Δοκίμιο & Πολιτισμός

Most of us are aware that words such as geometry, mathematics, phobia and hypochondria derive from ancient Greek, but did you know that marmalade, pirate, sketch and purse can also trace their linguistic origins back to the Athens of 500 bce?This book offers a word-by-word look at the influence of Greek on everyday words in English, telling the stories behind the etymological developments of each example and tracing their routes into modern English via Latin and European languages. It also explains connections with ancient Greek culture, in particular mythology, politics and warfare, and includes proverbs and quotations from Greek literature. Taken together, these words show how we are deeply indebted to the language spoken in Athens 2,500 years ago for the everyday vocabulary we use when conducting our daily business.

James Joyce is one of the greatest writers in English. His first book, A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man laid down the template for the Coming of Age novel, while his collection of short stories, Dubliners, is of perennial interest. His great modern epic, Ulysses, took the city of Dublin for its setting and all human life for its subject, and its publication in 1922 marked the beginning of the modern novel. Joyce's final work, Finnegans Wake is an endless experiment in narrative and language. But if Joyce is a great writer he is also the most difficult writer in English. Finnegans Wake is written in a freshly invented language, and Ulysses exhausts all the forms and styles of English. Even the apparently simple Dubliners has plots of endless complexity, while the structure of A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man is exceptionally intricate.

Packed with action, adventure, and intrigue, Jason is a bold and thrilling historical epic steeped in Greek mythology, perfect for fans of Christian Cameron and Madeline Miller. Jason has fulfilled the mission set him by his uncle, the scheming King Pelias of Iolkos: he and the Argonauts have won the fabled Golden Fleece of Colchis. Jason dreams of glory - of taking his uncle's throne, rightfully his - and, like his warrior shipmates, of home. But not only Pelias wishes Jason ill. Before the Argonauts can make it back to Iolkos, they must contend with a legion of foes who would see them dead - and allies who are not quite what they seem. Jason and his warriors must outwit the recondite Circe and the spies of mighty Troy, overcome hostile tribes beyond the Danube, and sail the troubled waters of the Archipelagos, where the Sirens wait to snare unwary seafarers. Yet Jason's perils are only beginning, for he will soon discover that a truer evil lies closer to home. They may have won the prize, but will any of them make it home alive?Reviewers on Mark Knowles:'A bold and thrilling voyage that plunges you deep into the world of ancient myth.' Daisy Dunn 'A deeply researched historical epic, brilliantly brought to life.' Adam Lofthouse 'A spectacular triumph!' Sam Taw

Αυτό το βιβλίο αποτελεί την πλήρη παρουσίαση του JEET KUNE DO, της τέχνης που δημιούργησε ο Bruce Lee. Η ανάπτυξη αυτού του μοναδικού είδους πολεμικής τέχνης, οι αρχές, οι κύριες τεχνικές καθώς και τα πλάνα μαθημάτων της, παρουσιάζονται μέσα από τα λόγια του ίδιου του δημιουργού. Ορισμένα από τα ιδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικά του βιβλίου είναι τα σχέδια και οι επεξηγήσεις του Lee, οι αξιόλογες μελέτες του, όσον αφορά της φύση της μάχης, η επιτυχία που γνώρισε μέσα από τις πολεμικές τέχνες και η σημασία της θετικής νοητικής κατάστασης στην εξάσκηση του JEET KUNE DO.

Thessaloniki has long been considered Greece's foremost multi-cultural city because for many centuries its history has been marked by the peaceful co-existence of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Between 1492, in fact, and 1912 the Jewish community was the largest of all ethnic communities living here. This thriving community set the tone of Ottoman Thessaloniki, making it known as the most famous Jewish city in the world, widely referred to as the Jerusalem of the Balkans. Visitors now coming for the first time to Thessaloniki encounter a basically Byzantine city because historical events, such as the devastating fire that destroyed most of the Jewish monuments in 1917 and the annihilation of the Jewish community during the German occupation, erased the city's Jewish character. Reconstruction after the end of World War II, which reached its peak in the 1960s, made the few remaining traces of the two thousand year Jewish presence in the Macedonian capital even less evident. This informative, small book provides a clear image of the community's long, vibrant history; has short biographies of a few of the community's leading members; and describes (with pictures) the major remaining buildings members of the community constructed. It enables foreign and local visitors to discover, even in part, the surviving traces of the Jewish and multi-cultural nature of Thessaloniki.

Born into a large, musical, and bohemian family in London, the British artist John Craxton (1922-2009) has been described as a Neo-Romantic, but he called himself a "kind of Arcadian". His early art was influenced by Blake, Palmer, Miro, and Picasso. After achieving a dream of moving to Greece, his work evolved as a personal response to Byzantine mosaics, El Greco, and the art of Greek life.

This book tells his adventurous story for the first time. At turns exciting, funny, and poignant, the saga is enlivened by Craxton's ebullient pictures. Ian Collins expands our understanding of the artist greatly-including an in-depth exploration of the storied, complicated friendship between Craxton and Lucian Freud, drawing on letters and memories that Craxton wanted to remain private until after his death.

Uplifting and engaging, this story recounts the life and career of a rebellious 20th-century British artist Born into a large, musical, and bohemian family in London, the British artist John Craxton (1922-2009) has been described as a Neo-Romantic, but he called himself a "kind of Arcadian". His early art was influenced by Blake, Palmer, Miro, and Picasso. After achieving a dream of moving to Greece, his work evolved as a personal response to Byzantine mosaics, El Greco, and the art of Greek life. This book tells his adventurous story for the first time. At turns exciting, funny, and poignant, the saga is enlivened by Craxton's ebullient pictures. Ian Collins expands our understanding of the artist greatly-including an in-depth exploration of the storied, complicated friendship between Craxton and Lucian Freud, drawing on letters and memories that Craxton wanted to remain private until after his death.

Spanning a rich variety of works from the 1940s to the 2000s, this book celebrates the life and work of the British artist John Craxton (1922–2009). It charts the development of Craxton’s work from the poetic, melancholy images created in wartime Britain to the vibrant paintings and drawings produced in his adopted homeland of Greece. The book revisits the artist’s early life and looks at the influence of British Romantic art and the landscape of England and Wales on his work, while also exploring themes around LGBTQ+ identity, his relationship to significant modern British and international artists, and the historical context of mid-century Britain and Greece.
 
Featuring short essays and texts from contributors including Sir David Attenborough, Ian Collins, Simon Martin, Miriam O'Connor Perks, David Mellor, Edmund White, Hilary Spurling, and Tacita Dean―covering subjects across Craxton’s career, including book illustration, landscape, ballet design, ceramics, and tapestry―this lively account showcases the diverse artistic output of this key figure in British art history.

This book contains about 140 photographs taken by John Donat in the course of two consecutive travels in Crete, in 1960 and 1961. The photographs are interesting not only on account to their aesthetic value and artistic quality but also because of the highly individual manner in which Donat has immortalized the island, the people and their occupations so that the spirit of the period is powerfully evoked by them. Some of these photographs record typical alleyways and houses in the old town of Chania, Pipi’s picturesque barber shop in Ierapetra, an old woman’s face weathered by age, the erect postures of Cretan men, the alert look in the eyes of island children. At other times he makes almost cinematographic pictures of Bouzounieris’ taverna: its habitues, the sailors dancing the zeibekiko, the juke-box with photographs of Kazantzidis and Marinella. Moving on, he comes across the procession of the icon of the Virgin on 21 November, the feast of her Presentation in the Temple: the bishops in their ceremonial vestments in the middle of the litany, the soldiers with bayonets fixed lining the route to right and left, the banners borne aloft by acolytes who are unable even at such a moment to repress their playfulness.Once in the countryside, Donat is fascinated by old Byzantine churches with wall-paintings, by the outlines of hills and mountains, olive groves after rainfall, coffee-houses, stills for makingtsikoudia (an alcoholic distillation made from the residues of pressed grapes) and the olive-press. He becomes acquainted with country people, the Malefakis family in Ayios Ioannis, Pavlos and Heleni Orphanoudakis in Anopolis, and Papamarkos in Kandanos; and he photographs them all with the same affection as they show for him. In Kalo Chorio he witnesses preparations for a wedding. A lovely girl, who has just made up the marriage bed, joyfully attends to her hair. While Donat photographs her she averts her gaze, a gaze so intense she seems just to have escaped from an Italian neorealistic film. John Donat’s photographs display a wealth of variety. This book takes you travelling around Crete. It is a book which had its origin in travel, the travels of John Donat in Crete, and he in turns takes you travelling on a delightful journey, the one he describes in this book.