Alexikoua

This user was identified as an awesome Wikipedian on January 10, 2017.

This user has written or expanded 84 articles featured in the Did You Know section on the Main Page.

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Picture of the day

The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a medium-sized perching bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 centimetres (8 inches) long and has glossy black plumage, which is speckled with white at some times of year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. It is a noisy bird, especially in communal roosts, with an unmusical but varied song. The starling has about a dozen subspecies breeding in open habitats across its native range in temperate Europe and western Asia, and it has been introduced elsewhere. This bird is resident in southern and western Europe and southwestern Asia, while northeastern populations migrate south and west in winter. The starling builds an untidy nest in a natural or artificial cavity in which four or five glossy, pale blue eggs are laid. These take two weeks to hatch and the young remain in the nest for another three weeks. The species is omnivorous, taking a wide range of invertebrates, as well as seeds and fruit. The starling's gift for mimicry has been noted in literature including the medieval Welsh Mabinogion and the works of Pliny the Elder and William Shakespeare. This common starling was photographed at Bodega Head on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California.Photograph credit: Frank Schulenburg

- Did you know...

1. that the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was a short-lived state founded in March 1914 by Greeks living in southern Albania? 2. that the forces of the ancient state of Epirus invaded Latium, threatening Rome itself, during the Pyrrhic War in 280 B.C.? 3. that, during World War II, Greek Air Force pilot Marinos Mitralexis rammed the rudder of an enemy bomber with the propeller of his PZL P.24, causing the enemy aircraft to crash to the ground? 4. that the Zappas Olympics were a series of four athletic contests held in Athens between 1859 and 1889 and are considered as precursors to the modern Olympic Games? 5. that in 1833, romantic poet Panagiotis Soutsos envisioned the revival of the ancient Olympic Games in his work Dialogues of the Dead, 63 years before the first International Olympics? 6. that current Chief of National Defense General Staff of Greece, Air Chief Marshal Ioannis Giagkos, served as Commander in NATO Combined Air Operations Centre-7? 7. that Pindus National Park is one of three areas in Greece that hosts populations of bears? 8. that the Himariote Greek dialect retains several archaic features no longer found in standard modern Greek? 9. that the Italian attack against Greece was stopped in the Battle of Elaia–Kalamas, a few kilometers inside the Greek border, during the first days of the Greco-Italian War? 10. that Zakynthos Marine Park in Greece is the first national park established for the protection of sea turtles (Loggerhead Sea Turtle pictured) in the Mediterranean? 11. that a failed Cretan revolt of 1828, led by Hatzimichalis Dalianis, is the basis for the local legend of the ghost army of the Drosoulites? 12. that Laiko Vima was the only newspaper printed in Greek in the Socialist People's Republic of Albania? 13. that the Pavlos Vrellis Greek History Museum is the best known wax museum in Greece? 14. that the 13th-14th century Byzantine romance, Belthandros and Chrysantza, is considered by some critics to be superior in imaginative power to the Niebelungenlied? 15. that the Song of Armouris, is among the oldest surviving examples of Byzantine heroic poetry? 16. that the Albanian poet Haxhi Shekreti composed the epic Alipashiad in Greek, considering it a more prestigious language in which to praise his master, Ali Pasha of Ioannina? 17. that the capture of the strategic Klisura Pass by the Greek army, in January 1941, was considered a major success by the Allied forces? 18. that the Hermoniakos' Iliad is a 14th-century paraphrase of the Iliad, written in vernacular Greek? 19-20. that during the Balkan Wars, Greek military aviators Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis Moraitinis performed the first naval air mission in history, with a Farman MF.7 hydroplane? 21. that Emmanouil Argyropoulos (pictured), the first Greek aviator to fly over his country, was also the first casualty suffered by Greek military aviation one year later during the Balkan Wars? 22. that Hermes o Logios (pictured) was the longest-running Greek periodical prior to the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence (1821)? 23. that during the Battle of Pindus (1940), the Italian Julia Division, after its initial advance, was surrounded and virtually wiped out by the Greek Army? 24. that poet and author Kostas Krystallis escaped to Greece after being denounced by the Ottoman authorities for writing a patriotic collection of poetry? 25. that aviator Aristeidis Moraitinis (pictured), apart from being Greece’s only ace in World War I, was at the same time in command of the Hellenic Naval Air Service? 26. that the decisive factor for the Greek victory at Bizani (1913) was not numerical superiority, but the solid operational planning that did not allow the Ottoman forces to react? 27. that the 15th-century monastery of Saint Paraskevi, in Epirus, northwestern Greece, is situated on the edge of the Vikos Gorge (pictured)? 28. that Zariphios School, founded at 1875 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, was one of the most significant Greek educational institutions in the region, attracting teachers from Greece and Western Europe? 29. that Vuno, a village in the Albanian Riviera, was reported to have shown sympathy for the 1997 rebellion in Albania? 30. that, during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, Greek aviator Christos Adamidis landed his Farman MF.7 in the central square of his hometown, Ioannina, as soon as the city had come under Greek control? 31. that the Flanginian School in Campo dei Greci (pictured), Venice, produced several teachers who contributed to the modern Greek Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries? 32. that the Evangelical School of Smyrna was the most important Greek educational institution in İzmir, Turkey, possessing an archaeological museum, a natural science collection and a library? 33. that 19th-century publicist Anastas Byku held that the Albanians were descendants of the Pelasgians and the Illyrians? 34. that the New Academy, an 18th-century higher learning institute and center of Greek culture, in Moscopole, Albania, was nicknamed "the worthiest jewel of the city"? 35. that construction of the Phrontisterion of Trapezous (pictured), a former Greek school in Trabzon, Turkey, has been described as the most impressive surviving Pontic Greek monument of the city? 36. that the 19th-century Kaplaneios School in Ioannina, Greece, evolved into the most significant intellectual center of the city through the work of Athanasios Psalidas? 37. that Eugenios Voulgaris, scholar and first director of the Maroutsaia School in Ioannina, Greece, insisted that the Greek intellectual revival should remain theologically and socially conservative? 38. that with the foundation of the Athonite Academy, near Vatopedi monastery, the monastic community of Mount Athos took a leading role in the 18th century modern Greek Enlightenment? 39-41. that although Geographia Neoteriki, written by Grigorios Konstantas and Daniel Philippidis, was welcomed with enthusiasm by western intellectuals, it was largely neglected by Greek scholars? 42. that the 1912 revolt in Himarë, Albania, led by Greek officer Spyros Spyromilios, overthrew the Ottoman forces from the region? 43. that the Greek city Phoenice became the center of the federal government of the Epirote League after the assassination of the last Aeacid dynasty ruler, Deidamia II of Epirus? 44. that the anonymous Greek author of Hellenic Nomarchy, written in 1806, dedicates his work to the activist Rigas Feraios? 45. that the opening of the Italian Spring Offensive against Greek positions, in March 1941, was personally observed by Benito Mussolini? 46. that in 1914, the Greeks living in southern Albania declared independence for Northern Epirus? 47. that Grave Circle A (pictured) in Mycenae, Greece, was the burial place of the 16th century BC Mycenaean ruling families? 48. that the Lion Gate (pictured), the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in Greece, is the sole surviving monument of Mycenaean sculpture? 49. that the Throne Room of the Bronze Age Palace of Knossos, in Greece, is claimed to be the oldest in Europe? 50. that the Ionian University of Smyrna, established in Turkey by Greece during the occupation of Smyrna, was never opened due to latter's defeat in the Greco-Turkish War? 51. that mathematician Kosmas Balanos claimed in his work Antipelargisis that he had solved the problem of the doublication of the cube? 52. that the 13th Light Bomber Squadron was the first Greek military unit to be formed in exile after the German conquest of Greece in World War II? 53. that the Great Famine in Greece during the Axis occupation is claimed to be the worst famine that Greeks have experienced since ancient times? 54. that although banned in 1943, the Baklahorani carnival, in Istanbul, revived after nearly 70 years? 55. that Georgios Stavros, who appeared on various Greek banknotes issued before 1932, was the founding governor of the National Bank of Greece? 56. that Benito Mussolini admitted that one of the causes of the Italian defeat at the Battle of Himara was the high morale of the Greek troops? 57. that the main tourist attraction in Agkistro, northern Greece, its steam bath complex, dates from the 10th century Byzantine period? 58. that when Ottoman commander Esad Pasha surrendered after the 1913 Battle of Bizani, Greek Army officer Ioannis Velissariou personally led the Ottoman delegation to Greek headquarters? 59. that The Free Besieged, an unfinished epic by Dionysios Solomos (pictured) and one of his greatest works, was inspired by events from the Greek War of Independence? 60-61. that the Orthodox metropolitan bishops Gregory and Ambrosios were executed by the Turkish Army in 1922, at the end of the Greco-Turkish War? 62. that the building of the Bangas Gymnasium in Korcë, Albania, was erected with the support of the Lasso, a local community fund aimed at the promotion of Greek education and culture? 63. that after the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, Greeks were the targets of mass executions, pogroms, and looting in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople? 64. that Grave Circle B in Mycenae, Greece, was the burial place of the 17th–16th century BC Mycenaean ruling families? 65. that the campaigns of Attarsiya represent the earliest recorded Mycenaean Greek military involvement on the Anatolian mainland? 66. that the Assembly of Delvino ratified the Protocol of Corfu in 1914, which gave Northern Epirus autonomy inside Albania? 67. that Matthaios Kofidis, former member of the Ottoman parliament, was among the Greek notables hanged in Amasya by the Turkish National Movement? 68. that although the Greek Orthodox bishop of Korçë, Photios, took initiatives for the promotion of the local education, he was assassinated in 1906 for not supporting Albanian cultural activity? 69. that in Poliçan, southern Albania, as well as in the rest of the Pogoni region, polyphonic singing is a local tradition? 70. that the June 1914 attack against the Ottoman Greeks of Phocaea, Turkey, as part of the Ottoman policy of ethnic cleansing, closely resembled similar operations against Armenians? Portrait of Kyra Vassiliki 71. that Eritha, one of the most significant priestesses in Mycenaean Pylos in c. 1200 BC, was involved in a dispute over the legal status of her religious holdings? 72. that Kyra Vassiliki (pictured), wife of the Ottoman ruler, Ali Pasha, was a member of the Greek patriotic organization, Filiki Eteria? Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos 73. that the Dormition of the Theotokos Church (pictured) in Labovë e Kryqit, founded by Emperor Justinian I, is one of the most representative examples of Byzantine architecture still standing in Albania? 74. that in the armies of Mycenaean Greece, chariots were initially used as fighting vehicles, but by the 13th century BC their role was probably limited to battlefield transport? 75. that the Mask of Agamemnon (pictured) is probably the most famous artifact from Mycenaean Greece (c. 1600–1100 BC)? Mask of Agamemnon 76. that 16th-century Greek noble Manthos Papagiannis repeatedly solicited support from western European leaders for a planned uprising against the Ottoman Empire? 77. that 71 years after the Lyngiades massacre in Greece, President Joachim Gauck was Germany's first official representative to visit the site and express his apologies for the Wehrmacht's atrocities? 78. that U.S. admiral Mark Bristol unsuccessfully protested against the deportations of Samsun Greeks to the Turkish authorities of Mustafa Kemal? 79. that two months after the Candia massacre, the last Ottoman soldiers left Crete, ending 253 years of Ottoman rule? 80. that in May 1917, German general Liman von Sanders organized the expulsion of the Greek population of Ayvalık, Turkey, to inner Anatolia? 81. that in 1608, Greek spy Petros Lantzas devised a plan to assassinate the Ottoman Sultan by placing a present containing explosives in front of him? 82. that Colonel Pavlos Kouroupis was the first commanding officer defending Cyprus at the start of the Turkish invasion and is considered the first missing person of the conflict? 83. that although in ruins, the Forty Saints Monastery in Sarandë, Albania, still retains some religious importance for the local Greek Orthodox population? 84. that the expulsion of Greeks from Istanbul in 1964–1965 was part of the final phase of state measures aimed at the Turkification of the local economic, social, and cultural life?

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