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Byzas
Byzas (Ancient Greek: Βύζας, ''Býzas'') was the legendary founder of Byzantium (Ancient Greek: Βυζάντιον, ''Byzántion''), the city later known as Constantinople and then Istanbul. Background The legendary history of the founding of Byzantium as recorded by later Byzantine authors is most fully preserved in the '' Patria of Constantinople'' by 6th century writer Hesychius of Miletus. The ''Patria'' recorded multiple versions of the city's founding myth. Hesychius' preferred account says the city received its name from Io, daughter of the Argive king, who was raped by Inachus and then transformed into a cow. Zeus had fallen in love with Io, and in a jealous fit, Hera sent a gadfly to drive Io from one place to another in torment until she arrived in Thrace, giving birth to Ceroessa, the mother of Byzas by Poseidon, for whom the Golden Horn was named ''Ceras''. One tradition holds that the city was founded by the Argives who received an oracle at Delphi with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a name of Constantinople sporadically and to varying degrees during the thousand-year existence of the Eastern Roman Empire, which also became known by the former name of the city as the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium was colonized by Greeks from Megara in the 7th century BCE and remained primarily Greek-speaking until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in 1453 CE. Etymology The etymology of ''Byzantium'' is unknown. It has been suggested that the name is of Thracian origin. It may be derived from the Thracian personal name Byzas which means "he-goat". Ancient Greek legend refers to the Greek king Byzas, the leader of the Megarian colonists and founder of the city. The name '' Lygos'' for the city, which likely corresponds to an earlier T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megara
Megara (; , ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King Pandion II, of whom Nisos was the ruler of Megara. Megara was also a trade port, its people using their ships and wealth as a way to gain leverage on armies of neighboring poleis. Megara specialized in the exportation of wool and other animal products including livestock such as horses. It possessed two harbors, Pagae to the west on the Corinthian Gulf, and Nisaea to the east on the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. History Late Bronze Mycenaean period In the Late Bronze Age, Megara features prominently as a small kingdom in the myths and legends of Homer. Megara emerged between two fortified ports, Nisaea on the Saronic Gulf and Pagae on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empires between its consecration in 330 until 1930, when it was renamed to Istanbul. Initially as New Rome, Constantinople was founded in 324 during the reign of Constantine the Great on the site of the existing settlement of Byzantium, and shortly thereafter in 330 became the capital of the Roman Empire. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century, Constantinople remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire; 330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). Following the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkish capital then moved to Ankara. Although the city had been known as Istanbul since 1453, it was officially renamed as Is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megarians
Megara (; , ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King Pandion II, of whom Nisos was the ruler of Megara. Megara was also a trade port, its people using their ships and wealth as a way to gain leverage on armies of neighboring poleis. Megara specialized in the exportation of wool and other animal products including livestock such as horses. It possessed two harbors, Pagae to the west on the Corinthian Gulf, and Nisaea to the east on the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. History Late Bronze Mycenaean period In the Late Bronze Age, Megara features prominently as a small kingdom in the myths and legends of Homer. Megara emerged between two fortified ports, Nisaea on the Saronic Gulf and Pagae on the Gulf of Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keroessa
In Greek mythology, Ceroessa (Ancient Greek: Κερόεσσα ''Keroessa'' means "the horned") was a heroine of the foundational myth of Byzantium. She was the daughter of Io and Zeus; elder sister of Epaphus; and mother of Byzas, founder of Byzantium, with her uncle, Poseidon. Mythology According to the historian Hesychius of Miletus, as Io, changed into a heifer and being chased by a gadfly on behalf of the jealous Hera, was passing through Thrace, she gave birth to a girl, Keroessa, on the banks of the Golden Horn, by the altar of the nymph Semystra. According to legend, Keroessa's birthplace is called Semystra (today EyüpSultan district), where the rivers Kydaros (today Alibey Stream) and Barbyses (today Kağıthane Stream) flow into the sea at the end of Chrysokeras (Golden Horn or Haliç). Semystra takes its name from the Semystra Altar, where today Eyyub El Ensari's tomb is located, and its water is believed to have healing powers but according to Swiss scholar Ernest Mamb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poseidon
Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cities and colonies. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, Poseidon was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes, with the cult title "earth shaker"; in the myths of isolated Arcadia, he is related to Demeter and Persephone and was venerated as a horse, and as a god of the waters.Seneca quaest. Nat. VI 6 :Nilsson Vol I p.450 Poseidon maintained both associations among most Greeks: he was regarded as the tamer or father of horses, who, with a strike of his trident, created springs (the terms for horses and springs are related in the Greek language).Nilsson Vol I p.450 His Roman equivalent is Neptune. Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea when, following the overthrow of his father Cronus, the world was divided ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceroessa
In Greek mythology, Ceroessa (Ancient Greek: Κερόεσσα ''Keroessa'' means "the horned") was a heroine of the foundational myth of Byzantium. She was the daughter of Io and Zeus; elder sister of Epaphus; and mother of Byzas, founder of Byzantium, with her uncle, Poseidon. Mythology According to the historian Hesychius of Miletus, as Io, changed into a heifer and being chased by a gadfly on behalf of the jealous Hera, was passing through Thrace, she gave birth to a girl, Keroessa, on the banks of the Golden Horn, by the altar of the nymph Semystra. According to legend, Keroessa's birthplace is called Semystra (today EyüpSultan district), where the rivers Kydaros (today Alibey Stream) and Barbyses (today Kağıthane Stream) flow into the sea at the end of Chrysokeras (Golden Horn or Haliç). Semystra takes its name from the Semystra Altar, where today Eyyub El Ensari's tomb is located, and its water is believed to have healing powers but according to Swiss scholar Ernest Mamb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semystra (nymph)
Semystra () or Semestra was a nymph, in Greek mythology. Mythology Semystra nurtured Keroessa, daughter of Io and Zeus. Keroessa's mother gave birth at Semystra's altar and left the baby there in order to protect her from Hera. Semystra found the infant and raised her. According to a legend, Semystra was also the mother of Byzas, who was the founder of Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n .... The city of Semystra was named after her and there was an altar of her there. References Nymphs {{Greek-deity-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics of Turkey, population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the List of European cities by population within city limits, largest cities in Europe and List of cities proper by population, in the world by population. It is a city on two continents; about two-thirds of its population live in Europe and the rest in Asia. Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus—one of the world's busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its area of is coterminous with Istanbul Province. Istanbul's climate is Mediterranean climate, Mediterranean. The city now known as Istanbul developed to become one of the most significant cities in history. Byzantium was founded on the Sarayburnu promontory by Greek colonisation, Greek col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's European and Asian sides. It has an area of , and its dimensions are . Its greatest depth is . Name The Sea of Marmara is named after the largest island on its south side, called Marmara Island because it is rich in marble ( Greek , ''mármaron'' 'marble'). In classical antiquity, it was known as the Propontis, from the Greek words ''pro'' 'before' and ''pontos'' 'sea', reflecting the fact that the Ancient Greeks used to sail through it to reach the Black Sea, which they called ''Pontos''. Mythology In Greek mythology, a storm on the Propontis brought the Argonauts back to an island they had left, precipitating a battle in which either Jason or Heracles killed King Cyzicus, who had mistaken them for his Pelasgian enemies. Geography ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oracle At Delphi
Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness. The Pythia was established at the latest in the 8th century BC (though some estimates date the shrine to as early as 1400 BC), and was widely credited for her prophecies uttered under divine possession (enthusiasmos) by Apollo. The Pythian priestess emerged pre-eminent by the end of the 7th century BC and continued to be consulted until the late 4th century AD. During this period, the Delphic Oracle was the most prestigious and authoritative oracle among the Greeks, and she was among the most powerful women of the classical world. The oracle is one of the best-documented religious institutions of the classical Greeks. Authors who mention the oracle include Aeschylus, Aristotle, Clement of Alexandria, Diodorus, Diogenes, Euripides, Herodotus, Julian, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the Golden Horn help define the northern boundary of the peninsula constituting "Old Istanbul" (ancient Byzantium and Constantinople), the tip of which is the promontory of Sarayburnu, or Seraglio Point. This estuarial inlet geographically separates the historic center of Istanbul from the rest of the city, and forms a Horn (anatomy), horn shape, sheltered harbor that in the course of history has protected Greeks, Greek, Ancient Rome, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman and other maritime trade ships for thousandsBBC: "Istanbul's ancient past unearthed"< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
