The Olympic torch spent the night on the Acropolis

 

The Olympic torch spent the night on the Acropolis

Yesterday, retired Greek 400-meter hurdles champion, Periklis Iakovakis, lit the Olympic flame in front of the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis, a week before it is to be handed over to Paris 2024 organizers.

The flame, after spending last night on the Acropolis, set off this morning for Delphi, home of the famous Greek Oracle, before continuing its journey to the city of Volos in central Greece.

The flame, was lit on Tuesday at the Ancient Temple of Hera at Ancient Olympia in southern Greece, birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceromony where priestesses performed rituals calling upon the sun god Apollo to ignite the Olympic flame, using the rays of the sun and a parabolic mirror.

The Olympic flame, after being carried across Greece by around 500 torchbearers, on a 2,000 kilometre odyssey before reaching the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896, will be presented to French officials on Friday the 26th April, at the handover ceromony where the 89 year old famous Greek singer, Nana Mouskouri, will sing the French and Greek anthems.

Following the ceremony, after spending the night at the French Embassy in Athens, the flame will board the Belem, a French three-masted sailing ship built in 1896 and be transported to France from the port of Piraeus in Athens, on 27th of April and sail to France.

The flame will reach the French port of Marseille on May 8 and travel through France ahead of the opening ceremony in Paris on July 26.

The flame, which will remain lit for the entire duration of the Games, symbolises purity and represents the values of the Olympics between nations.

The first Olympic torch relay took place in 1936 when 3,000 bearers carried it from Olympia to Berlin.

Greeker than the Greeks

Holy Thursday, Red Egg Day in Greece!

 It's Holy Thursday, Red Egg Day in Greece!

On Holy Thursday, in the Greek Orthodox Church, four events are remembered:

The washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus (The Nipter); to teach them that they must be humble, in order to serve their fellow man.

The Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion), first performed at the Last Supper:

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat, this is my body.”

The words of Jesus at The Last Supper: Matthew, chapter 26, verse 26 (King James Bible).

The agony in the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus, whilst taking a walk after the last super, to say prayers, is overcome with an overwhelming sadness after accepting he is about to be betrayed.

The betrayal of Jesus with a kiss, after Judas Isacariot has betrayed Jesus to the Jewish priests for thirty shekels of silver.

Preparing for Easter

Today, in every Greek home, tsoureki, Greek Easter bread, is being prepared along with Koulourakia, the traditional Greek Easter cookies (not to be eaten until after midnight on Saturday, after the resurrection of of Jesus!)

Holy Thursday is also when eggs, a symbol of rebirth, are dyed red, symbolizing the blood of Jesus.

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Saint George’s Day

 Today, in Greece, it's Saint George's Day; happy Name Day to all who celebrate.

Saint George’s Day is traditionally celebrated on 23 April, if, however, it occurs before Greek Easter, it's celebrated on Easter Monday instead.

This year, in Greece, Easter Sunday fell on May 5th, so all the Georgios and Georgias celebrate their name day today; Easter Monday, May 6th!

Saint George, an officer in the Roman army, was born a Greek in Cappadocia, Asia Minor, today’s Turkey.

He was beheaded on 23 April 303 AD after refusing to renounce his Christian faith and refusing to make sacrifices to pagan gods.

One of the most beloved saints, St. George, canonized as a Saint by 494 AD, is the Patron Saint of England, Catalonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Moscow, Istanbul and Genoa.

In mediaeval romances, the lance with which Saint George slew the dragon, was called Ascalon, after the Levantine city of Ashkelon, today in Israel.

Ascalon was the name also used by Winston Churchill for his personal aircraft during World War II.

In Sweden, the princess rescued by Saint George represents the kingdom of Sweden, while the dragon represents an invading army.

Read the life story of St. George here:

https://greekerthanthegreeks.com/saint-george-the-greek.../

Greeker than the Greeks

The ancient Greek Myth of Sisyphus

 The Myth of Sisyphus – Doomed to Rock and Roll for Eternity!

In Greek mythology Sisyphus was the greedy and conniving king and founder of Ephyra (now known as Corinth in the Peloponnese).

To prove his power, Sisyphus would slay visitors and travellers just for fun.

The deceitful ways of Sisyphus greatly angered Zeus who banished him to the Underworld

Once there, Sisyphus was forced to roll a huge boulder up a mountain, only for it to roll down every time it neared the top, condemning Sisyphus to a life of eternal useless efforts and frustration.

Albert Camus (1913 -1960) French author and philosopher, thought life to be meaningless and absurd, he went on to compare the absurdness with the myth of Sisyphus.

Camus raises the question; “Can we live without any hope that life is meaningful, without the despair which leads to thoughts of taking one’s own life?

Find out the answer to Camus' question and all about the deserved fate of the crafty and cunning Sisyphus by clicking on the link below:

https://greekerthanthegreeks.com/the-myth-of-sisyphus.../

Greeker than the Greeks

Saints Constantine and Helen - Feast Day May 21

 

Saints Constantine and Helen - Feast Day May 21

Saint Helen of Constantinople c. 250-328 AD, said to have been a Christian from birth and thought to have been born in Depranum (modern Trapani) in Bithynia, was the mother of Roman emperor Constantine I, (c. 272 – 337).

After Helen seperated from her husband, Constantius Chlorus I, father of Constantine I, she is not mentioned again in history until 306 AD, the year Constantine became emperor, when she went to live with him in Byzantium, which he had made his new capital and renamed Constantinople after himself (modern day Istanbul).

Helen is said to have discovered " The True Cross", whilst on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Constantine I (c. 272 – 337), son of Saint Helen, the first emperor to convert to Christianity, also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337.

Constantine I, or Constantine the Great, is known for his conversion to Christianity in 312 CE and the ensuing Christianization of the Roman Empire.

Learn more about these mother and son saints of the Greek Orthodox Church by clicking on the link below:

https://greekerthanthegreeks.com/saints-constantine-and.../

Greeker than the Greeks

Greeker than the Greeks

Made in Greece - The Greeks Did It First!

 

Made in Greece - The Greeks Did It First!

Greece: the cradle of Western civilization, Athens: the birthplace of democracy, Greece: home to the Olympic Games.

We’re all familiar with these facts and we’ve heard that:

Hippocrates is the father of Western medicine, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are the father’s of Western philosophy, Thespis was the first recorded actor and Homer, and Herodotus were the first historians.

Did you know though, how many useful inventions, still in use today, have ancient Greek origins?

Yes! The Greeks did it first!

The first computer, dating back to 87BC, the Antikythera mechanism, an analogue computer, was found in the wreckage of a ship, off the shore of the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901.

The alarm clock was invented by Ctesibus (285 – 222 BC) a Greek inventor who began his career as a barber.

Before the Romans came up with the hypocaust system, the Minoans of Crete had already invented the first, underfloor central heating.

Again, the Minoans were the first to have underground pipes, carrying water.

Showers have been found at the ancient site of Pergamon, an ancient Greek city of Aeolis (on the coast of Asia Minor).

Greek mathematician, Heron (10-70 AD) of Alexandria, of vending machine fame, came up with the idea for automatic doors.

The first lighthouse, the Pharos, of Alexandria, Egypt, one of The Seven Wonders of the World, was built by a Greek, Sostratus of Cnidus, between 280 and 247 BC.

It’s not surprising, that the ancient Greeks, famous seafarers, were the first to create anchors.

Hipparchus of Nicaea (190 – 120), Greek astronomer, geographer and mathematician, invented the astrolabe.

The delicious, well-known dessert, cheesecake, was invented by the ancient Greeks!

So, the next time you are caught up in an automatic door, your plumbing goes on the blink, or your alarm clock fails to wake you; you know what to do:

Just eat cheescake and blame it on the Greeks!

To see more amazing ancient Greek inventions still in use today, click on the link below:

https://greekerthanthegreeks.com/the-greeks-did-it-first.../

Greeker than the Greeks

Greeker than the Greeks