Discovery of ancient Greek shepherd’s graffiti rewrites Athens history
“Now, researchers have found graffiti drawn by a shepherd named“Mikon” who lived in the 6th century BC, which depicts a temple on the Acropolis predating the Parthenon.
By signing his drawing using particular alphabets, Mikon has allowed the graffiti to be dated.”
Hello, Myth Lovers! To celebrate International #MuseumDay, we'd love to see your posts about #museums! Which museums have great mythological art? Which are your favourite artifacts? Do you have a favourite #museum? Where have you seen an amazing work of art related to mythology? Use the hashtag #MythologyMonday for boosts!
“…thanks to Alexander the Great, Hellenistic and Buddhist cultures came into contact in the 4th century BCE, creating a cultural synthesis known as Greco-Buddhism.”
The Greek philosopher who was perhaps the first weather forecaster
"His book On Signs, written in the fourth century BC, was the first attempt to gather weather lore into a single volume. Aristotle created a theory of weather in his book Meteorology, but his successor attempted to give guidance on practical weather prediction, making him perhaps the first published weather forecaster."
Remains of a 6th/7th century basilica in Gortyn on the island of #Crete. Excavators dubbed it the "church of St. Titus" assuming by its size that it was dedicated to the island's patron saint, but the actual dedication is not known.
"The strength of HOW TO BE lies exactly here, in the acknowledgment of new ideas and new developments happening in the encounters, the borderlands, and on the peripheries."
This week on The Boomerang, I discuss Adam Nicolson's new book HOW TO BE. LIFE LESSONS FROM THE EARLY GREEKS (FSG, 2023). Enjoy!
"Two well-known texts on altars from Delos (RES 3952; M 349) dating to the period after 167 BC attest to contacts between the Aegean and Ancient Yemen."
"Against the backdrop of the threat of war with Persia and an imminent Spartan invasion which resulted in the overthrow of Hippias (510 BCE), it is considered that a political transition occurred because Greece was both geologically and politically disposed to adopt this labour-intensive silver technology which helped to initiate, fund and protect the radical social experiment that became known as Classical Greece."
"In particular, I make a response to Wood’s suggestion in Archaeometry (2022, first view, ‘Other ways to examine the finances behind the birth of Classical Greece’) that the end of the production of lead votive figurines in Sparta might have been caused by Athenian restrictions to Laurion lead exports, drawing on new LIA of the Spartan lead votives and wider considerations concerning the trade, cost and volume of lead in the 7th to 5th century bce Mediterranean."
The Global Political Economy of Sex: Desire, Violence, and Insecurity in Mediterranean Nation States
At the intersection of the warmth of hearth and home and the dangers of the street lies the tenuous position of women engaged in reproductive labour, those involved in the sex trade and those in domestic positions.
"Our study demonstrates a direct genetic link between Mediterranean and Central European early farmers and those of Greece and Anatolia, extending the European Neolithic migratory chain all the way back to southwestern Asia."