“Greece even stronger,” Defense Minister Nikos Dendias wrote in a post on the delivery of the helicopters. Credit: Twitter/Nikos Dendias/Minister of Defense
On Wednesday, Greece received three new US-made Romeo MH-60R Seahawk helicopters that will be joining the Hellenic Navy.
The ceremony took place at the Kotroni Air Base near Marathon in East Attica, where Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a brief address, emphasizing the dangers Greece faces from Turkey despite improving relations.
“Despite the calmness that currently prevails in the Aegean, we must not forget that our neighbors to the east are also accelerating their own armaments program,” the PM said. “Approaches are always imperative, but under no circumstances are illusions allowed.”
“And we all [need] to be courteous but not naive, staying focused in the direction of peace, international law and cooperation,” Mitsotakis said.
Στην τελετή υποδοχής και ένταξης στη Διοίκηση Αεροπορίας Ναυτικού (ΔΑΝ) τριών νέων Ελικοπτέρων τύπου MH-60 Romeo από το Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, στη Βάση του Μαραθώνα, παρουσία του @PrimeministerGR Κυριάκου Μητσοτάκη. pic.twitter.com/uzFT2ARyyu
It placed separate orders for MH-60R aircraft—four in July 2020 and three in April 2021—as a Foreign Military Sales purchase with the US government. After delivery of the first three, the remaining four will arrive in 2025, the manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, said.
It is the seventh country to receive the US Navy MH-60R naval helicopter. In Europe, Denmark operates 9 MH-60Rs. In 2023, Spain and Norway ordered 14 MH-60R helicopters.
Greece strengthens defense with Seahawk helicopters
The MH-60R Seahawks are the most renowned means of naval operations in both anti-submarine and surface warfare. Their sophisticated detection, strike, and countermeasures systems offer unique capabilities in modern maritime warfare.
It is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modifications are the folding main rotor blades and a hinged tail to reduce its footprint aboard ships.
It is deployed aboard aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, Maritime Sealift Command ships, and fast combat support ships. Its missions include vertical replenishment, medical evacuation, combat search and rescue, anti-surface warfare, maritime interdiction, close air support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and special warfare support.
The arrival of the helicopters to Greece follows the recent decision by the US State Department to approve the sale of up to forty F-35 fighter jets and respective equipment to Greece in an $8.6 billion deal.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security of the United States by improving the air capabilities and interoperability of a NATO Ally that is a force for political and economic stability in Europe,” the State Department commented in its respective announcement.
Noland Arbaugh, 29, the first person to have the Neuralink computer chip implanted in his brain, plays chess just by thinking. Video screenshot/Neuralink
On Wednesday, Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup Neuralink live streamed its first patient implanted with a chip playing online chess and toggling a music stream on and off.
Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old man who is paralyzed from the shoulders down due to a diving accident eight years ago, joined a live stream alongside a Neuralink engineer on X to show the public how the brain-computer interface tech works.
“It’s all being done with my brain. If y’all can see the cursor moving around the screen, that’s all me, y’all,” he said while the live stream showed his cursor moving across an online chess game. “It’s pretty cool, huh?”
Arbaugh received an implant from the company in January and could control a computer mouse using his thoughts, Musk said last month.
“Basically, it was like using the Force on the cursor and I could get it to move wherever I wanted. Just stare somewhere on the screen and it would move where I wanted it to, which was such a wild experience the first time it happened,” he said, referencing Star Wars.
Before receiving the chip, Arbaugh would need another person’s help to play online chess and video games. “Now I can literally just lie in bed and play to my heart’s content,” he said—at least until the battery of his rechargeable chip dies.
The chip contains a thousand electrodes programmed to gather data about the brain’s neural activity and movement intention. It then sends that data to a Neuralink computer for decoding to transform the thoughts into action.
“The surgery was super easy,” says Neuralink brain chip patient
“The surgery was super easy,” Arbaugh said in the video streamed on Musk’s social media platform X, referring to the implant procedure. “I literally was released from the hospital a day later. I have no cognitive impairments.”
“I had basically given up playing that game,” Arbaugh said, referring to the game Civilization VI. “You all (Neuralink) gave me the ability to do that again and played for eight hours straight.”
The US Food and Drug Administration greenlit human trials of the brain chip last year after the company did hundreds of tests on animals—and faced backlash from animal rights groups in the process.
Neuralink has not disclosed how many people will be enrolled in the six-year trial or where the trials will be held. It also has not registered its study on a government website logging medical trials involving human test subjects, according to Wired.
Kip Ludwig, former program director for neural engineering at the US National Institutes of Health, told Reuters that what Neuralink showed was not a “breakthrough.”
“It is still in the very early days post-implantation, and there is a lot of learning on both the Neuralink side and the subject’s side to maximize the amount of information for control that can be achieved,” he added.
Even so, Ludwig said it was a positive development for the patient that they have been able to interface with a computer in a way they were not able to before the implant. “It’s certainly a good starting point,” he said, according to Reuters.
Kalavryta was the first Greek town liberated from the Ottomans. Public Domain
On March 21, 1821 the Greek rebels started the siege of Kalavryta, making it the first Greek town to be liberated from the Ottomans, thus declaring the start of the Greek War of Independence.
On the morning of March 21, 600 armed fighters were sworn in under the perennial plane tree of the monastery of Agia Lavra and according to some historians, said: “Not one Turk left in Moria (Peloponnese), nor in the whole world.”
A meeting followed where Bishop Palaion Patron Germanos called on Greeks to revolt and raised the flag of the revolution, a banner depicting the Assumption of Virgin Mary that was on the gate of the Temple of Agia Lavra.
One of the most well-known paintings of the Greek War of Independence is undoubtedly the one painted by Theodoros Vryzakis in 1865 depicting Metropolitan Palaion Patron Germanos, known also as Germanos III of Old Patras.
In the iconic image, Germanos is shown raising the flag of the revolution in the Agia Lavra Monastery and blessing the beginning of the Greek uprising on March 25, 1821.
Germanos was born in Dimitsana, Arcadia, on March 25, 1771. His secular name was Georgios Kozias, son of Ioannis Kozias, who was a jeweler.
The banner of the revolution at Kalavryta. Public Domain
The Greek chieftains led by Sotiris Charalambis, Asimakis Fotilas, Sotiris Theocharopoulos, Ioannis Papadopoulos, Nikolaos Soliotis and Nikolaos Petmezas, took a small cannon from the Monastery of Agia Lavra and besieged the city fortress.
On March 25 Kalavryta was free
The Turks under the command of Ibrahim Pasha Arnaoutoglou barricaded themselves in three towers, expecting military help from Tripolitsa. Four days later, the Ottomans succumbed and surrendered.
On March 25 Kalavryta was free. Every year Kalavryta celebrates the liberation of the city with festivities around the Agia Lavra monastery. For the next four years the locals never saw Turks wandering in the area.
On March 23 in Mani, Petrobey Mavromichalis and his warriors entered Kalamata and the whole Peloponnese revolted.
Quickly the message of revolution spread to the rest of Greece.
Greeks with the slogan “Freedom or Death” revolted against their ruler and began a brave struggle for freedom. Historian Nikolaos Papadopoulos described the liberation of the city as follows:
“It was dusk when approximately 200 warriors arrived at Kalavryta and started the battle for the liberation of the town. Soon the battle spread out as the rebels took over the Turkish officials’ towers, making the town their own. This was the first victorious battle and Kalavryta was the first free Greek city.”
“In the years of Turkish rule, Kalavryta was the largest city in the Morea and numbered 40,000 residents. The Turks stayed around the current monastery of Agia Aikaterini, where they had built two mosques.”
The people of Kalavryta remain proud that their city and monastery became the birthplace of the Greek War of Independence.
Archaeologists discovered a 1,000-year-old bone skate in the Czech Republic. Credit: Zdeněk Schenk
In Přerov, Czech Republic, archaeologists at the Comenius Museum have discovered a thousand-year-old ice skate made of animal bone. This find came during their rescue dig in the city’s Upper Square.
The skate, probably crafted from a horse’s shinbone, was found alongside pottery pieces from the 10th or 11th century. Initially, this area consisted of small settlements by the Bečva River branches.
Over time, it grew into a fortified square and fortress, under the rule of Polish King Boleslav the Brave, according to Archaeology Mag.
Ancient bone skate to travel through frozen surfaces
Zdeněk Schenk, an archaeologist on the excavation team, describes the skate’s design as both straightforward and clever. It’s curved with holes drilled into it, so a strap could be attached.
“The object has a specific shape. On one side, it is curved into a tip which has a hole drilled in it and there is another hole at the back. They were used to thread a strap through, which was used to attach the skate to a shoe or to a wooden sledge,” said Schenk.
This strap would have held the skate onto a shoe or sled, making it easier for people to move across frozen surfaces. Instead of being for fun skating, these bone skates were important for getting around and trading during freezing winters.
Similar items found in Viking settlements across Europe
This discovery in Přerov holds importance beyond its borders. Similar items have been found all over Europe, especially in Viking settlements in places like Scandinavia. Many of these discoveries date back to the 10th century.
The Viking Age in Scandinavian history spanned from the first recorded raids by Norsemen in 793 until the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Vikings navigated the Norwegian Sea and Baltic Sea to reach southern destinations by sea routes.
The Normans descended from Vikings who were granted feudal control over regions in northern France, specifically the Duchy of Normandy, during the 10th century, according to Wikipedia.
These findings show that different cultures shared knowledge about surviving in cold winters. It’s a reminder of how people adapted to harsh conditions and learned from each other, even across great distances.
“We know of other similar pieces found in Central Europe and especially in north-western Europe, in Scandinavia. They mostly come from the same time-frame as the one from Přerov and they are often found in 10th century Viking settlements,” said Schenk.
The bone skate, carefully preserved, will be showcased for the public to see at the Comenius Museum in Přerov Castle. It will serve as a direct connection to the past for everyone who visits, according to Archaeology Mag.
For hundreds of years historians, geologists, scientists and archaeologists have been trying to discover how Minoan civilization came to an end. Credit: w_lemay. CC BY 2.0/flickr
For hundreds of years historians and archaeologists have been trying to find answers as to how the great Minoan civilization of Crete came to an end, but no definitive answer has ever been found.
A Bronze Age culture centered on the island of Crete, what the ancient Minoans built is often regarded as the first true civilization of Europe, with a clear appreciation for art and architecture, all of which was rediscovered in the early 20th century through archaeological excavation.
The Minoan civilization evolved from the local Neolithic culture in around 3,100 BC, with sophisticated urban settlements beginning to be built in around 2,000 BC. After 1,450 BC, the Minoans fell under the cultural and possible political dominion of the mainland Mycenaean Greeks, forming a hybrid culture which lasted until around 1,100 BC.
The Minoans built impressive buildings which were initially labeled ‘Minoan palaces’ by original excavators, and later research showed that they were used for a plethora of religious and economic purposes rather than acting as royal residences – though their precise role in Minoan society is still under debate.
Their palace at Knossos was vast and elaborate, with Europe’s first paved roads and running water. The ancient Greeks wove its magnificence into their myths; it was the home of King Minos and his man-eating bull, the Minotaur, which roamed the palace labyrinth.
The term ‘Minoan’ was coined by Sir Arthur Evans, a British archaeologist and explorer who, along with Greek archaeologist Minos Kalokairinos, excavated the palace of Knossos and the surrounding area and recognized it as culturally distinct from the mainland Mycenaean culture.
Minos Kalokairinos Monument, Palace of Knossos, Knossos, Greece. Credit: w_lemay. CC BY 2.0/flickr
Following this, further excavations uncovered the Palace of Phaistos and the nearby settlement of Hagia Triada, and a further breakthrough in understanding the Minoan civilization came in 1952, when Michael Ventris deciphered Linear B – a late Minoan script first found on clay tablets and sealings in the second palace at Knossos – unlocking a vital source of information on the economic and social organization in the final year of the palace. Minoan sites are still being excavated to this day, with recent discoveries including the necropolis at Armeni and the harbour town of Kommos.
What Was it Like to Live in Minoan Civilization?
The Minoans bred cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, and grew wheat, barley, vetch and chickpeas. They also cultivated grapes, figs and olives, grew poppies for seed and possibly opium. They also domesticated bees.
Vegetable, such as lettuce, celery, asparagus and carrots, grew in the wild on Crete, and pear, quince and olive trees were also native. Date palm trees and cats for hunting, were brought in from Egypt. The Minoans even adopted pomegranates from the Near East. It’s possible that they employed polyculture, with their varied and healthy diet bringing about a population increase.
Linear B tablets convey the importance of orchards (figs, olives and grapes) in processing crops for “secondary products.”
Clay Tablet inscribed with Linear B script. Credit: vintagedept. CC BY 2.0/flickr
Aside from this complex agricultural and food-sourcing framework, the Minoans were also a mercantile people who were heavily involved in overseas trade, and at the civilization’s height, it may well have had a dominant position in international trade around large portions of the Mediterranean.
Minoan manufactured goods suggest a network of trade with mainland Greece, including Mycenae, Cyprus, Syria, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and westward as far as the Iberian peninsula. Religion in Minoan civilization appears to have been centered on female deities, with women officiants.
Though historians and archaeologists are cautious about claims of an outright matriarchy, the predominance of female figures in power roles over males seems to indicate that Minoan society was matriarchal, and among the most well-supported examples known.
How did it all Come to an End?
Around three and a half thousand years ago, the tiny Aegean island of Thera was devastated by one of the worst natural disasters since the Ice Age – an enormous volcanic eruption.
This cataclysmic event took place around 100km from the island of Crete, the home of the thriving Minoan civilization. Just fifty years after the eruption, the civilization was in ruins. Whether the volcano wiped out the Minoans and is responsible for the fall of their civilization has been a question on historians’ minds for decades.
Early 20th-century archaeologists were aware of the devastating natural disaster, and most believed it probably wiped out the Minoan civilization instantly, but the truth might not be as straight forward as that.
To begin with, very little ash had fallen on Crete, with the prevailing winds having taken the volcano’s ash in the opposite direction. Then archaeologists discovered clay tablets which proved the Minoan civilization survived for around 50 years after the eruption. The question is, what accounted for this long gap?
Vulcanologist Ffloyd McCoy, from the University of Hawaii, is particularly passionate about the Thera volcano and whether it ended the Minoan civilization. According to the BBC, he journeyed around gathering evidence from other scientists around the world, trying to find out if there was a connection between the eruption of Thera and the end of the Minoans.
Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations – Map. Credit: History Maps. CC BY 2.0/flickr
He began on the island of Thera, which was home to thousands and a prosperous trading post for the Minoans until the natural disaster hit. So huge was the volcano that it had great effect, preserving forever the town of Akrotiri.
Strangely, no skeletons have ever been found on the island. Akrotiri’s chief archaeologist, Christos Doumas, believes the people of Akrotiri did not survive, and that the bodies are still to be found.
Prehistoric Site of Akrotiri, Santorini (Thera) Credit: Klearchos Kapoutsis. CC BY 2.0/flickr
McCoy was apparently convinced that huge waves, or tsunamis, had been triggered by the volcano. He thinks these waves carried across the open sea to wreak havoc on the northern coast of Crete – but proof was difficult to find.
In 1997 a British geologist, Dr Dale Dominey-Howes of Kingston University, discovered what he thinks is strong evidence of tsunamis on Crete. He drilled deep into the mud at an inland marsh near Malia in Crete, and brought the mud core back to England with him for analysis.
The mud had been deposited, layer upon layer, over thousands of years. In one section, deep in the core, Dr Dominey-Howes uncovered a tiny fossilised shell which only lives in very deep sea water. He claims the shells were brought into the marsh by an ancient tsunami. A Minoan palace near the marsh was buried at the same level as the shells, which suggests the tsunami could have struck soon after the palace was built.
If there had been a tsunami unleashed by the volcanic eruption of Thera, McCoy was keen to understand how big it may have been. He went to Professor Costas Synolakis of the University of Southern California. Professor Synolakis grew up on Crete, and has become one of the world’s top tsunami-prediction experts, trotting around the globe with his computer models.
Professor Synolakis can also reportedly use his technology to determine the size of a wave from the ancient past. He estimated that waves from thera hitting northern Crete may have been as high as 12m in some places. These waves would have decimated boats and coastal villages, and even travel up rivers to flood farmland. But the waves were only part of the tale, and McCoy believed the volcano must have had wider effects.
An extraordinary discovery by a British geologist resulted in a new theory – that the volcano, which was already classed as one of the most destructive of the last 10,000 years, may have been even bigger than scientists had previously thought. Professor Steve Sparks of Bristol University came across clues in very small fragments of evidence. He was apparently surprised to discover clumps of fossilized algae high on the cliffs of the volcano. These algae only live in shallow waters, and their presence suggested there was once a shallow sea inside the crater of the volcano.
If there was indeed a shallow sea, Professor Sparks realised, the shape of the volcano may have been completely different, and a differently shaped volcano might have produced far more ash. His suspicion was that the volcano may have been twice as powerful as geologists had suspected.
McCoy thinks the volcano caused the Minoans trouble for years. Initially it destroyed an entire island which had been key for their trade, and then huge waves hit the Minoan coasts, devastating coastal villages and boats at the harbour. After that the Minoans faced summers of ruined harvests.
An archaeologist who has worked at Knossos, Colin MacDonald, thinks the effects of these disasters were compounded by something more – the Minoans had started to view their way of life differently. MacDonald claims the Minoan people, stripped of their certainties, ceased to obey the priest kings in palaces like Knossos. This, he claims, marked the beginning of a 50-year decline for the whole of Minoan civilization. They were not in a strong position to fight back when the Greeks from the mainland took control of the island.
Homo erectus reconstruction that also adds to evidence that humans have been speaking for the last 1.6 million years. Credit: Werner Ustorf / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0
New research has identified when humans probably began talking early on in history. A study led by British archaeologist Steven Mithen indicates early humans might have begun using basic language about 1.6 million years ago, probably in eastern or southern Africa.
Mithen, a professor at the University of Reading, emphasizes the significance of this finding. He explains that our ability to speak was an important step in our evolution. Understanding when language began is key to understanding our past.
Basic human language 8 times older than previously thought
Until now, many experts in human evolution believed humans began speaking about 200,000 years ago. However, Mithen’s latest research, published this month, challenges this. Based on his study, basic human language might be at least eight times older than previously thought.
Mithen arrived at this conclusion after thoroughly examining archaeological findings, ancient bones, genetic data, brain studies, and language research. When we look at all the evidence, it points to the birth of language and other changes in human evolution between two and one and a half million years ago.
Starting around 2 million BC, human brains quickly began growing larger, especially after 1.5 million BC. Along with this growth came changes in how the brain was organized internally.
One key change was the emergence of a specific area in the frontal lobe, called Broca’s area. This part of the brain is closely linked with both the production and understanding of language.
Scientists believe Broca’s area evolved from earlier brain structures used by early humans for communication through hand and arm gestures. This suggests a shift from physical gestures to spoken language as a primary mode of communication.
Broca’s area linked to improvements in working memory
Recent scientific studies propose that the development of Broca’s area was connected to enhancements in working memory, which is essential for constructing sentences. However, several other evolutionary changes played a vital role in the emergence of basic language.
Around 1.8 million years ago, a more sophisticated form of walking upright, known as bipedalism, emerged. This change, along with alterations in the shape of the human skull, likely initiated adjustments in the shape and position of the vocal tract. The adjustments were important for enabling speech, as reported by The Independent.
Additional evidence supporting the idea that humans began speaking around 1.6 million BC comes from archaeological findings. Unlike many animals, humans weren’t notably strong. To survive despite this physical limitation, they had to find other means to do so.
Will Aaron Taylor Johnson be the new James Bond? Credit: Wikimedia Commons / John Bauld CC BY 2.0
Speculation is again growing over which actor will take on the role of James Bond after reports that British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been offered the role.
British newspaper The Sun has reported that the Kick-Ass and Marvel movies star has been “formally offered the job” as the 007 secret agent, a role which, until 2021, was played by Daniel Craig.
Craig exited the role after starring in five films over sixteen years. The next Bond film will be the twenty-sixth after No Time to Die.
The BBC reported it has approached Taylor-Johnson, and Eon productions, which makes the Bond films, reportedly does not want to comment on speculation, but a production insider has allegedly told BBC News there is “no truth in the rumors.”
The famous role has been speculated over for some time, and, when he was asked about the rumors claiming he will be the next Bond, Taylor-Johnson recently told Numero magazine he found it “charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment.”
The actor, who played John Lennon in the biopic Nowhere Boy in 2009, is now favorite with the bookmakers to take the role. He also starred in thriller Nocturnal Animals, which he took home a Golden Globe for in 2017, Anna Karenina, Godzilla, and Tenet.
In the last three years since Craig announced his retirement from the role, there have been several names put forward for the next Bond film. Mark O’Connell, author of Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan, told the BBC after Craig’s departure: “A new Bond is not just a red-carpet suit and a timepiece endorsement arm. He must be a movie star, an ambassador for the series and cinema, a media diplomat, an anointed son of British culture and the face of a billion-dollar ecosystem of products and endorsements.”
O’Connell added, “He must be instantly recognizable across all corners of the globe as James Bond. He must be good looking, able to hold the camera and dominate cinema screens the size of football pitches.”
Which other actors could be taking on the role of Bond?
One of the better-known, more high-profile actors who has been touted to be the new Bond is Super Man and Mission: Impossible actor Henry Cavill, who was believed to be in the running to play the spy before Craig got the job.
He told GQ in 2020 that he “would love to play Bond, it would be very, very exciting.”
One of the youngest actors believed to be in with a shot is 32-year-old Damson Idris, best-known for his role in US TV crime drama Snowfall, which ran for six seasons between 2017 and 2023. He also took on the lead role in Netflix’s sci-fi action film Outside the Wire.
Another favorite with the bookies is James Norton, who starred recently inn the stage production of A Little Life and was in the cast of the 2019 film Little Women.
The EU AI Act is a legislative milestone for the future of artificial intelligence. Credit: DALLE for the Greek Reporter
The European Parliament recently adopted the world’s first comprehensive regulation, known as the AI Act, on artificial intelligence.
According to EU officials, this landmark and historic piece of legislation aims to ensure that AI systems that are developed, sold, or used in the EU are safe, transparent, and in accordance with fundamental human rights.
While the AI Act is a very significant step towards responsible AI governance, some people around the world worry its strict requirements could stifle innovation and put Europe at a disadvantage in the global AI race. This could see geopolitical rivals such as China or even the US take a significant lead in the field.
EU’s AI Act takes risk-based approach to AI regulation
The European AI Act takes a fundamentally risk-based approach. It categorizes AI systems into four different levels: unacceptable, high, limited, and minimal risk.
It outright bans certain “unacceptable” AI practices, such as social scoring and real-time biometric identification in public spaces, across the European Union.
For “high-risk” AI used in critical areas for European societies such as healthcare, infrastructure, education, and law enforcement, the EU’s act imposes very strict requirements both on development and testing as well as in monitoring.
Even AI systems that interact with people in their everyday lives, such as chatbots and emotion recognition tools, will face severe transparency obligations if they aim to continue operating in Europe under the new rules.
Nonetheless, according to the new legislation, “limited” and “minimal” risk AI will be subject to much lighter requirements, focusing mainly on transparency and user information.
🚨BREAKING: the European Parliament has officially adopted the AI Act! The EU takes a revolutionary step: pioneering worldwide with binding rules for AI, putting people, democracy and the planet first. pic.twitter.com/oSncF0sQJt
Providers of “high-risk” AI systems will have their work cut out for them in the EU under the AI Act. Before being put on the market and becoming a commercial commodity, these systems must undergo thorough assessments of conformity in order to get the green light. Providers of such services will also need to implement robust risk management systems, meet high data quality standards, and maintain detailed technical documentation that should always be available.
High-risk AI must also enable human oversight and continuously be monitored throughout its lifecycle to avoid dangerous and unwanted complications. If, despite these strict rules, incidents occur, providers will be legally obliged to report them to relevant European authorities, and citizens will have the right to file official complaints.
While these requirements clearly aim to protect the public from the unknown consequences of an uncontrolled AI development, some fear they could be overly burdensome, especially for smaller AI companies and startups that have neither the funds nor manpower to comply with all these regulations.
EU’s AI Act introduces rules for general purpose AI
The AI Act of the EU also includes dedicated rules aimed at foundational models, such as those behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Musk’s Grok.
These general-purpose AI systems, which can be adapted for various applications depending on their use case, will need to comply with transparency requirements regarding their training data, energy consumption, and potential copyright issues that they may encounter.
High-impact general-purpose AI will also face additional obligations. These will include issues such as conducting risk assessments that will help providers deal with potential undesirable eventualities.
However, there is still ongoing debate among MEPs and AI experts about whether these requirements are sufficient enough to mitigate the broader risks posed by increasingly powerful AI systems to our societies as a whole.
EU aims to balance innovation and enforcement in AI regulation
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. To help startups and small and medium-sized businesses navigate and survive the new rules, the AI Act introduces crucial “regulatory sandboxes.”
These sandboxes will work as areas where companies can develop and test their AI systems with useful guidance and support from suitably trained European authorities. Nonetheless, violations of the act following this initial stage can result in hefty fines of up to €30 million or six percent of a company’s global revenue.
Enforcement of these regulations will primarily fall to national authorities, as the EU does not have an EU-wide policing mechanism. Nevertheless, a new EU-level AI Office overseeing compliance and advising on AI policy will be established to support individual member-states with their new duties. Most of the rules will start taking effect in 2025 after a two-year transition period, though some provisions may come into force sooner, depending on the European Commission’s future decisions.
Parliament has approved the Artificial Intelligence Act that aims to ensure safety and compliance with fundamental rights, while boosting innovation.
Will the EU’s AI Act hinder or help AI development?
The EU’s AI Act is a landmark piece of legislation that will undoubtedly shape the future of AI development in Europe and the world. It is among the first such efforts and, according to the European authorities, it seeks to strike a balance between protecting fundamental rights and public safety while still promoting innovation and competitiveness in the AI sector.
However, many things remain to be done to implement these additional rules and governance structures outlined in the act. Its effectiveness will largely depend on how well member states of the European Union enforce requirements and utilize resources provided by the EU to national authorities to support compliance with the new law.
As governments worldwide, including the US and China, find it difficult to keep up with the challenges of regulating astonishingly rapidly advancing AI technologies, the EU’s approach sets an important precedent, which you either support or not.
While some worry that the AI Act could hinder Europe’s AI ambitions and pose hurdles to wider AI development, others argue that responsible AI governance is fundamental and crucial for long-term success.
Only time will tell if Europe has struck the right balance with this groundbreaking legislation.
The Hirschfeld Krater, Ancient Greece, mid-8th century BC, from the late Geometric period, depicting ekphora, the act of carrying a body to its grave. National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Ricardo André Frantz CC BY-SA 3.0
The Greek Geometric Period is a lesser known era in history. However, it ushered ancient Greece from the Dark Age to the Classical Period.
It was a period when Greek society was transformed and the proto-urban society re-appeared. This was a time of innovation. Influences from the Mycenaean past were still felt, while peoples from the Eastern Mediterranean migrated westwards.
Contact with Eastern peoples brought about social upheaval, as there was fast population growth, which, consequently, led to overcrowding and political tensions. These resulted in social, economic, and artistic changes.
These artistic changes in ancient Greece were manifested in the geometric motifs in decoration. The decorative forms, rectilinear, and curvilinear, were drawn on vases and pots with the aid of instruments. These are the main surviving works of art of the era. Hence, later historians conventionally named it the Geometric Period.
The Geometric Period was also the era in which Homer‘s epics the Iliad and Odyssey were written. These later served as the foundation of Western literature.
Opinions as to when the Geometric Period actually began differ among historians. Some place it around 1050 BC while others believe it was in 900 BC. They agree, however, on when it ended, placing it around 700 BC, when the Classical period started.
Geometric shapes influenced from Eastern cultures
Geometric shapes did not appear for the first time in art in the Geometric period. Triangles, squares, spirals, circles, and rhombi had been used in earlier cultures such as in Mesopotamian pottery during the 5th and 4th millennium BC. Even naturalistic subjects, such as landscapes and animals, were drawn with geometric patterns.
Similar patterns were adopted in other areas of West Asia and Asia Minor, but they were not limited in the Middle and Near East. In Central Europe and Greece, Neolithic pottery was decorated with geometric shapes, and so were many vessels of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations.
However, what distinguishes Greek geometric art is the method of arrangement in the surface of the vessel. In previous ages, geometric patterns were instinctive linear symbols of a powerful and incomprehensible nature in a continuous and uncontrolled flow.
In Greek geometric art, there is harmony, rhythm, order, and reasonable natural balance rather than randomness. This is the first known outbreak of the great intellectual leap of Greece from which subsequent Greek thought and art were born.
Geometric Period ceramic Pyxis exhibited at the Wadsworth Atheneum – Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
Geometric art was not limited to clay pots and vases. Works of art were created with bronze as well. Bronze human figurines, animals, and birds appeared, initially rare and clumsily made. However, as time passed, they became clearer as to their intent, i.e. depicting a warrior or a woman.
Different styles and workshops emerged depending on the region they were made, such as Attic, Laconian, Corinthian, etc. Characteristic examples are the figurines of horses, frequently represented on open work or solid bases. Many of the bases have patterns on the underside and were perhaps used as seals. Also pieces of jewelry such as pendants, fibulae, bracelets, etc. are found in various types.
Such minor bronze works have been found in graves as offerings. Apart from those, large bronze objects from the Geometric Period have been found. Excavations in sanctuaries have unearthed large tripod cauldrons with round handles adorned with figurines of warriors, charioteers, and animals from the 9th century BC. Their three high legs are decorated with zigzag lines, circles linked by tangents, spirals, etc.
Styles and themes of Geometric Period art
While the Geometric style was spread throughout the regions of the ancient Greek world, Attica had been the most prominent center. The most common themes were funerary, with figures painted solid black using the skiagraphy technique (shadow painting). There were depictions of prothesis (the laying out of the body) and the ekphora (funeral procession) of the deceased.
Chariot racing was also a common theme, along with scenes depicting a circular dance in honor of a deity. Another regular theme was shipwrecks while mythological themes were rarer.
The most important samples, funeral offerings, and the huge funerary vases have been found at the Dipylon cemetery in Athens. The geometric decoration is almost always drawn with a glossy black or brown color on the yellowish surface of the clay and characterized by geometric, usually straight designs such as triangles, squares, rhombi, and crosses decorating the horizontal surrounding strips of the vase.
Greek geometric art was an achievement in ceramic art. It is where the concept of the pure forms and ways of the monumental composition emerged, giving original solutions to the problem of placing three-dimensional forms on the two-dimensional space of the painting surface.
The monochrome rendering of the subjects, the display of bodies and objects from the most visible and easily understood side, and the simultaneous presentation of an art form from different sides—such as torso on the front, head and feet in profile—as well as the organization of works with more reasonable and spiritual criteria rather than aesthetic are principles that 20th century art discovered and reassessed.
Modern art waves, particularly the Analytical and Synthetic Cubism and the Geometric Abstract Art trends, have been based on similar concepts.
Homer’s epics and Hesiod
Most attempts at understanding the Geometric Period are predominantly based on Homer’s epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, and partly on the writings of Hesiod, a historian. However, the society delineated in the Homeric poems is, most probably, that of the Mycenaean Age, that is, before the end of the 12th century BC.
Through thorough study, experts of the 20th century have reached different conclusions. The poems themselves, composed between the mid-8th and mid-7th centuries BC, derive from the oral poetry tradition. They must not be related either to the Mycenaean Age, as formulated from archaeological finds and the texts of Linear B script, or the society of the Archaic period.
On the contrary, they probably concern the conditions prevailing during the Late Dark Age, with particular focus on the world of the aristocrats, their way of life, and ideas. The works of Hesiod, and especially Works and Days, provide information about the life of the peasants towards the end of the 8th century BC.
As in Geometric Period art and its influence on modern art, Homer’s poems have laid the foundation of Western literature.
Greek archaeologist says she had no input in Netflix docudrama about Alexander the Great. Credit: Egisto Sani. CC BY-2.0/flickr
A famous Greek archaeologist who is known for her search for Alexander the Great’s tomb has said she had no input in the Netflix docudrama Alexander: Making of a God despite its featuring her archaeological work in Alexandria.
“Based on my perception of what Alexander was like, I thought their dramatic depiction of him was about half right,” wrote Calliope Limneos-Papakosta in her Newsweek piece. “But I didn’t have any power to influence the production. Of course, I made suggestions to the team. But people in showbiz know their work better than me. I know my own work. And the show was a big success.”
Expanding on her love for Alexander the Great, the Greek archaeologist tells her readers that she was destined to be in the occupation, and with her “combined loves”—of Greece and the Macedonian conqueror—she headed to Alexandria twenty-eight years ago.
“I began my research and faced many difficulties. But I managed to stay in Alexandria, and continue in my work, and the results are very impressive. I consider myself a lucky archaeologist,” writes Limneos-Papakosta.
She tells her audience that when she is excavating, she’s always full of hope that something important will be found, such as a discovery that could change the whole understanding of the project the team is working on. “I have lived many of these moments. I know now through my experiences with excavations that anything can appear and anything can happen.”
Limneos-Papakosta and her team discovered an ancient statue of Alexander the Great in 2009 in a small trench of fifteen square meters with a depth of eight meters, full of soil, debris and water, which she says was a “miracle,” and “one of my [favorite] discoveries.”
Calliope limneos-papakosta has been unearthing the treasures Of ptolemaic egypt for more than 10 years. Among them, an incredible statue Of the legendary conqueror of the ancient world, Alexander the great. pic.twitter.com/h9vAYXK28n
— ḥr nbw 𓅉 | Unique NFTs & Ancient Egypt Threads (@Hr_nbw) April 26, 2022
The archaeologist goes on to describe the other discoveries that have made an impression on her, including the foundation blocks of the vast ancient Alexandrian monumental building, the city’s original royal road, and the Ptolemaic period carved tunnel. “All of these were great moments for me,” she writes.
In the last weeks of the previous excavation season, Limneos-Papakosta and her team came across the beginning of a Hellenistic wall parallel to the monumental building. “We have to excavate the whole area to the building’s south to see if this is a surrounding fortification wall.”
The Greek archaeologist went on to say that this was a “very important discovery” that sheds light on the potential significance of the building, adding that her and her team are focusing on this and, if possible, excavating all parallel walls to learn more.
“The priority now is to identify this building. We are in the royal quarter. We know from ancient sources which buildings were recorded. So this building that we have found is one of them. And all of them are very important and famous. But I cannot so far say which one it is,” Limneos-Papakosta writes.
The archaeologist states how since the National Geographic documentary about her work in 2019—The Lost Tomb of Alexander (not on Netflix)—everybody thinks that she is solely searching for the tomb, but she clarifies that she is also finding very important Hellenistic antiquities during digs in Alexandria.
She believes there is a greater possibility than anyone else of her finding the tomb and writes that “it’s all like a puzzle. Every year, every excavation season, we find something that puts a piece in the puzzle.”
No input in Alexander Netflix docudrama
After commenting on the Netflix drama, saying she had no input in it despite it featuring her work, the Greek archaeologist goes on to explain why Alexander the Great was not a “normal person.”
She writes: “He was a superhuman. What he did in 12 years and eight months—and what he planned to do if he lived longer—was not possible for just anyone. That’s why he is considered the greatest of the greats.”
“We cannot understand or judge him on our level, she said. “We are normal people. Not only that, but we also cannot judge or criticize him by our modern ‘moral’ and ‘ethical’ standards. We are so far from the ancient world. It was a completely different era.”
