Ancient Greeks (ancient + greek)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A Possession for Ever: Charles Bean, the Ancient Greeks, and Military Commemoration in Australia

AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND HISTORY, Issue 3 2007
Peter Londey
For many people after the First World War, the classical world of Greece and Rome provided a language of commemoration; those who fought on Gallipoli were often keen to see parallels with the Trojan war of 3,000 years earlier. Charles Bean, Australia's classically-educated war correspondent, Official Historian, and chief visionary behind the Australian War Memorial, was as imbued with the classics as any. What is striking, however, is that Bean largely ignored parallels with Troy, focusing instead almost exclusively on fifth-century BC Athens. Bean wanted more than a language of commemoration; he desired an historical backdrop which would emphasise the place in history of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Only the Athenians could provide a fitting parallel for the youthful democracy of Australia. [source]


The Analogy between Light and Sound in the History of Optics from the Ancient Greeks to Isaac Newton.

CENTAURUS, Issue 2 2010
Part
Analogies between hearing and seeing already existed in ancient Greek theories of perception. The present paper follows the evolution of such analogies until the rise of 17th century optics, with due regard to the diversity of their origins and nature but with particular emphasis on their bearing on the physical concepts of light and sound. Whereas the old Greek analogies were only side effects of the unifying concepts of perception, the analogies of the 17th century played an important role in constructing optical theories by imitation of acoustic theories, or vice versa. This transition depended on several factors including the changing relations between optics, music, mathematics, and physics, the diversity of early modern concepts of sound, and the rise of a new physics based on experimentation and mechanical explanation. [source]


Searching for schizophrenia in ancient Greek and Roman literature: a systematic review

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2003
K. Evans
Objective:, The aim of this study was to systematically examine ancient Roman and Greek texts to identify descriptions of schizophrenia and related disorders. Method:, Material from Greek and Roman literature dating from the 5th Century BC to the beginning of the 2nd Century AD was systematically reviewed for symptoms of mental illness. DSM IV criteria were applied in order to identify material related to schizophrenia and related disorders. Results:, The general public had an awareness of psychotic disorders, because the symptoms were described in works of fiction and in historical accounts of malingering. There were isolated instances of text related to psychotic symptoms in the residents of ancient Rome and Greece, but no written material describing a condition that would meet modern diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia. Conclusion:, In contrast to many other psychiatric disorders that are represented in ancient Greek and Roman literature, there were no descriptions of individuals with schizophrenia in the material assessed in this review. [source]


The packaging technology and science of ancient transport amphoras,

PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, Issue 4 2002
Diana Twede
Abstract Commercial transport amphoras are large ceramic vessels that were used from 1500 BC to 500 AD to ship wine and other products throughout the Mediterranean. The most large-scale use was to serve the ancient Greek and Roman empires. Although their form is much different from our own packages, the shape and design were clearly the result of the same reasoning that we use to design successful packaging today. They were designed to be economical to produce and ship. The unusual shapes, and especially the pointed base, facilitated handling, storage, transport and use in logistical systems that were very differently shaped from those that we use today. This paper investigates amphoras as a packaging system from a functional approach. It describes their protective physical properties, manufacturing process and industry structure, logistical and marketing advantages, and illustrates the value of such packaging artifacts in documenting the history of trade. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Caloric Restriction Inhibits Seizure Susceptibility in Epileptic EL Mice by Reducing Blood Glucose

EPILEPSIA, Issue 11 2001
Amanda E. Greene
Summary: ,Purpose: Caloric restriction (CR) involves underfeeding and has long been recognized as a dietary therapy that improves health and increases longevity. In contrast to severe fasting or starvation, CR reduces total food intake without causing nutritional deficiencies. Although fasting has been recognized as an effective antiseizure therapy since the time of the ancient Greeks, the mechanism by which fasting inhibits seizures remains obscure. The influence of CR on seizure susceptibility was investigated at both juvenile (30 days) and adult (70 days) ages in the EL mouse, a genetic model of multifactorial idiopathic epilepsy. Methods: The juvenile EL mice were separated into two groups and fed standard lab chow either ad libitum (control, n = 18) or with a 15% CR diet (treated, n = 17). The adult EL mice were separated into three groups; control (n = 15), 15% CR (n = 6), and 30% CR (n = 3). Body weights, seizure susceptibility, and the levels of blood glucose and ketones (,-hydroxybutyrate) were measured over a 10-week treatment period. Simple linear regression and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the relations among seizures, glucose, and ketones. Results: CR delayed the onset and reduced the incidence of seizures at both juvenile and adult ages and was devoid of adverse side effects. Furthermore, mild CR (15%) had a greater antiepileptogenic effect than the well-established high-fat ketogenic diet in the juvenile mice. The CR-induced changes in blood glucose levels were predictive of both blood ketone levels and seizure susceptibility. Conclusions: We propose that CR may reduce seizure susceptibility in EL mice by reducing brain glycolytic energy. Our preclinical findings suggest that CR may be an effective antiseizure dietary therapy for human seizure disorders. [source]


The ,Monster of Troy' Vase: The Earliest Artistic Record of a Vertbrate Fossil Discovery?

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2000
Adrienne Mayor
This note proposes a new interpretation of a scene on a well-known Corinthian vase illustrating the Homeric legend of Herakles rescuing Hesione from the Monster of Troy. Commentators have assumed that the artist intended to depict the monster as a ketos, an imaginary sea monster, but the features of the beast do not conform to the traditional imagery of sea monsters in Greek art. I suggest that instead of creating a typical hybrid sea monster by mixing the features of various living creatures, this artist used for his model the large fossil skull of a prehistoric mammal. The vase was painted in the midst of widespread interest in large fossil remains, which the ancient Greeks identified as relics of giants and monsters of the mythological age. The features of the odd head on the vase match the basic skull anatomy of a large mammal of the Tertiary age, such as the Samotherium, a giant giraffe of the Miocene epoch. Numerous literary accounts describe exposures of these and similar large mammal fossils in antiquity along the Turkish coast, on Aegean islands, and on the Greek mainland. I conclude that this vase painting is the earliest artistic record of such a discovery. [source]


Oracles, curses, and risk among the ancient Greeks , By Esther Eidinow

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 4 2008
Michael Attyah Flower
[source]


Art of preserving health: studies on the medical supervision of physical exercise

ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 12 2009
Alan J. Thurston
Abstract To the ancient Greeks, physical exercise was an essential part of life, especially during adolescence and young adulthood. Long after the end of the Classical Greek era, Roman conquest brought a shift towards martial training, increased professionalism in athletic competition and a weak strand of restorative gymnastics kept barely intact by the likes of Galen. While the crux of these teachings was the use of exercise, among other things, to promote and maintain health, the emphasis began to shift to concerns about the health of athletes and the medical problems brought about by exercise. Fashions in athletic training began to change in the mid-nineteenth century, but the mystique associated with athletic training pervaded much of the thinking and still persists today where, in this modern scientific period of exercise and health, physiologists, physical educators and physicians have become involved in seeking to apply the scientific method to what has become known as exercise science. The modern concept of sports medicine tends to emphasize the training and welfare of the elite athlete. [source]


The Analogy between Light and Sound in the History of Optics from the ancient Greeks to Isaac Newton.

CENTAURUS, Issue 3 2010
Part
Analogies between hearing and seeing already existed in ancient Greek theories of perception. The present paper follows the evolution of such analogies until the rise of 17th century optics, with due regard to the diversity of their origins and nature but with particular emphasis on their bearing on the physical concepts of light and sound. Whereas the old Greek analogies were only side effects of the unifying concepts of perception, the analogies of the 17th century played an important role in constructing optical theories by imitation of acoustic theories, or vice versa. This transition depended on several factors including the changing relations between optics, music, mathematics, and physics, the diversity of early modern concepts of sound, and the rise of a new physics based on experimentation and mechanical explanation. [source]