Sycophant
In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage). The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens, where it had a different meaning. Most legal cases of the time were brought by private litigants as there was no police force and only a limited number of officially appointed public prosecutors. By the fifth century BC this practice had given rise to abuse by "sycophants": litigants who brought unjustified prosecutions. The word retains the same meaning ('slanderer') in Modern Greek, French (where it also can mean 'informer'), and Italian. In modern English, the meaning of the word has shifted to its present usage. Etymology The origin of the Ancient Greek word () is a matter of debate, but disparages the unjustified accuser who has in some way perverted the legal system. The original etymology of the word (''/'/'' 'fig', and ''/'/'' 'to show') ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Birds (play)
''The Birds'' () is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed in 414 BC at the City Dionysia in Athens where it won second place. It has been acclaimed by modern critics as a perfectly realized fantasy remarkable for its mimicry of birds and for the gaiety of its songs. Unlike the author's other early plays, it includes no direct mention of the Peloponnesian War and there are few references to Athenian politics, and yet it was staged not long after the commencement of the Sicilian Expedition, an ambitious military campaign that greatly increased Athenian commitment to the war effort. In spite of that, the play has many indirect references to Athenian political and social life. It is the longest of Aristophanes's surviving plays and yet it is a fairly conventional example of Old Comedy. The plot of the play revolves around Pisthetaerus, an Athenian who convinces the birds to create a great city in the sky, and thus regain their status as the original ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fig Sign
The fig sign is a mildly obscene gesture that uses a thumb wedged in between two fingers. The gesture is most commonly used to ward off the evil eye, insult someone, or deny a request. It has been used at least since the Ancient Rome, Roman Age in Southern Europe and parts of the Mediterranean region, including in Turkish culture. Some countries in Asia, Slavic cultures and South Africa use it too. It is used playfully in Northwestern Europe and North Africa, countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, Libya, Tunisia and Czech Republic to I've got your nose, pretend to take the nose off a child. The letter "T" in the American manual alphabet is very similar to this gesture. Historical usage Among early Christians, it was known as the , or 'obscene hand'. In ancient Rome, the fig sign, or , was made by the to ward off the evil spirits of the dead as a part of the Lemuria (festival), Lemuria ritual. It is contextually interesting and worth noting that the fig was a sacred plant ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Acharnians
''The Acharnians'' or ''Acharnians'' (Ancient Greek: ''Akharneîs''; Attic: ) is the third play — and the earliest of the eleven surviving plays — by the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. It was produced in 425 BC on behalf of the young dramatist by an associate, Callistratus, and it won first place at the Lenaia festival. ''The Acharnians'' is about an Athenian citizen, Dikaiopolis, who miraculously obtains a private peace treaty with the Spartans and enjoys the benefits of peace in spite of opposition from some of his fellow Athenians. The play is notable for its absurd humour, its imaginative appeal for an end to the Peloponnesian War, and for the author's spirited response to condemnations of his previous play, ''The Babylonians'', by politicians such as Cleon, who had reviled it as a slander against the Athenian polis. In ''The Acharnians'', Aristophanes reveals his resolve not to yield to attempts at political intimidation. Along with the other surviving plays of Aris ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Statute Of Limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In most jurisdictions, such periods exist for both criminal law and civil law such as contract law and property law, though often under different names and with varying details. When the time which is specified in a statute of limitations runs out, a claim might no longer be filed or, if it is filed, it may be subject to dismissal if the defense against that claim is raised that the claim is time-barred as having been filed after the statutory limitations period. When a statute of limitations expires in a criminal case, the courts no longer have jurisdiction. In many jurisdictions with statutes of limitation there is no time limit for dealing with particularly serious crimes. In civil law systems, such provisions are typically part of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lysias
Lysias (; ; c. 445 – c. 380 BC) was a Logographer (legal), logographer (speech writer) in ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC. Life According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the author of the life ascribed to Plutarch, Lysias was born in 459 BC, which would accord with a tradition that Lysias reached, or passed, the age of eighty. This date was evidently obtained by reckoning back from the foundation of Thurii (444 BC), since there was a tradition that Lysias had gone there at the age of fifteen. Modern critics, in general, place his birth later, c. 445 BC, and place the trip to Thurii around 430 BC. Cephalus#Historical persons, Cephalus, his father, was a native of Syracuse, Italy, Syracuse, and on the invitation of Pericles had settled at Athens. The opening scene of Plato's ''The Republic (Plato), Republic'' is set at the hous ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flattery
Flattery, also called adulation or blandishment, is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of Ingratiation, ingratiating oneself with the subject. It is also used in pick-up lines when attempting to initiate sexual or romantic courtship. Historically, flattery has been used as a standard form of discourse when addressing a monarch, king or queen regnant, queen. In the Renaissance, it was a common practice among writers to flatter the reigning monarch, as Edmund Spenser flattered Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth I in ''The Faerie Queene'', William Shakespeare flattered James VI and I, King James I in ''Macbeth'', Niccolò Machiavelli flattered Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, Lorenzo II de' Medici in ''The Prince'' and Jean de La Fontaine flattered Louis XIV of France in his ''La Fontaine's Fables, Fables''. Many associations with flattery are negative. Negative descriptions of flattery range at least as far back in history as the Bible. In the ''Divine ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sandro Botticelli - Inferno, Canto XVIII - WGA02854
Sandro is an Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Georgian and Croatian given name, often a diminutive of Alessandro or Alexander. It is also a surname. Sandro may refer to: Given name or nickname Sports * Sandro (footballer, born 1973), Brazilian footballer Sandro Chaves de Assis Rosa * Sandro (footballer, born 1974), Spanish footballer Carlos Alejandro Sierra Fumero * Sandro (footballer, born 1980), Brazilian footballer Sandro Cardoso dos Santos * Sandro (footballer, born 1981), Brazilian footballer Alexsandro Oliveira Duarte * Sandro (footballer, born March 1983), Brazilian footballer Sandro Luiz da Silva * Sandro (footballer, born October 1983), Brazilian footballer Sandro da Silva Mendonça * Sandro (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Sandro José Ferreira da Silva * Sandro (footballer, born February 1987), Brazilian footballer Sandro Costa da Silva * Sandro (footballer, born March 1987), Brazilian footballer Alessandro Ferreira Leonardo * Sandro (footballer, bor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fred Barnard07
Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rodrigues de Oliveira, Brazilian * Fred (footballer, born 1979), Helbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva, Brazilian * Fred (footballer, born 1983), Frederico Chaves Guedes, Brazilian * Fred (footballer, born 1986), Frederico Burgel Xavier, Brazilian * Fred (footballer, born 1993), Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos, Brazilian * Fred Again (born 1993), British songwriter known as FRED Television and movies * ''Fred'' (2014 film), a 2014 documentary film * Fred Figglehorn, a YouTube character created by Lucas Cruikshank ** ''Fred'' (franchise), a Nickelodeon media franchise ** '' Fred: The Movie'', a 2010 independent comedy film * '' Fred the Caveman'', French Teletoon production from 2002 * Fred Flintstone, of the 1966 TV cartoon ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Defamation
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions that are falsifiable, and can extend to concepts that are more abstract than reputationlike dignity and honour. In the English-speaking world, the law of defamation traditionally distinguishes between libel (written, printed, posted online, published in mass media) and slander (oral speech). It is treated as a civil wrong (tort, delict), as a criminal offence, or both. Defamation and related laws can encompass a variety of acts (from general defamation and insultas applicable to every citizen – to specialized provisions covering specific entities and social structures): * Defamation against a legal person in general * Insult against a legal person in general * Acts against public officials * Acts against state instituti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Plutus (play)
''Plutus'' (, ''Ploutos'', "Wealth") is an Ancient Greek comedy by the playwright Aristophanes, which was first produced in 388 BC. A political satire on contemporary Athens, it features the personified god of wealth Plutus. Reflecting the development of Old Comedy towards New Comedy, it uses such familiar character types as the stupid master and the insubordinate slave to attack the morals of the time. Plot The play features an elderly Athenian citizen, Chremylos, and his slave Cario or Carion. Chremylos presents himself and his family as virtuous but poor, and has accordingly gone to seek advice from an oracle. The play begins as he returns to Athens from Delphi, having been instructed by Apollo to follow the first man he meets and persuade him to come home with him. That man turns out to be the god Plutus — who is, contrary to all expectations, a blind beggar. After much argument, Plutus is convinced to enter Chremylos's house, where he will have his vision restored ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |