Holy Triangle

The Temple of Aphaea was built in 480 BC on top of a prior temple that was destroyed by fire in 510 BC.  Because the ruins of the older temple were used it led to the discovery of many female figurines belonging to the late Bronze Age showing that a Minoan deity existed at this site from 14th century BC. The existing temple is noted for its beautiful sculptures that show the remarkable progress from Archaic to Early Classical techniques. Aphaea, a mountain and a hunting goddess, was particularly dear to Artemis. The Aeginetans say that Britomartis who was the daughter of Zeus appeared on their island while fleeing from King Minos, who lusted after her.  Britomartis escaped by casting herself in the fishermen nets near the coast of Aegina and was seen going up till she vanished and hence the name Aphaea which in Greek means vanish. 

The Parthenon (Greek: Παρθενων) is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece.  It has stood atop of the Acropolis for nearly 2,500 years and was built to give thanks to Athens’ patron goddess, Athena, for the city’s salvation of Athens in the Persian Wars.  The Parthenon was constructed at the 5^th century BC when Pericles suggested it to the citizens of the Athens.  When he secured their approval he engaged Phidias a renowned sculptor and two architects Ictinus and Callicrates who in unison conceived, supervised and constructed it.  It housed the 40-foot-high statue of Goddess Athena and served as the most important temple of the Ancient Greek Religion for a thousand years.  The temple was still intact in the 4th century AD, but in the 5th century the great statue of Athena was looted and taken to Constantinople.  Shortly after the Parthenon was converted to a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary at which time internal columns and sculptures were removed and destroyed.  In 1456 Athens fell to the Ottomans, and the Parthenon was converted into a mosque. A minaret was added to the Parthenon, but otherwise it was not damaged further. European visitors in the 17th century testified that the building was largely intact.  In 1687 the Parthenon suffered its greatest destruction when the Venetians attacked Athens, and a cannonball hit and exploded a magazine as the Parthenon was used to store their powder.  When Greece gained its independence, the minaret and other medieval and modern buildings on the Acropolis were removed. Today, the Parthenon attracts tourists from all over the world who walk the path to the sacred hill of Acropolis to visit the magnificent Parthenon, Erechtheion, Temple of Athena Nike, and Propylaea among others.

In cape Sounion there were temples of the favorite Gods of Athens that of Poseidon, the God of the Sea, and Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom.  The Persians destroyed the older Poseidon’s temple in 480 BC.  The temple as it now stands on the top of the hill was built in 444 BC atop the older temple ruins, which are still visible.  The temple of Athena is in the base of the hill and in close proximity to Poseidon’s temple.  

Ancient Greek mathematicians like Euclid and geographers like Pytheas and Ptolemy instilled the love for geometry and geography to Ancient Greeks.  In addition to building temples in beautiful places they were interested on how they related to one another.  It is interesting if lines are drawn between the three above mentioned temples the form an isosceles triangle with its base being between the temples in Aphaea and Acropolis and its apex at Sounion.

Starry Summer Nights

The Summer Triangle contains three of the brightest stars in summer’s night sky.  Vega, in Lyra, is the fifth brightest while Altair, in Aquila, is the eleventh and Deneb, in Cygnus, is the twentieth brightest star in the heavens. 

The Milky Way our galaxy can be seen with a naked eye between Vega and Altair. The term “Milky Way” is a translation of the Latin Via lactea, or the Greek Γαλαξίας. There have been many, myths and legends about our galaxy in many different cultures. In Greek mythology the Milky Way was caused by milk spilt by Hera when she breast-fed Hercules.  Other legends have it as the road to Olympus or the path made by Sun God Apollo’s chariot.

The Big Dipper, are the seven brightest stars in the constellation Ursa Major. The North Star (Polaris), was used for navigation by ancient mariners, is part of the Little Dipper and can be located by extending a line from Merak and Dubhe.  In the British Isles it was known as the Plough.  In the English speaking North America it was called Big Dipper because the major stars can be seen to follow the rough outline of a ladle or dipper.  Native Americans imagined the bawl, as a bear while the handle appeared to be three cubs following their mother, while others pictured three hunters tracking the bear.

Arcturus is the brightest star in the Northern celestial hemisphere and can be found by extending the arc of Big Dipper.  Further extension of the arc brings us to Spica.  Prehistoric Polynesian navigators knew Arcturus as Hōkūleʻa, the "Star of Joy".  Using Hōkūleʻa they started from Tahiti and the Marquesas islands traveling northeast. They had reached the desired latitude when Arcturus would appear directly overhead. They knew then if sailed due west they would land on the shores of the Big Island. 

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It was named after the Roman (Mars) or Greek (Αρης) gods of war. It is often described as the "Red Planet" because the iron oxide prevalent on its surface.  Mars can easily be seen from Earth with the naked eye, because of its reddish coloring and its brightness which is surpassed only by Jupiter, Venus, the Moon and of course the Sun. 

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in our Solar System.  Saturn has a prominent ring that consists of nine continuous main rings and three discontinuous arcs, composed mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris.  Saturn is the most distant of the five planets easily visible to the naked eye, the other four being Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.  Picture from artist's depiction of Casini satellite exploration of Saturn, one of many NASA's successes.

If you are away from city lights all of the above mentioned stars, planets and constellations are visible with a naked eye.  To the east and above are the three stars of the Summer Triangle, to the south from east to west you will find easily Saturn, Spica, Arcturus and Mars and above and to the north the Big Dipper and the North Star, Polaris, and if you reside in the International Space Station in the total darkness of space this is how Greece looks at night.  In the top and to the left the lights of Athens shine brightly while in the middle are Thessaloniki's lights.