Calliope articles from September 2006

Calliope archives from September 2006

5 amazing natural wonders.(Grand Canyon, Bay of Fundy, Great Barrier Reef, Mount Kilimanjaro, Angel Fails)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... 1 The Grand Canyon: Located in the northwest corner of the state of Arizona, it measures 277 miles in length. Its deepest point is 6,000 vertical feet. At its widest point, it measures 18 miles. 2 The Bay of Fundy: Between the Canadian...

Musings.(Winston Churchill)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... There is no limit to the ingenuity of man, if it is properly and vigorously applied under conditions of peace and Justice. --Winston Churchill; British orator, author, and prime minister (1874-1965) A FEELING OF SUPRISE, ADMIRATION,...

Making the list.(monuments in Middle East )
September 1, 2006... My story begins long ago, hundreds of years before I was revered as head Muse, in the days when teams of Egyptian workers labored over the construction of their ruler's tomb. Although my account spans centuries, the action takes place in a...

The sole survivor.(Great Pyramid at Giza)
September 1, 2006... Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid at Giza is the sole survivor. It stands on a limestone plateau in the desert outside Cairo, the present-day capital of Egypt. Reaching a height of 481 feet, it towers over the modern...

Who was Khufu?(king of Egypt)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Khufu was a king who ruled Egypt a little more than 4,500 years ago. He is also known as Cheops, which was his name in Greek. His father was Sneferu, a king of the 4th Dynasty who built four pyramids. His mother was Queen Hetepheres....

The ancient Egyptian view of the afterlife.
September 1, 2006... The ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. Most thought that they would live forever in a paradise that was very much like Egypt, only more perfect. Kings, however, had a different afterlife. They became gods. The Egyptians...

The wonder of Babylon.(hanging gardens )
September 1, 2006... Many years ago, when I was in school, I owned a large, dark green book, the spine of which read The History of Western Civilization. The corners of the book were frayed, and the gold lettering on the cover had been worn almost entirely away y...

Prosperity allows for splendor.(Gate of Ishtar was built by Nebuchadnezzar II)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... While the Hanging Gardens of Babylon may have been a story told by the soldiers of Alexander the Great, Nebuchadnezzar's other splendors, especially the Gate of Ishtar, were real. In fact, archaeologists transported the entire gate--one of...

Magnificent zeus.(Statue of Zeus (Olympia, Greece) )(Geographic overview)
September 1, 2006... The statue of Zeus at Olympia was considered one of the masterpieces of sculpture in antiquity. Yet, its exact details are unclear, as there are no known reliable replicas in existence. Surviving details trace their source mostly to later...

Meet the master.(Phidias)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... A thens was an exciting place in the mid-fifth century B.C. Under the leadership of the statesman Pericles, an ambitious artistic building program began. For advice, he looked to the sculptor Phidias, who may have been a close friend. Phidias...

Why Olympia?(Olympic Games )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The armed warriors race was first introduced at the Olympic Games in 520 B.C. Each runner wore only a helmet and greaves (leg protectors) and carried a shield. Olympia was one of four major Greek religious centers. The other three were...

Fate of a masterpiece.(Statue of Zeus being protected)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Maintaining a monumental work such as the statue of Zeus at Olympia proved a challenge. Each of the materials from which it was constructed had its own problems and requirements. For example, the damp air of Olympia quickly led to cracks in the...

Sarcophagus situation.(in Nile Valley)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... While digging in the Nile Valley, you find seven sarcophagi (specially carved coffins) hidden in four burial chambers. Although all the sarcophagi contain the remains of Egyptian royalty, only one contains the mummy of a king. You label the...

A-maze-ing Mummy.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Archaeologists examine mummies from head b to toe. Now it's your turn. Can you find your way from the head to the foot of this mummy? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Fun with words.(phobias defined)
September 1, 2006... WORD ORIGINS CRITERIA Here's an exact borrowing from Greek, both in spelling and in meaning: Criteria is the plural of criterion, a standard, rule, or test by which something can be judged. And, criterion is the English spelling of the...

Fit for a king.(tomb of King Mausolus)
September 1, 2006... It stood breathtakingly tall for its day--14 stories high. With a pyramid at its summit and a huge, ornamental four-horse chariot above that, the gigantic rectangular tomb was magnificent. Built for King Mausolus, it towered over his seaport...

A bittersweet fate.(Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was destroyed )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... In the A.D. 1200s, an earthquake partially destroyed the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. In 1494, the Knights of St. John used the remains to fortify their nearby castle. They took carved marble from the mausoleum for their walls. They also crushed...

A wondrous neighbor.(Nereid Monument at Lycia)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... In Lycia, an area also ruled by Mausolus, there was quite a splendid tomb. Known today as the Nereid Monument, it was built about 30 years before Mausolus' tomb. Perhaps it inspired Mausolus. While the temple-like Nereid Monument was...

Time for tesserae.(coloring the tiles )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Let's make a mosaic--or at least color one in! Using pencils or markers, color all the tesserae marked with a "d" a dark color. Color all marked with a "g" a lighter color. Leave all the tesserae marked with an "i" white. When you're done,...

Tooling around.
September 1, 2006... Use your most portable tool--your brain--to Work out the code below. If YOU decode the Letters below successfully, you'll answer this riddle: Why did the boy take a ruler to bed with him? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TO FIND OUT KEY ...

Patriotic pride.(Temple of Artemis (Ephesus))
September 1, 2006... In Greek and Roman times, the temple of the goddess Artemis at Ephesus was considered one of the most impressive monuments in the world. Not just a place of worship, it was also a tourist attraction. The Ephesians saw the temple as the symbol...

Why Ephesus?(port on the bank of river Cayster)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Life bustled in ancient Ephesus. Its location at the mouth of the river Cayster, facing the Mediterranean Sea, offered a safe port to trading vessels. Anatolia, present-day Turkey, stood at the crossroads between the continents of Asia and...

Bustling Alexandria.(Pharos)
September 1, 2006... After Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, he was recognized as the divine pharaoh at Memphis in 332 B.C. He then proceeded to the Siwa Oasis, on the Egyptian-Libyan border, to visit the temple of the Egyptian sun god Amun-Re. His intention was...

Pharos.(lighthouse at Alexandria)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The last of the seven traditional wonders of the world to be built, the Pharos, or lighthouse, at Alexandria was a three-tiered limestone structure. Approximately 384 feet in height, it was taller than the present-day Statue of Liberty in the...

The library at Alexandria.(Bibliotheca Alexandrina)(Geographic overview)
September 1, 2006... The library at Alexandria--known also as the Mouseion in honor of the Muses, the goddesses of learning and art--was built within the royal quarter at the beginning of the third century B.C. Significantly enlarged by Ptolemy II, who ruled Egypt...

Dice follies.( pots on dice are known as pips)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Did you know that the pots on dice are called "pips"? Starting at the green arrow, move horizontally or vertically through the dice, adding up the pips as you go. You'll need a pencil and paper to keep track, because your goal is to get to the...

The Colossus of Rhodes from war to peace.(Geographic overview)
September 1, 2006... The city of Rhodes on an Aegean island of the same name was an important business center in the ancient world. To the south, across the Mediterranean Sea, lay Egypt, with which it had strong ties. Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Great's generals,...

Colossal facts.(Colossus of Rhodes )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Colossus of Rhodes had stood for only 56 years when an earthquake fractured its knees and caused it to collapse. An oracle counseled the Rhodians not to repair the statue, and so, for more than 800 years, its ruins lay neglected. Only after...

The Chariot of Helios.(Rhodians honor Helios)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Rhodians also commissioned famed sculptor Lysippos to honor their patron, Helios. His monument, the Chariot of Helios, stood on a high pillar, pulled by four horses that looked as though they were ascending into the sky. It was considered a...

Wondering about wonders.
September 1, 2006... Suppose you were asked to list seven wonders of the world. What would you choose? What fills you with awe, astonishment, and admiration? Would you include natural wonders? What criteria would you use? While the wonders featured in this...

Ask Calliope.(Parmenion treated Alexander the Great)(Greeks ate vegetables and fruits)(Hindu god of the underworld, Yama)
September 1, 2006... Who was the Hindu god of the underworld? --Kenny, 9, Hilliard, Florida The Hindu god of the underworld was named Yama. Also the god of death, Yama is believd by Hindus to have been the first mortal (human) who died. As the first human,...

The Egyptology Handbook: A Course in the Wonders of Egypt.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... The Egyptology Handbook: A Course in the Wonders of Egypt by Emily Sands (Candlewick, 2005, www.candlewick.com) is described as a "hands-on how-to for future archaeologists everywhere." Divided into 30 chapters focusing on various aspects of...

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Mary Hoffman (Frances Lincoln, 2003, www.franceslincoln.com) has Callimachus, the royal librarian of Alexandria, take his young apprentice with him as he researches information for his new book, introducing...

The World in Ancient Times.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... The World in Ancient Times by Ronald Mellor and Amanda H. Podany (Oxford University Press, 2005, www.oup.com) offers a well-researched account of life in the time of the wonders, with numerous excerpts that are long enough to offer the reader a...

Cobblestone resources.
September 1, 2006... Materials that complement this issue's topic, "Seven Wonders of the World," and are available from Cobblestone Publishing include: The Great Pyramid (DIG0609) Sumer and Its City-States (CAL0309) Alexandria and the Ptolemies...

On the net.(websites telling about places)(Website list)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... For a great site with detailed descriptions--and links to pages with further information and descriptions--for each of the seven ancient wonders, as well as links to modern wonders and natural wonders, go to: ...

7 modern wonders of the world.(FROM PAST TO PRESENT)
September 1, 2006... Today, there's more to the world than just pyramids and hanging gardens. Here are CALLIOPE's picks for the most amazing wonders, both on and off the planet, all built after 1800. 1 Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge Measuring more than a mile long...