Saturday, November 26, 2011

It's all Greek to me...

irini

That's the closest I can get to saying
Peace
in Greek.
There's a little mark above the middle 'i'.

I thought it would be fun to feature one of the countries
that have readers that follow my blog!

Today I will feature Greece.

girl in traditional dress

flag of Greece

Greece is a country with ancient beginnings.
It's rather a huge undertaking to really explain Greece,
so I will just do some highlights!
 
Greek ruins in Athens 

Greece is made up of a mainland and then several large islands.

Crete - southernmost significant island of Greece

general map of Greece
 
In the northern part of Greece in Macedonia, we find Mount Olympus,
legendary home of the gods in Greek mythology.
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece.
It is also one of the highest mountains in Europe!
 
the summit
 
There were 12 principal gods of the ancient world of mythology.
These were known as the 'twelve Olympians'.
 
Zeus
Poseidon
Hades
Hermes
Demeter
Athena
Hera
Apollo
Artemis
Hephaestus
Ares
Aphrodite

All of these gods were representations of some aspect of human life and nature.
some info is from:

engraving of the Greek mythological gods

I found this interesting map that shows different volcano sights in Greece:


It also helps to show us that all those islands are Greece!

Okay, so I know it's not Valentine's Day, but it is a perfect costume!
:0)

photo of women in traditional dress, 1937

I thought this list was helpful, as I always get the two sets mixed up!



sorry, I couldn't find the painter's name for this one

'Delphi Athena Sanctuary', Delphi,Greece (mainland)

traditional dress, teen years

Here is a paper doll for you to color!

Bonus! You also get Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Alaska!

This is such a great paper doll for making your own costumes!
If you haven't tried it yet, this would be a great one to start with!
You can even modify the face, and it could be a boy!

Parga, Greece

This is from an ancient ruin in Thessalonica, Greece.

The Thessalonians of Thessalonica, Greece were the recipients of the letters from the apostle Paul that we have recorded in our Bibles!

This next one is a great drawing of the main participants in
the Trojan War.


For those of you not up on your history,
The Trojan War is what the movie "Troy" was all about!

Zakynthos, Greece - an island.

Saints Day Festival in Olimbos, Greece


I thought this regional map could helps us sort out where things are!

Okay, a little bit more of history:
As you can see from the different maps, Greece is surrounded by
countries that historically want to gain more territory.
Think Alexander the Great.
I'm not going to get into all the wars that the Greek people have had to fight in order to retain ownership of their country.
Because we have ancient philosophers and writers,
much of their ancient history is even known.
So, I thought I would mention
Otto, Prince of Bavaria.


Otto, Prince of Bavaria became
Othon, King of Greece
and was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832.
This is when Greece became a new independent kingdom,
under the protection of the Great Powers.
(That would be the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire.)

some info courtesy of http://www.my.opera.com/
 
The entry of King Otto in Athens
by Peter Von Hess, 1839

Demands of the Greek people proved to be overwhelming
and Otto granted a Constitution in 1843.

King Otto, 1865,
in Bavaria after the overthrow.
He does not look like a happy man...

The Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, Greece 

traditional men's clothing, Greece

The picture above brings up an interesting point
that I kinda' always wanted to know -
What's up with the red hat thingy with the tassel?
Well, okay, I knew it is called a 'fez'.
 The origins of the fez (or 'tarboosh' in Moroccan) is not really clear!
The design may have come from ancient Greece or the Balkans.
In the 19th Century it became very popular when the Ottoman rulers
moved to modernize traditional costumes.
The brimless hat did not get in the way of a Muslim's daily prayers
and was cleaner and less cumbersome than a turban.
The name 'Fez' is thought to be from Fez, the city,
which once produced the hat's red dye made from crimson berries.

(thanks for the info, www.visionarydance.com)

So.....why is it a Greek thing now?
Dunno!

Zante Island, Greece

Monastery of Agia Triada Meteora, Greece

Yes, there are tons more interesting things about the country of Greece,
but I need to get back to preparing for my Craft Fair
THIS COMING SATURDAY!!!

I will not panic,
I will not panic.
I will not panic,
I will not panic.......
yeah, right!

Santorini Church, Greece

Hopefully, this has stimulated your curiosity so much,
you just have to go find more about this beautiful country!
:0)


inkspired

These are some of the awesome ancient Greek architecture that still stands today!

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