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October 28th, 1940, otherwise known as "Oxi" day. It's sad that today most of us don't even know which of the two national holidays have to do with the Italians and which one with the Turks. Well, let me remind you that this date has to do with the Italians, and WWII... and do you happen to remember that the great man (Ioannis Metaksas) who said OXI was a dictator of Greece at the time? Ok... let's back up a bit...
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Back when the world population was approximately 5 million, it seems like a few of them were living in the area Apsalos of Pella in northern Greece. Archaeologists have recently discovered stone tools, and clay objects, which date back to 7937 B.C. attesting to an early settlement that has come to verify that people did actually inhabit this part of the world during the mesolithic period. This was a period when the people of Eurasia and Africa were just starting to adopt agriculture and domesticate some animals.
The stereotypical stone age imagery, of a caveman hunting, is not what typically pops in our minds when we think of Greece's history, but settlements existed here way before the glory of Ancient Greece, Socrates and Plato.
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Relics of St John the Baptist were discovered on the island of St. Ivan in the Black Sea by a team of Bulgarian archaeologists led by Professor Kazimir Popkonstantinov. The relics were discovered in small sarcophagus-type box in the ancient church of St. John the Baptist on the island.
Bones from the hand, the face and a tooth were discovered in the alabaster box and next to it archaeologists discovered a small stone box, characteristic of Palestine, in which the relics were probably carried, with an inscription in Greek and the name of St. John. The relics were taken to the church of St. George in Sozopol to be blessed.
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Greek mythology is full of gods and goddesses. There is a deity for every single thing from trees, to rivers, to poetry and the sun. Nothing is left unexplained. The beginning of man's life, the virtues he was supposed to posses and the revenge that would be taken on him if did not abide by the natural order of things, were all represented by three groups of goddesses who worked in... threes: the Moires, the Hores and the Erinyes.
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The Ancient Greeks managed to create a diety system of gods that were so "human" in their personal stories and traits, that is truly impressive. Their gods loved and hated with a passion, they would get jealous and they sought revenge. Especially the latter, they must have enjoyed. Here are a few cases of wrath felt by the gods as revenge:
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Going into the movie theatre to watch a Greek history-inspired film, as a Greek, can be tricky. What you expect to see is usually different from what you actually end up experiencing. Although "Troy" had some historical inaccuracies that put some people off, it was tolerable, and the film "300" actually awoke patriotic feelings within us. "The Clash of the Titans" has none of these to offer.
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"Wait.... what?" is a reasonable reaction... but, in Greece this is a real and traditional way of warding off the bad kalikantzaroi on Christmas Eve. And there's more...
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Negotiations are continuing on a long-term-one-name-for-all-uses solution.
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The Greeks had a way of portraying every aspect of life and every passion or intense feeling in mythology. Love was a driving factor for some of the most unique and illogical actions. Here are five stories driven by passionate love.
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Ancient Greeks had an explanatory myth for everything that they couldn't explain otherwise. They saw Persephone as the reason for winter, spring, summer and fall, and here's why...
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 In the beginning there was Chaos and Gaia (the Earth) sprang from it. She then had Ouranos (the Sky), Pontus (the Sea) and Tartaros (the Underworld) by herself, without a mate. Gaia had several sea divinities by Pontus and some by Tartaros, but she took Ouranos as her husband due to the fact that he could embrace her fully (the ancient Greeks imagined the earth as a flat disk and the sky as a dome that was decorated with stars and sat on top of the earth). Subsequently, Ouranos ruled the universe and, of course he and Gaia had offspring: the Titans, the Cyclopes and the Ekatonheires.
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Greek mythology is a fascinating subject to look into with all the gods and deities that governed the everyday life of the ancient Greek. Most people know that the basic or more important gods were the 12 gods that resided on the highest mountain peak of Olympus. From there...
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 Η Κοινότητα Περιβολίου ανήκει στο Νομό Γρεβενών 45 χιλ. δυτικά της πόλης των Γρεβενών και σε υψόμετρο 1.280 μέτρα. Έχει έκταση 137.000 στρέμματα και συνορεύει με τα χωριά Αβδέλα, Δίστρατο, Λάϊστα, Λάβδας , Βoβούσα, Φλαμπουράρι ,Μέτσοβο, Μηλιά, Κρανιά, Λαβανίτσα, Μοναχίτι, Σπήλαιο.
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Sacred texts show that the story of a flood wiping out all of corrupt humanity is essential in a civilization's history. Just as the Sumerians and the Jews/Christians have a flood story in their history (bordering on mythology), so did the ancient Greeks. The Sumerians had Atrahasi build a boat as instructed by the god Enki, the Jews had Noa build an ark as instructed by God and the Greeks had Defkalyon build a boat as instructed by his immortal Titan father, Prometheus. And all of this happened to destroy the majority of mankind. But first, lets see the story of its creation...
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Taking control of the world and becoming the primary divinities was not so easy for Dias (Zeus) and his siblings. After his mother Rea saved him and helped him to free his other brothers and sisters, Zeus waged a war against the ruling Titans, his father Kronos', siblings to obtain power. For ten years the Olympian gods (from Mount Olympus) fought the Titans from Mount Orthys. Of the Titans, Hyperion, Iapetos, Koios, Krios, Kronos, Azeios, Atlas, Menoitios, Pallas, Perses and perhaps others that are not mentioned in some accounts, where all against the Olympians, while Helios assisted Zeus and Okeanos with the Titanides (the Titan girls: Themis, Theia, Rhea, Mnemosini, Phoebe and Tithis) all remained neutral.
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The elaborate stories in Greek mythology guarantee that the gods of Olympus were never bored. They were either constantly falling in love, protecting or punishing someone. The following are people that managed to anger the gods and their chosen punishments:
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 Αχιλλέας
Ετυμολογια: σύνθεση των λέξεων άχος ( = βάσανο) + Ίλιον ( = Τροία) + λαός (κατάληξη -λευς κατά το βασιλεύς = στήριγμα, βάση του λαού) και σημαίνει "αυτόν που έφερε βάσανα στο λαό της Τροίας" (Αχ + ιλ + λευς).
Ποιός είναι: Η μνήμη του αναφέρεται επιγραμματικά στο «Μικρόν Ευχολόγιον ή Αγιασματάριον» έκδοση «Αποστολικής Διακονίας» 1959, χωρίς άλλες πληροφορίες. Πουθενά άλλου δεν αναφέρεται η μνήμη του.
Μυθολογία: Γιος του Πηλέα και της Θέτιδας, πήρε μέρος στην τρωική εκστρατεία. Είναι το κύριο πρόσωπο της Ιλιάδας, υπόδειγμα πολεμιστή και περήφανου ανθρώπου.
Ήξερες ότι: Το όνομα αυτό δόθηκε σε αστεροειδή στις 22 Φεβρουαρίου 1906. Διεθνώς Achilles 588
Αχίλλιος
Ετυμολογια: -
Ποιός είναι: Ο Όσιος Αχίλλιος γεννήθηκε στην Καππαδοκία της Μ. Ασίας κατά το 270 μ.Χ. περίπου.
Ήξερες ότι: Το λείψανό του, μέχρι τον 10ο αιώνα κοσμούσε τη Λάρισα. Το άρπαξαν όμως οι Βούλγαροι όταν εισέβαλαν στη Θεσσαλία.
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Zeus was always known for being naughty in the Olympian god circle, even though he was married to Hera. Most of the time Hera knew about his love affairs and made sure that most of his bastard children were hunted down. The following is a list of the most well-known cases:
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Ποιος θα μας το έλεγε οτι πριν καλά καλά βγει ο Γενάρης που είναι μήνας προσαρμογής για τους πιο πολλούς θα αρχήσουμε να ασχολούμαστε με το καρναβάλι! Η Τσικνοπέμπτη απέχει μόλις 6 ημέρες αλλα η κινητικότητα ειναι παγωμένη σε σχέση με αλλες χρονιές είτε λόγο κρίσης είτε λόγο της μη προσαρμογής ακόμα στην καρναβαλιστική περίοδο. Με αφορμή όλων των παραπάνω καλό ειναι να γνωρίζουμε πως ξεκίνησε αυτο το παγκόσμιο έθιμο και απο που ξεκινάνε οι ρίζες του.
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From the idyllic peninsula of Athos in the North, to the natural wonders of Meteora in Thessaly and the holy island of Saint John in the Aegean, Patmos... Greece holds three of the most important sites for the Orthodox Christian faith among all of its other famous natural and archaeological attractions.
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Η 28 Οκτωβρίου ειναι μια μεγάλη μέρα για το εθνος μας καθως γιορταζουμε το ΟΧΙ στους Ιταλους και η ημερομηνία αυτή αποτελεί ορόσημο και σταθμό στην νεοελληνική ιστορία.
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Ένα γραφικό και όμορφο χωριουδάκι στα βουνά της Πίνδου. Αυτός ήταν ο καλοκαρινός προορισμός για πάρα πολλά χρόνια στην παιδική μου ηλικία. Πνιγμένο μέσα στα έλατα και τον καθαρό αέρα για μένα ήταν ένας παράδεισος. Και μόνο η σκέψη μου προκαλεί μια αίσθηση χαράς και νοσταλγίας. Αυτές οι 20 μέρες πραγματικά ποτέ δεν διαγράφοντε απο το μυαλό μου. Έχω πάει σε τόσα μέρη στο εξωτερικό αλλά ποτέ πιστεύω δεν πρόκειται να ξανανοιώσω έτσι.
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 The Parthenon is one of the greatest examples of Ancient Greek architecture. For centuries, its presence and glory have been admired by millions of scholars and tourists alike. Behind every great building, however, there is a story to be told, and it is the details of this story that make studying the Parthenon a little more interesting...
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Τριανταπέντε χρόνια πέρασαν από την Τουρκική εισβολή στην Κύπρο. Τριανταπέντε χρόνια αγνοούνται εκατοντάδες στρατιώτες, γυναίκες και παιδιά αιχμάλωτοι πολέμοι. Εδώ και τριανταπέντε χρόνια τους ψάχνουν οι δικοί τους ανθρώποι. Παρά τις πρόσφατες ανακαλύψεις ομαδικών τάφων στα κατεχόμενα και την ομολογία πρώην τούρκου στρατιώτη για την εν ψυχρώ δολοφονία 10 ελληνοκύπριων αιχμαλώτων κατόπιν τις διαταγές του ανωτέρου του, η Τουρκία αρνείται την ύπαρξη αιχμαλώτων πολέμου μετά την εισβολή. Το παρκάτω απόσπασμα είναι η ομολογία ενός τούρκου στρατιώτη για τις δολοφονίες Ελληνοκύπριων κατα την εισβολή του '74. Είναι από το βιβλίο του Ρόνι Αλάσορ Διαταγή: Εκτελέστε τους Αιχμαλώτους! όπως δημοσιέυθηκε στο ιστολόγιο του Μαρίνου Κλεάνθους:
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«Εορτή χαρμόσυνος επέλαμψε τοις πέρασι σήμερον, η πάνσεπτος μνήμη των σοφωτάτων Αποστόλων και κορυφαίων Πέτρου και Παύλου» ψάλαμε στον εσπερινό της εορτής.
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