The Temple of Aphaia (Greek: Ναός Αφαίας) or Afea
is located within a sanctuary complex dedicated to the goddess Aphaia on
the Greek island of Aigina, which lies in the Saronic Gulf. Formerly
known as the Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius, the great Doric temple is now
recognized as dedicated to the mother-goddess Aphaia. It was a favorite of the
neoclassical and romantic artists such as J. M. W. Turner. It stands on a c.
160 m peak on the eastern side of the island approximately 13 km east
by road from the main port.
Temple of Aphaea Aigina
A True
History or A True Story (Ancient Greek: Ἀληθῆ διηγήματα, Alēthē diēgēmata; Latin: Vera
Historia) is a parody of travel tales, by the Greek-speaking Assyrian author Lucian of Samosata,
the earliest known fiction about travelling to outer space, alien life-forms
and interplanetary warfare. Written in the 2nd century, the novel has been
referred to as "the first known text that could be called science
fiction". The work was intended by Lucian as a satire against
contemporary and ancient sources, which quote fantastic and mythical events as
truth.
Lucian
Therefore, Sir, do you
on your part affect no more concealment nor reserve in the
matter about which I shall ask you; it will be more polite
in you to give me a plain answer; tell me the name by which your father and mother over yonder used to call you, and by which you
were known among your neighbours and fellow-citizens. There is no one, neither rich nor poor, who is
absolutely without any name whatever, for people's fathers and
mothers give them names as soon as they are born. Tell me also your country, nation, and city, that our ships may shape their purpose
accordingly and take you there. For the Phaeacians have no
pilots; their vessels have no rudders as those of other
nations have, but the ships themselves understand what it
is that we are thinking about and want; they know all the cities and countries in the whole world, and can traverse the sea just as
well even when it is covered with mist and cloud, so that
there is no danger of being wrecked or coming to any harm.
Still I do remember hearing my father say that Neptune was
angry with us for being too easy-going in the matter of
giving people escorts. He said that one of these days he should wreck a ship of ours as it was returning from having escorted some
one, and bury our city under a high mountain. This is what
my used to say, but whether the god will carry out his
threat or no is a matter which he will decide for himself.
