(Entrance to the tholos or Treasury of Atreus) Image source

The treasury is commonly referred to as the Tomb of Agamemnon; however, there is no proof to back this attribution.  Although it was most certainly a royal burial tomb, the spot that German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann believed to be the tomb of Agamemnon is at the main site, farther along the road.  The Treasury dates back to the 14th century B.C., and so would have been used before the time of Agamemnon.

(Interior of the Treasury of Atreus) Image source

The great palace of Mycenae was called the House of Atreus after its ruler, the son of Pelops, after whom Peloponnese derived its name.  Greek dramatists speak the gruesome tale of the curse that befell the House of Atreus.  Atreus’s wife Aerope was seduced by his twin brother, Thyestes.  Upon discovering of Aerope’s adultery, Atreus exacted revenge on two of Thyestes’s sons, cooked and served them to their father at a feast.  He then presented Thyestes the severed heads of his sons to let him know what he had eaten.  Thereafter, Atreus and his descendants–who included Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Orestes–were cursed by the gods.

(Detail of two lionesses flanking the central column of the Lion Gate) Image source

The first striking feature at the main site is the famous Lion Gate, the carved lintel sitting atop the entrance.  Built in the 13th century B.C., it is 12 feet wide at the base and almost 11 feet high.  The lions may have been a symbol for the royal Mycenaean family as a similar design was also found on a seal discovered at the site.  The grooves in the ground were made by chariots, and the holes and bolts at the side helped keep doorway firmly shut when required.

(Mask of Agamemnon) Image source

After passing through the gate, to the right are the circular remains of the royal tombs.  In Grave Circle A, six graves were discovered, containing 19 bodies.  This is where Schliemann found the magnificent golden funerary mask, which he believed was buried with King Agamemnon.  Also unearthed here are more than 30 pounds of gold in the form of masks, jewelries, crowns and other items, all of which have become one of the top attractions at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. 

(Silver Mycenaean vase (rhtyon) shaped as a bull head at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens) Image source

One must use a bit of imagination, and possibly a map to make the most of their visit to the rest of Mycenae.  There are plenty of grounds to cover, and the image that develops is that of a large royal palace, with 46-feet thick walls called the Cyclopean Walls, and an extensive populace living just outside the walls and serving the royal court.  The royal palace was destroyed by fire in the 12th century B.C.; the burn marks is still very much visible on the foundation stones that remain.  The site was abandoned a century after and left to decay until its rediscovery by Schliemann in 1874. 

She said “trends” were being examined to see whether immigration was rising from countries with stricken economies.

EU nationals are largely entitled to work anywhere in the single market.

If the single currency breaks up, people looking for work abroad may see Britain as an attractive alternative as it is a non-eurozone country.

Asked whether emergency immigration controls were being considered , Mrs May said: “It is right that we do some contingency planning on this [and] that is work that is ongoing.”

Spanish bailout

She said there was no evidence that migration was on the rise, but it was “difficult to say how it is going to develop in coming weeks”.

BBC political correspondent Robin Brandt said the government had some room for manoeuvre because there are rules in place for extreme situations which allow for some temporary restrictions on immigration.

Details of the contingency plans followed yet more turmoil in the single currency after Spain’s fourth-largest bank, Bankia, asked the government for a bailout worth 19bns euros ($24bn; £15bn).

European markets fell again as the value of the euro slid.

Mrs May also told the Telegraph work is under way to deny illegal immigrants access to work, housing, services and even bank accounts.

“The aim is to create here in Britain a really hostile environment for illegal migration,” she said.

“What we don’t want is a situation where people think that they can come here and overstay because they’re able to access everything they need.”

Prime Minister David Cameron said last week the eurozone must decide soon whether it wants to stay together or break-up.

He told MPs: “If it wants to carry on as it is it has to build a proper firewall, it has to take steps to secure the weakest members or it has to work out it has to go in a different direction.

“It either has to make-up or it is looking at a potential break-up. That is the choice they have to make and it is a choice they can not long put off.”

The biggest decrease in euro Natural Two Months, The euro fell 1.1 percent to 1.2684 dollars on Tuesday (5/22/2012) at 5 PM, in New York. Earlier, the euro had slumped 1.3 percent. Japanese Yen also rose 0.2 percent against the euro to 101.42, after earlier fell 0.5 percent.

Great egret in oil damaged marsh at bay jimmy 2 months after oil hit (Photo credit: USFWS/Southeast)

Meanwhile, the yen declined 0.8 percent to 79.96 per U.S. dollar. A common currency 17 European countries are clear gains against the yen after the Dow Jones report, former Prime Minister of Greece Lucas Papademos, said the number of preparations are being considered for Greece out of the euro zone.

“The market was surprised to learn that Greece might be technically prepared for the possibility of leaving the euro zone,” said Sebastien Galy, a Senior Foreign Exchange Strategist at Societe Generale, SA, in New York.

Greece is expected to dominate the first meeting between French President, Francois Holland, and Prime Minister of Germany, Angela Merkel.

Hollande is expected to once again ask the European fiscal pact and austerity measures to be revisited.

Meanwhile, the Greek President, Karolos Papoulias, continue trying to negotiate with the major parties to form a new government.

Athens (Photo credit: Arian Zwegers)

He called for talks after a previous attempt to form a coalition failed.

It shows great determination to avoid new elections.

The second largest party, Syriza, once again refused to take part in the talks.

Syriza said he would not sit down with any parties that support the austerity package required to receive a bailout of the European Union.

Speculation continues about the possibility of Greek Santer was forced out of the euro zone – it is not desired by the majority of the Greek people.

If no breakthrough is achieved, then the country will be forced to hold new elections.

“Computer technology is rewriting history,” said Tony Freet whichis one of the scientists of the team.

This computer was invented more than 100 years ago in Romecalled the Antikythera wreck. At that time the computer is used topredict the occurrence of solar eclipse and the timing of the ancient Olympic Games.

“The device is second to none. In terms of historical and scarcity value, this mechanism is much more valuable than the Mona Lisa,”scientist Mike Edmunds

Prehistory scientists were already using computers to help study.Kind of computer he uses is in the form of analog computer, thecomputer prehistory known as the Antikythera mechanism.

Computers on the fossil was found in Greece, is expected to be used by Greek scientists in the range of 140 and 100 BC (BeforeChrist). On analog computers allegedly used by scientists as toolsto aid calculations related to astronomy.

          After settling in what is present-day Iran, for almost 600 years they went unnoticed, but in 600 B.C. two groups came together and formed one large, powerful nation. After the Medes and Persians joined forces, they placed a Mede leader in charge of them. However, about 559 B.C. a Persian names Cyrus took control of the growing nation. Cyrus led the Persian Empire to defeat the Babylonians, Assyrians, Jews, Greek, Lydians, Phoenicians, and Syrians. Cyrus is known for uniting such diverse nations and with many languages and religions. Surprisingly, he let each nation keep an independent religion, unlike most rulers. 

          After his death in 530 B.C. his son Cambyses became ruler of the Persian Empire. Cambyses added Egypt to the list of conquered empires and nations that Persia ruled. Cambyses soon suffered from a sever mental illness that lead his people to kill him soon after his conquer of Egypt.

          The famous King Darius took reign of the empire in 521 B.C. One of the first objectives for Darius included moving the capital city to Persepolis. In Persepolis he hired workers to build all new buildings and palaces.

          Darius made an attempt to expand the empire even more by attacking the Scythians, which turned out to be a failed attack. He then decided to attack the Greek city of Athens, which was also a failed attempt after the Athenians. However, some Greek cities, like Thebes, surrendered to Darius or signed treaties with him to ensure their safety.

          This was the beginning of the decline of the Persian Empire. The next ruler, Xerxes, stopped a rebellion by Egyptian’s, which gave him confidence to try to attack the Greek’s one more time. The Greek’s defeated the Persians once again, leading the Persians to stop expanding their empire. It then took 150 years before they would be conquered by Alexander the Great.

Nearly every article in this series about fighting climate change has highlighted the need for investment in the short term in order to reap the gains in the long-term – and often the length of time over which it is necessary for investment to be made before repayment begins is so long that the investment will simply seem like a tax. In normal economic conditions, it would be possible to have (hope perhaps triumphs over experience here) a rational discussion about how this process should be managed, financed and planned. However, these are not normal conditions and that has made a huge difference to how arguments and debates can be framed in these conditions.

The problem is, unfortunately, one of dishonesty multiplied by unwillingness to accept the facts. The crisis was caused by improperly regulated financial markets and the recklessness of companies in that industry in chasing excessive profits. The resulting bust (capitalism is always about boom and bust) revealed various asset bubbles – housing prices, personal debt – that had been both encouraged by recent government policies and rather obscured by the preceding boom period. The consequence was that, since finance has been allowed to become too important in the global economy, that institutions facing bankruptcy had to be rescued because they were too big to fail. Had they been left to go bust, they would have taken down half the economy with them and hundreds of thousands more jobs would have been lost.

This is where the dishonesty enters the scene: the bankers and their allies have denied that they were in large part to blame for what went wrong. They have argued, in cahoots with the right-wing Republican party in the USA and foolish Angela Merkel of Germany and the European banks, that what is needed to repair the system is more of the medicine that caused the problem in the first place. Across Europe (America was saved because of President Obama’s stimulus package, which was too small but has kept the American economy out of recession) a wave of austerity has been launched, reducing public services, slashing jobs and punishing the poor. The workers are being forced to pay the debts run up by the rich (who continue to pay themselves excessive salaries) and when the people reject the policies inflicted upon them, democracy is suspended and technocratic ‘governments of national unity’ are unilaterally imposed.

It is well known, of course, that Keynes demonstrated the means of avoiding the problems of recovering from a recession such as we are now facing. Governments must borrow and invest in infrastructural developments for the future. This provides jobs in the short term and better conditions for growth in the long-term, which is when the governments can start to repay those debts. Above all, it restores confidence in the economy and normal conditions can start to be restored.

There is an obvious difficulty here: the people arguing for austerity are in league with the people arguing against the reality of climate change. Defeating one (preferably through debate and electoral politics) might help to defeat all. Yet the control of the media, among other resources, is very strong. The very welcome election results in France and Greece are being reported as worrying the markets and, therefore, problematic. Who put the interests of these markets above those of the people?

Nearly every article in this series about fighting climate change has highlighted the need for investment in the short term in order to reap the gains in the long-term – and often the length of time over which it is necessary for investment to be made before repayment begins is so long that the investment will simply seem like a tax. In normal economic conditions, it would be possible to have (hope perhaps triumphs over experience here) a rational discussion about how this process should be managed, financed and planned. However, these are not normal conditions and that has made a huge difference to how arguments and debates can be framed in these conditions.

The problem is, unfortunately, one of dishonesty multiplied by unwillingness to accept the facts. The crisis was caused by improperly regulated financial markets and the recklessness of companies in that industry in chasing excessive profits. The resulting bust (capitalism is always about boom and bust) revealed various asset bubbles – housing prices, personal debt – that had been both encouraged by recent government policies and rather obscured by the preceding boom period. The consequence was that, since finance has been allowed to become too important in the global economy, that institutions facing bankruptcy had to be rescued because they were too big to fail. Had they been left to go bust, they would have taken down half the economy with them and hundreds of thousands more jobs would have been lost.

This is where the dishonesty enters the scene: the bankers and their allies have denied that they were in large part to blame for what went wrong. They have argued, in cahoots with the right-wing Republican party in the USA and foolish Angela Merkel of Germany and the European banks, that what is needed to repair the system is more of the medicine that caused the problem in the first place. Across Europe (America was saved because of President Obama’s stimulus package, which was too small but has kept the American economy out of recession) a wave of austerity has been launched, reducing public services, slashing jobs and punishing the poor. The workers are being forced to pay the debts run up by the rich (who continue to pay themselves excessive salaries) and when the people reject the policies inflicted upon them, democracy is suspended and technocratic ‘governments of national unity’ are unilaterally imposed.

It is well known, of course, that Keynes demonstrated the means of avoiding the problems of recovering from a recession such as we are now facing. Governments must borrow and invest in infrastructural developments for the future. This provides jobs in the short term and better conditions for growth in the long-term, which is when the governments can start to repay those debts. Above all, it restores confidence in the economy and normal conditions can start to be restored.

There is an obvious difficulty here: the people arguing for austerity are in league with the people arguing against the reality of climate change. Defeating one (preferably through debate and electoral politics) might help to defeat all. Yet the control of the media, among other resources, is very strong. The very welcome election results in France and Greece are being reported as worrying the markets and, therefore, problematic. Who put the interests of these markets above those of the people?

Fear is attracted by notice the new French president will be removed from the policy of austerity.
Through the campaign, Holland emphasized the need to focus more on economic growth to reduce public debt, as opposed to policy of saving, which was a major policy prescription during three years of European debt crisis.
He will reduce the age for retirement from 62 to 60 years and will “loosen” the financial noose that Angela Merkel imposed during Sarkozy. This could make France become another strog opponet to the strongest European economy, Germany and the UK , and consequently could “rip” crisis-hit European Union.

In the Greek elections, agencies reported, party that advocated keeping the country in the EU lost many their parliamentary seats.

According to CNN, after 97 % of votes were counted, New Democracy was the first, but won only 19% of votes.
PASOK party won only 13.3% of the vote.
This means that the these two partys can not form a coalition.

Radical Left Coalition (Syriza) won 16.7% votes.
The party announced it would oppose the conditions for the rescue of Greece set by the EU and the IMF. Before the election, their leader Alexis Tsipras said to that German Chancellor Angela Merkel should worry.

The Independent Party won 10.6% votes.
That party also opposed to agreement with the European Union and the IMF.

Political analysts predict that there would be a long and difficult negotiations on the establishment of a future government in Greece. If a majority coalition can not agree, the Greeks will probably return to the polls before the summer.

After elections in France and Greece, European stock exchanges recorded a sharp drop on Monday.
The euro plunged against other world currencies. This supports the fact that the investors are concerned about the future of the European Union.

The value of the common European currency fell this morning, and crude oil was down after the defeat of the ruling party in Sunday’s elections in France and Greece.

Agencies report that euro has fell to $ 1.2998 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange from the amount $ 1.3082 on Friday in New York, and Japanese currency has weakenede to 103.82 yen from 104.50 yen on Friday.
At one point, the value of the common European currency fell to the lowest level since late January -  $ 1.2954.

This morning in electronic business on the Stock Exchange in New York crude oil reduced its price to below $ 97 a barrel and in the last three working days price has reduced for up to 8%, as a consequence of the slow growth of employment in the U.S. and election results in Europe.
All that contributed to the rapid weakening of forecasts of economic growth.

In the  whole  world there is not a truly stable  economy. In Europe if one county  fails there is a ripple  down effect that pulls  down the economy of the  entire  continent, maybe  not  all the way down, but  it  will make  some of  them more shaky than what they are.

The economy could be  helped if  everyone could  work together, not  just  the people but  country to country in a spirit of  good  will, so all could  survive instead of  one  going  under. It seems that  everyone has a different idea on how things should be and all are so stubborn they won’t listen to the other guys  idea on how  to fix  things.

The United States owes trillions of  dollars, but they keep on spending money helping  other countries. U.S. Is spending  billions of dollars helping  to train the Philippine army, why they can’t fight  anyone, unless The U.S does it for them, then the U. S. is  in the middle of another war. That the people a don’t want and can’t afford.

Japan is not too stable right now, their  earthquake and tidal wave has  cost them  millions and  loss of  jobs and infrastructure, it seems that New Zealand and Australia are in pretty good  shape, at least no major  problems.

The Greek election  holds the  the key to determine if  Greece  will survive, one  problem is  there are too many political parties, two major  ones and  7 minor  parties and none of  them can agree on any thing. The  French are now starting their  elections and depending  on how it  goes in Greece, they say will determine the out come of  the  French elections and  who gets into power.

So  you see the  whole  world  is tied together  in a gigantic game  of  chess. The moves one makes  affects the  neighbors and the  whole  world.

The elections in Greece and France are over now and some  people are not happy! So we will have to wait and  see who makes the next move, to see  how  the  world  will survive.