Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Blue Guide, Sicily by Ellen Grady
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Archimedes, the most illustrious citizen of Syracuse
His best-known invention happened while he took
a bath and noticed that the water level rose when he stepped into the tub. This
led to his theory to calculate the volume of an object, and he was so excited
about his discovery that he ran out of his house, stark naked, shouting “
Another invention called the Archimedes’ screw has been
used successfully over the centuries and still is in those places where water
has to be moved from a lower level to higher grounds or canals. His system,
consisting of a revolving screw inside a cylinder, even applies to moving coal
or grain. There are, however, discussions that tend to attribute the invention
to the Babylonians who used the principle to irrigate their
Friday, July 18, 2014
Alexander sets out to cross to Asia
When Alexander left Pella in the spring of 334 BC, the city of Thessaloniki, about 46 km further east, did not exist, meaning that his army marched through the plains to near modern LagkadĂ s. From there, we can choose between two roads towards Amphipolis: the freeway north of Lake Koroneia and Lake Volvi or the local road following these lakes' southern banks. Both roads are enjoyable to drive. They give a vivid idea of the terrain crossed by Alexander and before him by his father, King Philip II, during his repeated battles on the Chalcidice peninsula.
Alexander didn't set out from Pella with the entire army, only with his Macedonians. The delegations from the northern Balkan tribes joined him at Amphaxatis near the mouth of the Axios River. In Amphipolis, Parmenion met his king with the contingents from Greece and the Greek mercenaries, where Alexander's fleet connected with his land forces. The entire army that must have counted nearly 30,000 men and 5,000 cavalry, marched towards Abdera and Maroneia, both in Greek hands. After crossing the Hebrus River, Alexander led his troops to Sestos on the Chersonese peninsula in European Turkey, where he arrived twenty days after leaving home. Here he had his first glance at Asia lying across the Dardanelles, known as the Hellespont in antiquity, which formed a significant natural barrier for any invading army.
The crossing of the Hellespont, done in the opposite direction a good century early by the Persian armies of Darius I and Xerxes, cannot be underestimated. The current at the narrowest point is extremely swift as the water is squeezed between the low continental banks.
Before crossing the Hellespont, we stop at a plant that processes shells, where I can walk to the very edge of the water to have a first look at the blue landmass of Asia on the other side. A thrilling experience for this must have been what Alexander saw 2,500 years ago. A little further down the Chersonese peninsula, Peter points at a wide flat between the low rolling hills - the plain of Arisbe - where Alexander's army set up camp pending their ferry to the other side. My imagination immediately gets to work, pitching tents, lighting campfires, building stockades where soldiers keep watch, and adding the sound of men talking, yelling, singing, or cursing. What a place!
My crossing is not in style with any of Alexander's 160 triremes that moved back and forth to transport men and beasts over several days, but instead, I take a regular ferry from Kilitbahir to Ăanakkale. Once onboard, I look back and forth. Behind me are the remains of Ottoman forts with a proud Turkish flag on top, and ahead of me, the busy quays of the city. This spot was the land where Alexander jumped from his ship in full armor and threw his spear into Asian soil, taking Asia as the spear-won territory from the very start.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Tapestries showing Alexander the Great
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Plans to dig out Philippopolis (Plovdiv)
Very few remains from those days have been revealed so far and what we see today is mostly Roman. In 46 AD Emperor Claudius made it “the largest and most beautiful of all cities” as Lucian tells us. The most important military road in the Balkans, the Via Militaris, passed right through Philippopolis, the major communication line between Belgrade and Byzantium. Roman times led to flourishing commerce and monumental constructions of which so far the theatre is the best known example.
In recent years many new excavations have been carried out and slowly the Roman city is rising from its ashes as archaeologists have been able to locate and partly expose many public buildings like the Stadium, Treasury, Baths facilities, Odeon, and other structures around the central Forum. A defensive double city wall has been found and an excellent water and sewage system has been established.
Lately, the archaeologists’ attention has focused on the area around the Forum which was built at the time of Emperor Augustus, probably in part on top of an older Hellenistic Agora although this is not yet entirely certain. This Forum however covers a surface of 11 hectares, arguably one of the largest Roman Forums in the country. On the eastern and southern sides, we find the known Theatre and the Stadium, while the western and northern sides were occupied by a series of shops connected to the Forum by a ten-meter-wide Stoa. Meanwhile, the Propylaea, defining the entrance to the Forum have been located and need excavation.
Unfortunately, under the communist regime of the 1970’s a concrete post-office was built smack in the middle of today’s excavation site and this is not helping in reconstructing the city’s past. It is in this area that the Odeon has been dug out next to a theater that is smaller than the existing one. Plans are made to remove some modern buildings, including the post office, in order to create an archaeological passage between the different monuments – but the matter is evidently subject to a lot of red tape.
For now, finds seem to be limited to smaller items like Roman and Medieval coins, tiles with theatrical masks, Roman bowls, cups, amphorae, and other pottery, some glassware, and vessels used in religious ceremonies.
No wonder that Plovdiv is running to become the European Capital of Culture in 2019.