The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.

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This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Greek Mythology [ 793 ]

The Myth of Minotaur, Theseas and the King of Athens Aegeas

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Minos, who was the king of Knosos ,was the son of Zeus and Europe.
One of Minos’s brothers, Sarpidon ,was the king of Gortys but he wanted to usurp the throne of Minos. Minos said that he was the chosen by the Gods to be king of Knosos , and to prove it, asked Poseidon (the god of the sea) to send him a bull to sacrifice.

Poseidon did that, and everybody believed that Minos was right.

Minos however felt that the bull sent by Poseidon would improve his own stock, so he sacrificed another one and kept the one sent by the god.

Poseidon decided to punish Minos for this sacrilege by making his wife , Pasifae, fall in love with the bull. The offfspring of the union of Pasifae with the bull was, appropriately, a monster that ate human flesh, with a bull’s head and a human body, Minotaur.

Obviously, the Minotaur, was not someone that Minos liked to have running around in his palace, scaring (and sometimes eating ) his guests. So he locked him in a labyrinth constructed by Daedalus.

In order to deal with Minotaur’s weird tastes, Minos forced the Athenians, who have killed his son Androgeo, to send him fourteen young Athenians (seven male and seven female) every year to serve (as) dinner for the Minotaur.

Theseas, the son of the Athenian king Aegeas , asked his father to let him be one of the fourteen to go to Crete. When they arrived , Minos daughter, Ariadne, saw Theseas and felt in love with him.

So, when her father threw Theseas to the Labyrinth, she helped him kill the Minotaur, and escape.

I have to add :

Theseus departed for Crete. Upon his departure, Aegeus told him to put up the white sails when returning if he was successful in killing the Minotaur. However, when Theseus returned he forgot these instructions.

When Aegeus saw the black sails coming into Athens he jumped into the sea and drowned, mistaken in his belief that his son had been slain.Henceforth, this sea was known as the AEGEAN SEA (**).

Sophocles' tragedy Aegeus has been lost, but Aegeus features in Euripedes' Medea.

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