What you should Know !
Dear viewers, On this page I give the answers to the most
common questions about ancient and modern Greece which our costumers
have asked during our tours.
Q What happened when the ancient Greeks consulted the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi?
A: Those who wanted advice from the Oracle would be required to pay a levy and sacrifice an animal on the altar. A male priest would then put the petitioner's question to a priestess (pythia), whose trance-like reply would take the form of riddles.
These riddles would then be interpreted by a priest in a manner that was still not straightforward, but open to a number of interpretations.
Q Where did traditional Greek drama come from?
A: Greek drama developed in the sixth century B.C. from ritual role playing during festivals of Dionysus, the god of revelry and wine. At first, the participants danced in groups and were often dressed as animals. Later, singing and dancing choruses were joined by actors wearing masks with exaggerated features to indicate the characters they were playing so they could be clearly seen by everyone in the audience. The first proper plays were tragedies in the form of episodes from myths and epic poems. Comedy did not appear on the Greek stage until 480 B.C.
FIRST STONE THEATRE. The first stone theatre ever built, and the birthplace of Greek tragedy, was the theatre of Dionysus, which was cut into the southern cliff face of the Acropolis.
Q Why is classical Greek architecture so widely admired?
A: State and religious buildings in ancient Greece were designed and built with the express intention of embodying perfect form and proportion.
The degree of success their architects achieved is illustrated by the fact that their classical style has survived, has seldom fallen out of fashion and has often dominated aesthetic taste. Superb examples were built in Revolutionary France, Georgian England, the newly formed United States and 19th C Athens, where Neoclassical architecture completely dominated public building
Q What is the Parthenon and the Elgin Marbles?
A: The temple of the Parthenon occupies the highest point of the Acropolis (city on the edge). It was dedicated to Athena. The word Parthenon comes from the Greek word parthenos meaning virgin. The Parthenon, which still stands today, was built between 447 and 432 B.C. The sculptures which decorated it and the ivory- golden statue of the goddess Athena were designed by the greatest sculpture Pheidias.
THE ELGIN MARBLES: Many of the sculptures from the Parthenon were taken to England by Lord Elgin (1806), the British ambassador to the Ottoman court. He saw the sculptures when he visited Athens and was granted permission to take most back to England. They can be seen today in the British Museum.The Greek have been fighting a long battle with the British to have them returned to Athens.
Q What we call Golden Age of Pericles?
A Pericles was born in about 495 B.C. and became the greatest statesman in Athenian history. He was a visionary, with an interest in the arts and sciences, who transformed the look of the city to such an extent that the period between 461 and 429 B.C. became to known as the Golden Age of Pericles. By 461 B.C. he had become the leader of a democratic party, and by 443 B.C. he was both ruler and military leader of Athens. Having transferred the Treasury to Athens from Delos, he persuaded the Athenians to invest in a program of building and rebuilding which brought together the best contemporary architects, sculptors, artists, scientists and builders. The results can still be seen today. Most notable are the buildings on top of the Acropolis, with the Parthenon representing Pericle's outstanding legacy.
Q When are the National / religious Holidays in Greece?
Restaurants and tourist shops may well stay open on these days, but public services, shops, museums and archaeological sites will be closed. Check out: Museums & sites
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Q Where did the tradition of the Marathon run come from?
A:
In 490 B.C., the Greeks were facing invasion by Darius the
Great King of Persia, whose warships landed in the bay of
Marathon. Despite being heavily
outnumbered, the Greeks surrounded the enemy troops and
drove them back to the sea, losing only 192 men during the
fighting, while 6,400 Persians perished. News of the victory
was taken back to Athens a distance of 42 km (26 miles)
by a runner in full armor, who collapsed and died immediately
afterwards. The modern marathon has its roots in this heroic
effort. In the Olympics of Athens 2004 the athletes ran
the same course as in 490 BC.
Q Who were the seven wise men of antiquity?
A: he seven wise men of antiquity who lived in Greek territories in the 6th century BC and became known for their social or political wisdom and prudence are: Thalis of Miletus, Pittacus of Mytilene, Solon of Athens, Bias of Priene, Cleoboulos of Rhodes, Chilon of Sparta and Periander of Corinth. Check out : The seven wise men
Q
What is the emblem of Athens
Olympic games?
A: The Athens 2004 Olympic Games' emblem was an olive wreath - the "kotinos" with which the Olympic winner was crowned in classical times. It is a symbol linked with the Olympic ideals, peace and the city of Athens, whose sacred tree was the olive tree. Its circular shape projects universal meanings of the unity of the world, the circle of life and the link between time past and present
Q What sports were contested in Athens 2004?
A In Athens, athletes from nearly 200 countries competd in 28 sports in 296 events. The sports were: aquatics (diving, swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo) · archery · badminton · baseball · basketball · boxing · canoe-kayak · cycling · equestrian · fencing · field hockey · gymnastics · handball · judo · modern pentathlon · rowing · sailing · shooting · softball · soccer · table tennis · taekwondo · tennis · track and field · triathlon · volleyball · weightlifting · wrestling
Q
Where and When is the Olympic flame lit?
A: The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is marked with the arrival of the Olympic flame which is taken on every occasion from Olympia, (Era's alter) Greece, the original site of the Olympic Games. The same year as the Olympic Games, but at the end of March. Runners take it from Olympia to the airport, on to the host country where runners take it from city to city.
Q What time do Greeks eat?
A: Greeks tend to eat late, and they seldom eat light. Restaurants are usually open from about noon onwards for lunch and from 7 seven o'clock for supper, but that is usually to catch the tourist trade. Owners know the Athenians will not be out in force for some time.
Many of the day's specials are prepared in the morning or at lunchtime and a dish such as moussaka may be served lukewarm rather than piping hot - but that is the Greek way. Typical for this hedonistic city are late dinners at 9p.m. and nightclubs that fill around midnight.
Q Who were the twelve gods of Olympus?
A: Aphrodite: The goddess of love and beauty. Apollo: The god of the sun, of music and of prophecy. The twin bother of Artemis and the son of Zeus and Leto. Ares: The god of war. Artemis: The goddess of the moon and of hunting. The twin sister of Apollo. Athena: The goddess of wisdom, believed to have sprung fully formed from the head of Zeus, armed and wearing her helmet. She is often depicted with an owl. Demeter: The goddess of the harvest and the mother of Persephone. Hestia: The goddess of the Hearth. Hephaestus: The god of fire and of the forge, and the husband of Aphrodite. Hera: The queen of the gods wife of Zeus and mother of Hephaestus. Hermes: The messenger of the gods. Depicted with winged sandals or a winged cap. Poseidon: The god of the sea, represented by a trident. Zeus: The lord of the gods.
Q What about modern Greece?
Greece lies at the
southeast end of Europe. Its land mass (50 944sq miles)
is punctuated by mountains, fragmented by the sea and skirted
by a very long broken coastline. The country's most distinctive
characteristic is its many islands: between Thassos and
Crete (600km/373ml) there are 427 islands, of which 134
are inhabited. Modern Greece is divided into nine regions
which are sub-divided into departments (nomi). The
total population is about 11.000.000.
Historical Notes: Greece under Roman occupation from
146 B C. - Greece under the Byzantines. After the division
of ad 395 the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire
comprised the Balkans, present- day Greece, Asia Minor and
Egypt. Although Latin was soon replaced as the official
language by Greek., the language of the Church and the Near
East.
The Byzantine Empire developed into a Greek Christian theocratic state, in which the Emperor and the Patriarch were interdependent (symbolised by two- headed eagle, the emblem of the Empire). Greece under the Franks (13c-15c). Greece under the Turks (15c-19c). The conquest of Greece by the Turks, which began the capture of the Balkan territories followed by Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, in 1453 by Sultan Mehment II. 1821 Started the Independence war against Ottoman Empire. In 1827 the UK, Russia and France decided to intervene to enforce an armistice '' without however taking any part in the hostilities''. The allied fleet went to parley with the Turkish fleet anchored off Pylos (See Pylos) in Navarino Bay and ended up destroying it. In October 1828 a French military expedition was dispatched under General Maison, which drove out the Turks while the Russians threatened Constantinople.
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