Chemical elements named from Hellenic mythology

I love knowing how far Hellenic mythology and the Gods still reach and how they impact our lives without us even being aware of it. Today, I want to present you with a list of the Hellenic influence on the names of chemical elements--either through mythology or simply through language.

Argon (Ar) From the Greek word "argos" which means idle or lazy. Argon is one of the laziest, least reactive elements of all. There are also many mythological figures named "Argos", but those are not whom the element was named after.

Bromine (Br) - From the Greek word "bromos" which means stench. Bromine has an unpleasant smell.

Chlorine (Cl) From the Greek word "chloros" which means green. Chlorine is a green gas.

Helium (He) - Named after the God Helios. In 1868, during an eclipse of the Sun, scientists observed a spectral line caused by an unknown element. They named the element Helium. Twenty seven years later, in 1895, the element was discovered on Earth.

Hydrogen (H) - From the Greek words "hydro" and "genes" which mean water and forming. When hydrogen burns in the air, it forms water.

Iodine (I) - From the Greek word "iodos" which means violet. Iodine is a grey solid at room temperature. It gives off a violet colored vapor when warmed.

Niobium (Nb) - It is a soft, grey, ductile transition metal, which is often found in the pyrochlore mineral, the main commercial source for niobium, and columbite. Its name comes from Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, the namesake of tantalum (see below). The name reflects the great similarity between the two elements in their physical and chemical properties, making them difficult to distinguish.

Oxygen (O) - From the Greek words "oxy" and "genes" meaning acid forming. Most non-metals burn in oxygen to form acids eg. sulphur.

Phosphorous (P) - From the Greek word "phosphorus" which means "light bearing". It was also the ancient name for the planet Venus, usually the brightest "star" in the night sky. Phosphorous glows in the dark and catches fire in the air to give a bright flame.

Tantalum (Ta) - Named after King Tantalos. It was discovered in 1802 and great difficulties were encountered in dissolving its oxide in acid to form salts, which is most likely how it got its name--King Tantalos was imprisoned in Tartaros for serving the son he murdered to the Gods when They came to dinner. Tantalos' punishment for his actions was to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches. Whenever he reached for the fruit, the branches raised his intended meal from his grasp. Whenever he bent down to get a drink, the water receded before he could get any. 

Titanium (Ti) - Named after Titans, members of the second generation of divine beings, descending from the primordial deities and preceding the Olympian deities. They are giant deities of incredible strength. Titanium is an extremely strong metal which resists attack by acids.

• Sunday, July 18, 2021
  current affairs Helios Mythology 101 Tántalos Titanes

Observation tower, ancient sanctuary from Hellenistic Era found near Bulgaria’s Burgas

From the end of May to the end of June, archeological excavations were carried out on Cape Chiroza near the Kraimorie district of Burgas. The excavations were financed by the Municipality of Burgas with scientific supervisor Prof. Dr. Ivan Hristov (National History Museum) and Deputy Supervisor Dr. Milen Nikolov from RHM Burgas.

Archaeologists from both museums have uncovered the foundations of a wall enclosing an area of ​​1 decare of Cape Chiroza and the foundations of a large massive two-part tower located in the highest and protruding part of the cape in the sea. In front of these structures, separate sections of a ditch up to 3 meters wide, preserved at a depth of up to 2 meters from the current terrain, have been studied. 

The moat probably performed defensive functions, but it is possible that its excavation also had ritual functions. Hundreds of ceramic fragments of local Thracian pottery have been found, and imported ones made for the most part in the workshops in Asia Minor around ancient Pergamum. The found coins, ornaments, amphora seals and character samples of the ceramic production date the site to the end of the 2nd to 1st century BC.

Very interesting is the location and the massive foundations of the building situated at the end of Cape Chiroza. The foundation suggests the presence of storeys in height through stone masonry. Regardless of the taxes for residential use on the first floor, the possibility that this building served as a tower cannot be ruled out. A similar tower with massive foundations has been studied on Zaychi Vrah near Kabile. Towers similar to that of Cape Chiroza have been recorded in various places in the Mediterranean world. For some of them, it has been hypothesized that they were observatories and places for transmitting signals at sea.

In this case, the site of Cape Chiroza should be considered in the context of underwater structures found in the southeastern waters of the cape, where underwater details of destroyed buildings, archaeological material dating back to the first millennium BC, as well as amphorae and building pottery from the Roman and late antiquity.

The excavations on Cape Chiroza fill a white spot in the coastal settlement system of the Western Pontus between the Atia Peninsula and the area of today's Burgas. As a design of the site, it finds parallels with the fortified sites on the western Bulgarian Black Sea coast: Palyura near the village of Emona, Canton on the northern shore of Lake Mandre; Pharmakida near the town of Primorsko; Brodilovo village, Tsarevo municipality; Sinemorets village, Tsarevo municipality; the village of Ravadinovo, the Municipality of Sozopol and the village of Izvor, the Municipality of Burgas.

The research of Prof. Hristov and his colleagues from the Burgas Museum continues underwater in the Chengene Scaffolding Bay.

• Saturday, July 17, 2021
  ancient Hellenic culture archeology Bulgaria current affairs

Polyphemus, son of Poseidon

Polyphemus (Πολύφημος Polyphēmos) is the giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Hellenic mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homeros's Odyssey. His name means "abounding in songs and legends".

In Homeros's epic, Odysseus lands on the island of the Cyclops during his journey home from the Trojan War and, together with some of his men, enters a cave filled with provisions. When the giant Polyphemus returns home with his flocks, he blocks the entrance with a great stone and, scoffing at the usual custom of hospitality, eats two of the men. Next morning, the giant kills and eats two more and leaves the cave to graze his sheep.

After the giant returns in the evening and eats two more of the men, Odysseus offers Polyphemus some strong and undiluted wine given to him earlier on his journey. Drunk and unwary, the giant asks Odysseus his name, promising him a guest-gift if he answers. Odysseus tells him "Οὖτις", which means "nobody" and Polyphemus promises to eat this "Nobody" last of all. With that, he falls into a drunken sleep. Odysseus had meanwhile hardened a wooden stake in the fire and drives it into Polyphemus' eye. When Polyphemus shouts for help from his fellow giants, saying that "Nobody" has hurt him, they think Polyphemus is being afflicted by divine power and recommend prayer as the answer.

In the morning, the blind Cyclops lets the sheep out to graze, feeling their backs to ensure that the men are not escaping. However, Odysseus and his men have tied themselves to the undersides of the animals and so get away. As he sails off with his men, Odysseus boastfully reveals his real name, an act of hubris that was to cause problems for him later. Polyphemus prays to his father, Poseidon, for revenge and casts huge rocks towards the ship, which Odysseus barely escapes.

I came across the above artwork yesterday and it broke my heart to see the gentleness of the giant knowing his fate. So, today's post is in honor of Polyphemus. Your life would have been much better if a certain stray hero hadn't set foot on your island.

“Oh gentle ram, why do you come from the cave behind the rest of the flock? You never before tarried behind the other skeep, but striding far before the others you snatched the mild blossoms, you came first to the banks of the rivers, and you ever desired first to return home in the evening. But now you are last by far. Are you worried about my eye, which that rotten bastard Noone and his awful friends took from me after wrecking my mind with wine – I do not say that he has escaped death. Would that you could be of one mind with me, and could tell me where that man has fled from my wrath. Once slain, his brain would drip through my cave here and there to the ground, and it would ease my heart from those troubles which that worthless bastard Noone gave me.”
(Odyssey 9.446-460)

Post settings Labels Polyphemus,Mythology 101,Odysseia,ancient Hellenic culture,Hómēros,Odysseus, No matching suggestions Published on 21/05/2018 09:00 Permalink Location Options

• Friday, July 16, 2021
  ancient Hellenic culture Hómēros Mythology 101 Odysseia Odysseus Polyphemus

Petition asks British Museum to return the “Karpathos Lady” to Greece

The “Karpathos Lady” statue has been, like the Parthenon Marbles, housed in the British Museum for more than a century, but a petition was launched this week to bring her back to Greece.bThe online petition, which is seeking signatures from the public, is targeting both the British Museum and the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports in a bid to “bring her home.”

The statue in question is 6,000 years old, and originates from the island of Karpathos. She found herself in London following her discovery by British adventurer Theodore Bent.

Bent came upon a statue of a female deity on the Greek island of Karpathos in 1885, and decided to smuggle her off the island and back to Great Britain. He then sold his discovery to the British Museum, where it is still housed. The ancient Greek statue holds the title of the oldest such statue in the British Museum.

Until 2014, for almost 130 years, the statue had not moved from its permanent exhibit in London.

This all changed when a successful radio series which was produced by the BBC in collaboration with the museum skyrocketed the statue to fame. The series, named “A History of the World in 100 Objects,” saw people around the world wanting to view the Karpathos Lady from up close.

A tour of museums began under the same name, which saw the statue travelling across the world. The Karpathos Lady’s international debut was in Taipei, Taiwan – her first journey outside Europe. In 2015, she went to Japan, with exhibitions in Tokyo, Kyushu and Kobe.

The statue’s travels then took her to a new continent in 2016, being put on show in Perth and Canberra in Australia before heading back to Asia in 2017, where she wowed them in Beijing and Shanghai. 2018 saw the statue back in Europe for the exhibition in Valenciennes, France. Finally, in May 2019, the Karpathos Lady returned to Asia and stayed in the Hong Kong Jockey Club for four months.

Even through all of these travels, the statue has never returned to her native Greece.

Although it may be intuitive to display the Karpathos Lady in the closest museum to where the artefact was excavated, the Archaeological Museum of Karpathos in Pigadia has never done so. Instead, they are only able to dedicate a small cabinet to this incredibly important statue, encasing a photograph and a description of it inside.

The new online petition is calling for the Karpathos Lady’s return to Greece following her almost 130-year lease to the British Museum. The petition is to encourage the two parties of the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Museum to negotiate for the statue’s return to the place where it was created.

The organizer’s idea is for a “summer season” in Pigadia, Karpathos, hopefully in 2022, when tourists and locals alike could admire the beauty already seen by so many all across the world. This would signify not only the rectification of a great wrong after the statue was looted but also a joyous return for the Karpathos Lady to her native island.

• Thursday, July 15, 2021
  archeology current affairs modern Greece

Question Collections post 28

I get a lot of questions from readers, and most of the time, the answers are fairly short. When I feel the question or the reply would be valuable to others as well, I make a post with a collection of them and post them in one go. Today is one of those posts.

"Do you know how to make/create your own frankincense? I can't find anything at all!"

Frankincense is a resin, tapped from the Boswellia sacra tree. The bark is stripped off, and the tree 'bleeds' tears of frankincense, which are allowed to harden before being cut off. There is great variety in quality--color, purity, aroma, age, and shape--and, thus, in price. Generally speaking, the more opaque resins are the best quality. If you want to create it yourself, you probably can but you would need your own Boswellia sacra tree. From that point on, it would be easy!

***

"If I have done a ritual I didn't like because I think I could have done it better, can I redo it the day after?"

Yes, you can. Should you, that's the question I would pose in return. Why would you want to redo it? Is it because you weren't happy with it or becasue you didn't give the Theoi Their due? If the Theoi got Their due when there is no need to do it again. You still can but it would be for you, not Them. If you messed up, forgot a step, didn't give the right sacrifice, etc... then it might be worth doing it again the day after (or, even better, later that day) to give the Theoi their proper due and make it right.

***

"I know that the remnants of sacrifices, for example the ashes, were often left in the Sanctuary, as told by Παυσανίας in Ἑλλάδος περιήγησις. Nevertheless, is that a mandatory practice, is it considered unrespectful to discard them or use them for other purposes? And how should one deal with ashes and unburnt parts of offerings (for example incense etc.) used in domestic worship? Hoping that you can answer me, I heartily thank you!"

It seems like you know what the ancients did: they buried them on the temple grounds or they were left, becoming an ash-altar over time. At home, the remnants of sacrifice were often buried after every sacrifice. What you should do is up to you--it depends on your situation. I can tell you what I do: I store everything sacrificed--including things that don't break down, like coins--in a special vessel and take it out to be sacrificed at the crossroads along with Hekate's sacrifice at the Deipnon. This 'end of month'-celebration has a cleansing askpect that I take advantage of in this way. It's worked very well for me for many years.

***

"I would like to ask a question regarding the myth of the Achelous, and how the supreme of all the river gods of Hellas battled the supreme man, Heracles over the hand of Deianeira. Wasn't Heracles's act of dueling with a god hubris?"

If Herakles had been a more mortal then yes, it definitely would have been. Even Herakles, who was an established hero by this time, pretty much walked the edge here. I can't say this with 100% conviction but I assume this is a question of hierarchy. The Potamoi--river-Gods--belong to an older, overthrown generation of Gods. Herakles is the son of the highest God in the pantheon. As such, even though Herakles was partially human at the time, he outranked Achelous. that's also why he won--if he hadn't outranked Achelous, he would not have been more powerful and he would not have won. So no, it was not hubris because Herakles had the right to fight and defeat Achelous--but don't try the same trick at home!

***

"When one commits a disgraceful act, or an act going against the moral laws, for example dishonoring parents or failing to have self-control, aside from improving one's behavior are there any more ways of cleansing oneself from a deed like that?"

Cleansing was an act tied to religion--still is. If the transgression was of a secular nature, there is no need nor reason to do anything but make it up to any people who might have been wronged by your behavior and change your behaviour for the future. There is no connection to the Theoi so no additional cleansing needs to be partaken in. The theoi are unconcerned with the every day affairs of mortals.

• Wednesday, July 14, 2021
  ancient Hellenic culture Hekate's Deipnon Hellenismos 101 personal Question Collections Post requested post

Constellation Lupus: the wolf

Before we get started on this one, I need to tell you that the interpretation of 'wolf' is a Roman one; The romans translated Ptolemy's work from Greek to Latin, and translated the constellation named 'Therion' as 'wolf', instead of the more general 'beast' or 'animal'. As such, the constellation did not actually represent a wolf until Roman times, but we are stuck with the Roman names, so I went with 'wolf' for the post's title.

The stars of the constellation Lupus were once considered to be part of the constellation Centaurus, where they represented an animal being impaled on a pole by the centaur, who was holding it toward the constellation Ara, the altar, as though he were about to sacrifice it. The Hellenic astronomer Hipparch separated the constellation from Centaurus and named it Therion in the second century BC.

Because the separation came so late, many references to Lupus are in connection to Centaurus and Ara. Aratos, for example, in his 'Phaenomena':

"The constellation of Centaur [Centaurus] thou wilt find beneath two others. For part in human form lies beneath Scorpio, but the rest, a horse’s trunk and tail, are beneath the Claws. He ever seems to stretch his right hand towards the round Altar, but though his hand is drawn and firmly grasped another sign – the Beast [Fera], for so men of old have named it." [436]

Hyginus, in his 'Astronomica' echoes this, linking Lupus to the constellation Centaurus. In his version, the Centaur holding out a sacrifice is either Kheiron or Pholus; Kheiron because he dropped a poisoned arrow on his foot and perished, and Pholus for his Gods-given powers of divination:

"When Hercules was once visiting Chiron, and while sitting with him was examining his arrows, one of them is said to have fallen on the foot of Chiron, and thus brought about his death. Others say that when the Centaur wondered at his being able to kill such huge creatures as Centauri with such slight arrows, he himself tried to draw the bow, and the arrow, slipping from his hand, fell on his foot. For this reason Jupiter [Zeus], pitying him, put him among the constellations with a victim which he seems to hold above the altar for sacrifice. Others have said that he is Pholus the Centaurus, who was more skilled in augury that the rest. Consequently, by the will of Jove [Zeus], he was represented coming to the altar with a victim." [II.38]
 

The constellation Lupus is a minor constellation, and in ancient writings, you won't be able to connect it to the wolf at all, especially because wolves--if they ever ended up being sacrificed on an altar at all--would most likely only be sacrificed in cult worship. It was not a regular sacrificial animal, but may have been a part of the worship of Gods with the 'Lykaion' epithet--like Zeus and Apollon.

The constellation is visible at latitudes between +35° and −90°, and best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of June.

• Tuesday, July 13, 2021
  ancient Hellenic culture Aratos astronomy Constellation series epithets Hyginus Kheiron Pholus Ptolemy Roman

How the mines of Laurion changed ancient Athens and the World

Just 50 kilometers south of Athens, between Thoricus and Cape Sounion, lies the mines of Laurion. Silver, copper, lead and even rare metals have been mined there since the Late Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC at least, until mining ceased unexpectedly for centuries until the sixth century BC.

The mines thrived during Greece’s Classic Period, with serfs doing the laborious mining of the metals. The city-state of Athens exploited the mines to the full, and they became a vital source of revenue. In the 4th and 5th centuries BC, the output of the Laurion mines represented fully 25 percent of the Athenian state’s annual wealth.

According to Dr. Elias Konofagos, a chemical engineer and member of the energy committee of the Academy of Athens, the annual gross revenue from just the silver and lead from the Laurion mines at that time was 920 talents.

The talent (“talanton”) was an ancient unit of mass and a commercial weight, as well as representing corresponding units of value equivalent to these masses of a precious metal. The 920 talents were equivalent to 5,520,000 Attica drachmas, with those silver coins each weighing 4.36 grams.

In the beginning of the fifth century BC, the annual output of the Laurion mines was an astounding 20,000 kilograms of silver and 8,000 tons of lead. Archaeologists have discovered almost 200 different mines and shafts in the area dating back to the years 480-250 BC.

Themistocles was elected Archon of Athens in 493 BC, and one of his plans was to make Athens a leading nautical power. He also built a wall across Piraeus to defend the Attican territory. Soon, the Port of Faliro was replaced by the Piraeus Port.

Themistocles ordered the construction of 200 ships called triremes, which required 170 rowers each, amounting to a total workforce of 34,000 men. The funds used for the construction of the ships derived directly from the Laurion mines.

It is estimated that 20,000 serfs worked in the mines to provide the silver for the fleet that Themistocles demanded. The end result of all their backbreaking toil was that Athens became a fearsome naval power.

In 480 BC, the vast Persian army defeated the Greek forces at the Battle of Thermopylae, invaded parts of Greece and threatened the Athenian state. Themistocles proposed that since the Greeks were outnumbered by the Persians, they should avoid fighting on land.

He then suggested that the Persian king Xerxes’ army should be stopped at sea. The Athenian-dominated Allied navy engaged the Persian fleet in the nearby straits of Artemisium; unfortunately, the Greeks suffered heavy losses there and retreated.

Themistocles insisted that the Persian fleet should be brought to battle again. After a subterfuge on the part of the sly Themistocles, King Xerxes was lured into a titanic battle at sea, leading his Persian fleet straight into the Straits of Salamis.

Once inside the narrow straits, the Persian ships could not maneuver, and they became completely disorganized. The Greek fleet was then able to snatch the opportunity to obliterate the Persian naval forces and score a decisive victory for Athens and Greece.

It was September 22, 480 BC — a day which became one of the most momentous dates in the history of ancient Greece. One year later, without a navy to support his troops, the Persian King Xerxes retreated to Asia, forever abandoning his ambition to conquer Greece.

Many historians believe that a Persian victory would have stopped the progress of ancient Greek civilization, and by extension western civilization as a whole, leading them to argue that Salamis is one of the most significant battles in human history.

The ships which helped to win the Battle of Salamis were paid for with silver from the mines of Laurion. So it would be safe to say that these mines in the south part of Attica, and the terrible labor of the enslaved men there, contributed significantly to the saving of western civilization.

The rich mines of Laurion stopped operation only in the year 1992, and today, its property belongs to the Ministry of Culture. The ancient mines, which figure so large in Western history, are now part of the Laurion Technological and Cultural Park.

• Monday, July 12, 2021
  ancient Hellenic culture archeology Athens