The Greek State

The authors would like to thank Dr J.L. Halary for valuable discussions and help in the field of polarized luminescence experiments. Scholarship support to I. Iliopoulos from the Greek State Scholarship Foundation is also gratefully acknowledged. 

Mommsen, T. 1894. History of Rome, from the Union of Italy to the Subjugation of Carthage and the Greek States. Dickson, London. 

In the two early essays from 1871—2 included in this volume, The Greek State and Homer s Contest , we see at work the stress Nietzsche places on political life not as an end in itself but as a means to the production of great human beings and an aristocratic culture. Nietzsche presents a stark choice between culture and politics (or the claims of justice). He argues that if we wish to promote greatness and serve the ends of culture, then it is necessary to recognize that an essential aspect of society is economic servitude for the majority of individuals. We must not let the urge for justice. . . swamp all other ideas or, as Nietzsche memorably puts it, the cry of compassion must not be allowed to tear down the walls of culture . 

This work was partially supported by the project PENED 2003 No 03ED507, which is funded in 80% by the European Union- European Social fund and in 20% by the Greek state-Greek Secretariat for Research and Technology. 

When the crusaders seized Constantinople in 1204 and subsequently established the Latin Empire, many Byzantine philanthropic institutions were destroyed. We know that the Western soldiers sacked the famous Sampson Xenon next to Hagia Sophia and that, as a result, it ceased to function as a medical hospital. After the restoration of the Greek state in 1261, the Sampson did not reopen its hospital wards. The ancient Panteleemon Xenon, founded in the sixth century, also lay in ruins when the emperor Michael VIII liberated Constantinople. It remained in this state until a monk named Niphon spent his private fortune to refurbish it in 1340. ... 

The term polymer is derived from the Greek words poly and meros, meaning many parts. We noted in the last section that the existence of these parts was acknowledged before the nature of the interaction which held them together was known. Today we realize that ordinary covalent bonds are the intramolecular forces which keep the polymer molecule intact. In addition, the usual type of intermolecular forces—hydrogen bonds, dipole-dipole interactions, and London forces—hold assemblies of these molecules together in the bulk state. The only thing that is remarkable about these molecules is their size, but that feature is remarkable indeed. 

Niobium, discovered by Hatchett ia 1801, was first named columbium. In 1844, Rosed thought he had found a new element associated with tantalum (see Tantalum AND tantalum compounds). He called the new element niobium, for Niobe, daughter of Tantalus of Greek mythology. In 1949, the Union of Pure and Apphed Chemistry setded on the name niobium, but in the United States this metal is stiU known also as columbium. Sometimes called a rare metal, niobium is actually more abundant in the earth s cmst than lead. 

Work on plasmas has roots extending back to the Greeks who found that amber mbbed with various materials tended to attract certain objects. The concept of plasma as the fourth state of matter can be traced to Sir William Crookes (2) in 1879. "So distinct are these phenomena from anything which occurs in air or gas at the ordinary tension, that we are led to assume that we are here brought face to face with Matter in a Fourth state or condition, a condition so far removed from the State of gas as a gas is from a Hquid." This description has been shown to be accurate over many years of experimentation and appHcation of plasmas. 

Natural resins have been collected by hand throughout recorded history and used with minimal processing. They are reported to have been used in the arts, both in paints and for polishing sculptures, as early as 350 BC. Amber, the hardest of these resins, has been used as a gemstone from early Greek history to modem times. The electrical properties of amber were first recorded about 300 BC. Following is a description of commercial natural resins that are available in the United States. 

The common hemlock, Conium maculatum, contain five alkaloids. Power and Tutin found a similar mixture in fool s parsley, and a volatile alkaloid resembling coniine i.s stated to occur in certain aroids. According to Svagr, water hemlock Cicuta virosa) owes its poisonous properties to toxin and not to cicutine, a name sometimes used as a synonym for coniine. The toxic properties of hemlock juice have been known ftom very early times thus it was the chief ingredient in the poison administered to criminals by the Greeks. The leaves and the unripe fruits are the parts used in medicine. The following are the names and formulae of the alkaloids —... 

In compounds, the important oxidation numbers of Cr are +2, +3, and +6. In all of these states the chromium ions are colored and, in fact, the element got its name from this property (ichroma is the Greek word for color). The +2 state is not frequently encountered but it can be made quite easily as the beautiful blue chromous ion in solution by dripping a solution containing CrM over metallic zinc. Air has to be excluded since O rapidly converts Cr1-5 back into Cr. ... 

According to quantum mechanics, an electron has two spin states, represented by the arrows T (up) and l(down) or the Greek letters a (alpha) and P (beta) We can think of an electron as being able to spin counterclockwise at a certain rate... 

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