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22.5.09

Τα μυστηριώδη Κβάζαρ

Μια τεράστια μαύρη τρύπα στο κέντρο ενός γαλαξία

Ακόμα δεν ξέρουμε ακριβώς τι είναι ένα κβάζαρ. Αλλά η πεπαιδευμένη θεώρηση προσανατολίζεται στην εικασία ότι τα κβάζαρ παράγονται από τις τεράστιες μαύρες τρύπες που καταβροχθίζουν την ύλη σε έναν επιταχυνόμενο δίσκο. Καθώς περιστρέφεται η αστρική ύλη ολοένα και γρηγορότερα, υπερθερμαίνεται. Η τριβή όλων των μορίων μεταξύ τους εκπέμπει τεράστια ποσά φωτός που διαμορφώνεται σε ακτινοβολία όπως οι ακτίνες X.
Η μαύρη τρύπα θα μπορούσε να καταβροχθίσει την ισοδύναμη μάζα ενός Ήλιου ανά έτος.
Καθώς η ύλη συντρίβεται εξ αιτίας της μαύρης τρύπας, τα τεράστια ποσά ενέργειας εκτινάσσονται σε όλη την έκταση της μαύρης τρύπας κατά μήκος του βόρειου και νότιου πόλου.

Τα μυστηριώδη Κβάζαρ

Οι αστρονόμοι αναφέρονται σε αυτούς τους σχηματισμούς ως διαστημικά αεριωθούμενα. Μια άλλη πιθανή εξήγηση για τα κβάζαρ είναι ότι είναι πολύ νέοι γαλαξίες. Δεδομένου ότι ξέρουμε πολύ λίγα για την εξελικτική διαδικασία των γαλαξιών, είναι δυνατό τα κβάζαρ, όσο παλαιά κι εάν είναι, αντιπροσωπεύουν ένα πολύ πρώτο στάδιο στο σχηματισμό των γαλαξιών. Η ενέργεια που βλέπουμε μπορεί να εκτιναχθεί από τους πυρήνες αυτών των πολύ νέων και πολύ ενεργών γαλαξιών. Μερικοί επιστήμονες ακόμη θεωρούν ότι τα κβάζαρ είναι απόμακρα σημεία του διαστήματος όπου νέα ύλη εισέρχεται στον κόσμο μας. Αλλά αυτό θα επενεργούσε διαφορετικά από τις μαύρες τρύπες. Αλλά και αυτή η άποψη δεν είναι παρά μια υπόθεση. Οπωσδήποτε απαιτείται αρκετός χρόνος πριν μάθουμε τι πραγματικά είναι αυτά τα παράξενα ουράνια αντικείμενα.


Δεν είναι αστέρια, όπως τα ξέρουμε...

Τα κβάζαρ είναι τα φωτεινότερα και τα πιό απομακρυσμένα αντικείμενα στο σύμπαν. Στις αρχές του 1960, το κβάζαρ εντοπίστηκε ως ραδιο-αστερισμός, και αυτό, επειδή εξέπεμπε μια ισχυρή δέσμη ραδιοκυμάτων.
Αλλά τι θα πει Κβάσαρ (Quasar); Είναι συναφής με αυτά που αναφέρθηκαν παραπάνω. Η λέξη προέρχεται από τις λέξεις: "Quasi-Stellar Radio Source".
Σήμερα, πολλοί αστρονόμοι αναφέρονται σε αυτά ως ‘ημι-αστρικά αντικείμενα’ ή με συντομία ως QSOs.
Με τη βελτίωση της ανάλυσης των ραδιο –τηλεσκοπίων αλλά και των οπτικών τηλεσκοπίων έγινε καλύτερη παρατήρηση των αντικειμένων αυτών και οι επιστήμονες συμπέραναν πως αυτά δεν ήταν αληθινά αστέρια αλλά ένας τύπος αστεροειδών, άγνωστων στην καταγεγραμμένη αστρονομία.
Επίσης έγινε γνωστό ότι τα ραδιο κύματα προέρχονταν από ένα ζεύγος λοβών που περιβάλλουν αυτά τα αδύναμα αστεροειδή αντικείμενα.
Ανακαλύφθηκε, ακόμη, πως αυτά τα αντικείμενα βρίσκονται έξω από το δικό μας γαλαξία.
Τα κβάζαρ είναι ένα από μυστήρια του σύμπαντος. Οι αστρονόμοι δεν γνωρίζουν, ακόμη, τι ακριβώς είναι αυτά.
Άλλωστε το μόνο που γνωρίζουμε είναι ότι εκπέμπουν τεράστια ποσά ενέργειας. Ισοδυναμούν, μάλιστα με την ενέργεια ενός πλήθους τρισεκατομμυρίων ήλιων!
Μερικά Κβάζαρ πιστεύεται πως παράγουν από δέκα ως εκατό φορές περισσότερη ενέργεια από ότι ολόκληρος ο γαλαξίας μας. Το εντυπωσιακό είναι πως όλη αυτή η ενέργεια φαίνεται να παράγεται σε μια περιοχή όχι πολύ μεγαλύτερη από το ηλιακό μας σύστημα.


20.5.09

Letter to President Barack Obama

ancient-scholars@macedonia-evidence.org
May 18, 2009
The Honorable Barack Obama
President, United States of America
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500


Dear President Obama,
We, the undersigned scholars of Graeco-Roman antiquity, respectfully request that you intervene to clean up some of the historical debris left in southeast Europe by the previous U.S. administration.
On November 4, 2004, two days after the re-election of President George W. Bush, his administration unilaterally recognized the “Republic of Macedonia.” This action not only abrogated geographic and historic fact, but it also has unleashed a dangerous epidemic of historical revisionism, of which the most obvious symptom is the misappropriation by the government in Skopje of the most famous of Macedonians, Alexander the Great.
We believe that this silliness has gone too far, and that the U.S.A. has no business in supporting the subversion of history. Let us review facts. (The documentation for these facts [here in boldface] can be found attached and at: http://macedonia-evidence.org/documentation.html)
The land in question, with its modern capital at Skopje, was called Paionia in antiquity. Mts. Barnous and Orbelos (which form today the northern limits of Greece) provide a natural barrier that separated, and separates, Macedonia from its northern neighbor. The only real connection is along the Axios/Vardar River and even this valley “does not form a line of communication because it is divided by gorges.”
While it is true that the Paionians were subdued by Philip II, father of Alexander, in 358 B.C. they were not Macedonians and did not live in Macedonia. Likewise, for example, the Egyptians, who were subdued by Alexander, may have been ruled by Macedonians, including the famous Cleopatra, but they were never Macedonians themselves, and Egypt was never called Macedonia.
Rather, Macedonia and Macedonian Greeks have been located for at least 2,500 years just where the modern Greek province of Macedonia is. Exactly this same relationship is true for Attica and Athenian Greeks, Argos and Argive Greeks, Corinth and Corinthian Greeks, etc.
We do not understand how the modern inhabitants of ancient Paionia, who speak Slavic – a language introduced into the Balkans about a millennium after the death of Alexander – can claim him as their national hero. Alexander the Great was thoroughly and indisputably Greek. His great-great-great grandfather, Alexander I, competed in the Olympic Games where participation was limited to Greeks.
Even before Alexander I, the Macedonians traced their ancestry to Argos, and many of their kings used the head of Herakles - the quintessential Greek hero - on their coins.
Euripides – who died and was buried in Macedonia– wrote his play Archelaos in honor of the great-uncle of Alexander, and in Greek. While in Macedonia, Euripides also wrote the Bacchai, again in Greek. Presumably the Macedonian audience could understand what he wrote and what they heard.
Alexander’s father, Philip, won several equestrian victories at Olympia and Delphi, the two most Hellenic of all the sanctuaries in ancient Greece where non-Greeks were not allowed to compete. Even more significantly, Philip was appointed to conduct the Pythian Games at Delphi in 346 B.C. In other words, Alexander the Great’s father and his ancestors were thoroughly Greek. Greek was the language used by Demosthenes and his delegation from Athens when they paid visits to Philip, also in 346 B.C. Another northern Greek, Aristotle, went off to study for nearly 20 years in the Academy of Plato. Aristotle subsequently returned to Macedonia and became the tutor of Alexander III. They used Greek in their classroom which can still be seen near Naoussa in Macedonia.
Alexander carried with him throughout his conquests Aristotle’s edition of Homer’s Iliad. Alexander also spread Greek language and culture throughout his empire, founding cities and establishing centers of learning. Hence inscriptions concerning such typical Greek institutions as the gymnasium are found as far away as Afghanistan. They are all written in Greek.
The questions follow: Why was Greek the lingua franca all over Alexander’s empire if he was a “Macedonian”? Why was the New Testament, for example, written in Greek?
The answers are clear: Alexander the Great was Greek, not Slavic, and Slavs and their language were nowhere near Alexander or his homeland until 1000 years later. This brings us back to the geographic area known in antiquity as Paionia. Why would the people who live there now call themselves Macedonians and their land Macedonia? Why would they abduct a completely Greek figure and make him their national hero?
The ancient Paionians may or may not have been Greek, but they certainly became Greekish, and they were never Slavs. They were also not Macedonians. Ancient Paionia was a part of the Macedonian Empire. So were Ionia and Syria and Palestine and Egypt and Mesopotamia and Babylonia and Bactria and many more. They may thus have become “Macedonian” temporarily, but none was ever “Macedonia”. The theft of Philip and Alexander by a land that was never Macedonia cannot be justified.
The traditions of ancient Paionia could be adopted by the current residents of that geographical area with considerable justification. But the extension of the geographic term “Macedonia” to cover southern Yugoslavia cannot. Even in the late 19th century, this misuse implied unhealthy territorial aspirations.
The same motivation is to be seen in school maps that show the pseudo-greater Macedonia, stretching from Skopje to Mt. Olympus and labeled in Slavic. The same map and its claims are in calendars, bumper stickers, bank notes, etc., that have been circulating in the new state ever since it declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Why would a poor land-locked new state attempt such historical nonsense? Why would it brazenly mock and provoke its neighbor?
However one might like to characterize such behavior, it is clearly not a force for historical accuracy, nor for stability in the Balkans. It is sad that the United States of America has abetted and encouraged such behavior.
We call upon you, Mr. President, to help - in whatever ways you deem appropriate - the government in Skopje to understand that it cannot build a national identity at the expense of historic truth. Our common international society cannot survive when history is ignored, much less when history is fabricated.

Sincerely,

NAME
TITLE
INSTITUTION

Harry C. Avery, Professor of Classics, University of Pittsburgh (USA)
Dr. Dirk Backendorf. Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz (Germany)
Elizabeth C. Banks, Associate Professor of Classics (ret.), University of Kansas (USA)
Luigi Beschi, professore emerito di Archeologia Classica, Università di Firenze (Italy)
Josine H. Blok, professor of Ancient History and Classical Civilization, Utrecht University (The Netherlands)
Alan Boegehold, Emeritus Professor of Classics, Brown University (USA)
Efrosyni Boutsikas, Lecturer of Classical Archaeology, University of Kent (UK)
Keith Bradley, Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Professor of Classics, Concurrent Professor of History, University of Notre Dame (USA)
Stanley M. Burstein, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles (USA)
Francis Cairns, Professor of Classical Languages, The Florida State University (USA)
John McK. Camp II, Agora Excavations and Professor of Archaeology, ASCSA, Athens (Greece)
Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, University of Cambridge (UK)
Paavo Castrén, Professor of Classical Philology Emeritus, University of Helsinki (Finland)
William Cavanagh, Professor of Aegean Prehistory, University of Nottingham (UK)
Angelos Chaniotis, Professor, Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford (UK)
Paul Christesen, Professor of Ancient Greek History, Dartmouth College (USA)
Ada Cohen, Associate Professor of Art History, Dartmouth College (USA)
Randall M. Colaizzi, Lecturer in Classical Studies, University of Massachusetts-Boston (USA)
Kathleen M. Coleman, Professor of Latin, Harvard University (USA)
Michael B. Cosmopoulos, Ph.D., Professor and Endowed Chair in Greek Archaeology, University of Missouri-St. Louis (USA)
Kevin F. Daly, Assistant Professor of Classics, Bucknell University (USA)
Wolfgang Decker, Professor emeritus of sport history, Deutsche Sporthochschule, Köln (Germany)
Luc Deitz, Ausserplanmässiger Professor of Mediaeval and Renaissance Latin, University of Trier (Germany), and Curator of manuscripts and rare books, National Library of Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
Michael Dewar, Professor of Classics, University of Toronto (Canada)
John D. Dillery, Associate Professor of Classics, University of Virginia (USA)
Sheila Dillon, Associate Professor, Depts. of Art, Art History & Visual Studies and Classical Studies, Duke University (USA)
Douglas Domingo-Forasté, Professor of Classics, California State University, Long Beach (USA)
Pierre Ducrey, professeur honoraire, Université de Lausanne (Switzerland)
Roger Dunkle, Professor of Classics Emeritus, Brooklyn College, City University of New York (USA)
Michael M. Eisman, Associate Professor Ancient History and Classical Archaeology, Department of History, Temple University (USA)
Mostafa El-Abbadi, Professor Emeritus, University of Alexandria (Egypt)
R. Malcolm Errington, Professor für Alte Geschichte (Emeritus) Philipps-Universität, Marburg (Germany)
Panagiotis Faklaris, Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)
Denis Feeney, Giger Professor of Latin, Princeton University (USA)
Elizabeth A. Fisher, Professor of Classics and Art History, Randolph-Macon College (USA)
Nick Fisher, Professor of Ancient History, Cardiff University (UK)
R. Leon Fitts, Asbury J Clarke Professor of Classical Studies, Emeritus, FSA, Scot., Dickinson Colllege (USA)
John M. Fossey FRSC, FSA, Emeritus Professor of Art History (and Archaeology), McGill Univertsity, Montreal, and Curator of Archaeology, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Canada)
Robin Lane Fox, University Reader in Ancient History, New College, Oxford (UK)
Rainer Friedrich, Professor of Classics Emeritus, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Canada)
Heide Froning, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Marburg (Germany)
Peter Funke, Professor of Ancient History, University of Muenster (Germany)
Traianos Gagos, Professor of Greek and Papyrology, University of Michigan (USA)
Robert Garland, Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Professor of the Classics, Colgate University, Hamilton NY (USA)
Douglas E. Gerber, Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies, University of Western Ontario (Canada)
Hans R. Goette, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Giessen (Germany); German Archaeological Institute, Berlin (Germany)
Sander M. Goldberg, Professor of Classics, UCLA (USA)
Erich S. Gruen, Gladys Rehard Wood Professor of History and Classics, Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley (USA)
Christian Habicht, Professor of Ancient History, Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (USA)
Donald C. Haggis, Nicholas A. Cassas Term Professor of Greek Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA)
Judith P. Hallett, Professor of Classics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (USA)
Prof. Paul B. Harvey, Jr. Head, Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, The Pennsylvania State University (USA)
Eleni Hasaki, Associate Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Arizona (USA)
Miltiades B. Hatzopoulos, Director, Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity, National Research Foundation, Athens (Greece)
Wolf-Dieter Heilmeyer, Prof. Dr., Freie Universität Berlin und Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin (Germany)
Steven W. Hirsch, Associate Professor of Classics and History, Tufts University (USA)
Karl-J. Hölkeskamp, Professor of Ancient History, University of Cologne (Germany)
Frank L. Holt, Professor of Ancient History, University of Houston (USA)
Dan Hooley, Professor of Classics, University of Missouri (USA)
Meredith C. Hoppin, Gagliardi Professor of Classical Languages, Williams College, Williamstown, MA (USA)
Caroline M. Houser, Professor of Art History Emerita, Smith College (USA) and Affiliated Professor, University of Washington (USA)
Georgia Kafka, Visiting Professor of Modern Greek Language, Literature and History, University of New Brunswick (Canada)
Anthony Kaldellis, Professor of Greek and Latin, The Ohio State University (USA)
Andromache Karanika, Assistant Professor of Classics, University of California, Irvine (USA)
Robert A. Kaster, Professor of Classics and Kennedy Foundation Professor of Latin, Princeton University (USA)
Vassiliki Kekela, Adjunct Professor of Greek Studies, Classics Department, Hunter College, City University of New York (USA)
Dietmar Kienast, Professor Emeritus of Ancient History, University of Duesseldorf (Germany)
Karl Kilinski II, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Southern Methodist University (USA)
Dr. Florian Knauss, associate director, Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek Muenchen (Germany)
Denis Knoepfler, Professor of Greek Epigraphy and History, Collège de France (Paris)
Ortwin Knorr, Associate Professor of Classics, Willamette University (USA)
Robert B. Koehl, Professor of Archaeology, Department of Classical and Oriental Studies Hunter College, City University of New York (USA)
Georgia Kokkorou-Alevras, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Athens (Greece)
Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Classical Studies, Brandeis University (USA)
Eric J. Kondratieff, Assistant Professor of Classics and Ancient History, Department of Greek & Roman Classics, Temple University
Haritini Kotsidu, Apl. Prof. Dr. für Klassische Archäologie, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt/M. (Germany)
Lambrini Koutoussaki, Dr., Lecturer of Classical Archaeology, University of Zürich (Switzerland)
David Kovacs, Hugh H. Obear Professor of Classics, University of Virginia (USA)
Peter Krentz, W. R. Grey Professor of Classics and History, Davidson College (USA)
Friedrich Krinzinger, Professor of Classical Archaeology Emeritus, University of Vienna (Austria)
Michael Kumpf, Professor of Classics, Valparaiso University (USA)
Donald G. Kyle, Professor of History, University of Texas at Arlington (USA)
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Helmut Kyrieleis, former president of the German Archaeological Institute, Berlin (Germany)
Gerald V. Lalonde, Benedict Professor of Classics, Grinnell College (USA)
Steven Lattimore, Professor Emeritus of Classics, University of California, Los Angeles (USA)
Francis M. Lazarus, President, University of Dallas (USA)
Mary R. Lefkowitz, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, Emerita, Wellesley College (USA)
Iphigeneia Leventi, Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Thessaly (Greece)
Daniel B. Levine, Professor of Classical Studies, University of Arkansas (USA)
Christina Leypold, Dr. phil., Archaeological Institute, University of Zurich (Switzerland)
Vayos Liapis, Associate Professor of Greek, Centre d’Études Classiques & Département de Philosophie, Université de Montréal (Canada)
Hugh Lloyd-Jones, Professor of Greek Emeritus, University of Oxford (UK)
Yannis Lolos, Assistant Professor, History, Archaeology, and Anthropology, University of Thessaly (Greece)
Stanley Lombardo, Professor of Classics, University of Kansas, USA
Anthony Long, Professor of Classics and Irving G. Stone Professor of Literature, University of California, Berkeley (USA)
Julia Lougovaya, Assistant Professor, Department of Classics, Columbia University (USA)
A.D. Macro, Hobart Professor of Classical Languages emeritus, Trinity College (USA)
John Magee, Professor, Department of Classics, Director, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto (Canada)
Dr. Christofilis Maggidis, Associate Professor of Archaeology, Dickinson College (USA)
Jeannette Marchand, Assistant Professor of Classics, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio (USA)
Richard P. Martin, Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek Professor in Classics, Stanford University
Maria Mavroudi, Professor of Byzantine History, University of California, Berkeley (USA)
Alexander Mazarakis Ainian, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Thessaly (Greece)
James R. McCredie, Sherman Fairchild Professor emeritus; Director, Excavations in Samothrace Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (USA)
James C. McKeown, Professor of Classics, University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA)
Robert A. Mechikoff, Professor and Life Member of the International Society of Olympic Historians, San Diego State University (USA)
Andreas Mehl, Professor of Ancient History, Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg (Germany)
Harald Mielsch, Professor of Classical Archeology, University of Bonn (Germany)
Stephen G. Miller, Professor of Classical Archaeology Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley (USA)
Phillip Mitsis, A.S. Onassis Professor of Classics and Philosophy, New York University (USA)
Peter Franz Mittag, Professor für Alte Geschichte, Universität zu Köln (Germany)
David Gordon Mitten, James Loeb Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology, Harvard University (USA)
Margaret S. Mook, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Iowa State University (USA)
Anatole Mori, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, University of Missouri- Columbia (USA)
Jennifer Sheridan Moss, Associate Professor, Wayne State University (USA)
Ioannis Mylonopoulos, Assistant Professor of Greek Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, New York (USA).
Richard Neudecker, PD of Classical Archaeology, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Rom (Italy)
James M.L. Newhard, Associate Professor of Classics, College of Charleston (USA)
Carole E. Newlands, Professor of Classics, University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA)
John Maxwell O'Brien, Professor of History, Queens College, City University of New York (USA)
James J. O'Hara, Paddison Professor of Latin, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (USA)
Martin Ostwald, Professor of Classics (ret.), Swarthmore College and Professor of Classical Studies (ret.), University of Pennsylvania (USA)
Olga Palagia, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Athens (Greece)
Vassiliki Panoussi, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, The College of William and Mary (USA)
Maria C. Pantelia, Professor of Classics, University of California, Irvine (USA)
Pantos A.Pantos, Adjunct Faculty, Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology, University of Thessaly (Greece)
Anthony J. Papalas, Professor of Ancient History, East Carolina University (USA)
Nassos Papalexandrou, Associate Professor, The University of Texas at Austin (USA)
Polyvia Parara, Visiting Assistant Professor of Greek Language and Civilization, Department of Classics, Georgetown University (USA)
Richard W. Parker, Associate Professor of Classics, Brock University (Canada)
Robert Parker, Wykeham Professor of Ancient History, New College, Oxford (UK)
Anastasia-Erasmia Peponi, Associate Professor of Classics, Stanford University (USA)
Jacques Perreault, Professor of Greek archaeology, Université de Montréal, Québec (Canada)
Yanis Pikoulas, Associate Professor of Ancient Greek History, University of Thessaly (Greece)
John Pollini, Professor of Classical Art & Archaeology, University of Southern California (USA)
David Potter, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Greek and Latin. The University of Michigan (USA)
Robert L. Pounder, Professor Emeritus of Classics, Vassar College (USA)
Nikolaos Poulopoulos, Assistant Professor in History and Chair in Modern Greek Studies, McGill University (Canada)
William H. Race, George L. Paddison Professor of Classics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA)
John T. Ramsey, Professor of Classics, University of Illinois at Chicago (USA)
Karl Reber, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Lausanne (Switzerland)
Rush Rehm, Professor of Classics and Drama, Stanford University (USA)
Werner Riess, Associate Professor of Classics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA)
Robert H. Rivkin, Ancient Studies Department, University of Maryland Baltimore County (USA)
Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Professor of Classics, The University of Vermont (USA)
Robert H. Rodgers. Lyman-Roberts Professor of Classical Languages and Literature, University of Vermont (USA)
Nathan Rosenstein, Professor of Ancient History, The Ohio State University (USA)
John C. Rouman, Professor Emeritus of Classics, University of New Hampshire, (USA)
Dr. James Roy, Reader in Greek History (retired), University of Nottingham (UK)
Steven H. Rutledge, Associate Professor of Classics, Department of Classics, University of Maryland, College Park (USA)
Christina A. Salowey, Associate Professor of Classics, Hollins University (USA)
Guy D. R. Sanders, Resident Director of Corinth Excavations, The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (Greece)
Theodore Scaltsas, Professor of Ancient Greek Philosophy, University of Edinburgh (UK)
Thomas F. Scanlon, Professor of Classics, University of California, Riverside (USA)
Bernhard Schmaltz, Prof. Dr. Archäologisches Institut der CAU, Kiel (Germany)
Rolf M. Schneider, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Ludwig-Maximilians- Universität München (Germany)
Peter Scholz, Professor of Ancient History and Culture, University of Stuttgart (Germany)
Christof Schuler, director, Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy of the German Archaeological Institute, Munich (Germany)
Paul D. Scotton, Assoociate Professor Classical Archaeology and Classics, California State University Long Beach (USA)
Danuta Shanzer, Professor of Classics and Medieval Studies, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America (USA)
James P. Sickinger, Associate Professor of Classics, Florida State University (USA)
Marilyn B. Skinner 
Professor of Classics, 
University of Arizona (USA)
Niall W. Slater, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Latin and Greek, Emory University (USA)
Peter M. Smith, Associate Professor of Classics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA)
Dr. Philip J. Smith, Research Associate in Classical Studies, McGill University (Canada)
Susan Kirkpatrick Smith Assistant Professor of Anthropology Kennesaw State University (USA)
Antony Snodgrass, Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge (UK)
Theodosia Stefanidou-Tiveriou, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece).
Andrew Stewart, Nicholas C. Petris Professor of Greek Studies, University of California, Berkeley (USA)
Oliver Stoll, Univ.-Prof. Dr., Alte Geschichte/ Ancient History,Universität Passau (Germany)
Richard Stoneman, Honorary Fellow, University of Exeter (England)
Ronald Stroud, Klio Distinguished Professor of Classical Languages and Literature Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley (USA)
Sarah Culpepper Stroup, Associate Professor of Classics, University of Washington (USA)
Nancy Sultan, Professor and Director, Greek & Roman Studies, Illinois Wesleyan University (USA)
David W. Tandy, Professor of Classics, University of Tennessee (USA)
James Tatum, Aaron Lawrence Professor of Classics, Dartmouth College
Martha C. Taylor, Associate Professor of Classics, Loyola College in Maryland
Petros Themelis, Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology, Athens (Greece)
Eberhard Thomas, Priv.-Doz. Dr.,Archäologisches Institut der Universität zu Köln (Germany)
Michalis Tiverios, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)
Michael K. Toumazou, Professor of Classics, Davidson College (USA)
Stephen V. Tracy, Professor of Greek and Latin Emeritus, Ohio State University (USA)
Prof. Dr. Erich Trapp, Austrian Academy of Sciences/Vienna resp. University of Bonn (Germany)
Stephen M. Trzaskoma, Associate Professor of Classics, University of New Hampshire (USA)
Vasiliki Tsamakda, Professor of Christian Archaeology and Byzantine History of Art, University of Mainz (Germany)
Christopher Tuplin, Professor of Ancient History, University of Liverpool (UK)
Gretchen Umholtz, Lecturer, Classics and Art History, University of Massachusetts, Boston (USA)
Panos Valavanis, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Athens (Greece)
Athanassios Vergados, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA
Christina Vester, Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Waterloo (Canada)
Emmanuel Voutiras, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)
Speros Vryonis, Jr., Alexander S. Onassis Professor (Emeritus) of Hellenic Civilization and Culture, New York University (USA)
Michael B. Walbank, Professor Emeritus of Greek, Latin & Ancient History, The University of Calgary (Canada)
Bonna D. Wescoat, Associate Professor, Art History and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Emory University (USA)
E. Hector Williams, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of British Columbia (Canada)
Roger J. A. Wilson, Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire, and Director, Centre for the Study of Ancient Sicily, University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada)
Engelbert Winter, Professor for Ancient History, University of Münster (Germany)
Timothy F. Winters, Ph.D. Alumni Assn. Distinguished Professor of Classics, Austin Peay State University (USA)
Ian Worthington, Frederick A. Middlebush Professor of History, University of Missouri-Columbia (USA)
Michael Zahrnt, Professor für Alte Geschichte, Universität zu Köln (Germany)
Paul Zanker, Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies, University of Munich (Germany)

201 signatures as of May 18th 2009.
For the growing list of scholars, please go to the Addenda.

cc: J. Biden, Vice President, USA
H. Clinton, Secretary of State USA
P. Gordon, Asst. Secretary-designate, European and Eurasian Affairs
H.L Berman, Chair, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
I. Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
J. Kerry, Chair, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
R.G. Lugar, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
R. Menendez, United States Senator from New Jersey.


Addenda

12 Scholars added on May 19th 2009:
Mariana Anagnostopoulos, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, California State University, Fresno (USA)
John P. Anton, Distinguished Professor of Greek Philosophy and Culture University of South Florida (USA)
Effie F. Athanassopoulos, Associate Professor 
Anthropology and Classics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA)
Leonidas Bargeliotes, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Athens, President of the Olympic Center for Philosophy and Culture (Greece)
Joseph W. Day, Professor of Classics, Wabash College (USA)
Christos C. Evangeliou, Professor of Ancient Hellenic Philosophy, Towson University, Maryland, Honorary President of International Association for Greek Philosophy (USA)
Eleni Kalokairinou, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Secretary of the Olympic Center of Philosophy and Culture (Cyprus)
Lilian Karali, Professor of Prehistoric and Environmental Archaeology, University of Athens (Greece)
Anna Marmodoro, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford (UK)
Marion Meyer, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Vienna(Austria)
Jessica L. Nitschke, Assistant Professor of Classics, Georgetown University (USA)
David C.Young, Professor of Classics Emeritus, University of Florida (USA)
3 Scholars added on May 20th 2009:
Maria Ypsilanti, Assistant Professor of Ancient Greek Literature, University of Cyprus
Christos Panayides, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Nicosia, (Cyprus)
Anagnostis P. Agelarakis, Professor of Anthropology, Adelphi University (USA)

ORIGINAL SOURCE OF THE LETTER: Macedonia-evidence.org
Ενημέρωση: History of Macedonia

18.5.09

Makedonika II - The Ancient Macedonian Names

In addition to the Macedonian ethnic name, we today know the ethnic names of some of the Macedonian tribes, scores of place names in Macedonia and dozens of names of gods and heroes, the names of six festivals and twelve months, and hundreds of personal names, covering thousands of men and women.


The ethnic names of the Elimiotai, Lynkestai and Orestai derive from place names. The first has an undoub­tedly Greek termination. Some scholars believe that the στ of the second and third are an affix that is found in Illyrian names. In the name of the Orestai at least, the σ belongs to the root (Ορεσ-) and the τ to the termination (-ται), which is Greek. Furthermore, both the Orestai and the Lynkestai were undoubtedly Greeks (see page 59).
Alexander I and other Macedonian kings, Philip II, Alexan­der the Great and his successors all gave Greek names to the cities they founded; Alexander the Great and some of his officers went further and translated some of the local names into Greek. Those opposed to the view that the Macedonians were Greeks are not prepared to take this evidence into consideration, justifying their stance with the argument that it all post-dates the introduction of Attic into the court and the state administration. There is no proof of this argument, however, other than the claim that the Macedonians did not speak Greek, and it is this claim that the argument is designed to support.
The introduction of this argument into the chain of reasoning designed to demonstrate the above view thus leads to a vicious circle. In order to avoid the accusation that we are using these same toponyms as proof that the Macedonians were Greek, while the evidence for and against this view is still being discussed, we shall restrict ourselves to toponyms in areas where the expansion of the Macedonians ante-dates Philip, and to those names attested before his reign. Some of these names were Greek and some non-Greek. The lat­ter do not prove that the Macedonians were not Greeks, for the areas in question were inhabited for many millennia (from the beginning of human habitation until c. 2300/2200, and from 1900 until the eighth, seventh, sixth and even the fifth centuries B.C.) by non-Greek peoples. We also know that place-names survive even after the dis­appearance of the ethnic groups from which they derive.
Further, if the non-Greek toponyms of western and central Macedonia are attributed to the Macedonians, this has two consequences. Firstly, we have to concede that the Pelasgians, the Paiones, the Bottiaioi, the Eordoi, the Almopes, the Phrygians, the Thracians and other races left no mark on the toponyms of Macedonia, which is im­probable. Secondly, the following problem arises: if we ex­clude the possibility that the Macedonians were responsible for the Greek toponyms in western and central Macedonia before Philip, to which Greeks are they to be attributed?
It is possible that only the names Haliakmon and Pieria are earlier than the Macedonian expansion. There are many more toponyms that are connected by our sources with the Macedonian expansion, or that cannot be dated to the period when the Proto-Greeks occupied Macedonia, for in this case they would exhibit a more archaic form which would have been fossilized or corrupted through the inter­vention of a non-Greek language. Of seventy-two names and epithets of gods and heroes, fifty-six are panhellenic or Greek from a linguistic point of view, at least one is Greek with non-Greek phonetics, eleven are foreign (nine of these came from areas where non-Macedonian populations survived), and two derive from foreign toponyms, with a Greek termination; the rest are doubtful. The proportion of non-Greek names of gods is very small, especially in view of the fact that they are attested at very late periods, when the entire Greek world was feeling the influence of foreign religions.before the middle of the fourth century; many centuries later than this, a large percentage of Paionians, Thracians, Mysians, Lydians, Karians and Lycians had local names, even though they had begun to feel Greek cultural in­fluences much earlier. Furthermore, a number of the Greek-sounding names given by the Macedonians to gods, heroes, festivals, months and persons do not occur outside Macedonia or areas in which Macedonians had settled. All the names of festivals are Greek. All the names of the months have Greek terminations, and only two of them have roots that are possibly non-Greek. No comprehensive collection of the personal names has yet been made. The few collections that have been made for prosopographical purposes have not inspired any ex­haustive linguistic studies or statistical evaluations. A review of the names borne by members of the royal family of the Temenids, of the dynasties of upper Macedonia, and other Macedonians, before the rule of Philip, reveals only very small percentages for each of the three groups. The recent discovery of large numbers of grave stelai at Vergina has increased our knowledge of Macedonian per­sonal names by adding dozens of examples. With one or two exceptions, these are Greek, and a number of them date from before the accession of Philip. They are all names of members of the middle classes. Those who deny that the Macedonians were Greeks assert that they took the Greek names for gods, heroes, festivals, months and people from the Greeks. In the first place, however, there is no other example of a people neighbouring on the Greeks whose names were 95% Greek The majority of Macedonian names in all categories are either nouns as such, or adjectives, or their derivatives, or a variety of compounds; they also include a number of verb-stems, prepositions and affixes. As a result, the names help us to form a picture of the vocabulary, phonetics and rules of derivation and synthesis of the Macedonian tongue which is quantitatively richer and qualitatively superior to that derived from the hundred or so roots of words that have been handed down directly. Consequently, in at­tempting to trace the features of Macedonian, it is necessary to go beyond the words and make use of all the data to be gleaned from the Macedonian names.

Source: Michael B. Sakellariou ”Macedonia: 4000 years of Greek history”

Δημοσίευση: History of Macedonia

17.5.09

Τμήματά του έπεσαν στο Σουδάν

Αστεροειδής διαπερνά τη γήινη ατμόσφαιρα



Τμήματα ενός αστεροειδούς που είχε μέγεθος όσο ένα αυτοκίνητο βρέθηκαν στην έρημο του Σουδάν. Ο αστεροειδής εξερράγη σαν ένα φωτεινό βεγγαλικό μετεωριτών, καθώς συγκρούστηκε με τη γήινη ατμόσφαιρα. Ήταν η πρώτη φορά που οι επιστήμονες ανάκτησαν θραύσματα ενός αστεροειδή που εντοπίστηκε στο διάστημα, σύμφωνα με τη μελέτη που δημοσιεύεται στην επιστημονική επιθεώρηση Nature. "Όλοι οι μετεωρίτες που έχουν μελετηθεί, έχουν παρατηρηθεί ως φλεγόμενες μπάλες και ουρές με καπνό καθώς διασχίζουν τη γήινη ατμόσφαιρα. Ωστόσο, για πρώτη φορά είδαμε ένα αντικείμενο πριν φτάσει στο γήινη ατμόσφαιρα και στη συνέχεια εντοπίσαμε τη τμήματά του» λέει ένας από τους συγγραφείς της μελέτης, ο Douglas Rumble από το Carnegie Institution.
Το δράμα εκτυλίχθηκε σαν χολιγουντιανό σενάριο, ώστε να επιτευχθεί η ανασυγκρότηση του γεγονότος.

Στις 6 του Οκτώβρη του 2008, ένας ερασιτέχνης που ατένιζε τα αστέρια στην Αριζόνα υπέβαλε στο Minor Planet Center στο Cambridge, της Μασαχουσέτης, συντεταγμένες ενός αστεροειδή που είχε εντοπίσει ." Ήταν μια ρουτίνα καταγραφής, μία από τις εκατοντάδες. Αλλά το σύστημα πληροφορικής μυστηριωδώς αρνήθηκε επιπλέον στοιχεία", υπενθύμισε ο διευθυντής του Κέντρου, ο Dr. Tim Spahr. Και επισημαίνει: "Από τη στιγμή που το κοίταξα και έκανα μια τροχιά με το χέρι, ήταν σαφές ότι θα χτυπήσει τη γη». Το μέγεθος και η φωτεινότητα του αστεροειδή - ο οποίος, από τότε έχει λάβει το όνομα 2008 TC3 - δεν υποδήλωναν κίνδυνο, αλλά ο Dr. Spahr ακολουθώντας την διαδικασία των προτύπων ασφαλείας, ενημέρωσε τη NASA. Επίσης, προειδοποίησε τον Dr. Steve Chesley από το Jet Propulsion Laboratory, που έκανε έναν πρόχειρο υπολογισμό της τροχιάς του αστεροειδή. Το πρόγραμμα ανέφερε σε ποσοστό 100% πιθανότητα πρόσκρουσης. "Δεν είχα δει κάτι τέτοιο ποτέ πριν στη ζωή μου", λέει ο Dr. Chesley. Το λογισμικό έδειξε επίσης ότι η μάζα των πετρωμάτων θα έπληττε σαν βολίδα τη γήινη ατμόσφαιρα - με τη δύναμη ενός ή δύο χιλιάδων τόννων TNT - σε λιγότερο από 13 ώρες.
Ξαφνικά, οι επιστήμονες που είχαν συνηθίσει να σκέφτονται με έτη φωτός βρέθηκαν να κρυπτογράφουν τον αστεροειδή σε πραγματικό χρόνο για να παρακολουθήσουν την πορεία του και να εντοπίσουν τα σημεία όπου θα κατέπεφταν τα επιμέρους τμήματά του πάνω στη γη. Οι τηλεφωνικές γραμμές και η επικοινωνία μέσω ίντερνετ πήραν φωτιά.

"ΠΡΟΣΚΡΟΥΣΗ ΣΗΜΕΡΑ !!!",

έγραψε στους συναδέλφους του ο φυσικός Mark Boslough του Sandia National Laboratories στο Νέο Μεξικό. Μέσα σε λίγα λεπτά, είχε διαπιστωθεί πως ο αστεροειδής θα διασπαστεί σε κομμάτα πάνω από την αραιοκατοικημένη έρημο Nubian, στο βόρειο Σουδάν. Όπως υποδείχθηκε από έναν μετεωρολόγο, ένας επιβάτης της KLM που πετούσε από το Γιοχάνεσμπουργκ στο Άμστερνταμ, εντόπισε μια έντονη λάμψη περίπου 1400 χιλιόμετρα μακριά του, καθώς ο 2008 TC3 θρυματιζόταν στην γήινη ατμόσφαιρα με ταχύτητα 12.000 μέτρα ανά δευτερόλεπτο.
Εβδομάδες αργότερα, ο Dr. Peter Jenniskens, αστρονόμος στο Ινστιτούτο SETI στο Mountain View της Καλιφόρνια και κύριος συγγραφέας της μελέτης, ανέμενε την πρώτη αναφορά για την εύρεση του μετεωρίτη 2008 TC3. Όμως τίποτα δεν γινόταν.

Έτσι ο Dr. Jenniskens πήγε στο Σουδάν, στις αρχές Δεκεμβρίου και συνεργάστηκε με τον Muawia Hamid Shaddad του Khartoum University. Μαζί με μια μικρή ομάδα φοιτητών, οδηγήθηκαν στην έρημο, ρωτώντας στην πορεία τους κατοίκους αν είχαν δει μια μπάλα φωτιάς στον ουρανό. Όταν έφθασαν στην πιθανή ζώνη πρόσκρουσης, άρχισαν να χτενίζουν την περιοχή. Σε τρεις ημέρες, είχαν εντοπίσει και συλλέξει περίπου 280 τεμάχια, που ζύγισαν συνολικά αρκετά κιλά. Ο 2008 TC3 εμπίπτει στην κατηγορία των πολύ σπάνιων μετεωριτών - που αντιπροσωπεύουν λιγότερο από το 1% των αντικειμένων που έπληξαν τη γη - που ονομάζονται ureilites, οι οποίοι ενδεχομένως όλοι να έχουν προέλθει από το ίδιο μητρικό σώμα. Ταιριάζοντας τις φασματικές μετρήσεις του 2008 TC3 που λήφθηκαν πριν τη σύγκρουσή του, με χημικές αναλύσεις των θραυσμάτων – πετρωμάτων, θα καταστεί ακόμη ευκολότερη η αναγνώριση των ureilite αστεροειδών στο διάστημα.



22.04.09

Επιστημονικές ειδήσεις

ΒΥΘΙΣΜΕΝΗ ΑΡΧΑΙΑ ΠΟΛΗ ΤΟΥ 2.800 π.Χ.



Η αρχαιότερη βυθισμένη πόλη στο Παυλοπέτρι Λακωνίας



Η αρχαιότερη ίσως στον κόσμο βυθισμένη πόλη βρίσκεται στο Παυλοπέτρι της νότιας Λακωνίας, σε βάθος μόλις τριών έως τεσσάρων μέτρων και πολύ κοντά σε μια αμμουδερή ακτή ιδιαίτερα δημοφιλή στους τουρίστες και τους κατασκηνωτές. Τώρα μια ομάδα επιστημόνων από το Ερευνητικό Κέντρο Υποβρύχιας Αρχαιολογίας του βρετανικού Πανεπιστημίου του Νότιγχαμ, σε συνεργασία με Έλληνες συναδέλφους τους, φιλοδοξούν να αποκαλύψουν τα μυστικά της, με τη βοήθεια εξελιγμένου ηλεκτρονικού εξοπλισμού που μπορεί να φέρει επανάσταση στο χώρο της ενάλιας αρχαιολογίας.
Τα απομεινάρια της βυθισμένης προϊστορικής πόλης, που χρονολογείται από τουλάχιστον το 2800 πΧ., περιλαμβάνουν ανέπαφα κτίρια, αυλές, δρόμους, καθώς και μεταγενέστερους τάφους που πιστεύεται ότι ανήκουν στη Μυκηναϊκή περίοδο. Αν και οι Μυκηναίοι βασίζονταν ιδιαίτερα στη δύναμη τους στη θάλασσα, λίγα πράγματα είναι γνωστά για τα λιμάνια και τις ακμάζουσες παραθαλάσσιες πόλεις τους (μια από αυτές εικάζεται ότι ήταν το Παυλοπέτρι), καθώς το αρχαιολογικό ενδιαφέρον έχει στραφεί κυρίως στα παλάτια και τους τάφους της ελληνικής ενδοχώρας.
Τα υποθαλάσσια ερείπια εντοπίστηκαν και χαρτογραφήθηκαν το 1968 από ομάδα του Πανεπιστημίου του Κέμπριτζ με επικεφαλής τον δρα Νίκολας Φλέμινγκ, αλλά από τότε δεν έχει γίνει καμία έρευνα στην περιοχή. Σαράντα χρόνια μετά, ο δρ Γιον Χέντερσον, από το Πανεπιστήμιο του Νότιγχαμ, θα είναι ο πρώτος αρχαιολόγος που θα έχει επίσημη πρόσβαση στην περιοχή, έχοντας πάρει ειδική άδεια από το ελληνικό κράτος. Στόχος των επιστημόνων είναι να αποκαλύψουν την ιστορία και την ανάπτυξη της πόλης, να ανακαλύψουν από πότε κατοικήθηκε και, μέσω συστηματικής μελέτης της γεωμορφολογίας της περιοχής, να κατανοήσουν πότε και για ποιους λόγους η πόλη εξαφανίστηκε κάτω από τη θάλασσα. Σύμφωνα με τον δρα Χέντερσον, το Παυλοπέτρι "αποτελεί τοποθεσία σπάνιας διεθνούς αρχαιολογικής σημασίας" και γι΄' αυτό, όπως είπε, η έρευνα πρέπει να γίνει έγκαιρα προτού τα εναπομείναντα στοιχεία χαθούν για πάντα (ήδη υφίστανται ζημιές από τον τουρισμό, τους δύτες και τις άγκυρες των σκαφών).
Ο Χέντερσον και η ομάδα του, σε συνεργασία με τον Ηλία Σπονδύλη της Εφορείας Ενάλιων Αρχαιοτήτων του ελληνικού υπουργείου Πολιτισμού, θα διεξάγουν λεπτομερή ψηφιακή ακουστική υποθαλάσσια έρευνα του χώρου, χρησιμοποιώντας εξοπλισμό που αρχικά είχε χρησιμοποιηθεί για στρατιωτικούς σκοπούς και για υποθαλάσσιες έρευνες πετρελαίου. Ο εξοπλισμός μπορεί να παράγει φωτορεαλιστικές, τρισδιάστατες ψηφιακές αναπαραστάσεις του θαλάσσιου πυθμένα και των υποθαλάσσιων κατασκευών, με ακρίβεια μικρότερη του 1 χιλιοστού, μέσα σε λίγα λεπτά.
Το πρόγραμμα χρηματοδοτείται από το Ινστιτούτο Αιγαιακής Προϊστορίας, το Πανεπιστήμιο του Νότιγχαμ και τη Βρετανική Αρχαιολογική Σχολή Αθηνών. Έχουν προγραμματιστεί τέσσερις περίοδοι έρευνας και ανασκαφών. Οι εργασίες πλήρους ψηφιακής χαρτογράφησης θα πραγματοποιηθούν φέτος το Μάιο και Ιούνιο, οι εργασίες θα συνεχιστούν από το 2010 έως το 2012, το 2013 θα μελετηθούν τα στοιχεία που θα έχουν προκύψει και τα 2014 αναμένεται να δημοσιευτούν τα αποτελέσματα.




Από: ΑΠΕ