. Ultimately, Diakos was severely wounded and captured when his sword broke.

Battle of Alamana
Battle of Alamana. Credit: Panagiotis Zographos / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Torture and death

Diakos was brought before one of the Ottoman commanders, Omer Vrioni, who had gained military experience fighting Napoleon in Egypt.

Vrioni made Diakos an offer: his life would be spared if he agreed to take up a post as an officer in the Ottoman army and convert from Christianity to Islam.

Diakos refused to abandon the Greek cause and told Vrioni “I was born a Greek, I shall die a Greek”. He was to be subjected to torture and death as a result.

As he was led off to be executed, Diakos, according to popular tradition, poetically remarked, “Look at the time Charon chose to take me, now that the branches are flowering, and the earth sends forth grass.”

The manner of his death would have been excruciatingly painful. Diakos was impaled on a stake which was driven through the length of his body. Depending on the method, impalement could take days to kill the victim whose every writhing movement on the torture device would have inflicted even more pain.

Initially, the grim death of Diakos served the Ottomans well as a deterrent against future rebellion. However, as time passed, his sacrifice for the Greek cause inspired other revolutionaries to take up the sword and musket to fight for the cause of independence.

Athanasios Diakos
Monument dedicated to Diakos. Credit: Sportingn / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Manuscripts From Greek National Poet Dionysios Solomos Exhibited in Athens

Dionysios Solomos Manuscripts on display.
Dionysios Solomos Manuscripts on display. Credit: Facebook / Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens

Conserved manuscripts from Greek national poet Dionysios Solomos are exhibited at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens until the end of April, on the occasion of the Greek Independence Day celebrated on March 25.

The rare exhibits were unveiled to the public on March 21, following the completion of conservation work 200 years since Solomos wrote his Hymn to Liberty, which eventually became the national anthem of Greece in 1865.

Solomos’ manuscripts undergo conservation

Visitors to the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens will have the opportunity to see the 200-year-old manuscripts alongside an informative video about their conservation project until the end of April.

Educational programs will run over the same period at the museum.

Dionysios Solomos Manuscripts on display.
Dionysios Solomos Manuscripts are on display alongside an informative video about their conservation process. Credit: Facebook / Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens

Beyond the Athens show, the poet’s manuscripts form part of the permanent exhibition at the Museum of Dionysios Solomos and Other Eminent People of Zakynthos, his home island.

Besides the manuscripts, visitors of the small museum, located at St Mark’s square in Zakynthos town, can view a selection of Solomos’ personal belongings, such as his desk, inkwell and favorite books, and a portrait gallery picturing the Solomos family.

The ground floor of the museum houses the only Mausoleum in Greece, where the bones of Dionysios Solomos and those of poet Andreas Kalvos and his wife are laid to rest.

Creation of the Greek national anthem

Dionysios Solomos was born at the turn of the 19th century, in 1798, and his work became a monumental influence in uniting Greeks and creating a common national identity following the 1821 War of Independence and the establishment of a free state.

His Hymn to Liberty, written in 1823, consists of 158 stanzas, and combines elements of romanticism and classicism, inspired by the brave men who fought in the Greek War of Independence and Greece’s long history.

It presents the goddess of liberty and recalls the past martyrdoms that occurred during the history of the country, the revolt of its “slaves” under foreign rule, as well as the joys of being a Hellene.

The Corfiot musician Nicolaos Mantzaros composed a melody for the words in 1828, which he kept modifying in 1837, 1839 and 1840, and December 1844 – before he eventually presented it to King Otto I, the ruler of the newly founded Greek state.

The King, who heard the poem’s first three stanzas set to the music by the local philarmonic band during a visit to Corfu, was so impressed that he ordered it to be played during official events; thus, “Hymn to Liberty” instantly became the National Anthem of Greece.

New Study Challenges Beliefs on Human Brain Preservation

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Human Brain Preservation
Human brain preservation. Credit: EUSKALANATO / Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

New research, led by Alexandra Morton-Hayward, a forensic scientist from the University of Oxford, challenges what we thought we knew about how human brains decompose after death.

Instead of thinking brains decay quickly after we die, this study, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, shows that in certain situations, human brains can last for thousands of years.

Morton-Hayward and her team have completed a worldwide study. They searched through old records and gathered information from over 4,400 preserved human brains. These brains cover about 12,000 years of history.

Nervous tissues last longer than previously thought

People previously thought it was rare to find preserved soft tissue in archaeological records. Keeping a brain intact was seen as even more extraordinary, especially when other soft tissues were missing.

However, this research shows that nervous tissues actually last longer than we thought. It is because of certain conditions that stop them from decaying.

Morton-Hayward and her team gathered information about brains from all sorts of places. They looked at brains preserved in icy places like the Arctic and dry places like Ancient Egypt.

More than 1,300 of these preserved brains were the only soft tissue left in bodies that had turned into skeletons. This shows how tough the brain is, even when everything else is gone, as reported by Archaeology Mag.

Morton-Hayward pointed out how valuable these old brains are for learning about our history. She said, “We’re finding amazing numbers and types of ancient biomolecules preserved in these archaeological brains, and it’s exciting to explore all that they can tell us about life and death in our ancestors.”

Preservation of ancient brains remains a mystery

The mechanisms behind the preservation of these ancient brains remain mysterious. While factors such as freezing, dehydration, and tanning have been suggested for short-term preservation, the fact that these brains last for millennia implies the presence of preservation mechanisms specific to the central nervous system that we don’t fully understand yet.

Some proposed mechanisms include molecular crosslinking and metal complexation, but further research is needed to fully understand these processes.

Professor Erin Saupe, a co-author from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, pointed out the wide range of places where preserved brains were found in the study.

She said, “This record of ancient brains highlights the array of environments in which they can be preserved from the high Arctic to arid deserts.”

This research goes beyond archaeology. Morton-Hayward highlighted how these findings could be important for understanding neurological conditions today.

Iron Age House From the 10th Century BC Discovered in Greece

Iron Age House Greece
Numerous stones were in the largest room, which could have once been a paved courtyard. Credit: Thorikos Archaeological Research Proje ct

One of the earliest Iron Age houses in Greece has recently been discovered by archaeologists at Thorikos, an ancient village near the city of Lavrion, south of Athens.

The discovery was made by researchers from the University of Göttingen, under the Thorikos Archaeological Project Gent-Göttingen.

Since there have never before been any building structures from this period discovered in Attica, this find provides fresh insight into the early history of Greece.

The ancient village is close to a historic silver mine. The region is home to Mycenaean dome tombs and a classical settlement with homes, businesses, temples, and graveyards.

Thorikos
Thorikos archaeological site. Credit: Alun Salt, CC BY-SA 2.0/Wikipedia Commons

Iron age house in Greece had up to six rooms

2019 saw the discovery of an uncovered wall corner that, at first glance, appeared to point to a traditional tomb building. However, additional investigation showed that it was a building from the 10th to 9th centuries BC, not a burial site.

Researchers have been looking into the building’s size for the past year and have located five to six rooms. Numerous stones were in the largest room, which could have once been a paved courtyard.

Its use between approximately 950 and 825 BC was substantiated by analysis of the inorganic and organic characteristics of the rocks.

The presence of grain-grinding stones suggests that the building once served as a residence. The rooms’ intricate layout suggests a highly developed civilization or a well-established social structure.

The ancient village where the iron-age house was uncovered was only 20 meters above the seashore, indicating no immediate threat from the water. The safer hilltop plateau was more than 100 meters high and wasn’t populated until the 8th century BC. Geophysical research uncovered a tomb from the fifth century BC on the southeast slope.

Additional scientific investigations will shed light on whether animal breeding occurred at the location and whether silver ore, which is pretty standard in the region, was mined during that time.

The theater of Thorikos dates to the end of the Archaic era

Thorikos is an almost-forgotten archaeological site, where the oldest known theater in existence still stands proudly, just north of the ancient mining town of Lavrio and east of Athens.

The theater of Thorikos dates to the end of the Archaic era between 525 and 480 B.C.

But that is not its only distinction. Unlike Greek theaters built in later eras, it is elliptical rather than circular and has a rectangular rather than a circular orchestra.

With twenty-one rows of seats, the theater had an impressive seating capacity of four thousand people when it was constructed.

Theater Thorikos
The ancient theater of Thorikos. Credit: Facebook/Thorikos Archaeological Research Project

In antiquity, Lavrio was famed for its rich silver mines, which are some of the oldest in the world. Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of mining in the area dating back to the year 3,200 BC.

It was from these silver resources that Athens obtained much of its wealth in the Classical Period. This wealth went on to fund their massive fleet of two hundred triremes, allowing Athens to become the greatest naval power in the ancient world.

There is evidence of lead extraction there beginning in the 3rd millennium BC and of silver beginning in 1500 BC.

The ancient city’s center and its acropolis are situated on Velatouri Hill next to the theater.

RelatedHow the Mines of Lavrion Changed Ancient Athens and the World

Sole Surviving Ancient Greek Funerary Relief With Twin Babies Unveiled

The stele of the twin babies on display.
The stele of the twin babies on display. Credit: Archive of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens

The only surviving funerary relief of the ancient Greek world depicting twin babies in the same arms was unveiled at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and will be exhibited only for a few weeks, as part of the “Unseen Museum” exhibition project that brings to the fore antiquities stored in its vaults.

Known as the “stele of the twin babies,” the fragment, featuring two bundled twin babies in the arms of a female figure, is presented to the public for the first time since its 2008 discovery at a river bank by a scavenger who delivered the precious find to the museum.

The heads of the twins are standing out from their swaddling clothes and the mother’s hands are seen holding their little bodies next to each other.

The stele of the twin babies
The stele of the twin babies, 4th century BC. Credit: Archive of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Tombstone for a mother who died during childbirth

The “stele of the twin babies” is dated to the 4th century BC.

Archaeologists believe that the unique fragment is part of a tombstone that would have been erected on the grave of a woman who died in childbirth.

This is the only surviving funerary relief of the ancient Greek world depicting twin babies in the same arms, which indicates their common fate as orphans, the museum says in a statement.

The museum published a collage image of the stele of the twin babies with the relief of Philonoe, suggesting a reconstructed image of what the tombstone might have looked like as a whole.

Collage of the stele of the twin babies with the stele of Philonoe.
Collage of the stele of the twin babies with the stele of Philonoe. Credit; Archive of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens

The one-of-a-kind exhibit will be on display until May 13.

Special presentations will be held on Wednesdays March 27, April 10 and 24, and May 8, and on Sundays March 31, April 14 and 28, and May 12, at 1 p.m., when the public will be received by archaeologists to discuss the story of the find, child mortality in ancient Greece and ancient Greek myths involving twins.

Museum ticket holders on the day will need to express their interest to attend the presentation upon entry, as spaces are limited and admission will be granted on a first come basis.

The stele of the twin babies.
The stele of the twin babies. Credit: Archive of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Myths involving twin siblings frequent in ancient Greece

Twin siblings are a frequent theme in ancient Greek mythology.

Olympian gods Artemis and Apollo were twins, born to Zeus and Leto, and so were the children of gods Demeter and Poseidon, Despoina and Arion.

Poseidon and Zeus were said to have fathered more sets of twins with different mortal women.

A few famous sets of twins in Greek mythology were believed to have been born to  different fathers each, only one of two being the child of a god, such as the Dioscuri – Castor and Pollux- and their twin sisters, Helen and Clytemnestra.

Prominent mortal couples in Greek mythology were also reported to have given birth to twins; twin sons Thessalus and Alcimenes were among Jason and Medea‘s ill-fated children, while Cassandra and Helenus were twin children of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, born with prophetic powers.

Scientists Squeeze Diamonds to Create an Even Harder Material

Squeezed Diamonds to Create an Even Harder Material
Supercomputer simulations of squeezed diamonds to create BC8 “super-diamond”. Credit: Mark Meamber / LLNL

Experts believe that diamonds, renowned for their hardness, could potentially be compressed to create an even harder substance.

These expensive stones, formed from carbon crystals, occur naturally within the Earth’s depths. Research even suggests that geological events might propel diamond fountains to the surface.

Generally known for their toughness due to a rugged particle structure known as a tetrahedral lattice, scientists have uncovered methods to enhance their durability further.

Rare carbon molecule is the new hardest stable material

Researchers have conducted simulations on a rare carbon molecule that surpasses diamonds in hardness, potentially leading to its synthesis in laboratory settings.

This molecule, referred to as the eight-atom body-centered cubic (BC8) phase, is projected to be up to 30 percent more resistant to compression than diamond, the hardest stable material on our planet, as reported by ScienceAlert.

Physicists from the United States and Sweden conducted precise quantum-based molecular dynamics simulations using a supercomputer. Their aim was to observe how diamond responded to intense pressure and elevated temperatures, conditions that typically destabilize it.

These simulations unveiled fresh insights into the circumstances necessary to prompt the transformation of carbon atoms in diamond into the distinctive BC8 structure.

Previously, the BC8 phase had been observed on Earth in silicon and germanium. By extrapolating the characteristics of BC8 observed in these materials, scientists could predict how this phase would manifest in carbon, according to ScienceAlert.

Carbon’s BC8 phase doesn’t naturally exist on Earth

The BC8 phase of carbon isn’t found on Earth, but it’s believed to exist in the extreme high-pressure environments deep within exoplanets.

Theoretical models suggest that it’s the toughest form of carbon capable of remaining stable under pressures exceeding 10 million times that of Earth’s atmosphere. If scientists could create and stabilize it here, it could unlock remarkable opportunities for research and practical applications.

Diamond’s exceptional hardness stems from its atomic structure. Its atoms are arranged in a tetrahedral lattice, meaning each carbon atom is bonded to four neighboring atoms in a tetrahedral shape.

This arrangement matches the optimal configuration of carbon’s outermost electrons, contributing to the diamond’s renowned toughness, as reported by ScienceAlert.

“The BC8 structure maintains this perfect tetrahedral nearest-neighbor shape, but without the cleavage planes found in the diamond structure,” says physicist Jon Eggert of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. “The BC8 phase of carbon at ambient conditions would likely be much tougher than diamond.”

Despite the potential stability of BC8 carbon under regular conditions, efforts to create it in a lab have been unsuccessful so far. Physicist Kien Nguyen Cong from the University of South Florida led a team of researchers in utilizing supercomputing capabilities to investigate the reasons behind these unsuccessful attempts.

At Least 133 Dead in Moscow Concert Hall Terror Attack, Suspects Detained

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Crocus City Hall, Moscow, Russia, the concert hall where a terrorist attack is taking places.
133 people died and dozens more were injured in the terror attack at a concert hall on the outskirts of Russian capital, Moscow. Credit: JuliánAlejandroS. CC BY-3.0/Wikimedia Commons/JulianAlejandroS

11 suspects were arrested in relation to the ISIS terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall music venue on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia, on Friday evening, which left at least 133 civilians dead and dozens more injured.

Gunmen stormed the 6,000-capacity venue in the Krasnogorsk suburb in the north of the Russian capital as a sold-out concert of 1970s music band, Band Picnic, was to begin. They shot attendees with automatic weapons and also fired bombs or granades, before setting parts of the venue on fire, according to sources.

Four of the detained are directly related to the deadly assault, according to the BBC.

A 7-minute video published on Saturday showed crowds evacuating the building amidst loud gunshots.

The United Nations, European Union, and foreign leaders condemned the attack.

The Greek Foreign Ministry wrote on Twitter: “Shocked by the terrible images coming from Moscow following the horrific attack at Crocus City Hall. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims to whom we extend our heartfelt condolences.”

The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, also condemned the attack in separate statements.

Death toll reaches 133, further rise expected

Russia’s investigative committee confirmed 133 people dead by Saturday afternoon, stating that the  death toll from the terrorist attack will rise further as rescue workers continue to move rubble at the scene.

“According to preliminary data, the causes of death were gunshot wounds and poisoning by combustion products,” a statement read.

Earlier reports from Russian media said that three children were among the dead.

Latest information on Saturday morning listed 107 injured in hospital. Sixty adults and one child were in serious condition, local sources said.

Ukraine denies involvement in Moscow terror attack

The Islamic State terror group (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, although it hasn’t been specified which of its branches was behind it.

Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since the latter invaded its territory in February 2022, has firmly denied any involvement in the attack.

However, Russia’s security agency reportedly claimed that some of the detained suspects, arrested in a car chase, “were intending to cross over to Ukraine” and “had contacts on the Ukrainian side.”

Russian politician and former army leader Andrey Kartapolov, who chairs Russia’s defence committee, told state media outlet RIA that “Ukraine and its patrons are the main stakeholders in the terrorist attack” and that “Ukraine should expect a “clear answer” on the battlefield if it is found to be involved in last night’s attack near Moscow.”

National day of mourning for concert hall victims

Russian president Vladimir Putin declared Sunday, March 24, a national day of mourning for the attack victims.

In his televised address to the Russian people, Putin repeated the claim that had been expressed earlier by Russian sources that the attackers had tried to escape towards Ukraine. The Russian president vowed to identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists, “whoever they are, whoever is guiding them.”

“The main thing now is to prevent those who are behind this bloodbath from committing a new crime,” he added.

 

Rigas Feraios: On the Trail of the Protomartyr of Greek Independence

Rigas Feraios and his statue in Belgrade
Rigas Feraios was the protomartyr of Greek Independence.Credit: (Left image) Public Domain. (Right image) Alex Billinis.

Rigas Feraios was a Greek revolutionary who fought in the mountains and worked as a writer, merchant, and revolutionary agitator in the wide Balkan Diaspora forming in the states neighboring the Ottoman Empire. He had done it all.

Like so many Greek kids in the diaspora, I attended Greek School for a while. The March 25th Celebration always entailed a few kids in Foustanellas and Amalias and the obligatory poem.

On the shortlist was always the “Thourios Ymnos” of Rigas Feraios, in which he wrote that “one hour of freedom is better than forty years of slavery,” stirring words – and Feraios wrote many.

I always had a fondness for Feraios, a man of both letters and action. One who was both radical and tolerant, wishing to replace the sultan’s tyranny with a restored Byzantine “Republic” that would have a place for all of its ethnicities, including the Turks.

Following Rigas Feraios’ footsteps

As it happens, my travels and life experiences allowed me to follow in his geographical footsteps.

In the mid-2000s, we lived in Greece, and many a time, driving towards Thessaloniki, or further north to my wife’s Serbian hometown, we would pass the village of Velestino, the town in Thessaly where Feraios (also known as Velestinlis) was born.

Like many people in the region, he was bilingual in Vlach (a dialect similar to Romanian) and Greek.

Multilingualism was common in the Ottoman Empire of the time, but he most definitely identified as a Romios, namely a Greek-speaking Orthodox (Byzantine) subject of the Ottoman Empire. Serbs also count him as a Balkan hero.

Traveling further north into Serbia, we traced the overland route trod by so many merchants from Thessaly and Macedonia towards the markets of the Austrian Empire, which in Feraios’ time began just across the Danube and Sava Rivers from Belgrade.

Feraios becomes a publisher in Vienna

Like so many talented Greeks at the time, particularly those from Thessaly and Macedonia, Feraios gravitated towards the Greek communities established in the Austrian Empire.

After years of warfare, as the Austrians pushed the Turks back to the Danube and Sava Rivers, Greek and Serbian merchants and settlers poured into the Austrian Empire, including to Vojvodina Province, where we once lived.

Though Greeks and Serbs were established in communities throughout the Empire, Feraios settled in the capital, Vienna, in 1793.

His interests went far beyond the commercial. He had cut his teeth with klephts in the mountains as a youth, and he believed in putting his talent for words into action.

Once established in Vienna, he quickly threw himself into publishing with the support of many in the wealthy Greek mercantile community there.

We should remember that Greek newspapers appeared in print for the first time in Vienna, and Feraios was one of the first newspaper editors.

The paper still exists and is published in the city of Siatista, Macedonia, Greece.

Feraios also published his vision of a “Map of Great Greece,” incorporating much of the Balkans and Asia Minor, a copy of which I found prominently displayed on the walls of the Greek Community Center in Budapest, Hungary.

While visiting Vienna in 2010, I managed to retrace my steps as a student over twenty years earlier to find Vienna’s Greichenviertel (Greek Quarter).

Not far from the Greek Orthodox Cathedral—a beautiful structure with a late eighteenth-century façade—I found the yellow baroque building where Feraios edited his newspaper, Efimeris.

Plaques commemorates his work there, and on another Greek Church nearby on Greichengasse (Greek Lane).

In a real sense, in addition to being the first martyr, or “protomartyras,” of the modern Greek nation, he is a founder of the modern Greek press.

Within the Church compound, the Vienna Greek School was in session when we visited.

Founded in 1804, it is older than the modern Greek state itself, and students no doubt studied many of the same poems I had. Their author penned many of his stirring works just steps away from their school.

I felt a chill run up my spine from the presence and proximity of history.

Feraios a threat to Austria

While Vienna and the Austrian regime of his time provided many opportunities for the Greek community, authorities were extremely hostile to any and all revolutionary activity.

Feraios wanted to overthrow the Ottoman Empire and restructure it as a “Greek” republic, but with full rights for all nationalities, including the Turks.

This goal posed not only a threat to the Ottoman Empire but to the Austrians’ own multiethnic monarchy.

At the time, the consequences of the French Revolution were still being felt throughout Europe, and its supporters and adherents were actively looking to export its ideology.

In Feraios, the French Revolution had an avid admirer who sought to implement its ideals within the political reality of the Balkans. Accordingly, Feraios set out for Trieste in 1797.

Feraios moves over the Alps

Over the Alps from Vienna, there is another lovely former Austro-Hungarian city, the Italian port of Trieste, which was once Austria’s key maritime outlet.

Like Vienna, it also had a very active and influential Greek community. On our family’s visit there in 2011, while enjoying the city and taking in its Greek and Serbian churches and monuments, we once again found we were following in Feraios’ footsteps.

Taking coffee one lovely May morning in the Caffé Degli Specchi, a Triestine landmark café founded nearly two centuries ago by Greeks, I sat with Archimandrite Gregory, the current Greek priest there, who is an urbane, learned, and pious man.

I mentioned to him how much I loved the city’s café culture; cafés have always been the center of Triestine commerce, culture, and conspiracies.

Apparently, outside one famous Trieste café, the Caffé Tomasso which we had visited the day before, “our own Rigas Feraios was arrested by the Austrian secret police,” Archimandrite Gregory told me while sipping his espresso.

Again, serendipitously, we had traced Feraios’ footsteps.

In both Vienna and Trieste, we had met up with Feraios by accident. Yet later, in Belgrade, we met again—this time by design.

Rigas Feraios moves to the frontier of the Ottoman Empire

Belgrade today is a bustling and sophisticated if somewhat chaotic European capital, straddling both sides of the Sava and Danube Rivers.  For centuries, Belgrade served as the first frontier fortress of the Ottoman Empire.

Having apprehended Feraios, the Austrians dispatched him, along with his co-conspirators, across the Danube to Belgrade, where the Turks eagerly awaited him.

After a sufficient round of tortures in June of 1798, Feraios and his comrades were strangled and their corpses flung into the Danube.

At the foot of Belgrade’s majestic Kalemegdan Fortress, there lies a Turkish-era structure known locally as Nebojsina Kule (Nebojsa’s Tower).

Nebojsa’s Tower is just steps from the Sava’s confluence to the Danube River, the site of Feraios’ watery grave.  The main complex of Kalemegdan fortress rises steeply from the tower.

Rigas Feraios
The Rigas Feraios statue in Belgrade. Credit: Alex Billinis

Just off the road and tramway ringing Kalemegdan, a statue stands at a fork in the road. It is of Feraios, called Riga od Fere by the Serbs.

His name is inscribed in both Greek and Cyrillic Serbian along with a short inscription, namely “Grcki i srpski narod” (Greek and Serbian nation).

As he was carried off to strangulation, he proclaimed, “I have sown a rich seed which others will reap.”

Though a new Byzantium was not to be, the fruits of this seed are the modern Greek and Serbian states.

The Top Archaeological Sites You Absolutely Must See in Greece

Athenian Agora.
The Athenian Agora. Credit: Wikipedia/Sharon MollerusCC-BY-2.0

With Greece’s rich and expansive history, it comes as no surprise that the country is adorned with countless archaeological wonders awaiting exploration. Yet, amidst this wealth of historical sites, here are the top must-visit Greek archaeological marvels that should not be missed on your tour!

Of course, everyone knows the popular tourist attractions, such as the Acropolis and Delphi, but there is much more waiting for you in Greece (and, of course, they are included in our list)!

Top 20 archaeological sites that you don’t want to miss out on

1. The Acropolis, Athens

memory palace ancient greek memory greece
The Parthenon. Credit: Gary Bembridge/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-2.0

The Acropolis is a world-renowned historical site and is actually an ancient citadel. Located on a hilltop overlooking the city of Athens, it contains the remains of several ancient buildings of immense architectural and historic significance, such as the Erechtheion temple, the Propylaia entrance, and the temple of Athena Nike.

Of course, the most famous building of all atop the Acropolis is the Parthenon. This Doric temple, dedicated to the goddess Athena, is something that everyone simply must see and experience in person at least once in their lifetime!

2. The ancient Temple of Apollo Epicurius, Bassae

Temple of Epikourios Apollon
Ancient Temple of Epikourios Apollon, Bassae. Credit: Credit: egonwegh/CC BY-NC 2.0

Another archaeological site that one should definitely include on his or her itinerary is the ancient temple located in Oichalia, a town in the northeastern part of Messenia. It is especially important because the building is amazingly well-preserved which is not always the case when speaking of buildings constructed almost 2,500 years ago. It served as the Temple of Apollo Epicurius and dates back to the mid-to-late 5th century BC.

3. Delphi, Central Greece

ancient greek earthquakes
The Tholos at Delphi, Greece. Credit: Tamara Semina/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

Near the beautiful resort town of Arachova on the slopes of Mt. Parnassus, one must, of course, visit the sprawling archaeological site of Delphi on any trip to Greece. Considered to be one of the most stunning archaeological sites in the entire world, you will need at least three hours to explore the ancient shrine of Delphi and the excellent archaeological museum on the premises, which houses the original bronze bull and many statues from the time when it served as the most important religious site in Greece.

Since the site is so large and there is so much to see, you should buy an all-day entrance ticket to Delphi.

4. Delos

Ancient Greek
The ancient Greek theater on Delos. Credit: Bernard Gagnon/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0

You can see Delos from the shores of Mykonos and the beauty of the island and its surroundings inspire all who visit. It is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in all of Greece.

There have been extensive archaeological excavations on the island, revealing ruins that tell tales of Delos as a holy sanctuary, dating back to over a millennium before Greek mythology named it as the birthplace of the Greek gods Apollo (the God of Light) and his twin sister, Artemis (the Goddess of Hunting).

Ruins of ancient stone huts on Delos date back to the 3rd millennium BC, and from 900 BC to 100 AD the island served as a religious center. Eventually, it became a site of religious pilgrimage for Ionians after they underwent a number of “purifications” at the command of the city-state of Athens around the 6th century BC.

5. Ancient and Medieval Rhodes

Rhodes Castle.
Rhodes Castle. Credit: Wikipedia/Grb16/CC-BY-SA-4.0

The Greek island of Rhodes is home to a variety of important archaeological sites. Here, you will find the ancient city of Kamiros, which had a three-storied acropolis that overlooked the city. The area was also once inhabited by Mycenaean Greeks during the prehistoric period while the ancient city itself was founded by the Dorians. Other must-see sites on the island are the Grand Master’s Palace and Monolithos Castle.

The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes is known as the primary historical and architectural landmark of the medieval city of Rhodes. Its Gothic style of architecture is very rare in Greece, and this will be one of the few examples of this type of structure that you will see in the entire country.

Originally built in the late 7th century as a Byzantine citadel, in 1309 it became the seat of the Knights Hospitallers when they occupied Rhodes, and they used the fortress as the palace of their Grand Master and administrative center.

On the outskirts of the village of Monolithos is the ancient medieval castle built in 1480 by the order of the Knights of Saint John. The castle was constructed to protect the island from attacks, and was never breached, probably due to its location atop a huge cliff that towers 100 meters high.

6. Mystras, Peloponnese

Mystras old town ruins.
Mystras old town ruins. Credit: Wikipedia/Peulle/CC-BY-SA-4.0

Known as Myzithras in the “Chronicle of the Morea,” Mystras is a fortified ancient Byzantine city. Located in Laconia on Mt. Taygetos near Sparta, back in the 14th and 15th centuries, the city flourished as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea. In the year 1242, the young Prince William II of Villehardouin built the now-famous fortress known as Mystras.

7. Olympia, Peloponnese

Ancient Olympia virtual tour
Ruins of the ancient Temple of Hera at Olympia. Credit: Ingo Mehling/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

Located on the Peloponnesian peninsula in Greece, Olympia was historically a popular destination for people from all across the Greek world. Its Temple was primarily dedicated to Zeus, but there are over seventy other temples, treasuries, altars, statues, and other structures in the area, including the Temple of Hera, or Heraion, which was dedicated to the goddess of that name. This site has so many ruins you will definitely need a great deal of time to explore.

Be sure to take a few moments to also walk to the Philippeion in the Altis of Olympia. This circular memorial in limestone and marble has been somewhat reconstructed but is well worth a visit. It was the only structure inside of the Altis dedicated to a human rather than a god.

8. Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments, Thessaloniki

Walls of Thessaloniki
Walls of Thessaloniki. Credit: Wikipedia/BadComments/CC-BY-SA-4.0

The city of Thessaloniki, the second-most influential city in the Byzantine Empire, also played a significant role in Christianity during the Middle Ages. Here, you will find dozens of important archaeological sites, including fifteen of which have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

From the Walls of Thessaloniki—built during the 4th and 5th centuries, with parts that date back to the late 3rd century BC—to the famed White Tower and the 14th century Byzantine Baths, one of the best preserved baths in the country from that time period, there is so much to see!

9. Mycenae, Peloponnese

Bronze age collapse
Lion’s Gate, Mycenae. The Mycenaean civilization was destroyed during a Bronze Age collapse. Credit: Andreas Trepte/CC-BY-SA-2.5

This incomparable archaeological site, located near Mykines in Argolis, is home to The Lions Gate at Mycenae, which is the only known monumental sculpture from Bronze Age Greece! The settlement was built on a sloping hill rising 900 feet above sea level.

During the second millenium BC, this ancient site was the scene of one of the major centers of Greek civilization, said to have had over 30,000 residents at its peak of population and prosperity. The settlement still displays faint traces of evidence of Neolithic roots, and its ruins demonstrate how the city survived and thrived throughout the centuries.

Be sure to check out the Treasury of Atreus or the spectacular Tomb of Agamemnon while visiting Mycenae.

10. Meteora, Central Greece

Monastery
Monastery of Agiou Nikolaou. Credit: Bgabel/CC BY-SA 3.0

Meteora is the second largest monastic and pilgrimage site in Greece after Mount Athos. Its towering cliffs were the perfect place for the monks to take refuge from the invading Turkish army around the 11th century.

Here, you will find several breathtaking monasteries that still remain some 400 meters (1,312 feet) above the ground, including perhaps the most impressive monastery in the world, the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of Jesus, better known as Great Meteoron.

11. Knossos, Crete

Knossos family vacation crete
The palace at Knossos. Credit: Gary Bembridge/Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0

Knossos, the capital of the Minoan civilization, was incredibly wealthy and influential in its heyday. As Europe’s oldest city, it ruled over a massive maritime trade empire during the Bronze Age. The ruins of its magnificent palace spread out over 20,000 square meters on the hill of Kefalas, and the city is the setting for many well-known myths, such as the Labyrinth with the Minotaur, as well as Daedalus and Icarus.

12. Ancient city of Corinth

Temple of Apollo, Archaeological Site
Ancient Temple of Apollo, built ca. 540 BC, Corinth, Greece. Credit: Following Hadrian/CC BY-SA 2.0

This sacred destination is only 50 miles west of Athens, so be sure to make arrangements to check it out while on vacation. This ancient city had inhabitants dating back as far as the Neolithic period, from 5,000-3,000 BC. For thousands of years, until the Romans destroyed it in 146 BC, it remained a major Greek city.

Things to note in this ancient city are the Temple of Aphrodite, the Temple of Apollo and the Roman forum, as well as the sacred spring, which is located along the northern edge of the forum, near the Lechaion Road.

13. Epidavros, Argos, Nafplio, and Tiryns  in the Peloponnese –  so much to see, so close together!

Epidavros ancient Greek theater, Archaeological Site
The ancient Greek theater of Epidavros, or Epidaurus. Credit: Wikipedia/Kritheus/CC-BY-SA-4.0

In Epidavros (Epidaurus) you will find ancient ruins and an impressive ancient Greek theater, one of the best preserved ancient theaters in the entire world! Epidavros is a must-see on any trip through the Peloponnese, and during the summer months there are weekend shows at the ancient theater there that attract thousands of spectators from all around the world.

Be sure to check out the Sanctuary of Asklepios in Epidavros as well, an ancient religious site thought to be the rival of such major cult sites as the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia and Apollo at Delphi.

Argos is considered to be the town in Europe with the longest continual habitation. It is dotted with ancient ruins of citadels and theaters. An intriguing theory, which may very well be true, is that Argos was the center of the Mycenaean empire which ruled over Greece from 1,600 to 1,100 BC.

The first capital city of modern Greece was Nafplio and even day you can see the ruins of its fortress high up on the mountainside, overlooking the town. You can visit the ruins and not only experience history, but also get a bird’s-eye view of the stunning Neo-classical port city below!

Tiryns, the Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis is also not to be missed by anyone who appreciates history. This is where Heracles (Hercules) is said to have performed his Twelve Labors. Although it is widely considered to date back to the Bronze Age, the hill fort has recorded occupation ranging back seven thousand years before the beginning of the Bronze Age! An ancient legend holds that the massive walls that surround it were built by the Cyclops himself.

14.The ancient city of Aigai, near Vergina

Philip Macedon Tomb Vergina
Philip of Macedon’s tomb. Credit: Public Domain

Aigai, the first capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia, was amazingly only discovered in the 19th century. This ancient city, which is now called Vergina, was home to the family of Philip II and Alexander the Great. While there you can see ruins of the theatre, the sanctuaries of Eukleia and the Mother of the Gods, the city walls, and the royal burial grounds, containing more than 500 tumuli, dating from the 11th to the 2nd century BC.

15. The archaeological site of Sparta

Ancient Theatre Sparta, Archaeological Site
Ancient Theatre in Sparta. Credit: Wikimedia/Κούμαρης Νικόλαος/CC-BY-4.0

In 650 BC, the city-state of Sparta was home to the dominant military force of all ancient Greece. It is believed to have first been inhabited in the Middle Neolithic period due to some pottery discovered in the vicinity of Kouphovouno, around 1.2 miles from Sparta. Excavations begun at the site in 1906 revealed many structures and a glimpse into the life of the ancient city-state.

16. The Athenian Agora

Athenian Agora. Archaeological Site
Athenian Agora. Credit: Wikipedia/Sharon MollerusCC-BY-2.0

As you are walking around modern-day Athens, remember that you are actually walking on layer upon layer of ancient history. You won’t ever be able to forget this concept after visiting the Athenian Agora, where you can see how everyday life once was in Athens during ancient times.

The Agora, meaning “marketplace,” includes the city’s arsenal, the Tholo, and numerous stoas where merchants could sell their goods. Excavations from 1934 onward have revealed more than thirty known major buildings inside the ancient Athenian Agora, and thousands of artifacts.

17. Ancient Temple of Poseidon – Cape Sounion

Temple of Poseidon situated at Cape Sunio. Archaeological Site
The Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio.Credit: mendhak/CC BY-SA 2.0

This majestic temple was first constructed from 444–440 BC. The temple, dedicated to the god Poseidon, was actually built on top of earlier ruins dating back to the Archaic period. It is believed that the earlier temple was destroyed in 480 BC by Persian troops during Xerxes I’s invasion of Greece. When you walk around the ancient temple grounds, you will not only feel a part of the ancient history of this great nation but you will have incomparable views of the sea, the cliffs and outlying islands.

18. Akrotiri, Minoan Bronze Age settlement, Santorini

Frescoes uncovered piece by piece at Akrotiri, Archaeological Site
Frescoes uncovered piece by piece at Akrotiri. Credit: Twitter/Kaspersky

Santorini offers tourists more than a unique moon-like landscape and enchanting villages with their white and blue-painted houses overlooking the azure sea.

The Minoan Bronze Age settlement of Akrotiri was destroyed in the 16th century BC by the volcanic explosion known as the Theran eruption. However, as a result of the eruption, the city was covered in ash, much like what happened in Pompeii, which helped preserve many artifacts and frescoes. The legend persists that Akrotiri is the lost city of Atlantis, which Plato famously wrote about.

19. The Pythagoreion and Heraion, Samos island

Samos Pythagoreio Castle. Archaeological Site
Samos’ Pythagoreio Castle. Credit: Wikipedia/Bukvoed/CC-BY-4.0

The small island of Samos has been inhabited since the 3rd millenium BC. It was considered to be one of the most important centers for political and cultural development from prehistory through the 4th to 5th century BC and up until the Middle Ages.

The fortified ancient city of Pythagoreion and the ancient Temple of Hera, the Heraion, are important sites on the island. Evidence suggests that the main settlement of this area occurred around the 1000s BC; however, there are also finds that date back to the Neolithic period, during the 5000s- 4000s BC.

20. The Archaeological Site of Philippi and ruins of Macedonian city Krinides

Archaeological site of Philippi, Archaeological Site
Archaeological site of Philippi. Credit: Berthold Werner/CC-BY-SA-3.0

These ruins are considered the most important archaeological site in Eastern Macedonia. The settlement called Krinides was originally founded by the people of Thasos in 360 BC. However, when King Philip II of Macedon was asked to help keep order in the city, he decided to conquer the city instead, since it was ideally situated for economics and battle. Once he conquered it, he fortified it and modestly named it after himself!

All in all, you cannot go wrong visiting any of these ancient sites which constitute a significant part of the basis of archaeological sites of Western Europe. From exquisite ancient Classical temples and archaeological treasures to stunning vistas over the sea and islands which make you feel you are part of the history of this great nation, Greece truly has it all for any traveler.