34
votes
Is the adamic alphabet the origin of the Greek?
That particular website, well ... its not very credible. Its part of Wikia, a site designed for Science Fiction/Fantasy fans to create their own wikis. In other words, things don't get deleted/removed/...
- 119k
25
votes
Accepted
Until when was Marseille Greek-speaking?
There is evidence that Greek continued to be used in Massalia (Roman name: Massilia) even during the late empire and the spread of Christianity. To cite one academic source,
...the city preserved its ...
- 108k
17
votes
Why did Latin take root so deeply in Italy, Gaul, and the Iberian Peninsula, but not Greece or beyond?
Suspect it was because Greek already had well established literacy whereas other regions you name were much less literate. The Latin alphabet was based on the Etruscan alphabet which was in turn based ...
- 3,183
15
votes
Why did Latin take root so deeply in Italy, Gaul, and the Iberian Peninsula, but not Greece or beyond?
Greek states were very much culturally superior to Rome at the time of conquest.
This was recognized even by the Romans themselves. A well-educated Roman had to read and speak Greek. There was ...
- 38.9k
12
votes
Until when was Marseille Greek-speaking?
Edited after further research.
I once made a timeline of Emporion, a colony from Massalia in Catalonia, northern Spain, some time ago. From that timeline, I'll make some points that refer to Massalia:
...
- 2,655
10
votes
Accepted
Why is Papadopoulos such a common surname in Greece?
In the Orthodox Church parish priests are virtually always married. Monks and higher clergy (Bishops etc.) are celibate.
- 9,790
9
votes
Did Greeks and Romans tolerate those who only worshipped some of their gods?
Did they tolerate those who only believed in some of their gods?
I don't see how it is possible - how does one believe in, say, Mars but not in his father Jupiter? Mars is defined as a Jupiter's son! ...
- 27k
8
votes
Did Greeks and Romans tolerate those who only worshipped some of their gods?
It is entirely possible to find ancient Greeks and Romans discussing this very matter. My amateur opinion is that it was a favorite parlor game to try to map the gods of one civilization to those of ...
- 222
8
votes
Accepted
What does a "wage" mean in the time of 'The Odyssey'?
The quote is from Odyssey 10.84-6:
ἔνθα κ᾿ ἄυπνος ἀνὴρ δοιοὺς ἐξήρατο μισθούς,
τὸν μὲν βουκολέων, τὸν δ᾿ ἄργυφα μῆλα νομεύων·
ἐγγὺς γὰρ νυκτός τε καὶ ἤματός εἰσι κέλευθοι.
where the Greek word ...
- 1,277
7
votes
What is the source for this story about Plato expelling a student?
This anecdote is quite common, many versions do not have "expel him", and it is more frequently associated with Euclid rather than Plato. Which is more natural. After all Plato did not teach ...
- 38.9k
7
votes
What does a "wage" mean in the time of 'The Odyssey'?
Pre-modern payments for exertion were:
gratuities: such as the coin to the beggar
payment for an good or instant service: such as the loaf from the baker or the fuck from the whore
part of a long ...
- 14.6k
6
votes
Accepted
Why didn't the Greek language survive in Egypt?
Greek was the language of government and the ruling elite in Egypt from the Ptolemies (successors to Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC) down to the conquest of Byzantine Egypt by Muslim ...
- 5,631
6
votes
Why didn't the Greek language survive in Egypt?
The most notable continual use of the Greek language in Egypt was by the Patriarchate of Alexandria and the Orthodox communities that surrounded it. Estimating how large this community was throughout ...
- 3,935
6
votes
Did Greeks and Romans tolerate those who only worshipped some of their gods?
There is a major definition problem here.
The cultures you reference did not draw a distinction between church and state. To refuse to offer incense to the patron god of the state was to refuse the ...
MCW♦
- 33.7k
5
votes
Do Pashtuns belong to Greek heritage?
At least two wiki pages cover your question:
Theories of Pashtun origin
Pashtuns, section History and origins
The first of these mentions the Greco-Bactrian origin among other legends, and concludes:...
- 23.2k
5
votes
Why and when were ancient Egyptian hieroglyph phonograms used?
Just to clarify definitions, phonograms are symbols that are used to represent sounds. Ideograms are symbols used to represents objects or concepts.
The ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet seems ...
- 77.5k
5
votes
Is the name of "Diocletian" just a coincidence?
It is a Latin derivative of the Greek name Dioklēs, which is from dio- (the compositional stem of the divine name Zeus), plus –klēs (“fame”). So it means “with fame from Zeus”. It has nothing to do ...
- 9,790
4
votes
Is the name of "Diocletian" just a coincidence?
I'll try with an answer as well, trying to be Solomonic between @Tyler Durden and @fdb.
TL;DR: Yes, it's a coincidence.
As @Peter Diehr lists from Behind the Name entry for Diokles the meaning is ...
- 2,476
4
votes
Accepted
Why did Gibbon call the Aegean Sea 'Holy'?
There are different approaches to explain the etymology of "αἰγαῖος πόντος / αἰγαῖον πέλαγος" (aigaios pontos / aigaion pelagos) as enumerated in the wikipedia entry on "Aegean Sea", e.g. αἶγες – ...
- 3,346
4
votes
Do Pashtuns belong to Greek heritage?
The historical origin of the Pashtun is a complex and answered question. Thiis idea of a link to Alexander looks like a made-up theory to me, although a distant Greek link is not impossible as one ...
- 20.8k
4
votes
How effective were archers/ slingers / skirmishers in Greek, Roman and Medieval Period?
They were fairly to reasonably effective. Otherwise nobody would have bothered with them in the first place. War is not about having the biggest baddest whatever. It is about applying force in the ...
- 22k
4
votes
Did Empedocles think that plants have sexes?
Unfortunately Empedocles’ works are largely lost, so what we know about his views is based on fragments quoted or discussed by other authors. In the case at hand, on whether Empedocles thought that ...
- 675
4
votes
How realistic are the number of battle deaths in the Anabasis?
Ancient battles were very different from modern ones. When looking at battles today, we think of Verdun or Stalingrad as typical of big battles, with horrific losses on both sides being the norm. But ...
- 415
3
votes
Accepted
How did the Graeco-Bactrian empire come to accept Buddhism?
The question, as is, covers a long period between Alexander (d. 323 BCE) and Mahmud of Ghazni (b. 975 CE) and the ethnic and religious influence changed extensively over the period of more than a 1000 ...
- 6,323
3
votes
Why didn't the Greek language survive in Egypt?
Greek language did not survive in any territory conquered by Alexander, except in Greece itself. Apparently the Greeks in the conquered lands were tiny minorities concentrated in the cities that they ...
- 38.9k
2
votes
How many words were written before Gutenberg
I think Mustang's estimate is a gross overestimate. We are talking about surviving books. Loeb Classical Library has a stated goal to publish everything that survived from ancient Greece and Rome. Of ...
- 38.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible