The Death and Resurrection of Constantine Palaeologus [Constantinople, 29 May 1453] | A poem by Odysseas Elytis
I
As he stood there erect before the Gate
and impregnable in his sorrow
Far from the world where his spirit sought
to bring Paradise to his measure
And harder even than stone
for no one had ever looked
on him tenderly, at times his [...]
Five hundred and fifty-six years ago on this day the Roman Empire was at last extinguished. By then the Empire was, of course, Greek not Roman, Christian not pagan, and no longer strong but pitifully weak.
Dispossessed of all its Anatolian and Asian province, and most of its European, all that remained was the great [...]
A sad anniversary > Marking the end of the Byzantine Empire
Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks, who end the Byzantine Empire that has ruled since the fall of the Roman Empire in 476.
An enormous iron chain has kept the fleet of Mehmet II out of the Golden Horn, but he has had some 70 small [...]
The City of Athens is not a mere Museum of the past, it is still a modern city like any other, filled with shopping malls, department stores, boutiques, restaurants and bars.
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Prosperity and cultural achievement came as a direct result of individuals having the freedom to pursue their own interests, keep the product of their labor, and enter into associations freely with their neighbors.
Historian Charles Murray, in his book “Human Achievement”, calls this the “Aristotelian Principle”. According to Murray, “The Aristotelian principle says that human [...]
The stark contrast between ancient Sparta and Athens makes abundantly clear that cultural achievement occurs only where men are free.
In 480 B.C., the Persian army under the great King Xerxes marched on Greece. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Persian invaders numbered more than two million fighting men, camp followers, and engineers. A measure [...]
The Bigfoot mania is not new. Humanoid ape-like creatures have been sighted for centuries in many parts of the world. In the forests of North America, there have been sightings of Skunk Ape, Momo, Grassman and Woods Devil.
One of the earliest sightings of the footprints was in 1811 by a Canadian trader in Alberta. By [...]
