Hellas (theme)

The Theme of Hellas (Greek: θέμα Ἑλλάδος) was a Byzantine military-civilian province (thema, theme) located in southern Greece. The theme encompassed parts of Central Greece, Thessaly and, until c. 800, the Peloponnese. It was established in the late 7th century, and survived until the late 11th/12th century.

History

"Hellas" was already in use in the 6th century to designate southern Greece in an administrative context, being employed in the Synekdemos as an alternative name for the Roman province of Achaea. During the late 6th and early 7th centuries, the final collapse of the Danube frontier allowed large-scale Slavic invasions and settlements to occur all over the Balkan peninsula. From 578, Slavic raids reached Thessaly and southern Greece. Aided by the Byzantine Empire's preoccupation with the long and bloody wars with Sassanid Persia in the east, and with the Avar Khaganate in the north, the Slavs raided and settled almost at will. The Slavic settlement that followed the raids in the late 6th and early 7th centuries affected the Peloponnese in the south and Macedonia in the north far more than Thessaly or Central Greece, with the fortified towns largely remaining in the hands of the native Greek population. Nevertheless, in the first decades of the 7th century the Slavs were free to raid Thessaly and the south relatively unhindered; according to the Miracles of Saint Demetrius, in ca. 615 the Slavic tribes even built monoxyla and raided the coasts of Thessaly and many Aegean islands, depopulating many of them. Some of the native Greek population fled to the fortified cities, to off-shore islands, or to Italy.

Theme

Theme or themes may refer to:

Art

See also

Thematic vowel

In Indo-European studies, a thematic vowel or theme vowel is the vowel *e or *o from ablaut placed before the ending of a Proto-Indo-European (PIE) word. Nouns, adjectives, and verbs in the Indo-European languages with this vowel are thematic, and those without it are athematic. Used more generally, a thematic vowel is any vowel found at the end of the stem of a word.

Proto-Indo-European

PIE verbs and nominals (nouns and adjectives) consist of three parts:

The thematic vowel, if present, occurs at the end of the suffix (which may include other vowels or consonants) and before the ending:

Athematic forms, by contrast, have a suffix ending in a consonant, or no suffix at all (or arguably a null suffix):

For several reasons, athematic forms are thought to be older, and the thematic vowel was likely an innovation of late PIE: Athematic paradigms (inflection patterns) are more "irregular", exhibiting ablaut and mobile accent, while the thematic paradigms can be seen as a simplification or regularisation of verbal and nominal grammar. In the Anatolian languages, which were the earliest to split from PIE, thematic verbs are rare or absent. Furthermore, during late PIE and in the older daughter languages, a number of athematic forms were replaced by thematic ones, as in prehistoric Greek *thes- 'god' versus *thes-o- > Classical Greek θεός (theós).

The Family Way (soundtrack)

The Family Way is a soundtrack recording composed by Paul McCartney, released in January 1967. The album is the soundtrack to the 1966 film of the same name, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Hayley Mills. Produced and arranged by George Martin, the album was credited to "The George Martin Orchestra" and issued under the full title The Family Way (Original Soundtrack Album). A 45rpm single, again credited to the George Martin Orchestra, was issued on 23 December 1966, comprising "Love in the Open Air" backed with "Theme From 'The Family Way'", as United Artists UP1165.

The Family Way won an Ivor Novello Award in 1967. It was remastered and released on CD in 1996 with new musical compositions not on the original 1967 soundtrack album.

The recording took place over November and December 1966, before the Beatles began work on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. McCartney's involvement in the project was minimal, according to biographer Howard Sounes, who quotes Martin's recollection that he had to "pester Paul for the briefest scrap of a tune" with which to start writing the score. After McCartney had provided "a sweet little fragment of a waltz tune", Martin continued, "I was able to complete the score."

Greece

Greece (ⁱ/ɡriːs/ GREESS; Greek: Ελλάδα, Elláda [eˈlaða]), officially the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía [eliniˈci ðimokraˈti.a]) and known since ancient times as Hellas (/ˈhɛləs/; Greek: Ελλάς, Ellás), is a country located in southeastern Europe. According to the 2011 census, Greece's population is around 10.8 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki, which is commonly referred to as the co-capital.

Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands (including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian Islands. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands, of which 227 are inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres (9,573 ft).

Hellas (disambiguation)

Hellas is the original name for Greece, used as an archaic or poetic form in English, and to render the native Greek name Ἑλλάς (Hellás, Modern Greek Ellás).

Hellas may also refer to:

Hellas (poem)

Hellas is a verse drama by Percy Bysshe Shelley, written in 1821 and published in 1822 by Charles and James Ollier in London. Shelley wrote it while living in Pisa, with a view to raising money for the Greek War of Independence. It was to be Shelley’s last published poem during his lifetime.

Dedication

The dedication of the drama was : «Τo Ηis Εxcellency Prince Alexander Mavrocordato late secretary for foreign affairs to the Hospodar of Wallachia the drama of Hellas is inscribed as an imperfect token of the admiration, sympathy, and friendship of the author. Pisa, November 1, 1821».

The Greek politician Alexander Mavrocordato met Shelley during his stay in Pisa from 1818 to 1821.

Analysis

The drama is written from the point of view of the Ottoman Sultan, and was inspired by Aeschylus' Persae. The drama focuses on the Sultan, Mahmud, who controls the Turkish attacks on Greece. His sleep is restless and his mind worried by a recurring nightmare. He seeks help from the Wandering Jew, Ahasuerus, whom he believes has magic powers and can interpret his dream. During their conversation, Mahmud sinks more and more into despair as he, in spite of reports of Turkish victories, realizes that he has lost the war.