The age of Pericles - 490-429 BC

The age of Pericles - 490-429 BC

The Delian League marked the begin-fling of the Golden Age of Greece which for thirty years was dominated by one of the most outstanding men in history —Pericles (49o—429 BC). He was the son of noble parents who provided him, when a youth, with the finest and most ad­vanced teachers of the day.

By 461 BC he had become one of the leaders of the democratic party, assum­ing control when its leader, Ephialtes, was assassinated. He carried the demo­cratic system further, insisting that every officer of state, except the generals and judges, were to be chosen by lot. Also, any person carrying out such civic duties was to be paid accordingly, thus allowing even the poorest citizen to become an office-holder.

His work was interrupted by war with Athens’ great rival, Sparta, which broke out in 456 BC, Pericles becoming one of the Athenian generals. War ended in 451 BC and Pericles was able to devote himself to the rebuilding of his capital city. Much of it had been burned by the enemy during the Persian wars and Pericles resolved to make Athens the most beautiful city in the world. He en­gaged the greatest architects (Ictinus and Callicrates) and sculptor (Pheidias) and these men produced the magnificent Par­thenon, high on the Acropolis.

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Special Hummel Figurines

I find old Hummel figurines at art auctions all the time. I’ve been collecting them for my mother and her sister for a long time. They don’t have the time to go to art auctions, but they have the money to buy nice figurines.

The Apple Tree Boy Hummel figurine I found for my aunt last year was so cute. I attended an art auction about an hour away from my house and they had lots of decorative collectibles. I was able to find several items for my mother and also for my father.

My mother and her sister both want to have an Umbrella Boy Hummel figurine. I have only been able to find one at all of the art auctions I’ve attended. They share the piece equally while I’m looking for a second piece.

The whimsical Hummel figurine called Pleasant Journey is so cute. It was the first Hummel that mother and my aunt ever received. The scene is of two children pulling a third child in a wagon. My grandmother found it at an art auction and it reminded her of her children. She gave it to her two daughters on their shared birthday.

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Philip of Macedon invades Greece - 338 BC

Philip of Macedon invades Greece - 338 BC

Lying between Thrace and Thessaly was the small kingdom of Macedon. It was peopled by tough mountaineers who were very independent but, as a nation, Macedonia was little regarded by its neighbours, the more powerful Greek states.

Philip II, King of Macedon (382—336 BC), however, was to make them change their minds. He was a brilliant diplomat and strategist and managed to weld his independent warriors into a disciplined army. In a style new to warfare, he armed them with four metre-long pikes and drilled them in an equally new tactic of warfare — the phalanx. His foot soldiers held the enemy at bay with their long pikes, leaving the Macedonian cavalry free to charge at the enemy’s weakest point.

The Greek states of Athens and Thebes joined together to fight him, meeting at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC where Philip scored a great vic­tory, which opened the frontiers of Greece to his army.

At the Historical Arms and Armour Institute, we educate and teach all that one needs to know about period arms and armour, how it was made, how it works, what was its function, when it was used, who used such armour and weapons, etc.

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Parthenon Marbles or Elgin Marbles? New Museum Sparks Debate

The opening of the new Acropolis Museum in Athens has raised thought-provoking questions about museum artifact ownership. This particular debate centers on the Parthenon Marbles (Elgin Marbles), a stunning façade or wall relief that was transported from Greece to the British Museum of Natural History between 1801 and 1805 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Lord of Elgin. So nefarious was his deed, the act of relocating precious artifacts from their natural or national context is now known as elginism and is specifically defined as “an act of cultural vandalism.”

History is ripe with instances of elginism and few nations are innocent of the practice, though it’s clear that the richer the nation, the more common the practice. Museums in Britain, the United States and Germany display a vast tapestry of ancient history with ties that are born of colonization and war. At least these artifacts that were illicitly gained are on display to be appreciated by the masses, even if those masses seldom have any direction lineage to the history they represent. Oftentimes, elginism is even more villainous and criminal. Much of the natural history that’s been stolen from poorer nations resides in private collections, appreciated by individual owners and no one else.

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