| "HISTORY OF ANCIENT GREECE" PAGE 2 |
| Scythians/Sauromatian According to Herodotus, The Amazons went into battle against the Greeks, and upon the Amazon defeat, the Greeks captured the Amazons and took them aboard their ship. While aboard the ship, the Amazons murdered the Greeks and sailed aimlessly in the ocean allowing the wind to push the ship wherever fate may take them (and they were not sailors). Eventually, the wind pushed the ship to land at Cremi, where the Amazons first encountered the Scythians. The Amazons, once on land, saw horses nearby and jumped on their backs and galloped away to plunder the nearest village, the Scythian village. However, the Scythians took threat to the Amazons’ behavior and prepared to defend their property. In order to do so, they battled the Amazons, until they realized the Amazons were women. The Scythians decided to befriend their enemies in order to procreate. And so the story goes, the Amazons would go off by themselves and soon the Scythians followed them. According to Herodotus...The Amazons learned how to communicate with the Scythians by learning the Scythian language because, as Herodotus points out, “the men could not learn the women’s language.” ("Gee...Men still have that same problem today! Sorry Honey! I still love you") Hippocrates also shares his account of the Sauromatians, particularly focusing on the women and the marriage laws. According to the Sauromatians, any of their women may take on the masculine roles of shooting, hunting, and fighting so long as the woman is a virgin and unmarried. Hippocrates explains that the women “do not lay aside their virginity until they have killed three of their enemies, and as soon as a woman marries, she may no longer take part in the roles and duties she once had as a single woman. (Bummer! Hope she didn't take it out on her hubby?) |
| AMAZON / SCYTHIAN WARRIOR |
| SCYTHIAN GARB |
| GREEK LYRA MADE FROM HORN, WOOD, TORTOISE SHELL |
| GREEKS FIGHTING A SCYTHIAN MALE WARRIOR |
| GREEK MUSIC SCROLL ca 300 |
| Stone at Delphi containing the second of the two hymns to Apollo. The music notation is the line of occasional symbols above the main, uninterrupted line of Greek lettering |
| Greek Chelys Lyra Coin |
| Auletes Player |
| The word hoplite (Greek: πλίτης hoplitēs; pl. πλίται hoplitai) derives from hoplon (πλον, plural hopla πλα), meaning an item of armour or equipment, thus 'hoplite' may approximate to 'armoured man'. Hoplites were the citizen-soldiers of the Ancient Greek City-states. It is thought that they are named from their shield which is called Hoplon. "THE BATTLE OF MARATHON" (In a nut shell) Herodotus's description of the 'Battle of Marathon'. Athens was a famous city and the Persians wanted to attack Athens. The battle started around 490 BC. The army consisted of about 20,000 to 60,000 men. The Greek commander in charge for the Battle of Marathon was Miltiades. His army consisted of about 11,000 people. The battle was delayed by five days, which was an advantage to the Greek's as they had more time on their hands to arrange for provisions. The Greek hoplites were far superior to Persian for a hand-to-hand fight. The Greeks maintained their formation and when the Persians counterattacked they retreated in order. They closed in on the Persians. They were able to defeat their enemies and join forces behind the Persian center, surrounding it. The Persians were frightened and Greeks broke down on them with great force. Huge amount of army and cavalry was killed. About 6400 Persians were dead compared to 192 Athenians and 11 Plataeans. It is said that a messenger traveled to Athens to inform the Athenians that they were victorious in the war. As soon as he delivered the message he collapsed and died on spot. This event is an inspiration for today's marathon. |
| More Buttons to play with! |
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| A Very Good example of a framed drum used since ancient times & is still used today. Sounds great with a goat skin head. |
| The harp... got its name from the Greek God Aeolus, the ruler of winds, and with a good reason. strings. The strings are all of the same lengths vary in thickness and, very importantly each string was turned differently. It was placed near an open window or door so the wind currents could pass over the string playing random turns. Varying pitches could be produced thanks to the diversity of the strings or the power of the wind. The later is responsible also for the intensity of the sound which could range from being barely audible to loud. The Greeks invented the first musical instrument ‘played without a player’. (You got to love those Greek!)This device could create its own music with no human influence. It was called the Aeolian harp. Built by the Greeks probably in the fifth century BC it represents the first automatic instrument in history. (Now isn't that cool?) |
| Example of Greek priestess playing a frame drum |
| If you're looking for some |
| Aulos - a loud double-reed instrument (This instrument was associated with Dionysus, the god of wine.) Lyre - instrument similar to a harp (The Greeks thought that Apollo played the lyre for the gods on Mount Olympus.) |
| "CONTENT" Hoplites;Battle of Marathon; Scythians; Ancient Music: First Automatic Harp |
| and skull reportedly found inside it from the w:Battle of Marathon, now residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto |