Stone Age Settlement in Apsalos: One of the Earliest in Greece

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.

Man's time on earth is separated into different periods, the longest of which is the Stone Age (Paleolithic Period), which begins approximately 2.5 million years ago and ends around 3000 B.C. in Europe. This long period, which represents 99% of man's total time on earth so far, is also separated into three phases: Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic.

READ ABOUT THE PALEOLITHIC, MESOLITHIC AND NEOLITHIC PERIODS IN GREECE.

Image: http://reference.findtarget.com/search/Middle%20Paleolithic/

Sources: http://www.skai.gr/news/culture

http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/25303

American Colleges: HAU and AUA Shut Down by Gov't

Minister of Education Anna Diamantopoulou is showing just how serious she is with banning colleges that failed to comply with the rules set forth by the government, by shutting down the Hellenic American University and the American University of Athens yesterday. Both colleges operate under licenses issued in New Hampshire and Alabama respectively, however, they failed to received a license to operate as a Center of Post-Lyceum Education (and be considered legitimate private colleges) from the Greek government when licenses were issued earlier this summer.

In the ongoing struggle and chaos that characterizes the secondary education system in Greece, the country has been forced to accept the existence of private colleges in the country and has been working on incorporating them into the official education system. Maintaining that public Greek universities are the only institutions that can be called "universities," all of the foreign private universities and colleges operating in the country have now been renamed Centers of Post-Lyceum Education, which pretty much places them at the level of a 2-year technical school with a degree that's worth as much. This all stands for Greece. The majority of these private colleges/universities issue degrees that are recognized in the US and Europe as what they claim (Bachelors, Masters).

FIND OUT WHICH COLLEGES ARE LICENSED IN GREECE AT WWW.ALLTHEGREEKS.COM

Sources: http://www.tanea.gr/default.asp?pid=2&ct=1&artid=4591885

http://www.skai.gr/news/greece/article/148721/ta-triada-kolegia-poy-piran-adeia/

Image: http://malaysialockset.com/tag/lockset/

Titanomachy: How the Olympian Gods Took Over

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.

After ten years of endless war, Gaia (the Earth) advised Zeus to free her sons, the Cyclops (3 one-eyed giants) and the Ekatonheires (3 creatures with 50 heads and 100 arms each) from the depths of the earth and seek their assistance in the war.

Read the rest here: allthegreeks.com

Source: www.theoi.com

Image: http://hellenicmythology.blogspot.com/2009/02/blog-post_27.html

St. John Baptist Relics Uncovered on Black Sea Island

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.

Sources and image: http://focus-fen.net/?id=n227079

http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_01/08/2010_349146

www.allthegreeks.com

More Olympian Revenge

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:

Ixion: A king of the Lapiths in Thessaly, he pushed his father-in-law into a bed of coal and wood making it the first murder of kin in mythology. Ixion was shunned by the other kings and princes in the area, but Zeus took pity on him and invited him to sit with the rest of the gods in Olympus as a guest. Ixion, however, did not respect Zeus's hospitality as he lusted after Hera. Zeus decided to trick him and presented him with a cloud (nephele) of Hera, with which Ixion mated. This union with the cloud-Hera produced the Centaur who later ruled the mountain of Pelion in Magnesia. As punishment for his betrayal, Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt and tied him to a spinning burning wheel for all eternity.

Sisyphos: Sisyphos was the king of Corinth who managed to trick both men and gods alike with his craftiness. He betrayed Zeus's secrets, took his brother's throne, and when he was chained by Thanatos (death) as punishment for his betrayal, he even managed to trick Thanatos into releasing him and tying up death. After this he was dragged to Tartarus again, where he once again tricked Persephone into allowing him to visit the world of the living. Finally, the gods reserved special punishment for Sisyphos in Hades: He was forced to push a large rock up a hill and right before he reached the top, the rock would roll back down forcing him to start his ordeal again.

Read the rest of the article at www.allthegreeks.com and more revenge stories here.

Image and Source: www.theoi.com

It's a Fact: Greece Is Leaking ...Brains

For decades now Greece has been the country that sends away its children ("η Ελλάδα που διώχνει τα παιδιά της" as generations have said before us). Back in the old days it was poverty. They literally had little to eat so they would emigrate to other countries, make a living for themselves and send money to their families back home. Today it's for other reasons.

In the midst of an international and national crisis, at a time when it's most in need of development, Greece is losing its best... literally leaking brains.

It's frustrating.

Lena, a friend, has gotten two masters in England and shortly after graduating, family issues and bad weather conditions in London brought her back to Greece to try and find a job, build a life. After months of searching for a job in her field of study, she finally finds a job that lower than her expectations just to have one. Her masters degrees were more scorned than appreciated, as employers did not want to (or could not afford to) pay extra for her extra years in school (masters). Eventually she left for London again.

It's not so much the low pay that bothers job-hunters, even though that is a particularly big issue when you spend years in university. It's the lack of appreciation for skill and the almost complete lack of prospect in the majority of Greek businesses. There is no room to grow, and this is a major problem, especially for those who have received degrees from abroad where the mindset is generally different (and not everyone wants to get a job in the "secure" public sector).

Read the results of a Greek study on "brain drain" and similar articles at www.allthegreeks.com.

Source: http://alfavita.gr/artra/art27_5_10_848.php

Image: http://matadorabroad.com/2010/03/

Blue-Flag Beaches 2010

Four hundred and twenty one beaches and 9 marinas were awarded the blue flag this year in Greece. The "Blue Flags" program is an international effort made by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) based in Denmark, which awards blue flags to beaches that meet certain criteria of cleanliness and safety. In Greece the coordinator of the program is the Greek Organization for the Protection of Nature (Ελληνική Εταιρεία Προστασίας της Φύσης) and a list of the beaches awarded for 2010 is provided below. Greece comes in 2nd place this year in the number of beaches that were awarded. The beaches or marinas that want to receive a blue flag must be tested every year. This is how it works:

First of all, the EEPF does not go around the entire country testing the water of all the beaches. So it is left in the hands of the mayors around the country to apply for a blue flag every year. Once the mayor applies, the EEPF and its team run the necessary tests in order to determine whether the beach in question is suitable enough for a blue flag.

Therefore, if you're curious as to why some of the most amazing beaches you know don't have blue flags, know that it's probably because no mayor applied for a blue flag for this beach. So, of course there are lots of beaches around the country that are breathtaking (a big example is Porto Katsiki and Kathisma in Lefkada), but no one bothered to apply so they can receive a blue flag.

In any case, for those beaches that do apply for a blue flag, there are four different areas on which they are tested:

See the criteria and the full list of Greek beaches at allthegreeks.com.

Source: http://www.eepf.gr/

Image: http://www.goldensands.gr/goldensun/grk/beach.php