Greek language


Greek language
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Greek language in the context of Praxiteles

Praxiteles (/prækˈsɪtɪlz/; Greek: Πραξιτέλης) of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue. While no indubitably attributable sculpture by Praxiteles is extant, numerous copies of his works have survived; several authors, including Pliny the Elder, wrote of his works; and coins engraved with silhouettes of his various famous statuary types from the period still exist.

A supposed relationship between Praxiteles and his beautiful model, the Thespian courtesan Phryne, has inspired speculation and interpretation in works of art ranging from painting (Gérôme) to comic opera (Saint-Saëns) to shadow play (Donnay).

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Greek language in the context of Athenian coinage

In ancient Greece, the drachma (Greek: δραχμή, romanizeddrachmḗ, [drakʰmέː]; pl. drachmae or drachmas) was an ancient currency unit issued by many city-states during a period of ten centuries, from the Archaic period throughout the Classical period, the Hellenistic period up to the Roman period. The ancient drachma originated in Greece around the 6th century BC. The coin, usually made of silver or sometimes gold had its origins in a bartering system that referred to a drachma as a handful of wooden spits or arrows. The drachma was unique to each city state that minted them, and were sometimes circulated all over the Mediterranean. The coinage of Athens was considered to be the strongest and became the most popular.

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Greek language in the context of Dikast

Dikastes (Greek: δικαστής, pl. δικασταί) was a legal office in ancient Greece that signified, in the broadest sense, a judge or juror, but more particularly denotes the Attic functionary of the democratic period, who, with his colleagues, was constitutionally empowered to try to pass judgment upon all causes and questions that the laws and customs of his country found to warrant judicial investigation.

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Greek language in the context of Theaetetus (dialogue)

The Theaetetus (/ˌθɪˈttəs/; Greek: Θεαίτητος Theaítētos, lat. Theaetetus) is a philosophical work written by Plato in the early-middle 4th century BCE that investigates the nature of knowledge, and is considered one of the founding works of epistemology. Like many of Plato's works, the Theaetetus is written in the form of a dialogue, in this case between Socrates and the young mathematician Theaetetus and his teacher Theodorus of Cyrene. In the dialogue, Socrates and Theaetetus attempt to come up with a definition of episteme, or knowledge, and discuss three definitions of knowledge: knowledge as nothing but perception, knowledge as true judgment, and, finally, knowledge as a true judgment with an account. Each of these definitions is shown to be unsatisfactory as the dialogue ends in aporia as Socrates leaves to face a hearing for his trial for impiety.

As one of the major works of Plato's theory of knowledge, the Theaetetus was influential on Platonism from at least the time of the Skeptical Academy of the 3rd century BCE through the Neoplatonism of the 6th century CE. It has also been the subject of increased attention in modern times as a result of its influence on Edmund Gettier, who challenged the existing definitions of knowledge as a "justified true belief" in a paper that investigated Plato's theory of knowledge as outlined in this work.

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Greek language in the context of History of Delos

Delos or Dilos (/ˈdlɒs/; Greek: Δήλος [ˈðilos]; Attic Greek: Δῆλος Dêlos, Doric Greek: Δᾶλος Dâlos), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only 3.43 km (1.32 sq mi) 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 Mount Cynthus, is crowned with a sanctuary of Zeus.

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Greek language in the context of Strategos

Strategos (pl.strategoi), also known by its Latinized form strategus, is a Greek term meaning 'military general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term also described a military governor. In the modern Hellenic Army, it is the highest officer rank.
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Greek language in the context of Festival of Dionysus

The Dionysia (/ˌd.əˈnɪzi.ə, ˌd.əˈnɪʃi.ə, ˌd.əˈnɪʃə/; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were processions and sacrifices in honor of Dionysus, the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the second-most important festival after the Panathenaia. The Dionysia actually consisted of two related festivals, the Rural Dionysia and the City Dionysia, which took place in different parts of the year.

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Greek language in the context of Euthanasia

Euthanasia (from Greek: εὐθανασία, lit.'good death': εὖ, eu, 'well, good' + θάνατος, thanatos, 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.

Different countries have different euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords select committee on medical ethics defines euthanasia as "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life to relieve intractable suffering". In the Netherlands and Belgium, euthanasia is understood as "termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient". The Dutch law, however, does not use the term 'euthanasia' but includes the concept under the broader definition of "assisted suicide and termination of life on request".

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Greek language in the context of Critias (dialogue)

Critias (/ˈkrɪtiəs/; Greek: Κριτίας), one of Plato's late dialogues, recounts the story of the mighty island kingdom Atlantis and its attempt to conquer Athens, which failed due to the ordered society of the Athenians. Critias is the second of a projected trilogy of dialogues, preceded by Timaeus and followed by Hermocrates. The latter was possibly never written and the ending to Critias has been lost. Because of their resemblance (e.g., in terms of persons appearing), modern classicists occasionally combine both Timaeus and Critias as Timaeus-Critias.

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Greek language in the context of Hermippus of Smyrna

Hermippus of Smyrna (Greek: Ἕρμιππος ὁ Σμυρναῖος) was a Greek grammarian and peripatetic philosopher, surnamed by the ancient writers the Callimachian (Greek: ό Καλλιμάχειος), from which it may be inferred that he was a disciple of Callimachus about the middle of the 3rd century BC, while the fact of his having written about the life of Chrysippus proves that he lived to about the end of the century. His writings seem to have been of very great importance and value. They are repeatedly referred to by the ancient writers, under many titles, of which, however, most, if not all, seem to have been chapters of his great biographical work, which is often quoted under the title of Lives (Bioi). The work contained the biographies of a great many ancient figures, including orators, poets, historians, and philosophers. It contained the earliest known biography of Aristotle, as well as philosophers such as Pythagoras, Empedocles, Heraclitus, Democritus, Zeno, Socrates, Plato, Antisthenes, Diogenes, Stilpo, Epicurus, Theophrastus, Heraclides, Demetrius Phalereus, and Chrysippus. The work has been lost, but many later Lives extensively quote it.

Josephus and Origen cite Hermippus to argue that Pythagoras owed a debt to Judaism.

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