Month: July 2021

Olympics

The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques) are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world’s foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, alternating between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years in the four-year period.

Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games (Ancient Greek: Ὀλυμπιακοί Ἀγῶνες), held in Olympia, Greece from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement , with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.

The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for snow and ice sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities, the Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18, the five Continental games (Pan American, African, Asian, European, and Pacific), and the World Games for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The IOC also endorses the Deaflympics and the Special Olympics. The IOC has needed to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. The abuse of amateur rules by the Eastern Bloc nations prompted the IOC to shift away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to the acceptance of professional athletes participating at the Games. The growing importance of mass media has created the issue of corporate sponsorship and general commercialisation of the Games. World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Olympics; large-scale boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics; and the 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations (IFs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games, and organises and funds the Games according to the Olympic Charter. The IOC also determines the Olympic programme, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games. There are several Olympic rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Over 14,000 athletes competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2018 Winter Olympics combined, in 35 different sports and over 400 events. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals: gold, silver, and bronze, respectively.

The Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies, including boycotts, doping, bribery, and a terrorist attack in 1972. Every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame. The Games also provide an opportunity for the host city and country to showcase themselves to the world

Ancient Olympics

The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, Greece. Competition was among representatives of several city-states and kingdoms of Ancient Greece. These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat sports such as wrestling and the pankration, horse and chariot racing events. It has been widely written that during the Games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities was known as the Olympic peace or truce.[7] This idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars. The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were travelling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus.[8] The origin of the Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend; one of the most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the Games.According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games “Olympic” and established the custom of holding them every four years. The myth continues that after Heracles completed his twelve labours, he built the Olympic Stadium as an honour to Zeus. Following its completion, he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this distance a “stadion” (Greek: στάδιον, Latin: stadium, “stage”), which later became a unit of distance. The most widely accepted inception date for the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC; this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia, listing the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC.[14] The Ancient Games featured running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race, and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, pankration, and equestrian events. Tradition has it that Coroebus, a cook from the city of Elis, was the first Olympic champion.

The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, featuring sporting events alongside ritual sacrifices honouring both Zeus (whose famous statue by Phidias stood in his temple at Olympia) and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia. Pelops was famous for his chariot race with King Oenomaus of Pisatis. The winners of the events were admired and immortalised in poems and statues. The Games were held every four years, and this period, known as an Olympiad, was used by Greeks as one of their units of time measurement. The Games were part of a cycle known as the Panhellenic Games, which included the Pythian Games, the Nemean Games, and the Isthmian Games.

The Olympic Games reached the height of their success in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, but then gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power and influence in Greece. While there is no scholarly consensus as to when the Games officially ended, the most commonly held date is 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I decreed that all pagan cults and practices be eliminated Another date commonly cited is 426 AD, when his successor, Theodosius II, ordered the destruction of all Greek temples.

Modern Games

Forerunners

Baron Pierre de Coubertin

Various uses of the term “Olympic” to describe athletic events in the modern era have been documented since the 17th century. The first such event was the Cotswold Games or “Cotswold Olimpick Games”, an annual meeting near Chipping Campden, England, involving various sports. It was first organised by the lawyer Robert Dover between 1612 and 1642, with several later celebrations leading up to the present day. The British Olympic Association, in its bid for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, mentioned these games as “the first stirrings of Britain’s Olympic beginnings”.

L’Olympiade de la République, a national Olympic festival held annually from 1796 to 1798 in Revolutionary France also attempted to emulate the ancient Olympic Games. The competition included several disciplines from the ancient Greek Olympics. The 1796 Games also marked the introduction of the metric system into sport.

In 1834 and 1836, Olympic games were held in Ramlösa (Olympiska spelen i Ramlösa), and an additional in Stockholm, Sweden in 1843, all organised by Gustaf Johan Schartau and others. At most 25,000 spectators saw the games.

In 1850, an Olympian Class was started by William Penny Brookes at Much Wenlock, in Shropshire, England. In 1859, Brookes changed the name to the Wenlock Olympian Games. This annual sports festival continues to this day. The Wenlock Olympian Society was founded by Brookes on 15 November 1860.

Between 1862 and 1867, Liverpool held an annual Grand Olympic Festival. Devised by John Hulley and Charles Melly, these games were the first to be wholly amateur in nature and international in outlook, although only ‘gentlemen amateurs’ could compete.The programme of the first modern Olympiad in Athens in 1896 was almost identical to that of the Liverpool Olympics. In 1865 Hulley, Brookes and E.G. Ravenstein founded the National Olympian Association in Liverpool, a forerunner of the British Olympic Association. Its articles of foundation provided the framework for the International Olympic Charter. In 1866, a national Olympic Games in Great Britain was organised at London’s Crystal Palace.

BALGANGADHAR TILAK

Independence has been a great achievement for our nation. But any great task requires sacrifice and hard work coupled with grit determination. Independence was much needed but this would not have been possible without our respectable freedom fighters.

Freedom fighters worked sweat blood to free the nation from the pangs of invaders. Some believed in peaceful protest and revolution such as the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi while others like Khudiram Bose and Subash Chandra Bose believed in the supremacy of armed rebellion.

Among the many great warriors of India, one name holds a great and respectable position. The name is Bal Gangadhar Tilak, also called Lokmanya Tilak. It is very important that we know about the lives of our leaders and cherish their struggles because of whom we live freely.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born of 23rd July,1856. His real name was Keshav Gangadhar Tilak. He was a teacher and also an Indian nationalist and independent activist. He was born in a Marathi Hindu Brahmin family. His father, Gangadhar Tilak was a school teacher and Sanskrit scholar who died when Tilak was sixteen years old. After his father’s death, at the age of sixteen, he was married to Tapibai.

His educational qualifications included a Bachelor of Arts in first class in Mathematics from Deccan College of Pune in 1877 and L.L.B. degree from Government Law College in 1879.

Political Career– He had a long political career. Before the advent of Mahatama Gandhi, he was the most known political leader. Tilak was considered a radical nationalist but a social conservative. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1890. He opposed its moderate attitude, especially towards self-government. Tilak also played a key role in promoting the Swadeshi Movement and the Boycott Movement after the Partition of Bengal. Tilak opposed the moderate views of Gopal Krishna Gokhale and was supported by fellow Indian nationalists Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengal and Lala Lajpat Rai in Punjab. They were referred to as the Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate. During his lifetime among other political cases, Tilak had been tried for sedition charges three times by the British Indian Government—in 1897, 1909, and 1916. In 1897, Tilak was sentenced to 18 months in prison for preaching disaffection against the Raj. In 1909, he was again charged with sedition and intensifying racial animosity between Indians and the British. The Bombay lawyer Muhammad Ali Jinnah appeared in Tilak’s defense but he was sentenced to six years in prison in Burma in a controversial judgment. In 1916 when for the third time Tilak was charged for sedition over his lectures on self-rule, Jinnah again was his lawyer and this time led him to acquittal in the case.

Tilak strictly opposed trends of liberal nature such as women’s rights, educating girls, and inter-caste marriage. He was particularly opposed to a form of marriage that involved a high caste girl and a boy of lower caste.

Also, Tilak started two weeklies Kesari ( in Marathi) and Mahratta in English. For this, he was recognized as the ‘awakener of India’. He appreciated the importance of identity issues in Modern India and motivated people to join the struggle for independence.

All in all, contributions made by Tilak were of significant importance and he is a leader to be remembered profoundly and a lot needs to be learned from him.

Sources- Wikipedia, Britannica, and Various News Articles

BALGANGADHAR TILAK

Independence has been a great achievement for our nation. But any great task requires sacrifice and hard work coupled with grit determination. Independence was much needed but this would not have been possible without our respectable freedom fighters.

Freedom fighters worked sweat blood to free the nation from the pangs of invaders. Some believed in peaceful protest and revolution such as the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi while others like Khudiram Bose and Subash Chandra Bose believed in the supremacy of armed rebellion.

Among the many great warriors of India, one name holds a great and respectable position. The name is Bal Gangadhar Tilak, also called Lokmanya Tilak. It is very important that we know about the lives of our leaders and cherish their struggles because of whom we live freely.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born of 23rd July,1856. His real name was Keshav Gangadhar Tilak. He was a teacher and also an Indian nationalist and independent activist. He was born in a Marathi Hindu Brahmin family. His father, Gangadhar Tilak was a school teacher and Sanskrit scholar who died when Tilak was sixteen years old. After his father’s death, at the age of sixteen, he was married to Tapibai.

His educational qualifications included a Bachelor of Arts in first class in Mathematics from Deccan College of Pune in 1877 and L.L.B. degree from Government Law College in 1879.

Political Career– He had a long political career. Before the advent of Mahatama Gandhi, he was the most known political leader. Tilak was considered a radical nationalist but a social conservative. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1890. He opposed its moderate attitude, especially towards self-government. Tilak also played a key role in promoting the Swadeshi Movement and the Boycott Movement after the Partition of Bengal. Tilak opposed the moderate views of Gopal Krishna Gokhale and was supported by fellow Indian nationalists Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengal and Lala Lajpat Rai in Punjab. They were referred to as the Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate. During his lifetime among other political cases, Tilak had been tried for sedition charges three times by the British Indian Government—in 1897, 1909, and 1916. In 1897, Tilak was sentenced to 18 months in prison for preaching disaffection against the Raj. In 1909, he was again charged with sedition and intensifying racial animosity between Indians and the British. The Bombay lawyer Muhammad Ali Jinnah appeared in Tilak’s defense but he was sentenced to six years in prison in Burma in a controversial judgment. In 1916 when for the third time Tilak was charged for sedition over his lectures on self-rule, Jinnah again was his lawyer and this time led him to acquittal in the case.

Tilak strictly opposed trends of liberal nature such as women’s rights, educating girls, and inter-caste marriage. He was particularly opposed to a form of marriage that involved a high caste girl and a boy of lower caste.

Also, Tilak started two weeklies Kesari ( in Marathi) and Mahratta in English. For this, he was recognized as the ‘awakener of India’. He appreciated the importance of identity issues in Modern India and motivated people to join the struggle for independence.

All in all, contributions made by Tilak were of significant importance and he is a leader to be remembered profoundly and a lot needs to be learned from him.

Sources- Wikipedia, Britannica, and Various News Articles

Do you know what you are?!

“You are the most unique person in this world because; there was no one like you, there is no one like you and there would be no one like you”. No matter wether you are good or bad, kind or wild, intelligent or ignorant and fame or adverse! Defenitely there is no one, right now; who exactly resembles each of your features. It’s impossible to recognise who you are, without the knowledge of what you are! This post doesn’t unleash the miracle of your biology such as your blood vessels spans 100 km or the length of your nerves covers many a miles. But this would try to bring out your inherent potential.

We are created with the ability to generate many number of ideas which would exceed the number of all molecules known, in the universe. All the creations and technological development that we see around us, is created with the 2% of the mental ability. The highest level of the mental ability that a person could use is near to 5%. If cent percent of the brain is used, then the consequences is unpredictable, and it would be miraculous. Each of the persons have their own perspectives, and their implantation into their action is definite to teach something; irrespective of the outcomes. As Henry Ford said, “Failure is merely an opportunity to more intelligently begin again”; every failure indeed becomes a step stone to success.

According to the saying of Jim Rohn, “Everything you have in your life, you have attracted to yourself by the person you are”, we become what we think about ourselves, for most of the time. Our beliefs, either positive or negative, helpful or hurtful, largely determine everything we do and how we do it. According to the law of correspondence, the outer life will begin to correspond and respond or reflect the inner life. It is evident that, it is possible and also necessary to transform the inner self and we are flexible enough to adapt oneself as the different personality. We also possess the ability to turn control of your emotions over someone or something we tend to blame. Even if, not everyone is born with emotional intelligence, we can acquire it in our life time.

Most importantly we are born with our own self by defeating many other selves; and right from the birth we have tasted the huge victory. I have listed a few but, it takes infinite words to define what are we. Our life is in the race to explore ourself and to become a star. To accomplish our aim it is necessary to recognise what we are. It could unleash the imprisoned splendor of ourselves! Thus the reason behind every perplex of our life and circumstances, is inherent inside yourself.

“If you tend to acknowledge what you are, then you shall decide who you should be and this is better than predicting who you are”!

Do you know what you are?!

“You are the most unique person in this world because; there was no one like you, there is no one like you and there would be no one like you”. No matter wether you are good or bad, kind or wild, intelligent or ignorant and fame or adverse! Defenitely there is no one, right now; who exactly resembles each of your features. It’s impossible to recognise who you are, without the knowledge of what you are! This post doesn’t unleash the miracle of your biology such as your blood vessels spans 100 km or the length of your nerves covers many a miles. But this would try to bring out your inherent potential.

We are created with the ability to generate many number of ideas which would exceed the number of all molecules known, in the universe. All the creations and technological development that we see around us, is created with the 2% of the mental ability. The highest level of the mental ability that a person could use is near to 5%. If cent percent of the brain is used, then the consequences is unpredictable, and it would be miraculous. Each of the persons have their own perspectives, and their implantation into their action is definite to teach something; irrespective of the outcomes. As Henry Ford said, “Failure is merely an opportunity to more intelligently begin again”; every failure indeed becomes a step stone to success.

According to the saying of Jim Rohn, “Everything you have in your life, you have attracted to yourself by the person you are”, we become what we think about ourselves, for most of the time. Our beliefs, either positive or negative, helpful or hurtful, largely determine everything we do and how we do it. According to the law of correspondence, the outer life will begin to correspond and respond or reflect the inner life. It is evident that, it is possible and also necessary to transform the inner self and we are flexible enough to adapt oneself as the different personality. We also possess the ability to turn control of your emotions over someone or something we tend to blame. Even if, not everyone is born with emotional intelligence, we can acquire it in our life time.

Most importantly we are born with our own self by defeating many other selves; and right from the birth we have tasted the huge victory. I have listed a few but, it takes infinite words to define what are we. Our life is in the race to explore ourself and to become a star. To accomplish our aim it is necessary to recognise what we are. It could unleash the imprisoned splendor of ourselves! Thus the reason behind every perplex of our life and circumstances, is inherent inside yourself.

“If you tend to acknowledge what you are, then you shall decide who you should be and this is better than predicting who you are”!

Best places to visit in ottawa

 Best Places To Visit In Ottawa

Ottawa is quite friendly towards tourists. There are different types of entertainment opportunities and sightseeing for all kinds of travellers. People from different countries like to come here for family vacations. It is a place with blue skies, sunshine-filled days and sweet nights of summer. There you get to see the vibrant greenery and can feel the cool water. You can enjoy your vacation in the proximity of nature by spending some days in the picturesque village of Old Chelsea in the Outaouais region. There you can experience the largest spa in North America as well. The panoramic pool and green hills can give you the ultimate peace of mind. There you also get to know about the place’s iconic history through the amazing museums. There are a number of marvellous places to explore. The best places to visit are as below:-

Parliament Hill

Actually Parliament Hill is the home of the federal government of Canada. The representatives of Canada gather there to make laws which affect the lives of each Canadian. It is one of the biggest tourist attractions for its astounding interior of the Parliament Building and for discovering the function, art and chronicle of the Parliament of Canada. You can come in contact with the sensational live debates and can witness the breathtaking light and sound show on Parliament Hill. You will also experience the unique taste of music: 53 bells of the Peace Tower Carillon, over there.

Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal is taken as paradise by the visitors for its historic lock stations and 202 kilometres (125 mile) of charming waterway. It is a National Historic Site of Canada as well as a Canadian Heritage River and a World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It includes a number of picturesque lakes and rivers which are attached with canals. There you can have a wonderful experience of the historic waterway by boat. You can also visit the place by car, bicycle or on foot. If you want to enjoy the full ambience of the region then a boat is best for it. You can have a magnificent trip by driving through the spectacular roads which go through the center of Old Ontario. 

Canadian War Museum

t is the place where you get to know about the rich military history of Canada through artwork, photos, artifacts, interactive presentations and unique stories. It is quite attractive for its illustrative architecture. The museum was built in the theme of regeneration to include the features which are energy-efficient. Recycled materials are used there with a green roof on the top; poppies grow over there in the summer. There you get to see the Mercedes-Benz parade car of Hitler, the scarlet dress coat Sir Isaac Brock which has the hole of the bullet that killed him at the Queenston Heights’ battle, a small teddy which was given to a soldier by his young daughter and many other splendid objects. 

National Gallery Of Canada

It is one of the best places in Ottawa where tourists come to explore and discover historical artworks like photographs, paintings, different kinds of sculptures and multimedia installations. You’ll step underneath the sculpture of a spider which has a height of 9 metre before you enter into the ravishing granite-and-glass building. You will get to inquire more than 40,000 works by some 6000 creators. 

Peace Tower

It is one of the well known constructions of Canada. It is situated in the Center of Centre block of Parliament Hill. It was built in 1916 after the Victoria Tower was lost in a fire. You can visit the place as part of the free Centre Block Tour. If you can manage to arrive at the right time you can witness the changing of the guards. You can enjoy the Northern lights sights and sound show on summer nights as well. 

GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks. That the myths contained a considerable element of fiction was recognized by the more critical Greeks, such as the philosopher Plato in the 5th–4th century BCE. In general, however, in the popular piety of the Greeks, the myths were viewed as true accounts. Greek mythology has subsequently had extensive influence on the arts and literature of Western civilization, which fell heir to much of Greek culture. Although people of all countries, eras, and stages of civilization have developed myths that explain the existence and workings of natural phenomena, recount the deeds of gods or heroes, or seek to justify social or political institutions, the myths of the Greeks have remained unrivaled in the Western world as sources of imaginative and appealing ideas. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in Classical mythological themes.

Sources of Myths: The Homeric poems

The 5th-century-BCE Greek historian Herodotus remarked that Homer and Hesiod gave to the Olympian gods their familiar characteristics. Few today would accept this literally. In the first book of the Iliad, the son of Zeus and Leto is as instantly identifiable to the Greek reader by his patronymic as are the sons of Atreus. In both cases, the audience is expected to have knowledge of the myths that preceded their literary rendering.

Sources of Myths: The works of Hesoid

he fullest and most important source of myths about the origin of the gods is the Theogony of Hesiod (c. 700 BCE). The elaborate genealogies mentioned above are accompanied by folktales and etiological myths. The Works and Days shares some of these in the context of a farmer’s calendar and an extensive harangue on the subject of justice addressed to Hesiod’s possibly fictitious brother Perses.The Theogony declares the identities and alliances of the gods, while the Works and Days gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, and Hesiod urges that the most reliable—though by no means certain—way is to be just.

Sources of Myths: Archaeological Discoveries

The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by Heinrich Schliemann, a 19th-century German amateur archaeologist, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete by Sir Arthur Evans, a 20th-century English archaeologist, are essential to the 21st-century understanding of the development of myth and ritual in the Greek world. Geometric designs on pottery of the 8th century BCE depict scenes from the Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles. The extreme formality of the style, however, renders much of the identification difficult, and there is no inscriptional evidence accompanying the designs to assist scholars in identification and interpretation. 

Forms of Myths: Religious Myths

Olympus

Greek religious myths are concerned with gods or heroes in their more serious aspects or are connected with ritual. They include cosmogonical tales of the genesis of the gods and the world out of Chaos, the successions of divine rulers, and the internecine struggles that culminated in the supremacy of Zeus, the ruling god of Olympus (the mountain that was considered the home of the gods). They also include the long tale of Zeus’s amours with goddesses and mortal women, which usually resulted in the births of younger deities and heroes. Myths of Dionysus, on the other hand, demonstrate the hostility aroused by a novel faith. Some myths are closely associated with rituals, such as the account of the drowning of the infant Zeus’s cries by the Curetes, attendants of Zeus, clashing their weapons, or Hera’s annual restoration of her virginity by bathing in the spring Canathus.

Forms of Myths: Legends

Hercules fighting the Nemean Lion

Myths were viewed as embodying divine or timeless truths, whereas legends (or sagas) were quasi-historical. Hence, famous events in epics, such as the Trojan War, were generally regarded as having really happened, and heroes and heroines were believed to have actually lived. Earlier sagas, such as the voyage of the Argonauts, were accepted in a similar fashion. Most Greek legends were embellished with folktales and fiction, but some certainly contain a historical substratum. Such are the tales of more than one sack of Troy, which are supported by archaeological evidence, and the labors of Heracles, which might suggest Mycenaean feudalism. Again, the legend of the Minotaur (a being part human, part bull) could have arisen from exaggerated accounts of bull leaping in ancient Crete.

Forms of Myths: Folktales

Folktales, consisting of popular recurring themes and told for amusement, inevitably found their way into Greek myth. Such is the theme of lost persons—whether husband, wife, or child —found or recovered after long and exciting adventures. Journeys to the land of the dead were made by Orpheus (a hero who went to Hades to restore his dead wife, Eurydice, to the realm of the living), Heracles, Odysseus, and Theseus (the slayer of the Minotaur). The victory of the little man by means of cunning against impossible odds, the exploits of the superman (e.g., Heracles), or the long-delayed victory over enemies are still as popular with modern writers as they were with the Greeks.

GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks. That the myths contained a considerable element of fiction was recognized by the more critical Greeks, such as the philosopher Plato in the 5th–4th century BCE. In general, however, in the popular piety of the Greeks, the myths were viewed as true accounts. Greek mythology has subsequently had extensive influence on the arts and literature of Western civilization, which fell heir to much of Greek culture. Although people of all countries, eras, and stages of civilization have developed myths that explain the existence and workings of natural phenomena, recount the deeds of gods or heroes, or seek to justify social or political institutions, the myths of the Greeks have remained unrivaled in the Western world as sources of imaginative and appealing ideas. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in Classical mythological themes.

Sources of Myths: The Homeric poems

The 5th-century-BCE Greek historian Herodotus remarked that Homer and Hesiod gave to the Olympian gods their familiar characteristics. Few today would accept this literally. In the first book of the Iliad, the son of Zeus and Leto is as instantly identifiable to the Greek reader by his patronymic as are the sons of Atreus. In both cases, the audience is expected to have knowledge of the myths that preceded their literary rendering.

Sources of Myths: The works of Hesoid

he fullest and most important source of myths about the origin of the gods is the Theogony of Hesiod (c. 700 BCE). The elaborate genealogies mentioned above are accompanied by folktales and etiological myths. The Works and Days shares some of these in the context of a farmer’s calendar and an extensive harangue on the subject of justice addressed to Hesiod’s possibly fictitious brother Perses.The Theogony declares the identities and alliances of the gods, while the Works and Days gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, and Hesiod urges that the most reliable—though by no means certain—way is to be just.

Sources of Myths: Archaeological Discoveries

The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by Heinrich Schliemann, a 19th-century German amateur archaeologist, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete by Sir Arthur Evans, a 20th-century English archaeologist, are essential to the 21st-century understanding of the development of myth and ritual in the Greek world. Geometric designs on pottery of the 8th century BCE depict scenes from the Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles. The extreme formality of the style, however, renders much of the identification difficult, and there is no inscriptional evidence accompanying the designs to assist scholars in identification and interpretation. 

Forms of Myths: Religious Myths

Olympus

Greek religious myths are concerned with gods or heroes in their more serious aspects or are connected with ritual. They include cosmogonical tales of the genesis of the gods and the world out of Chaos, the successions of divine rulers, and the internecine struggles that culminated in the supremacy of Zeus, the ruling god of Olympus (the mountain that was considered the home of the gods). They also include the long tale of Zeus’s amours with goddesses and mortal women, which usually resulted in the births of younger deities and heroes. Myths of Dionysus, on the other hand, demonstrate the hostility aroused by a novel faith. Some myths are closely associated with rituals, such as the account of the drowning of the infant Zeus’s cries by the Curetes, attendants of Zeus, clashing their weapons, or Hera’s annual restoration of her virginity by bathing in the spring Canathus.

Forms of Myths: Legends

Hercules fighting the Nemean Lion

Myths were viewed as embodying divine or timeless truths, whereas legends (or sagas) were quasi-historical. Hence, famous events in epics, such as the Trojan War, were generally regarded as having really happened, and heroes and heroines were believed to have actually lived. Earlier sagas, such as the voyage of the Argonauts, were accepted in a similar fashion. Most Greek legends were embellished with folktales and fiction, but some certainly contain a historical substratum. Such are the tales of more than one sack of Troy, which are supported by archaeological evidence, and the labors of Heracles, which might suggest Mycenaean feudalism. Again, the legend of the Minotaur (a being part human, part bull) could have arisen from exaggerated accounts of bull leaping in ancient Crete.

Forms of Myths: Folktales

Folktales, consisting of popular recurring themes and told for amusement, inevitably found their way into Greek myth. Such is the theme of lost persons—whether husband, wife, or child —found or recovered after long and exciting adventures. Journeys to the land of the dead were made by Orpheus (a hero who went to Hades to restore his dead wife, Eurydice, to the realm of the living), Heracles, Odysseus, and Theseus (the slayer of the Minotaur). The victory of the little man by means of cunning against impossible odds, the exploits of the superman (e.g., Heracles), or the long-delayed victory over enemies are still as popular with modern writers as they were with the Greeks.

Indian Olympic medal Contender: Proud Of Our Girls

Shooting
India’s 15-member shooting contingent is the favourite to bring back a big haul of medals.

The country’s biggest hopes are pinned on Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary.

Indian shooters Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary won the gold in the final of mixed 10m Air Pistol at ISSF World Cup, at Karni Singh Shooting Ranges on 27 February 2019 in New Delhi, India


Nineteen-year-old Bhaker, one of the top contenders in the 10m Women’s Air Pistol event, has in the past won it all from World Cup gold medals to the Commonwealth medal and Youth Olympics.

Shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, world number two and Youth Olympics champion, became the youngest Indian shooter to win a gold at the Asian Games in 2018 when he was just 16.

Both Bhaker and Chaudhary are top contenders for a medal finish when they pair up for the 10m Air pistol mixed event. The duo won five successive golds at international shooting events and a silver at the World Cup in Croatia in June.

Badminton

At the Rio Olympics, 21-year-old PV Sindhu bagged a silver – and won a billion hearts. Not everyone had expected a medal back then from the young shuttler. But five years on, expectations are high.

“I was just a participant back then, but now everyone says Sindhu has to get a medal,” she told the BBC recently.


Despite inconsistencies in her performance since 2019, Sindhu remains India’s top medal hope

Last year, the ace shuttler won the inaugural BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award.

In 2019, she was crowned the World Badminton Champion but her form has had inconsistencies since then. However, she remains India’s top medal prospect.

Boxing

Boxing
Mary Kom, also known as Magnificent Mary, the Iron Lady and many other nicknames, is a medal favourite for India.

She won a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics and will be looking to change the colour of her medal this time when she participates in the Flyweight section (51kg).


This could be the last Olympic Games for the boxing star

In May, she picked up a silver when she lost the final to Kazakhstan’s Nazym Kyzaibay during the Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai.

At 38, Kom may well be taking part in her last Olympics, and India will be rooting for her to increase her tally before she takes off her gloves.

Archery
Only last month, archer Deepika Kumari won three golds at the Archery World Cup in Paris.


Deepika Kumari is the number one ranked recurve woman in the world

She is now the world number one in the women’s recurve category and a strong candidate for a medal in Tokyo.

Kumari has won nine gold, 12 silver and seven bronze medals at various World Cups and will be looking to add the Olympic medal to her tally now.

Wrestling
India had a decent run at the Rio Olympics in 2016, with Sakshi Malik earning a bronze medal. In Tokyo, Vinesh Phogat leads the women’s wrestling team.

Having suffered a freak injury during the Rio Olympics, Phogat returned to India in a wheelchair and underwent surgery.

The 26-year-old is now roaring to go in the 53kg category with some great wins in the last couple of months, as well as reclaiming the number one ranking.

Indian Olympic medal Contender: Proud Of Our Girls

Shooting
India’s 15-member shooting contingent is the favourite to bring back a big haul of medals.

The country’s biggest hopes are pinned on Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary.

Indian shooters Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary won the gold in the final of mixed 10m Air Pistol at ISSF World Cup, at Karni Singh Shooting Ranges on 27 February 2019 in New Delhi, India

Nineteen-year-old Bhaker, one of the top contenders in the 10m Women’s Air Pistol event, has in the past won it all from World Cup gold medals to the Commonwealth medal and Youth Olympics.

Shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, world number two and Youth Olympics champion, became the youngest Indian shooter to win a gold at the Asian Games in 2018 when he was just 16.

Both Bhaker and Chaudhary are top contenders for a medal finish when they pair up for the 10m Air pistol mixed event. The duo won five successive golds at international shooting events and a silver at the World Cup in Croatia in June.

Badminton

At the Rio Olympics, 21-year-old PV Sindhu bagged a silver – and won a billion hearts. Not everyone had expected a medal back then from the young shuttler. But five years on, expectations are high.

“I was just a participant back then, but now everyone says Sindhu has to get a medal,” she told the BBC recently.

Despite inconsistencies in her performance since 2019, Sindhu remains India’s top medal hope

Last year, the ace shuttler won the inaugural BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award.

In 2019, she was crowned the World Badminton Champion but her form has had inconsistencies since then. However, she remains India’s top medal prospect.

Boxing

Boxing
Mary Kom, also known as Magnificent Mary, the Iron Lady and many other nicknames, is a medal favourite for India.

She won a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics and will be looking to change the colour of her medal this time when she participates in the Flyweight section (51kg).

This could be the last Olympic Games for the boxing star

In May, she picked up a silver when she lost the final to Kazakhstan’s Nazym Kyzaibay during the Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai.

At 38, Kom may well be taking part in her last Olympics, and India will be rooting for her to increase her tally before she takes off her gloves.

Archery
Only last month, archer Deepika Kumari won three golds at the Archery World Cup in Paris.

Deepika Kumari is the number one ranked recurve woman in the world

She is now the world number one in the women’s recurve category and a strong candidate for a medal in Tokyo.

Kumari has won nine gold, 12 silver and seven bronze medals at various World Cups and will be looking to add the Olympic medal to her tally now.

Wrestling
India had a decent run at the Rio Olympics in 2016, with Sakshi Malik earning a bronze medal. In Tokyo, Vinesh Phogat leads the women’s wrestling team.

Having suffered a freak injury during the Rio Olympics, Phogat returned to India in a wheelchair and underwent surgery.

The 26-year-old is now roaring to go in the 53kg category with some great wins in the last couple of months, as well as reclaiming the number one ranking.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large but peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab to protest against the arrest of pro-Indian independence leaders Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlu and Dr. Satya Pal. In response to the public gathering, the British Brigadier-General Dyer surrounded the Bagh with his soldiers. The Jallianwala Bagh could only be exited on one side, as its other three sides were enclosed by buildings. After blocking the exit with his troops, he ordered them to shoot at the crowd, continuing to fire even as protestors tried to flee. The troops kept on firing until their ammunition was exhausted. At least 379 people were killed and over 1,200 other people were injured of whom 192 were seriously injured.

Responses polarized both the British and Indian peoples. Eminent author Rudyard Kipling declared at the time that Dyer “did his duty as he saw it”. This incident shocked Rabindranath Tagore (the first Indian and Asian Nobel laureate) to such an extent that he renounced his knighthood and stated that “such mass murderers aren’t worthy of giving any title to anyone”.

The massacre caused a re-evaluation by the British Army of its military role against civilians to minimal force whenever possible, although later British actions during the Mau Mau insurgencies in Kenya have led historian Huw Bennett to note that the new policy was not always carried out. The army was retrained and developed less violent tactics for crowd control.

The level of casual brutality, and lack of any accountability, stunned the entire nation, resulting in a wrenching loss of faith of the general Indian public in the intentions of the UK. The ineffective inquiry, together with the initial accolades for Dyer, fuelled great widespread anger against the British among the Indian populace, leading to the Non-cooperation movement of 1920–22. Some historians consider the episode a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India. Britain never formally apologised for the massacre but expressed “regret” in 2019.

On Sunday, 13 April 1919, Dyer, convinced a major insurrection could take place, banned all meetings. This notice was not widely disseminated, and many villagers gathered in the Bagh to celebrate the important Hindu and Sikh festival of Baisakhi, and peacefully protest the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew. Dyer and his troops entered the garden, blocking the main entrance behind them, took up position on a raised bank, and with no warning opened fire on the crowd for about ten minutes, directing their bullets largely towards the few open gates through which people were trying to flee, until the ammunition supply was almost exhausted. The following day Dyer stated in a report that “I have heard that between 200 and 300 of the crowd were killed. My party fired 1,650 rounds”.

At 9:00 on the morning of 13 April 1919, the traditional festival of Baisakhi. Reginald Dyer, the acting military commander for Amritsar and its environs, proceeded through the city with several city officials, announcing the implementation of a pass system to enter or leave Amritsar, a curfew beginning at 20:00 that night and a ban on all processions and public meetings of four or more persons. The proclamation was read and explained in English, Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi, but few paid it any heed or appear to have learned of it later. Meanwhile, local police had received intelligence of the planned meeting in the Jallianwala Bagh through word of mouth and plainclothes detectives in the crowds. At 12:40, Dyer was informed of the meeting and returned to his base at around 13:30 to decide how to handle it.

By mid-afternoon, thousands of Indians had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh (garden) near the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Many who were present had earlier worshipped at the Golden Temple, and were passing through the Bagh on their way home. The Bagh was (and remains today) an open area of six to seven acres, roughly 200 yards by 200 yards in size, and surrounded on all sides by walls roughly 10 feet in height. Balconies of houses three to four stories tall overlooked the Bagh, and five narrow entrances opened onto it, several with lockable gates. During the rainy season, it was planted with crops, but served as a local meeting and recreation area for much of the year. In the center of the Bagh was a samadhi (cremation site) and a large well partly filled with water which measured about 20 feet in diameter.

Apart from pilgrims, Amritsar had filled up over the preceding days with farmers, traders, and merchants attending the annual Baisakhi horse and cattle fair. The city police closed the fair at 14:00 that afternoon, resulting in a large number of people drifting into the Jallianwala Bagh.

Dyer arranged for an aeroplane to overfly the Bagh and estimate the size of the crowd, that he reported was about 6,000, while the Hunter Commission estimates a crowd of 10,000 to 20,000 had assembled by the time of Dyer’s arrival. Colonel Dyer and Deputy Commissioner Irving, the senior civil authority for Amritsar, took no actions to prevent the crowd assembling, or to peacefully disperse the crowds. This would later be a serious criticism levelled at both Dyer and Irving.

An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 17:30, Colonel Dyer arrived at the Bagh with a group of ninety soldiers from the Gurkha Rifles, the 54th Sikhs and the 59th Sind Rifles. Fifty of them were armed with .303 Lee–Enfield bolt-action rifles. It is not clear whether Dyer had specifically chosen troops from that ethnic group due to their proven loyalty to the British or that they were simply the Sikh and non-Sikh units most readily available. He had also brought two armoured cars armed with machine guns; however, the vehicles were left outside, as they were unable to enter the Bagh through the narrow entrances. The Jallianwala Bagh was surrounded on all sides by houses and buildings and had only five narrow entrances, most kept permanently locked. The main entrance was relatively wide, but was guarded heavily by the troops backed by the armoured vehicles.

Dyer, without warning the crowd to disperse, blocked the main exits. He stated later that this act “was not to disperse the meeting but to punish the Indians for disobedience.” Dyer ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd in front of the available narrow exits, where panicked crowds were trying to leave the Bagh. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. Cease-fire was ordered only when ammunition supplies were almost exhausted, after approximately 1,650 rounds were spent.

Apart from the many deaths directly from the shooting, a number of people died of crushing in the stampedes at the narrow gates or by jumping into the solitary well on the compound to escape the shooting. A plaque, placed at the site after independence, states that 120 bodies were removed from the well. The wounded could not be moved from where they had fallen, as a curfew was declared, and more who had been injured then died during the night.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large but peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab to protest against the arrest of pro-Indian independence leaders Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlu and Dr. Satya Pal. In response to the public gathering, the British Brigadier-General Dyer surrounded the Bagh with his soldiers. The Jallianwala Bagh could only be exited on one side, as its other three sides were enclosed by buildings. After blocking the exit with his troops, he ordered them to shoot at the crowd, continuing to fire even as protestors tried to flee. The troops kept on firing until their ammunition was exhausted. At least 379 people were killed and over 1,200 other people were injured of whom 192 were seriously injured.

Responses polarized both the British and Indian peoples. Eminent author Rudyard Kipling declared at the time that Dyer “did his duty as he saw it”. This incident shocked Rabindranath Tagore (the first Indian and Asian Nobel laureate) to such an extent that he renounced his knighthood and stated that “such mass murderers aren’t worthy of giving any title to anyone”.

The massacre caused a re-evaluation by the British Army of its military role against civilians to minimal force whenever possible, although later British actions during the Mau Mau insurgencies in Kenya have led historian Huw Bennett to note that the new policy was not always carried out. The army was retrained and developed less violent tactics for crowd control.

The level of casual brutality, and lack of any accountability, stunned the entire nation, resulting in a wrenching loss of faith of the general Indian public in the intentions of the UK. The ineffective inquiry, together with the initial accolades for Dyer, fuelled great widespread anger against the British among the Indian populace, leading to the Non-cooperation movement of 1920–22. Some historians consider the episode a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India. Britain never formally apologised for the massacre but expressed “regret” in 2019.

On Sunday, 13 April 1919, Dyer, convinced a major insurrection could take place, banned all meetings. This notice was not widely disseminated, and many villagers gathered in the Bagh to celebrate the important Hindu and Sikh festival of Baisakhi, and peacefully protest the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew. Dyer and his troops entered the garden, blocking the main entrance behind them, took up position on a raised bank, and with no warning opened fire on the crowd for about ten minutes, directing their bullets largely towards the few open gates through which people were trying to flee, until the ammunition supply was almost exhausted. The following day Dyer stated in a report that “I have heard that between 200 and 300 of the crowd were killed. My party fired 1,650 rounds”.

At 9:00 on the morning of 13 April 1919, the traditional festival of Baisakhi. Reginald Dyer, the acting military commander for Amritsar and its environs, proceeded through the city with several city officials, announcing the implementation of a pass system to enter or leave Amritsar, a curfew beginning at 20:00 that night and a ban on all processions and public meetings of four or more persons. The proclamation was read and explained in English, Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi, but few paid it any heed or appear to have learned of it later. Meanwhile, local police had received intelligence of the planned meeting in the Jallianwala Bagh through word of mouth and plainclothes detectives in the crowds. At 12:40, Dyer was informed of the meeting and returned to his base at around 13:30 to decide how to handle it.

By mid-afternoon, thousands of Indians had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh (garden) near the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Many who were present had earlier worshipped at the Golden Temple, and were passing through the Bagh on their way home. The Bagh was (and remains today) an open area of six to seven acres, roughly 200 yards by 200 yards in size, and surrounded on all sides by walls roughly 10 feet in height. Balconies of houses three to four stories tall overlooked the Bagh, and five narrow entrances opened onto it, several with lockable gates. During the rainy season, it was planted with crops, but served as a local meeting and recreation area for much of the year. In the center of the Bagh was a samadhi (cremation site) and a large well partly filled with water which measured about 20 feet in diameter.

Apart from pilgrims, Amritsar had filled up over the preceding days with farmers, traders, and merchants attending the annual Baisakhi horse and cattle fair. The city police closed the fair at 14:00 that afternoon, resulting in a large number of people drifting into the Jallianwala Bagh.

Dyer arranged for an aeroplane to overfly the Bagh and estimate the size of the crowd, that he reported was about 6,000, while the Hunter Commission estimates a crowd of 10,000 to 20,000 had assembled by the time of Dyer’s arrival. Colonel Dyer and Deputy Commissioner Irving, the senior civil authority for Amritsar, took no actions to prevent the crowd assembling, or to peacefully disperse the crowds. This would later be a serious criticism levelled at both Dyer and Irving.

An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 17:30, Colonel Dyer arrived at the Bagh with a group of ninety soldiers from the Gurkha Rifles, the 54th Sikhs and the 59th Sind Rifles. Fifty of them were armed with .303 Lee–Enfield bolt-action rifles. It is not clear whether Dyer had specifically chosen troops from that ethnic group due to their proven loyalty to the British or that they were simply the Sikh and non-Sikh units most readily available. He had also brought two armoured cars armed with machine guns; however, the vehicles were left outside, as they were unable to enter the Bagh through the narrow entrances. The Jallianwala Bagh was surrounded on all sides by houses and buildings and had only five narrow entrances, most kept permanently locked. The main entrance was relatively wide, but was guarded heavily by the troops backed by the armoured vehicles.

Dyer, without warning the crowd to disperse, blocked the main exits. He stated later that this act “was not to disperse the meeting but to punish the Indians for disobedience.” Dyer ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the densest sections of the crowd in front of the available narrow exits, where panicked crowds were trying to leave the Bagh. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes. Cease-fire was ordered only when ammunition supplies were almost exhausted, after approximately 1,650 rounds were spent.

Apart from the many deaths directly from the shooting, a number of people died of crushing in the stampedes at the narrow gates or by jumping into the solitary well on the compound to escape the shooting. A plaque, placed at the site after independence, states that 120 bodies were removed from the well. The wounded could not be moved from where they had fallen, as a curfew was declared, and more who had been injured then died during the night.

RECURSIVE ALGORITHM

A recursive algorithm calls itself which usually passes the return value as a parameter to the algorithm again. This parameter is the input while the return value is the output. Recursive algorithm is a method of simplification that divides the problem into sub-problems of the same nature. The result of one recursion is the input for the next recursion. The repletion is in the self-similar fashion. The algorithm calls itself with smaller input values and obtains the results by simply performing the operations on these smaller values. Generation of factorial, Fibonacci number series are the examples of recursive algorithms.

Properties

A recursive function can go infinite like a loop. To avoid infinite running of recursive function, there are two properties that a recursive function must have −
• Base criteria − There must be at least one base criteria or condition, such that, when this condition is met the function stops calling itself recursively.
• Progressive approach − The recursive calls should progress in such a way that each time a recursive call is made it comes closer to the base criteria.
Implementation

Many programming languages implement recursion by means of stacks. Generally, whenever a function (caller) calls another function (Calle) or itself as calle, the caller function transfers execution control to the Calle. This transfer process may also involve some data to be passed from the caller to the calle.
This implies, the caller function has to suspend its execution temporarily and resume later when the execution control returns from the calle function. Here, the caller function needs to start exactly from the point of execution where it puts itself on hold. It also needs the exact same data values it was working on. For this purpose, an activation record (or stack frame) is created for the caller function.

RECURSIVE ALGORITHM

A recursive algorithm calls itself which usually passes the return value as a parameter to the algorithm again. This parameter is the input while the return value is the output. Recursive algorithm is a method of simplification that divides the problem into sub-problems of the same nature. The result of one recursion is the input for the next recursion. The repletion is in the self-similar fashion. The algorithm calls itself with smaller input values and obtains the results by simply performing the operations on these smaller values. Generation of factorial, Fibonacci number series are the examples of recursive algorithms.

Properties

A recursive function can go infinite like a loop. To avoid infinite running of recursive function, there are two properties that a recursive function must have −
• Base criteria − There must be at least one base criteria or condition, such that, when this condition is met the function stops calling itself recursively.
• Progressive approach − The recursive calls should progress in such a way that each time a recursive call is made it comes closer to the base criteria.
Implementation

Many programming languages implement recursion by means of stacks. Generally, whenever a function (caller) calls another function (Calle) or itself as calle, the caller function transfers execution control to the Calle. This transfer process may also involve some data to be passed from the caller to the calle.
This implies, the caller function has to suspend its execution temporarily and resume later when the execution control returns from the calle function. Here, the caller function needs to start exactly from the point of execution where it puts itself on hold. It also needs the exact same data values it was working on. For this purpose, an activation record (or stack frame) is created for the caller function.