Ancient Greece

Mon, 19 May 2008 12:24:32 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Ancient Greece consisted chiefly of a peninsula that separated the two seas, nearby islands, and the coast of Asia Minor (now part of Turkey).
Greek civilization developed later than that of the Euphrates and Nile valleys, but earlier than that of Rome. Ancient Greece reached its highest point of achievement in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., but its influence remained strong throughout the era of Roman supremacy.

Vigorous, adventuresome, and freedom-loving, of strong practicality and great intellectual capacity, they produced art, architecture, literature, drama, and philosophic concepts that have never been surpassed. The Greeks developed the political institution of democracy, established freedom of speech and religion, and founded a system of law defining the rights of citizens. They made major discoveries in astronomy, physics, mathematics, and medicine. The first experimental scientists were Greeks.

Clip Source: history.howstuffworks.com

Inside This Article

Introduction to Ancient Greece

The Making of Ancient Greece

Growth of the City-States

The Athenian Age

Final Years of Greek Independence

Philip and Alexander of Macedon

The Hellenistic Age

Greece Under the Roman Empire

See all General History articles

Articles:

Did the ancient Greeks get their ideas from the Africans?

How Archaeology Works

Peloponnesian War

Maps:

Greece

The Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses, each representing either some part of the universe (such as the sea or the underworld) or some aspect of human life (such as love or war). They believed that these gods frequently intervened in human affairs, and they turned to the gods for aid and revelations. Many Greek myths tell of adventures of the gods and their dealings with humans. The names of the Greek gods and many of the legends about them have survived to become part of Western tradition.

Greek civilization arose along the shores of the Aegean and Ionian seas

Tags: ancient greece, aegean and ionian seas, myths, gods, peloponnesian war, hellenistic age, macedonia, roman empire

Irena Sendler Saved 2500 Jewish Children In Warsaw Ghetto

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:48:49 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: On Oct. 20, 1943, the Gestapo arrested her and took her to Pawiak prison, where subversives were tortured and killed. Over three months, her detainers used clubs and other devices to fracture her legs and feet.

She did not inform on Zegota leaders and was sentenced to death by firing squad, but a bribed guard helped her escape and marked her as having been executed. Mrs. Sendler remained incognito for the rest of the war -- she could not even risk attending her mother's funeral -- and continued to help Zegota.

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Israel, recognized Mrs. Sendler in 1965 as "Righteous Among the Nations," the designation for gentiles who aided Jews during the war. The number of children saved by Mrs. Sendler and her partners is unknown, according to Yad Vashem, but some estimates by survivors groups claim more than 2,500.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051202751_pf.html

Clip Source: astuteblogger.blogspot.com

Excerpt from this obituary in the Washington Post:

...In recent years, a biography of Mrs. Sendler called her "Mother of the children of the Holocaust," and Polish President Lech Kaczynski awarded her the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest civilian decoration.

"Every Jewish child who survived due to my efforts has justified my existence on this Earth but is no cause for praise," Mrs. Sendler told the Express. "We who were rescuing children are not some kind of heroes. That term irritates me greatly. The opposite is true. I continue to have qualms of conscience that I did so little. I could have done more. This regret will follow me to my death."...

Read more about Irena Sendler and "Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project" HERE. More details about her acts of heroism in saving 2500 Jewish children can be found HERE.

RIP: IRENA SENDLER

Tags: irena sendler 98, polish catholic, social worker, warsaw's jewish ghetto, world war ii, zegota's children

Clipmarks | merrie's HISTORY collection

Ancient Greece

Irena Sendler Saved 2500 Jewish Children In Warsaw Ghetto

RIP: IRENA SENDLER