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Olive oil, an essential part of culture and cuisine in Greece, is becoming a luxury good because of skyrocketing prices, the president of one of Greece’s major olive producers’ union said Saturday. The wholesale price of olive oil in Crete, one of the country’s biggest olive oil-producing regions, is currently around €8.40 ($9) per liter, which means its retail price would be around €12 to €15 during the winter, Myron Chiletzakis, vice president of the Heraklion Agricultural Cooperative (EASH) told major broadcaster OpenTV. Also speaking to public broadcaster ERT, he argued that 80 percent of the country’s olive oil production...

A herd of sheep grazing in the semi-flooded plain of Thessaly, Greece “invaded” a greenhouse that cultivated medicinal cannabis and ate around a hundred kilograms, reports say. The incident happened near the town of in Almyros in Magnesia TheNewspaper.gr website reports. Sheep in Greece developed “strange behavior” after feeding on cannabis As the sheep in Greece developed strange behavior, shortly after grazing, the shepherd realized that the sheep had eaten a large part of the cannabis crop. The owner of the greenhouse saw that his production, which had already been heavily damaged by Storm Daniel, had now been consumed by...

Socrates has remained one of the most fascinating characters in the history of philosophy, but did his heritage survive in popular Arab fables too? Socrates is one of the most iconic thinkers of Western philosophy. His thought process was oral, and recounts of his life have survived through others’ writings, notably Plato’s. It is not a coincidence that Socrates did not actually put anything into writing. He never committed to any axiom, except human ignorance, and he created the thought process of “birthing” the truth. Socrates is the epitome of the wise fool. In the ancient world, Greek philosophical schools...

Thousands of Greeks rallied in Athens against the impending introduction of biometric ID cards, denouncing what they see as a move towards a surveillance society. "No to electronic slavery" and "democracy has referendums, fascism decrees," were two common slogans at Sunday's rally which police put at 2,500 strong. "We don't want our personal data to be used,", said one marcher, Dionysis Alexopoulos. "Perhaps with this new card they'll be able to control our access to hospitals or other public places if for example we aren't vaccinated," he added. "This serious subject should be put to a referendum and not decided...

2,500 years ago, the writing of history as we know it didn’t exist. The past was recorded as a list of events, with little explanation for their causes beyond accepting things as the will of the gods. Herodotus wanted a deeper understanding, so he took a new approach: looking at events from both sides to understand the reasons for them. Mark Robinson explains how "history" came into being.Lesson by Mark Robinson, directed by Remus and KikiWhy is Herodotus called "The Father of History"? - Mark Robinson | 5:02TED-Ed | 19M subscribers | 2,285,551 views | December 11, 2017

Recent excavations at the Greek city of Helike have revealed more about its cult center, according to a release from Greece's Ministry of Culture.Helike, located along the southwest shore of the Gulf of Corinth, was destroyed roughly 2,600 years ago when an earthquake and tsunami hit the region and buried the city.Previous excavations at the site have yielded an an arched temple dating between 710 and 700 BCE, with a brick altar dating between 760 and 750 BCE. The most recent excavations unearthed the remains of two buildings and religious objects.The first building, dating to the 8th century BCE, contains...

1:05 - Chapter 1 - The crossroads of the ancient world2:45 - Chapter 2 - An epic siege4:55 - Chapter 3 - An offering to the gods7:30 - Mid roll ads9:00 - Chapter 4 - The standing statue10:20 - Chapter 5 - Collapse12:00 - Chapter 6 - LegacyThe Colossus of Rhodes: The World Wonder That Became History's Greatest Statue | 15:31Geographics | 1.05M subscribers | 272,360 views | May 26, 2021

Achilles, the main character of the Iliad, remains one of the emblematic heroes of Greek mythology and modern literature for his bravery and fierceness in avenging the death of his best friend, Patroclus. Homer’s epic poem, along with The Odyssey, has retained enormous influence on Western literature to this very day, and this is also true for Achilles, the fearless warrior who became the very symbol of gallantry. “Sing, Goddess, of the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,” is the opening line of the Iliad, the poem that describes a few weeks of the ten-year Trojan War, mainly the many feats...

An engineer was conducting a regular survey of the Mediterranean Sea off Egypt's coast when he noticed something in the water.It turned out to be a 2,300-year-old shipwreck, according to an Aug. 5 news release from Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.The ancient ship was discovered less than a half-mile off the coast of El-Alamein — which was an important commercial region during the third century BC, Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in the release. The find gives more insight into Egypt's role as a center for trade, economy and tourism in ancient times.Archaeologists...

Greek authorities have arrested dozens of people on arson-related charges as deadly wildfires – the largest ever recorded in the European Union – rage across the country. Wildfires in Mount Parnitha, north of the Greek capital Athens, are still out of control Friday, with more forest destroyed overnight. The biggest fire front line in Greece remains near the northeastern town of Alexandroupolis, in the Evros region. The burned body of a man was found on a rural road near Dadia national park, near the border with Turkey, state media AMNA reported Friday. Earlier this week, 18 people were found dead...

Greece has strongly condemned the actions of "arsonist scum" after the police apprehended 79 individuals suspected of arson in connection with the devastating wildfires sweeping the country. Vassilis Kikilias, the Civil Protection Minister, revealed that there have been multiple attempts by arsonists to ignite fresh fires on Mount Parnitha, located northwest of Athens. The nation is currently grappling with hundreds of wildfires that have tragically claimed the lives of at least 20 people this week. The Police and Greek intelligence service EYP are currently investigating the incidents. Pavlos Marinakis, the government spokesperson, stated that out of the 140 arrests made...

The large fire front which erupted on Saturday near the port city of Alexandroupolis has become the EU's largest on record, according to European commissioner Janez Lenarcic. Greece has called out "arsonist scum" after police made 79 arson arrests over wildfires ravaging the country. Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said there had been several attempts by arsonists to start new fires on Mount Parnitha, north-west of Athens. The blaze is one of hundreds in the nation where wildfires have already killed at least 20 people this week. "You are committing a crime against the country," Mr Kikilias said. "Arsonist scum...

Firefighters from across Europe have arrived in Greece to help tackle around 350 wildfires spreading across the country, as investigations begin into what authorities suspect may have been organized arson. Crews from Germany, Sweden, Romania, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Cyprus have come to the country's aid, offering water-dropping aircraft, water tanks and firefighters. Hundreds of people were forced to flee their homes Tuesday and Wednesday, while the bodies of 18 migrants were discovered burned to death close to the border with Turkey. The fires have come close to the capital, Athens, with over 200 firefighters battling a blaze around...

Over the centuries, humans have always been fascinated by the vices and virtues of history’s most consequential figures. As one of the towering figures of history, Alexander the Great often attracts some of the closest scrutiny in this regard. At the time of his death in 323 BCE, Alexander the Great had conquered a vast empire that stretched across three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. His conquests had a profound impact on the ancient world and left a lasting legacy. One of Alexander’s worst vices may have been his relationship with alcohol. His biographers chronicled several sessions of especially heavy...

The private yacht reportedly belonging to media mogul Rupert Murdoch has been seen cruising off the coast of Fiscardo harbour on the northern part of the Greek island of Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea. It was confirmed that the yacht had been viewed hours after US website Drudge Report claimed that the 92-year-old billionaire, who called off what would have been his fifth wedding a few months ago, was lounging on a yacht with a “new woman.” There was speculation that he might be in love again. Murdoch’s potential new love interest is identified in the article as scientist Elena...

A relief exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece shows an ancient Greek youth practicing by balancing a football on his thigh in front of a small boy. This means that football, albeit in a primitive form, is at least 2,400 years old and very likely has its origins in ancient Greece. Looking at this lovely ancient artifact today, one can say that the man seems to be showing his son how to control the ball like an ancient Greek Lionel Messi. According to archaeologists, the depiction of the figure playing with the ball dates back to the...

The "miracle" plant Silphium consumed by Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, which was thought to have become extinct two thousand years ago, has recently been rediscovered in Turkey by a professor, who thinks he's found a botanical survivor.The plant, which the Ancient Greeks called silphion (silphium), was a golden-flowered plant. It was once the most sought-after product in the Mediterranean even before the rise of Athens and the Roman Empire.It is believed that the plant with yellow flowers attached to a thick stalk was crushed, roasted, sauteed, and boiled for medicinal purposes, food, and even contraception. During the reign of...

...The new study supports the results of an earlier chemical analysis of the soldiers' teeth. Published last year... the paper found that roughly two-thirds of soldiers who died during the 480 battle were not of Greek origin and that one-fourth of troops who died in 409 were not local to the area...That’s likely because paying soldiers to fight did not fit the prevailing narrative of "heroic Greek armies of citizens and the armored spearmen known as hoplites" rising up to defend Himera that Greek writers wanted to portray, study co-author David Reich, a geneticist at Harvard University, tells the New...

More than 10,000 graves containing ancient amphorae, "baby bottles," and the bodies of soldiers who fought the Carthaginians were found near the ancient Greek colony of Himera, in Italy, archaeologists announced recently... "Each [mass grave] contains from 15 to 25 skeletons. They were all young healthy men and they all died a violent death. Some of the skeletons have broken skulls and in some cases we found the tips of the arrows that killed them," Vassallo said. He thinks the human remains are from soldiers who died fighting the Carthaginians in a famous 480 B.C. battle described by Greek historian...

Over 600 fires have swept across Greece scorching hundreds of square miles of land and leaving thousands holidaymakers stranded. Recent extreme heat in the Mediterranean has seen temperatures top 40C, as experts blame climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires. The majority of the fires which have ravaged Greece in recent weeks were started by "human hand", one of the country's top climate officials has said. Vassilis Kikilias told a news conference the vast majority of fires "were caused by human hands" and said they were "arsons either by criminal negligence or by intention". However, officials have...