Grèce

Children of Chance – An Atheist’s Journey Through the Ages takes the reader back to the 7th century BCE, narrating the thoughts and achievements of the Greek Ionian thinkers who first established western civilization’s scientific method. In the following chapters, the author narrates the abuses perpetrated by organized religion throughout the ages and the struggle of pioneer scientists to cope with dogmatic concepts. In the epilogue, the author laments the current situation on Earth perpetrated by the influence of what he calls “impostors,” religion, and nationalism.

Με μεγάλη χαρά ανακοινώνουμε την κυκλοφορία μιας νέας σειράς αγγλικών βιβλίων για μικρούς και μεγάλους που εισάγουν τους αναγνώστες στον κόσμο και στον πολιτισμό της αρχαίας Ελλάδας μέσα από τις εμβληματικές ηρωίδες της μυθολογίας. Είτε πρόκειται για διασκευές κλασικών τραγωδιών του Ευριπίδη, του Αισχύλου και του Σοφοκλή είτε για πρωτότυπα έργα βασισμένα σε γνωστές πηγές, τα βιβλία αυτά έχουν στόχο να παρασύρουν τους αναγνώστες σε ένα ταξίδι γεμάτο περιπέτεια, δράμα, θάνατο και έρωτα, ενώ παράλληλα εστιάζουν στις γυναίκες που έπαιξαν τόσο σημαντικό ρόλο στην ιστορία μας -και συχνά εξακολουθούν να μνημονεύονται ως απλοί θεατές. Η σειρά ξεκινά με έξι βιβλία: Μήδεια, Κίρκη, Ηλέκτρα, Ελένη, Αριάδνη και Αντιγόνη. Τα τρία πρώτα εκδίδονται τον Μάρτιο του 2024, ενώ τα επόμενα τρία το καλοκαίρι. Κάθε βιβλίο μπορεί να διαβαστεί ξεχωριστά και μπορείτε να αρχίσετε την ανάγνωση με οποιαδήποτε σειρά, όμως υπάρχει ένα βασικό νήμα που εντέλει συνδέει όλους αυτούς τους χαρακτήρες και παρέχει μια ευρύτερη άποψη για το τι ήταν να είσαι γυναίκα στον αρχαίο ελληνικό κόσμο. Τα ιδιαίτερα εξώφυλλα της σειράς έχει φιλοτεχνήσει η ταλαντούχα εικονογράφος Little Miss Grumpy. Γέννημα-θρέμμα Αθηναία, είχε όνειρο να γίνει ηθοποιός, αλλά τελικά έγινε μια από τις πιο πολλά υποσχόμενες εικονογράφους της γενιάς της. Σχεδιάζει, σκιτσάρει και ζωγραφίζει για βιβλία και εφημερίδες και δημιουργεί αντικείμενα με… προσωπικότητα.

"A lovely work of ethnographic art. . . the book is virtually unsurpassed in its careful but not laborious coherence and overall development of exposition that convincingly extends the network of significant connections and at the same time presses the analysis deeper towards the ultimate grounds of Greek village imagination"" (Rodney Needham, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, All Souls College, Oxford), ""This elegantly written and beautifully constructed book illumines the imaginative world underpinning the ordinary lives of Greek villagers, and shows how their culture has been built around the ""deep structure"" of their Orthodox Christian faith. As a result we are introduced to a world of profound humanity and spiritual depth. A unique experience"" (Bishop Basil of Amphipolis, Ecumenical Patriarchate), ""In this remarkable volume, a sequel to her acclaimed study of a Greek mountain village, Juliet du Boulay shows the place of Orthodoxy in villagers' thinking. She explores the way their faith is woven into the details of their lives, especially in the imagery of the round dance, a symbol in both village and Orthodox tradition of blest communal living. The result is fascinating" (Fr Andrew Louth, Professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, University of Durham).

Crete, the 'Great Island' of Greece, has been home to such figures as the legendary King Minos, El Greco and Nikos Kazantzakis. In myth, it is associated with Daedalus and Icarus and the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Today it is one of the most popular destinations in Greece, its visitors lured by the promise of spectacular beaches and the remains of some of the most influential and ancient civilisations in Europe.

Part history, part guide, "Crete" includes comprehensive and detailed itineraries, covering the cities of Iraklion, Rethymnon and Chania; the great Minoan palaces at Knossos, Phaestos and Ayia Triadha plus Graeco-Roman ruins, Byzantine churches and Venetian churches. Scattered throughout are the myths, legends and folklore of the island, as well as notes on its hidden gems: scenic stopping-off points, untouched beaches, mountain villages and tavernas, where the ancient ritual songs and dances of Crete are still performed.'In the middle of the sable sea, there lies an isle called Crete, a ravisher of eyes...' - Homer, "The Odyssey".

For the Pre-Socratic philosophers the soul was the source of movement and sensation, while for Plato it was the seat of being, metaphysically distinct from the body that it was forced temporarily to inhabit. Plato's student Aristotle was determined to test the truth of both these beliefs against the emerging sciences of logic and biology. His examination of the huge variety of living organisms - the enormous range of their behaviour, their powers and their perceptual sophistication - convinced him of the inadequacy both of a materialist reduction and of a Platonic sublimation of the soul. In De Anima, he sought to set out his theory of the soul as the ultimate reality of embodied form and produced both a masterpiece of philosophical insight and a psychology of perennially fascinating subtlety.

This socialist history of modern Greece tells the story of its rebirth in struggle, the heroic resistance to Nazi occupation, the civil war and its aftermath, the colonels' dictatorship and its overthrow, the rise and fall of PASOK, the debt crisis, the popular uprising of 2010-12, the election of SYRIZA, the referendum and the subsequent capitulation. What lessons can Greece's experience teach those campaigning against austerity throughout Europe? This book includes an Appendix by Eric Toussaint.

Delphi is part of the volume entitled "treasures of the Greek Museums" which introduces the reader to the priceless works of art housed in the museums of Greece. The texts, written by experts, furnish details of the historical and cultural context of these masterpieces. The most important achaeological sites are also presented, with exclusive aerial photographs and other lavish illustrations.

This is the story of one of the great forgotten wars of history - which led to the division of one of the biggest empires the world has ever seen. Alexander the Great built up his huge empire in little more than a decade, stretching from Greece in the West, via Egypt, Syria, Babylonia, and Persia through to the Indian sub-continent in the East. After his death in 323 BC, it took forty years of world-changing warfare for his heirs to finish carving up these vast conquests. These years were filled with high adventure, intrigue, passion, assassinations, dynastic marriages, treachery, shifting alliances, and mass slaughter on battlefieldafter battlefield. And while the men fought on the field, the women schemed from their palaces and pavilions. Dividing the Spoils revives the memory of Alexander's Successors, whose fame has been dimmed only because they stand in his enormous shadow. In fact, Alexander left things in a mess at the time of his death, with no guaranteed succession, no administration in place suitable for such an enormous realm, and huge untamed areas both bordering and within his 'empire'. The Successors consolidated the Conqueror's gains. Their competing ambitions, however, meant that consolidation inevitablyled to the break-up of the empire. Astonishingly, this period of brutal, cynical warfare was also characterized by brilliant cultural developments, especially in the fields of philosophy, literature, and art. As well as an account of the military action, this is also the story of an amazing cultural flowering. In some senses, a new world emerged from the dust and haze of battle - the world of Hellenistic Greece. A surprising amount of the history of many countries, from Greece to Afghanistan, began in the hearts and minds of the Successors of Alexander the Great. As this book demonstrates, their stories deserve to be better known.

In Divine Might Natalie Haynes, author of the bestselling Pandora’s Jar, returns to the world of Greek myth and this time she examines the role of the goddesses.

We meet Athene, who sprang fully formed from her father’s head: goddess of war and wisdom, guardian of Athens. We run with Artemis, goddess of hunting and protector of young girls (apart from those she decides she wants as a sacrifice). Here is Aphrodite, goddess of sex and desire – there is no deity more determined and able to make you miserable if you annoy her. And then there’s the queen of all the Olympian gods: Hera, Zeus’s long-suffering wife, whose jealousy of his dalliances with mortals, nymphs and goddesses lead her to wreak elaborate, vicious revenge on those who have wronged her.

We also meet Demeter, goddess of agriculture and mother of the kidnapped Persephone, we sing the immortal song of the Muses and we warm ourselves with Hestia, goddess of the hearth and sacrificial fire. The Furies carry flames of another kind – black fires of vengeance for those who incur their wrath.

These goddesses are as mighty, revered and destructive as their male counterparts. Isn’t it time we looked beyond the columns of a ruined temple to the awesome power within?