Tuesday 7 May 2013

Penelope=بينيلوب

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[fr. Gk, the wife of Odysseus who remained faithful to him throughout his absence at Troy, despite having many suitors] : a girl's given name

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

	[L, fr. Gk Oidipous, the son of Laius and Jocasta who in fulfillment of an oracle unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother] : the positive libidinal feelings of a son toward his mother and hostile or jealous feelings toward his father that may be a source of adult personality disorder when unresolved

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

	[the Odyssey, epic poem attributed to Homer recounting the long wanderings of Odysseus, a king of Ithaca and Greek leader in the Trojan War who after the war wanders 10 years before reaching home] 1 : a long wandering or voyage usu. marked by many changes of fortune 2 : an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest

myrmidon =المرميدوني أحد أفراد شعب تساليا

myrmidon =المرميدوني أحد أفراد شعب تساليا

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[ME Mirmydon, L Myrmidon-, Myrmido, fr. Gk Myrmidon, a member of a legendary Thessalian people who accompanied their king Achilles in the Trojan War] : a loyal follower

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[L Museum place for learned occupation, fr. Gk Mouseion, fr. neut. of Mouseios of the Muses, fr. Mousa] : an institution devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[L minous of Minos, fr. Gk minoios, fr. Minos Minos, son of Zeus and mythical king of Crete] : of or relating to a Bronze Age culture of Crete (3000 BC-1100 BC)

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

Midas touch n: [L, fr. Gk, legend of the Phrygian king Midas who is given the power to turn everything he touched into gold] : an uncanny ability for making money in every venture

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

a Titanesse, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and the mother of Athena by Zeus] : one of the moons of Jupiter

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[fr. Gk, the sister of Amalthea who nourished the infant Zeus with honey in Greek mythology] : a girl's given name

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[L Lyceum, gymnasium near Athens where Aristotle taught, fr. Gk Lykeion, fr. lykeios, epithet of Apollo] 1 : a hall for public lectures or discussions 2 : an association providing public lectures, concerts, and entertainments

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[fr. L, Gr. ΛΗΔΑ the mother of Castor and Clytemnestra by her husband Tyndareus, and of Pollux and Helen by Zeus, who was wearing the form of a swan] 1 : a satellite of the planet Jupiter 2 : a girl's given name

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

Gk Iris, goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

ancient name of the Dardanelles, fr. Helle Helle, who, while escaping from her stepmother with her brother Phrixus, fell into this body of water and drowned] : a strait connecting the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marma

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

L, fr. Gk Hektor, Trojan champion slain by Achilles]

Monday 6 May 2013

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

	[L Gorgon-, Gorgo, fr. Gk Gorgon, any of three snake-haired sisters in Greek mythology whose appearance turns men to stone] : an ugly or repulsive woman

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

Ganymedes, fr. Gk Ganymedes Ganymede, a beautiful youth carried off to Olympus to be the cupbearer of the gods in classical mythology] 1 : the largest of Jupiter's moons 2 : a young waiter who serves liquors

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

L, fr. Gk Elektra, a sister of Orestes who aids him in killing their mother Clytemnestra

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

the site of the oracle of Apollo

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[NL, genus name, fr. L laurel, fr. Gk Daphne, a nymph who is transformed into a laurel tree to escape the pursuing Apollo] 1 : any of a genus (Daphne) of Eurasian shrubs of the mezereon family with apetaelous flowers whose colored calyx resembles a corolla 2 : a girl's given name

daedalus=ديدالوس

daedalus=ديدالوس

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[L daedalus, fr. Gk Daidalos, legendary builder of Cretan labyrinth who makes wings to enable himself and his son Icarus to escape from imprisonment] 1 a : skillful, artistic b : intricate 2 : adorned with many things

Cynthia=سينثيا

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[L, Cynthius, epithet of Artemis, fr. fem. of Cynthius of Cynthus, fr. Cynthus, mountain on Delos where Artemis was born, fr. Gk Kynthos] 1 : moon 2 : a girl's given name

Clio=كليو

Clio=كليو

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[Gk Clio, Greek Muse of history] : a girl's given name

Cimmerian=السيمرية

Cimmerian=السيمرية

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[L Cimmerii, a mythical people described by Homer as dwelling in a realm of mist and gloom, fr. Gk Kimmerioi] : very dark and gloomy

cecropia moth=سيكروبيا فراشة

cecropia moth=سيكروبيا فراشة

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

	[NL cecropia, fr. L Cecropius Athenian, fr. Gk Kekrops, legendary king of Athens] : a large North American saturniid moth (Hyalophora cecropia) that is brown with red, white, and black markings

Calliope=كاليوبي

Calliope=كاليوبي

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[L, fr. Gk Kalliope Calliope, the Greek Muse of epic poetry] : a keyboard musical instrument resembling an organ and consisting of a series of whistles sounded by steam or compressed air.

atropine=الأتروبين

atropine=الأتروبين

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[G Atropin, fr. NL Atropa, genus name of belladonna, fr. Gk Atropos, one of the three Fates] : a mixture obtained from any of various solanaceous plants (such as belladonna) and used esp. for its antocholinergic effects (as pupil dilation or inhibition of smooth muscle spasms)

apollonian=أبولوني

apollonian=أبولوني

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[L Apollo, fr. Gk Apollon Apollo, god of sunlight, prophecy, music, and poetry] : harmonious, measured, ordered, or balanced in character

aphrodisiac=أفروديسك

aphrodisiac=أفروديسك

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[Gk aphrodisiakos sexual, fr. aphrodisia, pl. sexual pleasures, fr. neut. pl. of aphrodisios of Aphrodite, fr. Aphrodite Greek goddess of love] 1 : an agent that arouses or is held to arouse sexual desire 2 : something that excites

amazon= أمازون

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[ME, fr. L, Fr. Gk Amazon] : a tall, strong, often masculine woman

aeolian=إيولايان

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland

[L, fr. Gk Aiolos Aeolus, the ruler of the winds and eponymous founder of Aeolis] : giving forth or marked by a moaning or sighing sound or musical note produced by or as if by the wind

Adonis=أدونيس

Adonis=أدونيس

An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology - Oakland ...

[fr. ML Adonic(us), fr. Gk Adonis, a favorite man of Aphrodite, slain by a wild boar but permitted by Zeus to pass four months of every year in the lower world with Persephone, four with Aphrodite, and four wherever he chose] 1 : noting a verse consisting of a dactyl followed by a spondee or a trochee 2 : of or like Adonis

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Amylose=أميلوز

The Free Dictionary by FARLEX

Etymology: Greek, amylon (ΑΜΥΛΟΝ) starch + -ose, carbohydrate suffix
a lesser constituent of starch, consisting of a chain of glucose residues; it stains blue with iodine.
Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.

Sunday 10 March 2013

ATHENA =أثينا

WIKIPEDIA......................................In Greek religion and mythology, Athena or Athene (pron.: /əˈθiːnə/ or /əˈθiːniː/; Attic: Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnā or Ἀθηναία, Athēnaia; Epic: Ἀθηναίη, Athēnaiē; Ionic: Ἀθήνη, Athēnē; Doric: Ἀθάνα, Athānā), also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene (pron.: /ˈpæləs/; Παλλὰς Ἀθηνᾶ; Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη), is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. Minerva is the Roman goddess identified with Athena.[4]/////////////////////////////////// Athena is also a shrewd companion of heroes and is the goddess of heroic endeavour. She is the virgin patroness of Athens. The Athenians founded the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens (Athena Parthenos), in her honour.[4]..................................

Atlantis=اتلانتيس

WIKIPEDIA..................................... Atlantis (in Greek, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, "island of Atlas") is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC. According to Plato, Atlantis was a naval power lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercules" that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa 9,000 years before the time of Solon, or approximately 9600 BC. After a failed attempt to invade Athens, Atlantis sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune". ...............................The possible existence of a genuine Atlantis was discussed throughout classical antiquity, but it was usually rejected and occasionally parodied by later authors. Alan Cameron states: "It is only in modern times that people have taken the Atlantis story seriously; no one did so in antiquity".[2] The Timaeus remained known in a Latin rendition by Calcidius through the Middle Ages, and the allegorical aspect of Atlantis was taken up by Humanists in utopian works of several Renaissance writers, such as Francis Bacon's New Atlantis and Thomas More's Utopia. Atlantis inspires today's literature, from science fiction to comic books to films. Its name has become a byword for any and all supposed advanced prehistoric lost civilizations.................................................Some ancient writers viewed Atlantis as fiction while others believed it was real.[14] The philosopher Crantor, a student of Plato's student Xenocrates, is often cited as an example of a writer who thought the story to be historical fact. His work, a commentary on Plato's Timaeus, is lost, but Proclus, a Neoplatonist of the 5th century AD, reports on it.[15] The passage in question has been represented in the modern literature either as claiming that Crantor actually visited Egypt, had conversations with priests, and saw hieroglyphs confirming the story or as claiming that he learned about them from other visitors to Egypt.[16]........................................ Atlantis=اتلانتيس

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Oxyrhynchus Papyri

Oxyrhynchus Papyri...............................WIKIPEDIA.................... The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a group of manuscripts discovered by archaeologists including Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt (28°32′N 30°40′E, modern el-Bahnasa). The manuscripts date from the 1st to the 6th century AD. They include thousands of Greek and Latin documents, letters and literary works. They also include a few vellum manuscripts, and more recent Arabic manuscripts on paper (for example, the medieval P. Oxy. VI 1006)................................................................................ There were also extensive remains of the Hypsipyle of Euripides, fragments of the comedies of Menander, and a large part of the Ichneutae of Sophocles.[1] Also found were the oldest and most complete diagrams from Euclid's Elements. Another important find was the historical work known as the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia, whose author is unknown but may be Ephorus or, as many currently think, Cratippus. A life of Euripides by Satyrus the Peripatetic was also unearthed, while an epitome of seven of the 107 lost books of Livy was the most important literary find in Latin............................... Among the Christian texts found at Oxyrhynchus, were fragments of early non-canonical Gospels, Oxyrhynchus 840 (3rd century AD) and Oxyrhynchus 1224 (4th century AD). Other Oxyrhynchus texts preserve parts of Matthew 1 (3rd century: P2 and P401), 11–12 and 19 (3rd to 4th century: P2384, 2385); Mark 10–11 (5th to 6th century: P3); John 1, and 20 (3rd century: P208); Romans 1 (4th century: P209); the First Epistle of John (4th-5th century: P402); the Apocalypse of Baruch (chapters 12–14; 4th or 5th century: P403); the Gospel according to the Hebrews (3rd century AD: P655); The Shepherd of Hermas (3rd or 4th century: P404), and a work of Irenaeus, (3rd century: P405). There are many parts of other canonical books as well as many early Christian hymns, prayers, and letters also found among them.................................................................................................. The original Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) was translated into Greek between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC. This translation is called the Septuagint (or LXX, both 70 in Latin), because there is a tradition that seventy Jewish scribes compiled it in Alexandria. It was quoted in the New Testament and is found bound together with the New Testament in the 4th and 5th century Greek uncial codices Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus and Vaticanus. The Septuagint included books, called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical by Christians, which were later not accepted into the Jewish canon of sacred writings (see next section). Portions of Old Testament books of undisputed authority found among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri are listed in this section.

Sunday 17 February 2013

Byzantine encyclopedia-Suda or Souda

Byzantine encyclopedia-Suda or Souda .................................................................. WIKIPEDIA...............................http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suda................................ Suda On Line: Byzantine Lexicography........................http://www.stoa.org/sol/................................ ...................................................................................................... The Suda or Souda (Greek: Σοῦδα) is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often derived from medieval Christian compilers. The derivation is probably[1] from the Byzantine Greek word souda, meaning "fortress" or "stronghold," with the alternate name, Suidas, stemming from an error made by Eustathius, who mistook the title for the proper name of the author. ....................................................................................................... It includes numerous quotations from ancient writers; the scholiasts on Aristophanes, Homer, Sophocles and Thucydides are also much used. The biographical notices, the author avers, are condensed from the Onomatologion or Pinax of Hesychius of Miletus; other sources were the excerpts of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the chronicle of Georgius Monachus, the biographies of Diogenes Laertius and the works of Athenaeus and Philostratus. Other principal sources include a lexicon by "Eudemus," perhaps derived from the work On Rhetorical Language by Eudemus of Argos.[2] ........................................................................................................... Suda On Line: Byzantine Lexicography............................. ...........................................http://www.stoa.org/sol/.................................. ................................................... The work deals with biblical as well as pagan subjects, from which it is inferred that the writer was a Christian. A prefatory note gives a list of dictionaries from which the lexical portion was compiled, together with the names of their authors. Although the work is uncritical and probably much interpolated, and the value of its articles is very unequal, the Suda contains much useful information on ancient history and life. ................................................................................................. The Suda has a near-contemporaneous Islamic parallel, the Kitab al-Fehrest of Ibn al-Nadim. ..................................................... Abu'l-Faraj Muhammad bin Is'hāq al-Nadim (Arabic: ابوالفرج محمد بن إسحاق النديم‎) (died September 17, 995 or 998) was a Shia Muslim scholar and bibliographer.[1] He is famous as the author of the Kitāb al-Fihrist. ..................................................................................... His great book, the Fihrist, gives ample testimony to the knowledge of pre-Islamic, Syriac, Greek, Sanskrit, Latin and Persian in classical Islamic civilization. Unfortunately of the Persian books listed by Ibn al-Nadim only a minute sample is extant. .............................................................................................................. ..........................................................................................

Friday 15 February 2013

Leucippus

Leucippus...................WIKIPEDIA.......... Leucippus or Leukippos (Greek: Λεύκιππος, first half of 5th century BCE) was one of the earliest Greeks to develop the theory of atomism — the idea that everything is composed entirely of various imperishable, indivisible elements called atoms — which was elaborated in greater detail by his pupil and successor, Democritus. According to this atomism, if you take a piece of wood and then cut it in to two equal parts, then do it continuously, eventually you will find a part that you can't cut. This smallest possible part is the "atom". A possible earlier candidate for atomism is Mochus of Sidon, from the Trojan War era (13th or 12th century BCE).[1][2][3] He was most likely born in Miletus,[4] although Abdera and Elea are also mentioned as possible birth-places.[5] ................................................................................................... The most famous among Leucippus' lost works was titled Megas Diakosmos (The Big World-System, or Great Cosmology, which was sometimes described as a work of Democritus like the Micros Diakosmos or Little World-System)[9] and Peri Nou (On mind).[10] Fragments and doxographical reports about Leucippus were collected by Hermann Diels (1848–1922), firstly in Doxographi Graeci (Berlin, 1879, reprint Berlin: de Gruyter, 1929) and then in Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, Berlin, 1903, 6th ed., rev. by Walther Kranz (Berlin: Weidmann, 1952; the editions after the 6th are mainly reprints with little or no change.)............................................................................................................... One fragment of Leucippus which is probably accurate is the Great Cosmology fragment that says: "The cosmos, then, became like a spherical form in this way: the atoms being submitted to a casual and unpredictable movement, quickly and incessantly." (24, I, .........................................................P.S. It reminds me the BIG BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Atomism (from ancient Greek atomos, meaning "uncuttable") is a natural philosophy that developed in several ancient traditions. The atomists theorized that the natural world consists of two fundamental parts: indivisible atoms and empty void. Atoms are indestructible and immutable and there are an infinite variety of shapes and sizes. They move through the void, bouncing off each other, sometimes becoming hooked with one or more others to form a cluster. Clusters of different shapes, arrangements, and positions give rise to the various macroscopic substances in the world.[1][2]....................................................................... References to the concept of atoms are found in ancient India and ancient Greece. In India the Jain,[3][4] Ajivika and Carvaka schools of atomism may date back to the 6th century BCE.[5] The Nyaya and Vaisheshika schools later developed theories on how atoms combined into more complex objects.[6] In the West, atomism emerged in the 5th century BCE with Leucippus and Democritus.[7] Whether Indian culture influenced Greek or vice versa or whether both evolved independently is a matter of dispute.[8]...........................................................SEE ALSO............ http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=DicHist/uvaBook/tei/DicHist1.xml;chunk.id=dv1-21.................... Dictionary of the History of Ideas....................................................

Wednesday 13 February 2013

The Arabic Papyri/Bilingual Greek- Arabic

The Arabic Papyri ....................................... From the following site.....................................VISIT THE FOLLOWING SITE........................ http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Papyri/..................................... Bilingual Greek- Arabic protocol texts are usually from early years of Islam. This was when Arabic was not yet the "official" language of the state.......................................... PERF No. 558 - One Of The Earliest Bilingual Papyri From 22 AH / 642 CE.................................... The translation of the document is given below. The Arabic part is in italics:.................................. 1. God! In the name of God! I, Emir ‘Abdallah, to you, Christophoros and Theodorakios, Intendants of Herakleopolis! .. 2. For the maintenance of the Sarasins who are with me, I took from you at Heracleopolis 65 sheep, I repeat: sixty-five and .................................. 3. no more, and as an acknowledgement of this fact, we have made the present confirmation. ..................... 4. In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful! This is what have taken ‘Abdallāh, .............. 5. Written by me, Jean, notary and deacon. On the 30th of the month of Pharmouthi of the 1st indiction. Son of Jabir, and his companions-in-arms, as of slaughter sheep at Heracleopolis. We have taken ....................... 6. from a representative of Theodorakios, second son of Apa Kyros, and from a substitute of Christophoros, eldest son of Apa Kyros, fifty sheep as of slaughter sheep ............................. 7. and fifteen other sheep. He gave them, for slaughter, for the crew of his vessels, as well as his cavalry and his breastplated infantry in ................................. 8. the month of Jumādā the first in the year twenty-two. Written by Ibn Ḥadid.............................. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////VISIT ALSO http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Papyri/jerus.html.....................http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Papyri/enlp11.html...........

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Greek fire

Greek fire///////////////////////////// WIKIPEDIA////////////////////////////////////// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_fire//////////////////////////////////////////////// Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water. It provided a technological advantage, and was responsible for many key Byzantine military victories, most notably the salvation of Constantinople from two Arab sieges, thus securing the Empire's survival./////////////////////////////////////////// Incendiary and flaming weapons were used in warfare for centuries prior to the invention of Greek fire. They included a number of sulphur-, petroleum- and bitumen-based mixtures.[4][5] Incendiary arrows and pots containing combustible substances were used as early as the 9th century BC by the Assyrians, and were extensively used in the Greco-Roman world as well.///////////////////////////////////////////// Greek fire proper, however, was developed in ca. 672, and is ascribed by the chronicler Theophanes to Kallinikos, an architect from Heliopolis in the former province of Phoenice, by then overrun by the Muslim conquests.[10] The accuracy and exact chronology of this account is open to question: Theophanes reports the use of fire-carrying and siphon-equipped ships by the Byzantines a couple of years before the supposed arrival of Kallinikos at Constantinople. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

First recorded inscription in Arabic 512 A.D.

First recorded inscription in Arabic 512 A.D. WIKIPEDIA Pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The first recorded text in the Arabic alphabet was written in 512. It is a trilingual dedication in Greek, Syriac and Arabic found at Zabad in Syria. The version of the Arabic alphabet used includes only 22 letters, of which only 15 are different, being used to note 28 phonemes:-////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "With the help of God (الاله)! Sergius, son of Amat Manaf, and Tobi, son of Imru'l-qais and Sergius, son of Sa‘d, and Sitr, and Shouraih."////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/121839 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// This inscription was discovered in Zebed, Syria, by Wetzstein and first published by Sachau. The text covers a lintel over the door to the martyrion of St. Serge. The Arabic, though, does not translate the Greek but merely listing six names, not all of which are mentioned in Greek. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ALSO: Harran Inscription: A Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscription From 568 CE It is a Greek-Arabic bilingual inscription on the martyrium of St. John.

Sunday 10 February 2013

How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs

How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// By De Lacy O'Leary D.D. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://www.aina.org/books/hgsptta.htm////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// O'Leary writes a fascinating history of a critically important phase in mesopotamian history. After all, it was the Arabs who brought with them into Spain the Arabic versions of the Greek works, from which translations were made into Latin and spread throughout Europe, which was then in its dark age. It is this Greek body of knowledge that brought Europe out of its dark age and into the renaisance - the rebirth or revival. The question remains: by whom, where, and when was the Greek body of knowledge transmitted to the Arabs themselves. O'Leary tells us: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Greek scientific thought had been in the world for a long time before it reached the Arabs, and during that period it had already spread abroad in various directions. So it is not surprising that it reached the Arabs by more than one route. It came first and in the plainest line through Christian Syriac writers, scholars, and scientists. Then the Arabs applied themselves directly to the original Greek sources and learned over again all they had already learned, correcting and verifying earlier knowledge. Then there came a second channel of transmission indirectly through India, mathematical and astronomical work, all a good deal developed by Indian scholars, but certainly developed from material obtained from Alexandria in the first place. This material had passed to India by the sea route which connected Alexandria with north-west India. Then there was also another line of passage through India which seems to have had its beginnings in the Greek kingdom of Bactria, one of the Asiatic states founded by Alexander the Great, and a land route long kept open between the Greek world and Central Asia, especially with the city of Marw, and this perhaps connects with a Buddhist medium which at one time promoted intercourse between east and west, though Buddhism as a religion was withdrawing to the Far East when the Arabs reached Central Asia. [pages 2-3].//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Chapter II gives a history of how Western Asia came under Greek influence. Chapter III discusses the Christian Church. A notable passage occurs in the very last paragraph of the Chapter: It has been disputed whether Muhammad owed most to Jewish or Christian predecessors, apparently he owed a great deal to both. But when we come to the 'Abbasid period when Greek literature and science began to tell upon Arabic thought, there can be no further question. The heritage of Greece was passed on by the Christian Church.///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Saturday 9 February 2013

Greco-Buddhist interaction (2nd century BCE–1st century CE)

Greco-Buddhist interaction (2nd century BCE–1st century CE)//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////WIKIPEDIA/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// In Bactria (today's northern Afghanistan), the areas west of the Indian subcontinent, neighboring Greek kingdoms had been in place since the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great around 326 BCE: first the Seleucids from around 323 BCE, then the Greco-Bactrian kingdom from around 250BC.////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The interaction between Greek and Buddhist cultures may have had some influence on the evolution of Mahāyāna, as the faith developed its sophisticated philosophical approach and a man-god treatment of the Buddha somewhat reminiscent of Hellenic gods. It is also around that time that the first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha are found, often in realistic Greco-Buddhist style: "One might regard the classical influence as including the general idea of representing a man-god in this purely human form, which was of course well familiar in the West, and it is very likely that the example of westerner's treatment of their gods was indeed an important factor in the innovation."[22]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Coin of the Kushan emperor Kanishka, with the Buddha on the reverse, and his name "BODDO" in Greek script, minted circa 120 CE./////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Hellenistic world Some of the edicts of Aśoka describe the efforts made by him to propagate the Buddhist faith throughout the Hellenistic world, which at that time formed an uninterrupted continuum from the borders of India to Greece. The edicts indicate a clear understanding of the political organization in Hellenistic territories: the names and locations of the main Greek monarchs of the time are identified, and they are claimed as recipients of Buddhist proselytism: Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Kingdom (261–246 BCE), Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt (285–247 BCE), Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia (276–239 BCE), Magas (288–258 BCE) in Cyrenaica (modern Libya), and Alexander II (272–255 BCE) in Epirus (modern Northwestern Greece).////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// In the western part of India, the language used is closer to Sanskrit, using the Kharoshthi script, one extract of Edict 13 in the Greek language[citation needed], and one bilingual edict written in Greek and Aramaic[citation needed]. These edicts were deciphered by British archeologist and historian James Prinsep.////////////////////////////////////////// The distance of 600 yojanas corresponds to the distance between the center of India and Greece, roughly 4,000 miles. Amtiyoko refers to Antiochus II Theos of Syria (261–246 BCE), who controlled the Seleucid Empire from Syria to Bactria in the east from 305 to 250 BCE, and was therefore a direct neighbor of Ashoka. Turamaye refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt (285–247 BCE), king of the dynasty founded by Ptolemy I, a former general of Alexander the Great, in Egypt. Amtikini refers to Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon (278–239 BCE). Maka refers to Magas of Cyrene (300–258 BCE). Alikasudaro refers to Alexander II of Epirus (272–258 BCE). In the Gandhari original Antiochos is referred to as "Amtiyoko nama Yona-raja" (lit. "The Greek king by the name of Antiokos"), beyond whom live the four other kings: "param ca tena Atiyokena cature 4 rajani Turamaye nama Amtikini nama Maka nama Alikasudaro nama" (lit. "And beyond Antiochus, four kings by the name of Ptolemy, the name of Antigonos, the name of Magas, the name Alexander" [1]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Buddhist gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have also been found in Alexandria, decorated with depictions of the Wheel of the Law./////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Two edicts in Afghanistan have been found with Greek inscriptions, one of these being a bilingual edict in Greek language and Aramaic. This edict, found in Kandahar, advocates the adoption of "Piety" (using the Greek term Eusebeia for Dharma) to the Greek community:/ //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////http://www.katinkahesselink.net/tibet/asoka1.html////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Thursday 7 February 2013

Greco-Buddhist art

Greco-Buddhist art/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 1000 years in Central Asia, between the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, and the Islamic conquests of the 7th century CE. Greco-Buddhist art is characterized by the strong idealistic realism and sensuous description of Hellenistic art and the first representations of the Buddha in human form, which have helped define the artistic (and particularly, sculptural) canon for Buddhist art throughout the Asian continent up to the present. It is also a strong example of cultural syncretism between eastern and western traditions.///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////The origins of Greco-Buddhist art are to be found in the Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian kingdom (250 BCE- 130 BCE), located in today’s Afghanistan, from which Hellenistic culture radiated into the Indian subcontinent with the establishment of the Indo-Greek kingdom (180 BCE-10 BCE). Under the Indo-Greeks and then the Kushans, the interaction of Greek and Buddhist culture flourished in the area of Gandhara, in today’s northern Pakistan, before spreading further into India, influencing the art of Mathura, and then the Hindu art of the Gupta empire, which was to extend to the rest of South-East Asia. The influence of Greco-Buddhist art also spread northward towards Central Asia, strongly affecting the art of the Tarim Basin, and ultimately the arts of China, Korea, and Japan.//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Silver coin depicting the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I (200-180 BCE) wearing an elephant scalp, symbol of his conquest of India. Back: Herakles, holding a lion skin and a club resting over the arm. The text reads: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ - BASILEŌS DĒMĒTRIOU "of King Demetrius".////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Wednesday 6 February 2013

NEARCHUS

NEARCHUS ///////////////////////////////WIKIPEDIA//////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The Greek Admiral of Alexander the Great ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// """"Nearchus was reputedly the first Greek commander to visit Bahrain, which was called Tylos by the Greeks. His visit marked the start of Bahrain's inclusion within the Hellenic world, which culminated in the worship of Zeus (as the Arab sun god, Shams) and Greek being spoken as the language of the upper classes."""" //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nearchus //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Nearchus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org Nearchus (Greek: Νέαρχος, Nearchos; c. 360 - 300 BC) was one of the officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. His celebrated voyage from what is now Pakistan to Susa after Alexander's expedition in north-western Indian subcontinent is preserved in Arrian's account, the Indica. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://www.livius.org/greece.html /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Indo-Greek Kingdom

Indo-Greek Kingdom /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Greek_Kingdom /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The Indo-Greek Kingdom or Graeco-Indian Kingdom[1] was a Hellenistic kingdom covering various parts of the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries BC, and was ruled by more than 30 kings,[2] often in conflict with each other. The kingdom was founded when the Graeco-Bactrian king Demetrius invaded India early in the 2nd century BC. Pushed by the Scythian tribes, the Graeco-Bactrians were forced to invade India. The Greeks in India were eventually divided from the Graeco-Bactrians centered in Bactria (now the border between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan). But, the Greeks failed to establish a united rule in north-western India. The most famous Indo-Greek ruler was Menander (Milinda). He had his capital at Sakala in Punjab, modern Pakistan, and he successfully invaded the Ganges-Yamuna doab. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom Demetrius I (c. 205– c. 170 BC), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquests in India.[64 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// WIKIPEDIA////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// When Alexander the Great died (June 10, 323 BC), he left behind a huge empire which was composed of many essentially independent territories. Alexander's empire stretched from his homeland of Macedon itself, along with the Greek city-states that his father had subdued, to Bactria and parts of India in the east. It included Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia. It is unclear how much longer the Greeks managed to maintain a distinct presence in the Indian sub-continent. The legacy of the Indo-Greeks was felt however for several centuries, from the usage of the Greek language and calendrical methods,[194] to the influences on the numismatics of the Indian subcontinent, traceable down to the period of the Gupta Empire in the 4th century.[19

INDICA-India in the Antiquity- Ancient Greek Historians

INDICA India in the Antiquity- Ancient Greek Historians ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Arrian ///////////////////////////////////////////////// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrian //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Indica is the name of an ancient book about India written by Arrian, one of the main ancient historians of Alexander the Great. The book mainly tells the story of Alexander's officer Nearchus’ voyage from India to the Persian Gulf after Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Indus Valley. However, much of the importance of the work comes from Arrian’s in depth asides describing the history, geography, and culture of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Arrian wrote his Indica in the Ionic dialect, taking Herodotus for his literary mode. //////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////// Megasthenes ////////////////////////////////////////// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megasthenes ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// His Indica served as an important source for many later writers such as Strabo and Arrian. He describes such features as the Himalayas and the island of Sri Lanka. He also describes a caste system different from the one that exists today, which shows that the caste system may to some extent be fluid and evolve. However, it might be that, being a foreigner, he was not adequately informed about the caste system. His description follows: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strabo /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ................................ Nearchus (Greek: Νέαρχος, Nearchos; c. 360 - 300 BC) was one of the officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. His celebrated voyage from what is now Pakistan to Susa after Alexander's expedition in north-western Indian subcontinent is preserved in Arrian's account, the Indica. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ........................................ However, he remained in command of the fleet for the voyage from the Indus to the Persian Gulf, which he recorded in detail (and which was used extensively for Arrian’s Indica). Again, although he was the admiral, in command of the fleet, great seamanship was not required – the naval responsibilities were Onesicritus’. During the voyage, Nearchus was reputedly the first Greek commander to visit Bahrain, which was called Tylos by the Greeks. His visit marked the start of Bahrain's inclusion within the Hellenic world, which culminated in the worship of Zeus (as the Arab sun god, Shams) and Greek being spoken as the language of the upper classes. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylos ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TYLOS=Bahrain ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Tylos even became the site of Greek athletic contests ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Although Bahrain was ruled variously by the Arab tribes of Bani Wa’el and Persian governors, Bahrain continued to be known by its Greek name Tylos until the 7th century, when many of its inhabitants converted to Islam. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Sunday 3 February 2013

Cartography=خرائطية

Cartography=خرائطية ///////////////////////////////////////// علم الخرائط /////////////////////////////////////// WIKIPEDIA ///////////////////////////////////////////////////// Cartography (from Greek Χάρτης, khartes = papyrus (paper) and graphein = to write) is the study and practice of making maps.

Geographer=العالم بالجغرافيا

Geographer=العالم بالجغرافيا ////////////////////////////////////////////// ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY /////////////////////////////////////////////////////// geographer (n.) 1540s, from Medieval Latin geographus (see geography) + agent noun ending -er (1). //////////////////////////////////////////////////////// geography (n.) 1540s, from Middle French géographie (15c.), from Latin geographia, from Greek geographia "description of the earth's surface," from geo- "earth" + -graphia "description" (see -graphy). //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// geo- word-forming element meaning "earth," ultimately from Greek geo-, comb. form of ge "earth" (see Gaia). //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// -graphy word-forming element meaning "process of writing or recording" or "a writing, recording, or description," from French or German -graphie, from Greek -graphia "description of," from graphein "write, express by written characters," earlier "to draw, represent by lines drawn," originally "to scrape, scratch" (on clay tablets with a stylus), from PIE root *gerbh- "to scratch, carve" (see carve). In modern use, especially in forming names of descriptive sciences.

Cosmology=الكوسمولوجيا

Cosmology=الكوسمولوجيا//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// cosmology (n.) 1650s, from Modern Latin cosmologia, from Greek kosmos (see cosmos) + -logia "discourse" (see -logy). Related: Cosmological; cosmologist.///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// cosmos (n.) c.1200 (but not popular until 1848, as a translation of Humboldt's Kosmos), from Latinized form of Greek kosmos "order, good order, orderly arrangement," a word with several main senses rooted in those notions: The verb kosmein meant generally "to dispose, prepare," but especially "to order and arrange (troops for battle), to set (an army) in array;" also "to establish (a government or regime);" "to deck, adorn, equip, dress" (especially of women). Thus kosmos had an important secondary sense of "ornaments of a woman's dress, decoration" (cf. kosmokomes "dressing the hair") as well as "the universe, the world." Pythagoras is said to have been the first to apply this word to "the universe," perhaps originally meaning "the starry firmament," but later it was extended to the whole physical world, including the earth. For specific reference to "the world of people," the classical phrase was he oikoumene (ge) "the inhabited (earth)." Septuagint uses both kosmos and oikoumene. Kosmos also was used in Christian religious writing with a sense of "worldly life, this world (as opposed to the afterlife)," but the more frequent word for this was aion, literally "lifetime, age." /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// -logy word-forming element meaning "a speaking, discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, science," from Greek -logia (often via French -logie or Medieval Latin -logia), from root of legein "to speak;" thus, "the character or deportment of one who speaks or treats of (a certain subject);" see lecture (n.). ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmology

Thursday 31 January 2013

Atom=اتوم

Atom=اتوم ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY atom (n.) late 15c., as a hypothetical indivisible body, the building block of the universe, from Latin atomus (especially in Lucretius) "indivisible particle," from Greek atomos "uncut, unhewn; indivisible," from a- "not" + tomos "a cutting," from temnein "to cut" (see tome). An ancient term of philosophical speculation (in Leucippus, Democritus), revived 1805 by British chemist John Dalton. In late classical and medieval use also a unit of time, 22,560 to the hour. Atom bomb is from 1945 as both a noun and a verb; cf. Atomic.///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// WIKIPEDIA Etymology The name atom comes from the Greek ἄτομος (atomos, "indivisible") from ἀ- (a-, "not") and τέμνω (temnō, "I cut"),[3] which means uncuttable, or indivisible, something that cannot be divided further.[4] The concept of an atom as an indivisible component of matter was first proposed by early Indian and Greek philosophers.

Wednesday 30 January 2013

electron=الكترون

electron=الكترون WIKIPEDIA The ancient Greeks noticed that amber attracted small objects when rubbed with fur. Along with lightning, this phenomenon is one of humanity's earliest recorded experiences with electricity.[15] In his 1600 treatise De Magnete, the English scientist William Gilbert coined the New Latin term electricus, to refer to this property of attracting small objects after being rubbed.[16] Both electric and electricity are derived from the Latin ēlectrum (also the root of the alloy of the same name), which came from the Greek word for amber, ήλεκτρον (ēlektron). ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Thales of Miletus is often credited with being the first systematic philosopher of the Western world. He was the first to reject supernatural explanations and seek reasons behind events. To prove the value of this understanding of the world he used his logic and evidence to predict a good crop of olives and, buying up olive presses, was able to corner the market in oil and make a fortune. As well as devising several geometric theories (which allowed him to measure the height of the pyramids from the ground) Thales was also the first person to study electricity. It had been noticed that amber, when rubbed, attracted threads of fiber to it. It was this static electricity which Thales’ studied. When the negative particle of the atom was named it was called the electron, after the Greek for amber – elektron.

Monday 28 January 2013

Ancient Macedonian language

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Ancient Macedonian language=المقدونية اللغة القديمة

WIKIPEDIA

Ancient Macedonian was the language of the ancient Macedonians. It was spoken in the kingdom of Macedon during the 1st millennium BC and it belongs to the Indo-European group of languages. It gradually fell out of use during the 4th century BC, marginalized by Koine Greek, the lingua franca of the Hellenistic period.[1]
The volume of the surviving public and private inscriptions indicate that there was no other written language in ancient Macedonia but Greek,[2] and recent epigraphic discoveries suggest that ancient Macedonian was a variety of the Northwestern Greek dialects.[3]

The Pella curse tablet (Greek katadesmos)

P.S. See also

http://www.livius.org/maa-mam/macedonia/macedonia.html

Saturday 19 January 2013

Derveni papyrus

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Some fragments of the Derveni papyrus

The Derveni papyrus - Archaeological museum of Thessaloniki

The Derveni papyrus is an ancient Greek papyrus roll that was found in 1962. It is a philosophical treatise that is an allegorical commentary on an Orphic poem, a theogony concerning the birth of the gods, produced in the circle of the philosopher Anaxagoras in the second half of the 5th century BC, making it "the most important new piece of evidence about Greek philosophy and religion to come to light since the Renaissance" (Janko 2005). It dates to around 340 BC, during the reign of Philip II of Macedon, making it Europe's oldest surviving manuscript.^[1]^[2] It was finally published in 2006.

Style of writing

The text of the papyrus contains a mix of dialects. It is mainly a mixture of Attic and Ionic Greek; however it contains a few Doric forms, which need further explanation. Sometimes the same word appears in different dialectal forms e.g. cμικρό-, μικρό; ὄντα, ἐόντα; νιν for μιν etc.^[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derveni_papyrus

THE PAPYRUS OF DERVENI
Thessaloniki, Archaeological Museum, from 4.4.98
A unique model of writing in antiquity, the "Papyrus of Derveni", is being exposed with other findings of the same excavation. The papyrus roll was found carbonized among the remains of the funeral pyre upon the slabs of Derveni Tomb A. It is probably the single one had been found in Greece and the script is dated to approximately the third quarter of the fourth century B.C. From scores and scraps, mostly tiny, it has been possible to reconstruct 26 columns of writing, of which only the upper part survives. After an account of funeral rites and eschatological beliefs, the main part of the text consists of a prose allegorical-philosophical interpretation of a theogonic poem written in dactylic hexameters and ascribed in antiquity to the mythical poet Orpheus. The unknown author seems to have composed the book at the close of the fifth century B.C. His language abounds with Ionic elements, but this does not speak necessarily for Ionic origins, since Ionic was the dialect typical for scientific prose. He seems well conversant with Ionic philosophy and the likeliest candidate seems to be the Athenian mantis Euthyphron.

http://books.google.gr/books?id=5HaKQFeYSBEC&pg=PA56&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.metafysiko.gr/forum/archive/index.php/t-1336.html