"arms of Greece consists of a white cross on a blue escutcheon which is surrounded by two laurel branches. The Flag of Greece is also blue and white, as defined by Law 851/1978 ""Regarding the National Flag"". It specifies the colour of ""cyan"" (Greek: κυανό, ""kyano""), meaning ""blue"", so the shade of blue is ambiguous. The Order of the Redeemer and military decoration Cross of Valour both have ribbons in the national colours. Since it was first established, the national emblem has undergone many changes in shape and in design. The original Greek national emblem depicted the goddess Athena and"
"Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, handicraft, and warfare, who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. She is usually shown in art wearing a helmet and holding a spear. Her major symbols include owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion. From her origin as an Aegean palace goddess, Athena was closely associated with the city. She was known as ""Polias"" and"
"Athena Parthenos Athena Parthenos (; literally, ""Athena the Virgin"") is a lost massive chryselephantine (gold and ivory) sculpture of the Greek goddess Athena, made by Phidias and his assistants and housed in the Parthenon in Athens. Despite the dynamic architectural characteristics of the Parthenon, the statue of Athena was designed to be the focal point. Its epithet was an essential character of the goddess herself. A number of replicas and works inspired by it, both ancient and modern, have been made. It was the most renowned cult image of Athens, considered one of the greatest achievements of the most acclaimed"
"of Independence. The central plaza in the capital town of Mykonos bears her name and contains a larger than life bust of her. The main square in the port town of Paroikia in Paros has also been given her name. Greece has honored this heroine by naming several streets across the country after her. The Greek government has released several commemorative coins in her honor. A film was also made about her life, titled ""Manto Mavrogenous"" (1971), in which she was portrayed by Tzeni Karezi. Mavrogenous was depicted on the reverse of the Greek 2 drachmas coin of 1988–2001. =Relatives="
"""Poliouchos"" (both derived from ""polis"", meaning ""city-state""), and her temples were usually located atop the fortified Acropolis in the central part of the city. The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis is dedicated to her, along with numerous other temples and monuments. As the patron of craft and weaving, Athena was known as ""Ergane"". She was also a warrior goddess, and was believed to lead soldiers into battle as ""Athena Promachos"". Her main festival in Athens was the Panathenaia, which was celebrated during the month of Hekatombaion in midsummer and was the most important festival on the Athenian calendar. In Greek"
"were the very heart of downtown Athens market for the 19th and the better part of the 20th century. Aiolou Street Aiolou Street (also Eolou Street; ) is a street in downtown Athens, the Greek capital. It is named after Aeolus, the god of winds in Greek mythology. The street is one-way and originally ran entirely southbound but since the closure of Athinas Street in the late-1990s as part of the renovation plan, the part north of Lykourgou Street is one-way northbound. The street begins in Pelopidas Street further south of Ermou Street and ends in Panepistimiou Street (Eleftheriou Venizelou"
"Vasilissis Amalias Avenue Vasilissis Amalias Avenue (, ""Queen Amalia Avenue"") is a major avenue in Athens linking Andrea Syngrou Avenue along with Athanasiou Diakou Street, a small artery to Vouliagmenis Avenue and Panepistimiou Street along with Vassilissis Sofias Avenue. This avenue was named after the first queen of modern Greece, Amalia, consort to King Othon. Visitor attractions include the Greek Parliament with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the east and Syntagma Square (Constitution Square) to the west, the Arch of Hadrian and the Temple of Olympian Zeus to the south and the Zappeion to the east at the"
"international symbol of wisdom, the arts, and classical learning. Western artists and allegorists have often used Athena as a symbol of freedom and democracy. Athena is associated with the city of Athens. The name of the city in ancient Greek is ""Ἀθῆναι"" (""Athenai""), a plural toponym, designating the place where—according to myth—she presided over the ""Athenai"", a sisterhood devoted to her worship. In ancient times, scholars argued whether Athena was named after Athens or Athens after Athena. Now scholars generally agree that the goddess takes her name from the city; the ending -""ene"" is common in names of locations, but"
"Eleutheria The Greek word ""ἐλευθερία"" (capitalized Ἐλευθερία; Attic Greek pronunciation: ), transliterated as eleutheria, is an Ancient Greek term for, and personification of, liberty. Eleutheria personified had a brief career on coins of Alexandria. In Ancient Greece, Eleutheria was also an epithet for the goddess Artemis, and as such she was worshipped in Myra of Lycia. The Roman equivalent of the goddess Eleutheria is Libertas, the personification of liberty. For R. F. Willets, Cretan dialect 'Eleuthia' would connect Eileithyia (or perhaps the goddess ""Eleutheria"") to Eleusis. The name is probably related with a city in Crete named Eleutherna. Walter Burkert"
"was especially worshipped in this role during the festivals of the Panathenaea and Pamboeotia, both of which prominently featured displays of athletic and military prowess. As the patroness of heroes and warriors, Athena was believed to favor those who used cunning and intelligence rather than brute strength. In her aspect as a warrior maiden, Athena was known as ""Parthenos"" ( ""virgin""), because, like her fellow goddesses Artemis and Hestia, she was believed to remain perpetually a virgin. Athena's most famous temple, the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis, takes its name from this title. According to Karl Kerényi, a scholar of"
"Holy Trinity Cathedral, Athens The Holy Trinity Cathedral ( ) also called Greek-Catholic Cathedral of Athens Is the name given to a religious building affiliated with the Catholic Church which follows the Byzantine or Constantinopolitan rite and is located in the city of Athens the capital of the European country of Greece. Not to be confused with the Catholic cathedral of Latin rite a Basilica Dedicated to St. Dionysious, nor with the Catholic cathedral of Armenian rite dedicated to St. Gregory the Illuminator. It functions as the seat of the Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Greece (""Exarchatus Apostolicus Graeciae"") that"
"antiquity, it was debated whether Athens took its name from its patron goddess Athena (Attic , ""Athēnâ"", Ionic , ""Athḗnē"", and Doric , ""Athā́nā"") or Athena took her name from the city. Modern scholars now generally agree that the goddess takes her name from the city, because the ending -""ene"" is common in names of locations, but rare for personal names. During the medieval period, the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as . However, after the establishment of the modern Greek state, and partly due to the conservatism of the written language, became again"
"shearwater) and figuratively, a ""ship"", so the name must reference Athena teaching the art of shipbuilding or navigation. In a temple at Phrixa in Elis, reportedly built by Clymenus, she was known as ""Cydonia"" (Κυδωνία). The Greek biographer Plutarch (46–120 AD) refers to an instance during the Parthenon's construction of her being called ""Athena Hygieia"" (Ὑγίεια, i. e. personified ""Health""): Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, handicraft, and warfare, who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities"
"and goddesses found in distant cultures are mythologically comparable and are cognates. Eos, the Greek goddess of the dawn, for instance, is cognate to Indic ""Ushas"", Roman ""Aurora"" and Latvian ""Auseklis"". Zeus, the Greek king of gods, is cognate to Latin ""Iūpiter"", Old German ""Ziu"", and Indic ""Dyaus"", with whom he shares similar mythologies. Other deities, such as Aphrodite, originated from the Near East. Greek deities varied locally, but many shared panhellenic themes, celebrated similar festivals, rites, and ritual grammar. The most important deities in the Greek pantheon were the Twelve Olympians: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes,"
"Aphrodite Aphrodite is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She is identified with the planet Venus, which is named after the Roman goddess , with whom Aphrodite was extensively syncretized. Aphrodite's major symbols include myrtles, roses, doves, sparrows, and swans. The cult of Aphrodite was largely derived from that of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, a cognate of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the Sumerian cult of Inanna. Aphrodite's main cult centers were Cythera, Cyprus, Corinth, and Athens. Her main festival was the Aphrodisia, which was celebrated annually in midsummer. In"
"at Amyklai and at Olympia, upon looking at statues and illustrations where Eos (Hemera) is present. Hemera In Greek mythology Hemera (; ""Day"") was the personification of day and one of the Greek primordial deities. She is the goddess of the daytime and, according to Hesiod, the daughter of Erebus and Nyx (the goddess of night). Hemera is remarked upon in Cicero's ""De Natura Deorum"", where it is logically determined that ""Dies"" (Hemera) must be a god, if Uranus is a god. The poet Bacchylides states that Nyx and Chronos are the parents, but Hyginus in his preface to the"
"Otrera In Greek mythology, Otrera ( ""Otrērē"") was a Queen of the Amazons; the daughter of Eurus (the east wind), consort of Ares and mother of Hippolyta, Antiope, Melanippe, and Penthesilea. Otrera is sometimes considered the mythological founder of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, which was closely connected with Amazons. She is also sometimes considered the founder of the Amazon nation. She attracted the attention of Ares, a Greek God of war, and they had a few children, some growing up to be Amazon Queens. Ares also told her to sacrifice horses to him at a temple built on"
"Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; , ""Parthenónas"") is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered the zenith of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of"
"that Princess Diana spreads love not by force, but by inspiration, and the gods then return to their home on Mount Olympus. Aphrodite (DC Comics) Aphrodite is a character in DC Comics. She is based on the Greek deity of the same name. Aphrodite first appeared in ""All-Star Comics"" #8 and was adapted by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter. Aphrodite is the Greek Olympian Goddess of Love, Beauty, Pleasure, and Sex. While fair, loving and at times mischievous, the goddess' interest in the desires of the heart, the spirit and the flesh lead her to be promiscuous, tumultuous,"
"Temple of Athena Lindia The Temple of Athena Lindia was a sanctuary in Lindos in Rhodes, dedicated to the goddess Athena. It was a significant Pan-hellenic shrine of Athena and arguably the regional center of her cult. The sanctuary was situated at the acropolis in the city of Lindos in Rhodes, which was at that time the capital of the island. Prior to the foundation of the temple, the site appears to have been the place of the cult of a local goddess. It was built above a natural cave in the cliff, which may have been an previous cult"
"year. Christopher Pelling asserts that Athena Parthenos may have constituted a discrete cult of Athena, intimately connected with, but not identical to, that of Athena Polias. According to this theory, the name of the Parthenon means the ""temple of the virgin goddess"" and refers to the cult of Athena Parthenos that was associated with the temple. The epithet ""parthénos"" () meant ""maiden, girl"", but also ""virgin, unmarried woman"" and was especially used for Artemis, the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation, and for Athena, the goddess of strategy and tactics, handicraft, and practical reason. It has also been"
"Aglaea Aglaea () or Aglaïa (; ""splendor, brilliant, shining one"") is the name of several figures in Greek mythology, the best known of which is one of the three Charites or Graces. Aglaea is the Greek goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence, and adornment. She is the youngest of the Charites or Graces, although Homer knew of a younger Charis or Grace named ""Pasithea"" (""Hallucination""). Aglaea is one of three daughters of Zeus and either the Oceanid Eurynome, or of Eunomia, the goddess of good order and lawful conduct. Her two sisters are Euphrosyne, the goddess of joy or mirth,"
"Aphrodite (DC Comics) Aphrodite is a character in DC Comics. She is based on the Greek deity of the same name. Aphrodite first appeared in ""All-Star Comics"" #8 and was adapted by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter. Aphrodite is the Greek Olympian Goddess of Love, Beauty, Pleasure, and Sex. While fair, loving and at times mischievous, the goddess' interest in the desires of the heart, the spirit and the flesh lead her to be promiscuous, tumultuous, fickle and impulsive. In the Pre-Crisis, Aphrodite is one of the patron goddesses who gave life to the Amazons of Themyscira. She"
"art. Of the temples, the grandest was the ""Parthenon"", sacred to the ""Virgin"" goddess Athena; and north of the Parthenon was the magnificent ""Erechtheion"", containing three separate temples, one to ""Athena Polias"", or the ""Protectress of the State,"" the ""Erechtheion"" proper, or sanctuary of Erechtheus, and the ""Pandroseion"", or sanctuary of Pandrosos, the daughter of Cecrops. Between the Parthenon and Erechtheion was the colossal Statue of Athena Promachos, or the ""Fighter in the Front,"" whose helmet and spear was the first object on the Acropolis visible from the sea. The lower city was built in the plain around the Acropolis,"
"Temple of Hera, Olympia The Temple of Hera, or Heraion, is an ancient Archaic Greek temple at Olympia, Greece, that was dedicated to Hera, queen of the Greek Gods. The temple was built in approximately 590 BC, but was destroyed by an earthquake in the early 4th century CE In the Archaic Greek time period, the temple stored items important to Greek culture, and other offerings of the people. In modern times, the torch of the Olympic flame is lit in its ruins. The Heraion at Olympia, located in the north of the sacred precinct, the ""Altis"", is one of"
"Harmonia In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; ) is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Roman counterpart is Concordia. Her Greek opposite is Eris, whose Roman counterpart is Discordia. There was also a nymph called Harmonia. According to Apollonius of Rhodes, she was a naiad of the Akmonian Wood who was mother of the Amazons. According to one account, she is the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. By another account, Harmonia was from Samothrace and was the daughter of Zeus and Electra, her brother Iasion being the founder of the mystic rites celebrated on the island. Almost always, Harmonia"
"extremely pious and devoted to Aphrodite, the goddess brought the statue to life. Pygmalion married the girl the statue became and they had a son named Paphos, after whom the capital of Cyprus received its name. Pseudo-Apollodorus later mentions ""Metharme, daughter of Pygmalion, king of Cyprus"". Aphrodite generously rewarded those who honored her, but also punished those who disrespected her, often quite brutally. A myth described in Apollonius of Rhodes's ""Argonautica"" and later summarized in the ""Bibliotheca"" of Pseudo-Apollodorus tells how, when the women of the island of Lemnos refused to sacrifice to Aphrodite, the goddess cursed them to stink"
"Hellotia Hellotia was an epithet of Athena at Corinth. Hellotia also refers to the goddess Europa, known as Hellotis in Crete, where she was honoured with the Hellotia festival. According to the scholiast on Pindar (Ol. xiii. 56), the name was derived from the fertile marsh (helos) near Marathon, where Athena had a sanctuary ; or from Hellotia, one of the daughters of Timander, who fled into the temple of Athena when Corinth was burnt down by the Dorians, and was destroyed in the temple with her sister Eurytione. Soon after, a plague broke out at Corinth, and the oracle"
"Athena Areia Areia () was a cultic epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, under which she was worshipped at Athens. Athena's statue, together with those of Ares, Aphrodite Areia, and Enyo, stood in the temple of Ares at Athens. There was also a colossal acrolithic statue of her, at a temple at Plataea, built with the spoils given to that city by the Athenians after the Battle of Marathon. This was supposedly created by the artist Pheidias, though there is some disagreement among modern scholars whether this was indeed created by that artist. Plutarch mentions a gilded statue in this"
"Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens The Temple of Olympian Zeus (, ""Naós tou Olympíou Diós""), also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus, is a former colossal temple at the center of the Greece capital Athens. It was dedicated to ""Olympian"" Zeus, a name originating from his position as head of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD, some"
"Hera Hera (; , ""Hērā""; , ""Hērē"" in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of women, marriage, family, and childbirth in ancient Greek religion and myth, one of the Twelve Olympians and the sister-wife of Zeus. She is the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Hera rules over Mount Olympus as queen of the gods. A matronly figure, Hera served as both the patroness and protectress of married women, presiding over weddings and blessing marital unions. One of Hera's defining characteristics is her jealous and vengeful nature against Zeus' numerous lovers and illegitimate offspring, as well as the"
"Aphrodisia The Aphrodisia festival (Ancient Greek: 'Αφροδίσια) was an annual festival held in Ancient Greece in honor of the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite (Ancient Greek: Ἀφροδίτη Πάνδημος). It took place in several Ancient Greek towns, but was especially important in Attica and on the island of Cyprus, where Aphrodite was celebrated with a magnificent celebration. The festival occurred during the month of Hekatombaion, which modern scholars recognize as starting from the third week in July to the third week of August on the Gregorian calendar . Aphrodite was worshipped in most towns of Cyprus, as well as in"
"the Ottoman Empire, Athens re-emerged in the 19th century as the capital of the independent and self-governing Greek state. The name of Aje Boi, connected to the name of its patron goddess Athena, originates from an earlier Pre-Greek language. The origin myth explaining how Athens acquired this name through the legendary contest between Poseidon and Athena was described by Herodotus, Apollodorus, Ovid, Plutarch, Pausanias and others. It even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. Both Athena and Poseidon requested to be patrons of the city and to give their name to it, so"