Parthenon

 
The Parthenon has watched Athens change for nearly 2,500 years.
 

In the 5th century BC, it stood in the full splendour of Classical Greece, with sculpted details and painted elements that made the Acropolis far more colourful than many imagine today.
 
Now, even in ruin, it remains one of the most powerful symbols of Greek history and identity.
 
One sacred hill. Two very different centuries. One Greek legacy that still stands.

Crowns

 
Crowns were more than symbols of wealth and royalty. They represented power, religion, legitimacy and the identity of some of history’s greatest empires.
 

From the British and Byzantine Empires to the Mughal, Ottoman, Roman, Qing, Japanese and Inca Empires, royal headpieces reflected the culture, beliefs and political power of their rulers.

Royal Holloway Hellenic Institute Annual Lecture

 
It is with great pleasure that we invite you to the 2026 Annual Lecture of the Royal Holloway Hellenic Institute.
 

We are delighted that Professor Stathis Kalyvas of the University of Oxford has agreed to speak. Professor Kalyvas is a well-known historian of twentieth-century Greece and a leading public intellectual with numerous contributions to Greek public debate.
 
In the lecture, he will reflect on his research from the Greek Civil War to the Dictatorship, the importance of studying and discussing history, and how historians ‘do history’.
 
The lecture will be held in the Stewart House / Senate House complex on Malet Street in Central London.
 
We look forward to welcoming you to the Lecture and to the Hellenic Institute.
 
Best wishes,
 
Richard Alston and Efi Spentzou
 
Co-directors of the Hellenic Institute

Achievements

 
Throughout history, different nations have played a pioneering role in shaping our modern world. From the development of the Internet and television broadcasting to the introduction of underground railways, high-speed trains, postage stamps and modern banking, these remarkable achievements have transformed the way we live, communicate and travel. The accompanying illustration highlights some important historical milestones and the countries associated with them, reminding us that human progress is the result of innovation, determination and the continuous pursuit of knowledge.
 

Among these achievements, Greece holds a particularly distinguished place as the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games and the country where the modern Olympic Games were revived in Athens in 1896. Other nations have made equally significant contributions in science, technology, education and public administration. Although some of the historical claims in the illustration require further clarification, its central message remains valuable: every nation has the potential to contribute to humanity's shared progress, and the greatest achievements are those that transcend national boundaries and benefit generations to come.

Inventions and Inventors

 
Throughout human history, inventions have transformed the way people live, communicate, travel, work, and understand the world around them. From the printing press and the telephone to the airplane, television, computer, and World Wide Web, human creativity has continually opened new possibilities for society. Behind these achievements stand inventors, scientists, engineers, and pioneers whose imagination, knowledge, perseverance, and willingness to experiment enabled them to turn new ideas into practical realities. Their discoveries remind us that even a single innovation can profoundly influence the lives of millions of people and sometimes change the course of history.
 

At the same time, the history of invention is rarely the work of one person alone. Many important technologies developed gradually through the discoveries and improvements of numerous individuals, often working in different countries and generations. For this reason, lists of famous inventors should be regarded as useful introductions rather than complete accounts of how an invention came into being. Remembering figures such as Johannes Gutenberg, Michael Faraday, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers, Alexander Fleming, and Tim Berners-Lee encourage us to appreciate both individual ingenuity and the shared accumulation of human knowledge. Inventions are ultimately a testimony to humanity’s continuing desire to explore, discover, solve problems, and build a better future.

Greeks and Turks

 

From the Ottoman Wars to a Future of Cooperation

 

Few neighbouring peoples share a history as long, painful, and interconnected as the Greeks and Turks. Across the Aegean Sea, they have fought wars, exchanged populations, competed for territory, and carried memories of loss for generations. Yet they have also traded, lived in the same cities, shared foods and music, and influenced one another for nearly a thousand years.
 
Their history was never simply an endless struggle between two modern nations.
 
The first major conflicts developed after Turkic armies entered Anatolia during the eleventh century. In 1071, the Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert, opening much of Anatolia to Turkic settlement. The Byzantines temporarily recovered some territory, but new Turkish states continued to expand.
 
Beginning in the fourteenth century, the rising Ottoman Empire conquered Byzantine lands in Anatolia and southeastern Europe. Greek speaking communities in Thrace, Macedonia, the Aegean islands, and mainland Greece gradually came under Ottoman rule.
 
The Ottoman Byzantine wars reached their most famous moment in 1453, when Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople. The fall of the Byzantine capital ended an empire that had survived for more than a thousand years and transformed Constantinople into the centre of Ottoman power.
 
Greek resistance did not end. Ottoman forces fought repeated revolts in the Greek lands, while Greek sailors and soldiers also served in conflicts involving Venice, Russia, and other Ottoman rivals. During the long Ottoman Venetian wars, Greek islands and coastal regions frequently became battlefields. Crete, Cyprus, the Ionian Islands, and parts of the Peloponnese changed hands or endured sieges, raids, and destruction.
 
Greek Orthodox communities nevertheless continued living throughout the empire. They preserved their religion through the Orthodox Church, operated schools and trading networks, and maintained local identities. Some Greeks became influential merchants, diplomats, shipowners, and administrators. Ottoman rule was unequal, but the period was not one uninterrupted war between every Greek and every Turk.
 
In 1821, Greek revolutionaries launched the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule. Greece achieved independence, but many Greek communities remained within Ottoman territory.
 
During the Greco Turkish War of 1897, the Ottoman army defeated Greece after fighting over the future of Crete. Greece later joined Serbia, Bulgaria, and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War of 1912 and 1913, helping remove Ottoman authority from most of Europe.
 
The most devastating confrontation came after World War I. In 1919, Greek troops landed at Smyrna, modern İzmir, and advanced deep into Anatolia. Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk organized resistance and defeated the Greek army in 1922.
 
The war ended in catastrophe. Smyrna burned, civilians were killed or displaced, and ancient communities disappeared. The compulsory population exchange that followed forced roughly 1.2 million Orthodox Christians from Turkey to Greece and several hundred thousand Muslims from Greece to Turkey.
 
Later disputes over Cyprus, the Aegean islands, airspace, territorial waters, and maritime boundaries kept the rivalry alive. The division of Cyprus following the violence and illegal Turkish military invasion of 1974 remains one of the region’s deepest wounds.
 
Greece and Turkey are permanent neighbours. Conflict would damage both economies, threaten civilians, disrupt tourism and trade, and create grievances lasting for generations. Military victory might capture territory, but it could never erase memory or produce genuine peace.
 
Greeks and Turks have repeatedly helped one another after earthquakes, wildfires, and other disasters. Their governments can cooperate on trade, energy, environmental protection, migration, tourism, and the preservation of shared historical sites.
 
Their cultures are already connected through food, music, architecture, coffee traditions, seafaring, and centuries of coexistence.
 
The past should be remembered honestly. Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Cypriot, and other civilian suffering should never be ignored. But remembering history does not require repeating it.
 
After centuries of Ottoman wars, revolutions, population exchanges, and territorial disputes, the greatest victory would not be another battlefield triumph.
 
It would be the decision to peacefully end the cycle.

10 of Greece’s Greatest Historical Heroes

 
Throughout history, Greece has been shaped by extraordinary men and women whose courage, leadership and sacrifice changed the course of our nation’s story.
 

From the bravery of Leonidas at Thermopylae to the leadership of Themistocles at Salamis, the victories of Miltiades at Marathon, the legacy of Alexander the Great, the final stand of Constantine XI Palaiologos, and the heroes of the Greek War of Independence and beyond, these figures continue to inspire generations around the world.

The Great Powers of Ancient Greece

 
From Macedonia and Epirus to Thessaly, Athens, Sparta, Mycenae, and Crete, the ancient Greek world was shaped by powerful kingdoms, regions, and city-states.
 

Each played an important role in Hellenic civilization through leadership, warfare, philosophy, architecture, art, and culture.
 
Different powers, one Greek world. Their extraordinary legacy belongs to Greece and continues to inspire humanity today.
 
Greece remembers. Greece is proud.

The Peloponnese

 
The Peloponnese gave rise to more than legendary warriors. Ancient tradition places the ancestral roots of the Macedonian Argead dynasty in Argolis, while Arcadia is remembered in Roman legend as the homeland of Evander, who settled the future site of Rome before Aeneas arrived.
 

From these mountains and valleys, stories emerged that shaped 6 of history's greatest civilizations. Makedonia, Rome, Mycenae, Sparta, Pontos and Cyprus. ⚔️

124 Revolutions from 1481 to 1821!

 
It was in 1481 when Krokodeilos Kladas and the Maniot fighters revolted. They reached as far as Epirus and liberated the region of Himara. Unassisted by the West, which had encouraged him, Kladas was captured nine years later and flayed alive.

In 1489, the last of the Byzantine imperial house, Andreas Palaiologos, raised the revolutionary flag in Ottoman-occupied Greece. From 1492, the revolutionary wind took the form of a crusade, allied with Charles VIII of France. Five thousand revolutionaries liberated Epirus and a large part of Thessaly. The struggle was so powerful (writes Konstantinos Sathas) that the Turks "withdrew from the coasts and prepared to abandon Constantinople." However, a coalition of Christian states allied against Charles, who was forced to return to France. Left helpless, the Greeks were mercilessly slaughtered. By 1496, the revolution had died out.
 
New revolutionary movements from 1525 to 1533 resulted in the slaughter of Greeks: In Rhodes, of Metropolitan Efthymios and the notables. In the Peloponnese, of the revolutionaries abandoned in Methoni by the Knights of Malta. And, in 1565, the uprising in Epirus—triggered by the devshirme (the forced levy of Christian children)—was drowned in blood.
 
The Battle of Lepanto in 1571, which resulted in the destruction of the Ottoman fleet, gave new hope to the rayahs (oppressed subjects). The alliance of the Venetians, Spaniards, and the Pope prompted a new revolution. The insurgents were abandoned once again. Slaughters followed in Parnassida, Thessaloniki, and the Aegean. The Metropolitans of Patras and Thessaloniki were burned alive.
 
A new uprising broke out in Acarnania and Epirus in 1585: The armatoloi (local Christian militia leaders) Theodoros Bouas Grivas of Vonitsa, and Poulios, Drakos, and Malamos of Epirus liberated Vonitsa, Xiromero, and Arta, and marched toward Ioannina. However, they were defeated, and many were killed.
 
From 1609 to 1624, the Duke of Nevers of France and the Greeks organized an ambitious plan to drive the Turks out of Greece, creating a Christian army that would join the revolutionaries. The plan was never put into effect. However, during these fifteen years, the Maniots revolted several times, while the Metropolitan of Trikala, Dionysios, stirred up the peasants and, in 1616, campaigned against Ioannina and captured the city. He was ultimately defeated, captured, and flayed alive.
 
In 1659, a new Maniot revolution broke out, lasting until 1667. Three years later, the Stefanopoulos family and other Maniots fled to Corsica. Consecutive uprisings of the Greeks, starting from 1660, were instigated by the Venetians. Morosini fought naval battles and waged war against the Turks, reinforced by enthusiastic Greek revolutionaries.
 
From 1711, another great power became involved in Greece: the Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great, issued a proclamation calling on the Greeks to revolt. He named himself "Emperor of the Russo-Greeks," fuelling their imagination. In the churches, they commemorated his name, and the text of Agathangelos prophesied the salvation that "the blonde race would bring." Fifty-five years later, the world-dominating plans of Catherine the Great led to the revolution of 1766 and the Orlov Revolt of 1770. The revolutionaries were abandoned once again. They endured until 1779, when peace was restored to the Peloponnese.
 
The very next year, in 1780, the Turks set out to wipe out the klephts (anti-Ottoman insurgents) of the Peloponnese. The Kolokotronis clan resisted for twelve days and nights in Mani and then made a heroic breakout. Most were lost. The ten-year-old Theodoros Kolokotronis, his mother, and one of his sisters were the only ones who survived.
 
In 1788, the Souliotes revolted. That same year, the small fleet of Lambros Katsonis appeared at sea. He was a chiliarch (colonel) in the Russian army. The warlord Andritsos, with 500 klephts, manned the ships. Until 1790, they smashed the Turks multiple times in naval battles. That year (1790), in a terrible clash between Andros and Euboea, he soundly defeated the Turks at sea but was left with only seven ships. The next day, he found himself between two enemy fleets and was defeated. Lambros Katsonis and Andritsos continued to fight.
 
In 1792, Russia and Turkey signed a peace treaty. Katsonis refused to lay down his arms and issued a proclamation, the famous "Manifesto of Chiliarch Lambros Katsonis," in which he denounced Catherine and declared that the Greeks would gain their freedom on their own. Katsonis and Andritsos were defeated at Cape Tainaron and parted ways. Katsonis retired. Andritsos with his 500 men, fighting for forty days and nights, managed to reach Preveza.
 
The Souliote revolution ended on December 12, 1803, with a treaty that allowed them to leave with their weapons. Ali Pasha, however, broke the truce and pursued them. On December 23, a group of Souliotes found themselves in Riniasa, between Preveza and Arta. Hordes of Albanians fell upon them and slaughtered them. Despo Botsi, with ten daughters, granddaughters, and grandchildren, managed to fortify herself in the Dimoulas tower. The Albanians besieged her. She resisted as long as she could. In the end, they all blew themselves up so as not to fall alive into enemy hands. Kitsos Botsaris managed to reach Agrafa, where the Albanians caught up with him. He fortified himself in a monastery and held out until the following April. Only eighty managed to escape.
 
A new revolutionary wave swept through Greece in 1806, from the Peloponnese to Macedonia, as the Russians and Napoleon's French competed to win over the Greeks. Once again, the insurgents were left to their fate, and the Turks took their revenge out on them. In the Peloponnese, the Turks wanted to finish off the Kolokotronis clan. Theodoros Kolokotronis's companions did not want to leave. They fought for months before being forced to cross over to Kythira and, from there, to Zakynthos. This was followed by the epic exploits of Nikotsaras in Macedonia and Yiannis Stathas in the Aegean, which forced the Sublime Porte to negotiate with the revolutionaries.
 
In 1814, the Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends) was founded. Seven years later, the 124th uprising broke out, leading to freedom.
 
The Greeks struggled and shed blood for centuries for their freedom. It is the best answer to the revisionists of our history who try to convince us that the Greek Nation was "manufactured."

Το αρχαιοελληνικό μυστικό της Σκωτίας

 
Η Αρχαία Δύναμη που Άλλαξε την Ιστορία
 

Η Σκωτία, μια χώρα με πλούσια  ιστορία και επιβλητικά τοπία, κρύβει στις ονομασίες των τόπων της μια απρόσμενη σύνδεση με την αρχαία Ελλάδα. Πέρα από τους μύθους και τις θρυλικές ιστορίες, μια προσεκτική ματιά στα τοπωνύμια αποκαλύπτει μια γλωσσική γέφυρα που διασχίζει χιλιετίες, υποδηλώνοντας πιθανές επαφές και επιρροές που χάνονται στα βάθη του χρόνου.
 
Η ιδέα ότι η Σκωτία μπορεί να έχει αρχαιοελληνικά τοπωνύμια φαντάζει αρχικά παράδοξη. Ωστόσο, η ετυμολογία ορισμένων ονομάτων, ειδικά σε παράκτιες και νησιωτικές περιοχές, υποδηλώνει μια βαθύτερη σύνδεση που ξεπερνά τη σύμπτωση. Αυτή η ανακάλυψη όχι μόνο εμπλουτίζει την  ιστορική μας κατανόηση, αλλά προσφέρει και μια νέα οπτική για την παγκόσμια διάδοση του ελληνικού πολιτισμού.
 
Γλωσσικά Αποτυπώματα: Από την Αρχαία Ελλάδα στη Σκωτία
 
Πολλά από τα τοπωνύμια που έχουν εντοπιστεί στη Σκωτία, κυρίως στις δυτικές ακτές και τα νησιά, φέρουν μια ηχητική και εννοιολογική συγγένεια με αρχαίες ελληνικές λέξεις. Αυτό υποδηλώνει ότι οι «ονοματοθέτες» μπορεί να ήταν αρχαίοι Έλληνες ναυτικοί, έμποροι ή εξερευνητές που έφτασαν σε αυτές τις μακρινές περιοχές.
 
Ας δούμε μερικά χαρακτηριστικά παραδείγματα:
 
·        Ayr: Μια παραθαλάσσια πόλη στα νοτιοδυτικά της Γλασκώβης, η ονομασία της οποίας παραπέμπει στην ελληνική λέξη «αέρας» ή «αέρηδες», περιγράφοντας εύστοχα την εκτεθειμένη γεωγραφική της θέση.
 
·        Gigha: Ένα νησί που ηχεί σαν τη λέξη «Γίγας», υποδηλώνοντας ίσως κάτι το επιβλητικό ή μεγάλο.
 
·        Jura: Ένα άλλο νησί, το όνομα του οποίου είναι πανομοιότυπο με το ελληνικό νησί των Κυκλάδων, Γιούρα.
 
·        Colonsay: Η ονομασία αυτού του νησιού μπορεί να κρύβει την ελληνική λέξη «Κολώνα», ενώ στο αγγλικό λεξικό αποδίδεται και ως «αποικία», μια έννοια που συνδέεται άμεσα με την ελληνική ναυτική εξάπλωση.
 
·        Iona: Ένα νησί που εύκολα παραπέμπει στον «Ίωνα», τον μυθικό πρόγονο των Ιώνων, υποδηλώνοντας την παρουσία αρχαίων Ελλήνων ταξιδευτών.
 
·        Achill: Μια πόλη-λιμάνι που φέρει ηχητική ομοιότητα με το «Αχιλλεύς» ή «Αχίλλειον», πιθανόν δοσμένη προς τιμήν του Ομηρικού ήρωα.
 
·        Easdale: Ένας θαλάσσιος δίαυλος που ερμηνεύεται ως «το πέρασμα του Αίαντα», ενός άλλου σημαντικού Ομηρικού ήρωα.
 
·        Kirkisbowl και Aris aig: Τοπωνύμια που φέρουν «Ομηρικές» αναφορές, όπως «το κύπελλον της Κίρκης».
 
·        Cori, Couros, Troon, Helen’s burg: Ονομασίες που παραπέμπουν σε «Κόρη», «Κούρος», «Τρώων» και «Ελένης κάστρον» αντίστοιχα, θυμίζοντας αρχαίες ελληνικές παραλιακές ζώνες.
 
·        Treshnish Isles: Ένα σύμπλεγμα τριών νησιών, όπου το «Treshnish» μπορεί να είναι παραφθορά του «Τρία Νησιά», δημιουργώντας έναν λεκτικό πλεονασμό όταν προστίθεται το αγγλικό «Isles».
 
·        Gometra: Η ονομασία της ακτής απέναντι από τα Treshnish Isles, που φαίνεται να προέρχεται από τις ελληνικές λέξεις «Γη» και «Μέτρο».
 
·        Thurso: Μια πόλη-λιμάνι στη Βόρεια Σκωτία, το όνομα της οποίας μπορεί να συνδέεται με την αρχαία ελληνική λέξη «Θύρσος» ή να παραπέμπει στην αρχαία μεσογειακή πόλη Ταρσό.
 
Η «Καλυδωνία» και η Μυκηναϊκή Εξάπλωση
 
Μια από τις πιο γνωστές αρχαίες ονομασίες της Σκωτίας είναι η «Καλυδωνία». Ενώ η λέξη αυτή δεν έχει συγκεκριμένη έννοια στην αγγλική γλώσσα, παραπέμπει άμεσα στην αρχαία ελληνική πόλη Καλυδώνα, στην περιοχή του Μεσολογγίου, η οποία ήταν παραθαλάσσια και συνδέεται με μυθικές μορφές όπως ο Οινέας και ο Διομήδης.
 
Αυτά τα τοπωνύμια, που αφορούν κυρίως παράκτιες και νησιωτικές περιοχές, ενισχύουν την υπόθεση ότι οι «ονοματοθέτες» ήταν μετα-Ομηρικοί αρχαίοι Έλληνες ναυτικοί, έμποροι και εξερευνητές. Πιθανότατα έφτασαν σε αυτές τις περιοχές για εμπορικούς σκοπούς, αναζητώντας μέταλλα όπως ο κασσίτερος από τις περίφημες «Κασσιτερίδες νήσους». Η απουσία αντίστοιχων τοπωνυμίων στην ενδοχώρα υποδηλώνει ότι δεν είχαν τη δυνατότητα ή τη διάθεση να εισχωρήσουν βαθύτερα.
 
Η «Τρισκελίδα» και η Έννοια του «Clan»
 
Ένα ακόμα εντυπωσιακό στοιχείο είναι η σημασία του Isle of Man, η περίφημη «Τρισκελίδα», ένα διακοσμητικό σύμβολο που κοσμούσε αρχαίες ελληνικές ασπίδες. Η επιλογή αυτού του συμβόλου από τους κατοίκους του νησιού, πιθανώς ως ανάμνηση «θρυλικών» προγόνων, υποδηλώνει μια άμεση σύνδεση με την ελληνική ναυτική παρουσία.
 
Επιπλέον, η λέξη «CLAN», που σημαίνει «γένος» και είναι τόσο σημαντική για τους Σκωτσέζους, έχει εντοπιστεί σε πελασγικές επιγραφές με την έννοια του «κλώνου» ή «υιού». Αυτή η γλωσσική συγγένεια, αν και απαιτεί περαιτέρω έρευνα, υποδηλώνει μια πιθανή προϊστορική σύνδεση με τους Πελασγούς, τους «Δίους» προγόνους των Ελλήνων.
 
Συμπέρασμα
 
Η παρουσία ελληνικών τοπωνυμίων και γλωσσικών αποτυπωμάτων στη Σκωτία αποτελεί ένα συναρπαστικό πεδίο έρευνας. Ενώ ορισμένες θεωρίες μπορεί να είναι αντικείμενο συζήτησης, η πληθώρα των ενδείξεων υποδηλώνει ότι η αρχαία ελληνική επιρροή έφτασε πολύ πιο βόρεια από ό,τι πιστεύαμε. Αυτή η γλωσσική κληρονομιά μας υπενθυμίζει την παγκόσμια εμβέλεια του ελληνικού πολιτισμού και την αδιάκοπη περιέργεια των αρχαίων Ελλήνων να εξερευνήσουν τον κόσμο, αφήνοντας το ανεξίτηλο στίγμα τους ακόμα και στα πιο απρόσμενα μέρη.
 
Συχνές Ερωτήσεις
·        Ποια είναι η σχέση της «Καλυδωνίας» με την Ελλάδα; Η αρχαία αυτή ονομασία της Σκωτίας παραπέμπει ευθέως στην αρχαία ελληνική παραθαλάσσια πόλη Καλυδώνα στην περιοχή του Μεσολογγίου.
 
·        Γιατί υπάρχουν ελληνικά τοπωνύμια μόνο στις ακτές της Σκωτίας; Διότι οι ονοματοθέτες ήταν κυρίως αρχαίοι ναυτικοί, έμποροι και εξερευνητές που προσέγγισαν τα νησιά και τις ακτές για εμπορικούς σκοπούς, χωρίς να εισχωρήσουν στην ενδοχώρα.
 
Τι πρέπει να κρατήσετε
 
·        Πολλά σκωτσέζικα νησιά και λιμάνια (όπως Jura, Ayr, Iona, Achill) κρύβουν ισχυρές αρχαιοελληνικές και ομηρικές ετυμολογικές ρίζες.
 
·        Το διάσημο σύμβολο «Τρισκελίδα» στο Isle of Man κοσμούσε τις ασπίδες των αρχαίων Ελλήνων πολεμιστών.
 
·        Η λέξη «Clan» παρουσιάζει γλωσσική συγγένεια με πελασγικές επιγραφές, υποδηλώνοντας βαθιές προϊστορικές συνδέσεις.
 
ΠΗΓΗ: HELLAS NOW

Alexander’s empire

 
🏛️⚔️ Alexander the Great built one of the largest empires in ancient history, stretching from Greece and Egypt to Persia and northwestern India. In just 13 years, his military campaigns reshaped the ancient world and spread Greek culture across three continents 🌍👑
 

From the Battle of Gaugamela to the banks of the Indus River, Alexander's legacy continues to fascinate historians and history lovers around the world.

Lost city of Alexandria found

 

…after thousands of years - in 'absolutely stunning' discovery

 

Archaeologists believe they've finally pinpointed the site of a long-lost city founded by Alexander the Great - a bustling port which once linked ancient Mesopotamia directly to Persian Gulf trade routes.
 
The settlement, known as 'Alexandria on the Tigris', is thought to be located in southern Iraq near the Gulf, with initial reports hailing the find as "absolutely stunning".
 
Established in the fourth century BC, the city was one of many 'Alexandrias' set up by the Macedonian ruler as he built an empire stretching from Greece to the borders of India.
 
While Alexandria in Egypt gained worldwide fame for its lighthouse and library, Alexandria on the Tigris has remained tantalisingly out of reach, existing more in myth than on any map - until now, Fox News reports.
 
Researchers suggest the site matches predictions for a strategically placed port linking river transport on the Tigris with sea routes across the Gulf and beyond.
 
In its heyday, the city would have acted as a vital hub for goods, knowledge and travellers moving between the heartlands of Mesopotamia and the wider ancient world.
 
Over the ages, the Tigris has altered its course and deposited sediment across the lowlands, gradually concealing former coastlines and settlements.
 
The rise and fall of empires, changing trade routes, and the marks of modern conflict have hidden the city's remnants from sight.
 
High-resolution geophysical scans and drone imagery have now mapped fortification walls, street grids, city blocks and industrial areas.
 
Temple complexes, workshops with kilns and furnaces, and signs of a harbour-and-canal system have also emerged from beneath the soil - a rare, comprehensive glimpse of an ancient metropolis frozen in time.
 
Stefan R. Hauser, archaeology professor at the University of Konstanz, told Fox News Digital that the quality of evidence is "absolutely stunning", with building walls appearing just below the surface and preservation "surprisingly good".
 
The city's footprint is vast - approximately 2.5 square miles (around 6.5 km2) - which he says rivals or even surpasses some major capitals of the era.
 
Work at the site began in the 2010s under the guidance of British archaeologists Jane Moon, Robert Killick, and Stuart Campbell, but progress was slow and often fraught due to periods of conflict and extremist control.
 
SOURCE: MSN

Noah's Ark mystery deepens

 

...as ancient map points to resting place of biblical vessel

 

The largest known early world map may have pointed to the resting place of Noah's Ark for nearly 440 years.
 
Created in 1587 by Italian nobleman and cartographer Urbano Monte, the massive Planisphere stretches nearly 10 feet wide when fully assembled and is packed with elaborate illustrations of continents, mythical creatures and unexplored lands.
 
Hidden within the map is a small depiction of Noah's Ark resting on the mountains of Ararat in modern-day Turkey, the same region many believe still hides the legendary vessel.
 
The striking detail has sparked fascination because the Bible states in Genesis 8:4 that the Ark came to rest on the 'mountains of Ararat' after the Great Flood.
 
Some online viewers were stunned by how closely the illustration appears to align with the mysterious Durupınar site.
 
Independent researcher Jimmy Corsetti wrote online: 'The same location as the Durupinar site, virtually the exact same length. Coincidence?'
 
Researchers have investigated the site since the 1970s, hoping to determine whether the formation is a natural geological structure or the remains of the biblical Ark.
 

A team currently scanning the region recently claimed to have identified hidden chambers and tunnel-like spaces beneath the earth using ground-penetrating radar.
 
Monte created the map during the height of the Age of Exploration, when European cartographers were rapidly redrawing the known world following voyages to the Americas and Asia.
 
Unlike most maps from the 16th century, the Planisphere was designed from a north polar perspective, placing the Arctic at the center of the world.
 
The enormous map consists of 60 separate hand-drawn sheets that can be assembled into a single circular image measuring nearly 10 feet across.
 
It is filled with elaborate illustrations of ships, sea monsters, mythical creatures and detailed notes describing distant lands and cultures.
 
Historians believe Monte was inspired to create the map after a Japanese delegation visited Milan in 1585, exposing Europeans to new global perspectives.
 
The original manuscript is now housed at Stanford University's David Rumsey Map Center, where it was digitally restored and made available online.
 
The depiction has drawn attention because it places Noah’s Ark on the mountains of Ararat centuries before modern researchers began searching the region for evidence of the biblical vessel.
 
The Bible recounts Noah's Ark resting on the 'mountains of Ararat' after a 150-day flood submerged the Earth, sparing only those aboard the wooden vessel.
 
Biblical measurements describe the ark as 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high - that's approximately 515 feet long, 86 feet wide and 52 feet tall.
 
The measurements of the formation in Turkey appear to match those given in the Bible.
 
Located just 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest peak, the Durupınar Formation has only been known to the modern world for less than a century.
 
According to local reports, heavy rains and earthquakes in May 1948 washed away the surrounding mud, revealing the mysterious formation. It was then discovered by a Kurdish shepherd.
 
What is even more intriguing is that the formation sits near a mountain with a peak that some believe matches the ark's shape and dimensions.
 

Archaeologist and amateur researcher Ron Wyatt first visited the Durupınar site in eastern Turkey in 1977, claiming the boat-shaped geological formation was the remains of Noah's Ark.
 
Decades later, in 2019, the Noah's Ark Scans team began exploring the mysterious mound with modern technology to peer deep below the surface.
 
The idea that the ark landed on Mount Ararat has long sparked debate. While many scientists argue that the formation is a naturally occurring geological feature, others are convinced it points to something far more extraordinary.
 
The team at Noah's Ark Scans firmly believes the latter.
 
The team recently announced the discovery of hidden tunnels as described in the biblical account.
 
Andrew Jones, an independent researcher with Noah's Ark Scans, used ground-penetrating radar to uncover a network of 'corridors' converging on a hollow central chamber he dubbed the atrium.
 
Jones linked the discovery to the Bible's description of the Ark, which states the boat contained three internal levels built to shelter Noah, his family and pairs of animals.
 
'God told Noah to bring the animals in. And so these animals would have stayed there, plus Noah and his family,' Jones told GB News.
 
'What's interesting is that these voids are lining up below the ground - and they're not just random. These tunnels also follow a pattern. GPR is just a way to look below the soil using radar.'
 
He added further studies using infrared thermography (IRT), a heat-sensing technology that can uncover hidden structures underground, have also suggested the presence of a ship-shaped hull buried deep in the soil.
 
SOURCE: MSN

First Hellenic Republic

 
In 1821, the Greek War of Independence ignited a struggle that would change the course of Balkan history. After centuries of Ottoman rule, revolutionaries fought for the dream of a free Greek state - laying the foundation for the First Hellenic Republic (1822-1832).
 

⚔️ Courage against an empire.
🏛️ The rebirth of a nation.
📜 A fight that inspired independence movements across Europe.
 
This map highlights the territory of the First Hellenic Republic, a symbol of resilience, sacrifice, and the enduring quest for self-determination.
 
“Freedom is not given - it is won.”
 
The Greek War of Independence was certainly one of the most influential revolutions of the 19th century!

Το κτίσιμο της Αγια-Σοφιάς / το βίντεο

 
Πραγματοποιήθηκε χθες Κυριακή 7 Ιουνίου 2026 μια Πνευματική Σύναξη, στον Ιερό Ναό των Αγίων Αποστόλων Πέτρου και Παύλου στο Bristol.
 

Σε αυτήν ομίλησε ο κ. Κυριάκος Βάσιλας, Πολιτικός Μηχανικός και Ιεροψάλτης στον εν λόγω Ιερό Ναό.
 

Το θέμα της ομιλίας ήταν: «Το κτίσιμο της Αγια-Σοφιάς»!

Συγχαίρουμε τον ομιλητή, για την εμπεριστατωμένη ομιλία του, η οποία είχε επιστημονική αρτιότητα και γλαφυρότητα.
 
Το βίντεο είναι εδώ

The Blue Homeland

 
Turkey, the strange neighbour of Greece, is preparing a new law, about what they define as the Blue Homeland.
 

But the actual Blue Homeland in that particular region is exactly what the map of this post suggests.
 
History, identity, and borders have always shaped civilizations across centuries. 🌍📜
 
From ancient kingdoms to modern nations, maps like this reveal how cultures, empires, and influences evolved through time. 

Whether agreed upon or debated, historical perspectives continue to spark conversations that connect the past with the present. ⚔️🏛️
 
The whole area of the Balkans and surrounding regions was shaped by conquest, culture, and language!
 
We shall certainly have the chance to revisit this topic once the new Turkish law is in place, if it ever be.

Ένωση Επτανήσου με Ελλάδα

 
Η χαρούμενη επέτειος της ενώσεως της Επτανήσου με την μητέρα Ελλάδα ημερομηνιακά είναι κοντά με την θλιβερή επέτειο της αλώσεως της Βασιλεύουσας. Στην Κέρκυρα ο κεντρικός εορτασμός θύμισε Βυζάντιο. Τελέστηκε η Θεία Λειτουργία και η Δοξολογία προεξάρχοντος του Μητροπολίτου, ο οποίος φορούσε άμφια και μίτρα (στέμμα) - που φορούσαν ο Αυτοκράτορας της Ρωμιοσύνης και οι αξιωματούχοι της. Επλαισιούτο από πλήθος λαού, από σημαίες, λάβαρα, εξαπτέρυγα και από την ηγεσία των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων. Και μετά η παρέλαση, την οποία κοσμούσαν και με τοπικές φορεσιές οι νέοι και οι νέες, ήταν και οι πολυπληθείς μπάντες, που ενίσχυαν μελωδικά τον πανηγυρικό τόνο.
 

Παρούσα και η πολιτική εξουσία δια του ανωτάτου άρχοντος, του Προέδρου της Δημοκρατίας κ. Κων. Τασούλα, θυμίζουσα τις καλές ημέρες των σχέσεων Εκκλησίας και Πολιτείας και αυτό που γράφει ο μέγας Βυζαντινολόγος Στίβεν Ράνσιμαν για τον Ιουστινιανό, ο οποίος υποστήριζε τη διάκριση μεταξύ του sacerdotium και του imperium και πίστευε πως η μεταξύ τους αρμονική σχέση είναι ουσιαστική για την ευημερία του κόσμου και ότι το ιμπέριουμ πάντοτε οφείλει να υποστηρίζει τις αποφάσεις και το κύρος του κλήρου («Η Βυζαντινή θεοκρατία», Εκδ. «Δόμος», 1982, σελ. 51).
 
Μετά το 1204 και την πρώτη άλωση από τους «χριστιανούς» Ενετούς και Φράγκους η πίεση στη Ρωμέικη Αυτοκρατορία γινόταν όλο και πιο μεγάλη. Από τη μία οι στην Ανατολή οθωμανοί οσμανλήδες πίεζαν κατακτώντας εδάφη, και από την άλλη στη Δύση οι «χριστιανοί» πίεζαν να υποκύψουμε στον Πάπα και να απωλέσουμε την ταυτότητά μας, χωρίς να μας εγγυώνται ότι θα μας προστάτευαν από τον εξ Ανατολής κίνδυνο... Ο μεγαλοφυής ιστοριοδίφης Σπυρίδων Ζαμπέλιος περιγράφει με ακρίβεια και αντικειμενικότητα την προ της Αλώσεως κατάσταση:
 
«Οφείλει το γένος των Ελλήνων, παραιτούμενον των περί Ορθοδοξίας αξιώσεών του, και επί σκοπώ του να διαφυλαχθή από τους άκρους κινδύνους, να στρέψει όμμα συνδιαλλακτικόν προς την Δύσιν, να παραδεχθή τον Παπισμόν, να συγχωνευθή μετά των εσπερίων εθνών, να απολέση την αρχαιόγονον φύσιν του, να εξουθενηθή εις τον ωκεανόν των δυτικών εθνικοτήτων, να αποταχθή της αυθεντίας του παρελθόντος, να απεκδυθή της ιστορικής ηγεμονίας του και ταύτα πάντα χωρίς της βεβαιότητος ότι θέλει σωθή ποτέ από της ημέρας παρ’ ημέραν αναβαινούσης βαρβαρικής πλημμύρας. Ή μάλλον, οφείλει προς τον βάρβαρον μεν να παραχωρήση την αυτονομίαν, τον βυζαντινόν θρόνον, την πολιτείαν, εις εαυτό δε να φυλάξη την κατοχήν του θρησκεύματος, ως παλλάδιον εντός του οποίου ήθελε καταφύγει και κρυφθή ο σπόρος της ελευθερίας; Εις άλλας λέξεις, τί μέλλει να δώση βοράν εις τον της Ανάγκης αδυσώπητον δράκοντα; Την ύλην ή το πνεύμα; Να δώση το θρήσκευμα και την εν τω θρησκεύματι μέλλουσαν αναγέννησιν προς τους Δυτικούς, ή να παραδώση το μεσαιωνικόν ατελέστατον πολίτευμα προς τους διαδόχους του Οτμανίου; Δεξιόθεν κρημνός, αριστερόθεν τάφος. Τα εθνικά στοιχεία ηθέλησαν να ριφθώσιν εις τον κρημνόν κατά προτίμησιν, με την ελπίδα την προς τον Θεόν και την βοήθειαν της Ιστορίας» («Άσματα δημοτικά και μελέτη περί μεσαιωνικού Ελληνισμού», Κέρκυρα, 1852, ανατύπ. Βιβλιοπωλείο Διονυσίου Νότη Καραβία, Αθήνα, 1986, σελ. 503).
 
Από την Άλωση αρχίζει ο αγώνας επιβίωσης του Ελληνισμού. Μακρά η περίοδος, 400 χρόνια, σκλαβιάς και τυραννίας υπό αλλόθρησκο κατακτητή. Κατ’ αυτήν συνέβη το δυσκατόρθωτο για όλους τους λαούς της Γης, επιβίωσε το Έθνος χάρη στην Εκκλησία και τους πιστούς λαϊκούς, που διατήρησαν με θυσίες ζωντανές την γλώσσα και την ιστορία μας. Ο Σάμιος  λόγιος Επαμεινώνδας Σταματιάδης (1835-1901) σημειώνει ότι δύο τάξεις υποβάσταξαν κατά τους χαλεπούς εκείνους χρόνους το βαρύ και δυσβάστακτο της Ελληνικής εθνότητος φορτίο, η Εκκλησία και οι αρματωλοί - κλέφτες. Ειδικότερα  γράφει, μεταξύ άλλων:
 
«Οι Έλληνες, ως Χριστιανοί, οφείλουν σεβασμό προς την αγίαν αυτών εκκλησίαν, ως έθνος όμως οφείλουν προς αυτήν και ευγνωμοσύνην, διότι υπό της αγάπης και προνοίας αυτής περιβαλλόμενοι διήλθον σώοι το σκιερό και ζοφώδες διάστημα τεσσάρων όλων αιώνων, υπ’ αυτής εκτρεφόμενοι με το μάνα της εις Θεόν πίστεως, παρηγορούμενοι με την αλάνθαστον παρηγορίαν της ελπίδος, θωρακιζόμενοι με τον αδιαπέραστον θώρακα της υπομονής, υποβασταζόμενοι τέλος με το έρεισμα της προς αλλήλους ευαγγελικής αγάπης» («Βιογραφίαι των Ελλήνων Μεγάλων Διερμηνέων», Αθήνησι, 1865, Ανατύπ. Εκδ. Πουρναρά, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1973, σελ. 8-10).
 
Ο Ελληνισμός δεν θα υπήρχε χωρίς το Βυζάντιο, υποστήριξε σε συνέντευξή της η βυζαντινολόγος Ελένη Γλύκατζη Αρβελέρ: «Τί είναι ο Νεοελληνισμός; Ορθοδοξία και ελληνική γλώσσα. Χωρίς το Βυζάντιο δεν θα υπήρχε Ορθοδοξία, όπως επίσης δεν θα είχε συντηρηθεί και διαδοθεί η ελληνική γλώσσα, η οποία δεν έγινε ποτέ νεκρή γλώσσα και μόνον οι Έλληνες τη μιλάμε, αφού δεν υπάρχουν ελληνογενείς γλώσσες, όπως υπάρχουν οι λατινογενείς».
 
Μια πλευρά του παρόντος έζησε η Κέρκυρα πριν από  λίγες ημέρες, όπως την ζούμε οι περισσότεροι Έλληνες σε κάθε εθνική και θρησκευτική μας εορτή. Ο Ελληνισμός εκφράζεται έτσι ως συνέχεια του Βυζαντίου και με ευθύνη για τα πεπρωμένα του. Υπάρχει και η άλλη πλευρά. Την εκπροσωπούν οι οπαδοί του δυτικού «προοδευτισμού». Από τη μεταπολίτευση έως σήμερα υπάρχει μια αυξανόμενη πίεση από ολιγάριθμες, αλλά ισχυρές αντίθεες δυνάμεις στο εσωτερικό και στο εξωτερικό της χώρας, για περιθωριοποίηση της Εκκλησίας, για κατάργηση των συμβόλων που θυμίζουν το παρελθόν των Ελλήνων και προσχώρηση στον τύπο του δυτικού ανθρώπου, του αποδεχόμενου ή ανεχόμενου την εφαρμογή των ιδεολογιών του ηδονισμού, του ατομισμού και του μηδενισμού, που τις παραποιεί και τις μετατρέπει σε «δικαιώματα». Και είναι εντυπωσιακό ότι πολιτικοί και του κυβερνώντος Κόμματος, οπαδοί του Σημιτισμού, επιχειρούν να συνδυάσουν τα μη αναμιγνυόμενα, Εκκλησία και δυτικό «εκσυγχρονισμό».
 
Παράδειγμα ο 38ετής κυβερνητικός εκπρόσωπος Παύλος Μαρινάκης. Μετά την πρόσφατη συνάντησή του στην Αθήνα με τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη κ. Βαρθολομαίο δήλωσε: «Η σοφία, η νηφαλιότητα και το κύρος του αποτελούν διαρκή πηγή έμπνευσης και καθοδήγησης για την απαιτητική συνέχεια του έργου μας». Όμως τον Ιανουάριο του 2026 μιλώντας στον ραδιοφωνικό σταθμό ΣΚΑΪ είχε πει για τις αμβλώσεις: «Είναι αδιανόητο το 2026 να συζητάμε για το τί θα κάνει μια γυναίκα με το σώμα της, αυτά η χώρα μας τα έχει λύσει πολλές δεκαετίες πριν». Επισημαίνεται στον κ. Μαρινάκη πως η «έμπνευσή» του από τον Πατριάρχη δεν πρέπει να είναι επιλεκτική και κατά τη βούλησή του, αλλά οφείλει να είναι σύμφωνη με τα όσα αυτός πρεσβεύει. Αλλιώς η συνάντηση ήταν μια τυπική κοινωνική επαφή, που μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί κατά τις προσεχείς εκλογές και η δήλωσή του χωρίς περιεχόμενο. Τα ίδια ισχύουν για όσους βουλευτές, ερήμην του λαού και κατά παράβαση των κανόνων της Φύσεως, της Ηθικής και της διδασκαλίας της Εκκλησίας, ψήφισαν υπέρ του γάμου των ομοφυλοφίλων, αλλά επιδιώκουν και καλές σχέσεις με τον κλήρο...
 
Ο εθνικός μας ποιητής Διονύσιος Σολωμός στον Εθνικό μας  Ύμνο μιλάει για τα περασμένα μεγαλεία που έζησε ο Ελληνισμός και επισημαίνει πως διηγώντας τα είναι να κλαις για το πού κατάντησε… Ο στίχος του, από την πέμπτη στροφή του Ύμνου, αναφέρεται στην εποχή της τουρκοκρατίας, αλλά για κάποιους Έλληνες παραμένει επίκαιρος…
 
Γιώργου Ν. Παπαθανασόπουλου

6 'lost' cities

 
Archaeologists have been very busy excavating lost civilizations, but they haven't found everything. There are still prominent ancient cities, including capitals of large kingdoms and empires, that have never been unearthed by scholars.
 

We know these cities exist because ancient texts describe them, but their location may be lost to time.
 
In a few cases, looters have found these cities, and have looted large numbers of artifacts from them. But these robbers have not come forward to reveal their location. In this countdown Live Science takes a look at six ancient cities whose whereabouts are unknown.
 
1. Irisagrig
 
Not long after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, thousands of ancient tablets from a city called "Irisagrig" began appearing on the antiquities market. From the tablets, scholars could tell that Irisagrig was in Iraq and flourished around 4,000 years ago.
 
Those tablets reveal that the rulers of the ancient city lived in palaces that housed many dogs. They also kept lions which were fed cattle. Those that took care of the lions, referred to as "lion shepherds," got rations of beer and bread. The inscriptions also mention a temple dedicated to Enki, a god of mischief and wisdom, and say that festivals were sometimes held within the temple.
 
2. Itjtawy
 
Egyptian pharaoh Amenemhat I (reign circa 1981 to 1952 B.C.) ordered a new capital city built. This capital was known as "Itjtawy" and the name can be translated as "the seizer of the Two Lands" or "Amenemhat is the seizer of the Two Lands." As the name suggests Amenemhat faced a considerable amount of turmoil. His reign ended with his assassination.
 
Despite Amenemhat's assassination, Itjtawy would remain the capital of Egypt until around 1640 B.C, when the northern part of Egypt was taken over by a group known as the "Hyksos," and the kingdom fell apart.
 
While Itjtawy has not been found, archaeologists think it is located somewhere near the site of Lisht, in central Egypt. This is partly because many elite burials, including a pyramid belonging to Amenemhat I, are located at Lisht.
 
3. Akkad
 
The city of Akkad (also called Agade) was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which flourished between 2350 and 2150 B.C. At its peak the empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to Anatolia. Many of its conquests occurred during the reign of "Sargon of Akkad," who lived sometime around 2300 B.C. One of the most important structures in Akkad itself was the "Eulmash," a temple dedicated to Ishtar, a goddess associated with war, beauty and fertility.
 
Akkad has never been found, but it is thought to have been built somewhere in Iraq. Ancient records indicate that the city was destroyed or abandoned when the Akkadian empire ended around 2150 B.C.
 
4. Al-Yahudu
 
Al-Yahudu, a name which means "town" or "city" of Judah, was a place in the Babylonian empire where Jews lived after the kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 B.C. He sent part of the population into exile, a practice the Babylonians often engaged in after conquering a region.
 
About 200 tablets from the settlement are known to exist and they indicate that the exiled people who lived in this settlement kept their faith and used Yahweh, the name of God, in their names. Al-Yahudu's location has not been identified by archaeologists, but like many of these lost cities, was likely located in what is now Iraq. Given that the tablets showed up on the antiquities market, and there is no record of them being found in an archaeological excavation, it appears that at some point looters succeeded in finding its location.
 
5. Waššukanni
 
Waššukanni was the capital city of the Mitanni empire, which existed between roughly 1550 B.C. and 1300 B.C. and included parts of northeastern Syria, southern Anatolia and northern Iraq. It faced intense competition from the Hittite empire in the north and the Assyrian empire in the south and its territory was gradually lost to them.
 
Waššukanni has never been found and some scholars think that it may be located in northeastern Syria. The people who lived in the capital, and indeed throughout much of its empire, were known as the "Hurrians" and they had their own language which is known today from ancient texts.
 
6. Thinis
 
Thinis (also known as Tjenu) was an ancient city in southern Egypt that flourished early in the ancient civilization's history. According to the ancient writer Manetho, it was where some of the early kings of Egypt ruled from around 5,000 years ago, when Egypt was being unified. Egypt's capital was moved to Memphis a bit after unification and Thinis became the capital of a nome (a province of Egypt) during the Old Kingdom (circa 2649 to 2150 B.C.) period, Ali Seddik Othman, an inspector with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, noted in an article published in the Journal of Abydos.
 
Thinis has never been identified although it is believed to be near Abydos, which is in southern Egypt. This is partly because many elite members of society, including royalty, were buried near Abydos around 5,000 years ago.
 
SOURCE: MSN