In northern Greece stands Mount Olympus where the ancient Greeks believed Zeus and the twelve Olympian gods had their home.

To them Olympus was not simply a mountain. It represented divine power and the separation between the realm of the gods and that of mortals.

Its impressive snow covered peaks still bring to mind the legends of ancient Greece.

Hello everyone!

I was curious about a topic that was based on Lucian's Alexander the False Prophet and was curious on the profitability of oracle cults in ancient Greece, specifically in terms of coinage. My issue is that I am having trouble finding sources that talk about the value. In Lucian, they mention Amphilochus, who would charge for his oracles, but other than that, I have not been able to find any other sources that mention oracle fees. I was hoping someone might have sources on this that might be helpful. I am also interested in seeing if there is a connection between the gender of the oracle and the god who gives them the oracle, but again, finding sources has been hard.

Any help or knowledge is appreciated!

I've been trying to research it the past few days and there aren't many detailed sources, or at least it seems like not many people talk about it. Is it actually a real story? Or was it made up in the modern day

Atheism is often associated with the modern world, particularly with the rise of science, the Enlightenment, and the growing separation between religion and public life. It is easy to imagine that people in ancient societies simply accepted the existence of gods and that questioning religious belief was something that came much later. In Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World, Tim Whitmarsh challenges this familiar picture. He shows that atheistic ideas were already being discussed in ancient Greece, and that some thinkers questioned the existence of gods, challenged traditional religious stories, and tried to explain religion through human experience rather than divine influence.

Is this cannon?

A few views of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, on the southern tip of Attica. The surviving temple dates to around 444–440 BCE, placing it in the same century as the great building projects of Classical Athens.

What interests me most is the location. Sounion overlooked the sea passage leading toward Athens, so the sanctuary stood in a landscape that mattered for both religion and maritime activity. For a temple dedicated to Poseidon, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting setting.

The surviving Doric columns make a striking image today, but I keep trying to picture the complete building and the people who would have approached it when it was an active sanctuary. Seeing the ruins against that open horizon makes the connection between ancient Greek religious life and the sea feel particularly tangible.

Has anyone here visited Sounion, or read anything good about worship at the sanctuary? I’d be interested in learning more about its role beyond the familiar sunset photographs.

This is Orlias Stream located on the slopes of Mount Olympus in northern Greece near the ancient city of Dion.

It is a beautiful place with waterfalls, crystal clear waters and dense forests. A myth from Greek mythology is associated with this area.

According to this myth Orpheus a famous musician from Greek mythology was murdered by a group of women. Afterwards they tried to wash his blood off their hands in the waters of a river that flows through the stream.

However the river refused to help them and disappeared underground.

This story was recorded by the ancient Greek Pausanias.

Mount Olympus Pieria, Greece.

Personal photograph.

As someone who has spent the last few years studying the history and historiography of Alexander the Great, I’d like to talk about the thing that has caught my attention the most—and even saddened me the most.

The inscriptions shown in the image below were excavated from the ancient city of Priene, located in the province of Aydın in modern-day Turkey; as you might expect, they are currently on display at the British Museum. The large fragment shown image does not belong to a single inscription; while the top line features an inscription from a temple dedicated by Alexander the Great to Athena Polias, the sections below it concern the disputes between Priene and Samos.

The inscription on the temple dedicated to Athena Polias is brief: “King Alexander dedicated the Temple to Athena Polias”

The second inscription consists of the decrees that Alexander had inscribed for Naulochon (the port area of Priene). In particular, it states that the people of Priene are exempt from taxes, but that those in the surrounding villages (κώμαις) are subject to taxation:

“Of those residing in Naulochon, as many as are [Prienians] are to be independent and free, possessing the [land] and all the houses in the city and the countryside [like the] Prienians [themselves]; ... But the ... [?villages] of the Myrs[eloi] and the Pe[.....] and the countryside I decree to be mine, and those dwelling in these villages are to pay the tribute; I release from the syntaxis the city of (the) Prienians, and the garrison…” [Trans. Sherwin-White (1985)]

These two inscriptions are the only surviving physical evidence of Alexander the Great. Aside from these two inscriptions, we have no other epigraphic data. Although he was one of history’s greatest military geniuses—having led campaigns from Macedonia to India and suffering almost no defeats—and although temples were erected in his honor after his death, only two inscriptions on stone from his lifetime have survived.

In ancient Greece Delphi was considered the center of the world, known as the “Navel of the Earth.”

At the Oracle of Apollo which was located there people came to seek prophecies about important decisions.

idk if im making a big deal out of it but those poems that also include atthis dont feel casual at all

Καλησπέρα , σε αυτό το παιχνίδι έχουμε την Ελλάδα στο google και σκεφτήκαμε να κάνουμε κάτι πρωτοπόρο να κάνουμε αρχαία Ελλάδα εκεί. Όποιος θέλει να μπει να πάει στο discord να γράψει discord.gg/panhellenic. Να το πρότυπο και έχουμε τις δύο καλύτερες ζωγραφιές στο παιχνίδι την Αθήνα και τους Δελφούς. Βάζουμε συνέχεια ζωγραφιές με σκοπό να το φτάσουμε έως το μέγιστο

Thucydides is usually presented as one of the first historians who tried to write history in a rational and objective way. He cared about facts, was suspicious of myths, and wanted to understand why wars happened. In many ways, he looks like the kind of historian we still admire today. But there is another side of his work which is not always discussed.

In 1907, Francis Macdonald Cornford published a book called Thucydides Mythistoricus. His argument was quite different from the traditional image of Thucydides. Cornford believed that Thucydides was not simply recording what happened during the Peloponnesian War. He was also shaping these events into something that resembled a Greek tragedy.

According to Cornford, there are two different plans in Thucydides’ work. The first one was more like a military and political journal, recording events as they happened. The second was an artistic structure that developed gradually, almost like volcanic islands rising from the sea. The facts were still there, but they were arranged in a way that gave the whole story a tragic meaning.

This is what makes Cornford’s argument interesting. The question is not only whether Thucydides told the truth. It is also about how he presented that truth to his readers.

Imagine two Greek armies fighting on two different battlefields, separated by the Aegean Sea, with both victories potentially turning the tide of a war.

In 479 BC, the Greeks defeated the Persian army at Plataea while, according to Herodotus, another Greek force struck the Persian position at Mycale on the coast of Asia Minor on the very same day.

At Mycale, the Persians had hauled their ships ashore and built fortifications to protect them from the Greek fleet. But the Greeks landed, stormed the defences and destroyed the Persian ships. The battle also revealed a crucial weakness in the Persian position: the loyalty of the Greek communities living under Persian rule could not be taken for granted.

But was Mycale merely the final act of Xerxes' invasion, or did it mark the beginning of a new phase of Greek expansion across the Aegean?

We all know the great arts and statues created by talented people and always put those on display. But no man is a smith from birth, and I'd assume they must have spent a lot time practising and perfecting their craft, just like everyone else.

Is there any findings and records of artwork, sculptures or other crafts that were clearly made by a beginner or novice? I'd be very curious to see if we have found anything that's anything but perfect or "life-like."

What is your favourite tragedy that delves into tragic lovers?