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Showing posts from June, 2008

Wisdom of Ancient Men: Pearls of wisdom from Marcus Aurelius

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On the importance of utilizing the present time in life : "Though thou shouldst be going to live three thousand years, and  as many times ten thousand years, still remember that no man loses any  other life than this which he now lives, nor lives any other than this  which he now loses. The longest and shortest are thus brought to the same.  For the present is the same to all, though that which perishes is not the same; and so that which is lost appears to be a mere moment. For a man  cannot lose either the past or the future: for what a man has not, how  can any one take this from him? These two things then thou must bear in  mind; the one, that all things from eternity are of like forms and come  round in a circle, and that it makes no difference whether a man shall  see the same things during a hundred years or two hundred, or an infinite  time; and the second, that the longest liver and he who will die soonest  lose just the same. For the present is the only thing of which a m

The Acropolis of Athens

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View of the Acropolis from the Agora. View of the Acropolis. The Acropolis, the citadel of Athens, was primarily used as a sanctuary and refuge in ancient times. Built on hard limestone which rises from the Athenian landscape at around 150 metres above sea level, the sun-baked rock has gone through numerous constructions and demolitions from the Bronze Age to the 19th century. During the 5th century B.C. the Acropolis became a key part of the Golden Age of Pericles, a time when democracy was born and exercised as well as a time of great architectural and artistic accomplishments.  The acropolis became indeed the focus of Pericles' rebuilding of the city and under the direction of the great Pheidias, the Propylea, the Parthenon and the Erehthion were copmpleted in the second half of the 5th century B.C. which can still be seen today, albeit in ruins and in the process of being meticulously restored by the Greek government.  Nowadays it is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.