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Naxos (city)
Naxos (), commonly referred to as ''Chora'' (Greek language, Greek: Χώρα, meaning 'town'), is a city and a former Municipalities and communities of Greece, municipality on the island of Naxos, in the Cyclades, Greece. The community has 8,897 inhabitants (2021 census). It is located on the west side of Naxos Island in the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea, Aegean. It was an important centre of bronze age Cycladic culture and an important city in the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Archaic Greece, Archaic Period. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Naxos and Lesser Cyclades, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. History Prehistory and bronze age The landscape and city of Naxos has been continuously inhabited since prehistory, which is attested by archaeological findings and remains of ancient structures across the island and within the city. Important remains from the Cycladic culture, Cycladic and later Mycenaean Greece, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temple Of Apollo (Naxos)
The Temple of Apollo, or Portara (Greek: Πορτάρα, meaning 'large door'), was an ancient Greek temple in Naxos, dedicated to the god Apollo. The temple was constructed in the 6th century BC by the tyrant Lygdamis. It is located on the islet ''Palatia'' at the northern end of Naxos' harbor. This islet is commonly thought to correspond to the place where, in Greek Mythology, Theseus abandoned Ariadne, who was then abducted by Dionysus and his entourage. The islet is connected to the town of Naxos by a causeway built in 1919. History Prehistory & Early history During prehistory, the islet was connected by a narrow isthmus to the rest of the island and is believed to have been fortified. A sanctuary dedicated to Apollo is thought to have existed there since at least the 8th century BC. During the 7th century BC, the islet was captured and used as a base for assaults against Naxos by Miletus and Erythrae. Construction of the Temple Construction of the temple was started a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland Greece with its palatial states, urban organization, works of art, and writing system.. The Mycenaeans were mainland Greek peoples who were likely stimulated by their contact with insular Minoan Crete and other Mediterranean cultures to develop a more sophisticated sociopolitical culture of their own. The most prominent site was Mycenae, after which the culture of this era is named. Other centers of power that emerged included Pylos, Tiryns, and Midea in the Peloponnese, Orchomenos, Thebes, and Athens in Central Greece, and Iolcos in Thessaly. Mycenaean settlements also appeared in Epirus, Macedonia, on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the south-west coast of Asia Minor, and on Cyprus, while Mycenaean-influenced settlements appear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pisistratus
Pisistratus (also spelled Peisistratus or Peisistratos; ; – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular peninsula of Greece containing Athens, along with economic and cultural improvements laid the groundwork for the later pre-eminence of Athens in ancient Greece. His legacy lies primarily in his institution of the Panathenaic Games, historically assigned the date of 566 BC, and the consequent first attempt at producing a definitive version of the Homeric epics. Pisistratus' championing of the lower class of Athens is an early example of populism. While in power, he did not hesitate to confront the aristocracy and greatly reduce their privileges, confiscating their lands and giving them to the poor. Pisistratus funded many religious and artistic programs, in order to improve the economy and spread the wealth more equally among the Athenian pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyrant
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to repressive means. The original Greek term meant an absolute sovereign who came to power without constitutional right, yet the word had a neutral connotation during the Archaic and early Classical periods. However, Greek philosopher Plato saw ''tyrannos'' as a negative form of government, and on account of the decisive influence of philosophy on politics, deemed tyranny the "fourth and worst disorder of a state."Plato, ''The Republic'' Book VIII The philosophers Plato and Aristotle defined a tyrant as a person who rules without law, using extreme and cruel methods against both his own people and others. The ''Encyclopédie'' defined the term as a usurper of sovereign power who makes "his subjects the victims of his passions and unjust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lygdamis Of Naxos
Lygdamis () was the tyrant of Naxos, an island in the Cyclades, during the third quarter of the 6th Century BC. He was initially a member of the oligarchy which ruled Naxos. In 546 BC, Lygdamis supported the former Athenian tyrant Peisistratos in his landing at Marathon, which led to the restoration of Peisistratos to power in Athens. As a reward, Peisistratos helped Lygdamis become tyrant of Naxos or to reclaim that position after losing it.Grant, Michael (1987). ''The Rise of The Greeks''. Guild Publishing London. p. 185 He secured his position by exiling potential rivals and extended his dominance over neighbouring islands such as Paros. Lygdamis contributed a force of mercenaries to aid his ally Polycrates, the powerful tyrant of Samos, in his campaigns against Miletus and Mytilene. Lygdamis had an ambitious building program which included several temples and an aqueduct that provided water to the city of Naxos. In 530 BC he began work on a large Temple of Apollo which was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphinx Of Naxos
A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, the haunches of a lion, and the wings of a bird. According to Greek myth, she challenges those who encounter her to answer a riddle, and kills and eats them when they fail to solve the riddle. This deadly version of a sphinx appears in the myth and drama of Oedipus. In Egyptian mythology, in contrast, the sphinx is typically depicted as a man (an androsphinx ()), and is seen as a benevolent representation of strength and ferocity, usually of a pharaoh. Unlike Greek or Levantine/Mesopotamian ones, Egyptian sphinxes were not winged. Both the Greek and Egyptian sphinxes were thought of as guardians, and statues of them often flank the entrances to temples. During the Renaissance, the sphinx enjoyed a major revival in European decorative art. During this period ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delos
Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The ongoing excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean, and many of the artifacts found are displayed at the Archaeological Museum of Delos and the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Delos had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. From its Sacred Harbour are visible the three conical mounds that have identified landscapes sacred to a goddess (presumably Athena). Another site, retaining its Pre-Greek name Cynthus, Mount Cynthus, is crowned with a sanctuary of Zeus. In 1990, UNESCO added Delos to the World Heritage List, citing its exceptional archaeological site which "conveys the image of a great cosmopolitan Med ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naxian Marble
Naxian marble is a large-crystaled white marble which is quarried from the Cycladic Island of Naxos in Greece. It was among the most significant types of marble for ancient Greece and it continues to be quarried in modern times. Creation, mineralogy, properties The marble's creation is owed to high level metamorphic processes in a contact zone with dome-like bulges of migmatite. The two types of stone alternate in layers and the marble has a thickness of up to 30 metres in old fissures. The layers Strike and dip, strike in a northeasterly direction. Naxian marble is over 98% calcite. Other component minerals as Dolomite (mineral), dolomite, silicate and traces of graphite and pyrite. Calcite crystals are randomly distributed and usually transparent. This transparence gives the stone an appearance of depth and is the cause of the blue-grey shimmer of the marble, which is more or less noticeable depending on the angle of the light source. The crystals are up to 15 millimetres in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marble Sculpture
Marble has been the preferred material for stone monumental sculpture since ancient times, with several advantages over its more common geological "parent" limestone, in particular the ability to absorb light a small distance into the surface before refracting it in subsurface scattering. This gives an attractive soft appearance which is especially good for representing human skin, and which can also be polished. Of the List of types of marble, many different types of marble the pure white ones are generally used for sculpture, with coloured ones preferred for many architectural and decorative uses. The degree of hardness is right to carve without too much difficulty, but still give a very durable result, if not exposed to acid rain or seawater. Famous individual types and quarries include from classical times Parian marble from Paros, used for the ''Venus de Milo'' and many other Ancient Greek sculptures, and Mount Pentelicus, Pentelic marble, from near Athens, used for most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polis
Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατρίδα (patrida) or "native land" for its citizens. In ancient Greece, the polis was the native land; there was no other. It had a constitution and demanded the supreme loyalty of its citizens. χώρα was only the countryside, not a country. Ancient Greece was not a sovereign country, but was territory occupied by Hellenes, people who claimed as their native language some dialect of Ancient Greek. Poleis did not only exist within the area of the modern Republic of Greece. A collaborative study carried by the Copenhagen Polis Centre from 1993 to 2003 classified about 1,500 settlements of the Archaic and Classical ancient-Greek-speaking population as poleis. These ranged from the Caucasus to Southern Spain, and from Southern Russia to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (Layered intrusion, layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed limestone, but its use in stonemasonry more broadly encompasses unmetamorphosed limestone. The extraction of marble is performed by quarrying. Marble production is dominated by four countries: China, Italy, India and Spain, which account for almost half of world production of marble and decorative stone. Because of its high hardness and strong wear resistance, and because it will not be deformed by temperature, marble is often used in Marble sculpture, sculpture and construction. Etymology The word "marble" derives from the Ancient Greek (), from (), "crystalline rock, shin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emery (rock)
Emery, or corundite, is a dark granular rock used to make an abrasive powder. The rock largely consists of corundum (aluminium oxide), mixed with other minerals. Industrial emery may contain a variety of other minerals and synthetic compounds. Crushed or naturally eroded emery (known as ''black sand'') is used as an abrasive. Turkey and Greece are the main suppliers of the world's emery. Description Emery is a granular rock used to make an abrasive powder. It largely consists of corundum (aluminium oxide), mixed with other minerals such as the iron-bearing spinels, hercynite, and magnetite, and also rutile ( titania). Industrial emery may contain a variety of other minerals and synthetic compounds such as magnesia, mullite, and silica. Emery is black or dark grey in colour, less dense than translucent-brown corundum with a specific gravity of between 3.5 and 3.8. Because it can be a mixture of minerals, no definite Mohs hardness can be assigned: the hardness of corundum is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
