Month: December 2016

Regime Change in Athens

The remains of 80 men were discovered shackled together at the wrists in a mass grave at a necropolis near Athens

The end of the seventh century B.C. was a tumultuous period in Athenian history. Though once ruled by a king, the increasingly powerful region of Attica, home to Athens, had come to be presided over by aristocrats who maintained their hold on power through landownership and lifetime appointments. But as the century drew to a close, the political climate was primed for a new type of government—that of a single ruler, or tyrant. An evocative gravesite on the outskirts of Athens is a testament to this contentious moment in history.

Excavators at the Phaleron Delta necropolis have uncovered the remains of 80 men, shackled together at their wrists, lying in a mass grave. The most recent osteological studies have determined that the majority of the men were between 20 and 30 years old, although four were much younger, and that all 80 had been killed in the same manner—with a fatal blow to the head. The discovery of two small vases buried with them has allowed archaeologists to date the grave to the mid-to-late seventh century B.C., suggesting to project director Stella Chrysoulaki that the men were executed in the course of one of these attempts to gain political primacy. “For the first time,” Chrysoulaki says, “we can illustrate historical events that took place during the struggle between aristocrats in the seventh century and led, through a long process, to the establishment of a democratic regime in the city of Athens.”

Source: Archaelogy.org

By JARRETT A. LOBELL

The members of the 6th Episcopal Assembly of Oceania met in the Central Offices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia in Redfern, Sydney, on Thursday 8th December 2016 under the ex officio chairmanship of His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia.

Once again this Assembly provided the opportunity for the Hierarchs to recognise and reinforce their unity in the Orthodox faith.

Present were: His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos (Ecumenical Patriarchate); His Eminence Archbishop Paul (Antiochian Church); His Grace Bishop George (Russian Church); His Grace Bishop Siluan (Serbian Church); His Grace Bishop Mihail (Romanian Church); His Eminence Metropolitan Amphilochios (Ecumenical Patriarchate, New Zealand); His Grace Bishop Ezekiel (Assistant Bishop); His Grace Bishop Seraphim (Assistant Bishop); His Grace Bishop Nikandros (Assistant Bishop) and His Grace Bishop Iakovos (Assistant Bishop).

In the opening session, the Chairman, His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia welcomed all Hierarchs on behalf of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. He also welcomed His Grace Bishop Siluan from the Serbian Church who attended the Assembly for the first time and congratulated him for his recent elevation to the episcopacy.

Following this, Archbishop Stylianos expressed wholehearted congratulations to His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the blessed occasion of his 25th anniversary as Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.

Furthermore, Archbishop Stylianos made specific reference to the great success of the Great and Holy Synod held in June earlier this year in Crete. Despite negative voices from various quarters, prior to the Synod, Archbishop Stylianos noted that the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, through his personal efforts and the courage of the Ecumenical Patriarchate convened a most successful Great and Holy Synod achieving what had not been accomplished over many centuries. This important event both affirmed the synodality of the Orthodox Church to the world and provided an opportunity to speak with a common voice on sensitive issues facing the modern world. Archbishop Stylianos took this opportunity to urge the faithful to read the official documents and the Encyclical issued by the Great and Holy Synod to the Orthodox faithful and the world at large.

Following this, all Hierarchs were provided with the opportunity to raise common concerns confronting the Orthodox Churches in Oceania and benefit from the experience of fellow bishops. In light of the discussion, the following decisions were rendered:

1. The Sacredness of Marriage: That the Christian understanding of marriage as a sacrament of the Church between a man and a woman – to the exclusion of others – drawing the couple closer to one another, to God and His eternal Kingdom be reaffirmed. In this context, it was noted that should the Marriage Act be changed, this would have destructive consequences on the institutions of Marriage and of the Family more generally. Once again, the significance of speaking with one common voice on this issue – together with others – was brought to the fore.

2. Safe Schools Program: The Assembly noted that even though the Safe Schools program introduced in Australia purports to be an anti-bullying initiative, nonetheless, the Assembly highlighted that the program is primarily concerned with exposing children and teenagers to material regarding gender fluidity contrary to the teaching of the Holy Bible and the Orthodox Church. For this reason, the Assembly denounced this program and considered it to be a vehicle of indoctrination in which process parents are being disempowered in the sexual education of their children.

3. Canonicity: It was decided to create a list of all non-canonical ‘Orthodox’ hierarchs and clergy in Australia and New Zealand to be published in the Assembly’s website.

4. University Chaplaincies: In light of proselytism that is taking place in Universities against Orthodox youth, it was decided to approach both the National Council of Churches of Australia and the respective State Councils in order to put an end to such practice by other Christian denominations. In this regard, the importance of establishing Orthodox University chaplaincies was also emphasized.

5. Orthodox Christian Hospital Chaplaincy Report: A report from the Coordinator, Mr Daniel Bellis was received with appreciation. This program coordinates visiting clergy and trains lay chaplains of all Orthodox Churches to offer pastoral care to different hospitals throughout Victoria. It was proposed that this Chaplaincy program be expanded to other Australian States.

The Assembly once again remembered and prayed for the safe return of the two kidnapped Hierarchs in Syria, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Paul Yazigi (brother of His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch) and the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop John Ibrahim. The Assembly expressed its concern with regards to the plight of the Orthodox Christian faithful in Syria and of all peoples of the Middle East.

Furthermore, the Assembly denounced the violence and bloodshed taking place throughout the world in the name of religion. It affirmed the importance of reminding the faithful that religion, far from dividing peoples, ought to unite them on the fundamental issues of human rights, social justice and peaceful co-existence. The importance of cultivating respect for all people irrespective of race, gender, language and religion was emphasised.

Source: http://youreteachingourchildrenwhat.org

Archaeologists reacted with horror and confusion when they first discovered the skeletons of 450 infants at the bottom of a well in the middle of Athens. Researchers now claim to have solved the mystery of why so many babies were dumped in a well in the Athenian agora.

View of the ancient agora
After the remains were analyzed, it seems all but one of the babies died of natural causes. They were dated somewhere between 165BC and 150BC at the end of the Hellenistic period in Greece. It appears that only three of the infants managed to live beyond one week while it is thought a third of them died of meningitis, most likely due to an infection after cutting the umbilical cord. Some died of dehydration while others died of various childhood diseases.

The remains were first unearthed in an excavation in 1931, and scientists now believe the bodies of the infants were dumped rather than being buried since they were not seen as “full citizens”.

It was said by Professor Susan Rotroff, a researcher at the department of classics at Washington University in St Louis, and Professor Maria Liston, an anthropologist at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, that it appeared they were victims of a bizarre practice in Ancient Greece at the time.

It took ten days after birth for babies to gain citizenship, only after a special ceremony where they were given their name and the head of the household decided if they wanted to raise them or not. If the infant died before they were granted citizenship, they were dumped rather than being buried.

Location in Greece CC BY-SA 3.0,

The bodies were disposed of by midwives down the well because it was down a blind alley near the agora; was easily accessible but out of sight. “Four hundred fifty dead babies — that’s a lot of grieving parents and sorrow,” says Liston.

The skeletons were first discovered in 1931 after a team of archaeologists supervised by T. Leslie Shear began excavating the Athenian agora at the center of the city. Among the temples and statues, they discovered the well cut into the bedrock with 450 human infant skeletons inside. At the time archaeologists thought the infants had been the victims of a plague or mass infanticide and had then been flung down the well.

The new research, however, has shown neither of these theories was correct and reveals the society in Athens at the time in a new repugnant light. Professor Liston stated that over half of the skulls showed marks caused by a meningitis infection.

One of the bodies – which belonged to an 18-month-old – showed signs of frequent abuse – making it perhaps the oldest case of child abuse ever discovered. The toddler had multiple fractures throughout its body with different degrees of healing. It seems a jaw fracture was the final abusive act that this poor child had to endure.

Last year at a conference, Professor Liston stated that: “Abuse often is, and was, a hidden crime, and in antiquity its victims may have been disposed of outside of formal cemeteries, making recovery and documentation difficult. The oldest infant from the “Baby Well” found in the Athenian Agora excavations provides evidence of a possible case of child abuse from the 2nd-century C.E.”

The remains of around 150 dogs were also found in the well by archaeologists, which researchers believe may have been sacrificed.