About the history and the monuments of our country and our island.

About the history and the monuments of our country and

our island.

Meeting in Rhodes 2-8/10/2016

Ι.Important historical events

II. Outstanding historical monuments and archaeological sites    III. History of our island, Rhodes 

Important historical events

Greece/HellasImportant Historical Events

The Olympic Games The Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί

αγώνες, "Olympiakoi Agones") were held in the region of Olympia.

They were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece.

They were held in honor of God Zeus. The first Olympics is traditionally dated to

776 BC. During the celebration of the games, an

Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their countries to the games in safety. The "Discobolus" is a copy of a Greek statue c.

5th century BC. It represents an ancient Olympic discus thrower.

Ancient Olympia and Olympic

Games .

City of Athens, the birth of Democracy (5th c. B.C.)

The political, social and economic rise of Athens during the Classical period reflected the development of an important civilization, the main expression of which was the birth and consolidation of the constitution and democracy.

Protection of Democracy. The system of “Ostracism”

• The Athenians were much concerned with reinforcing and maintaining their democracy.

• In order to deal with aspiring tyrans, the systems of “ostracism” and “graphe paranomon” (the law against unconstitutional proposals) were instituted.

• Councillors swore an oath to denounce anyone who tried to undermine democracy, or who was implicated in any attempt to promote tyranny.

Shards used at ostracisms, 5th century B.C.Athens, Museum of Kerameikos

Alexander the Great expands Greece and the greek language and civilisation

• Alexander the Great, (356 BC - 323BC), king of Macedonia (336–323 BC).

• After succeeding his father Philip II to the Macedonian throne succeeded in only a few years in conquering the cities of central Greece.

• Gradually, he abolished the Persian state, occupying each country until the African deserts in the south and the Jaxartes and Indus rivers in the east.

Alexander the Great expands Greece and the greek language and civilisation

• The greek became the official written and spoken language in the areas of eastern Mediterranean, ( the Hellenistic or Alexadrian Koine (common), circa 300 Β.C. - 300 A.D.).

Greece , as part of the Byzantine Empire (circa 330 A.D. -1453 A.D.) offered to it an important and predominant

feature, the greek language and the greek culture.

The foundation of the modern Greek state (1830)

• After the Greek National Revolution against Ottoman Empire from 1821, Greece was recognized as independent state (1830).

• Ioannis Kapodistrias was the first head of state (Governor) of independent Greece. After Kapodistrias' assassination, the London Conference (1832) established the Kingdom of Greece.

• The greek state initially small, regained gradually its national territories until 1947.

First international Olympic Games held in the modern era, Athens 1896.

2nd World War (1940-1944)

Greece was attacked by the Italians in 1940 and then by the Germans 1941. Despite the fact of the resistance of the Greek army, Greece was occupied until 1944.

During the German Occupation(Κατοχή=Katochi) many acts of resistance took place.

Dictatorship (1967-1974)

• On April 21, 1967 conspirators officers of the Army overthrew the democratic regime imposing dictatorship.

• Peak power of the resistance of the greek people were the student uprisings of the Law School in Athens in February 1973, and the Technical University in November of the same year. The Polytechnic uprising was suppressed by military forces on the night of November 17, 1973: many people were killed, while others were arrested and subjected to torture.

1/1/1981 Greece became member of the European Union.

Monuments and archaeological sites

Greece/ HellasMonuments and

Archaeological Sites

Creta, Knossos, The Palace

Knossos is the site of the most important and better known palace of Minoan civilization. According to tradition, it was the seat of the legendary king Minos. The Palace is also connected with thrilling legends, such as the myth of the Labyrinth with the Minotaur, and the story of Daidalos and Icaros.

The palace is the largest of the preserved Minoan palatial centres.

Four wings are arranged around a central courtyard, containing the royal quarters, workshops, shrines, storerooms, repositories, the throne room and banquet halls. Dated to 2000-1350 B.C

Mycenae• The archaeological site of Mycenae

comprises the fortified acropolis and surrounding funerary and habitation sites.

• It is the most important and richest palatial centre of the Late Bronze Age in Greece.

• Its name was given to one of the greatest civilizations of Greek prehistory, the Mycenaean civilization, while the myths related to its history have inspired poets and writers over many centuries, from the Homeric epics and the great tragedies of the Classical period to contemporary literary and artistic creation.

• Most of the visible monuments date to the centre's great floruit, from 1350 to 1200 BC.

ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS • Acropolis is the highest point of a city. Over there used to be the most important buildings.

• The sacred rock was dedicated to the goddess Athena.

• Through the Propylaia one enters the sanctuary proper with its great masterpieces of ancient Greek architecture built primarily in the fifth (5th) century BC under Pericles.

Acropolis of Athens

Parthenon• The Parthenon, dedicated by

the Athenians to Athena Parthenos, (Virgin) the patron of their city, is the most magnificent creation of Athenian democracy at the height of its power. It is also the finest monument on the Acropolis in terms of both conception and execution.

• It was built between 447 and 438 BC, as part of the greater Periklean building project after the Persian wars and the victory of Athenians.

• It is a double peripteral Doric temple with several unique and innovative architectural features.

It was designed by architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, while the sculptor Pheidias supervised the entire building program and conceived the temple's sculptural decoration and chryselephantine statue of Athena.

Parthenon.The frieze

In contrast to the mythological subjects of the metopes and pediments, on the Parthenon frieze, Pheidias chose to depict the Great Panathenaia, the greatest festival of the city in honor of the Goddess Athena.

From the entire frieze that survives today, 50 meters are in the Acropolis Museum, 80 meters in the British Museum, one block in the Louvre, whilst other fragments are scattered in the museums of Palermo, the Vatican, Würzburg, Vienna, Munich and Copenhagen…

The theatre of Epidaurus

• Among all the ancient theatres, Epidaurus theatre is the most beautiful and best preserved.

• It was constructed in the beginnings of the 3rd c. B.C.

• It had a capacity of 13.000 spectators.

Monastery of Osios Loukas.

The smaller church, dedicated to the Theotocos (Virgin Mary) , was built in the 10th century.

The catholicon(the main church) is the earliest preserved specimen of the octagonal cross-in-square type of church, built in the first half of the 11th century.

The walls are veneered with marble slabs on the lower section and decorated with superb mosaics on the upper part and the upper floor.

The mosaics represent the more severe and abstracted style of the Middle Byzantine decorative art and date from the first half of the 11th century

Local history. About our island, Rhodes.

Classical period The island was inhabited as early as the late

Neolithic period (4000 B.C.). In 408 B.C. the three major cities of the

island - Ialyssos, Kamiros and Lindos - founded the city of Rhodes. The three centuries that followed were the golden age of Rhodes.

In the same period, Rhodes produced excellent artistic work. The most celebrated of all was the Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, made between 304 and 293 B.C. by the Lyndian sculptor Hares. The construction of the Colossus took 12 years and was finished in 282 BC. For years, the statue, representing their sun god Helios, stood at the harbour entrance, until a strong earthquake hit Rhodes about 226 BC. The city was badly damaged, and the Colossus was demolished.

Roman period Byzantine period Roman PeriodThe independence of the city came to an end in 164 B.C. when Rhodes became a Province of the Roman Empire. But even as late as the 1st century A.D. Rhodes preserved much of its splendor and developed into one of the greatest centrs of learning, science and the arts. Byzantine PeriodDuring the early Christian period (330-650 A.D.) Rhodes belonged to the eastern part of the christianised Roman Empire, which is known in history as the Byzantine Empire.

Knights' Period

In 1309 the island was sold to the Order of the Knights Hospitaliers of Saint John of Jerusalem

During the Knights' era the fortifications were extended, modernized and continuously reinforced. Α hospital, a palace and several churches were among the many public buildings constructed at that time, offering interesting examples of Gothic and Renaissance architecture

Ottoman Period In 1522 the Ottoman Turks

conquered the city after a second long siege. New buildings were constructed: mosques, public baths and mansions for the new patrons. The Greeks were forced to abandon the fortified city and move to new suburbs outside its walls.

In the Ottoman era Rhodes lost its international character. The city maintained its main economic function as a market for the agricultural products of the interior of the island and the surrounding small islands.

Italian Period Italian troops took over the

island and the rest of the Dodecanese in 1912 and in 1923 Italy established a colony Isole Italiane del Egeo.

The Italians undertook extensive infrastructure works (roads, electricity, port, etc.) and radically transformed the town of Rhodes, which was supplied with a new urban plan, building regulations and many new public and private buildings.

Modern Period

After Word War II, in 1947, Rhodes, together with the other islands of the Dodecanese, was reunited with Greece

In 1988, the old town of Rhodes was designated as a World Heritage City by UNESCO.

Sources

• School books of history : Junior High School and Upper High School.

• Ministry of Culture and Sports• The Acropolis Museum• Foundation of the Hellenic World: Hellenic History

on the Internet. • Municipality of Rhodes: The history of Rhodes.

Thanks for watching!

A presentation created by the students :Dimitris Antonoglou, Giota Emmanouilidi, Andreas Christofakis, Jordan Forbes, Panagiotis Iliopoulos, Maria Kalliga, Rafaela Katsikantai, Maria Kenenouni, Nefeli Kotretsou, Stefania Tourkodimitri, Rafailia Volitaki, Dimitris Vargiamidis, Vaggelis Voulgaridis.