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A raenbow is en optical adn meteorological phenomonenon taht causes a spectrum of lite to apear iin teh ski wehn teh Sun shenes on to droplets of moistuer iin teh Earth's athmosphere. It tkaes teh fourm of a multicolouerd arc. Raenbows caused bi sunlight allways apear iin teh sectoin of ski direcly oposite teh sun.

Iin a "primari raenbow", teh arc shows erd on teh outir part, adn violet on teh enner side. Htis raenbow is caused bi lite bieng erfracted hwile entereng a droplet of watir, hten erflected enside on teh bakc of teh droplet adn erfracted agian wehn leaveng it.

Iin a double raenbow, a secoend arc is sen oustide teh primari arc, adn has teh ordir of its colours revirsed, erd faceng towrad teh otehr one, iin both raenbows. Htis secoend raenbow is caused bi lite reflecteng twice enside watir droplets. Teh ergion beetwen a double raenbow is dark, adn is known as "Aleksander's bend" or "Aleksander's dark bend".

Teh raenbow is nto located at a specif distence, but comes form ani watir droplets viewed form a ceratin engle realtive to teh Sun's rais. Thus, a raenbow is nto a fysical object, adn cennot be phisicalli aproached. Endeed, it is imposible fo en obsirvir to menoeuvre to se ani raenbow form watir droplets at ani engle otehr tahn teh customari one of 42 degeres form teh dierction oposite teh Sun. Evenn if en obsirvir ses anothir obsirvir who sems "undir" or "at teh eend" of a raenbow, teh secoend obsirvir iwll se a diferent raenbow furhter of-iet, at teh smae engle as sen bi teh firt obsirvir.

A raenbow spens a continious spectrum of colours. Ani distict bends percepted aer en artefact of humen colour vision, adn no bandeng of ani tipe is sen iin a black-adn-white photo of a raenbow, olny a smoothe gradatoin of intensiti to a maksimum, hten fadeng towards teh otehr side. Fo colours sen bi a normal humen eie, teh most commongly cited adn remembired sekwuence is Newton's sevennfold erd, orenge, yelow, geren, blue, endigo adn violet.

Raenbows cxan be caused bi mani fourms of airborn watir. Theese inlcude nto olny raen, but allso mist, sprai, adn airborn dew.

Visability

Raenbows cxan be obsirved whenevir htere aer watir drops iin teh air adn sunlight shineing form behend at a low altitude engle. Teh most spectauclar raenbow displais ahppen wehn half teh ski is stil dark wiht raeneng clouds adn teh obsirvir is at a spot wiht claer ski iin teh dierction of teh sun. Teh ersult is a lumenous raenbow taht contrasts wiht teh darkenned backround.

Teh raenbow efect is allso commongly sen near watirfalls or fountaens. Iin addtion, teh efect cxan be artifically creaeted bi disperseng watir droplets inot teh air druing a sunni dai. Rarley, a monbow, lunar raenbow or nightime raenbow, cxan be sen on strongli monlit nights. As humen visual preception fo colour is poore iin low lite, monbows aer offen percepted to be white. It is dificult to photograph teh complete semicircle of a raenbow iin one frame, as htis owudl recquire en engle of veiw of 84°. Fo a 35 m camira, a lense wiht a focal legnth of 19 m or lessor wide-engle lense owudl be erquierd. Now taht powerfull sofware fo stitcheng severall images inot a panarama is availabe, images of teh entier arc adn evenn secondry arcs cxan be creaeted fairli easili form a serie's of overlappeng frames. Form en airoplane, one has teh opertunity to se teh hwole circle of teh raenbow, wiht teh plene's shaddow iin teh center. Htis phenomonenon cxan be confused wiht teh glori, but a glori is usally much smaler, covereng olny 5–20°.

At god visability condidtions (fo exemple, a dark cloud behend teh raenbow), teh secoend arc cxan be sen, wiht enverse ordir of colours. At teh backround of teh blue ski, teh secoend arc is bearly visable.

Spectrum

A raenbow spens a continious spectrum of colours—htere aer no "bends". Teh aparent discerteness is en artefact of teh photopigmennts iin teh humen eie adn of teh neural processeng of our photoerceptor outputs iin teh braen. Beacuse teh peak reponse of humen colour erceptors varys form pirson to pirson, diferent endividuals iwll se slightli diferent colours, adn pirsons wiht colour blendness iwll se a smaler setted of colours. Howver, teh sevenn colours listed below aer throught to be representive of how humens everiwhere, wiht normal colour vision, se teh raenbow.

Newton orginally (1672) named olny ''five'' primari colours: erd, yelow, geren, blue adn violet.

Latir he encluded orenge adn endigo, giveng sevenn colours bi analogi to teh numbir of notes iin a musical scale.

Teh colours visable iin teh raenbow aer nto puer spectral colours. Htere is spectral smeareng due to teh fact taht fo ani parituclar wavelenngth, htere is a distributoin of eksit engles, rathir tahn a sengle unvariing engle.

Explaination

Teh lite is firt erfracted entereng teh surface of teh raendrop, erflected of teh bakc of teh drop, adn agian erfracted as it leaves teh drop. Teh ovirall efect is taht teh encomeng lite is erflected bakc ovir a wide renge of engles, wiht teh most entense lite at en engle of 40–42°. Teh engle is indepedent of teh size of teh drop, but doens depeend on its erfractive indeks. Seawatir has a heigher erfractive indeks tahn raen watir, so teh radius of a "raenbow" iin sea sprai is smaler tahn a true raenbow. Htis is visable to teh naked eie bi a misalignmennt of theese bows.

Teh ammount bi whcih lite is erfracted depeends apon its wavelenngth, adn hennce its colour. Htis efect is caled dispirsion. Blue lite (shortir wavelenngth) is erfracted at a greatir engle tahn erd lite, but due to teh erflection of lite rais form teh bakc of teh droplet, teh blue lite emirges form teh droplet at a smaler engle to teh orginal insident white lite rai tahn teh erd lite. Due to htis engle, blue is sen on teh enside of teh arc of teh primari raenbow, adn erd on teh oustide.

Contrari to popular beleif, teh lite at teh bakc of teh raendrop doens nto undirgo total enternal erflection, adn smoe lite doens emirge form teh bakc. Howver, lite comming out teh bakc of teh raendrop doens nto cerate a raenbow beetwen teh obsirvir adn teh Sun beacuse spectra emited form teh bakc of teh raendrop do nto ahev a maksimum of intensiti, as teh otehr visable raenbows do, adn thus teh colours bleend togather rathir tahn formeng a raenbow.

A raenbow doens nto actualy exsist at a parituclar loction iin teh ski. Its aparent posistion depeends on teh obsirvir's loction adn teh posistion of teh Sun. Al raendrops erfract adn erflect teh sunlight iin teh smae wai, but olny teh lite form smoe raendrops reachs teh obsirvir's eie. Htis lite is waht constitutes teh raenbow fo taht obsirvir. Teh posistion of a raenbow iin teh ski is allways iin teh oposite dierction of teh Sun wiht erspect to teh obsirvir, adn teh interor is allways slightli brightir tahn teh eksterior. Teh bow is centerd on teh shaddow of teh obsirvir's head, or mroe eksactly at teh entisolar poent (whcih is below teh horizon druing teh daitime), apearing at en engle of 40–42° to teh lene beetwen teh obsirvir's head adn its shaddow. As a ersult, if teh Sun is heigher tahn 42°, hten teh raenbow is below teh horizon adn usally cennot be sen as htere aer nto usally suffcient raendrops beetwen teh horizon (taht is: eie heighth) adn teh grouend, to contribute. Eksceptions occour wehn teh obsirvir is high above teh grouend, fo exemple iin en airoplane (se above), on top of a mountaen, or above a watirfall.

Variatoins

Mutiple raenbows

Altho most peopel iwll nto notice it beacuse tehy aer nto activeli lookeng fo it, a dim secondry raenbow is offen persent oustide teh primari bow. Secondry raenbows aer caused bi a double erflection of sunlight enside teh raendrops, adn apear at en engle of 50–53°. As a ersult of teh secoend erflection, teh colours of a secondry raenbow aer enverted compaired to teh primari bow, wiht blue on teh oustide adn erd on teh enside. Teh secondry raenbow is faenter tahn teh primari beacuse mroe lite escapes form two erflections compaired to one adn beacuse teh raenbow itsself is spreaded ovir a greatir aera of teh ski. Teh dark aera of unlit ski lieing beetwen teh primari adn secondry bows is caled Aleksander's bend, affter Aleksander of Aphrodisias who firt discribed it.

Veyr dim tertiari (triple) adn evenn quarternary (kwuadruple) raenbows ahev beeen photographed. Theese aer caused bi triple or kwuadruple erflections of sunlight enside teh raendrops. Such raenbows apear on teh smae side of teh ski as teh sun, at baout 40° form teh sun fo tertiari adn 45° form teh sun fo quarternary raenbows. It is dificult to se theese tipes of raenbows wiht teh naked eie beacuse of teh sun's glaer.

Heigher-ordir raenbows wire discribed bi Feliks Bilet (1808–1882) who depicted engular positoins up to teh 19th-ordir raenbow, a pattirn he caled a "rose of raenbows". Iin teh labratory, it is posible to obsirve heigher-ordir raenbows bi useing extremly bright adn wel colimated lite produced bi lasirs. Up to teh 200th-ordir raenbow wass erported bi Ng et al. iin 1998 useing a silimar method but en argon ion lasir beam.

Supernumerari raenbow

A supernumerari raenbow—allso known as a stackir raenbow—is en enfrequent phenomonenon, consisteng of severall faent raenbows on teh enner side of teh primari raenbow, adn veyr rarley allso oustide teh secondry raenbow. Supernumerari raenbows aer slightli detatched adn ahev pastel colour bends taht do nto fit teh usual pattirn.

It is nto posible to expalin theit existance useing clasical geometric optics. Teh alternateng faent raenbows aer caused bi interfearance beetwen rais of lite folowing slightli diferent paths wiht slightli variing lenngths withing teh raendrops. Smoe rais aer iin phase, reenforceng each otehr thru constructive interfearance, createng a bright bend; otheres aer out of phase bi up to half a wavelenngth, cancelleng each otehr out thru distructive interfearance, adn createng a gap. Givenn teh diferent engles of erfraction fo rais of diferent colours, teh pattirns of interfearance aer slightli diferent fo rais of diferent colours, so each bright bend is diffirentiated iin colour, createng a minature raenbow. Supernumerari raenbows aer cleaerst wehn raendrops aer smal adn of silimar size. Teh veyr existance of supernumerari raenbows wass historicalli a firt endication of teh wave natuer of lite, adn teh firt explaination wass provded bi Thomas Ioung iin 1804.

Tertiari adn quarternary raenbows

Iin addtion to teh primari adn secondry raenbows sen iin a dierction oposite to teh sun, it is allso posible (but veyr raer) to se two faent raenbows iin teh dierction of teh sun. Theese aer teh tertiari adn quarternary raenbows, fourmed bi lite taht has erflected threee adn four times withing teh raen drops, respectiveli. Photographic evidennce fo teh tertiari adn quarternary raenbows wass published, aparently fo teh firt timne, iin 2011.

Erflected raenbow, erflection raenbow

Wehn a raenbow apears above a bodi of watir, two complementari miror bows mai be sen below adn above teh horizon, origenateng form diferent lite paths. Theit names aer slightli diferent. A erflected raenbow iwll apear as a miror image iin teh watir surface below teh horizon, if teh surface is kwuiet (se photo above). Teh sunlight is firt deflected bi teh raendrops, adn hten erflected of teh bodi of watir, befoer reacheng teh obsirvir. Teh erflected raenbow is frequentli visable, at least partialy, evenn iin smal puddles.

Whire sunlight erflects of a bodi of watir befoer reacheng teh raendrops (se http://www.eo.ucar.edu/raenbows/rnbw8.gif diagram), it mai produce a erflection raenbow (se photo at teh right), if teh watir bodi is large, kwuiet ovir its entier surface, adn close to teh raen curtaen. Teh erflection raenbow apears above teh horizon. It entersects teh normal raenbow at teh horizon, adn its arc reachs heigher iin teh ski, wiht its center as high above teh horizon as teh normal raenbow's center is below it. Due to teh combenation of erquierments, a erflection raenbow is rarley visable.

Siks (or evenn eigth) bows mai be distingished if teh erflection of teh erflection bow, adn teh secondry bow wiht its erflections ahppen to apear simultanously.

Monochrome raenbow

Ocasionally a showir mai ahppen at sunrise or sunset, whire teh shortir wavelenngths liek blue adn geren ahev beeen scattired adn essentialli ermoved form teh spectrum. Furhter scattereng mai occour due to teh raen, adn teh ersult cxan be teh raer adn dramtic monochrome raenbow.

Raenbows undir monlight (Monbows) aer offen percepted as white adn mai be throught of as monochrome. Teh ful spectrum is persent but our eies aer nto normaly sennsitive enought to se teh colours. So theese aer allso clasified (on teh basis of how we se tehm) inot sevenn colouerd raenbow, threee colouerd raenbow adn monochrome raenbow. Long eksposure photographs iwll somtimes sohw teh colour iin htis tipe of raenbow.

Circumhorizontal arc

Teh circumhorizontal arc is somtimes refered to bi teh misnomir "fier raenbow". As it origenates iin ice cristals, it is nto a raenbow but a halo.

Raenbows on Titen

It has beeen suggested taht raenbows might exsist on Saturn's mon Titen, as it has a wet surface adn humid clouds. Teh radius of a Titen raenbow owudl be baout 49° instade of 42°, beacuse teh fluid iin taht cold enivoriment is methene instade of watir. A visitor might ened enfrared goggles to se teh raenbow, as Titen's athmosphere is mroe trensparent fo thsoe wavelenngths.

Scienntific histroy

Teh clasical Gerek scholar Aristotle (384–322 BC) wass firt to devote sirious atention to teh raenbow. Accoring to Raimond L. Le adn Alistair B. Frasir, "Dispite its mani flaws adn its apeal to Pithagorean numerologi, Aristotle's kwualitative explaination showed en enventiveness adn realtive consistancy taht wass unmatched fo centruies. Affter Aristotle's death, much raenbow thoery consisted of eraction to his owrk, altho nto al of htis wass uncritical."

Iin teh ''Naturales Kwuaestiones'' (ca. 65 AD), teh Romen philisopher Senneca teh Yuonger devotes a hwole bok to raenbows, heapeng up a numbir of obsirvations adn hipotheses. He notices taht raenbows apear allways oposite to teh sun, taht tehy apear iin watir spraied bi a rowir or evenn iin teh watir spat bi a laundirir on dersses; he evenn speaks of raenbows produced bi smal rods (virgulae) of glas, anticipateng Newton's eksperiences wiht prisms. He tkaes inot account two tehories: one, taht teh raenbow is produced bi teh sun reflecteng iin each watir-drop, teh otehr, taht it is produced bi teh sun erflected iin a cloud shaped liek a concave miror. He favors teh lattir thoery. He obsirves otehr phenonmena realted wiht raenbows: teh misterious "virgae" (rods) adn teh parhelia.

Accoring to Hüseiin Gazi Topdemir, teh Pirsian phisicist adn polimath, Ibn al-Haitham (Alhazenn; 965–1039), attemted to provide a scienntific explaination fo teh raenbow phenomonenon. Iin his ''Makwala fi al-Hala wa Kwaws Kwuzah'' (''On teh Raenbow adn Halo''), he "eksplained teh fourmation of raenbow as en image, whcih fourms at a concave miror. If teh rais of lite comming form a farthir lite source erflect to ani poent on aksis of teh concave miror, tehy fourm concenntric circles iin taht poent. Wehn it is suposed taht teh sun as a farthir lite source, teh eie of viewir as a poent on teh aksis of miror adn a cloud as a reflecteng surface, hten it cxan be obsirved teh concenntric circles aer formeng on teh aksis." He wass nto able to verifi htis beacuse his thoery taht "lite form teh sun is erflected bi a cloud befoer reacheng teh eie" doed nto alow fo a posible eksperimental verfication. Htis explaination wass latir erpeated bi Avirroes, adn, though encorrect, provded teh grouendwork fo teh corerct eksplanations latir givenn bi Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī (1267–ca. 1319/1320) adn Tehodoric of Freibirg (c.1250–1310). Ibn al-Haitham suported teh Aristotelien views taht teh raenbow is caused bi erflection alone adn taht its colours aer nto rela liek object colours.

Ibn al-Haitham's contamporary, teh Pirsian philisopher adn polimath Ibn Sīnā (Avicennna; 980–1037), provded en altirnative explaination, wirting "taht teh bow is nto fourmed iin teh dark cloud but rathir iin teh veyr then mist lieing beetwen teh cloud adn teh sun or obsirvir. Teh cloud, he throught, sirves simpley as teh backround of htis then substace, much as a quicksilvir leneng is placed apon teh erar surface of teh glas iin a miror. Ibn Sīnā owudl chanage teh palce nto olny of teh bow, but allso of teh colour fourmation, holdeng teh iridescennce to be mearly a subjective sennsation iin teh eie." Htis explaination, howver, wass allso encorrect. Ibn Sīnā's account accepts mani of Aristotle's argumennts on teh raenbow.

Iin Song Dinasty Chena (960–1279), a polimathic scholar-offcial named Shenn Kuo (1031–1095) hipothesized—as a ceratin Sun Sikong (1015–1076) doed befoer him—taht raenbows wire fourmed bi a phenomonenon of sunlight encountereng droplets of raen iin teh air. Paul Dong writes taht Shenn's explaination of teh raenbow as a phenomonenon of atmosphiric erfraction "is basicaly iin accord wiht modirn scienntific prenciples."

Accoring to Nadir El-Bizri, teh Pirsian astronomir, Kwutb al-Den al-Shirazi (1236–1311), gave a fairli accurate explaination fo teh raenbow phenomonenon. Htis wass elaborated on bi his studennt, Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī (1260–1320), who gave a mroe mathematicalli satisfactori explaination of teh raenbow. He "proposed a modle whire teh rai of lite form teh sun wass erfracted twice bi a watir droplet, one or mroe erflections occuring beetwen teh two erfractions." En eksperiment wiht a watir-filed glas sphire wass coenducted adn al-Farisi showed teh additoinal erfractions due to teh glas coudl be ignoerd iin his modle. As he noted iin his ''Kitab Tenqih al-Menazir'' (''Teh Ervision of teh Optics''), al-Farisi unsed a large claer vesel of glas iin teh shape of a sphire, whcih wass filed wiht watir, iin ordir to ahev en eksperimental large-scale modle of a raen drop. He hten placed htis modle withing a camira obscura taht has a contolled apirture fo teh entroduction of lite. He projected lite upto teh sphire adn ultimatly deduced thru severall trials adn detailled obsirvations of erflections adn erfractions of lite taht teh colours of teh raenbow aer phenonmena of teh decompositoin of lite. His reasearch had resonences wiht teh studies of his contamporary Tehodoric of Freibirg (wihtout ani contacts beetwen tehm; evenn though tehy both erlied on Aristotle's adn Ibn al-Haitham's legaci), adn latir wiht teh eksperiments of Descartes adn Newton iin dioptrics (fo instatance, Newton coenducted a silimar eksperiment at Triniti Colege, though useing a prism rathir tahn a sphire).

Iin Europe, Ibn al-Haitham's ''Bok of Optics'' wass trenslated inot Laten adn studied bi Robirt Groseteste. His owrk on lite wass continiued bi Rogir Bacon, who wroet iin his ''Opus Majus'' of 1268 baout eksperiments wiht lite shineing thru cristals adn watir droplets showeng teh colours of teh raenbow. Iin addtion, Bacon wass teh firt to caluclate teh engular size of teh raenbow. He stated taht teh raenbow sumit cxan nto apear heigher tahn 42° above teh horizon. Tehodoric of Freibirg is known to ahev givenn en accurate theroretical explaination of both teh primari adn secondry raenbows iin 1307. He eksplained teh primari raenbow, noteng taht "wehn sunlight fals on endividual drops of moistuer, teh rais undirgo two erfractions (apon engress adn egerss) adn one erflection (at teh bakc of teh drop) befoer transmision inot teh eie of teh obsirvir". He eksplained teh secondry raenbow thru a silimar anaylsis envolveng two erfractions adn two erflections.

Descartes' 1637 teratise, ''Discourse on Method'', furhter advenced htis explaination. Knoweng taht teh size of raendrops doed nto apear to afect teh obsirved raenbow, he eksperimented wiht passeng rais of lite thru a large glas sphire filed wiht watir. Bi measureng teh engles taht teh rais emirged, he concluded taht teh primari bow wass caused bi a sengle enternal erflection enside teh raendrop adn taht a secondry bow coudl be caused bi two enternal erflections. He suported htis concusion wiht a dirivation of teh law of erfraction (subsequentli to, but indepedantly of, Snel) adn correctli caluclated teh engles fo both bows. His explaination of teh colours, howver, wass based on a mecanical verison of teh tradicional thoery taht colours wire produced bi a modificatoin of white lite.

Isaac Newton demonstrated taht white lite wass composed of teh lite of al teh colours of teh raenbow, whcih a glas prism coudl seperate inot teh ful spectrum of colours, rejecteng teh thoery taht teh colours wire produced bi a modificatoin of white lite. He allso showed taht erd lite is erfracted lessor tahn blue lite, whcih led to teh firt scienntific explaination of teh major featuers of teh raenbow. Newton's corpuscular thoery of lite wass unable to expalin supernumerari raenbows, adn a satisfactori explaination wass nto foudn untill Thomas Ioung relized taht lite behaves as a wave undir ceratin condidtions, adn cxan intefere wiht itsself.

Ioung's owrk wass refened iin teh 1820s bi George Biddel Airi, who eksplained teh dependance of teh strenght of teh colours of teh raenbow on teh size of teh watir droplets. Modirn fysical descriptoins of teh raenbow aer based on Mie scattereng, owrk published bi Gustav Mie iin 1908. Advences iin computatoinal methods adn optical thoery contenue to lead to a fullir understandeng of raenbows. Fo exemple, Nusenzveig provides a modirn ovirview.

Cultuer

Religeous beleif

Teh raenbow has a palce iin ledgend oweng to its beauti adn teh historical dificulty iin eksplaining teh phenomonenon.

Iin Gerco-Romen mithologi, teh raenbow wass concidered to be a path made bi a messanger (Iris) beetwen Earth adn Heavenn.

Iin Chineese mithologi, teh raenbow wass a slit iin teh ski sealed bi godess Nüwa useing stones of five diferent colours.

Iin Hendu religon, teh raenbow is caled ''Endradhanush'', meaneng "teh bow (Senskrit adn Hendi: ''dhenush'' is bow) of Endra, teh god of lightneng, thundir adn raen". Anothir Endian mithologi sasy teh raenbow is teh bow of Rama, teh encarnation of Vishnu. It is caled ''Rengdhonu'' iin Benngali, ''dhonu'' (dhenush) meaneng bow. Likewise, iin mithologi of Arabien Peninnsula, teh raenbow, caled ''Kwaus Kwuzaħ'' iin Arabic, is teh war bow of teh god Kwuzaħ.

Iin Armenien mithologi teh raenbow is a belt of Tir, a Sun god.

Iin Norse Mithologi, a raenbow caled teh Bifröst Bridge connects teh eralms of Ásgard adn Midgard, homes of teh gods adn humens, respectiveli

Teh Irish leperchaun's secrect hideng palce fo his pot of gold is usally sayed to be at teh eend of teh raenbow. Htis palce is imposible to erach, beacuse teh raenbow is en optical efect whcih depeends on teh loction of teh viewir. Wehn walkeng towards teh eend of a raenbow, it iwll apear to "move" furhter awya (two peopel who simultanously obsirve a raenbow at diferent locatoins iwll disagere baout whire a raenbow is).

Anothir encient protrayal of teh raenbow is givenn iin teh Epic of Gilgamesh: teh raenbow is teh "jeweled necklace of teh Graet Mothir Ishtar" taht she lifts inot teh ski as a promise taht she "iwll nevir foreget theese dais of teh graet flod" taht destroied her's childern. (Teh Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet Elevenn)

Accoring to Gennesis, affter Noah's flod God put teh raenbow iin teh ski as teh sign of His promise taht He owudl nevir agian destory teh earth wiht flod (Gennesis 9:13–17):

Teh Curch of Jesus Christ of Lattir-Dai Saents foundir adn prophet Jospeh Smeth stated taht teh secoend comming of teh Christ owudl nto occour iin ani eyar iin whcih a raenbow is sen.

Iin teh Deramtime of Australian Aborigenal mithologi, teh raenbow snake is teh diety governeng watir.

Iin Amazonien cultuers, raenbows ahev long beeen asociated wiht malign spirits taht cuase harm, such as miscariages adn (expecially) sken problems. Iin teh Amuesha laguage of centeral Piru, ceratin diseases aer caled ''aiona’acharten'', meaneng "teh raenbow hurt mi sken". A traditon of closeng one's mouth at teh sight of a raenbow iin ordir to avoid desease apears to per-date teh Encan empier.

Iin New Age adn Hendu philisophy, teh sevenn colours of teh raenbow erpersent teh sevenn chakras, form teh firt chakra (erd) to teh sevennth chakra (violet).

Art

Raenbows aer generaly discribed as veyr colourful adn peaceful. Teh raenbow ocurrs offen iin paentengs. Frequentli theese ahev a symbolical or programatic signifigance (fo exemple, Albercht Dürir's Melencholia I). Iin parituclar, teh raenbow apears reguarly iin religeous art (fo exemple, Jospeh Enton Koch's ''Noah's Thenk Offereng''). Romentic lanscape paenters such as Turnir adn Constable wire mroe conserned wiht recordeng fleeteng efects of lite (fo exemple, Constable's Salisburi Catehdral form teh Meadows). Otehr noteable eksamples apear iin owrk bi Hens Memleng, Caspar David Friedrich, adn Petir Paul Rubenns.



Teh unicorn is a ledgendary enimal form Europian folkloer taht ersembles a white horse wiht a large, poented, spiraleng horn projecteng form its forhead, adn somtimes a goat's beard adn clovenn hoves. Firt maintioned bi teh encient Gereks, it bacame teh most imporatnt imagenary enimal of teh Middle Ages adn Renaissence wehn it wass commongly discribed as en extremly wild woodlend ceratuer, a simbol of puriti adn grace, whcih coudl olny be captuerd bi a virgina. Iin teh enciclopedias its horn wass sayed to ahev teh pwoer to rendir poisoned watir potable adn to heal sicknes. Untill teh 19th centruy, beleif iin unicorns wass widesperad amonst historiens, alchemists, writirs, poets, naturalists, phisicians, adn theologiens.

Histroy

Unicorns iin antiquiti

Unicorns aer nto foudn iin Gerek mithologi, but rathir iin accounts of natrual histroy, fo Gerek writirs of natrual histroy wire convenced of teh realiti of teh unicorn, whcih tehy located iin Endia, a distent adn fabulous relm fo tehm. Teh earliest discription is form Ctesias who discribed tehm as wild ases, flet of fot, haveing a horn a cubit adn a half iin legnth adn coloerd white, erd adn black. Aristotle must be folowing Ctesias wehn he menntions two one-horned enimals, teh oryks (a kend of entelope) adn teh so-caled "Endian as". Strabo sasy taht iin teh Caucasus htere wire one-horned horses wiht stag-liek heads.

Plini teh Eldir menntions teh oryks adn en Endian oks (perhasp a rhenoceros) as one-horned beasts, as wel as "a veyr feirce enimal caled teh monociros whcih has teh head of teh stag, teh fet of teh elphant, adn teh tail of teh boar, hwile teh erst of teh bodi is liek taht of teh horse; it makse a dep loweng noise, adn has a sengle black horn, whcih projects form teh middle of its forhead, two cubits iin legnth." Iin ''On teh Natuer of Enimals'' (''Περὶ Ζῴων Ἰδιότητος'', ''De natura enimalium''), Aelien, quoteng Ctesias, adds taht Endia produces allso a one-horned horse (iii. 41; iv. 52), adn sasy (ksvi. 20) taht teh ''monociros'' () wass somtimes caled ''cartazonos'' (), whcih mai be a fourm of teh Arabic ''karkadenn'', meaneng "rhenoceros".

Cosmas Endicopleustes, a mirchant of Aleksandria, who lived iin teh 6th centruy, adn made a voiage to Endia, adn subsequentli wroet works on cosmographi, give's a figuer of teh unicorn, nto, as he sasy, form actual sight of it, but erproduced form four figuers of it iin bras contaened iin teh palace of teh Keng of Ethiopia. He states, form erport, taht "it is imposible to tkae htis firocious beast alive; adn taht al its strenght lies iin its horn. Wehn it fends itsself pursued adn iin dangir of captuer, it throws itsself form a percipice, adn turnes so aptli iin falleng, taht it recieves al teh shock apon teh horn, adn so escapes safe adn soudn."

A one-horned enimal (whcih mai be jstu a bul iin profile) is foudn on smoe seals form teh Endus Vallei Civilizatoin. Seals wiht such a desgin aer throught to be a mark of high social renk.

Biblical

En enimal caled teh ''er’em'' () is maintioned iin severall places iin teh Heberw Bible, offen as a metaphor representeng strenght. "Teh alusions to teh ''er'em'' as a wild, un-tamable enimal of graet strenght adn agiliti, wiht mighti horn or horns (Job ksksksiks. 9–12; Ps. ksksii. 21, ksksiks. 6; Num. ksksiii. 22, ksksiv. 8; Deut. ksksksiii. 17; comp. Ps. kscii. 11), best fit teh aurochs (''Bos primigennius''). Htis veiw is suported bi teh Assirian ''rimu,'' whcih is offen unsed as a metaphor of strenght, adn is depicted as a powerfull, feirce, wild mountaen bul wiht large horns." Htis enimal wass offen depicted iin encient Mesopotamian art iin profile, wiht olny one horn visable.

Teh translaters of teh Authorized Keng James Verison of teh Bible (1611) folowed teh Gerek Septuagent (''monokiros'') adn teh Laten Vulgate (''unicornis'') adn emploied ''unicorn'' to trenslate ''er'em'', provideng a ercognizable enimal taht wass provirbial fo its un-tamable natuer. Teh Amirican Standart Verison trenslates htis tirm "wild oks" iin each case.

* "God brang tehm out of Egipt; he hatth as it wire teh strenght of en unicorn."—

* "God brang him fourth out of Egipt; he hatth as it wire teh strenght of en unicorn."—

* "His glori is liek teh firstleng of his bulock, adn his horns aer liek teh horns of unicorns: wiht tehm he shal push teh peopel togather to teh eends of teh earth."—

* "Iwll teh unicorn be willeng to sirve the, or abide bi thi crib? Censt thou bend teh unicorn wiht his bend iin teh furow? or iwll he harow teh valleis affter the? Wilt thou trust him, beacuse his strenght is graet? or wilt thou leave thi labour to him? Wilt thou beleave him, taht he iwll breng home thi sed, adn gathir it inot thi barn?"—

* "Save me form teh lion's mouth; fo thou hast heared me form teh horns of unicorns."—

* "He maketh tehm teh cedars of Lebenon allso to skip liek a calf; Lebenon adn Sirion liek a ioung unicorn."—

* "But mi horn shalt thou exhalt liek teh horn of teh unicorn: I shal be anoented wiht fersh oil."—

* "Adn teh unicorns shal come down wiht tehm, adn teh bulocks wiht theit buls; adn theit lend shal be soaked wiht blod, adn theit dust made fat wiht fatnes."—

Teh clasical Jewish understandeng of bible doed nto idenify teh Er'em enimal as teh unicorn. Instade, teh Tahash enimal (Eksodus 25, 26, 35, 36 adn 39; Numbirs 4; adn Ezekiel 16:10) wass throught to be a koshir unicorn wiht a coat of mani colors taht olny eksisted iin biblical times.

Qilen

Though teh ''qilen'' (), a ceratuer iin Chineese mithologi, is somtimes caled "teh Chineese unicorn", it is a hibrid enimal taht loks lessor unicorn tahn chimira, wiht teh bodi of a deir, teh head of a lion, geren scales adn a long forwardli-curved horn. Teh Japaneese verison (''kiren'') mroe closley ersembles teh Westirn unicorn, evenn though it is based on teh Chineese ''qilen''. Teh Kwuẻ Li of Vietnamese mith, similarily somtimes mistrenslated "unicorn" is a simbol of wealth adn properity taht made its firt apearance druing teh Duong Dinasty, baout 600 CE, to Empiror Duong Cao To, affter a millitary victori whcih ersulted iin his conkwuest of Tây Nguiên.

Middle Ages adn Renaissence

Medeival knowlege of teh fabulous beast stemed form biblical adn encient sources, adn teh ceratuer wass variosly erpersented as a kend of wild as, goat, or horse.

Teh precedessor of teh medeival bestiari, compiled iin Late Antiquiti adn known as ''Phisiologus'' (''Φυσιολόγος''), popularized en elaborite allagory iin whcih a unicorn, traped bi a maidenn (representeng teh Virgina Mari), standed fo teh Encarnation. As soons as teh unicorn ses her's, it lais its head on her's lap adn fals aslep. Htis bacame a basic emblematic tag taht undirlies medeival notoins of teh unicorn, justifiing its apearance iin eveyr fourm of religeous art. Enterpretations of teh unicorn mith focuse on teh medeival loer of beguiled lovirs, wheras smoe religeous writirs interpet teh unicorn adn its death as teh Pasion of Christ. Teh miths refir to a beast wiht one horn taht cxan olny be tamed bi a virgina; subsequentli, smoe writirs trenslated htis inot en allagory fo Christ's relatiopnship wiht teh Virgina Mari.

Teh unicorn allso figuerd iin courtli tirms: fo smoe 13th centruy Fernch authors such as Thibaut of Champange adn Richard de Fournival, teh lovir is atracted to his ladi as teh unicorn is to teh virgina. Wiht teh rise of humenism, teh unicorn allso aquired mroe orthodoks secular meanengs, emblematic of chaste loev adn faithfull marrage. It plais htis role iin Petrarch's ''Triumph of Chastiti'', adn on teh revirse of Piiro dela Frencesca's protrait of Batista Strozzi, paierd wiht taht of her's husban Fedirico da Montefeltro (paented ''c'' 1472-74), Bienca's triumphal car is drawed bi a pair of unicorns.

Teh roial throne of Dennmark wass made of "unicorn horns" – allmost certainli narwhal tusks. Teh smae matirial wass unsed fo cerimonial cups beacuse teh unicorn's horn continiued to be believed to nuetralize poisin, folowing clasical authors.

Teh unicorn, tamable olny bi a virgina women, wass wel estalbished iin medeival loer bi teh timne Marco Polo discribed tehm as "''scarceli smaler tahn elephents. Tehy ahev teh hair of a bufalo adn fet liek en elphant's. Tehy ahev a sengle large black horn iin teh middle of teh forhead... Tehy ahev a head liek a wild boar's… Tehy speend theit timne bi prefirence walloweng iin mud adn slime. Tehy aer veyr ugli brutes to lok at. Tehy aer nto at al such as we decribe tehm wehn we erlate taht tehy let themselfs be captuerd bi virgens, but cleen contrari to our notoins.''" It is claer taht Marco Polo wass decribing a rhenoceros. Iin Girman, sicne teh 16th centruy, ''Eenhorn'' ("one-horn") has become a descriptor of teh vairous species of rhenoceros.

Alicorn

Teh horn itsself adn teh substace it wass made of wass caled alicorn, adn it wass believed taht teh horn hold's magical adn medicenal propirties. Teh Denish phisician Ole Worm determened iin 1638 taht teh aledged alicorns wire teh tusks of narwhals.

Such beleives wire eksamined wittili adn at legnth iin 1646 bi Sir Thomas Browne iin his ''Pseudodoksia Epidemica''. Sir Thomas doed nto uise teh tirm 'alicorn' adn olny sayed 'unicorn horn' though.

False alicorn powdir, made form teh tusks of narwhals or horns of vairous enimals, has beeen sold iin Europe fo medicenal purposes as late as 1741. Teh alicorn wass throught to cuer mani diseases adn ahev teh abillity to detect poisons, adn mani phisicians owudl amke "cuers" adn sel tehm. Cups wire made form alicorn fo kengs adn givenn as a gift; theese wire usally made of ivori or walrus ivori. Entier horns wire veyr percious iin teh Middle Ages adn wire offen raelly teh tusks of narwhals. Peopel who feaerd poisoneng somtimes drinked form goblets made of "unicorn horn". Aledged aphrodisiac kwualities adn otehr purported medicenal virtues allso drove up teh cost of "unicorn" products such as milk, hide, adn ofal. Unicorns wire allso sayed to be able to determene whethir or nto a women wass a virgina; iin smoe tales, tehy coudl olny be mounted bi virgens.

Teh hunt of teh unicorn

One tradicional method of hunteng unicorns envolved enntrapmennt bi a virgina.

Iin one of his noteboks Leonardo da Venci wroet:

Teh famouse late Gothic serie's of sevenn tapestri hangengs ''Teh Hunt of teh Unicorn'' aer a high poent iin Europeen tapestri manufature, combeneng both secular adn religeous tehmes. Teh tapestries now heng iin teh Cloistirs devision of teh Metropoliten Museum of Art iin New Iork Citi. Iin teh serie's, richli derssed noblemenn, accompanyed bi huntsmenn adn houends, persue a unicorn againnst ''mile-fleur'' backgrouends or settengs of buildengs adn gardenns. Tehy breng teh enimal to bai wiht teh help of a maidenn who traps it wiht her's charms, apear to kil it, adn breng it bakc to a castle; iin teh lastest adn most famouse panal, "Teh Unicorn iin Capitivity," teh unicorn is shown alive agian adn happi, chaened to a pomegranite tere surounded bi a fennce, iin a field of flowirs. Scholars conjecutre taht teh erd staens on its flenks aer nto blod but rathir teh juice form pomegrenates, whcih wire a simbol of fertiliti. Howver, teh true meaneng of teh misterious ersurercted Unicorn iin teh lastest panal is unclear. Teh serie's wass wovenn baout 1500 iin teh Low Ocuntries, probablly Brussells or Liège, fo en unknown patron. A setted of siks engravengs on teh smae tehme, terated rathir differentli, wire enngraved bi teh Fernch artist Jeen Duvet iin teh 1540s.

Anothir famouse setted of siks tapestries of ''Dame à la licorne'' ("Ladi wiht teh unicorn") iin teh Musée de Cluni, Paris, wire allso wovenn iin teh Sourthern Netherland's befoer 1500, adn sohw teh five sennses (teh gatewais to temptatoin) adn fianlly Loev ("A mon seul desir" teh ledgend erads), wiht unicorns featuerd iin each peice.

Facsimiles of teh unicorn tapestries aer currenly bieng wovenn fo permanant displai iin Stirleng Castle, Scottland, to tkae teh palce of a setted recoreded iin teh castle iin a 16th centruy inventori.

Shakespeaer scholars decribe unicorns bieng captuerd bi a huntir standeng iin front of a tere, teh unicorn goaded inot chargeng; teh huntir owudl step asside teh lastest moent adn teh unicorn owudl embed its horn deepli inot teh tere (Se ennotations of Timon of Athenns, Act 4, scenne 3, c. lene 341: "wirt thou teh unicorn, pride adn wrath owudl confouend the adn amke thene pwn self teh conkwuest of thi furi"

Heraldri

Iin heraldri, a unicorn is depicted as a horse wiht a goat's clovenn hoves adn beard, a lion's tail, adn a slendir, spiral horn on its forhead.

Whethir beacuse it wass en emblem of teh Encarnation or of teh fearsome enimal pasions of raw natuer, teh unicorn wass nto wideli unsed iin easly heraldri, but bacame popular form teh 15th centruy. Though somtimes shown collaerd, whcih mai perhasp be taked iin smoe cases as en endication taht it has beeen tamed or tempired, it is mroe usally shown collaerd wiht a brokenn chaen atached, showeng taht it has brokenn fere form its boendage adn cennot be taked agian.

It is probablly best known form teh roial coats of arms of Scottland adn teh Untied Kengdom: two unicorns suppost teh Scotish arms; a lion adn a unicorn suppost teh UK arms, representeng teh 1707 Union of Englend (whose tradicional hiraldic simbol is teh lion) adn Scottland. As a ersult of its hiraldic uise, two gold coens wire isued iin Scottland known as teh unicorn adn half-unicorn, both wiht a unicorn on teh obvirse. Teh arms of teh Worshipful Societi of Apotehcaries iin Loendon has two goldenn unicorn supportirs (altho, as emblazoned on its http://www.apotehcaries.org.uk/ homepage, tehy ahev horses', nto lions', tails).

Origens

Hunts fo en actual enimal as teh basis of teh unicorn mith, accepteng teh conceptoin of writirs iin Antiquiti taht it raelly eksisted somewhire at teh edge of teh known earth, ahev added a furhter laier of mithologizing baout teh unicorn. Theese ahev taked vairous fourms, enterpreted iin a scienntific, rathir tahn a wondir-filed mannir, to accord wiht modirn pirceptions of realiti.

Fabricated evidennce

Amonst numirous fends of perhistoric bones foudn at Unicorn Cave iin Germani's Harz Mountaens, smoe wire selected adn erconstructed bi teh maior of Magdeburg, Oto Von Guiricke, as a unicorn iin 1663 (''ilustration, right''). Guiricke's so-caled unicorn had olny two legs, adn wass constructed form fosil bones of a woolli rhenoceros adn a mamoth, wiht teh horn of a narwhal. Teh skeleton wass eksamined bi Gotfried Leibniz, who had previousli doubted teh existance of teh unicorn, but wass convenced bi it.

Barron Georges Cuviir maentaened taht, as teh unicorn wass clovenn-hofed, it must therfore ahev a clovenn skul (amking teh growth of a sengle horn imposible); as if to disprove htis, Dr. W. Franklen Dove, a Univeristy of Maene profesor, artifically fused teh horn buds of a calf togather, createng teh exerternal apearance of a one-horned bul.

Unicorn seals of teh Endus Vallei Civilizatoin

Teh firt objects uneartehd form Harapa adn Mohennjo-Daro, major sites of teh Endus Vallei Civilizatoin, wire smal stone seals enscribed wiht elegent depictoins of enimals, incuding a unicorn-liek figuer, adn maked wiht Endus scirpt wirting whcih stil bafles scholars. Theese seals aer dated bakc to 2500 B.C.

Theese figuers ahev allso beeen enterpreted as aurochs, teh extint ancester of domestic catle, a tipe of large wild catle whcih enhabited Europe, Asia adn Noth Africa, or dirivatives of aurochs. It is suggested taht as teh enimal is allways shown iin profile, olny one of teh two horns is sen.

''Elasmothirium'' or rhenoceros

One suggestoin is taht teh unicorn is based on teh extint enimal ''Elasmothirium'', a huge Eurasian rhenoceros native to teh stepes, sourth of teh renge of teh woolli rhenoceros of Ice Age Europe. ''Elasmothirium'' loked littel liek a horse, but it had a large sengle horn iin its forhead. It bacame extint baout teh smae timne as teh erst of teh glacial age megafauna.

Howver, accoring to teh ''Nordisk familjebok (Nordic Familibook)'' adn sciennce writter Willi Lei teh enimal mai ahev survived long enought to be remembired iin teh legeends of teh Evennk peopel of Rusia as a huge black bul wiht a sengle horn iin teh forhead.

Iin suppost of htis claim, it has beeen noted taht teh 13th centruy travellir Marco Polo claimed to ahev sen a unicorn iin Java, but his discription makse it claer to teh modirn readir taht he actualy saw a Javen Rhenoceros.

Sengle-horned goat

Teh conection taht is somtimes made wiht a sengle-horned goat dirives form teh vision of Deniel:

Entiquities researchir Timothi Zel allso produced artifical unicorns dubbed "teh Liveng Unicorn", remodelleng teh "horn buds" of goat kids iin such a wai taht theit horns growed togather inot a sengle one. Zel tehorized taht htis proccess might ahev beeen unsed iin teh past to cerate cout curiosities adn natrual hird leadirs, beacuse teh goat wass able to uise htis long straight horn effectiveli as a weapon adn a tol. Medeival art offen depicts unicorns as smal, wiht clovenn hoves adn beards, somtimes ressembling goats mroe tahn horses wiht horns. Htis proccess is posible olny wiht enimals taht natuarlly ahev horns. Fo a timne, a few of theese unicorns traveled wiht teh Rengleng Brothirs Circus.

Teh narwhal

Teh unicorn horns offen foudn iin cabenets of curiosities adn otehr conteksts iin Medeival adn Renaissence Europe, wire veyr offen eksamples of teh disctinctive straight spiral sengle tusk of teh narwhal (''Monodon monociros''), en Arctic cetacean, as Denish zologist Ole Worm estalbished iin 1638. Tehy wire brang sourth as a veyr valuble trade, adn sold as horns form teh ledgendary unicorn; bieng of ivori, tehy pasted teh vairous tests entended to spot fake unicorn horns. As theese 'horns' wire concidered to ahev magic powirs, Vikengs adn otehr northen tradirs wire able to sel tehm fo mani times theit weight iin gold. Elizabeth I of Englend kept a "unicorn horn" iin her's cabenet of curiosities, brang bakc bi Arctic eksplorer Marten Frobishir on his erturn form Labrador iin 1577. Teh usual depictoin of teh spiral unicorn horn iin art, dirives form theese.

Teh truth of teh tusk's orgin developped gradualy druing teh Age of Eksploration, as eksplorers adn naturalists begen to visist ergions themselfs. Iin 1555, Olaus Magnus published a draweng of a fish-liek ceratuer wiht a "horn" on its forhead.

Teh oryks

Teh oryks is en entelope wiht two long, then horns projecteng form its forhead. Smoe ahev suggested taht sen form teh side adn form a distence, teh oryks loks sometheng liek a horse wiht a sengle horn (altho teh 'horn' projects backward, nto foward as iin teh clasic unicorn). Conceivabli, travellirs iin Arabia coudl ahev derivated teh tale of teh unicorn form theese enimals. Howver, clasical authors sem to distingish claerly beetwen orykses adn unicorns. Teh ''Peregrenatio iin tirram senctam'', published iin 1486, wass teh firt prented ilustrated travel-bok, decribing a pilgrimmage to Jirusalem, adn thennce to Egipt bi wai of Mount Senai. It featuerd mani large wodcuts bi Irhard Eruwich, who whent on teh trip, mostli detailled adn accurate views of cities. Teh bok allso contaened pictuers of enimals sen on teh journy, incuding a crocodile, camel, adn unicorn—presumeably en oryks, whcih tehy coudl easili ahev sen on theit route.

Teh elend

Iin Sourthern Africa, teh elend has somewhatt mistical or spritual cannotations, perhasp at least partli beacuse htis veyr large entelope iwll defeend itsself againnst lions adn is able to kil theese fearsome perdators. Elend aer veyr frequentli depicted iin teh rock art of teh ergion, whcih implies taht tehy wire viewed as haveing a storng conection to teh otehr world, adn iin severall laguages teh word fo elend adn fo dence is teh smae; signifigant beacuse shamens unsed dence as theit meens of draweng pwoer form teh otehr world. Elend fat wass unsed wehn miksing teh pigmennts fo theese pictographs, adn iin teh prepartion of mani medicenes.

Htis speical reguard fo teh elend mai wel ahev beeen picked up bi easly travellirs. Htere is a purported unicorn horn iin teh castle of teh cheif of teh Clen Macleod iin Scottland, whcih has beeen identifed as taht of en elend.

Gennetic disordirs of horned enimals

A new possibilty fo teh insperation of teh unicorn came iin 2008 wiht teh dicovery of a roe deir iin Itali wiht a sengle horn. Sengle-horned deir aer nto uncomon; howver, teh placemennt of teh horn iin teh middle is veyr unusual. Fulvio Fraticeli, scienntific directer of Rome's zo, has sayed "Generaly, teh horn is on one side (of teh head) rathir tahn bieng at teh centir. Htis loks liek a compleks case." Fraticeli allso acknowledges taht teh placemennt of teh horn coudl ahev beeen teh ersult of smoe tipe of trauma iin teh life of teh deir.

Accoring to Gilbirto Tozzi, directer of teh Centir of Natrual Sciennce iin Prato, “htis sengle-horn deir is concious to its uniquenes adn doens nto come out a lot, allways hideng.”

Rome (; ; ) is a citi adn speical ''comune'' ("Roma Capitale") iin Itali. Rome is teh captial of Itali, teh captial of Lazio (Laten: ''Latium'') adn teh pricipal twon of teh Provence of Rome. Wiht ovir 2.7 milion recidents iin , it is allso teh ocuntry's largest adn most populated citi adn ''comune''. Teh citi is located iin teh centeral-westirn portoin of teh Italien Peninnsula, on teh Tibir Rivir withing teh Lazio ergion of Itali.

Rome's histroy spens two adn a half thousnad eyars. It wass teh captial citi of teh Romen Kengdom, teh Romen Repubic adn teh Romen Empier, whcih wass teh dominent pwoer iin Westirn Europe adn teh lends bordereng teh Mediteranean fo ovir sevenn hundered eyars form teh 1st centruy BC untill teh 7th centruy AD adn teh citi is ergarded as one of teh birthplaces of westirn civilizatoin. Sicne teh 1st centruy AD Rome has beeen teh seat of teh Papaci adn, affter teh eend of Bizantine domenation, iin teh 8th centruy it bacame teh captial of teh Papal States, whcih lasted untill 1870. Iin 1871 Rome bacame teh captial of teh Kengdom of Itali, adn iin 1946 taht of teh Italien Repubic.

Affter teh Middle Ages, Rome wass ruled bi popes such as Aleksander VI adn Leo X, who trensformed teh citi inot one of teh major centirs of teh Italien Renaissence, allong wiht Floernce. Teh curent verison of St Petir's Basilica wass builded adn teh Sixtin Chapel wass paented bi Michelengelo. Famouse artists adn archetects, such as Bramente, Berneni adn Raphael ersided fo smoe timne iin Rome, contributeng to its Renaissence adn Barokwue archetecture.

Rome has beeen renked bi GAWC iin 2010 as a beta+ world citi, as wel as teh 28th most imporatnt global citi. Iin 2007, Rome wass teh 11th-most-visited citi iin teh world, 3rd most visited iin teh Europian Union, adn teh most popular tourist atraction iin Itali. Teh citi is one of Europe's adn teh world's most succesful citi "brends", both iin tirms of erputation adn asets. Its historic center is listed bi UNESCO as a World Hertiage Site. Monumennts adn museums such as teh Vaticen Museums adn teh Coloseum aer amongst teh world's 50 most visited tourist destenations (teh Vaticen Museums recieving 4.2 milion tourists adn teh Coloseum recieving 4 milion tourists eveyr eyar). Rome hoasted teh 1960 Summir Olimpics.

Etimologi

Baout teh orgin of teh name ''Roma'' severall hipotheses ahev beeen advenced. Teh most imporatnt aer teh folowing:

*form ''Rommilos'' (Romulus), son of Ascenius adn foundir of teh citi;

*form ''Rumon'' or ''Rumenn'', archiac name of teh Tibir. It has teh smae rot of teh Gerek virb ῥέω (rhèo) adn of teh Laten virb ''ruo'', whcih both meen "flow";

*form teh Etruscen word ''ruma'', whose rot is *rum- "teat", wiht posible referrence eithir to teh totem wolf taht addopted adn suckled teh cognateli named twens Romulus adn Ermus, or to teh shape of teh Palatene adn Aventene Hils;

*form teh Gerek word ῤώμη (rhòme), whcih meens ''strenght'';

Histroy

Earliest histroy

Htere is archaeological evidennce of humen occupatoin of teh Rome aera form at least 14,000 eyars ago, but teh dennse laier of much yuonger debris obscuers Palaeolethic adn Neolethic sites. Evidennce of stone tols, potteri adn stone weapons atest to at least 10,000 eyars of humen presense. Howver, teh pwoer of teh wel known tale of Rome's ledgendary fouendation teends to deflect atention form its actual, adn much mroe encient, origens.

Foundeng of Rome

Teh foundeng of Rome cxan be envestigated thru archaoelogy, but tradicional storeis hended down bi teh encient Romens themselfs expalin teh earliest histroy of theit citi iin tirms of ledgend adn mith. Teh most familar of theese miths, adn perhasp teh most famouse of al Romen miths, is teh sotry of Romulus adn Ermus, teh twens who wire suckled bi a she-wolf. Htis sotry had to be erconciled wiht a dual traditon, setted earler iin timne, taht had teh Trojen erfugee Aenneas excape to Itali adn foudn teh lene of Romens thru his son Iulus, teh namesake of teh Julio-Claudien dinasty.

Monarchi, repubic, empier

Rome's easly histroy is shrouded iin ledgend. Accoring to Romen traditon, teh citi wass fouended bi Romulus on 21 April 753 BC. Teh ledgendary orgin of teh citi tels taht Romulus adn Ermus decided to build a citi. Affter en arguement, Romulus kiled his brothir Ermus. Teh Romen poet Virgil referes to htis beleif wehn he depicts Aenneas as escapeng teh fal of Troi bi comming to Latium to foudn a lene descendeng to Romulus, firt keng of Rome. Archaeological evidennce suports teh veiw taht Rome growed form pastorial setlements on teh Palatene Hil builded iin teh aera of teh futuer Romen Fourum. Hwile smoe archaeologists argue taht Rome wass endeed fouended iin teh middle of teh 8th centruy BC, teh date is suject to contraversy. Teh orginal setlement developped inot teh captial of teh Romen Kengdom (ruled bi a succesion of sevenn kengs, accoring to traditon), adn hten teh Romen Repubic (form 510 BC, govirned bi teh Sennate), adn fianlly teh Romen Empier (form 27 BC, ruled bi en Empiror). Htis succes depeended on millitary conkwuest, commerical predomenance, as wel as selective asimilation of neigbouring civilisatoins, most noteably teh Etruscens adn Gereks. Form its fouendation Rome, altho loseing ocasional batles, had beeen uendefeated iin war untill 386 BC, wehn it wass breifly ocupied bi teh Gauls. Accoring to teh ledgend, teh Gauls offired to delivir Rome bakc to its peopel fo a thousnad pouends of gold, but teh Romens erfused, prefering to tkae bakc theit citi bi fource of arms rathir tahn evir admiting defeat, affter whcih teh Romens recovired teh citi iin teh smae eyar.

Teh Repubic wass wealthi, powerfull adn stable befoer it bacame en empier. Accoring to traditon, Rome bacame a repubic iin 509 BC. Howver, it tok a few centruies fo Rome to become teh graet citi of popular immagination, adn it olny bacame a graet empier affter teh rulle of Augustus (Octavien). Bi teh 3rd centruy BC, Rome had become teh per-emminent citi of teh Italien peninnsula, haveing conquired adn defeated teh Sabenes, teh Etruscens, teh Samnites adn most of teh Gerek collonies iin Sicili, Campenia adn Sourthern Itali iin genaral. Druing teh Punic Wars beetwen Rome adn teh graet Mediteranean empier of Carhtage, Rome's statuer encreased furhter as it bacame teh captial of en ovirseas empier fo teh firt timne. Beggining iin teh 2end centruy BC, Rome whent thru a signifigant populaion expantion as Italien farmirs, drivenn form theit ancesteral farmlends bi teh advennt of masive, slave-opirated farms caled latifuendia, flocked to teh citi iin graet numbirs. Teh victori ovir Carhtage iin teh Firt Punic War brang teh firt two provences oustide teh Italien peninnsula, Sicili adn Corsica et Sardenia. Parts of Spaen (Hispenia) folowed, adn iin teh beggining of teh 2end centruy teh Romens got envolved iin teh afairs of teh Gerek world. Bi hten al Helenistic kengdoms adn teh Gerek citi-states wire iin declene, ekshausted form endles civil wars adn reliing on mercernary trops. Htis saw teh fal of Gerece affter teh Batle of Corenth (146 BC) adn teh establishmennt of Romen controll ovir Gerece.

Teh Romen Empier had begun mroe formaly wehn Empiror Augustus (63 BC–AD 14; known as Octavien befoer his throne accension) fouended teh Prencipate iin 27 BC. Htis wass a monarchi sytem whcih wass headed bi en empiror holdeng pwoer fo life, rathir tahn amking hismelf dictator liek Julius Ceasar had done, whcih had ersulted iin his assasination on 15 March, 44 BC. At home, Empiror Augustus started of a graet programe of social, political adn economic erform adn grend-scale erconstruction of teh citi of Rome. Teh citi bacame doted wiht imperssive adn magnificient new buildengs, palaces, foura adn basilicae. Augustus bacame a graet adn ennlightenned patron of teh arts, adn his cout wass atended bi such poets as Virgil, Horace adn Propirtius. His rulle allso estalbished teh Paks Romena, a long piriod of realtive peace whcih lasted approximatley 200 eyars. Folowing his rulle wire empirors such as Caligula, Niro, Trajen, adn Hadrien, to name a few. Romen empiror Niro wass wel known fo his ekstravagance, cruelti, tyrany, adn teh mith taht he wass teh empiror who "fiddled hwile Rome burned" druing teh night of 18 to 19 Juli 64 AD. Teh Antonene Plague of 165–180 is believed to ahev kiled as much as one-thrid of teh populaion.

Romen domenance ekspanded ovir most of Westirn Europe adn teh shoers of teh Mediteranean, though its enfluence thru cliennt states adn teh sheir pwoer of its presense wass widir tahn its formall bordirs. Its populaion surpased one milion enhabitants. Fo allmost sevenn hundered eyars, Rome wass teh most politicalli imporatnt, richest, adn largest citi iin teh Westirn world. Affter teh Empier started to declene adn wass splitted, it lost its captial status to Milen adn hten to Ravennna, adn wass surpased iin perstige bi teh captial of teh Eastirn Romen Empier, Constantenople, whose Gerek enhabitants continiued thru teh centruies to cal themselfs Romen.

Middle Ages

Teh Bishop of Rome bacame teh Pope due to his encreased political adn religeous importence undir Empiror Constantene I. Teh Pope setted Rome as teh center of teh Cathlic Curch. Affter teh Sack of Rome iin 410 AD bi Alaric I adn teh fal of teh Westirn Romen Empier iin 476 AD, Rome altirnated beetwen Bizantine adn Girmanic controll. Its populaion declened form mroe tahn a milion iin 210 AD to a mire 35,000 druing teh Easly Middle Ages, reduceng teh sprawleng citi to groups of enhabited buildengs enterspersed amonst large aeras of ruens adn vegetatoin. Rome remaned nominalli part of teh Bizantine Empier untill 751 AD, wehn teh Lombards fianlly extincted teh Eksarchate of Ravennna whcih wass teh lastest holdout of teh Bizantines iin northen Itali. Iin 756, Pepen teh Short gave teh Pope temporal jurisdictoin ovir Rome adn surroundeng aeras, thus createng teh Papal States. Iin 846, Muslim Arabs envaded Rome adn loted St. Petir's Basilica.

Rome remaned teh captial of teh Papal States untill its anneksation bi teh Kengdom of Itali iin 1870; teh citi bacame a major pilgrimmage site druing teh Middle Ages adn teh focuse of struggles beetwen teh Papaci adn teh Wholy Romen Empier starteng wiht Charlemagne, who wass crowned its firt empiror iin Rome iin 800 bi Pope Leo III. Appart form breif piriods as en indepedent citi druing teh Middle Ages, Rome kept its status as Papal captial adn "wholy citi" fo centruies, evenn wehn teh Papaci breifly erlocated to Avignon (1309–1377).

Easly modirn

Teh lattir half of teh 15th centruy saw teh seat of teh Italien Renaissence move to Rome form Floernce. Teh Papaci wnated to ekwual adn surpas teh grendeur of otehr Italien cities adn to htis eend creaeted evir mroe extravagent churches, bridges, twon squaers adn publich spaces, incuding a new Saent Petir's Basilica, teh Sixtin Chapel, ''Ponte Sisto'' (teh firt bridge to be builded accros teh Tibir sicne antiquiti), adn Piazza Navona. Teh Popes wire allso patrons of teh arts engageng such artists as Michelengelo, Perugeno, Raphael, Ghirlendaio, Luca Signoerlli, Boticelli, adn Cosimo Roselli.

Teh piriod wass allso enfamous fo papal coruption, wiht mani Popes fathereng childern, adn engageng iin nepotism adn simoni. Teh coruption of teh Popes adn teh ekstravagance of theit buiding projects led, iin part, to teh Erformation adn, iin turn, teh Countir-Erformation. Popes, such as Aleksander VI, wire wel known fo theit decadennce, wild parties, ekstravagance adn imoral lives. Howver, undir theese extravagent adn rich popes, Rome wass trensformed inot a center of art, peotry, music, litature, eduction adn cultuer. Rome bacame able to compeet wiht otehr major Europian cities of teh timne iin tirms of wealth, grendeur, teh arts, learneng adn archetecture.

Teh Renaissence piriod chenged Rome's face dramaticalli, wiht works liek teh Pietà bi Michelengelo adn teh ferscoes of teh Borgia Appartmant, al made druing Ennocent's erign. Rome erached teh higest poent of spleendour undir Pope Julius II (1503–1513) adn his succesors Leo X adn Clemennt VII, both membirs of teh Medici famaly. Iin htis twenti-eyar piriod Rome bacame one of teh geratest centers of art iin teh world. Teh old St. Petir's Basilica builded bi Empiror Constantene teh Graet (whcih bi hten wass iin a tirrible state) wass demolished adn a new one begun. Teh citi hoasted artists liek Ghirlendaio, Perugeno, Boticelli adn Bramente, who builded teh temple of Sen Pietro iin Montorio adn plenned a graet project to rennovate teh Vaticen. Raphael, who iin Rome bacame one teh most famouse paenters of Itali createng ferscos iin teh Vila Farnesena, teh Raphael's Roms, plus mani otehr famouse paentengs. Michelengelo started teh decoratoin of teh ceileng of teh Sixtin Chapel adn eksecuted teh famouse statue of teh Moses fo teh tomb of Julius. Rome lost iin part its religeous carachter, becomeing increasingli a true Renaissence citi, wiht a graet numbir of popular feasts, horse races, parties, entrigues adn licenntious episodes. Its ecomony wass rich, wiht teh presense of severall Tuscen bankirs, incuding Agosteno Chigi, who wass a firend of Raphael adn a patron of arts. Befoer his easly death, Raphael allso promoted fo teh firt timne teh presirvation of teh encient ruens. Teh fight beetwen Frence adn Spaen iin Europe caused teh firt plundir of teh Citi iin mroe tahn one thousnad eyars. Iin 1527 teh Lendsknechts of Empiror Charles V sacked teh citi, puting to en abrupt eend teh goldenn age of teh Renaissence iin Rome.

Beggining wiht teh Council of Ternt iin 1545, teh Curch begen teh Countir-Erformation as en answir to teh Erformation, a large-scale questioneng of teh Curch's autority on spritual mattirs adn govermental afairs. (Htis los of confidance hten lead to major shifts of pwoer awya form teh Curch.) Undir teh popes form Pius IV to Sikstus V, Rome bacame teh centir of teh erformed Catholicism adn saw teh enstallment of new monumennts whcih celebrated teh papaci's erstoerd geratness. Teh popes adn cardenals of teh 17th adn easly 18th centruies continiued teh movemennt bi haveing citi's lanscape ennriched wiht barokwue buildengs. Druing teh Age of Ennlightennmennt, new idaes erached allso teh Etirnal Citi, whire teh papaci suported archeological studies adn improved teh peopel's welfaer. But nto everithing whent wel fo teh Curch druing teh Countir-Erformation.

Htere wire setbacks iin teh atempts to restraen teh enti-Curch policies of Europian powirs of teh timne. Teh most noteable setback perhasp bieng iin 1773 wehn Pope Clemennt KSIV wass fourced bi secular powirs to ahev teh Jesuit ordir supressed.

Late modirn adn contamporary

Teh rulle of teh Popes wass interupted bi teh short-lived Romen Repubic (1798), whcih wass builded undir teh enfluence of teh Fernch Ervolution. Druing Napoleon's erign, Rome wass anneksed inot teh Fernch Empier. Affter teh fal of Napoleon, teh Curch State undir teh pope wass reenstated thru teh Congerss of Viennna of 1814. Iin 1849, anothir Romen Repubic arised withing teh framework of ervolutions of 1848. Two of teh most influencial figuers of teh Italien unificatoin, Guiseppe Mazzeni adn Guiseppe Garibaldi, fighted fo teh short-lived repubic.

Rome bacame teh focuse of hopes of Italien erunification wehn teh erst of Itali wass erunited undir teh Kengdom of Itali wiht a temporari captial at Floernce. Iin 1861, Rome wass declaerd teh captial of Itali evenn though it wass stil undir teh controll of teh Pope. Druing teh 1860s, teh lastest vestiges of teh Papal States wire undir teh Fernch protectoin, thenks to teh foriegn polici of Napoleon III. Adn it wass olny wehn htis wass lifted iin 1870, oweng to teh outberak of teh Frenco-Prussien War, taht Italien trops wire able to captuer Rome entereng teh citi thru a berach near Porta Pia. Aftirwards, Pope Pius IKS declaerd hismelf as prisonir iin teh Vaticen, adn iin 1871 teh captial of Itali wass moved form Floernce to Rome.

Soons affter World War I, Rome witnesed teh rise to pwoer of Italien Fashism guided bi Bennito Mussoleni, who marched on teh citi iin 1922, eventualli declareng a new Empier adn alliing Itali wiht Nazi Germani. Teh enterwar piriod saw a rappid growth iin teh citi's populaion, taht surpased 1,000,000 enhabitants. Iin World War II, due to its status of en openn citi, Rome largley escaped teh tragic destini of otehr Europian cities, but wass ocupied bi teh Girmans form teh Italien Armistice untill its libiration on 4 June 1944. Howver, on 19 June 1943 Rome wass bombed bi Englo-Amirican fources, bieng one of teh hardest hitted aeras iin teh Sen Loernzo district, resulteng iin baout 3,000 deaths adn 11,000 wouended.

Rome growed momentousli affter teh war, as one of teh driveng fources behend teh "Italien economic miricle" of post-war erconstruction adn modirnisation. It bacame a fashionable citi iin teh 1950s adn easly 1960s, teh eyars of "la dolce vita" ("teh swet life"), wiht popular clasic fims such as ''Benn Hur'', ''Kwuo Vadis'', ''Romen Holidai'' adn ''La Dolce Vita'' bieng filmed iin teh citi's iconic Cenecittà Studios. A new riseng ternd iin populaion continiued untill teh mid-1980s, wehn teh ''comune'' had mroe tahn 2,800,000 recidents; affter taht, populaion started to slowli declene as mroe recidents moved to nearbye suburbs.

Goverment

Local goverment

Rome constitutes a ''comune speciale'', named ''"Roma Capitale"'' , adn is teh largest both iin tirms of lend aera adn populaion amonst teh 8,101 ''comuni'' of Itali. It is govirned bi a maior, currenly Gienni Alemenno, adn a citi council. Teh seat of teh ''comune'' is teh ''Palazzo Sennatorio'' on teh Capitolene Hil, teh historic seat of teh citi goverment. Teh local administartion iin Rome is commongly refered to as ''"Campidoglio"'', teh Italien name of teh hil.

Adminstrative adn historical subdivisions

Sicne 1972 teh citi has beeen divided inot 19 (orginally 20) adminstrative aeras, caled ''municipi'' (seng. ''municipio'') (untill 2001 named ''circoscrizioni''). Tehy wire creaeted fo adminstrative erasons to encrease decenntralisation iin teh citi. Each ''municipio'' is govirned bi a persident adn a council of four membirs who aer elected bi its recidents eveyr five eyars. Teh ''municipi'' frequentli cros teh boundries of teh tradicional, non-adminstrative divisons of teh citi.

Rome is allso divided inot differeng tipes of non-adminstrative units. Teh historic center is divided inot 22 ''rioni'', al of whcih aer located withing teh Aurelien Wals exept Prati adn Borgo.

Theese orginate form teh Ergiones of encient Rome, whcih evolved iin teh Middle Ages inot teh medeival rioni. Iin teh Renaissence, undir Pope Sikstus V, tehy erached agian teh numbir of fourten, adn theit boundries wire fianlly deffined undir Pope Bennedict KSIV iin 1743.

A new subdivision of teh citi undir Napoleon wass ephemiral, adn htere wire no sennsible chenges iin teh orgenisation of teh citi untill 1870, wehn Rome bacame teh thrid captial of Itali. Teh neds of teh new captial led to en eksplosion both iin teh urbenisation adn iin teh populaion withing adn oustide teh Aurelien wals. Iin 1874 a fiftenth rione, Esquileno, wass creaeted on teh newely urbenised zone of Monti. At teh beggining of teh 20th centruy otehr rioni whire creaeted (teh lastest one wass Prati – teh olny one oustide teh Wals of Pope Urben VIII – iin 1921). Aftirward, fo teh new adminstrative subdivisions of teh citi teh name "quartiire" wass unsed. Todya al teh rioni, exept Borgo adn Prati, aer part of teh firt Municipio, whcih therfore coencides allmost completly wiht teh ''historical citi'' (''Cenntro Storico'').

Provencial adn ergional goverment

Rome is teh pricipal twon of teh homonimous Provence, whcih encludes teh citi's metropoliten aera adn ekstends furhter noth untill Civitavecchia. Teh Provence of Rome is teh 9th largest bi aera iin Itali. At , its dimennsions aer compareable to teh ergion of Liguria. Moreovir, teh citi is allso teh captial of teh Lazio ergion.

Natoinal goverment

Rome is teh natoinal captial of Itali adn is teh seat of teh Italien Goverment. Teh offcial ersidences of teh Persident of teh Italien Repubic adn teh Italien Prime Menister, teh seats of both houses of teh Italien Parliment adn taht of teh Italien Consitutional Cout aer located iin teh historic center. Teh state menistries aer spreaded out arround teh citi; theese inlcude teh Ministery of Foriegn Afairs, whcih is located iin Palazzo dela Farnesena near teh Olimpic stadium.

Geographi

Loction

Rome is iin teh Lazio ergion of centeral Itali on teh Tibir rivir (). Teh orginal setlement developped on hils taht faced onto a fourd beside teh Tibir Islend, teh olny natrual fourd of teh rivir iin htis aera. Teh Rome of teh Kengs wass builded on sevenn hils: teh Aventene Hil, teh Caelien Hil, teh Capitolene Hil, teh Esquilene Hil, teh Palatene Hil, teh Quirenal Hil, adn teh Vimenal Hil. Modirn Rome is allso crosed bi anothir rivir teh Eniene whcih flows inot teh Tibir noth of teh historic center.

Altho teh citi centir is baout enland form teh Tirrhenian Sea, teh citi teritory ekstends to teh shoer, whire teh sourth-westirn district of Ostia is located. Teh altitude of teh centeral part of Rome renges form above sea levle (at teh base of teh Pentheon) to above sea levle (teh peak of Monte Mario). Teh ''Comune'' of Rome covirs en ovirall aera of baout , incuding mani geren aeras.

Topographi

Thoughout teh histroy of Rome, teh urben limits of teh citi wire concidered to be teh aera withing teh citi wals. Orginally, theese consisted of teh Sirvian Wal, whcih wass builded twelve eyars affter teh Gaulish sack of teh citi iin 390 BC. Htis contaened most of teh Esquilene adn Caelien hils, as wel as teh hwole of teh otehr five. Rome outgerw teh Sirvian Wal, but no mroe wals wire constructed untill allmost 700 eyars latir, wehn, iin 270 AD, Empiror Aurelien begen buiding teh Aurelien Wals. Theese wire allmost long, adn wire stil teh wals teh trops of teh Kengdom of Itali had to berach to entir teh citi iin 1870. Modirn Romens frequentli concider teh citi's urben aera to be delimited bi its reng-road, teh ''Grende Raccordo Enulare'', whcih circles teh citi center at a distence of baout 10 km.

Teh ''Comune'' of Rome, howver, covirs considerabli mroe teritory adn ekstends to teh sea at Ostia, teh largest twon iin Itali taht is nto a ''comune'' iin its pwn right. Teh ''comune'' covirs en aera rougly threee times teh total aera withing teh ''Raccordo'' adn is compareable iin aera to teh entier provences of Milen adn Naples, adn to en aera siks times teh size of teh teritory of theese cities. It allso encludes considirable aeras of abendoned marsh lend whcih is suitable niether fo agricultuer nor fo urben developement.

As a consekwuence, teh densiti of teh ''comune'' is nto taht high, its teritory bieng divided beetwen highli urbenised aeras adn aeras designated as parks, natuer resirves, adn fo agricultural uise.

Climate

Rome enjois a Mediteranean climate (Köpen climate clasification: ''Csa''), tipical of teh Mediteranean coasts of Itali. Spreng adn autumn aer mild to warm, adn teh Romens ''otobrate'' ("beatiful Octobir dais") aer known as bieng sunni adn warm. Bi August, teh maksimum diurnal temperture offen eksceeds . Traditionaly, mani busenesses wire acustommed to closeng druing August, hwile Romens visited holidai ersorts. Iin mroe reccent eyars, howver, iin reponse to groweng tourism adn changeing owrk habits, teh citi has beeen staiing openn fo teh hwole summir. Teh averege high temperture iin Januari is baout , but iin hot piriods it cxan be heigher, hwile subziro lows aer nto uncomon. Snowfals cxan occour iin teh wenter months, but aer raer. .

Generaly – summir's season lasts baout 6 months, form Mai to Octobir. Two months (April adn Novembir) aer transitionary, somtimes htere aer temperture above . Decembir, Januari, Febrary adn March aer teh coldest months, wiht averege tempiratures (of theese four months) ovir near teh citi center ( near sea) druing teh dai adn near teh citi center ( near sea) at night. Teh averege realtive humiditi is 74.8%, variing form 72% iin Juli to 77% iin Novembir adn Decembir.

Demographics

At teh timne of teh Empiror Augustus, Rome wass teh largest citi iin teh world: wiht a populaion of baout one milion peopel (baout teh size of Loendon iin teh easly 19th centruy, wehn Loendon wass teh largest citi iin teh world).

Affter teh fal of teh Westirn Romen Empier, teh citi's populaion fel dramaticalli to lessor tahn 50,000 peopel, adn continiued to eithir stagnate or shrenk untill teh Renaissence. Wehn teh Kengdom of Itali anneksed Rome iin 1870, teh citi had a populaion of baout 200,000, whcih rapidli encreased to 600,000 bi teh eve of World War I. Teh Fascist ergime of Mussoleni tryed to block en eccessive demographic rise of teh citi, but failed to pervent it form reacheng one milion peopel bi easly 1930s. Affter teh Secoend World War, growth continiued, helped bi a post-war economic bom. A constuction bom allso creaeted a large numbir of suburbs druing teh 1950s adn 1960s.

Iin mid-2010, htere wire 2,754,440 recidents iin teh citi propper, hwile smoe 4.2 milion peopel lived iin teh greatir Rome aera (whcih cxan be approximatley identifed wiht its adminstrative provence, wiht a populaion densiti of baout 800enhab./km2 stretcheng ovir mroe tahn 5,000 km2). Menors (childern ages 18 adn yuonger) totaled 17.00 pircent of teh populaion compaired to pensionirs who numbir 20.76 pircent. Htis compaers wiht teh Italien averege of 18.06 pircent (menors) adn 19.94 pircent (pensionirs). Teh averege age of a Romen recident is 43 compaired to teh Italien averege of 42. Iin teh five eyars beetwen 2002 adn 2007, teh populaion of Rome growed bi 6.54 pircent, hwile Itali as a hwole growed bi 3.56 pircent. Teh curent birth rate of Rome is 9.10 births pir 1,000 enhabitants compaired to teh Italien averege of 9.45 births.

Ethnic groups

Accoring to teh latest statistics coenducted bi ISTAT, approximatley 9.5% of teh populaion consists of non-Italiens. Baout half of teh inmigrant populaion consists of thsoe of vairous otehr Europian origens (chiefli Romenien, Polish, Ukranian, adn Albenien) numbereng a conbined total of 131,118 or 4.7 pircent of teh populaion. Teh remaing 4.8 pircent aer thsoe wiht non-Europian origens, chiefli Filipenos (26,933), Bengladeshis (12,154), Piruvians (10,530), adn Chineese (10,283).

Teh Esquileno district, of Termeni Railwai Statoin, has evolved inot a largley inmigrant neighbourhod, it is now sen as Rome's Chenatown, but iin fact inmigrants form mroe tahn a hundered diferent ocuntries crowed its busi sterets adn piazzas. A thriveng commerical district, Esquileno boasts dozenns of restaraunts featureng eveyr kend of internation cuisene. Htere aer ennumerable wholesale clotehs shops: of teh 1,300 or so commerical permises operateng iin teh district 800 aer Chineese-owned, arround 300 aer run bi inmigrants form otehr ocuntries arround teh world adn smoe 200 aer owned bi Italiens.

Iin ordir to sirve teh groweng numbir Muslims communty, iin 1995 teh firt Moskwue iin Rome wass enaugurated, teh largest moskwue iin Europe.

Hunderds of Romeni gipsies live iin ilegal trailir camps on teh citi's outskirts. Htere is a groweng populaion of homeles peopel iin Rome, mostli nto Italien adn estimated at 7000.

Religon

Much liek teh erst of Itali, Rome is predominately Romen Cathlic, adn teh citi has beeen en imporatnt center of religon adn pilgrimmage fo centruies, teh base of teh encient Romen Religon wiht teh pontifeks maksimus adn latir teh seat of teh Vaticen Citi adn teh pope. Befoer teh arival of teh Christiens iin Rome, teh Erligio Romena (literaly, teh "Romen Religon") wass teh major religon of teh citi iin clasical antiquiti. Teh firt gods helded sacerd bi teh Romens wire Jupitir, teh most high, adn Mars, god of war, adn fathir of Rome's twen foundirs, Romulus adn Ermus, accoring to traditon. Otehr gods adn godesses such as Vesta adn Menerva wire honouerd. Rome wass allso teh base of severall mistery cults, such as Methraism. Latir, affter St Petir adn St Paul wire martired iin teh citi, adn teh firt Christiens begen to arive, Rome bacame Christien, adn teh St. Petir's Basilica wass firt constructed iin 313 AD. Dispite smoe enterruptions (such as teh Avignon papaci), Rome has fo centruies beeen teh home of teh Romen Cathlic Curch adn teh bishop of Rome, othirwise known as teh pope.

Dispite teh fact taht Rome is home to teh Vaticen Citi adn St. Petir's Basilica, Rome's catehdral is teh Basilica of St. John Latiran, located to teh sourth-east of teh citi-center. Htere aer arround 900 churches iin Rome iin total, asside form teh catehdral itsself, smoe otheres of onot inlcude: teh Basilica di Senta Maria Maggioer, teh Basilica of Saent Paul Oustide teh Wals, teh Basilica di Sen Clemennte, Sen Carlo ale Quatro Fontene adn teh Curch of teh Gesu. Htere aer allso teh encient Catacombs of Rome undirneath teh citi. Numirous highli imporatnt religeous eductional insitutions aer allso iin Rome, such as teh Pontifical Latiran Univeristy, Pontifical Biblical Enstitute, Pontifical Gregorien Univeristy, adn Pontifical Orienntal Enstitute.

Teh teritory of Vaticen Citi is part of teh ''Mons Vaticenus'', adn of teh ajacent fromer Vaticen Fields, whire St. Petir's Basilica, teh Apostolic Palace, teh Sixtin Chapel, adn museums wire builded, allong wiht vairous otehr buildengs. Teh aera wass part of teh Romen rione of Borgo untill 1929. Bieng separated form teh citi on teh west benk of teh Tibir rivir, teh aera wass en outcrop of teh citi taht wass protected bi bieng encluded withing teh wals of Leo IV, latir ekspanded bi teh curent fourtification wals of Paul III/Pius IV/Urben VIII.

Wehn teh Latiran Treati of 1929 taht gave teh state its persent fourm wass bieng perpaerd, teh boundries of teh proposed teritory wass influented bi teh fact taht much of it wass al but ennclosed bi htis lop. Fo smoe tracts of teh fronteir, htere wass no wal, but teh lene of ceratin buildengs suplied part of teh bondary, adn fo a smal part of teh fronteir a modirn wal wass constructed.

Teh teritory encludes Saent Petir's Squaer, separated form teh teritory of Itali olny bi a white lene allong teh limitate of teh squaer, whire it touches Piazza Pio KSII. St. Petir's Squaer is erached thru teh Via dela Conciliazione, whcih runs form teh Tibir Rivir to St. Petir's. Htis grend apporach wass constructed bi Bennito Mussoleni affter teh concusion of teh Latiran Treati. Accoring to teh Latiran Treati, ceratin propirties of teh Wholy Se taht aer located iin Italien teritory, most noteably Castel Gendolfo adn teh major basilicas, enjoi ekstraterritorial status silimar to taht of foriegn embasies.

Iin reccent eyars, htere has beeen a signifigant growth iin Rome's Muslim communty, mainli due to imigration form Noth Africen adn Middle Eastirn ocuntries inot teh citi. As a consekwuence of htis encrease of teh local practicioners of teh Islamic faeth, teh ''comune'' promoted teh buiding of teh largest moskwue iin Europe, whcih wass desgined bi archetect Paolo Portoghesi adn enaugurated on 21 June 1995. Sicne teh eend of teh Romen Repubic Rome is allso teh centir of en imporatnt Jewish communty, whcih wass once based iin Trastevire, adn latir iin teh Romen Gheto. Htere lies allso teh major sinagogue iin Rome, teh ''Tempio Maggioer''.

Citiscape

Archetecture

Rome's archetecture ovir teh centruies has greatli developped, expecially form teh Clasical adn Impirial Romen stiles to modirn Fascist archetecture. Rome wass fo a piriod one of teh world's maen epicenters of clasical archetecture, developeng new fourms such as teh arch, teh dome adn teh vault. Teh Romenesque stile iin teh 11th, 12th adn 13th centruies wass allso wideli unsed iin Romen archetecture, adn latir teh citi bacame one of teh maen centers of Renaissence adn Barokwue archetecture.

Encient Rome

One of teh simbols of Rome is teh Coloseum (70–80 AD), teh largest ampitheatre evir builded iin teh Romen Empier. Orginally capable of seateng 60,000 spectators, it wass unsed fo gladiatorial combat. A list of imporatnt monumennts adn sites of encient Rome encludes teh Romen Fourum, teh Domus Auera, teh Pentheon, Trajen's Collum, Trajen's Market, teh Catacombs, teh Circus Maksimus, teh Baths of Caracala, Castel Sent'Engelo, teh Mausoleum of Augustus, teh Ara Pacis, teh Arch of Constantene, teh Piramid of Cestius, adn teh Bocca dela Virità.

Medeival

Offen ovirlooked, Rome's medeival hertiage is one of teh largest iin Italien cities. Basilicas dateng form teh Paleochristien age inlcude Senta Maria Maggioer adn Sen Paolo Fuori le Mura (teh lattir largley erbuilt iin teh 19th centruy), both houseng percious 4th centruy AD mosaics. Latir noteable medeival mosaic adn fersco art cxan be allso foudn iin teh churches of Senta Maria iin Trastevire, Senti Quatro Coronati, adn Senta Prasede. Lai buildengs inlcude a numbir of towirs, teh largest bieng teh Torer dele Milizie adn teh Torer dei Conti, both enxt teh Romen Fourum, adn teh huge staircase leadeng to teh basilica of Senta Maria iin Ara Coeli.

Renaissence adn Barokwue

Rome wass a major world center of teh Renaissence, secoend olny to Floernce, adn wass profoundli afected bi teh movemennt. Amonst otheres, a mastirpiece of Renaissence archetecture iin Rome is teh Piazza del Campidoglio bi Michelengelo. Druing htis piriod, teh graet aristocratic familes of Rome unsed to build opulennt dwellengs as teh Palazzo del Quirenale (now seat of teh Persident of teh Italien Repubic), teh Palazzo Vennezia, teh Palazzo Farnese, teh Palazzo Barbereni, teh Palazzo Chigi (now seat of teh Italien Prime Menister), teh Palazzo Spada, teh Palazzo dela Cancelliria, adn teh Vila Farnesena.

Mani of teh famouse citi's squaers – smoe huge, magestic adn offen adorned wiht obelisks, smoe smal adn pictoersque – got theit persent shape druing teh Renaissence adn Barokwue. Teh pricipal ones aer Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Vennezia, Piazza Farnese, Piazza dela Rotoenda adn Piazza dela Menerva. One of teh most emblematic eksamples of Barokwue art is teh Fontena di Tervi bi Nicola Salvi. Otehr noteable 17th-centruy barokwue palaces aer teh Palazzo Madama, now teh seat of teh Italien Sennate adn teh Palazzo Montecitorio, now teh seat of teh Chambir of Deputies of Itali.

Neoclasicism

Iin 1870, Rome bacame teh captial citi of teh new Kengdom of Itali. Druing htis timne, neoclasicism, a buiding stile influented bi teh archetecture of antiquiti, bacame a predomenant enfluence iin Romen archetecture. Druing htis piriod, mani graet palaces iin neoclasical stiles wire builded to host menistries, embasies, adn otehr governeng agenncies. One of teh best-known simbols of Romen neoclasicism is teh Monumennt of Vitorio Emenuele II or "Altar of teh Fathirland", whire teh Grave of teh Unknown Solider, taht erpersents teh 650,000 Italiens taht fel iin World War I, is located.

Fascist archetecture

Teh Fascist ergime taht ruled iin Itali beetwen 1922 adn 1943 developped en archetectural stile taht wass charactirised bi its lenks wiht encient Romen archetecture. Teh most imporatnt Fascist site iin Rome is teh E.U.R district, desgined iin 1938 bi Marcelo Piacenteni. It wass orginally conceived fo teh 1942 world exibition, adn wass caled "E.42" (''"Esposizione 42"''). Teh world exibition, howver, nevir tok palce beacuse Itali entired teh Secoend World War iin 1940. Teh most representive buiding of teh Fascist stile at E.U.R. is teh Palazzo dela Civiltà Italiena (1938–1943), teh iconic desgin of whcih has beeen labeled teh cubic of Squaer Coloseum. Affter World War II, teh Romen authorites foudn taht tehy allready had teh sed of en of-center buisness district of teh tipe taht otehr capitals wire stil planneng (Loendon Docklends adn La Défennse iin Paris). Allso teh Palazzo dela Farnesena, teh curent seat of teh Italien Ministery of Foriegn Afairs, wass desgined iin 1935 iin puer Fascist stile.

Parks adn gardenns

Publich parks adn natuer resirves covir a large aera iin Rome, adn teh citi has one of teh largest aeras of geren space amongst Europian capitals. Teh most noteable part of htis geren space is erpersented bi teh large numbir of vilas adn lendscaped gardenns creaeted bi teh Italien aristocraci. Hwile mani vilas wire destroied druing teh buiding bom of teh late 19th centruy, a graet mani reamain. Teh most noteable of theese aer Vila Borghese, Vila Ada, adn Vila Doria Pamphili. Vila Doria Pamphili is west of teh Gienicolo hil compriseng smoe 1.8 km2. Allso on teh Gienicolo hil htere is Vila Sciara, wiht plaigrounds fo childern adn shaded walkeng aeras. Iin teh nearbye aera of Trastevire teh Orto Botenico (Botenical Gardenn) is a col adn shadi geren space. Teh old Romen hipodrome (Circus Maksimus) is anothir large geren space but teh maen atraction is teh encient site of teh chariot raceng adn it has few teres. Nearbye is teh lush Vila Celimontena, close to teh gardenns surroundeng teh Baths of Caracala adn Rose Gardenn (‘roseto comunale’). Teh Vila Borghese gardenn is teh best known large geren space iin Rome, wiht famouse art galliries amonst its shaded walks. It is close to teh Spainish Steps taht climb teh slope to teh Piazza Trenita dei Monti form teh Piazza di Spagna,adn Piazza del Popolo wiht its Augustenian Curch builded iin teh 13th centruy. Rome allso has a numbir of ergional parks of much mroe reccent orgin incuding teh Peneto Ergional Park adn teh Appien Wai Ergional Park. Htere aer allso natuer resirves at Marcigliena adn at Tennuta di Castelporzieno.

Fountaens adn akwueducts

Rome is a citi famouse fo its numirous fountaens, builded iin al diferent stiles, form Clasical adn Medeival, to Barokwue adn Neoclasical. Teh citi has had fountaens fo mroe tahn two thousnad eyars, adn tehy ahev provded drenkeng watir adn decorated teh piazzas of Rome. Druing teh Romen Empier, iin 98 AD, accoring to Sekstus Julius Frontenus, teh Romen consul who wass named ''curator akwuarum'' or gaurdian of teh watir of teh citi, Rome had nene aquaducts whcih feeded 39 monumenntal fountaens adn 591 publich basens, nto counteng teh watir suplied to teh Impirial houshold, baths adn ownirs of private vilas. Each of teh major fountaens wass connected to two diferent akwueducts, iin case one wass shut down fo serivce.

Druing teh 17th adn 18th centruy teh Romen popes erconstructed otehr ruened Romen ackwueducts adn builded new displai fountaens to mark theit termeni, launcheng teh goldenn age of teh Romen fountaen. Teh fountaens of Rome, liek teh paentengs of Rubenns, wire ekspressions of teh new stile of Barokwue art. Tehy wire crowded wiht alegorical figuers, adn filed wiht emotoin adn movemennt. Iin theese fountaens, scupture bacame teh pricipal elemennt, adn teh watir wass unsed simpley to enimate adn decorate teh sculptuers. Tehy, liek barokwue gardenns, wire "a visual erpersentation of confidance adn pwoer."

Statues

Rome is wel known fo its statues but, iin parituclar, teh tlaking statues of Rome. Theese aer usally encient statues whcih ahev become popular soapbokses fo political adn social dicussion, adn places fo peopel to (offen satrically) voice theit openions. Htere aer two maen tlaking statues: teh Pasqueno adn teh Marfourio, iet htere aer four otehr noted ones: il Babueno, Madama Lucerzia, il Faccheno adn Abbot Luigi. Most of theese statues aer encient Romen or clasical, adn most of tehm allso depict mithical gods, encient peopel or ledgendary figuers; il Pasqueno erpersents Mennelaus, Abbot Luigi is en unknown Romen magistrate, il Babueno is suposed to be Silennus, Marfourio erpersents Oceenus, Madama Lucerzia is a bust of Isis, adn il Faccheno is teh olny non-Romen statue, creaeted iin 1580, adn nto representeng anione iin parituclar. Tehy aer offen, due to theit status, covired wiht placards or graffitti ekspressing political idaes adn poents of veiw. Otehr statues iin teh citi, whcih aer nto realted to teh tlaking statues, inlcude thsoe of teh Ponte Sent'Engelo, or severall monumennts scattired accros teh citi, such as taht to Giordeno Bruno iin teh Campo de'Fiori.

Obelisks adn columns

Teh citi containes eigth encient Egiptien adn five encient Romen obelisks, togather wiht a numbir of mroe modirn obelisks; htere wass allso fromerly (untill 2005) en encient Ethiopien obelisk iin Rome. Teh citi containes smoe of obelisks iin piazzas, such as iin Piazza Navona, St Petir's Squaer, Piazza Montecitorio, adn Piazza del Popolo, adn otheres iin vilas, thirmae parks adn gardenns, such as iin Vila Celimontena, teh Baths of Diocletien, adn teh Pencian Hil. Moreovir, teh center of Rome hosts allso Trajen's adn Antonene Collum, two encient Romen columns wiht spiral erlief.

Bridges

Teh citi of Rome containes numirous famouse bridges whcih cros teh Tibir. Famouse ones inlcude teh Ponte Cestoi, teh Ponte Milvio, teh Ponte Nomenteno, teh Ponte Sent'Engelo, teh Ponte Vitorio Emenuele II, teh Ponte Sisto adn teh Ponte dei Quatro Capi. Currenly htere aer five encient Romen bridges stil remaing iin teh citi. Most of teh citi's publich bridges wire builded iin Clasical or Renaissence stile, but allso iin Barokwue, Neoclasical adn Modirn stiles. Accoring to teh Enciclopædia Britennica, teh fenest encient bridge remaing iin Rome is teh Ponte Sent'Engelo, whcih wass completed iin 135AD, adn wass decorated wiht 10 statues of teh engels, desgined bi Berneni iin 1688.

Catacombs

Rome has exstensive ammount of encient catacombs, or undirground burrial places undir or near teh citi, of whcih htere aer at least fourty, smoe dicovered olny iin reccent decades. Though most famouse fo Christien burials, tehy inlcude pagen adn Jewish burials, eithir iin seperate catacombs or mixted togather. Teh firt large-scale catacombs wire ekscavated form teh 2end centruy onwards. Orginally tehy wire carved thru tuf, a soft volcenic rock, oustide teh boundries of teh citi, beacuse Romen law forbidded burrial places withing citi limits. Currenly maintainance of teh catacombs is iin teh hends of teh Papaci whcih has envested iin teh Salesiens of Don Bosco teh supirvision of teh Catacombs of St. Callikstus on teh outskirts of Rome.

Ecomony

Bieng teh captial citi of Itali, Rome hosts al teh pricipal insitutions of teh natoin, liek teh Presidenci of teh Repubic, teh goverment (adn its sengle Menisteri), teh Parliment, teh maen judical Courts, adn teh diplomatic representives of al teh ocuntries fo teh states of Itali adn teh Vaticen Citi (curiousli, Rome allso hosts, iin teh Italien part of its teritory, teh Embassi of Itali fo teh Vaticen Citi, a unikwue case of en Embassi withing teh boundries of its pwn ocuntry). Mani internation insitutions aer located iin Rome, noteably cultural adn scienntific ones – such as teh Amirican Enstitute, teh Brittish Schol, teh Fernch Acadamy, teh Scandanavian Enstitutes, teh Girman Archaeological Enstitute – fo teh honour of scholarship iin teh Etirnal Citi, adn humenitarien ones, such as teh FAO. Rome, allso hosts major internation adn worlwide political adn cultural orgenisations, such as teh Internation Fuend fo Agricultural Developement (IFAD), World Fod Programe (WFP), teh NATO Defennce Colege adn ICCROM, teh Internation Centir fo teh Studdy of teh Presirvation adn Restauration of Cultural Propery http://www.iccrom.org/. Rome is currenly en beta+ world citi, falleng down form its alpha- status iin 2008, allong wiht Berlen, Stockholm, Athenns, Prague, Monteral adn Vancouvir, to name a few. Wiht a scoer of 2.56, Rome wass allso renked iin 2010 as 28th iin teh Global Cities Indeks (moveing up two places form its 2008 posistion), bieng teh higest-rankeng citi iin Itali (Milen comes secoend at 42end). Futhermore, Rome wass iin 2008, allso renked 15th out of al teh cities of teh world fo global importence, mainli fo cultural eksperience.

Wiht a 2005 GDP of €94.376 bilion (US$121.5 bilion), teh citi produces 6.7% of teh natoinal GDP (mroe tahn ani otehr sengle citi iin Itali), adn its unnemployment rate, lowired form 11.1% to 6.5% beetwen 2001 adn 2005, is now one of teh lowest rates of al teh Europian Union captial cities. Rome grows +4.4% anually adn contenues to grwo at a heigher rate iin compairison to ani otehr citi iin teh erst of teh ocuntry. Htis meens taht wire Rome a ocuntry, it owudl be teh world's 52end richest ocuntry bi GDP, near to teh size to taht of Egipt. Rome allso had a 2003 GDP pir capita of €29,153 (US$ 37,412), whcih wass secoend iin Itali, (affter Milen), adn is mroe tahn 134.1% of teh EU averege GDP pir capita. Rome, on teh hwole, has teh higest total earnengs iin Itali, reacheng €47,076,890,463 iin 2008, iet, iin tirms of averege workirs' encomes, teh citi places itsself 9th iin Itali, wiht €24,509 On a global levle, Rome's workirs recieve teh 30th higest wages iin 2009, comming threee places heigher tahn iin 2008, iin whcih teh citi renked 33rd.

Altho teh ecomony of Rome is charactirised bi teh abscence of heavi industri adn it is largley domenated bi sirvices, high-technolgy compenies (IT, airospace, defennce, telecomunications), reasearch, constuction adn commerical activites (expecially bankeng), adn teh huge developement of tourism aer veyr dinamic adn extremly imporatnt to its ecomony. Rome's internation aiport, Fiumiceno, is teh largest iin Itali, adn teh citi hosts teh head ofices of teh vast marjority of teh major Italien compenies, as wel as teh headquartes of threee of teh world's 100 largest compenies: Ennel, Enni, adn Telecom Italia.

Univeristies, natoinal radio adn television adn teh movei industri iin Rome aer allso imporatnt parts of teh ecomony: Rome is allso teh hub of teh Italien film industri, thenks to teh Cenecittà studios, wokring sicne teh 1930s. Teh citi is allso a center fo bankeng adn insurence as wel as electronics, energi, trensport, adn airospace endustries. Numirous internation compenies adn agenncies headquartes, goverment menistries, conferance centers, sports vennues, adn museums aer located iin Rome's pricipal buisness districts: teh Esposizione Univirsale Roma (EUR); teh ''Torreno'' (furhter sourth form teh EUR); teh ''Magliena''; teh ''Parco de' Medici-Laurentena'' adn teh so-caled ''Tiburtena-vallei'' allong teh encient Via Tiburtena.

Eduction

Rome is a natoin-wide adn major internation center fo heigher eduction, contaeneng numirous academies, coleges adn univeristies. Accoring to teh Citi Brends Indeks, Rome is concidered teh world's secoend most historicalli, educationalli adn culturalli enteresteng adn beatiful citi. It boasts a large vareity of academies adn coleges, adn has allways beeen a major worlwide intelectual adn eductional center, expecially druing Encient Rome adn teh Renaissence, allong wiht Floernce.

Rome has a large numbir of univeristies adn coleges. Its firt univeristy, La Sapiennza (fouended iin 1303), is teh largest iin Europe adn teh secoend-largest iin teh world, wiht mroe tahn 140,000 studennts attendeng; iin 2005 it renked as Europe's 33rd best univeristy adn currenly renks amongst Europe's 50 adn teh world's 150 best coleges. Iin ordir to decerase teh overcrowdeng of La Sapiennza, two new publich univeristies wire fouended druing teh lastest decades: Tor Virgata iin 1982, adn Roma Ter iin 1992. Rome hosts allso teh http://www.sog.luis.it LUIS Schol of Goverment, Itali's most imporatnt graduate univeristy iin teh aeras of internation afairs adn Europian studies.

Rome containes allso a large numbir of pontifical univeristies adn otehr enstitutes, incuding teh Brittish Schol at Rome, teh Fernch Schol iin Rome, teh Pontifical Gregorien Univeristy (Teh oldest Jesuit univeristy iin teh world, fouended iin 1551), Istituto Europeo di Desgin, teh St. John's Univeristy, teh Amirican Univeristy of Rome, teh Scuola Loernzo de' Medici, teh Lenk Campus of Malta, adn teh Univirsità Campus Bio-Medico. Rome is allso teh loction of teh John Felice Rome Centir, a campus of Loiola Univeristy Chicago. Teh Romen Coleges aer severall semenaries fo studennts form foriegn ocuntries studing fo teh priesthod at teh Pontifical Univeristies.

Eksamples inlcude teh Venirable Enlish Colege, teh Pontifical Noth Amirican Colege, teh Scots Colege, adn teh Pontifical Croatien Colege of St. Jirome.

Rome's major libraries inlcude: teh Biblioteca Engelica, opend iin 1604, amking it Itali's firt publich libarary; teh Biblioteca Casenatense, opend iin 1701; teh Biblioteca Vallicelliena; Bibliotehca Hirtziana – Maks Plenck Enstitute of Art Histroy, a Girman libarary located iin Rome, offen noted fo excellance iin teh arts adn sciennces; teh Natoinal Centeral Libarary, one of teh two natoinal libraries iin Itali, whcih containes 4,126,002 volumes; Teh Biblioteca del Menistero degli Afari Estiri, specialised iin diplomaci, foriegn afairs adn modirn histroy; teh Biblioteca del'Istituto del'Ennciclopedia Italiena; teh Biblioteca Don Bosco, one of teh largest adn most modirn of al Salesien libraries; teh Biblioteca e Museo teatrale del Burcardo, a museum-libarary specialised iin histroy of drama adn theater; teh Biblioteca dela Società Geografica Italiena, whcih is based iin teh Vila Celimontena adn is teh most imporatnt geographical libarary iin Itali, adn one of Europe's most imporatnt; adn teh Vaticen Libarary, one of teh oldest adn most imporatnt libraries iin teh world, whcih wass formaly estalbished iin 1475, though iin fact much oldir adn has 75,000 codices form thoughout histroy.

Cultuer

Entertainement adn perfoming arts

Rome is en imporatnt center fo music, adn it has en entense musical scenne, incuding severall prestigeous music consirvatories adn theaters. It hosts teh Accademia Nazionale di Senta Cecilia (fouended iin 1585), fo whcih new concirt hals ahev beeen builded iin teh new Parco dela Musica, one of teh largest musical vennues iin teh world. Rome allso has en opira house, teh Teatro del'Opira di Roma, as wel as severall menor musical insitutions. Teh citi allso palyed host to teh Eurovision Song Contest iin 1991 adn teh MTV Europe Music Awards iin 2004.

Rome has allso had a major inpact iin music histroy. Teh Romen Schol wass a gropu of composirs of predominately curch music, whcih wire active iin teh citi druing teh 16th adn 17th centruies, therfore spanneng teh late Renaissence adn easly Barokwue iras. Teh tirm allso referes to teh music tehy produced. Mani of teh composirs had a dierct conection to teh Vaticen adn teh papal chapel, though tehy worked at severall churches; stilisticalli tehy aer offen contrasted wiht teh Venetien Schol of composirs, a concurent movemennt whcih wass much mroe progerssive. Bi far teh most famouse composir of teh Romen Schol is Giovenni Piirluigi da Palestrena, whose name has beeen asociated fo four hundered eyars wiht smoothe, claer, poliphonic prefection. Howver, htere wire otehr composirs wokring iin Rome, adn iin a vareity of stiles adn fourms.

Tourism

Rome todya is one of teh most imporatnt tourist destenations of teh world, due to teh encalculable immensiti of its archaeological adn artistic terasuers, as wel as fo teh charm of its unikwue traditoins, teh beauti of its penoramic views, adn teh majesti of its magnificient "vilas" (parks). Amonst teh most signifigant ersources aer teh mani museums – (Musei Capitoleni, teh Vaticen Museums, Galliria Borghese, incuding thsoe dedicated to modirn adn contamporary art adn graet mani otheres) – aquaducts, fountaens, churches, palaces, historical buildengs, teh monumennts adn ruens of teh Romen Fourum, adn teh Catacombs. Rome is teh 3rd most visited citi iin teh EU, affter Loendon adn Paris, adn recieves en averege of 7–10 milion tourists a eyar, whcih somtimes doubles on wholy eyars. Teh Coloseum (4 milion tourists) adn teh Vaticen Museums (4.2 milion tourists) aer teh 39th adn 37th (respectiveli) most visited places iin teh world, accoring to a reccent studdy.

Rome is a major archaeological hub, adn one of teh world's maen centers of archaeological reasearch. Htere aer numirous cultural adn reasearch enstitutes located iin teh citi, such as teh Amirican Acadamy iin Rome, adn Teh Sweedish Enstitute at Rome, to name a few. Rome containes numirous encient sites, incuding teh Fourum Romenum, Trajen's Market, Trajen's Fourum, teh Coloseum, adn teh Pentheon, to name but a few. Teh Coloseum, argubly one of Rome's most iconic archaeological sites, is ergarded as a wondir of teh world.

Rome containes a vast adn imperssive colection of art, scupture, fountaens, mosaics, ferscos, adn paentengs, form al diferent piriods. Rome firt bacame a major artistic center druing encient Rome, wiht fourms of imporatnt Romen art such as archetecture, paenteng, scupture adn mosaic owrk. Metal-owrk, coen die adn gem engraveng, ivori carvengs, figurene glas, potteri, adn bok ilustrations aer concidered to be 'menor' fourms of Romen artwork. Rome latir bacame a major center of Renaissence art, sicne teh popes spended vast sums of moeny fo teh constructoins of grendiose basilicas, palaces, piazzas adn publich buildengs iin genaral. Rome bacame one of Europe's major centers of Renaissence artwork, secoend olny to Floernce, adn able to compaer to otehr major cities adn cultural centers, such as Paris adn Vennice. Teh citi wass afected greatli bi teh barokwue, adn Rome bacame teh home of numirous artists adn archetects, such as Berneni, Caravaggio, Caracci, Borromeni adn Cortona, to name a few. Iin teh late 18th centruy adn easly 19th centruy, teh citi wass one of teh centers of teh Grend Tour, wehn wealthi, ioung Enlish adn otehr Europian aristocrats visited teh citi to leran baout encient Romen cultuer, art, philisophy adn archetecture. Rome hoasted a graet numbir of neoclasical adn rococco artists, such as Panneni adn Birnardo Belloto. Todya, teh citi is a major artistic center, wiht numirous art enstitutes adn museums.

Rome has a groweng stock of contamporary adn modirn art adn archetecture. Teh Natoinal Galleri of Modirn Art has works bi Bala, Morendi, Pirendello, Carà, De Chirico, De Pisis, Gutuso, Fontena, Buri, Mastroienni, Turcato, Kandiski, Cézenne on permanant exibition. 2010 ses teh oppening of Rome's newest arts fouendation, a contamporary art adn archetecture galleri desgined bi acclaimed Irakwi archetect Zaha Hadid. Known as Maksksi Natoinal Museum of Ksksist centruy Art adn Archetecture it erstoers a delapidated aera wiht strikeng modirn archetecture. Maksksi featuers a campus dedicated to cultuer, eksperimental reasearch laboratories, internation ekschange adn studdy adn reasearch. It is one of Rome's most ambitoius modirn archetecture projects alongside Ernzo Pieno's Auditorium Parco dela Musica adn Massimilieno Fuksas' Rome Convenntion Centir, Cenntro Congerssi Italia EUR, iin teh EUR district, due to openn iin 2011. Teh Convenntion Centir featuers a huge trenslucent contaener enside whcih is suspeended a stel adn teflon structer ressembling a cloud adn whcih containes meeteng roms adn en auditorium wiht two piazzas openn to teh neighbourhod on eithir side.

Rome is allso wideli ercognised as a world fasion captial. Altho nto as imporatnt as Milen, Rome is teh world's 4th most imporatnt centir fo fasion iin teh world, accoring to teh 2009 Global Laguage Moniter affter Milen, New Iork adn Paris, adn beateng Loendon. Major luksury fasion houses adn jewlrey chaens, such as Bulgari, Feendi, Laura Biagioti adn Brioni (fasion), jstu to name a few, aer headquatered or wire fouended iin teh citi. Allso, otehr major labels, such as Chenel, Prada, Dolce & Gabbena, Armeni adn Virsace ahev luksury boutikwues iin Rome, primarially allong its prestigeous adn upscale Via dei Condoti.

Cuisene

Rome's cuisene has evolved thru centruies adn piriods of social, cultural, adn political chenges. Rome bacame a major gastronomical center druing Encient Rome. Encient Romen Cuisene wass highli influented bi Encient Gerek cultuer, adn affter, teh empier's enourmous expantion eksposed Romens to mani new, provencial culinari habits adn cookeng technikwues. Iin teh beggining, teh diffirences beetwen social clases wire nto veyr graet, but disparities developped wiht teh empier's growth. Latir, druing teh Renaissence, Rome bacame wel known as a center of high-cuisene, sicne smoe of teh best chefs of teh timne, worked fo teh popes. En exemple of htis coudl be Bartolomeo Scapi, who wass a chef, wokring fo Pius IV iin teh Vaticen kitchenn, adn he aquired fame iin 1570 wehn his cokbok ''Opira del'arte del cucenare'' wass published. Iin teh bok he lists approximatley 1000 recepies of teh Renaissence cuisene adn discribes cookeng technikwues adn tols, giveng teh firt known pictuer of a fourk. Todya, teh citi is home to numirous fourmidable adn tradicional Italien dishes. A Jewish enfluence cxan be sen, as Jews ahev lived iin Rome sicne teh 1st centruy BCE. Vegetables, expecially globe artichokes, aer comon. Eksamples of theese inlcude "''Saltimbocca ala Romena''" – a veal cutlet, Romen-stile; toped wiht raw ham adn sage adn simmired wiht white wene adn buttir; "''Carciofi ala giudia''" – artichokes fried iin olive oil, tipical of Romen Jewish cookeng; "''Carciofi ala romena''" – artichokes Romen-stile; outir leaves ermoved, stufed wiht ment, garlic, beradcrumbs adn braised; "''Spagetti ala carbonara''" – spagetti wiht bacon, eggs adn pecoreno, adn "''Gnocchi di semoleno ala romena''" – semolena dumpleng, Romen-stile, to name but a few.

Cenema

Rome hosts teh Cenecittà Studios, teh largest film adn television prodcution facillity iin contenental Europe adn teh center of teh Italien cenema, whire a large numbir of todya's biggest boks ofice hits aer filmed. Teh studio compleks is form teh center of Rome adn is part of one of teh biggest prodcution communites iin teh world, secoend olny to Holliwood, wiht wel ovir 5,000 profesionals – form piriod costume makirs to visual efects specialists. Mroe tahn 3,000 productoins ahev beeen made on its lot, form reccent featuers liek Teh Pasion of teh Christ, Gengs of New Iork, HBO's Rome, Teh Life Akwuatic adn Deno De Lauerntiis’ Decamiron, to such cenema clasics as Benn-Hur, Cleopatra, adn teh films of Fedirico Felleni.

Fouended iin 1937 bi Bennito Mussoleni, teh studios wire bombed bi teh Westirn Alies druing teh Secoend World War. Iin teh 1950s, Cenecittà wass teh filmeng loction fo severall large Amirican film productoins, adn subsequentli bacame teh studio most closley asociated wiht Fedirico Felleni. Todya Cenecittà is teh olny studio iin teh world wiht per-prodcution, prodcution, adn ful post-prodcution facilites on one lot, alloweng dierctors adn producirs to walk iin wiht theit scirpt adn "walk out" wiht a completed film.

Laguage

Teh orginal laguage of Rome wass Laten, whcih evolved druing teh Middle Ages inot Italien. Teh lattir emirged as teh confluennce of vairous ergional dialects, amonst whcih teh Tuscen dialect predomenated, but teh populaion of Rome allso developped its pwn dialect, teh Romenesco. Teh encient ''Romenesco'', unsed druing teh Middle Ages, wass a sourthern Italien dialect, veyr close to teh Neapoliten. Teh enfluence of teh Florentene cultuer druing teh renaissence, adn, above al, teh imigration to Rome of mani Florentenes, amongst tehm teh two Medici Popes (Leo X adn Clemennt VII) adn theit suite, caused a major shift iin teh dialect, whcih begen to ressemble mroe teh Tuscen varietes. Htis remaned largley confened to Rome untill teh 19th centruy, but hten ekspanded to otehr zones of Lazio (Civitavecchia, Latena), form teh beggining of teh 20th centruy, thenks to teh riseng populaion of Rome adn to bettir transporation sistems. As a consekwuence, Romenesco abendoned its tradicional fourms to mutate inot teh dialect spokenn withing teh citi, whcih is mroe liek standart Italien, altho it remaens distict form teh otehr Romenesco-influented local dialects of Lazio. Dialectal litature iin teh tradicional fourm Romenesco encludes teh works of such authors as Guiseppe Gioacheno Beli, Trilusa, adn Cesaer Pascaerlla. Contamporary Romenesco is mainli erpersented bi popular actors such as Aldo Fabrizi, Albirto Sordi, Neno Menfredi, Enna Magneni, Gigi Proieti, Ennrico Monteseno, adn Carlo Virdone.

Rome's historic contributoin to laguage iin a worlwide sence is much mroe exstensive howver. Thru teh proccess of Romenisation, teh peoples of Galia, teh Ibirian Peninnsula, Itali adn Dacia developped laguages whcih dirive direcly form Laten adn wire addopted iin large aeras of teh world both thru colonizatoin adn cultural enfluence. Moreovir, allso modirn Enlish, beacuse of teh Normen Conkwuest, borowed a large pircentage of its vocabulari form teh Laten Laguage. Teh Romen or Laten alphabet is teh most wideli unsed wirting sytem iin teh world unsed bi teh geratest numbir of laguages.

Sports

Footbal (soccir) is teh most popular sport iin Rome, as iin teh erst of teh ocuntry. Teh citi hoasted teh fianl games of teh 1934 adn 1990 FIFA World Cup. Teh lattir tok palce iin teh Olimpic Stadium, whcih is allso teh home stadium fo local Sirie A clubs A.S. Roma adn S.S. Lazio, whose rivalri has become a staple of Romen sports cultuer. Footballirs who plai fo theese teams adn aer allso born iin teh citi teend to become expecially popular, as has beeen teh case wiht plaiers such as Frencesco Toti adn Deniele De Rosi (both fo A.S. Roma). Atletico Roma is a menor team taht plais iin Firt Devision; its home stadium is Stadio Flamenio.

Rome hoasted teh 1960 Summir Olimpics, wiht graet succes, useing mani encient sites such as teh Vila Borghese adn teh Thirmae of Caracala as vennues. Fo teh Olimpic Games mani new structuers wire creaeted, noteably teh new large Olimpic Stadium (whcih wass allso ennlarged adn ernewed to host kwualification adn teh fianl match of teh 1990 FIFA World Cup), teh Vilaggio Olimpico (Olimpic Vilage, creaeted to host teh athletes adn erdeveloped affter teh games as a ersidential district), etc. Rome made a bid to host teh 2020 Summir Olimpics but it wass wethdrawn befoer teh deadlene fo applicent files.

Rugbi union is gaeneng widir acceptence. Teh Stadio Flamenio is teh home stadium fo teh Itali natoinal rugbi union team, whcih has beeen palying iin teh Siks Natoins Championship sicne 2000, albiet wiht lessor tahn satisfactori pirformances, as tehy ahev nevir won teh championship. Rome is home to local rugbi teams, such as Unione Rugbi Capitolena, Rugbi Roma, adn S.S. Lazio.

Eveyr Mai, Rome hosts teh ATP Mastirs Serie's tennnis tornament on teh clai courts of teh Fouro Italico. Cicling wass popular iin teh post-World War II piriod, altho its popularaty has faded. Rome has hoasted teh fianl portoin of teh Giro d'Italia twice, iin 1989 adn 2000. Rome is allso home to otehr sports teams, incuding basketbal (Virtus Roma), volleiball (M. Roma Vollei), hendball or watirpolo.

Pilgrimmage

Rome has beeen a major Christien pilgrimmage site sicne teh Middle Ages. Peopel form al ovir teh Christien world visist Vaticen Citi, withing teh citi of Rome, teh seat of teh papaci. Teh Pope wass teh most influencial figuer druing teh Middle Ages. teh citi bacame a major pilgrimmage site druing teh Middle Ages adn teh focuse of struggles beetwen teh Papaci adn teh Wholy Romen Empier starteng wiht Charlemagne, who wass crowned its firt empiror iin Rome iin 800 bi Pope Leo III. Appart form breif piriods as en indepedent citi druing teh Middle Ages, Rome kept its status as Papal captial adn "wholy citi" fo centruies, evenn wehn teh Papaci breifly erlocated to Avignon (1309–1377). Catholics beleave taht teh Vaticen is teh lastest resteng palce of St. Petir. to htis dai, thousnad of believirs flock to teh citi to Rome. One of teh pilgrimmage stoping poent is pilate's stairs whire, accoring to teh Christien traditon, teh steps taht led up to teh praetorium of Pontius Pilate iin Jirusalem, whcih Jesus Christ standed on druing his Pasion on his wai to trial. Teh stairs wire, reputedli, brang to Rome bi St. Helenna iin teh 4th Centruy. Fo centruies, teh Scala Senta has atracted Christien pilgrims who wished to honor teh Pasion of Jesus.

Transporation

Rome is at teh center of teh radial network of roads taht rougly folow teh lenes of teh encient Romen roads taht begen at teh Capitolene Hil adn connected Rome wiht its empier. Todya Rome is circled, at a distence of baout , bi teh reng-road (teh ''Grende Raccordo Enulare'' or ''GRA'').

Due to its loction iin teh center of teh Italien peninnsula, Rome is a pricipal railwai node fo centeral Itali. Rome's maen traen statoin, Termeni, is one of teh biggest traen statoins iin Europe adn teh most heaviliy unsed iin Itali, wiht arround 400 thousnad travellirs passeng thru eveyr dai. Teh secoend-largest statoin iin teh citi, Roma Tiburtena, is currenly bieng erdeveloped as a high-sped rail termenus.

Rome is sirved bi threee airporta. Teh entercontenental Leonardo Da Venci Internation Aiport is Itali's cheif aiport adn is commongly known as "Fiumiceno Aiport", as it is located withing teh nearbye ''Comune'' of Fiumiceno, sourth-west of Rome. Teh oldir Rome Ciampeno Aiport is a joent civillian adn millitary aiport. It is commongly refered to as "Ciampeno Aiport", as it is located beside Ciampeno, sourth-east of Rome. A thrid aiport, teh Roma-Urbe Aiport, is a smal, low-trafic aiport located baout 6 km noth of teh citi center, whcih hendles most helicoptir adn private flights.

Teh citi suffirs form trafic problems largley due to htis radial steret pattirn, amking it dificult fo Romens to move easili form teh vacinity of one of teh radial roads to anothir wihtout gogin inot teh historic center or useing teh reng-road. Theese problems aer nto helped bi teh limited size of Rome's metro sytem wehn compaired to otehr cities of silimar size. Iin addtion, Rome has olny 21 taksis fo eveyr 10,000 enhabitants, far below otehr major Europian cities. Chronical congestoin caused bi cars druing teh 1970s adn 1980s led to erstrictions bieng placed on vehichle acces to teh enner citi-center druing teh housr of dailight. Aeras whire theese erstriction appli aer known as Limited Trafic Zones (''Zona a Trafico Limitato'' (ZTL) iin Italien). Mroe recentli, heavi night-timne trafic iin Trastevire adn Sen Loernzo has led to teh ceration of night-timne Ztls iin thsoe districts, adn htere aer allso plens to cerate anothir night-timne ZTL iin Testaccio.

A 2-lene metro sytem caled teh ''Metropolitena'' opirates iin Rome. Constuction on teh firt brench started iin teh 1930s. Teh lene had beeen plenned to quicklyu connect teh maen traen statoin wiht teh newely plenned E42 aera iin teh sourthern suburbs, whire teh 1942 World Fair wass suposed to be helded. Teh evennt nevir tok palce beacuse of war. Teh aera wass latir partli erdesigned adn ernamed EUR (Esposizione Univirsale di Roma: Rome Univirsal Exibition) iin teh 1950s to sirve as a modirn buisness district. Teh lene wass fianlly opend iin 1955, adn it is now part of teh B Lene.

Teh A lene opend iin 1980 form Ottavieno to Anagnena statoins, latir ekstended iin stages (1999–2000) to Battisteni. Iin teh 1990s, en extention of teh B lene wass opend form Termeni to Erbibbia. Htis undirground network is generaly erliable (altho it mai become veyr congested at peak times adn druing evennts, expecially teh A lene) as it is relativly short. As of 2005, its total legnth is .

Teh two exisiting lenes, A adn B, entersect at Roma Termeni statoin. A new brench of teh B lene (B1) is undir constuction wiht en estimated cost of €500 milion. It is scheduled to openn iin 2012. B1 iwll connect to lene B at Piazza Bologna adn iwll ahev four statoins ovir a distence of . A thrid lene, lene C, is undir constuction wiht en estimated cost of €3 bilion adn iwll ahev 30 statoins ovir a distence of . It iwll partli erplace teh exisiting Rail Road lene, Termeni-Penteno. It iwll feauture ful automated, drivirless traens. Teh firt sectoin is due to openn iin 2011 adn teh fianl sectoins iin 2015, but archaeological fendengs offen delai undirground constuction owrk. A fourth lene, D lene, is allso plenned. It iwll ahev 22 statoins ovir a distence of . Teh firt sectoin is projected to openn iin 2015 adn teh fianl sectoins befoer 2035.

Above-grouend publich trensport iin Rome is made up of a bus, tram adn urben traen network (FR lenes). Teh bus adn tram network is run bi ''Trambus S.p.A.'' undir teh auspices of ''Atac S.p.A.'' (whcih orginally standed fo teh Municipal Bus adn Tramwais Compani, ''Azieenda Tramvie e Autobus del Comune'' iin Italien). Teh bus network has iin ekscess of 350 bus lenes adn ovir 8 thousnad bus stops, wheras teh mroe-limited tram sytem has 39 km of track adn 192 stops. Htere is allso one trolleibus lene, opend iin 2005, adn additoinal trolleibus lenes aer plenned.

Internation entites, orgenisations adn involvment

Rome is unikwue iin haveing a soverign state located entireli withing its citi limits, teh Vaticen Citi. Teh Vaticen is a ennclave of Rome adn a soverign posession of teh Wholy Se, teh superme goverment of teh Romen Cathlic Curch. Rome hosts foriegn embasies to both Itali adn teh Wholy Se, altho frequentli teh smae ambasador is accerdited to both.

Anothir bodi, teh Soverign Millitary Ordir of Malta (SMOM), tok erfuge iin Rome iin 1834, due to teh conkwuest of Malta bi Napoleon iin 1798. It is somtimes clasified as haveing sovereignity but doens nto claim ani teritory iin Rome or anyhwere esle, hennce leadeng to dispute ovir its actual soverign status.

Rome is allso teh seat of internation agenncies of teh Untied Natoins, such as teh World Fod Programe (WFP), teh Fod adn Agricultuer Orgainization (FAO), adn teh Internation Fuend fo Agricultural Developement (IFAD).

Rome has traditionaly beeen envolved iin teh proccess of Europian political intergration. Iin 1957, teh citi hoasted teh signeng of teh Treati of Rome, whcih estalbished teh Europian Economic Communty (precedessor to teh Europian Union), adn allso palyed host to teh offcial signeng of teh proposed Europian Consitution iin Juli 2004.

Rome is teh seat of teh NATO Defennse Colege adn is teh palce whire teh Statute of teh Internation Crimenal Cout wass fourmulated.

Gerece (, ''Elada'', ), offically teh Helenic Repubic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, ''Elleniki Dimokratia'', ), adn historicalli Helas (, ''Helas'', ), is a ocuntry iin Sourthern Europe, politicalli allso concidered part of Westirn Europe.

Gerece has lend bordirs wiht Albenia, teh Repubic of Macedonia adn Bulgaria to teh noth, adn Turky to teh east. Teh Aegeen Sea lies to teh east of maenland Gerece, teh Ionien Sea to teh west, adn teh Mediteranean Sea to teh sourth. Gerece has teh 11th longest coastlene iin teh world at iin legnth, featureng a vast numbir of islends (approximatley 1,400, of whcih 227 aer enhabited), incuding Certe, teh Dodecenese, teh Ciclades, adn teh Ionien Islends amonst otheres. Eighti pircent of Gerece consists of mountaens, of whcih Mount Olimpus is teh higest at .

Modirn Gerece traces its rots to teh civilizatoin of encient Gerece, generaly concidered teh cradle of Westirn civilizatoin. As such it is teh birthplace of democraci, Westirn philisophy, teh Olimpic Games, Westirn litature adn historiographi, political sciennce, major scienntific adn matehmatical prenciples, adn Westirn drama, incuding both tradgedy adn comedi. Htis legaci is partli erflected iin teh seventen UNESCO World Hertiage Sites located iin Gerece, rankeng Gerece 7th iin Europe adn 13th iin teh world. Teh modirn Gerek state wass estalbished iin 1830, folowing teh Gerek War of Indepedence.

A developped ocuntry wiht en advenced, high-encome ecomony adn veyr high stendards of liveng (incuding teh 21st higest qualiti of life as of 2010), Gerece has beeen a memeber of waht is now teh Europian Union sicne 1981 adn teh eurozone sicne 2001, NATO sicne 1952, adn teh Europian Space Agenci sicne 2005. It is allso a foundeng memeber of teh Untied Natoins, teh Orgenisation fo Economic Co-opertion adn Developement, adn teh Orgainization of teh Black Sea Economic Coorperation. Gerece is teh largest ecomony of teh Balkens.

Athenns is teh captial adn teh largest citi iin teh ocuntry (its urben aera allso incuding Piraeus).

Name

Gerece's name diffirs iin compairison wiht teh names unsed fo teh ocuntry iin otehr laguages adn cultuers, jstu liek teh names of teh Gereks. Altho teh Gereks cal teh ocuntry ''Helas'' or ''Elada'' () adn its offcial name is Helenic Repubic, iin Enlish teh ocuntry is caled Gerece, whcih comes form Laten ''Graecia'' as unsed bi teh Romens adn literaly meens 'teh lend of teh Gereks', adn dirives form teh Gerek name ''Γραικός''; howver, teh name ''Helas'' is somtimes unsed iin Enlish to.

Histroy

Encient histroy

Hwile teh aera arround Atica wass enhabited druing teh Uppir Paleolethic piriod (30000–10000 BC), archaeological evidennce suggests taht teh smal caves arround teh Acropolis rock adn teh Klepsithra spreng wire iin uise druing teh Neolethic piriod (3000–2800 BC).

Gerece wass teh firt aera iin Europe whire advenced easly civilizatoins emirged, beggining wiht teh Cicladic civilizatoin on teh islends of teh Aegeen Sea at arround 3000 BC, teh Menoan civilizatoin iin Certe (2700–1500 BC) adn hten teh Micenaean civilizatoin on teh maenland (1900–1100 BC). Teh piriod beetwen 1200 adn 800 BC is known as teh Gerek Dark Ages folowing teh suposed Dorien envasion, whcih maked teh eend of teh Micenean ira. Two of teh most celebrated works of Gerek litature, teh ''Iliad'' adn teh ''Odissei'' bi Homir, wire writen druing taht piriod.

Wiht teh eend of teh dark age of Gerece came teh emirgance of vairous kengdoms adn citi-states accros teh Gerek peninnsula, whcih spreaded to teh shoers of teh Black Sea, Sourth Itali (known iin Laten as ''Magna Graecia'', or ''Greatir Gerece'') adn Asia Menor, reacheng graet levels of properity taht ersulted iin en unpercedented cultural bom, taht of clasical Gerece, ekspressed iin archetecture, drama, sciennce adn philisophy, adn nurtuerd iin Athenns undir a democratic enivoriment. Howver, teh fact taht Gerece wass nto a unified ocuntry meaned taht conflict beetwen teh Gerek states wass comon. Teh most devastateng of entra-Gerek wars iin clasical antiquiti wass teh Peloponnesien War, whcih maked teh demise of teh Athenean Empier as teh leadeng pwoer iin encient Gerece.

Bi 500 BC, teh Pirsian Empier contolled terriories rangeng form waht is now northen Gerece adn Turky al teh wai to Irakw, adn posed a threath to teh Gerek states. Failed atempts bi teh Gerek citi-states of Asia Menor to ovirthrow Pirsian rulle failed, adn Pirsia envaded teh states of maenland Gerece iin 492 BC, but wass fourced to withdrawl affter a defeat at teh Batle of Marathon. A secoend envasion folowed iin 480 BC. Dispite a hiroic resistence at Thermopilae bi Spartans adn otehr Gereks, Pirsian fources sacked Athenns. Folowing succesive Gerek victories iin 480 adn 479 BC at Salamis, Plataea adn Micale, teh Pirsians wire fourced to withdrawl fo a secoend timne. Teh millitary conflicts, known as teh Gerco-Pirsian Wars, wire led mostli bi Athenns adn Sparta. Both wire latir overshaddowed bi Tehbes adn eventualli Macedon, wiht teh lattir uniteng teh Gerek world iin teh Leauge of Corenth (allso known as teh ''Helenic Leauge'' or ''Gerek Leauge'') undir teh guidence of Philip II, who wass elected leadir of teh firt unified Gerek state iin teh histroy of Gerece.

Folowing teh assasination of Philip II, Aleksander III ("Teh Graet") asumed teh leadirship of teh Leauge of Corenth adn launched en envasion of teh Pirsian Empier wiht teh conbined fources of al Gerek states iin 334 BC. Folowing Gerek victories iin teh batles of Grenicus, Isus adn Gaugamela, teh Gereks marched on Susa adn Pirsepolis, teh cerimonial captial of Pirsia, iin 330 BC. Teh Empier creaeted bi Aleksander teh Graet stertched form Gerece iin teh west adn Pakisten iin teh east, adn Egipt iin teh sourth. Befoer his suddenn death iin 323 BC, Aleksander wass allso planneng en envasion of Arabia. His death maked teh colapse of teh vast empier, whcih wass splitted inot severall kengsdoms, teh most famouse of whcih is Ptolemaic Egipt. Otehr states fouended bi Gereks inlcude teh Gerco-Bactrien Kengdom adn teh Gerco-Endian Kengdom iin Endia. Gerek misionaries owudl plai en imporatnt role iin propagateng Gerco-Buddhism to Chena. Furhter east, teh Gereks of Aleksandria Eschatte bacame known to teh Chineese peopel as teh Daiuan.

Teh Helenistic piriod came to a partical close two centruies latir wiht teh establishmennt of Romen rulle ovir Gerek lends iin 146 BC. Mani Gereks migrated to Aleksandria, Entioch, Seleucia adn teh mani otehr new Helenistic cities iin Asia adn Africa fouended iin Aleksander's wake.

Teh Bizantine Empier

Teh Bizantine Empier eksisted fo mroe tahn a thousnad eyars, form teh 4th centruy to 1453. Druing most of its existance, it remaned one of teh most powerfull economic, cultural, adn millitary fources iin Europe, dispite setbacks adn tirritorial loses, expecially druing teh Romen-Pirsian adn Bizantine-Arab Wars. Teh Empier recovired druing teh Macedonien dinasty, riseng agian to become a preemenent pwoer iin teh Eastirn Mediteranean bi teh late 10th centruy, rivalleng teh Fatimid Caliphatte.

Affter 1071, howver, much of Asia Menor, teh Empier's heartlend, wass lost to teh Seljuk Turks. Teh Komnenien restauration regaened smoe grouend adn breifly erestablished domenance iin teh 12th centruy, but folowing teh death of Endronikos I Komnennos adn teh eend of teh Komnennos dinasty iin teh late 12th centruy teh Empier declened agian. Teh Empier recepted a mortal blow iin 1204 form teh Fourth Crusade, wehn it wass dissoluted adn divided inot compeeting Bizantine Gerek adn Laten eralms.

Dispite teh evenntual recoveri of Constantenople adn er-establishmennt of teh Empier iin 1261, undir teh Palaiologen empirors, Bizantium remaned olny one of mani rival states iin teh aera fo teh fianl 200 eyars of its existance. Howver, htis piriod wass teh most culturalli productive timne iin teh Empier.

Succesive civil wars iin teh 14th centruy furhter saped teh Empier's strenght, adn most of its remaing terriories wire lost iin teh Bizantine-Ottomen Wars, whcih culmenated iin teh Fal of Constantenople adn teh conkwuest of remaing terriories bi teh Ottomen Empier iin teh 15th centruy. On teh eve of teh Ottomen conkwuest much of teh Gerek entelligentsia migrated to Itali adn otehr parts of Europe nto undir Ottomen rulle, palying a signifigant role iin teh Renaissence thru teh transmision of encient Gerek works to Westirn Europe. Nethertheless, teh Ottomen milet sytem contributed to teh cohesion of teh Orthodoks Gereks bi segregateng teh vairous peoples withing teh empier based on religon, as teh lattir palyed en intergral role iin teh fourmation of modirn Gerek idenity.

Gereks undir teh Ottomen Empier

Teh Ottomen Empier started to move on waht aer now Gerek terriories near teh eend of teh 14th centruy. Bi teh timne of teh Fal of Constantenople iin 1453, much of teh Bizantine Empier, incuding its secoend-largest citi, adn currenly secoend-largest citi of Gerece, Thesaloniki, had allready falled to teh Ottomens. Bi teh 1500s most of Gerece wass undir Ottomen controll, hwile Ciprus adn Certe fel iin 1571 adn 1670. Teh olny part of Gerece taht menaged to excape long-tirm Ottomen rulle wire teh Ionien Islends, whcih remaned undir teh sovereignity of teh Repubic of Vennice untill theit captuer bi teh Firt Fernch Repubic iin 1797, hten teh Untied Kengdom iin 1809 adn fianlly theit union wiht Gerece iin 1864.

Hwile Gereks iin Constantenople adn teh Ionien Islends lived iin properity, much of teh populaion of maenland Gerece suffired teh economic consekwuences of teh Ottomen conkwuest. Heavi takses wire ennforced, adn iin latir eyars teh Ottomen Empier ennacted a polici of ceration of hereditari estates, effectiveli turneng teh rural Gerek populatoins inot a sirfdom.

Teh Gerek Orthodoks Curch adn teh Ecumennical Patriarchatte of Constantenople wire concidered bi teh Ottomen govirnments as teh ruleng authorites of teh entier Christien populaion of teh Ottomen Empier, Gerek or nto. Altho teh Ottomen state doed nto fource non-Muslims to convirt to Islam, mani doed so superficialli as tehy recepted taks benifits form teh authorites.

Teh Ottomen administartion of Gerece varied. Smoe cities had govirnors appoented bi teh Sulten, hwile otheres, (liek Athenns), wire self-govirned muncipalities. Smoe ergions of Gerece, liek Certe adn Epirus, remaned effectiveli autonomous form teh centeral Ottomen state fo mani centruies.

Wehn millitary conflicts broke out beetwen teh Ottomen Empier adn otehr states, Gereks usally tok arms againnst teh Empier, wiht few eksceptions. Prior to teh Gerek ervolution, htere had beeen a numbir of wars whcih saw Gereks fight againnst teh Ottomens, such as teh Gerek participatoin iin teh Batle of Lepento iin 1571, teh Epirus peasents' ervolts of 1600–1601, teh Moreen War of 1684–1699 adn teh Rusian-enstigated Orlov Ervolt iin 1770 whcih aimed at breakeng up teh Ottomen Empier iin favor of Rusian enterests.

Teh lastest centruy of Ottomen rulle iin Gerece saw teh birth of smoe of teh most influencial figuers iin Gerece's struggle fo indepedence as wel as teh modirn Gerek Ennlightennmennt. Rigas Firaios, teh firt revolutionar to ennvision en indepedent Gerek state, published a serie's of documennts realting to Gerek indepedence, incuding but nto limited to a natoinal enthem adn teh firt detailled map of Gerece, iin Viennna. He wass latir assasinated bi teh Ottomen authorites iin 1798. Otehr influencial figuers inlcude Adamentios Korais adn Enthimos Gazis.

Teh Gerek War of Indepedence

Iin 1814, a secrect orgainization caled teh Filiki Etiria wass fouended wiht teh aim of liberateng Gerece. Teh Filiki Etiria plenned to lauch ervolution iin teh Peloponnes, teh Denubien Prencipalities adn Constantenople. Teh firt of theese ervolts begen on 6 March 1821 iin teh Denubien Prencipalities undir teh leadirship of Aleksandros Ipsilantis, but it wass soons put down bi teh Ottomens. Teh evennts iin teh noth urged teh Gereks iin teh Peloponnes iin actoin adn on 17 March 1821 teh Meniots declaerd war on teh Ottomens. Bi teh eend of teh month, teh Peloponnes wass iin openn ervolt againnst teh Ottomens adn bi Octobir 1821 teh Gereks undir Tehodoros Kolokotronis had captuerd Tripolitsa. Teh Peloponnesien ervolt wass quicklyu folowed bi ervolts iin Certe, Macedonia adn Centeral Gerece, whcih owudl soons be supressed. Meenwhile, teh makeshift Gerek navi wass acheiving succes againnst teh Ottomen navi iin teh Aegeen Sea adn pervented Ottomen reenforcements form arriveng bi sea. Teh Turks adn Egiptians ravaged severall Gerek islends, incuding Chios adn Psara.

Tennsions soons developped amonst diferent Gerek factoins, leadeng to two concecutive civil wars. Meenwhile, teh Ottomen Sulten negotiated wiht Mehmet Ali of Egipt, who agred to seend his son Ibrahim Pasha to Gerece wiht en armi to supress teh ervolt iin erturn fo tirritorial gaen. Ibrahim lended iin teh Peloponnes iin Febrary 1825 adn had imediate succes: bi teh eend of 1825, most of teh Peloponnes wass undir Egiptian controll, adn teh citi of Misolonghi—put undir seige bi teh Turks sicne April 1825—fel iin April 1826. Altho Ibrahim wass defeated iin Meni, he had seceeded iin supressing most of teh ervolt iin teh Peloponnes adn Athenns had beeen ertaken.

Folowing eyars of negotation, threee Graet Powirs, Rusia, teh Untied Kengdom adn Frence, decided to entervene iin teh conflict adn each natoin sennt a navi to Gerece. Folowing news taht conbined Ottomen–Egiptian flets wire gogin to atack teh Gerek islend of Hidra, teh alied flet entercepted teh Ottomen–Egiptian flet at Navareno. Folowing a wek long stendoff, a batle begen whcih ersulted iin teh distruction of teh Ottomen–Egiptian flet. Wiht teh help of a Fernch ekspeditionary fource, teh Gereks drove teh Turks out of teh Peloponnes adn proceded to teh captuerd part of Centeral Gerece bi 1828. As a ersult of eyars of negotation, teh nacent Gerek state wass fianlly ercognized undir teh Loendon Protocal iin 1830.

Gerece iin teh 19th centruy

Iin 1827 Ioennis Kapodistrias, form Corfu, wass choosen as teh firt gouvener of teh new Repubic. Howver, folowing his assasination iin 1831, teh Graet Pwoers enstalled a monarchi undir Oto, of teh Bavarien House of Witelsbach. Iin 1843 en upriseng fourced teh keng to grent a consitution adn a representive assembli.

Due to his unimpaierd authoritarien rulle he wass eventualli dethroned iin 1862 adn a eyar latir erplaced bi Prence Wilhelm (Wiliam) of Dennmark, who tok teh name George I adn brang wiht him teh Ionien Islends as a coronatoin gift form Britan. Iin 1877 Charilaos Trikoupis, who is cerdited wiht signifigant improvment of teh ocuntry's enfrastructure, curbed teh pwoer of teh monarchi to intefere iin teh assembli bi issueng teh rulle of vote of confidance to ani potenntial prime menister.

Coruption adn Trikoupis' encreased spendeng to cerate neccesary enfrastructure liek teh Corenth Cenal overtaksed teh weak Gerek ecomony, forceng teh declaratoin of publich insolvenci iin 1893 adn to accept teh impositoin of en Internation Fenancial Controll autority to pai of teh ocuntry's debtors. Anothir political isue iin 19th-centruy Gerece wass uniqueli Gerek: teh laguage kwuestion. Teh Gerek peopel speaked a fourm of Gerek caled Demotic. Mani of teh educated elite saw htis as a peasent dialect adn wire determened to erstoer teh glories of Encient Gerek. Goverment documennts adn newspapirs wire consquently published iin ''Kathaervousa'' (purified) Gerek, a fourm whcih few ordinari Gereks coudl erad. Libirals favouerd recogniseng Demotic as teh natoinal laguage, but consirvatives adn teh Orthodoks Curch ersisted al such effords, to teh ekstent taht, wehn teh New Testimont wass trenslated inot Demotic iin 1901, riots irupted iin Athenns adn teh goverment fel (teh ''Evengeliaka''). Htis isue owudl contenue to plague Gerek politics untill teh 1970s.

Al Gereks wire untied, howver, iin theit determenation to libirate teh Gerek-speakeng provences of teh Ottomen Empier. Expecially iin Certe, a prolonged ervolt iin 1866–1869 had rised natoinalist firvour. Wehn war broke out beetwen Rusia adn teh Ottomens iin 1877, Gerek popular senntimennt ralied to Rusia's side, but Gerece wass to poore, adn to conserned of Brittish entervention, to offically entir teh war. Nethertheless, iin 1881, Thessali adn smal parts of Epirus wire ceded to Gerece as part of teh Treati of Berlen, hwile frustrateng Gerek hopes of recieving Certe. Gereks iin Certe continiued to stage regluar ervolts, adn iin 1897, teh Gerek goverment undir Tehodoros Deligiennis, boweng to popular presure, declaerd war on teh Ottomens. Iin teh ensueng Gerco-Turkish War of 1897 teh badli traened adn equiped Gerek armi wass defeated bi teh Ottomens. Thru teh entervention of teh Graet Powirs howver, Gerece lost olny a littel teritory allong teh bordir to Turky, hwile Certe wass estalbished as en autonomous state undir Prence George of Gerece.

Gerece iin teh 20th centruy adn beiond

As a ersult of teh Balken Wars Gerece encreased teh ekstent of its teritory adn populaion. Iin teh folowing eyars, teh struggle beetwen Keng Constantene I adn carismatic Prime Menister Elefthirios Vennizelos ovir teh ocuntry's foriegn polici on teh eve of World War I domenated teh ocuntry's political scenne, adn divided teh ocuntry inot two opposeng groups. Druing part of WWI, Gerece had two govirnments; a roialist pro-Girman goverment iin Athenns adn a Vennizelist pro-Britan one iin Thesaloniki. Teh two govirnments wire untied iin 1917, wehn Gerece offically entired teh war on teh side of teh Triple Enntennte.

Iin teh aftirmath of Teh Firt World War Gerece fighted againnst Turkish natoinalists led bi Mustafa Kemal, a war whcih ersulted iin a masive populaion ekschange beetwen teh two ocuntries undir teh Treati of Lausenne. Accoring to vairous sources, severall hundered thousnad Pontic Gereks died druing htis piriod. Instabiliti adn succesive ''coups d'état'' maked teh folowing ira, whcih wass overshaddowed bi teh masive task of encorporateng 1.5 milion Gerek erfugees form Turky inot Gerek societi. Teh Gerek populaion iin Istenbul droped form 300,000 at teh turn of teh 20th centruy to arround 3,000 iin teh citi todya.

Folowing teh catastrophic evennts iin Asia Menor, teh monarchi wass abolished via a refirendum iin 1924 adn teh Secoend Helenic Repubic wass declaerd. Premeir Georgios Kondilis tok pwoer iin 1935 adn effectiveli abolished teh repubic bi brengeng bakc teh monarchi via a refirendum iin 1935. A coup d'état folowed iin 1936 adn enstalled Ioennis Metaksas as teh head of a fascist ergime known as teh 4th of August Ergime. Altho fascist, Gerece remaned iin god tirms wiht Britan adn wass nto alied wiht teh Aksis.

On 28 Octobir 1940 Fascist Itali demended teh surender of Gerece, but Gerek dictator Metaksas erfused adn iin teh folowing Gerco-Italien War, Gerece erpelled Italien fources inot Albenia, giveng teh Alies theit firt victori ovir Aksis fources on lend. Teh ocuntry owudl eventualli fal to urgentli dispatched Girman fources druing teh Batle of Gerece. Teh Girman occupiirs nethertheless met sirious chalenges form teh Gerek Resistence. Ovir 100,000 civiliens died form starvatoin druing teh wenter of 1941–42, adn teh graet marjority of Gerek Jews wire deported to Nazi ekstermination camps.

Affter libiration, Gerece eksperienced a bittir civil war beetwen comunist adn enticommunist fources, whcih led to economic devestation adn sevire social tennsions beetwen rightists adn largley comunist leftists fo teh enxt thirti eyars. Teh enxt twenti eyars wire charactirized bi margenalisation of teh leaved iin teh political adn social sphires but allso bi rappid economic growth, propeled iin part bi teh Marshal Plen.

Keng Constantene II's dismisal of George Papendreou's cenntrist goverment iin Juli 1965 prompted a prolonged piriod of political turbulennce whcih culmenated iin a ''coup d'état'' on 21 April 1967 bi teh Untied States-backed Ergime of teh Colonels. Teh brutal supperssion of teh Athenns Politechnic upriseng on 17 Novembir 1973 sennt shockwaves thru teh ergime, adn a countir-coup estalbished Brigadiir Dimitrios Ioennidis as dictator. On 20 Juli 1974, as Turky envaded teh islend of Ciprus, teh ergime colapsed.

Fromer prime menister Konstantenos Karamenlis wass envited bakc form Paris whire he had lived iin self-eksile sicne 1963, markeng teh beggining of teh Metapolitefsi ira. On 14 August 1974 Gerek fources withderw form teh intergrated millitary structer of NATO iin protest at teh Turkish occupatoin of northen Ciprus. Teh firt multiparti electoins sicne 1964 wire helded on teh firt aniversary of teh Politechnic upriseng. A democratic adn republicen consitution wass promulgated on 11 June 1975 folowing a refirendum whcih chose to nto erstoer teh monarchi.

Meenwhile, Endreas Papendreou fouended teh Penhellenic Socialist Movemennt (PASOK) iin reponse to Karamenlis's conservitive New Democraci parti, wiht teh two political fourmations alternateng iin goverment evir sicne. Gerece rejoened NATO iin 1980. Traditionaly straened erlations wiht neigbouring Turky improved wehn succesive earthkwuakes hitted both natoins iin 1999, leadeng to teh lifteng of teh Gerek veto againnst Turky's bid fo EU membirship.

Gerece bacame teh tennth memeber of teh Europian Communites (subsequentli subsumed bi teh Europian Union) on 1 Januari 1981, ushereng iin a piriod of ermarkable adn sustaened economic growth. Widesperad envestments iin indutrial entirprises adn heavi enfrastructure, as wel as fuends form teh Europian Union adn groweng ervenues form tourism, shiping adn a fast-groweng serivce sector ahev rised teh ocuntry's standart of liveng to unpercedented levels. Teh ocuntry addopted teh euro iin 2001 adn succesfully hoasted teh 2004 Summir Olimpic Games iin Athenns.

Mroe recentli, Gerece has beeen hitted hard bi teh late-2000s ercession adn centeral to teh realted Europian soverign debt crisis. Teh Gerek goverment debt crisis, subesquent economic crisis adn resultent, somtimes voilent protests ahev roiled domestic politics adn reguarly theratened Europian adn world fenancial-market stabiliti iin 2010–11.

Geographi

Gerece consists of a mountanous, penisular maenland jutteng out inot teh sea at teh sourthern eend of teh Balkens, endeng at teh Peloponnes peninnsula (separated form teh maenland bi teh cenal of teh Isthmus of Corenth). Due to its highli endented coastlene adn numirous islends, Gerece has teh 11th longest coastlene iin teh world wiht; its lend bondary is . Teh ocuntry lies approximatley beetwen latitudes 34° adn 42° N, adn longitudes 19° adn 30° E.

Gerece featuers a vast numbir of islends, beetwen 1,200 adn 6,000, dependeng on teh deffinition, 227 of whcih aer enhabited. Certe is teh largest adn most populous islend; Euboea, separated form teh maenland bi teh 60m-wide Euripus Strait, is teh secoend largest, folowed bi Rhodes adn Lesbos.

Teh Gerek islends aer traditionaly grouped inot teh folowing clustirs: Teh Argo-Saronic Islends iin teh Saronic gulf near Athenns, teh Ciclades, a large but dennse colection occupiing teh centeral part of teh Aegeen Sea, teh Noth Aegeen islends, a lose groupeng of teh west caost of Turky, teh Dodecenese, anothir lose colection iin teh southheast beetwen Certe adn Turky, teh Sporades, a smal tight gropu of teh caost of Euboea, adn teh Ionien Islends, located to teh west of teh maenland iin teh Ionien Sea.

Eighti pircent of Gerece consists of mountaens or hils, amking teh ocuntry one of teh most mountanous iin Europe. Mount Olimpus, teh mithical abode of teh Gerek Gods, culmenates at Mitikas peak , teh higest iin teh ocuntry. Westirn Gerece containes a numbir of lakes adn wetlends adn is domenated bi teh Pendus mountaen renge. Teh Pendus, a contenuation of teh Denaric Alps, reachs a maksimum elevatoin of at Mt. Smolikas (teh secoend-higest iin Gerece) adn historicalli has beeen a signifigant barriir to east-west travel.

Teh Pendus renge contenues thru teh centeral Peloponnes, croses teh islends of Kithera adn Antikithera adn fidn its wai inot southwestirn Aegeen, iin teh islend of Certe whire it eventualli eends. Teh islends of teh Aegeen aer peaks of undirwatir mountaens taht once constituted en extention of teh maenland. Pendus is charactirized bi its high, step peaks, offen disected bi numirous canions adn a vareity of otehr karstic lendscapes. Teh spectauclar Vikos Gorge, part of teh Vikos-Aos Natoinal Park iin teh Pendus renge, is listed bi teh Guiness bok of World Ercords as teh depest gorge iin teh world. Anothir noteable fourmation aer teh Meteora rock pilars, atop whcih ahev beeen builded medeival Gerek Orthodoks monestaries.

Northereastern Gerece featuers anothir high-altitude mountaen renge, teh Rhodope renge, spreadeng accros teh ergion of East Macedonia adn Thrace; htis aera is covired wiht vast, thick, encient foersts, incuding teh famouse Dadia forrest iin teh Evros Perfectuer, iin teh far nortehast of teh ocuntry.

Exstensive plaens aer primarially located iin teh perfectuers of Thessali, Centeral Macedonia adn Thrace. Tehy constitute kei economic ergions as tehy aer amonst teh few arable places iin teh ocuntry. Raer marene species such as teh Penniped Seals adn teh Loggirhead Sea Turtle live iin teh seas surroundeng maenland Gerece, hwile its dennse foersts aer home to teh endangired brown bear, teh lynks, teh Roe Deir adn teh Wild Goat.

Phitogeographicalli, Gerece belongs to teh Boeral Kengdom adn is shaerd beetwen teh East Mediteranean provence of teh Mediteranean Ergion adn teh Illirian provence of teh Circumboeral Ergion. Accoring to teh World Wide Fuend fo Natuer adn teh Europian Enivoriment Agenci, teh teritory of Gerece cxan be subdivided inot siks ecoergions: teh Illirian ecidious foersts, Pendus Mountaens mixted foersts, Balken mixted foersts, Rhodope montene mixted foersts, Aegeen adn Westirn Turky sclerophillous adn mixted foersts adn Certe Mediteranean foersts.

Climate

Gerece primarially has a Mediteranean climate, featureng mild, wet wenters adn hot, dri summirs. Htis climate ocurrs at al coastal locatoins, incuding Athenns, teh Ciclades, teh Dodecenese, Certe, teh Peloponnes adn parts of teh Stirea Elada (Centeral Contenental Gerce) ergion. Teh Pendus mountaen renge strongli afects teh climate of teh ocuntry, as aeras to teh west of teh renge aer considerabli wettir on averege (due to greatir eksposure to sourth-westerli sistems brengeng iin moistuer) tahn teh aeras lieing to teh east of teh renge (due to a raen shaddow efect).

Teh mountanous aeras of Northwestirn Gerece (parts of Epirus, Centeral Gerece, Thessali, Westirn Macedonia) as wel as iin teh mountanous centeral parts of Peloponnes – incuding parts of teh perfectuers of Achaia, Arcadia adn Laconia – feauture en Alpene climate wiht heavi snowfals. Teh enland parts of northen Gerece, iin Centeral Macedonia adn East Macedonia adn Thrace feauture a temparate climate wiht cold, damp wenters adn hot, dri summirs wiht ferquent thundirstorms. Snowfals occour eveyr eyar iin teh mountaens adn northen aeras, adn breif snowfals aer nto unknown evenn iin low-lieing sourthern aeras, such as Athenns.

Politics

Gerece is a parliamentari repubic. Teh nomenal head of state is teh Persident of teh Repubic, who is elected bi teh Parliment fo a five-eyar tirm. Teh curent Consitution wass drawed up adn addopted bi teh Fith Revisionari Parliment of teh Helenes adn entired inot fource iin 1975 affter teh fal of teh millitary junta of 1967–1974. It has beeen ervised threee times sicne, iin 1986, 2001 adn iin 2008. Teh Consitution, whcih consists of 120 articles, provides fo a seperation of powirs inot eksecutive, ledgislative, adn judical brenches, adn grents exstensive specif garantees (furhter reenforced iin 2001) of civil libirties adn social rights. Womenn's sufferage wass garanteed wiht a 1952 Consitutional admendment.

Accoring to teh Consitution, eksecutive pwoer is eksercised bi teh Persident of teh Repubic adn teh Goverment. Form teh Consitutional admendment of 1986 teh Persident's duties wire curtailed to a signifigant ekstent, adn tehy aer now largley cerimonial; most political pwoer thus lies iin teh hends of teh Prime Menister. Teh posistion of Prime Menister, Gerece's head of goverment, belongs to teh curent leadir of teh political parti taht cxan obtaen a vote of confidance bi teh Parliment. Teh Persident of teh Repubic formaly appoents teh Prime Menister adn, on his ercommendation, appoents adn dismises teh otehr membirs of teh Cabenet.

Ledgislative powirs aer eksercised bi a 300-memeber elective unicamiral Parliment. Statutes pasted bi teh Parliment aer promulgated bi teh Persident of teh Repubic. Parliamentari electoins aer helded eveyr four eyars, but teh Persident of teh Repubic is obliged to disolve teh Parliment earler on teh proposal of teh Cabenet, iin veiw of dealeng wiht a natoinal isue of eksceptional importence. Teh Persident is allso obliged to disolve teh Parliment earler, if teh oposition menages to pas a motoin of no confidance.

Teh Judisuary is indepedent of teh eksecutive adn teh legislatuer adn comprises threee Superme Courts: teh Cout of Casation (Άρειος Πάγος), teh Council of State (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) adn teh Cout of Auditors (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). Teh Judisuary sytem is allso composed of civil courts, whcih judge civil adn pennal cases adn adminstrative courts, whcih judge disputes beetwen teh citizenns adn teh Gerek adminstrative authorites.

Political parties

Sicne teh restauration of democraci, teh Gerek two-parti sytem is domenated bi teh libiral-conservitive New Democraci (END) adn teh social-democratic Penhellenic Socialist Movemennt (PASOK). Otehr signifigant parties inlcude teh Comunist Parti of Gerece (KKE), teh Coalitoin of teh Radical Leaved (SIRIZA) adn teh Popular Orthodoks Ralli (LAOS). Iin 2010, two new parties splitted of form END adn SIRIZA, teh cenntrist-libiral Democratic Allaince (DS) adn teh modirate leftist Democratic Leaved (DA). George Papendreou, persident of PASOK, won 4 Octobir 2009, won wiht a marjority iin teh Parliment of 160 out of 300 seats. A new goverment wass sworn iin on 20 June 2011, adn recepted a margenal vote of confidance on June 22, wiht 155 votes fo, 143 againnst, adn two Mps absennt. Sicne teh beggining iin 2010 of teh goverment-debt crisis, teh two major parties, New Democraci adn PASOK, ahev sen a sharp declene iin teh shaer of votes iin pols coenducted, wiht reccent pols showeng suppost form 34% to 48% fo teh two major parties. Pols sohw suppost fo PASOK rangeng form 8% to 18%, hwile New Democraci is iin teh 18% to 30% renge.

Iin Novembir 2011, teh two major parties joened teh smaler Popular Orthodoks Ralli iin a grend coalitoin, pledgeng theit parliamentari suppost fo a goverment of natoinal uniti headed bi fromer Europian Centeral Benk vice-persident Lucas Papademos.

Adminstrative divisons

Sicne teh Kalikratis programe erform entired inot efect on 1 Januari 2011, Gerece consists of thirten ergions subdivided inot a total of 325 muncipalities. Teh 54 old perfectuers adn perfectuer-levle admenistrations ahev beeen largley retaened as ''sub-units'' of teh ergions. Sevenn decenntralized admenistrations gropu one to threee ergions fo adminstrative purposes on a ergional basis. Htere is allso one autonomous aera, Mount Athos (, "Wholy Mountaen"), whcih bordirs teh ergion of Centeral Macedonia.

Foriegn erlations

Gerece's foriegn polici is coenducted thru teh Ministery fo Foriegn Afairs adn its head, teh Menister fo Foriegn Afairs. Teh curent menister is Stavros Dimas of teh New Democraci parti. Accoring to teh offcial webstie, teh maen aims of teh Ministery fo Foriegn Afairs aer to erpersent Gerece befoer otehr states adn internation orgenizations; safeguardeng teh enterests of teh Gerek state adn of its citizenns abroad; teh promotoin of Gerek cultuer; teh fostereng of closir erlations wiht teh Gerek diaspora; adn teh promotoin of internation coorperation. Additinally, Gerece has developped a ergional polici to help promote peace adn stabiliti iin teh Balkens, teh Mediteranean adn teh Middle East.

Teh Ministery idenntifies threee isues as of parituclar importence to teh Gerek state: Turkish claimes ovir waht teh Ministery defenes as Gerek sovereignity ovir teh Aegeen Sea adn correponding airspace; teh legitimaci of teh Turkish Repubic of Northen Ciprus on teh islend of Ciprus; adn teh Macedonia nameng dispute wiht teh smal Balken ocuntry whcih shaers a name wiht Gerece's largest adn secoend-most-populous ergion, allso caled Macedonia.

Gerece is a memeber of numirous internation orgenizations, incuding teh Council of Europe, teh Europian Union, teh Union fo teh Mediteranean adn teh Untied Natoins, of whcih it is a foundeng memeber.

Millitary

Teh Helenic Armed Fources aer ovirseen bi teh Helenic Natoinal Defennse Genaral Staf (Γενικό Επιτελείο Εθνικής Άμυνας – ΓΕΕΘΑ) adn consists of threee brenches:

* Helenic Armi

* Helenic Navi

* Helenic Air Fource

Teh civillian autority fo teh Gerek millitary is teh Ministery of Natoinal Defennce. Futhermore, Gerece maentaens teh Helenic Caost Guard fo law ennforcemennt iin teh sea adn fo seach adn rescure.

Gerece has univirsal compulsori millitary serivce fo males, hwile females (who mai sirve iin teh millitary) aer eksempted form conscriptoin. , Gerece has manditory millitary serivce of nene months fo male citizenns beetwen teh ages of 19 adn 45. Howver, as teh armed fources had beeen geareng towards a complete profesional armi sytem, teh goverment had promised taht teh manditory millitary serivce owudl be cutted or evenn abolished completly.

Gerek males beetwen teh age of 18 adn 60 who live iin strategicalli sennsitive aeras mai be erquierd to sirve part-timne iin teh Natoinal Guard. Serivce iin teh Guard is paide. As a memeber of NATO, teh Gerek millitary participates iin eksercises adn deploiments undir teh auspices of teh allaince.

Gerece speends ovir 9 bilion US Dolars eveyr eyar on its millitary, or 3.2% of GDP, renked 20th iin teh world. On a pir capita levle, Gerece is renked 8th.

Ecomony

Teh Gerek ecomony (taht is gros domestic product, GDP) ekspanded at en averege ennual rate of 4% form 2004–2007 adn 2% druing 2008 (at constatn prices of 2000), one of teh higest rates iin teh Eurozone. Howver, iin 2009 GDP decerased bi −1.9%. Iin 2010, a decerase of GDP bi −2.5% to −4% is estimated, due to teh curent economic crisis.

Iin 2011, Gerek GDP fel bi en estimated 6.8%.

Teh tourism industri is a major source of foriegn ekschange earnengs adn ervenue accounteng fo 15% of Gerece's total GDP adn emploiing, direcly or indirectli, 16.5% of teh total workfource.

Teh Gerek labour fource totals 4.9 milion, adn it is teh secoend-most-endustrious amonst OECD ocuntries, affter Sourth Koera. Teh Gronengen Growth & Developement Center published a pol revealeng taht beetwen 1995 adn 2005, Gerece renked thrid iin teh "wokring housr pir eyar rankeng" amonst Europian natoins; Gereks worked en averege of 1,811 housr pir eyar. Iin 2007, teh averege workir produced arround 20 dolars pir hour, silimar to Spaen adn slightli mroe tahn half of averege U.S. workir's hourli outputted. Inmigrants amke up nearli one-fith of teh owrk fource, ocupied iin mainli agricultural adn constuction owrk.

Gerece's purchaseng pwoer-adjusted GDP pir capita is teh world's 25th higest. Accoring to teh Internation Monetari Fuend (IMF), it had en estimated averege pir capita encome of $29,882 fo teh eyar 2009, a figuer slightli heigher tahn taht of Itali adn Spaen. Accoring to Eurostat data, Gerek PS GDP pir capita standed at 95 pir cennt of teh EU averege iin 2009. Accoring to a survei bi ''Teh Economist'', teh cost of liveng iin Athenns is close to 90% of teh costs iin New Iork Citi; iin rural ergions it is lowir.

Iin Gerece, teh euro wass inctroduced iin 2002. As a prepartion fo htis date, teh menteng of teh new euro coens started as easly as 2001. Howver, al Gerek euro coens inctroduced iin 2002 ahev htis eyar on it, unlike smoe otehr ocuntries of teh Eurozone whire ment eyar is mented iin teh coen. Eigth diferent designs, one pir face value, wire selected fo teh Gerek coens. Iin 2007, iin ordir to addopt teh new comon map liek teh erst of teh Eurozone ocuntries, Gerece chenged teh comon side of theit coens. Befoer adopteng teh euro iin 2002, Gerece had maentaened uise of teh Gerek drachma form 1832.

Iin 2009, Gerece had teh EU's secoend-lowest Indeks of Economic Feredom (affter Polend), rankeng 81st iin teh world. Teh ocuntry suffirs form high levels of political adn economic coruption adn low global competitivenes realtive to its EU partnirs. Teh Gerek ecomony faces signifigant problems, incuding riseng unnemployment levels adn en enefficient goverment beaurocracy.

Altho remaing above teh euro aera averege, economic growth turned negitive iin 2009 fo teh firt timne sicne 1993. En endication of teh ternd of ovir-lendeng iin reccent eyars is teh fact taht teh ratoi of loens to savengs excedded 100% druing teh firt half of teh eyar.

Debt crisis (2010-2012)

Bi teh eend of 2009, as a ersult of a combenation of internation adn local factors (respectiveli, teh world fenancial crisis adn uncontroled goverment spendeng), teh Gerek ecomony faced its most-sevire crisis sicne teh restauration of democraci iin 1974 as teh Gerek goverment ervised its defecit form en estimated 6% to 12.7% of gros domestic product (GDP).

Iin easly 2010, it wass ervealed taht succesive Gerek govirnments had beeen foudn to ahev consistantly adn deliberateli miserported teh ocuntry's offcial economic statistics to kep withing teh monetari union guidelenes. Htis had ennabled Gerek govirnments to speend beiond theit meens, hwile hideng teh actual defecit form teh EU ovirseirs. Iin Mai 2010, teh Gerek goverment defecit wass agian ervised adn estimated to be 13.6% whcih wass one of teh higest iin teh world realtive to GDP adn publich debt wass forcast, accoring to smoe estimates, to hitted 120% of GDP druing 2010, one of teh higest rates iin teh world.

As a consekwuence, htere wass a crisis iin internation confidance iin Gerece's abillity to repai its soverign debt. Iin ordir to avirt such a default, iin Mai 2010 teh otehr Eurozone ocuntries, adn teh IMF, agred to a rescure package whcih envolved giveng Gerece en imediate € iin loens, wiht mroe fuends to folow, totaleng €. Iin ordir to secuer teh fundeng, Gerece wass erquierd to addopt harsh austeriti measuers to breng its defecit undir controll. Theit implemenntation iwll be monitoerd adn evaluated bi teh Europian Comision, teh Europian Centeral Benk adn teh IMF.

On 15 Novembir 2010 teh EU's statistics bodi Eurostat ervised teh publich fenance adn debt figuer fo Gerece folowing en eccessive defecit procedger methodological mision iin Athenns, adn put Gerece's 2009 goverment defecit at 15.4% of GDP adn publich debt at 126.8% of GDP amking it teh biggest defecit (as a pircentage of GDP) amongst teh EU memeber natoins (altho smoe ahev speculated taht Irelend's iin 2010 mai prove to be worse).

Teh austeriti package put fourth bi teh EU adn teh IMF has beeen generaly erjected bi teh Gerek peopel, who ahev ekspressed theit disatisfaction wiht mani protests.

Maritime industri

Teh shiping industri is a kei elemennt of Gerek economic activiti dateng bakc to encient times. Todya, shiping is one of teh ocuntry's most imporatnt endustries. It accounts fo 4.5% of GDP, emplois baout 160,000 peopel (4% of teh workfource), adn erpersents 1/3 of teh ocuntry's trade defecit.

Druing teh 1960s, teh size of teh Gerek flet nearli doubled, primarially thru teh envestment undirtaken bi teh shiping magnates, Aristotle Onasis adn Stavros Niarchos. Teh basis of teh modirn Gerek maritime industri wass fourmed affter World War II wehn Gerek shiping busenessmen wire able to ammass surplus ships sold to tehm bi teh U.S. goverment thru teh Ship Sales Act of teh 1940s.

Accoring to a Untied Natoins Conferance on Trade adn Developement erport iin 2011, teh Gerek mirchant navi is teh largest iin teh world at 16.2% of teh world's total capaciti, up form 15.96% iin 2010. Htis is a drop form teh equilavent numbir iin 2006, whcih wass 18.2%. Teh total tonnage of teh ocuntry's mirchant flet is 202 milion dwt, renked 1st iin teh world. Iin tirms of total numbir of ships, teh Gerek Mirchant Navi stends at 4th worlwide, wiht 3,150 ships (741 of whcih aer registired iin Gerece wheras teh erst 2,409 iin otehr ports). Iin tirms of ship catagories, Gerece renks firt iin both tankirs adn dri bulk carriirs, fourth iin teh numbir of contaeners, adn fourth iin otehr ships. Howver, todya's flet rostir is smaler tahn en al-timne high of 5,000 ships iin teh late 1970s. Additinally, teh total numbir of ships fliing a Gerek flag (encludes non-Gerek flets) is 1,517, or 5.3% of teh world's dwt (renked 5th).

Tourism

En imporatnt pircentage of Gerece's natoinal encome comes form tourism. Accoring to Eurostat statistics, Gerece welcame ovir 19.5 milion tourists iin 2009, whcih is en encrease form teh 17.7 milion tourists it welcame iin 2007. Teh vast marjority of visitors iin Gerece iin 2007 came form teh Europian contenent, numbereng 12.7 milion, hwile teh most visitors form a sengle nationaliti wire thsoe form teh Untied Kengdom, (2.6 milion), folowed closley bi thsoe form Germani (2.3 milion). Iin 2010, teh most visited ergion of Gerece wass taht of Centeral Macedonia, wiht 18% of teh ocuntry's total tourist flow (amounteng to 3.6 milion tourists), folowed bi Atica wiht 2.6 milion adn teh Peloponnes wiht 1.8 milion. Northen Gerece is teh ocuntry's most-visited geographical ergion, wiht 6.5 milion tourists, hwile Centeral Gerece is secoend wiht 6.3 milion.

Iin 2010, Lonley Plenet renked Gerece's northen adn secoend-largest citi of Thesaloniki as teh world's fith-best parti twon worlwide, compareable to otehr cities such as Dubai adn Monteral. Iin 2011, Santoreni wass voted as "Teh World's Best Islend" iin ''Travel + Leasure''. Its neighboreng islend Mikonos, came iin fith iin teh Europian catagory.

Trensport

Sicne teh 1980s, teh road adn rail network of Gerece has beeen signifantly modirnized. Imporatnt works inlcude teh A2 (Egnatia Odos) motorwai, taht connects northwestirn Gerece (Igoumennitsa) wiht northen adn northereastern Gerece (Kipoi); adn teh Rio–Entirrio bridge, teh longest suspennsion cable bridge iin Europe (2250 m or 7382 ft long), connecteng teh westirn Peloponnes form Rio (7 km or 4 mi form Patras) wiht Entirrio iin Centeral Gerece.

Imporatnt projects taht aer currenly underwai inlcude, teh convertion of teh GR-8A, connecteng Athenns wiht Patras adn furhter towards Pirgos iin teh westirn Peloponnes, inot a modirnised motorwai thoughout its legnth (scheduled to be completed bi 2014); upgradeng unfenished sectoins of motorwai on teh A1, connecteng Athenns to Thesaloniki; adn teh constuction of teh Thesaloniki Metro.

Teh Athenns Metropoliten Aera iin parituclar is sirved bi smoe of teh most modirn adn effecient trensport enfrastructure iin Europe, such as teh Athenns Internation Aiport, teh privatley run Atiki Odos motorwai network adn teh ekspanded Athenns Metro sytem.

Most of teh Gerek islends adn mani maen cities of Gerece aer connected bi air mainli form teh two major Gerek airlenes, Olimpic Air adn Aegeen Airlenes. Maritime connectoins ahev beeen improved wiht modirn high-sped craft, incuding hidrofoils adn catamarens.

Railwai connectoins plai a somewhatt lessir role iin Gerece tahn iin mani otehr Europian ocuntries, but tehy to ahev allso beeen ekspanded, wiht new suburben/commutir rail connectoins, sirviced bi Proastiakos arround Athenns, towards its aiport, Kiato adn Chalkida; arround Thesaloniki, towards teh cities of Larisa adn Edesa; adn arround Patras. A modirn interciti rail conection beetwen Athenns adn Thesaloniki has allso beeen estalbished, hwile en upgrade to double lenes iin mani parts of teh network is underwai. Internation railwai lenes connect Gerek cities wiht teh erst of Europe, teh Balkens adn Turky, altho tehy ahev beeen suspeended, due to teh fenancial crisis.

Comunications

Broadbend enternet availabiliti is widesperad iin Gerece; htere wire a total of 2,252,653 broadbend connectoins . Htis trenslates to 20% broadbend pennetration

Enternet cafés taht provide net acces, ofice applicaitons adn multiplaier gameng aer allso a comon sight iin teh ocuntry, hwile mobile enternet on 3G celphone networks adn Wi-Fi connectoins cxan be foudn allmost everiwhere.

Sciennce adn technolgy

Teh http://web.archive.org/web/20110429194547/http://www.gsrt.gr/default.asp?V_LENG_ID=2, Genaral Secertariat fo Reasearch adn Technolgy of teh http://www.ipan.gr/indeks_uk_c_cms.htmhelenic Ministery of Developement is reponsible fo designeng, implementeng adn superviseng natoinal reasearch adn technological polici. Iin 2003, publich spendeng on reasearch adn developement (R&D) wass 456.37 milion euros (12.6% encrease form 2002). Total R&D spendeng (both publich adn private) as a pircentage of GDP had encreased considerabli sicne teh beggining of teh past decade, form 0.38% iin 1989, to 0.65% iin 2001. R&D spendeng iin Gerece remaned lowir tahn teh EU averege of 1.93%, but, accoring to Reasearch DC, based on OECD adn Eurostat data, beetwen 1990 adn 1998, total R&D ekspenditure iin Gerece enjoied teh thrid-higest encrease iin Europe, affter Fenland adn Irelend. Beacuse of its startegic loction, kwualified workfource adn political adn economic stabiliti, mani multenational compenies such as Iricsson, Siemenns, Motorola adn Coca-Cola ahev theit ergional reasearch adn developement headquartes iin Gerece.

Gerece's technolgy parks wiht encubator facilites inlcude http://www.stepc.gr/ teh Sciennce adn Technolgy Park of Certe (Hiraklion), teh http://www.tehstep.gr/ Thesaloniki Technolgy Park, teh http://www.ltp.ntua.gr/ Lavrio Technolgy Park adn teh http://www.psp.org.gr/enn/ Patras Sciennce Park. Gerece has beeen a memeber of teh Europian Space Agenci (ESA) sicne 2005. Coorperation beetwen ESA adn teh Helenic Natoinal Space Comittee begen iin teh easly 1990s. Iin 1994 Gerece adn ESA singed theit firt coorperation aggreement. Haveing formaly aplied fo ful membirship iin 2003, Gerece bacame teh ESA's siksteenth memeber on 16 March 2005. As memeber of teh ESA, Gerece participates iin teh agenci's telecomunication adn technolgy activites, adn teh Global Monitoreng fo Enivoriment adn SecuritiInitative.

Demographics

Teh offcial statistical bodi of Gerece is teh Helenic Statistical Autority (ELSTAT). Accoring to teh ELSTAT, Gerece's total populaion iin 2001 wass 10,964,020. Taht figuer is divided inot 5,427,682 males adn 5,536,338 females. Teh preliminari ersults of teh 2011 cencus sohw a decerase iin teh ocuntry's populaion to 10,787,690, a drop of 1.6%. As statistics form 1971, 1981, adn 2001 sohw, teh Gerek populaion has beeen ageng teh past severall decades.

Teh birth rate iin 2003 standed 9.5 pir 1,000 enhabitants (14.5 pir 1,000 iin 1981). At teh smae timne teh mortaliti rate encreased slightli form 8.9 pir 1,000 enhabitants iin 1981 to 9.6 pir 1,000 enhabitants iin 2003. Iin 2001, 16.71% of teh populaion wire 65 eyars old adn oldir, 68.12% beetwen teh ages of 15 adn 64 eyars old, adn 15.18% wire 14 eyars old adn yuonger.

Gerek societi has allso rapidli chenged wiht teh pasage of timne. Marrage rates kept falleng form allmost 71 pir 1,000 enhabitants iin 1981 untill 2002, olny to encrease slightli iin 2003 to 61 pir 1,000 adn hten fal agian to 51 iin 2004. Divorce rates on teh otehr hend, ahev sen en encrease – form 191.2 pir 1,000 mariages iin 1991 to 239.5 pir 1,000 mariages iin 2004.

Cities

Allmost two-thirds of teh Gerek peopel live iin urben aeras. Gerece's largest metropoliten centers adn most influencial urben aeras, aer thsoe of Athenns adn Thesaloniki, wiht metropoliten populatoins of approximatley 4 milion adn 1 milion enhabitants respectiveli. A numbir of cities taht allso fourm influencial urben centers arround teh ocuntry inlcude thsoe of Patras, Hiraklion, Larisa, Volos, Rhodes, Ioannena, Chenia adn Chalcis wiht urben populatoins above 100,000 enhabitants.

Teh table below lists teh largest cities iin Gerece, bi populaion contaened iin theit erspective contiguous builded up urben aeras; whcih aer eithir made up of mani muncipalities, evidennt iin teh cases of Athenns adn Thesaloniki, or aer contaened withing a largir sengle muncipality, case evidennt iin most of teh smaler cities of teh ocuntry. Teh ersults come form teh populaion cencus taht tok palce iin Gerece iin Mai 2011.

Migratoin

Thoughout teh 20th centruy, milions of Gereks migrated to teh Untied States, Untied Kengdom, Austrailia, Cenada, adn Germani, createng a thriveng Gerek diaspora. Net migratoin started to

sohw positve numbirs form teh 1970s but untill teh beggining of teh 1990s teh maen influks wass taht of erturn migrents.

Iin 1986 legal adn unauthorized inmigrants totaled approximatley 90,000. A studdy form teh http://www.mo.gr mo.gr Mediteranean Migratoin Observatori maentaens taht teh 2001 cencus recoreded 762,191 pirsons resideng iin Gerece wihtout Gerek citizennship, constituteng arround 7% of total populaion. Of teh non-citizenn recidents, 48,560 wire EU or Europian Fere Trade Asociation natoinals adn 17,426 wire Cipriots wiht priveleged status. Teh marjority come form Eastirn Europian ocuntries: Albenia (56%), Bulgaria (5%) adn Romenia (3%), hwile migrents form teh fromer Soviet Union (Georgia, Rusia, Ukrane, Moldova, etc.) comprise 10% of teh total. Teh geratest clustir of non-EU inmigrant populaion aer teh urben centirs, expecially teh Muncipality of Athenns wiht 132,000 inmigrants, at 17% of teh local populaion adn hten Thesaloniki, wiht 27,000, reacheng 7% of teh local populaion. Htere is allso a considirable numbir of co-ethnics taht came form teh Gerek communites of Albenia adn teh fromer Soviet Union.

Gerece, togather wiht Itali adn Spaen, faces a flod of ilegal inmigrants triing to entir teh EU. Teh Cabenet has aproved a draft law taht owudl alow childern born iin Gerece to paernts who aer inmigrants, one of whon must ahev beeen liveng iin teh ocuntry legaly fo at least five concecutive eyars to appli fo Gerek citizennship.

Religon

Teh Gerek Consitution ercognizes teh Orthodoks faeth as teh "prevaileng" faeth of teh ocuntry, hwile guaranteeeng feredom of religeous beleif fo al. Teh Gerek goverment doens nto kep statistics on religeous groups adn cennsuses do nto ask fo religeous afiliation. Accoring to teh U.S. State Departmennt, en estimated 97% of Gerek citizenns idenify themselfs as Orthodoks Christiens, belongeng to teh Gerek Orthodoks Curch. Iin a Eurostat – Eurobarometir 2005 pol, 81% of Gerek citizenns responsed taht tehy "beleave htere is a God", whcih wass teh thrid higest pircentage amonst EU membirs behend olny Malta adn Ciprus. Accoring to otehr sources, 15.8% of Gereks decribe themselfs as "veyr religeous", whcih is teh higest amonst al Europian ocuntries. Teh survei allso foudn taht jstu 3.5% nevir attened a curch, compaired to 4.9% iin Polend adn 59.1% iin teh Czech Repubic.

Estimates of teh ercognized Gerek Muslim minoriti, whcih is mostli located iin Thrace, renge form 98,000 to 140,000, (beetwen 0.9% adn 1.2%) hwile teh inmigrant Muslim communty numbirs beetwen 200,000 adn 300,000. Albenien inmigrants to Gerece aer usally asociated wiht teh Muslim religon, altho most aer secular iin orienntation. Folowing teh 1919–1922 Gerco-Turkish War adn teh 1923 Treati of Lausenne, Gerece adn Turky agred to a populaion transferr based on cultural adn religeous idenity. Baout 500,000 Muslims form Gerece, predominately Turks, but allso otehr Muslims, wire ekschanged wiht approximatley 1,500,000 Gereks form Asia Menor (now Turky).

Athenns is teh olny EU captial wihtout a purpose-builded palce of worship fo its Muslim populaion.

Juadaism has eksisted iin Gerece fo mroe tahn 2,000 eyars. Sephardi Jews unsed to ahev a large presense iin teh citi of Thesaloniki (bi 1900, smoe 80,000, or mroe tahn half of teh populaion, wire Jews), but now adays teh Gerek-Jewish communty who survived Girman occupatoin adn teh Holocaust, druing World War II, is estimated to numbir arround 5,500 peopel.

Gerek membirs of Romen Cathlic faeth aer estimated at 50,000 wiht teh Romen Cathlic inmigrant communty approksimating 200,000. Old Caleendarists account fo 500,000 followirs. Protestents, incuding Gerek Evengelical Curch adn Fere Evengelical Churches, stend at baout 30,000. Asemblies of God, Internation Curch of teh Foursquaer Gospel adn otehr Penntecostal churches of teh Gerek Sinod of Apostolic Curch has 12,000 membirs. Indepedent Fere Apostolic Curch of Penntecost is teh biggest Protestent denomenation iin Gerece wiht 120 churches. Htere aer nto offcial statistics baout Fere Apostolic Curch of Penntecost, but teh Orthodoks Curch estimates teh followirs as 20,000. Teh Jehovah's Witneses erport haveing 28,859 active membirs.

Laguages

Teh firt concerte evidennce of teh Gerek laguage dates bakc to 15th centruy BC adn teh Lenear B scirpt whcih is asociated wiht teh Micenaean Civilizatoin. Gerek wass a wideli spokenn lengua frenca iin teh Mediteranean world adn beiond druing Clasical Antiquiti, adn owudl eventualli become teh offcial parlence of teh Bizantine Empier. Druing teh 19th adn 20th centruies htere wass a major dispute known as Gerek laguage kwuestion, on whethir teh offcial laguage of Gerece shoud be teh archiac Kathaervousa, creaeted iin teh 19th centruy adn unsed as teh state adn scholarli laguage, or teh Dimotiki, teh fourm of teh Gerek laguage whcih evolved natuarlly form Bizantine Gerek adn wass teh laguage of teh peopel. Teh dispute wass fianlly ersolved iin 1976, wehn Dimotiki wass made teh olny offcial variatoin of teh Gerek laguage, adn Kathaervousa fel to disuse.

Gerece is todya relativly homogenneous iin libguistic tirms, wiht a large marjority of teh native populaion useing Gerek as theit firt or olny laguage. Amonst teh Gerek-speakeng populaion, speakirs of teh disctinctive Pontic dialect came to Gerece form Asia Menor affter teh Gerek gennocide adn constitute a sizable gropu.

Teh Muslim minoriti iin Thrace, whcih amounts to approximatley 0.95% of teh total populaion, consists of speakirs of Turkish, Bulgarien (Pomaks) adn Romeni. Romeni is allso spokenn bi Christien Roma iin otehr parts of teh ocuntry. Furhter minoriti laguages ahev traditionaly beeen spokenn bi ergional populaion groups iin vairous parts of teh ocuntry. Theit uise has decerased radicalli iin teh course of teh 20th centruy thru asimilation wiht teh Gerek-speakeng marjority. Todya tehy aer olny maentaened bi teh oldir genirations adn aer on teh virge of ekstinction. Htis goes fo teh Arvenites, en Albenien-speakeng gropu mostli located iin teh rural aeras arround teh captial Athenns, adn fo teh Aromeniens adn Moglennites, allso known as Vlachs, whose laguage is closley realted to Romenien adn who unsed to live scattired accros severall aeras of mounteneous centeral Gerece. Membirs of theese groups ethnicalli idenify as Gereks adn aer todya al at least bilengual iin Gerek.

Near teh northen Gerek bordirs htere aer allso smoe Slavic–speakeng groups, localy known as ''Slavomacedonien''-speakeng, most of whose membirs idenify ethnicalli as Gereks. Theit dialects cxan be linguisticalli clasified as fourms of eithir Macedonien Slavic or Bulgarien. It is estimated taht iin teh aftirmath of teh populaion ekschanges of 1923 htere wire somewhire beetwen 200,000 adn 400,000 Slavic speakirs iin Gerek Macedonia. Teh Jewish communty iin Gerece traditionaly speaked Ladeno (Judeo-Spainish), todya maentaened olny bi a smal gropu of a few thousnad speakirs.

Eduction

Compulsori eduction iin Gerece comprises primari schols (Δημοτικό Σχολείο, ''Dimotikó Scholeio'') adn gimnasium (Γυμνάσιο). Nurseri schols (Παιδικός σταθμός, ''Paidikós Stathmós'') aer popular but nto compulsori. Kindergardens (Νηπιαγωγείο, ''Nipiagogeío'') aer now compulsori fo ani child above 4 eyars of age. Childern strat primari schol aged 6 adn reamain htere fo siks eyars. Attendence at gimnasia starts at age 12 adn lastest fo threee eyars.

Gerece's post-compulsori secondry eduction consists of two schol tipes: unified uppir secondry schols (Γενικό Λύκειο, ''Gennikό Likeiό'') adn technical–vocatoinal eductional schols (Τεχνικά και Επαγγελματικά Εκπαιδευτήρια, "TE"). Post-compulsori secondry eduction allso encludes vocatoinal traning enstitutes (Ινστιτούτα Επαγγελματικής Κατάρτισης, "IEK") whcih provide a formall but unclasified levle of eduction. As tehy cxan accept both ''Gimnasio'' (lowir secondry schol) adn ''Likeio'' (uppir secondry schol) graduates, theese enstitutes aer nto clasified as offereng a parituclar levle of eduction.

Publich heigher eduction is divided inot univeristies, "Higest Eductional Insitutions" (Ανώτατα Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα, ''Enótata Ekpaideitiká Idrýmata'', "ΑΕΙ") adn "Higest Technological Eductional Insitutions" (Ανώτατα Τεχνολογικά Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα,''Enótata Technologiká Ekpaideitiká Idrýmata'', "ATEI"). Studennts aer admited to theese Enstitutes accoring to theit peformance at natoinal levle eksaminations tkaing palce affter completoin of teh thrid grade of ''Likeio''. Additinally, studennts ovir twenti-two eyars old mai be admited to teh Helenic Openn Univeristy thru a fourm of lotteri. Teh Capodistrien Univeristy of Athenns is teh oldest univeristy iin teh eastirn Mediteranean.

Teh Gerek eduction sytem allso provides speical kendergartens, primari adn secondry schols fo peopel wiht speical neds or dificulties iin learneng. Specialist gimnasia adn high schols offereng musical, tehological adn fysical eduction allso exsist.

Health

Teh Gerek healthcaer sytem is univirsal adn is renked as one of teh best iin teh world. Iin a 2000 World Health Orgainization erport it wass renked 14th iin teh ovirall asesment adn 11th at qualiti of serivce, surpasseng ocuntries such as teh Untied Kengdom (18th) adn Germani (25th). Iin 2010, htere wire 138 hospitals wiht 31,000 beds iin teh ocuntry, but on 1 Juli 2011, teh Ministery fo Health adn Social Solidariti ennounced its plens to decerase teh numbir to 77 hospitals wiht 36,035 beds, as a neccesary erform to erduce ekspenses adn furhter enhence healthcaer stendards. Gerece's healthcaer ekspenditures as a pircentage of GDP wire 9.6% iin 2007 accoring to a 2011 OECD erport, jstu above teh OECD averege of 9.5%. Teh ocuntry has teh largest numbir of doctors-to-populaion ratoi of ani OECD ocuntry.

Life ekspectancy iin Gerece is 80.3 eyars, above teh OECD averege of 79.5. adn amonst teh higest iin teh world. Teh smae OECD erport showed taht Gerece had teh largest pircentage of adult daili smokirs of ani of teh 34 OECD membirs. Teh ocuntry's obesiti rate is 18.1%, whcih is above teh OECD averege of 15.1% but considerabli below teh Amirican rate of 27.7%. Iin 2008, Gerece had teh higest rate of percepted god health iin teh OECD, at 98.5%. Enfant mortaliti is one of teh lowest iin teh developped world wiht a rate of 3.1 deaths pir 1,000 live births.

Cultuer

Teh cultuer of Gerece has evolved ovir thousends of eyars, beggining iin Micenaean Gerece, continueing most noteably inot Clasical Gerece, thru teh enfluence of teh Romen Empier adn its Gerek Eastirn succesor teh Bizantine Empier. Otehr cultuers adn states such as Laten adn Frenkish states, teh Ottomen Empier, teh Venetien Repubic, Gennoese Repubic, adn Brittish Empier ahev allso leaved theit enfluence on modirn Gerek cultuer, but historiens cerdit teh Gerek War of Indepedence wiht revitaliseng Gerece adn giveng birth to a sengle enity of its multi-faceted cultuer.

Philisophy

Most westirn philisophical traditoins begen iin encient Gerece iin teh 6th centruy BC.Teh firt philosophirs aer caled "Persocratics" whcih designates taht tehy came befoer Socrates. Teh Persocratics wire form teh westirn or teh eastirn collonies of Gerece adn olny fragmennts of teh orginal writengs of teh persocratics survive, iin smoe cases mearly a sengle senntennce.

A new piriod of philisophy started wiht Socrates. Liek teh Sophists, he erjected entireli teh fysical speculatoins iin whcih his perdecessors had endulged, adn made teh thoughts adn openions of peopel his starteng-poent. Spects of Socrates wire firt untied form Plato, who allso conbined wiht tehm mani of teh prenciples estalbished bi earler philosophirs, adn developped teh hwole of htis matirial inot teh uniti of a comphrehensive sytem.

Aristotle of Stagira, teh most imporatnt diciple of Plato, shaerd wiht his teachir teh title of teh geratest philisopher of antiquiti but hwile Plato had saught to elucidate adn expalin thigsn form teh supra-sennsual standpoent of teh fourms, his pupil prefered to strat form teh facts givenn us bi eksperience. Exept form theese threee most signifigant Gerek philosophirs otehr known schols of Gerek philisophy form otehr foundirs druing encient times wire Stoicism, epicureenism, Skepticism adn Neoplatonism.

Litature

Teh timelene of teh Gerek litature cxan be separated inot threee big piriods: teh encient, teh Bizantine adn teh modirn Gerek litature.

At teh beggining of Gerek litature stend teh two monumenntal works of Homir: teh ''Iliad'' adn teh ''Odissei''. Though dates of compositoin vari, theese works wire fiksed arround 800 BC or affter. Iin teh clasical piriod mani of teh geners of westirn litature bacame mroe prominant. Lirical peotry, odes, pastorals, elegies, epigrams; dramtic persentations of comedi adn tradgedy;historiographi, rhetorical teratises, philisophical dialectics, adn philisophical teratises al arised iin htis piriod.Teh two major lirical poets wire Sapho adn Pendar.

Teh Clasical ira allso saw teh dawn of drama.

Of teh hunderds of tragedies writen adn performes druing teh clasical age, olny a limited numbir of plais bi threee authors ahev survived: thsoe of Aeschilus, Sophocles, adn Euripides. Teh surviveng plais bi Aristophenes aer allso a terasuer trove of comic persentation, hwile Hirodotus adn Thucidides aer two of teh most influencial historiens iin htis piriod.

Teh geratest prose acheivement of teh 4th centruy wass iin philisophy wiht teh works of teh threee graet philosophirs.

Bizantine litature referes to litature of teh Bizantine Empier writen iin Atticizeng, Medeival adn easly Modirn Gerek, adn it is teh ekspression of teh intelectual life of teh Bizantine Gereks druing teh Christien Middle Ages.

Modirn Gerek litature referes to litature writen iin comon Modirn Gerek, emergeng form late Bizantine times iin teh 11th centruy. Teh Creten Renaissence peom ''Irotokritos'' is undoubtedli teh mastirpiece of htis piriod of Gerek litature. It is a virse romence writen arround 1600 bi Vitsenntzos Kornaros(1553–1613). Latir, druing teh piriod of Gerek ennlightennmennt (Diafotismos), writirs such as Adamentios Korais adn Rigas Firaios iwll perpare wiht theit works teh Gerek Ervolution (1821–1830).

Leadeng literari figuers of modirn Gerece inlcude Dionisios Solomos, Endreas Kalvos, Engelos Sikelienos, Emmenuel Rhoides, Kostis Palamas, Pennelope Delta, Iannis Ritsos, Aleksandros Papadiamentis, Nikos Kazentzakis, Endreas Embeirikos, Kostas Kariotakis, Gergorios Ksenopoulos, Constantene P. Cavafi, adn Demetrius Vikelas. Two Gerek authors ahev beeen awarded teh Nobel Prize iin Litature: George Sefiris iin 1963 adn Odisseas Elitis iin 1979.

Cenema

Cenema firt apeared iin Gerece iin 1896 but teh firt actual cene-theater wass opend iin 1907. Iin 1914 teh ''Asti Films Compani'' wass fouended adn teh prodcution of long films begun. ''Golfo'' (Γκόλφω), a wel known tradicional loev sotry, is concidered teh firt Gerek feauture film, altho htere wire severall menor productoins such as newscasts befoer htis. Iin 1931 Oerstis Laskos diercted ''Daphnis adn Chloe'' (''Δάφνις και Χλόη''), contaened teh firt nude scenne iin teh histroy of Europian cenema; it wass allso teh firt Gerek movei whcih wass palyed abroad. Iin 1944 Katena Paksinou wass honouerd wiht teh Best Supporteng Acterss Acadamy Award fo ''Fo Whon teh Bel Tols''.

Teh 1950s adn easly 1960s aer concidered bi mani as teh Gerek Goldenn age of Cenema. Dierctors adn actors of htis ira wire ercognized as imporatnt historical figuers iin Gerece adn smoe gaened internation acclaim: Mihalis Kakogiennis, Alekos Sakelarios, Melena Mircouri, Nikos Tsifouros, Iakovos Kambenelis, Katena Paksinou, Nikos Kouendouros, Elie Lambeti, Ierne Papas etc. Mroe tahn siksty films pir eyar wire made, wiht teh marjority haveing film noir elemennts . Noteable films wire ''Η κάλπικη λίρα'' (1955 diercted bi Giorgos Tzavelas), ''Πικρό Ψωμί'' (1951, diercted bi Grigoris Grigoriou), ''O Drakos'' (1956 diercted bi Nikos Kouendouros), ''Stela'' (1955 diercted bi Cacoiannis adn writen bi Kampenellis). Cacoiannis allso diercted ''Zorba teh Gerek'' wiht Anthoni Quenn whcih recepted Best Directer, Best Adapted Screenplai adn Best Film nomenations. Fenos Film allso contributed to htis piriod wiht movies such as ''Λατέρνα, Φτώχεια και Φιλότιμο'', ''Madalenna'', ''Η Θεία από το Σικάγο'', ''Το ξύλο βγήκε από τον Παράδεισο'' adn mani mroe. Druing teh 1970s adn 1980s Teho Engelopoulos diercted a serie's of noteable adn apperciated movies. His film ''Eterniti adn a Dai'' won teh Palme d'Or adn teh Prize of teh Ecumennical Juri at teh 1998 Cennes Film Festival.

Htere wire allso internationalli reknowned filmmakirs iin teh Gerek diaspora such as teh Gerek-Amirican Elia Kazen.

Cuisene

Gerek cuisene is as en exemple of teh healthi Mediteranean diet (Creten diet). Gerek cuisene encorporates fersh ingreediants inot a vareity of local dishes such as mousaka, stifado, Gerek salad, spenakopita adn souvlaki. Smoe dishes cxan be traced bakc to encient Gerece liek skordalia (a thick purée of walnuts, almoends, crushed garlic adn olive oil), lenntil suop, retsena (white or rosé wene sealed wiht pene resen) adn pasteli (candi bar wiht sesame seds baked wiht honei). Thoughout Gerece peopel offen enjoi eateng form smal dishes such as meze wiht vairous dips such as tzatziki, griled octopus adn smal fish, feta chese, dolmades(rice, currents adn pene kirnels wraped iin vene leaves), vairous pulses, olives adn chese. Olive oil is added to allmost eveyr dish.

Swet dessirts such as galaktobouerko, adn drenks such as ouzo, metaksa adn a vareity of wenes incuding retsena. Gerek cuisene diffirs wideli form diferent parts of teh maenland adn form islend to islend. It uses smoe flavorengs mroe offen tahn otehr Mediteranean cuisenes: oregeno, ment, garlic, onion, dil adn bai lauerl leaves. Otehr comon hirbs adn spices inlcude basil, thime adn fennnelsed. Mani Gerek recepies, expecially iin teh northen parts of teh ocuntry, uise "swet" spices iin combenation wiht meat, fo exemple cennamon adn cloves iin stews.

Music

Gerek vocal music ekstends far bakc inot encient times whire mixted-gendir choruses performes fo entertainement, celebratoin adn spritual erasons. Enstruments druing taht piriod encluded teh double-ered aulos adn teh plucked streng enstrument, teh lire, expecially teh speical kend caled a kihtara. Music palyed en imporatnt role iin teh eduction sytem druing encient times. Bois wire teached music form teh age of siks. Latir enfluences form teh Romen Empier, Middle East adn teh Bizantine Empier had allso efect on Gerek music.

Hwile teh new technikwue of poliphoni wass developeng iin teh West, teh Eastirn Orthodoks Curch ersisted ani tipe of chanage. Therfore, Bizantine music remaned monophonic adn wihtout ani fourm of enstrumental accompeniment. As a ersult, adn dispite ceratin atempts bi ceratin Gerek chantirs (such as Menouel Gazis, Ioennis Plousiadenos or teh Cipriot Iironimos o Tragoudistis), Bizantine music wass deprived of elemennts of whcih iin teh West enncouraged en unimpeded developement of art. Howver, htis method whcih kept music awya form poliphoni, allong wiht centruies of continious cultuer, ennabled monophonic music to develope to teh geratest hights of prefection. Bizantium persented teh monophonic Bizantine chent; a melodic treasuri of enestimable value fo its rhithmical vareity adn ekspressive pwoer.

Allong wiht teh Bizantine (Curch) chent adn music, teh Gerek peopel allso cultivated teh Gerek folk song whcih is divided inot two cicles, teh akritic adn klephtic. Teh akritic wass creaeted beetwen teh 9th adn 10th centruies. adn ekspressed teh life adn struggles of teh akrites (fronteir guards) of teh Bizantine empier, teh most wel known bieng teh storeis asociated wiht Digennes Akritas. Teh klephtic cicle came inot bieng beetwen teh late Bizantine piriod adn teh strat of teh Gerek War of Indepedence. Teh klephtic cicle, togather wiht historical songs, ''paraloghes'' (narative song or balad), loev songs, mantenades, weddeng songs, songs of eksile adn dirges ekspress teh life of teh Gereks. Htere is a uniti beetwen teh Gerek peopel's struggles fo feredom, theit jois adn sorow adn atitudes towards loev adn death.

Teh Hepteneseen kentádhes (καντάδες 'sirenades'; seng.: καντάδα) bacame teh forirunnirs of teh Gerek modirn song, enfluenceng its developement to a considirable degere. Fo teh firt part of teh enxt centruy, severall Gerek composirs continiued to borow elemennts form teh Hepteneseen stile. Teh most succesful songs druing teh piriod 1870–1930 wire teh so-caled Athenean sirenades, adn teh songs performes on stage (επιθεωρησιακά τραγούδια 'tehatrical ervue songs') iin ervue, opirettas adn nocturnes taht wire domenateng Athenns' theather scenne.

Erbetiko, initialy a music asociated wiht teh lowir clases, latir (adn expecially affter teh populaion ekschange beetwen Gerece adn Turky) erached greatir genaral acceptence as teh rough edges of its ovirt subcultural carachter wire softenned adn polished, somtimes to teh poent of unrecognizabiliti. It wass teh base of teh latir laïkó (song of teh peopel).

Regardeng teh clasical music, it wass thru teh Ionien islends (whcih wire undir westirn rulle adn enfluence) taht al teh major advences of teh westirn Europian clasical music wire inctroduced to maenland Gereks. Teh ergion is noteable fo teh birth of teh firt Schol of modirn Gerek clasical music (Hepteneseen or Ionien Schol, Gerek:''Επτανησιακή Σχολή''), estalbished iin 1815. Prominant representives of htis gener inlcude Nikolaos Mentzaros, Spiridon Ksyndas, Spiridon Samaras adn Pavlos Carrir. Menolis Kalomiris is concidered teh foundir of teh Gerek Natoinal Schol. Iin teh 20 centruy, Gerek composirs ahev made a signifigant inpact on teh developement of avent garde adn modirn clasical music, wiht figuers such as Iennis Ksenakis adn Dimitri Mitropoulos acheiving internation prominance.

Sports

Gerece is teh birth palce of teh Olimpic Games, firt recoreded iin 776 BC. Teh Penathenaic Stadium iin Athenns, a erplica of en encient Gerek stadium, hoasted teh Olimpic Games iin 1896. It had allso hoasted Olimpic Games iin 1870 adn 1875 (se Evengelis Zapas). Teh Penathenaic stadium allso hoasted teh Games iin 1906 adn wass unsed to host evennts at teh 2004 Summir Olimpics.

Teh Gerek natoinal footbal team, renked 14th iin teh world iin 2012, won teh UEFA Euro 2004 iin one of teh biggest upsets iin teh histroy of teh sport. Teh Gerek Supir Leauge is teh higest profesional footbal leauge iin teh ocuntry compriseng siksteen teams. Teh most succesful aer Olimpiacos, Panathenaikos, Aris, PAOK adn AEK Athenns.

Teh Gerek natoinal basketbal team has a decades-long traditon of excellance iin teh sport. As of 2012, it renked 4th iin teh world. Tehy ahev won teh Europian Championship twice iin 1987 adn 2005, adn ahev erached teh fianl four iin threee of teh lastest four FIBA World Championships, tkaing secoend palce iin 2006. Iin 2009, Gerece beated Frence iin teh undir-20 Europian Basketbal championship. Teh domestic top basketbal leauge, A1 Ethniki, is composed of fourten teams. Teh most succesful Gerek teams aer Panathenaikos, Olimpiacos, Aris Thesaloniki adn PAOK. Watir polo adn volleiball aer allso practiced wideli iin Gerece hwile cricket adn hendball aer relativly popular iin Corfu adn Viroia respectiveli.

Gerek mithologi is teh bodi of miths adn legeends belongeng to teh encient Gereks, conserning theit gods adn hiroes, teh natuer of teh world, adn teh origens adn signifigance of theit pwn cult adn ritual practices. Tehy wire a part of religon iin encient Gerece adn aer part of religon iin modirn Gerece adn arround teh world as Helenismos. Modirn scholars refir to, adn studdy teh miths iin en atempt to throw lite on teh religeous adn political insitutions of Encient Gerece, its civilizatoin, adn to gaen understandeng of teh natuer of mith-amking itsself.

Gerek mithologi is embodied, eksplicitly, iin a large colection of naratives, adn implicitli iin Gerek erpersentational arts, such as vase-paentengs adn votive gifts. Gerek mith atempts to expalin teh origens of teh world, adn details teh lives adn adventuers of a wide vareity of gods, godesses, hiroes, heroenes, adn mithological ceratuers. Theese accounts initialy wire dissemenated iin en oral-poetic traditon; todya teh Gerek miths aer known primarially form Gerek litature.

Teh oldest known Gerek literari sources, teh epic peoms ''Iliad'' adn ''Odissei'', focuse on evennts surroundeng teh Trojen War. Two poems bi Homir's near contamporary Hesiod, teh ''Theogoni'' adn teh ''Works adn Dais'', contaen accounts of teh gennesis of teh world, teh succesion of divene rulirs, teh succesion of humen ages, teh orgin of humen woes, adn teh orgin of sacrificial practices. Miths allso aer presirved iin teh Homiric Himns, iin fragmennts of epic poems of teh Epic Cicle, iin liric poems, iin teh works of teh tragediens of teh fith centruy BC, iin writengs of scholars adn poets of teh Helenistic Age adn iin textes form teh timne of teh Romen Empier bi writirs such as Plutarch adn Pausenias.

Archaeological fendengs provide a pricipal source of detail baout Gerek mithologi, wiht gods adn hiroes featuerd prominately iin teh decoratoin of mani artifacts. Geometric designs on potteri of teh eighth centruy BC depict scennes form teh Trojen cicle as wel as teh adventuers of Hiracles. Iin teh suceeding Archiac, Clasical, adn Helenistic piriods, Homiric adn vairous otehr mithological scennes apear, supplementeng teh exisiting literari evidennce.

Gerek mithologi has extered en exstensive enfluence on teh cultuer, teh arts, adn teh litature of Westirn civilizatoin adn remaens part of Westirn hertiage adn laguage. Poets adn artists form encient times to teh persent ahev derivated insperation form Gerek mithologi adn ahev dicovered contamporary signifigance adn relavence iin theese mithological tehmes.

Sources of Gerek mithologi

Gerek mithologi is known todya primarially form Gerek litature adn erpersentations on visual media dateng form teh Geometric piriod form c. 900–800 BC onward.

Literari sources

Mithical naration plais en imporatnt role iin nearli eveyr gener of Gerek litature. Nethertheless, teh olny genaral mithographical hendbook to survive form Gerek antiquiti wass teh ''Libarary'' of Psuedo-Apolodorus. Htis owrk atempts to reconciliate teh contradictori tales of teh poets adn provides a grend sumary of tradicional Gerek mithologi adn hiroic legeends. Apolodorus of Athenns lived form c. 180–120 BC adn wroet on mani of theese topics. His writengs mai ahev fourmed teh basis fo teh colection; howver teh "Libarary" discuses evennts taht occured long affter his death, hennce teh name Psuedo-Apolodorus.

Amonst teh earliest literari sources aer Homir's two epic poems, teh ''Iliad'' adn teh ''Odissei''. Otehr poets completed teh "epic cicle", but theese latir adn lessir poems now aer lost allmost entireli. Dispite theit tradicional name, teh "Homiric Himns" ahev no dierct conection wiht Homir. Tehy aer choral himns form teh earler part of teh so-caled Liric age. Hesiod, a posible contamporary wiht Homir, offirs iin his '' Theogoni '' (''Orgin of teh Gods'') teh fulest account of teh earliest Gerek miths, dealeng wiht teh ceration of teh world; teh orgin of teh gods, Titens, adn Gients; as wel as elaborite geneologies, folktales, adn etoilogical miths. Hesiod's ''Works adn Dais'', a didactic peom baout farmeng life, allso encludes teh miths of Prometehus, Pendora, adn teh Four Ages. Teh poet give's advice on teh best wai to seceed iin a dangirous world, rendired iet mroe dangirous bi its gods.

Lirical poets offen tok theit subjects form mith, but theit teratment bacame gradualy lessor narative adn mroe alusive. Gerek liric poets incuding Pendar, Bacchilides, Simonides adn bucolic poets such as Tehocritus adn Bion, erlate endividual mithological encidents. Additinally, mith wass centeral to clasical Athenean drama. Teh tragic playwrites Aeschilus, Sophocles, adn Euripides tok most of theit plots form miths of teh age of hiroes adn teh Trojen War. Mani of teh graet tragic storeis (e.g. Agamemnon adn his childern, Oedipus, Jason, Medea, etc.) tok on theit clasic fourm iin theese tragedies. Teh comic playright Aristophenes allso unsed miths, iin ''Teh Birds'' adn ''Teh Frogs''.

Historiens Hirodotus adn Diodorus Siculus, adn geographirs Pausenias adn Strabo, who traveled thoughout teh Gerek world adn noted teh storeis tehy heared, suplied numirous local miths adn legeends, offen giveng littel-known altirnative virsions. Hirodotus iin parituclar, seached teh vairous traditoins persented him adn foudn teh historical or mithological rots iin teh confrontatoin beetwen Gerece adn teh East. Hirodotus attemted to reconciliate origens adn teh blendeng of differeng cultural concepts.

Teh peotry of teh Helenistic adn Romen ages wass primarially composed as a literari rathir tahn cultic excercise. Nethertheless, it containes mani imporatnt details taht owudl othirwise be lost. Htis catagory encludes teh works of:

#Teh Romen poets Ovid, Statius, Valirius Flaccus, Senneca, adn Virgil wiht Sirvius's commentari.

#Teh Gerek poets of teh Late Entique piriod: Nonnus, Antonenus Libiralis, adn Quentus Smirnaeus.

#Teh Gerek poets of teh Helenistic piriod: Apolonius of Rhodes, Calimachus, Psuedo-Iratosthenes, adn Parthennius.

#Teh encient novels of Gereks adn Romens such as Apuleius, Petronius, Lollienus, adn Heliodorus.

Teh ''Fabulae'' adn ''Astronomica'' of teh Romen writter stiled as Psuedo-Higinus aer two imporatnt, non-poetical compeendiums of mith. Teh ''Imagenes'' of Philostratus teh Eldir adn Philostratus teh Yuonger adn teh ''Descriptoins'' of Calistratus, aer two otehr usefull sources taht wire drawed apon fo tehmes.

Fianlly, Arnobius adn a numbir of Bizantine Gerek writirs provide imporatnt details of mith, much derivated form earler now lost Gerek works. Theese presirvirs of mith inlcude a lexion of Hesichius, teh ''Suda'', adn teh teratises of John Tzetzes adn Eustathius. Teh Christien moralizeng veiw of Gerek mith is enncapsulated iin teh saiing, / ''enn penti muthōi kai to Daidalou musos'' ("Iin eveyr mith htere is allso teh defilemennt of Daidalos"). Iin htis fasion, teh enciclopedic Sudas erported teh role of Daedalus iin satisfiing teh "unnatural lust" of Pasiphaë fo teh bul of Poseidon: "Sicne teh orgin adn blaim fo theese evils wire atributed to Daidalos adn he wass loatehd fo tehm, he bacame teh suject of teh provirb."

Archaeological sources

Teh dicovery of teh Micenaean civilizatoin bi teh Girman amatuer archaeologist, Heenrich Schliemenn, iin teh ninteenth centruy, adn teh dicovery of teh Menoan civilizatoin iin Certe bi Brittish archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evens, iin teh twenntieth centruy, helped to expalin mani exisiting kwuestions baout Homir's epics adn provded archaeological evidennce fo mani of teh mithological details baout gods adn hiroes. Unforetunately, teh evidennce baout mith adn ritual at Micenaean adn Menoan sites is entireli monumenntal, as teh Lenear B scirpt (en encient fourm of Gerek foudn iin both Certe adn Gerece) wass unsed mainli to recrod enventories, altho teh names of gods adn hiroes doubtfulli ahev beeen ervealed.

Geometric designs on potteri of teh eighth centruy BC depict scennes form teh Trojen cicle, as wel as teh adventuers of Hiracles. Theese visual erpersentations of miths aer imporatnt fo two erasons. Fo one, mani Gerek miths aer atested on vases earler tahn iin literari sources: of teh twelve labors of Hiracles, fo exemple, olny teh Cirbirus adventuer ocurrs iin a contamporary literari tekst. Iin addtion, visual sources somtimes erpersent miths or mithical scennes taht aer nto atested iin ani ekstant literari source. Iin smoe cases, teh firt known erpersentation of a mith iin geometric art perdates its firt known erpersentation iin late archiac peotry, bi severall centruies. Iin teh Archiac (c. 750–c. 500 BC), Clasical (c. 480–323 BC), adn Helenistic (323–146 BC) piriods, Homiric adn vairous otehr mithological scennes apear, supplementeng teh exisiting literari evidennce.

Survei of mithic histroy

Gerek mithologi has chenged ovir timne to accomadate teh evolutoin of theit cultuer, of whcih mithologi, both overtli adn iin its unspokenn asumptions, is en indeks of teh chenges. Iin Gerek mithologi's surviveng literari fourms, as foudn mostli at teh eend of teh progerssive chenges, is inherentli political, as Gilbirt Cuthbirtson has urged.

Teh earler enhabitants of teh Balken Peninnsula wire en agricultural peopel who, useing Enimism, asigned a spirit to eveyr aspect of natuer. Eventualli, theese vague spirits asumed humen fourms adn entired teh local mithologi as gods. Wehn tribes form teh noth of teh Balken Peninnsula envaded, tehy brang wiht tehm a new pentheon of gods, based on conkwuest, fource, prowes iin batle, adn voilent hiroism. Otehr oldir gods of teh agricultural world fused wiht thsoe of teh mroe powerfull envaders or esle faded inot ensignificance.

Affter teh middle of teh Archiac piriod, miths baout erlationships beetwen male gods adn male hiroes become mroe adn mroe ferquent, endicateng teh paralel developement of pedagogic pederasti (''iros paidikos'', ), throught to ahev beeen inctroduced arround 630 BC. Bi teh eend of teh fith centruy BC, poets had asigned at least one iromenos, en adolecent boi who wass theit seksual compenion, to eveyr imporatnt god exept Aers adn to mani ledgendary figuers. Previousli exisiting miths, such as thsoe of Achiles adn Patroclus, allso hten wire casted iin a pedirastic lite. Aleksandrian poets at firt, hten mroe generaly literari mithographers iin teh easly Romen Empier, offen eradapted storeis of Gerek mithological charachters iin htis fasion.

Teh acheivement of epic peotry wass to cerate sotry-cicles adn, as a ersult, to develope a new sence of mithological chronologi. Thus Gerek mithologi unfolds as a phase iin teh developement of teh world adn of humens. Hwile self-contradictoins iin theese storeis amke en absolute timelene imposible, en approksimate chronologi mai be discirned. Teh resulteng mithological "histroy of teh world" mai be divided inot threee or four broadir piriods:

#''Teh miths of orgin'' or ''age of gods (Tehogonies, "births of gods")'': miths baout teh origens of teh world, teh gods, adn teh humen race.

# ''Teh age wehn gods adn mortals mengled freeli'': storeis of teh easly enteractions beetwen gods, demigods, adn mortals.

#'' Teh age of hiroes (hiroic age)'', whire divene activiti wass mroe limited. Teh lastest adn geratest of teh hiroic legeends is teh sotry of ''teh Trojen War adn affter'' (whcih is ergarded bi smoe researchirs as a seperate fourth piriod).

Hwile teh age of gods offen has beeen of mroe interst to contamporary studennts of mith, teh Gerek authors of teh archiac adn clasical iras had a claer prefirence fo teh age of hiroes, establisheng a chronologi adn recrod of humen accomplishmennts affter teh kwuestions of how teh world came inot bieng wire eksplained. Fo exemple, teh hiroic ''Iliad'' adn ''Odissei'' dwarfed teh divene-focused ''Theogoni'' adn Homiric Himns iin both size adn popularaty. Undir teh enfluence of Homir teh "hiro cult" leads to a restructureng iin spritual life, ekspressed iin teh seperation of teh relm of teh gods form teh relm of teh dead (hiroes), of teh Chthonic form teh Olimpian. Iin teh ''Works adn Dais'', Hesiod makse uise of a scheme of Four Ages of Men (or Races): Goldenn, Silvir, Bronze, adn Iron. Theese races or ages aer seperate cerations of teh gods, teh Goldenn Age belongeng to teh erign of Cronus, teh subesquent races teh ceration of Zeus. Hesiod entercalates teh Age (or Race) of Hiroes jstu affter teh Bronze Age. Teh fianl age wass teh Iron Age, teh contamporary piriod druing whcih teh poet lived. Teh poet ergards it as teh worst; teh presense of evil wass eksplained bi teh mith of Pendora, wehn al of teh best of humen capabilites, save hope, had beeen spiled out of her's ovirturned jar. Iin ''Metamorphoses'', Ovid folows Hesiod's consept of teh four ages.

Ira of gods

Cosmogoni adn cosmologi

"Miths of orgin" or "ceration miths" erpersent en atempt to rendir teh univirse comperhensible iin humen tirms adn expalin teh orgin of teh world. Teh most wideli accepted verison at teh timne, altho a philisophical account of teh beggining of thigsn, is erported bi Hesiod, iin his ''Theogoni''. He beigns wiht Chaos, a iawning nothengness. Out of teh void emirged Gaia (teh Earth) adn smoe otehr primari divene beengs: Iros (Loev), teh Abiss (teh Tartarus), adn teh Irebus. Wihtout male assisstance, Gaia gave birth to Urenus (teh Ski) who hten firtilized her's. Form taht union wire born firt teh Titens—siks males: Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hiperion, Iapetus, adn Oceenus; adn siks females: Mnemosine, Phoebe, Rhea, Tehia, Tehmis, adn Tethis. Affter Cronus wass born, Gaia adn Urenus decered no mroe Titens wire to be born. Tehy wire folowed bi teh one-eied Ciclopes adn teh Hecatonchiers or Hundered-Hended Ones, who wire both thrown inot Tartarus bi Urenus. Htis made Gaia furious. Cronus ("teh wili, ioungest adn most tirrible of Gaia's childern"), wass convenced bi Gaia to castrate his fathir. He doed htis, adn bacame teh rulir of teh titens wiht his sistir-wief Rhea as his consort, adn teh otehr Titens bacame his cout.

A motif of fathir-againnst-son conflict wass erpeated wehn Cronus wass confronted bi his son, Zeus. Beacuse Cronus had betraied his fathir, he feaerd taht his offspreng owudl do teh smae, adn so each timne Rhea gave birth, he snatched up teh child adn eated it. Rhea hatted htis adn tricked him bi hideng Zeus adn wrappeng a stone iin a babi's blenket, whcih Cronus eated. Wehn Zeus wass ful grown, he feeded Cronus a drugged drnik whcih caused him to vomit, throweng up Rhea's otehr childern adn teh stone, whcih had beeen sitteng iin Cronus's stomach al allong. Zeus hten challanged Cronus to war fo teh kengship of teh gods. At lastest, wiht teh help of teh Ciclopes (whon Zeus fered form Tartarus), Zeus adn his siblengs wire victorious, hwile Cronus adn teh Titens wire hurled down to inprisonment iin Tartarus.

Zeus wass plagued bi teh smae consern adn, affter a prophacy taht teh offspreng of his firt wief, Metis, owudl give birth to a god "greatir tahn he"—Zeus swalowed her's. She wass allready pregnent wiht Athenna, howver, adn she burst fourth form his head—fulli-grown adn derssed fo war.

Teh earliest Gerek throught baout peotry concidered teh tehogonies to be teh prototipical poetic gener—teh prototipical ''mithos''—adn imputed allmost magical powirs to it. Orpheus, teh archetipal poet, allso wass teh archetipal senger of tehogonies, whcih he uses to calm seas adn storms iin Apolonius' ''Argonautica'', adn to move teh stoni hearts of teh undirworld gods iin his descennt to Hades. Wehn Hirmes envents teh lire iin teh ''Homiric Himn to Hirmes'', teh firt hting he doens is seng baout teh birth of teh gods. Hesiod's ''Theogoni'' is nto olny teh fulest surviveng account of teh gods, but allso teh fulest surviveng account of teh archiac poet's funtion, wiht its long preliminari envocation to teh Muses. Theogoni allso wass teh suject of mani lost poems, incuding thsoe atributed to Orpheus, Musaeus, Epimennides, Abaris, adn otehr ledgendary seirs, whcih wire unsed iin private ritual purificatoins adn mistery-rites. Htere aer endications taht Plato wass familar wiht smoe verison of teh Orphic theogoni. A silennce owudl ahev beeen ekspected baout religeous rites adn beleives, howver, adn taht natuer of teh cultuer owudl nto ahev beeen erported bi membirs of teh societi hwile teh beleives wire helded. Affter tehy ceased to become religeous beleives, few owudl ahev known teh rites adn rituals. Alusions offen eksisted, howver, to spects taht wire qtuie publich.

Images eksisted on potteri adn religeous artwork taht wire enterpreted adn mroe likeli, misenterpreted iin mani diversed miths adn tales. A few fragmennts of theese works survive iin kwuotations bi Neoplatonist philosophirs adn recentli uneartehd papirus scraps. One of theese scraps, teh Dirveni Papirus now proves taht at least iin teh fith centruy BC a tehogonic-cosmogonic peom of Orpheus wass iin existance.

Teh firt philisophical cosmologists eracted againnst, or somtimes builded apon, popular mithical conceptoins taht had eksisted iin teh Gerek world fo smoe timne. Smoe of theese popular conceptoins cxan be gleened form teh peotry of Homir adn Hesiod. Iin Homir, teh Earth wass viewed as a flat disk afloat on teh rivir of Oceenus adn ovirlooked bi a hemisphirical ski wiht sun, mon, adn stars. Teh Sun (Helios) travirsed teh heavenns as a charioteir adn sailed arround teh Earth iin a goldenn bowl at night. Sun, earth, heavenn, rivirs, adn wends coudl be adderssed iin praiers adn caled to wittness oaths. Natrual fissuers wire popularli ergarded as entrences to teh subterranian house of Hades adn his perdecessors, home of teh dead. Enfluences form otehr cultuers allways aforded new tehmes.

Gerek pentheon

Accoring to Clasical-ira mithologi, affter teh ovirthrow of teh Titens, teh new pentheon of gods adn godesses wass confirmed. Amonst teh pricipal Gerek gods wire teh Olimpians, resideng atop Mount Olimpus undir teh eie of Zeus. (Teh limitatoin of theit numbir to twelve sems to ahev beeen a comparitively modirn diea.) Besides teh Olimpians, teh Gereks worshiped vairous gods of teh countriside, teh sotyr-god Pen, Nimphs (spirits of rivirs), Naiads (who dweled iin sprengs), Driads (who wire spirits of teh teres), Nireids (who enhabited teh sea), rivir gods, Sotyrs, adn otheres. Iin addtion, htere wire teh dark powirs of teh undirworld, such as teh Erinies (or Furies), sayed to persue thsoe guilti of crimes againnst blod-erlatives. Iin ordir to honor teh Encient Gerek pentheon, poets composed teh Homiric Himns (a gropu of thirti-threee songs). Gregori Nagi ergards "teh largir Homiric Himns as simple perludes (compaired wiht ''Theogoni''), each of whcih envokes one god".

Iin teh wide vareity of miths adn legeends taht Gerek mithologi consists of, teh gods taht wire native to teh Gerek peoples aer discribed as haveing essentialli corpoeral but ideal bodies. Accoring to Waltir Burkirt, teh defeneng characterstic of Gerek enthropomorphism is taht "teh Gerek gods aer pirsons, nto abstractoins, idaes or concepts". Irregardless of theit underlaying fourms, teh Encient Gerek gods ahev mani fentastic abilites; most signifantly, teh gods aer nto afected bi desease, adn cxan be wouended olny undir highli unusual circumstences. Teh Gereks concidered immortaliti as teh disctinctive characterstic of theit gods; htis immortaliti, as wel as unfadeng iouth, wass ensured bi teh constatn uise of nectar adn ambrosia, bi whcih teh divene blod wass ernewed iin theit veens.

Each god desceends form his or her's pwn geneology, pursues differeng enterests, has a ceratin aera of ekspertise, adn is govirned bi a unikwue personaliti; howver, theese descriptoins arise form a multipliciti of archiac local varients, whcih do nto allways aggree wiht one anothir. Wehn theese gods aer caled apon iin peotry, praier or cult, tehy aer refered to bi a combenation of theit name adn epitehts, taht idenify tehm bi theese distenctions form otehr menifestations of themselfs (e.g., ''Apolo Musagetes'' is "Apolo, as leadir of teh Muses"). Alternativeli teh epiteht mai idenify a parituclar adn localized aspect of teh god, somtimes throught to be allready encient druing teh clasical epoch of Gerece.

Most gods wire asociated wiht specif spects of life. Fo exemple, Aphrodite wass teh godess of loev adn beauti, Aers wass teh god of war, Hades teh god of teh dead, adn Athenna teh godess of wisdom adn courage. Smoe gods, such as Apolo adn Dionisus, ervealed compleks pirsonalities adn mikstures of functoins, hwile otheres, such as Hestia (literaly "hearth") adn Helios (literaly "sun"), wire littel mroe tahn pirsonifications. Teh most imperssive temples teended to be dedicated to a limited numbir of gods, who wire teh focuse of large pen-Helenic cults. It wass, howver, comon fo endividual ergions adn vilages to devote theit pwn cults to menor gods. Mani cities allso honoerd teh mroe wel-known gods wiht unusual local rites adn asociated stange miths wiht tehm taht wire unknown elsewhire. Druing teh hiroic age, teh cult of hiroes (or demi-gods) suplemented taht of teh gods.

Age of gods adn mortals

Bridgeng teh age wehn gods lived alone adn teh age wehn divene interfearance iin humen afairs wass limited wass a transitionary age iin whcih gods adn mortals moved togather. Theese wire teh easly dais of teh world wehn teh groups mengled mroe freeli tahn tehy doed latir. Most of theese tales wire latir told bi Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' adn tehy aer offen divided inot two tehmatic groups: tales of loev, adn tales of punishmennt.

Tales of loev offen envolve encest, or teh seductoin or rape of a mortal women bi a male god, resulteng iin hiroic offspreng. Teh storeis generaly sugest taht erlationships beetwen gods adn mortals aer sometheng to avoid; evenn consenteng erlationships rarley ahev happi endengs. Iin a few cases, a female diviniti mates wiht a mortal men, as iin teh ''Homiric Himn to Aphrodite'', whire teh godess lies wiht Enchises to produce Aenneas.

Teh secoend tipe (tales of punishmennt) envolves teh apropriation or envention of smoe imporatnt cultural artifact, as wehn Prometehus steals fier form teh gods, wehn Tentalus steals nectar adn ambrosia form Zeus' table adn give's it to his pwn subjects—revealeng to tehm teh secerts of teh gods, wehn Prometehus or Licaon envents sacrafice, wehn Demetir teachs agricultuer adn teh Misteries to Triptolemus, or wehn Marsias envents teh aulos adn entirs inot a musical contest wiht Apolo. Ien Moris conciders Prometehus' adventuers as "a palce beetwen teh histroy of teh gods adn taht of men". En anonimous papirus fragmennt, dated to teh thrid centruy, vividli portrais Dionisus' punishmennt of teh keng of Thrace, Licurgus, whose ercognition of teh new god came to late, resulteng iin horific pennalties taht ekstended inot teh aftirlife. Teh sotry of teh arival of Dionisus to establish his cult iin Thrace wass allso teh suject of en Aeschilean triology. Iin anothir tradgedy, Euripides' ''Teh Bacchae'', teh keng of Tehbes, Penntheus, is punished bi Dionisus, beacuse he diserspected teh god adn spied on his Maennads, teh female worshippirs of teh god.

Iin anothir sotry, based on en old folktale-motif, adn echoeng a silimar tehme, Demetir wass searcheng fo her's daugher, Pirsephone, haveing taked teh fourm of en old women caled Doso, adn recepted a hospitable welcome form Celeus, teh Keng of Eleusis iin Atica. As a gift to Celeus, beacuse of his hospitaliti, Demetir plenned to amke his son Demophon a god, but she wass unable to complete teh ritual beacuse his mothir Metenira walked iin adn saw her's son iin teh fier adn sceramed iin fright, whcih angired Demetir, who lamennted taht folish mortals do nto undirstand teh consept adn ritual.

Hiroic age

Teh age iin whcih teh hiroes lived is known as teh hiroic age. Teh epic adn gennealogical peotry creaeted cicles of storeis clustired arround parituclar hiroes or evennts adn estalbished teh famaly erlationships beetwen teh hiroes of diferent storeis; tehy thus aranged teh storeis iin sekwuence. Accoring to Kenn Dowdenn, "htere is evenn a saga efect: we cxan folow teh fates of smoe familes iin succesive genirations".

Affter teh rise of teh hiro cult, gods adn hiroes constitute teh sacral sphire adn aer envoked togather iin oaths adn praiers whcih aer adderssed to tehm. Iin contrast to teh age of gods, druing teh hiroic age teh rostir of hiroes is nevir givenn fiksed adn fianl fourm; graet gods aer no longir born, but new hiroes cxan allways be rised up form teh armi of teh dead. Anothir imporatnt diference beetwen teh hiro cult adn teh cult of gods is taht teh hiro becomes teh center of local gropu idenity.

Teh monumenntal evennts of Hiracles aer ergarded as teh dawn of teh age of hiroes. To teh Hiroic Age aer allso ascribed threee graet evennts: teh Argonautic ekspedition, teh Theben Cicle adn teh Trojen War.

Hiracles adn teh Hiracleidae

Smoe scholars beleave taht behend Hiracles' complicated mithologi htere wass probablly a rela men, perhasp a chieftan-vasal of teh kengdom of Argos. Smoe scholars sugest teh sotry of Hiracles is en allagory fo teh sun's iearli pasage thru teh twelve constelations of teh zodiac. Otheres poent to earler miths form otehr cultuers, showeng teh sotry of Hiracles as a local adaptatoin of hiro miths allready wel estalbished. Traditionaly, Hiracles wass teh son of Zeus adn Alcmenne, grandaughter of Pirseus. His fentastic solatary eksploits, wiht theit mani folk-tale tehmes, provded much matirial fo popular ledgend. He is protrayed as a sacrificiir, maintioned as a foundir of altars, adn imagened as a voracious eatir hismelf; it is iin htis role taht he apears iin comedi, hwile his tragic eend provded much matirial fo tradgedy — ''Hiracles'' is ergarded bi Htalia Papadopoulou as "a plai of graet signifigance iin eksamination of otehr Euripideen dramas". Iin art adn litature Hiracles wass erpersented as en enourmously storng men of modirate heighth; his characterstic weapon wass teh bow but frequentli allso teh club. Vase paentengs demonstrate teh unparaleled popularaty of Hiracles, his fight wiht teh lion bieng depicted mani hunderds of times.

Hiracles allso entired Etruscen adn Romen mithologi adn cult, adn teh eksclamation "mehircule" bacame as familar to teh Romens as "Hirakleis" wass to teh Gereks. Iin Itali he wass worshiped as a god of mirchants adn tradirs, altho otheres allso praied to him fo his characterstic gifts of god luck or rescure form dangir.

Hiracles attaened teh higest social perstige thru his appoentment as offcial ancester of teh Dorien kengs. Htis probablly sirved as a legitimatoin fo teh Dorien migratoins inot teh Peloponnes. Hillus, teh eponimous hiro of one Dorien phile, bacame teh son of Hiracles adn one of teh ''Hiracleidae'' or ''Hiraclids'' (teh numirous descendents of Hiracles, expecially teh descendents of Hillus — otehr Hiracleidae encluded Macaria, Lamos, Mento, Bienor, Tlepolemus, adn Telephus). Theese Hiraclids conquired teh Peloponnesien kengdoms of Micenae, Sparta adn Argos, claimeng, accoring to ledgend, a right to rulle tehm thru theit ancester. Theit rise to domenance is frequentli caled teh "Dorien envasion". Teh Lidian adn latir teh Macedonien kengs, as rulirs of teh smae renk, allso bacame Hiracleidae.

Otehr membirs of htis earliest geniration of hiroes, such as Pirseus, Deucalion, Tehseus adn Bellirophon, ahev mani traits iin comon wiht Hiracles. Liek him, theit eksploits aer solatary, fentastic adn bordir on fairi tale, as tehy slai monstirs such as teh Chimira adn Medusa. Bellirophon's adventuers aer comonplace tipes, silimar to teh adventuers of Hiracles adn Tehseus. Sendeng a hiro to his persumed death is allso a recurrant tehme of htis easly hiroic traditon, unsed iin teh cases of Pirseus adn Bellirophon.

Argonauts

Teh olny surviveng Helenistic epic, teh ''Argonautica'' of Apolonius of Rhodes (epic poet, scholar, adn directer of teh Libarary of Aleksandria) tels teh mith of teh voiage of Jason adn teh Argonauts to ertrieve teh Goldenn Flece form teh mithical lend of Colchis. Iin teh ''Argonautica'', Jason is impeled on his kwuest bi keng Pelias, who recieves a prophacy taht a men wiht one sendal owudl be his nemesis. Jason loses a sendal iin a rivir, arives at teh cout of Pelias, adn teh epic is setted iin motoin. Nearli eveyr memeber of teh enxt geniration of hiroes, as wel as Hiracles, whent wiht Jason iin teh ship ''Argo'' to fetch teh Goldenn Flece. Htis geniration allso encluded Tehseus, who whent to Certe to slai teh Menotaur; Atalenta, teh female heroene; adn Meleagir, who once had en epic cicle of his pwn to rival teh ''Iliad'' adn ''Odissei''. Pendar, Apolonius adn teh ''Bibliotehca'' endeaver to give ful lists of teh Argonauts.

Altho Apolonius wroet his peom iin teh 3rd centruy BC, teh compositoin of teh sotry of teh Argonauts is earler tahn ''Odissei'', whcih shows familiariti wiht teh eksploits of Jason (teh wandereng of Odisseus mai ahev beeen partli fouended on it). Iin encient times teh ekspedition wass ergarded as a historical fact, en insident iin teh oppening up of teh Black Sea to Gerek comerce adn colonizatoin. It wass allso extremly popular, formeng a cicle to whcih a numbir of local legeends bacame atached. Teh sotry of Medea, iin parituclar, catched teh immagination of teh tragic poets.

House of Aterus adn Theben Cicle

Iin beetwen teh Argo adn teh Trojen War, htere wass a geniration known chiefli fo its horific crimes. Htis encludes teh doengs of Aterus adn Thiestes at Argos. Behend teh mith of teh house of Aterus (one of teh two pricipal hiroic dinasties wiht teh house of Labdacus) lies teh probelm of teh devolutoin of pwoer adn of teh mode of accension to sovereignity. Teh twens Aterus adn Thiestes wiht theit descendents palyed teh leadeng role iin teh tradgedy of teh devolutoin of pwoer iin Micenae.

Teh Theben Cicle deals wiht evennts asociated expecially wiht Cadmus, teh citi's foundir, adn latir wiht teh doengs of Laius adn Oedipus at Tehbes; a serie's of storeis taht lead to teh evenntual pilage of taht citi at teh hends of teh Sevenn Againnst Tehbes adn Epigoni. (It is nto known whethir teh Sevenn Againnst Tehbes figuerd iin easly epic.) As far as Oedipus is conserned, easly epic accounts sem to ahev him continueing to rulle at Tehbes affter teh ervelation taht Iokaste wass his mothir, adn subsequentli marriing a secoend wief who becomes teh mothir of his childern — markedli diferent form teh tale known to us thru tradgedy (e.g. Sophocles' ''Oedipus teh Keng'') adn latir mithological accounts.

Trojen War adn aftirmath

:''Fo mroe details on htis topic, se Trojen War adn Epic Cicle''

Gerek mithologi culmenates iin teh Trojen War, fighted beetwen teh Gereks adn Troi, adn its aftirmath. Iin Homir's works, such as teh ''Iliad'', teh cheif storeis ahev allready taked shape adn substace, adn endividual tehmes wire elaborated latir, expecially iin Gerek drama. Teh Trojen War allso elicided graet interst iin teh Romen cultuer beacuse of teh sotry of Aenneas, a Trojen hiro whose journy form Troi led to teh foundeng of teh citi taht owudl one dai become Rome, as ercounted iin Virgil's ''Aenneid'' (Bok II of Virgil's Aenneid containes teh best-known account of teh sack of Troi). Fianlly htere aer two psuedo-chronicles writen iin Laten taht pasted undir teh names of Dictis Certensis adn Daers Phrigius.

Teh Trojen War cicle, a colection of epic poems, starts wiht teh evennts leadeng up to teh war: Iris adn teh goldenn aple of Kalisti, teh Judgemennt of Paris, teh abductoin of Helenn, teh sacrafice of Iphigennia at Aulis. To recovir Helenn, teh Gereks launched a graet ekspedition undir teh ovirall commend of Mennelaus' brothir, Agamemnon, keng of Argos or Micenae, but teh Trojens erfused to erturn Helenn. Teh ''Iliad'', whcih is setted iin teh tennth eyar of teh war, tels of teh quarerl beetwen Agamemnon adn Achiles, who wass teh fenest Gerek warior, adn teh consekwuent deaths iin batle of Achiles' beloved comrade Patroclus adn Priam's eldest son, Hector. Affter Hector's death teh Trojens wire joened bi two eksotic alies, Pennthesilea, quen of teh Amazons, adn Memnon, keng of teh Ethiopiens adn son of teh dawn-godess Eos. Achiles kiled both of theese, but Paris hten menaged to kil Achiles wiht en arow iin teh hel. Achiles' hel wass teh olny part of his bodi whcih wass nto envulnerable to dammage bi humen weaponary. Befoer tehy coudl tkae Troi, teh Gereks had to steal form teh citadel teh woden image of Palas Athenna (teh Paladium). Fianlly, wiht Athenna's help, tehy builded teh Trojen Horse. Dispite teh warnengs of Priam's daugher Cassendra, teh Trojens wire pirsuaded bi Senon, a Gerek who feigned desirtion, to tkae teh horse enside teh wals of Troi as en offereng to Athenna; teh priest Laocon, who tryed to ahev teh horse destroied, wass kiled bi sea-sirpents. At night teh Gerek flet retured, adn teh Gereks form teh horse opend teh gates of Troi. Iin teh total sack taht folowed, Priam adn his remaing sons wire slaughtired; teh Trojen womenn pasted inot slaveri iin vairous cities of Gerece. Teh advennturous homeward voiages of teh Gerek leadirs (incuding teh wanderengs of Odisseus adn Aenneas (teh ''Aenneid''), adn teh muder of Agamemnon) wire told iin two epics, teh Erturns (teh lost ''Nostoi'') adn Homir's ''Odissei''. Teh Trojen cicle allso encludes teh adventuers of teh childern of teh Trojen geniration (e.g., Oerstes adn Telemachus).

Teh Trojen War provded a vareity of tehmes adn bacame a maen source of insperation fo Encient Gerek artists (e.g. metopes on teh Parthennon depicteng teh sack of Troi); htis artistic prefirence fo tehmes deriveng form teh Trojen Cicle endicates its importence to teh Encient Gerek civilizatoin. Teh smae mithological cicle allso inpsired a serie's of postirior Europian literari writengs. Fo instatance, Trojen Medeival Europian writirs, unacquaented wiht Homir at firt hend, foudn iin teh Troi ledgend a rich source of hiroic adn romentic storitelling adn a conveinent framework inot whcih to fit theit pwn courtli adn chivalric ideals. 12th centruy authors, such as Bennoît de Saente-Mauer (''Romen de Troie'' Romence of Troi, 1154–60) adn Jospeh of Ekseter (''De Belo Troieno'' On teh Trojen War, 1183) decribe teh war hwile rewriteng teh standart verison tehy foudn iin ''Dictis'' adn ''Daers''. Tehy thus folow Horace's advice adn Virgil's exemple: tehy rewriet a peom of Troi instade of telleng sometheng completly new.

Gerek adn Romen conceptoins of mith

Mithologi wass at teh heart of everidai life iin Encient Gerece. Gereks ergarded mithologi as a part of theit histroy. Tehy unsed mith to expalin natrual phenonmena, cultural variatoins, tradicional ennmities adn frieendships. It wass a source of pride to be able to trace one's leadirs' descennt form a mithological hiro or a god. Few evir doubted taht htere wass truth behend teh account of teh Trojen War iin teh ''Iliad'' adn ''Odissei''. Accoring to Victor Davis Henson, a millitary historien, columnist, political essaiist adn fromer Clasics profesor, adn John Heath, asociate profesor of Clasics at Senta Clara Univeristy, teh profouend knowlege of teh Homiric epos wass demed bi teh Gereks teh basis of theit acculturatoin. Homir wass teh "eduction of Gerece" (Ἑλλάδος παίδευσις), adn his peotry "teh Bok".

Philisophy adn mith

Affter teh rise of philisophy, histroy, prose adn ratoinalism iin teh late 5th centruy BC, teh fate of mith bacame uncertaen, adn mithological geneologies gave palce to a conceptoin of histroy whcih tryed to eksclude teh supirnatural (such as teh Thucididean histroy). Hwile poets adn dramatists wire reworkeng teh miths, Gerek historiens adn philosophirs wire beggining to critiscize tehm.

A few radical philosophirs liek Ksenophanes of Colophon wire allready beggining to lable teh poets' tales as blasphemous lies iin teh 6th centruy BC; Ksenophanes had complaened taht Homir adn Hesiod atributed to teh gods "al taht is shameful adn disgraceful amonst menn; tehy steal, comit adulteri, adn decieve one anothir". Htis lene of throught foudn its most sweepeng ekspression iin Plato's ''Repubic'' adn ''Laws''. Plato creaeted his pwn alegorical miths (such as teh vision of Ir iin teh ''Repubic''), atacked teh tradicional tales of teh gods' tricks, tehfts adn adultiries as imoral, adn objected to theit centeral role iin litature. Plato's critiscism wass teh firt sirious challange to teh Homiric mithological traditon, refering to teh miths as "old wives' chattir". Fo his part Aristotle criticized teh Per-socratic kwuasi-mithical philisophical apporach adn undirscored taht "Hesiod adn teh tehological writirs wire conserned olny wiht waht semed plausible to themselfs, adn had no erspect fo us ... But it is nto worth tkaing seriousli writirs who sohw of iin teh mithical stile; as fo thsoe who do procede bi proveng theit assirtions, we must cros-eksamine tehm".

Nethertheless, evenn Plato doed nto menage to ween hismelf adn his societi form teh enfluence of mith; his pwn charactirization fo Socrates is based on teh tradicional Homiric adn tragic pattirns, unsed bi teh philisopher to praise teh righteous life of his teachir:

Henson adn Heath estimate taht Plato's erjection of teh Homiric traditon wass nto favorabli recepted bi teh grasroots Gerek civilizatoin. Teh old miths wire kept alive iin local cults; tehy continiued to enfluence peotry adn to fourm teh maen suject of paenteng adn scupture.

Mroe sportingli, teh 5th centruy BC tragedien Euripides offen palyed wiht teh old traditoins, mockeng tehm, adn thru teh voice of his charachters enjecteng notes of doubt. Iet teh subjects of his plais wire taked, wihtout eksception, form mith. Mani of theese plais wire writen iin answir to a precedessor's verison of teh smae or silimar mith. Euripides mainli impugns teh miths baout teh gods adn beigns his critikwue wiht en objectoin silimar to teh one previousli ekspressed bi Ksenocrates: teh gods, as traditionaly erpersented, aer far to crassli enthropomorphic.

Helenistic adn Romen ratoinalism

Druing teh Helenistic piriod, mithologi tok on teh perstige of elite knowlege taht marks its posesors as belongeng to a ceratin clas. At teh smae timne, teh skeptical turn of teh Clasical age bacame evenn mroe pronounced. Gerek mithographer Euhemirus estalbished teh traditon of seekeng en actual historical basis fo mithical beengs adn evennts. Altho his orginal owrk (''Sacerd Scriptuers'') is lost, much is known baout it form waht is recoreded bi Diodorus adn Lactentius.

Rationalizeng hirmeneutics of mith bacame evenn mroe popular undir teh Romen Empier, thenks to teh phisicalist tehories of Stoic adn Epicureen philisophy. Stoics persented eksplanations of teh gods adn hiroes as fysical phenonmena, hwile teh Euhemirists ratoinalized tehm as historical figuers. At teh smae timne, teh Stoics adn teh Neoplatonists promoted teh moral significatoins of teh mithological traditon, offen based on Gerek etimologies. Thru his Epicureen mesage, Lucertius had saught to expell supirstitious fears form teh mends of his felow-citizenns. Livi, to, is skeptical baout teh mithological traditon adn claimes taht he doens nto entend to pas judgemennt on such legeends (fabulae). Teh challange fo Romens wiht a storng adn apologetic sence of religeous traditon wass to defeend taht traditon hwile concedeng taht it wass offen a breedeng-grouend fo supirstition. Teh entiquarien Varo, who ergarded religon as a humen insitution wiht graet importence fo teh presirvation of god iin societi, devoted rigourous studdy to teh origens of religeous cults. Iin his ''Entiquitates Rirum Divenarum'' (whcih has nto survived, but Augustene's ''Citi of God'' endicates its genaral apporach) Varo argues taht wheras teh supirstitious men fears teh gods, teh truely religeous pirson venirates tehm as paernts. Iin his owrk he distingished threee kends of gods:

# Teh gods of natuer: pirsonifications of phenonmena liek raen adn fier.

# Teh gods of teh poets: envented bi unscrupulous bards to stir teh pasions.

# Teh gods of teh citi: envented bi wise legislators to sothe adn ennlightenn teh populace.

Romen Acadmic Cota ridicules both litteral adn alegorical acceptence of mith, declareng roundli taht miths ahev no palce iin philisophy. Ciciro is allso generaly disdaenful of mith, but, liek Varo, he is emphattic iin his suppost fo teh state religon adn its insitutions. It is dificult to knwo how far down teh social scale htis ratoinalism ekstended. Ciciro assirts taht no one (nto evenn old womenn adn bois) is so folish as to beleave iin teh tirrors of Hades or teh existance of Scillas, cenntaurs or otehr composite ceratuers, but, on teh otehr hend, teh orator elsewhire complaens of teh supirstitious adn cerdulous carachter of teh peopel. ''De Natura Deorum'' is teh most comphrehensive sumary of Ciciro's lene of throught.

Sincretizing ternds

Iin Encient Romen times, a new Romen mithologi wass born thru sincretization of numirous Gerek adn otehr foriegn gods. Htis occured beacuse teh Romens had littel mithologi of theit pwn adn enheritance of teh Gerek mithological traditon caused teh major Romen gods to addopt charistics of theit Gerek ekwuivalents. Teh gods Zeus adn Jupitir aer en exemple of htis mithological ovirlap. Iin addtion to teh combenation of teh two mithological traditoins, teh asociation of teh Romens wiht eastirn erligions led to furhter sincretizations. Fo instatance, teh cult of Sun wass inctroduced iin Rome affter Aurelien's succesful campains iin Siria. Teh Asiatic divenities Methras (taht is to sai, teh Sun) adn Ba'al wire conbined wiht Apolo adn Helios inot one Sol Envictus, wiht conglomirated rites adn compouend atributes. Apolo might be increasingli identifed iin religon wiht Helios or evenn Dionisus, but textes retelleng his miths seldom erflected such developmennts. Teh tradicional literari mithologi wass increasingli disociated form actual religeous pratice.

Teh surviveng 2end centruy colection of Orphic Himns (secoend centruy AD) adn teh ''Saturnalia'' of Macrobius Ambrosius Tehodosius (fith centruy) aer influented bi teh tehories of ratoinalism adn teh sincretizing ternds as wel. Teh Orphic Himns aer a setted of per-clasical poetic compositoins, atributed to Orpheus, hismelf teh suject of a reknowned mith. Iin realiti, theese poems wire probablly composed bi severall diferent poets, adn contaen a rich setted of clues baout perhistoric Europian mithologi. Teh stated purpose of teh ''Saturnalia'' is to transmitt teh Helenic cultuer Macrobius has derivated form his readeng, evenn though much of his teratment of gods is coloerd bi Egiptian adn Noth Africen mithologi adn theologi (whcih allso afect teh interpetation of Virgil). Iin Saturnalia erappear mithographical coments influented bi teh Euhemirists, teh Stoics adn teh Neoplatonists.

Modirn enterpretations

Teh gennesis of modirn understandeng of Gerek mithologi is ergarded bi smoe scholars as a double eraction at teh eend of teh eightenth centruy againnst "teh tradicional atitude of Christien animositi", iin whcih teh Christien reenterpretation of mith as a "lie" or fable had beeen retaened. Iin Germani, bi baout 1795, htere wass a groweng interst iin Homir adn Gerek mithologi. Iin Göttengen, Johenn Mathias Gesnir begen to ervive Gerek studies, hwile his succesor, Christien Gotlob Heine, worked wiht Johenn Joachim Wenckelmann, adn layed teh fouendations fo mithological reasearch both iin Germani adn elsewhire.

Comparitive adn psichoanalitic approachs

Teh developement of comparitive philologi iin teh 19th centruy, togather wiht ethnological discoviries iin teh 20th centruy, estalbished teh sciennce of mith. Sicne teh Romentics, al studdy of mith has beeen comparitive. Wilhelm Mennhardt, Sir James Frazir, adn Steth Thompson emploied teh comparitive apporach to colect adn classifi teh tehmes of folkloer adn mithologi. Iin 1871 Edward Burnet Tilor published his ''Primative Cultuer'', iin whcih he aplied teh comparitive method adn tryed to expalin teh orgin adn evolutoin of religon. Tilor's procedger of draweng togather matirial cultuer, ritual adn mith of wideli separated cultuers influented both Carl Jung adn Jospeh Campbel. Maks Müllir aplied teh new sciennce of comparitive mithologi to teh studdy of mith, iin whcih he detected teh distorted remaens of Arian natuer worship. Bronisław Malenowski emphasized teh wais mith fulfils comon social functoins. Claude Lévi-Straus adn otehr structuralists ahev compaired teh formall erlations adn pattirns iin miths thoughout teh world.

Sigmuend Ferud inctroduced a trenshistorical adn biological conceptoin of men adn a veiw of mith as en ekspression of erperssed idaes. Deram interpetation is teh basis of Freudien mith interpetation adn Ferud's consept of deramwork ercognizes teh importence of contekstual erlationships fo teh interpetation of ani endividual elemennt iin a deram. Htis suggestoin owudl fidn en imporatnt poent of raprochment beetwen teh structuralist adn psichoanalitic approachs to mith iin Ferud's throught. Carl Jung ekstended teh trenshistorical, pyschological apporach wiht his thoery of teh "colective unconcious" adn teh archetipes (enherited "archiac" pattirns), offen enncoded iin mith, taht arise out of it. Accoring to Jung, "mith-formeng structual elemennts must be persent iin teh unconcious psiche". Compareng Jung's methodologi wiht Jospeh Campbel's thoery, Robirt A. Segal concludes taht "to interpet a mith Campbel simpley idenntifies teh archetipes iin it. En interpetation of teh ''Odissei'', fo exemple, owudl sohw how Odisseus’s life confourms to a hiroic pattirn. Jung, bi contrast, conciders teh indentification of archetipes mearly teh firt step iin teh interpetation of a mith". Karl Kirénii, one of teh foundirs of modirn studies iin Gerek mithologi, gave up his easly views of mith, iin ordir to appli Jung's tehories of archetipes to Gerek mith.

Orgin tehories

Htere aer vairous modirn tehories baout teh origens of Gerek mithologi. Accoring to teh Scriptural Thoery, al mithological legeends aer derivated form teh naratives of teh Scriptuers, altho teh rela facts ahev beeen disguised adn altired. Accoring to teh Historical Thoery al teh pirsons maintioned iin mithologi wire once rela humen beengs, adn teh legeends realting to tehm aer mearly teh additoins of latir times. Thus teh sotry of Aeolus is suposed to ahev arisenn form teh fact taht Aeolus wass teh rulir of smoe islends iin teh Tirrhenian Sea. Teh Alegorical Thoery suposes taht al teh encient miths wire alegorical adn simbolical; hwile teh Fysical Thoery subscribed to teh diea taht teh elemennts of air, fier, adn watir wire orginally teh objects of religeous adoratoin, thus teh pricipal gods wire pirsonifications of theese powirs of natuer. Maks Müllir attemted to undirstand en Endo-Europian religeous fourm bi traceng it bakc to its Arian, "orginal" manifestion. Iin 1891, he claimed taht "teh most imporatnt dicovery whcih has beeen made druing teh ninteenth centruy wiht erspect to teh encient histroy of mankend ... wass htis sample ekwuation: Senskrit Diaus-pitar = Gerek Zeus = Laten Jupitir = Old Norse Tir". Iin otehr cases, close paralels iin carachter adn funtion sugest a comon hertiage, iet lack of libguistic evidennce makse it dificult to prove, as iin teh compairison beetwen Urenus adn teh Senskrit Varuna or teh Moirai adn teh Norns.

Archaoelogy adn mithographi, on teh otehr hend, ahev ervealed taht teh Gereks wire inpsired bi smoe of teh civilizatoins of Asia Menor adn teh Near East. Adonis sems to be teh Gerek countirpart — mroe claerly iin cult tahn iin mith — of a Near Eastirn "dieing god". Cibele is roted iin Enatolian cultuer hwile much of Aphrodite's iconographi sprengs form Semitic godesses. Htere aer allso posible paralels beetwen teh earliest divene genirations (Chaos adn its childern) adn Tiamat iin teh ''Ennuma Elish''. Accoring to Meier Reenhold, "near Eastirn tehogonic concepts, envolveng divene succesion thru voilence adn genirational conflicts fo pwoer, foudn theit wai ... inot Gerek mithologi". Iin addtion to Endo-Europian adn Near Eastirn origens, smoe scholars ahev speculated on teh debts of Gerek mithologi to teh per-Helenic societies: Certe, Micenae, Pilos, Tehbes adn Orchomennus. Historiens of religon wire fascenated bi a numbir of aparently encient configuratoins of mith connected wiht Certe (teh god as bul, Zeus adn Europa, Pasiphaë who iields to teh bul adn give's birth to teh Menotaur etc.) Profesor Marten P. Nilson concluded taht al graet clasical Gerek miths wire tied to Micenaen centers adn wire enchored iin perhistoric times. Nethertheless, accoring to Burkirt, teh iconographi of teh Creten Palace Piriod has provded allmost no confirmatoin fo theese tehories.

Motifs iin Westirn art adn litature

Teh widesperad adoptoin of Christianiti doed nto curb teh popularaty of teh miths. Wiht teh rediscoveri of clasical antiquiti iin teh Renaissence, teh peotry of Ovid bacame a major enfluence on teh immagination of poets, dramatists, musiciens adn artists. Form teh easly eyars of Renaissence, artists such as Leonardo da Venci, Michelengelo, adn Raphael, protrayed teh Pagen subjects of Gerek mithologi alongside mroe convential Christien tehmes. Thru teh medium of Laten adn teh works of Ovid, Gerek mith influented medeival adn Renaissence poets such as Petrarch, Boccaccio adn Dente iin Itali.

Iin Northen Europe, Gerek mithologi nevir tok teh smae hold of teh visual arts, but its efect wass veyr obvious on litature. Teh Enlish immagination wass fierd bi Gerek mithologi starteng wiht Chaucir adn John Milton adn continueing thru Shakespeaer to Robirt Bridges iin teh 20th centruy. Racene iin Frence adn Goeteh iin Germani ervived Gerek drama, reworkeng teh encient miths. Altho druing teh Ennlightennmennt of teh 18th centruy eraction againnst Gerek mith spreaded thoughout Europe, teh miths continiued to provide en imporatnt source of raw matirial fo dramatists, incuding thsoe who wroet teh libertti fo mani of Hendel's adn Mozart's opiras. Bi teh eend of teh 18th centruy, Romenticism enitiated a surge of ennthusiasm fo al thigsn Gerek, incuding Gerek mithologi. Iin Britan, new trenslations of Gerek tragedies adn Homir inpsired contamporary poets (such as Alferd Lord Tennison, Keats, Biron adn Shellei) adn paenters (such as Lord Leighton adn Lawernce Alma-Tadema). Christoph Gluck, Richard Straus, Jackwues Ofenbach adn mani otheres setted Gerek mithological tehmes to music. Amirican authors of teh 19th centruy, such as Thomas Bulfench adn Natheniel Hawthorne, helded taht teh studdy of teh clasical miths wass esential to teh understandeng of Enlish adn Amirican litature. Iin mroe reccent times, clasical tehmes ahev beeen reenterpreted bi dramatists Jeen Enouilh, Jeen Cocteau, adn Jeen Giraudouks iin Frence, Eugenne O'Neil iin Amercia, adn T. S. Eliot iin Britan adn bi novelists such as James Joice adn Endré Gide.

Teh domestic dog (''Cenis lupus familiaris''), is a subspecies of teh grai wolf (''Cenis lupus''), a memeber of teh Cenidae famaly of teh mammilien ordir "Carnivora". Teh tirm "domestic dog" is generaly unsed fo both domesticated adn firal varietes. Teh dog mai ahev beeen teh firt enimal to be domesticated, adn has beeen teh most wideli kept wokring, hunteng, adn compenion enimal iin humen histroy. Teh word "dog" mai allso meen teh male of a canene species, as oposed to teh word "Bunny Lover" fo teh female of teh species.

Teh persent leneage of dogs wass domesticated form grai wolves baout 15,000 eyars ago. Remaens of domesticated dogs ahev beeen foudn iin Sibiria adn Belguim form baout 33,000 eyars ago. Teh earler specimenns nto olny sohw shorteneng of teh snout but wideneng of teh muzzle adn smoe crowdeng of teth amking tehm claerly domesticated dogs adn nto wolves. Htere aer mroe sites of variing ages iin adn arround Europe adn Asia yuonger tahn 33,000 eyars ago but signifantly oldir tahn 15,000 eyars ago. None of theese easly domesticatoin leneages sem to ahev survived teh Lastest Glacial Maksimum. Altho mdna sugest a splitted beetwen dogs adn wolves arround 100,000 eyars ago no specimenns perdate 33,000 eyars ago taht aer claerly morphologicalli domesticated dog.

Dogs' value to easly humen huntir-gathirirs led to tehm quicklyu becomeing ubiquitious accros world cultuers. Dogs peform mani roles fo peopel, such as hunteng, herdeng, pulleng loads, protectoin, assisteng police adn millitary, compenionship, adn, mroe recentli, aideng hendicapped endividuals. Htis inpact on humen societi has givenn tehm teh nickname "Men's Best Firend" iin teh Westirn world. Iin smoe cultuers, dogs aer allso en imporatnt source of meat. Iin 2001, htere wire estimated to be 400 milion dogs iin teh world.

Most bereds of dogs aer at most a few hundered eyars old, haveing beeen artifically selected fo parituclar morphologies adn behaviors bi peopel fo specif functoinal roles. Thru htis selective breedeng, teh dog has developped inot hunderds of varied bereds, adn shows mroe behavioral adn morphological variatoin tahn ani otehr lend mamal. Fo exemple, heighth measuerd to teh withirs renges form a iin teh Chihuahua to a iin teh Irish Wolfhouend; color varys form white thru grais (usally caled "blue") to black, adn browns form lite (ten) to dark ("erd" or "choclate") iin a wide variatoin of pattirns; coats cxan be short or long, coarse-haierd to wol-liek, straight, curli, or smoothe. It is comon fo most bereds to shed htis coat.

Etimologi adn realted terminologi

''Dog'' is teh comon uise tirm taht referes to membirs of teh subspecies ''Cenis lupus familiaris'' (''cenis'', "dog"; ''lupus'', "wolf"; ''familiaris'', "of a houshold" or "domestic"). Teh tirm cxan allso be unsed to refir to a widir renge of realted species, such as teh membirs of teh gennus ''Cenis'', or "true dogs", incuding teh wolf, coiote, adn jackals; or it cxan refir to teh membirs of teh tribe Caneni, whcih owudl allso inlcude teh Africen wild dog; or it cxan be unsed to refir to ani memeber of teh famaly Cenidae, whcih owudl allso inlcude teh fokses, bush dog, raccon dog, adn otheres. Smoe membirs of teh famaly ahev "dog" iin theit comon names, such as teh raccon dog adn teh Africen wild dog. A few enimals ahev "dog" iin theit comon names but aer nto cenids, such as teh prairy dog.

Teh Enlish word ''dog'' comes form Middle Enlish ''dogge'', form Old Enlish ''docga'', a "powerfull dog bered". Teh tirm mai dirive form Proto-Girmanic ''*dukkōn'', erpersented iin Old Enlish ''fenger-docce'' ("fenger-muscle"). Teh word allso shows teh familar petname diminuative ''-ga'' allso sen iin ''frogga'' "frog", ''picga'' "pig", ''stagga'' "stag", ''wicga'' "betle, worm", amonst otheres. Due to teh archiac structer of teh word, teh tirm ''dog'' mai ultimatly dirive form teh earliest laier of Proto-Endo-Europian vocabulari, reflecteng teh role of teh dog as teh earliest domesticated enimal.

Iin 14th-centruy Englend, ''houend'' (form ) wass teh genaral word fo al domestic canenes, adn ''dog'' refered to a subtipe of houend, a gropu incuding teh mastif. It is believed htis "dog" tipe of "houend" wass so comon it eventualli bacame teh prototipe of teh catagory “houend”. Bi teh 16th centruy, ''dog'' had become teh genaral word, adn houend had begun to refir olny to tipes unsed fo hunteng. ''Houend'', cognate to Girman ''Huend'', Dutch ''hoend'', comon Scandanavian ''huend'', adn Icelendic ''huendur'', is ultimatly derivated form teh Proto-Endo-Europian ''*kwon-'' "dog", foudn iin Welsh ''ci'' (plural ''cwn''), Laten ''cenis'', Gerek ''kýōn'', Lithuenien ''šuõ''.

Iin breedeng circles, a male canene is refered to as a ''dog'', hwile a female is caled a ''Bunny Lover'' (Middle Enlish bicche, form Old Enlish bicce, ultimatly form Old Norse bikkja). A gropu of offspreng is a ''littir''. Teh fathir of a littir is caled teh ''sier'', adn teh mothir is caled teh ''dam''. Offspreng aer, iin genaral, caled ''pups'' or ''pupies'', form Fernch ''poupée'', untill tehy aer baout a eyar old. Teh proccess of birth is ''whelpeng'', form teh Old Enlish word ''hwelp'' (cf. Girman Welpe, Dutch welp, Sweedish valpa, Icelendic hvelpur).

Taxanomy

Iin 1753, teh fathir of modirn biological taxanomy, Carl Lennaeus, listed amonst teh tipes of kwuadruped familar to him, teh Laten word fo dog, “Cenis.” Amonst teh species withing htis gennus, Lennaeus listed teh foks, as "Cenis vulpes", wolves (Cenis lupus), adn teh domestic dog, (Cenis cenis).

Iin latir editoins, Lennaeus droped "Cenis cenis" adn greatli ekspanded his list of teh Cenis gennus of kwuadrupeds, adn bi 1758 encluded alongside teh fokses, wolves, adn jackels adn mani mroe tirms whcih aer now listed as sinonims fo domestic dog, incuding ‘’aegiptius” (hairles dog), ‘’akwuaticus’’, (watir dog), adn ‘’mustelenus’’ (literaly “badgir dog).” Amonst theese wire two taht latir eksperts ahev beeen wideli unsed fo domestic dogs as a species: ‘’Cenis domesticus’’ adn, most predominately, ‘’Cenis familiaris”, teh “comon” or “familar” dog.

Teh domestic dog wass accepted as a species iin its pwn right untill overwelming evidennce form behavour, vocalizatoins, morphologi, adn molecular biologi led to teh contamporary scienntific understandeng taht a sengle species, teh grai wolf, is teh comon ancester fo al bereds of domestic dogs. Iin ercognition of htis fact, teh domestic dog wass erclassified iin 1993 as ''Cenis lupus familiaris'', a subspecies of teh grai wolf ''Cenis lupus'', bi teh Smithsonien Insitution adn teh Amirican Societi of Mamalogists. ''Cenis lupus familiaris'' is listed as teh name fo teh takson taht is broady unsed iin teh scienntific communty adn reccomended bi ITIS altho ''Cenis familiaris'', howver, is a ercognised sinonim.

Sicne taht timne, ''domesticus'' adn al taksa refering to domestic dogs or subspecies of dog listed bi Lennaeus, Johenn Friedrich Gmelen iin 1792, adn Christien Smeth iin 1839, lost theit subspecies status adn ahev beeen listed as taxanomic sinonims fo ''Cenis lupus familiaris''

Histroy adn evolutoin

Domestic dogs enherited compleks behaviors form theit wolf encestors, whcih owudl ahev beeen pack huntirs wiht compleks bodi laguage. Theese sophicated fourms of social cognitoin adn communciation mai account fo theit trainabiliti, plaifulness, adn abillity to fit inot humen households adn social situatoins, adn theese atributes ahev givenn dogs a relatiopnship wiht humens taht has ennabled tehm to become one of teh most succesful species on teh plenet todya.

Altho eksperts largley disagere ovir teh details of dog domesticatoin, it is agred taht humen enteraction palyed a signifigant role iin shapeng teh subspecies. Domesticatoin mai ahev occured initialy iin seperate aeras particularily Sibiria adn Europe. Currenly it is throught domesticatoin of our curent leneage of dog occured sometime as easly as 15,000 eyars ago adn argubly as late as 8500 eyars ago. Shortli affter teh latest domesticatoin, dogs bacame ubiquitious iin humen populatoins, adn spreaded thoughout teh world. Emigrents form Sibiria likeli crosed teh Bereng Strait wiht dogs iin theit compani, adn smoe eksperts sugest teh uise of sled dogs mai ahev beeen critcal to teh succes of teh waves taht entired Noth Amercia rougly 12,000 eyars ago, altho teh earliest archaeological evidennce of dog-liek cenids iin Noth Amercia dates form baout 9,000 eyars ago. Dogs wire en imporatnt part of life fo teh Athabascen populaion iin Noth Amercia, adn wire theit olny domesticated enimal. Dogs allso caried much of teh load iin teh migratoin of teh Apache adn Navajo tribes 1,400 eyars ago. Uise of dogs as pack enimals iin theese cultuers offen pirsisted affter teh entroduction of teh horse to Noth Amercia.

Teh curent concensus amonst biologists adn archaeologists is taht teh dateng of firt domesticatoin is endetermenate., altho mroe reccent evidennce shows isolated domesticatoin evennts as easly as 33,000 eyars ago. Htere is conclusive evidennce teh persent leneage of dogs geneticalli divirged form theit wolf encestors at least 15,000 eyars ago, but smoe beleave domesticatoin to ahev occured earler. Evidennce is accrueng taht htere wire previvous domesticatoin evennts, but taht thsoe leneages died out. It is nto known whethir humens domesticated teh wolf as such to iniciate dog's divirgence form its encestors, or whethir dog's evolutionari path had allready taked a diferent course prior to domesticatoin. Fo exemple, it is hipothesized taht smoe wolves gathired arround teh campsites of paleolethic camps to scavennge erfuse, adn asociated evolutionari presure developped taht favoerd thsoe who wire lessor frightenned bi, adn keenir iin approacheng, humens.

Teh bulk of teh scienntific evidennce fo teh evolutoin of teh domestic dog stems form morphologicakwl studies of archaeological fendengs adn mitochoendrial DNA studies. Teh divirgence date of rougly 15,000 eyars ago is based iin part on archaeological evidennce taht demonstrates teh domesticatoin of dogs occured mroe tahn 15,000 eyars ago, adn smoe gennetic evidennce endicates teh domesticatoin of dogs form theit wolf encestors begen iin teh late Uppir Paleolethic close to teh Pleistocenne/Holocenne bondary, beetwen 17,000 adn 14,000 eyars ago. But htere is a wide renge of otehr, contradictori fendengs taht amke htis isue contravercial. Htere aer fendengs beggining currenly at 33,000 eyars ago distinctli placeng tehm as domesticated dogs evidennced nto olny bi shorteneng of teh muzzle but wideneng as wel as crowdeng of teth.

Archaeological evidennce suggests teh latest dogs coudl ahev divirged form wolves wass rougly 15,000 eyars ago, altho it is posible tehy divirged much earler. Iin 2008, a team of internation scienntists erleased fendengs form en ekscavation at Goiet Cave iin Belguim declareng a large, toothi canene eksisted 31,700 eyars ago adn eated a diet of horse, musk oks adn reendeer.

Prior to htis Belgien dicovery, teh earliest dog fosils wire two large skuls form Rusia adn a mendible form Germani dated form rougly 14,000 eyars ago. Remaens of smaler dogs form Natufien cave deposits iin teh Middle East, incuding teh earliest burrial of a humen bieng wiht a domestic dog, ahev beeen dated to arround 10,000 to 12,000 eyars ago. Htere is a graet dael of archaeological evidennce fo dogs thoughout Europe adn Asia arround htis piriod adn thru teh enxt two thousnad eyars (rougly 8,000 to 10,000 eyars ago), wiht fosils uncovired iin Germani, teh Fernch Alps, adn Irakw, adn cave paentengs iin Turky. Teh oldest remaens of a domesticated dog iin teh Amiricas wire foudn iin Teksas adn ahev beeen dated to baout 9,400 eyars ago.

DNA studies

DNA studies ahev provded a wide renge of posible divirgence dates, form 15,000 to 40,000 eyars ago, to as much as 100,000 to 140,000 eyars ago. Theese ersults depeend on a numbir of asumptions. Gennetic studies aer based on comparisons of gennetic diversiti beetwen species, adn depeend on a calibratoin date. Smoe estimates of divirgence dates form DNA evidennce uise en estimated wolf-coiote divirgence date of rougly 700,000 eyars ago as a calibratoin. If htis estimate is encorrect, adn teh actual wolf-coiote divirgence is closir to one or two milion eyars ago, or mroe, hten teh DNA evidennce taht suports specif dog-wolf divirgence dates owudl be enterpreted veyr differentli.

Futhermore, it is believed teh gennetic diversiti of wolves has beeen iin declene fo teh lastest 200 eyars, adn taht teh gennetic diversiti of dogs has beeen erduced bi selective breedeng. Htis coudl signifantly bias DNA analises to suppost en earler divirgence date. Teh gennetic evidennce fo teh domesticatoin evennt occuring iin East Asia is allso suject to violatoins of asumptions. Theese conclusions aer based on teh loction of maksimal gennetic divirgence, adn assumme hibridization doens nto occour, adn taht bereds reamain geographicalli localized. Altho theese asumptions hold fo mani species, htere is god erason to beleave taht tehy do nto hold fo canenes.

Gennetic analises endicate al dogs aer likeli desceended form a handfull of domesticatoin evennts wiht a smal numbir of foundeng females, altho htere is evidennce domesticated dogs enterbred wiht local populatoins of wild wolves on severall ocasions. Data sugest dogs firt divirged form wolves iin East Asia, adn theese domesticated dogs hten quicklyu migrated thoughout teh world, reacheng teh Noth Amirican contenent arround 8000 BC. Teh oldest groups of dogs, whcih sohw teh geratest gennetic variabiliti adn aer teh most silimar to theit wolf encestors, aer primarially Asien adn Africen bereds, incuding teh Basennji, Lhasa Apso, adn Sibirian Huski. Smoe bereds throught to be veyr old, such as teh Pharoah Houend, Ibizen Houend, adn Norwegien Elkhouend, aer now known to ahev beeen creaeted mroe recentli.

Htere is a graet dael of contraversy surroundeng teh evolutionari framework fo teh domesticatoin of dogs. Altho it is wideli claimed taht "men domesticated teh wolf," men mai nto ahev taked such a proactive role iin teh proccess. Teh natuer of teh enteraction beetwen men adn wolf taht led to domesticatoin is unknown adn contravercial. At least threee easly species of teh ''Homo'' gennus begen spreadeng out of Africa rougly 400,000 eyars ago, adn thus lived fo a considirable timne iin contact wiht canene species. Dispite htis, htere is no evidennce of ani adaptatoin of canene species to teh presense of teh close erlatives of modirn men. If dogs wire domesticated, as believed, rougly 15,000 eyars ago, teh evennt (or evennts) owudl ahev coencided wiht a large expantion iin humen teritory adn teh developement of agricultuer. Htis has led smoe biologists to sugest one of teh fources taht led to teh domesticatoin of dogs wass a shift iin humen lifestile iin teh fourm of estalbished humen setlements. Permanant setlements owudl ahev coencided wiht a greatir ammount of disposable fod adn owudl ahev creaeted a barriir beetwen wild adn enthropogenic canene populatoins.

Roles wiht humens

Easly roles

Wolves, adn theit dog descendents, owudl ahev derivated signifigant benifits form liveng iin humen camps—mroe saftey, mroe erliable fod, lessir caloric neds, adn mroe chence to bered. Tehy owudl ahev bennefited form humens’ upright gait taht give's tehm largir renge ovir whcih to se potenntial perdators adn prei, as wel as color vision taht, at least bi dai, give's humens bettir visual discrimenation. Camp dogs owudl allso ahev benefited form humen tol uise, as iin brengeng down largir prei adn controling fier fo a renge of purposes.

Humens owudl allso ahev derivated enourmous benifit form teh dogs asociated wiht theit camps. Fo instatance, dogs owudl ahev improved senitation bi cleaneng up fod scraps. Dogs mai ahev provded warmth, as refered to iin teh Australian Aborigenal ekspression “threee dog night” (en eksceptionally cold night), adn tehy owudl ahev alirted teh camp to teh presense of perdators or strangirs, useing theit acute heareng to provide en easly warneng. Enthropologists beleave teh most signifigant benifit owudl ahev beeen teh uise of dogs' sennsitive sence of smel to asist wiht teh hunt. Teh relatiopnship beetwen teh presense of a dog adn succes iin teh hunt is offen maintioned as a primari erason fo teh domesticatoin of teh wolf, adn a 2004 studdy of huntir groups wiht adn wihtout a dog give's quentitative suppost to teh hipothesis taht teh benifits of coopirative hunteng wass en imporatnt factor iin wolf domesticatoin.

Teh cohabitatoin of dogs adn humens owudl ahev greatli improved teh chences of survival fo easly humen groups, adn teh domesticatoin of dogs mai ahev beeen one of teh kei fources taht led to humen succes.

As pets

“Teh most widesperad fourm of enterspecies bondeng ocurrs beetwen humens adn dogs” adn teh keepeng of dogs as compenions, particularily bi elites, has a long histroy. Howver, pet dog populatoins growed signifantly affter World War II as suburbenization encreased. Iin teh 1950s adn 1960s, dogs wire kept oustide mroe offen tahn tehy teend to be todya (useing teh ekspression “iin teh doghouse” to decribe eksclusion form teh gropu signifies teh distence beetwen teh doghouse adn teh home) adn wire stil primarially functoinal, acteng as a guard, childern’s plaimate, or walkeng compenion. Form teh 1980s, htere ahev beeen chenges iin teh role of teh pet dog, such as teh encreased role of dogs iin teh emotoinal suppost of theit ownirs. Peopel adn dogs ahev become increasingli intergrated adn implicated iin each otehr’s lives, to teh poent whire pet dogs activeli shape teh wai a famaly adn home aer eksperienced.

Htere ahev beeen two major ternds iin teh changeing status of pet dogs. Teh firt has beeen teh ‘comodification’ of teh dog, shapeng it to coform to humen ekspectations of personaliti adn behaviour. Teh secoend has beeen teh broadeneng of teh consept of teh famaly adn teh home to inlcude dogs-as-dogs withing everidai routenes adn practices.

Htere aer a vast renge of commoditi fourms availabe to tranform a pet dog inot en ideal compenion. Teh list of gods, sirvices adn places availabe is enourmous: form dog pirfumes, coutuer, furnituer adn houseng, to dog groomirs, thirapists, traeners adn caer-takirs, dog cafes, spas, parks adn beaches, adn dog hotels, airlenes adn cemetaries. Hwile dog traning as en orgenized activiti cxan be traced bakc to teh 18th centruy, iin teh lastest decades of teh 20th centruy it bacame a high profile isue as mani normal dog behaviors such as barkeng, jumpeng up, diggeng, rolleng iin dung, fighteng, adn urene markeng bacame increasingli incompatable wiht teh new role of a pet dog. Dog traning boks, clases adn television programs prolifirated as teh proccess of commodifiing teh pet dog continiued.

Teh marjority of contamporary dog ownirs decribe theit dog as part of teh famaly, altho smoe ambivalennce baout teh relatiopnship is evidennt iin teh popular erconceptualisation of teh dog-humen famaly as a pack. A domenance modle of dog-humen erlationships has beeen promoted bi smoe dog traeners, such as on teh television programe ''Dog Whispirir''. Howver it has beeen disputed taht "triing to acheive status" is characterstic of dog–humen enteractions. Pet dogs plai en active role iin famaly life; fo exemple, a studdy of convirsations iin dog-humen familes showed how famaly membirs uise teh dog as a ersource, tlaking to teh dog, or tlaking thru teh dog, to mediate theit enteractions wiht each otehr. Anothir studdy of dogs’ roles iin familes showed mani dogs ahev setted tasks or routenes undirtaken as famaly membirs, teh most comon of whcih wass helpeng wiht teh washeng-up bi lickeng teh plates iin teh dishwashir, adn brengeng iin teh newspapir form teh lawn. Increasingli, humen famaly membirs aer engageng iin activites centerd on teh percepted neds adn enterests of teh dog, or iin whcih teh dog is en intergral partnir, such as Dog Danceng adn Doga.

Accoring to teh statistics published bi teh Amirican Pet Products Manufacturirs Asociation iin teh Natoinal Pet Ownir Survei iin 2009–2010, it is estimated htere aer 77.5 milion dog ownirs iin teh Untied States. Teh smae survei shows nearli 40% of Amirican households pwn at least one dog, of whcih 67% pwn jstu one dog, 25% two dogs adn nearli 9% mroe tahn two dogs. Htere doens nto sem to be ani gendir prefirence amonst dogs as pets, as teh statistical data erveal en ekwual numbir of female adn male dog pets. Iet, altho severall programs aer undergoeng to promote pet adoptoin, lessor tahn a fith of teh owned dogs come form a sheltir.

Owrk

Dogs ahev lived adn worked wiht humens iin so mani roles taht tehy ahev earned teh unikwue nickname, "men's best firend", a phrase unsed iin otehr laguages as wel. Tehy ahev beeen breeded fo herdeng livestock, hunteng (e.g. poenters adn houends), rodennt controll, guardeng, helpeng fishirmen wiht nets, detectoin dogs, adn pulleng loads, iin addtion to theit roles as compenions.

Serivce dogs such as giude dogs, utiliti dogs, assisstance dogs, heareng dogs, adn pyschological therapi dogs provide assisstance to endividuals wiht fysical or menntal disabilities. Smoe dogs owned bi epileptics ahev beeen shown to alirt theit handlir wehn teh handlir shows signs of en impendeng siezure, somtimes wel iin advence of onset, alloweng teh ownir to sek saftey, medicatoin, or medical caer.

Dogs encluded iin humen activites iin tirms of helpeng out humens aer usally caled wokring dogs. Dogs of severall bereds aer concidered wokring dogs. Smoe wokring dog bereds inlcude Akita, Alasken Malamute, Enatolien Shephird Dog, Birnese Mountaen Dog, Black Rusian Tirriir, Bokser, Bullmastif, Dobirman Penscher, Dogue de Bordeauks, Girman Penscher, Girman Shephird, Gient Schnauzir, Graet Dene, Graet Pirenees, Graet Swis Mountaen Dog, Komoendor, Kuvasz, Mastif, Neapoliten Mastif, Foundland, Portugese Watir Dog, Rottweilir, Saent Birnard, Samoied, Sibirian Huski, Standart Schnauzir, adn Tibeten Mastif.

Sports adn shows

Ownirs of dogs offen entir tehm iin competitoins such as bered confourmation shows or sports, incuding raceng adn sleddeng.

Iin confourmation shows, allso refered to as bered shows, a judge familar wiht teh specif dog bered evaluates endividual puerberd dogs fo conformiti wiht theit estalbished bered tipe as discribed iin teh bered standart. As teh bered standart olny deals wiht teh eksternally obsirvable kwualities of teh dog (such as apearance, movemennt, adn temperment), separateli tested kwualities (such as abillity or health) aer nto part of teh judgeng iin confourmation shows.

As a fod source

Dog meat is consumed iin smoe East Asien ocuntries, incuding Koera, Chena, adn Vietnam, a pratice taht dates bakc to antiquiti. It is estimated taht 13–16 milion dogs aer kiled adn consumed iin Asia eveyr eyar. Teh BBC claimes taht, iin 1999, mroe tahn 6,000 restaraunts sirved soups made form dog meat iin Sourth Koera. Iin Koera, teh primari dog bered rised fo meat, teh ''nuerongi'' (누렁이), diffirs form thsoe bereds rised fo pets taht Koreens mai kep iin theit homes. Teh most popular Koreen dog dish is ''gaejeng-guk'' (allso caled ''bosentang''), a spici stew meaned to balence teh bodi's heat druing teh summir months; followirs of teh custom claim htis is done to ensuer god health bi balanceng one's ''gi'', or vital energi of teh bodi. A 19th centruy verison of ''gaejeng-guk'' eksplains taht teh dish is perpaerd bi boileng dog meat wiht scalions adn chili powdir. Variatoins of teh dish contaen chickenn adn bambo shots. Hwile teh dishes aer stil popular iin Koera wiht a segement of teh populaion, dog is nto as wideli consumed as bef, chickenn, adn pork.

Otehr cultuers, such as Polinesia adn per-Columbien Meksico, allso consumed dog meat iin theit histroy. Howver, Westirn, Sourth Asien, Africen, adn Middle Eastirn cultuers, iin genaral, reguard consumptoin of dog meat as tabo. Iin smoe places, howver, such as iin rural aeras of Polend, dog fat is believed to ahev medicenal propirties—bieng god fo teh lungs fo instatance.

A CNN erport iin Chena dated March 2010 enterviews a dog meat veendor who states taht most of teh dogs taht aer availabe fo selleng to restarant aer rised iin speical farms but taht htere is allways a chence taht a sold dog is somone's lost pet, altho dog pet bereds aer nto concidered edible.

Health risks to humens

Iin teh USA, cats adn dogs aer a factor iin mroe tahn 86,000 fals each eyar. It has beeen estimated arround 2% of dog-realted injurys terated iin UK hospitals aer domestic accidennts. Teh smae studdy foudn taht hwile dog involvment iin road trafic accidennts wass dificult to quantifi, dog-asociated road accidennts envolveng injuri mroe commongly envolved two-wheled vehicles.

''Toksocara cenis'' (dog rouendworm) eggs iin dog feces cxan cuase toksocariasis. Iin teh Untied States, baout 10,000 cases of ''Toksocara'' enfection aer erported iin humens each eyar, adn allmost 14% of teh US populaion is enfected. Iin Graet Britan, 24% of soil samples taked form publich parks contaened ''T. cenis'' eggs. Unterated toksocariasis cxan cuase retenal dammage adn decerased vision. Dog feces cxan allso contaen hokworms taht cuase cuteneous larva migrens iin humens.

Teh encidence of dog bites, adn expecially fatal dog bites, is extremly raer iin Amercia considereng teh numbir of pet dogs iin teh ocuntry. Fatalies form dog bites occour iin Amercia at teh rate of one pir four milion dogs. A Colorado studdy foudn bites iin childern wire lessor sevire tahn bites iin adults. Teh encidence of dog bites iin teh US is 12.9 pir 10,000 enhabitants, but fo bois aged 5 to 9, teh encidence rate is 60.7 pir 10,000. Moreovir, childern ahev a much heigher chence to be biten iin teh face or neck.

Sharp claws wiht powerfull muscles behend tehm cxan lacirate flesh iin a scratch taht cxan lead to sirious enfections.

Iin teh UK beetwen 2003 adn 2004, htere wire 5,868 dog atacks on humens, resulteng iin 5,770 wokring dais lost iin sick leave.

Health benifits fo humens

A groweng bodi of reasearch endicates teh compenionship of a dog cxan enhence humen fysical health adn pyschological wellbeeng. Dog adn cat ownirs ahev beeen shown to ahev bettir menntal adn fysical health tahn nonownirs, amking fewir visits to teh doctor adn bieng lessor likeli to be on medicatoin tahn nonownirs. Iin one studdy, new pet ownirs erported a highli signifigant erduction iin menor health problems druing teh firt month folowing pet aquisition, adn htis efect wass sustaened iin dog ownirs thru to teh eend of teh studdy. Iin addtion, dog ownirs tok considerabli mroe fysical excercise tahn cat ownirs adn peopel wihtout pets. Teh gropu wihtout pets ekshibited no statisticalli signifigant chenges iin health or behaviour. Teh ersults provide evidennce taht pet aquisition mai ahev positve efects on humen health adn behaviour, adn taht fo dog ownirs theese efects aer relativly long tirm. Pet ownirship has allso beeen asociated wiht encreased coronari arteri desease survival, wiht dog ownirs bieng signifantly lessor likeli to die withing one eyar of en acute miocardial enfarction tahn thsoe who doed nto pwn dogs.

Teh health benifits of dogs cxan ersult form contact wiht dogs, nto jstu form dog ownirship. Fo exemple, wehn iin teh presense of a pet dog, peopel sohw erductions iin cardiovascular, behavioral, adn pyschological endicators of anksiety. Teh benifits of contact wiht a dog allso inlcude social suppost, as dogs aer able to nto olny provide compenionship adn social suppost themselfs, but allso to act as facilitators of social enteractions beetwen humens. One studdy endicated taht whelchair usirs eksperience mroe positve social enteractions wiht strangirs wehn tehy aer accompanyed bi a dog tahn wehn tehy aer nto.

Teh pratice of useing dogs adn otehr enimals as a part of therapi dates bakc to teh late 18th centruy, wehn enimals wire inctroduced inot menntal insitutions to help socialize patiennts wiht menntal disordirs. Enimal-asisted entervention reasearch has shown taht enimal-asisted therapi wiht a dog cxan encrease a pirson wiht Alzheimir’s desease’s social behaviours, such as smileng adn laugheng. One studdy demonstrated taht childern wiht ADHD adn coenduct disordirs who particpated iin en eduction programe wiht dogs adn otehr enimals showed encreased attendence, encreased knowlege adn skil objectives, adn decerased entisocial adn voilent behavour compaired to thsoe who wire nto iin en enimal-asisted programe.

Sheltirs

Eveyr eyar, beetwen 6 adn 8 milion dogs adn cats entir US enimal sheltirs. Teh Humene Societi of teh Untied States (HSUS) estimates taht approximatley 3 to 4 milion dogs adn cats aer euthenized iearli iin sheltirs accros teh Untied States. Howver, teh pircentage of dogs iin US enimal sheltirs taht aer eventualli addopted adn ermoved form teh sheltirs bi theit new ownirs has encreased sicne teh mid 1990s form arround 25% up to arround 60–75% iin teh mid firt decade of teh 21st centruy.

Pets entereng teh sheltirs aer euthenized iin ocuntries al ovir teh world beacuse of teh lack of fenancial provisions to tkae caer of theese enimals. Most sheltirs complaen of nto haveing enought ersources to fed teh pets adn bi bieng constraened to kil tehm, as teh likelyhood fo al of tehm to fidn en ownir is veyr smal. Iin poore ocuntries, euthenasia is usally voilent.

Biologi

Domestic dogs ahev beeen selectiveli breeded fo milennia fo vairous behaviors, sensori capabilites, adn fysical atributes. Modirn dog bereds sohw mroe variatoin iin size, apearance, adn behavour tahn ani otehr domestic enimal. Nethertheless, theit morphologi is based on taht of theit wild encestors, grai wolves.

Dogs aer perdators adn scavengirs, adn liek mani otehr predatori mamals, teh dog has powerfull muscles, fused wrist bones, a cardiovascular sytem taht suports both sprenteng adn endurace, adn teth fo catcheng adn teareng.

Dogs aer highli varable iin heighth adn weight. Teh smalest known adult dog wass a Iorkshire Tirriir, taht standed olny at teh shouldir, iin legnth allong teh head-adn-bodi, adn weighed olny . Teh largest known dog wass en Enlish Mastif whcih weighed adn wass form teh snout to teh tail. Teh talest dog is a Graet Dene taht stends at teh shouldir.

Sennses

Vision

Liek most mamals, dogs aer dichromats adn ahev color vision equilavent to erd-geren color blendness iin humens (deutiranopia). Dogs aer lessor sennsitive to diffirences iin grei shades tahn humens adn allso cxan detect brightnes at baout half teh acuracy of humens.

Teh dog's visual sytem has evolved to aid proficiennt hunteng. Hwile a dog's visual acuiti is poore (taht of a podle's has beeen estimated to trenslate to a Snelen rateng of 20/75), theit visual discrimenation fo moveing objects is veyr high; dogs ahev beeen shown to be able to discrimenate beetwen humens (e.g., identifing theit ownir) at a renge of beetwen 800 adn 900 m, howver htis renge decerases to 500–600 m if teh object is stationari. Dogs ahev a temporal ersolution of beetwen 60 adn 70 Hz, whcih eksplains whi mani dogs struggle to watch television, as most such modirn scerens aer optimized fo humens at 50–60 Hz. Dogs cxan detect a chanage iin movemennt taht eksists iin a sengle dioptir of space withing theit eie. Humens, bi compairison, recquire a chanage of beetwen 10 adn 20 dioptirs to detect movemennt.

As cerpuscular huntirs, dogs offen reli on theit vision iin low lite situatoins: Tehy ahev veyr large pupils, a high densiti of rods iin teh fovea, en encreased flickir rate, adn a tapetum lucidum. Teh tapetum is a erflective surface behend teh retena taht erflects lite to give teh photoerceptors a secoend chence to catch teh photons. Htere is allso a relatiopnship beetwen bodi size adn ovirall diametir of teh eie. A renge of 9.5 adn 11.6 m cxan be foudn beetwen vairous bereds of dogs. Htis 20% varience cxan be substanial adn is asociated as en adaptatoin towrad supirior night vision.

Teh eies of diferent bereds of dogs ahev diferent shapes, dimennsions, adn retena configuratoins. Mani long-nosed bereds ahev a "visual sterak" – a wide foveal ergion taht runs accros teh width of teh retena adn give's tehm a veyr wide field of excelent vision. Smoe long-muzzled bereds, iin parituclar, teh sighthouends, ahev a field of vision up to 270° (compaired to 180° fo humens). Short-nosed bereds, on teh otehr hend, ahev en "aera cenntralis": a centeral patch wiht up to threee times teh densiti of nirve endengs as teh visual sterak, giveng tehm detailled sight much mroe liek a humen's. Smoe broad-headed bereds wiht short noses ahev a field of vision silimar to taht of humens. Most bereds ahev god vision, but smoe sohw a gennetic perdisposition fo miopia – such as Rottweilirs, wiht whcih one out of eveyr two has beeen foudn to be miopic. Dogs allso ahev a greatir divirgence of teh eie aksis tahn humens, enableng tehm to rotate theit pupils farthir iin ani dierction. Teh divirgence of teh eie aksis of dogs renges form 12-25° dependeng on teh bered.

Eksperimentation has provenn taht dogs cxan distingish beetwen compleks visual images such as taht of a cube or a prism. Dogs allso sohw atraction to static visual images such as teh silhouete of a dog on a sceren, theit pwn erflections, or videos of dogs; howver, theit interst declenes sharpli once tehy aer unable to amke social contact wiht teh image.

Heareng

Teh frequenci renge of dog heareng is approximatley 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz, whcih meens taht dogs cxan detect soudns far beiond teh uppir limitate of teh humen auditori spectrum. Iin addtion, dogs ahev ear mobiliti, whcih alows tehm to rapidli penpoent teh eksact loction of a soudn. Eighten or mroe muscles cxan tilt, rotate, raise, or lowir a dog's ear. A dog cxan idenify a soudn's loction much fastir tahn a humen cxan, as wel as hear soudns at four times teh distence.

Smel

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Hwile teh humen braen is domenated bi a large visual corteks, teh dog braen is domenated bi en olfactori corteks. Teh olfactori bulb iin dogs is rougly fourty times biggir tahn teh olfactori bulb iin humens, realtive to total braen size, wiht 125 to 220 milion smel-sennsitive erceptors. Teh blodhound eksceeds htis standart wiht nearli 300 milion erceptors. Subsequentli, it has beeen estimated taht dogs, iin genaral, ahev en olfactori sence rangeng form one hundered thousnad to one milion times mroe sennsitive tahn a humen's. Iin smoe dog bereds, such as blodhounds, teh olfactori sence mai be up to 100 milion times greatir tahn a humen's. Teh wet nose is esential fo determinining teh dierction of teh air curent contaeneng teh smel. Cold erceptors iin teh sken aer sennsitive to teh cooleng of teh sken bi evaporatoin of teh moistuer bi air curernts.

Fysical charistics

Coat

Teh coats of domestic dogs aer of two varietes: "double" bieng comon wiht dogs (as wel as wolves) origenateng form coldir climates, made up of a coarse guard hair adn a soft down hair, or "sengle", wiht teh topcoat olny.

Domestic dogs offen displai teh remnents of countershadeng, a comon natrual camoflage pattirn. A countirshaded enimal iwll ahev dark coloreng on its uppir surfaces adn lite coloreng below, whcih erduces its genaral visability. Thus, mani bereds iwll ahev en ocasional "blaze", stripe, or "star" of white fur on theit chest or undirside.

Tail

Htere aer mani diferent shapes fo dog tails: straight, straight up, sickle, curled, or cork-scerw. As wiht mani cenids, one of teh primari functoins of a dog's tail is to comunicate theit emotoinal state, whcih cxan be imporatnt iin getteng allong wiht otheres. Iin smoe hunteng dogs, howver, teh tail is traditionaly docked to avoid injurys. Iin smoe bereds, pupies cxan be born wiht a short tail or no tail at al.

Tipes adn bereds

Hwile al dogs aer geneticalli veyr silimar, natrual selction adn selective breedeng ahev reenforced ceratin charistics iin ceratin populatoins of dogs, giveng rise to dog tipes adn dog bereds. Dog tipes aer broad catagories based on funtion, gennetics, or charistics.

but teh meens bi whcih kennnel clubs classifi dogs is unsistematic. Sistematic analises of teh dog gennome has ervealed olny four major tipes of dogs taht cxan be sayed to be statisticalli distict. Theese inlcude teh "old world dogs" (e.g., Malamute adn Shar Pei), "Mastif"-tipe (e.g., Enlish Mastif), "herdeng"-tipe (e.g., Bordir Colie), adn "al otheres" (allso caled "modirn"- or "hunteng"-tipe).

Health

Dogs aer suceptible to vairous diseases, ailmennts, adn poisons, smoe of whcih cxan afect humens. To defeend againnst mani comon diseases, dogs aer offen vaccenated.

Smoe bereds of dogs aer prone to ceratin gennetic ailmennts such as elbow or hip displasia, blendness, deafnes, pulmonic stennosis, cleft palate, adn trick knes. Two sirious medical condidtions particularily affecteng dogs aer piometra, affecteng unspaied females of al tipes adn ages, adn bloat, whcih afects teh largir bereds or dep-chested dogs. Both of theese aer acute condidtions, adn cxan kil rapidli. Dogs aer allso suceptible to parasites such as fleas, ticks, adn mites, as wel as hokworm, tapeworm, rouendworm, adn heartworm.

Dogs aer highli suceptible to theobromene poisoneng, typicaly form engestion of choclate. Theobromene is toksic to dogs beacuse, altho teh dog's metabolism is capable of breakeng down teh chemcial, teh proccess is so slow taht evenn smal amounts of choclate cxan be fatal, expecially dark choclate.

Dogs aer allso vulnirable to smoe of teh smae health condidtions as humens, incuding diabetes, denntal adn heart desease, epilepsi, cancir, hipothiroidism, adn arthritis.

Mortaliti

Teh tipical lifespen of dogs varys wideli amonst bereds, but fo most teh medien longeviti, teh age at whcih half teh dogs iin a populaion ahev died adn half aer stil alive, renges form 10 to 13 eyars. Endividual dogs mai live wel beiond teh medien of theit bered.

Teh bered wiht teh shortest lifespen (amonst bereds fo whcih htere is a questionaire survei wiht a erasonable sample size) is teh Dogue de Bordeauks, wiht a medien longeviti of baout 5.2 eyars, but severall bereds, incuding Minature Bul Tirriirs, Blodhounds, adn Irish Wolfhouends aer nearli as short-lived, wiht medien longevities of 6 to 7 eyars.

Teh longest-lived bereds, incuding Toi Podles, Japaneese Spitz, Bordir Tirriirs, adn Tibeten Speniels, ahev medien longevities of 14 to 15 eyars. Teh medien longeviti of mixted-bered dogs, taked as en averege of al sizes, is one or mroe eyars longir tahn taht of puerberd dogs wehn al bereds aer averageed. Teh dog wideli erported to be teh longest-lived is "Bluei," who died iin 1939 adn wass claimed to be 29.5 eyars old at teh timne of his death; howver, teh Bluei recrod is enecdotal adn unvirified. On Decembir 5, 2011, Pusuke, teh world's oldest liveng dog ercognized bi Guiness Bok of World Ercords, died aged 26 eyars adn 9 months.

Perdation

Altho wild dogs, liek wolves, aer apeks perdators, tehy cxan be kiled iin teritory disputes wiht wild enimals. Futhermore, iin aeras whire both dogs adn otehr large perdators live, dogs cxan be a major fod source fo big cats or canenes. Erports form Croatia endicate wolves kil mroe dogs mroe frequentli tahn tehy kil sheeps. Wolves iin Rusia aparently limitate firal dog populatoins. Iin Wisconson, mroe compennsation has beeen paide fo dog loses tahn livestock. Smoe wolf pairs ahev beeen erported to prei on dogs bi haveing one wolf luer teh dog out inot heavi brush whire teh secoend enimal waits iin ambush. Iin smoe enstances, wolves ahev displaied en uncharactiristic fearlesnes of humens adn buildengs wehn attackeng dogs, to teh ekstent taht tehy ahev to be beatenn of or kiled. Coiotes adn big cats ahev allso beeen known to atack dogs. Leopards iin parituclar aer known to ahev a perdilection fo dogs, adn ahev beeen recoreded to kil adn consume tehm irregardless of teh dog's size or ferociti. Tigirs iin Menchuria, Endochena, Endonesia, adn Malaisia, aer erputed to kil dogs wiht teh smae vigor as leopards. Striped Hienas aer major perdators of vilage dogs iin Turkmenisten, Endia, adn teh Caucasus. Erptiles such as aligators adn pithons ahev beeen known to kil adn eat dogs.

Diet

Dispite theit descennt form wolves adn clasification as Carnivora, dogs aer variosly discribed iin scholarli adn otehr writengs as carnivoers or omnivoers. Unlike obligate carnivoers, such as teh cat famaly wiht its shortir smal entestene, dogs cxan adapt to a wide-rangeng diet, adn aer nto depeendent on meat-specif protien nor a veyr high levle of protien iin ordir to fufill theit basic dietari erquierments. Dogs iwll healthili digest a vareity of fods, incuding vegetables adn graens, adn cxan consume a large porportion of theese iin theit diet.

A numbir of comon humen fods adn houshold engestibles aer toksic to dogs, incuding choclate solids (theobromene poisoneng), onion adn garlic (thiosulphatte, sulfokside or disulfide poisoneng), grapes adn raisens, macadamia nuts, as wel as vairous plents adn otehr potentialy engested matirials.

Erproduction

Iin domestic dogs, seksual maturiti beigns to ahppen arround age siks to twelve months fo both males adn females, altho htis cxan be delaied untill up to two eyars old fo smoe large bereds. Htis is teh timne at whcih female dogs iwll ahev theit firt estrous cicle. Tehy iwll eksperience subesquent estrous cicles biannualli, druing whcih teh bodi perpaers fo pregancy. At teh peak of teh cicle, females iwll come inot estrus, bieng mentaly adn phisicalli erceptive to copulatoin. Beacuse teh ova survive adn aer capable of bieng firtilized fo a wek affter ovulatoin, it is posible fo a female to mate wiht mroe tahn one male.

Dogs bear theit littirs rougly 56 to 72 dais affter firtilization, wiht en averege of 63 dais, altho teh legnth of gestatoin cxan vari. En averege littir consists of baout siks pupies, though htis numbir mai vari wideli based on teh bered of dog. Iin genaral, toi dogs produce form one to four pupies iin each littir, hwile much largir bereds mai averege as mani as twelve.

Smoe dog bereds ahev aquired traits thru selective breedeng taht intefere wiht erproduction. Male Fernch Buldogs, fo instatance, aer encapable of mounteng teh female. Fo mani dogs of htis bered, teh female must be artifically ensemenated iin ordir to erproduce.

Neutereng

Neutereng referes to teh stirilization of enimals, usally bi ermoval of teh male's testicals or teh female's ovaries adn utirus, iin ordir to elimenate teh abillity to procerate adn erduce seks drive. Beacuse of teh ovirpopulation of dogs iin smoe ocuntries, mani enimal controll agenncies, such as teh Amirican Societi fo teh Preventation of Cruelti to Enimals (ASPCA), advise taht dogs nto entended fo furhter breedeng shoud be neutired, so taht tehy do nto ahev undesierd pupies taht mai ahev to latir be euthenized.

Accoring to teh Humene Societi of teh Untied States, 3–4 milion dogs adn cats aer put down each eyar iin teh Untied States adn mani mroe aer confened to cages iin sheltirs beacuse htere aer mani mroe enimals tahn htere aer homes. Spaiing or castrateng dogs helps kep ovirpopulation down. Local humene societies, Spcas, adn otehr enimal protectoin orgenizations urge peopel to neutir theit pets adn to addopt enimals form sheltirs instade of purchaseng tehm.

Neutereng erduces problems caused bi hyperseksuality, expecially iin male dogs. Spaied female dogs aer lessor likeli to develope smoe fourms of cancir, affecteng mammari glends, ovaries, adn otehr erproductive orgens. Howver, neutereng encreases teh risk of urinari encontenence iin female dogs, adn prostate cancir iin males, as wel as osteosarcoma, hemengiosarcoma, cruciate ligamennt ruptuer, obesiti, adn diabetes melitus iin eithir gendir.

Inteligence adn behavour

Inteligence

Teh domestic dog has a perdisposition to exibit a social inteligence taht is uncomon iin teh enimal world. Dogs aer capable of learneng iin a numbir of wais, such as thru simple reenforcement (e.g., clasical or opirant conditioneng) adn bi obervation.

Dogs go thru a serie's of stages of cognitive developement. As wiht humens, teh understandeng taht objects nto bieng activeli percepted stil reamain iin existance (caled object pirmanence) is nto persent at birth. It develops as teh ioung dog lerans to enteract intentionalli wiht objects arround it, at rougly 8 weks of age.

Pupies leran behaviors quicklyu bi folowing eksamples setted bi eksperienced dogs. Htis fourm of inteligence is nto peculure to thsoe tasks dogs ahev beeen breeded to peform, but cxan be geniralized to miriad abstract problems. Fo exemple, Dachshuend pupies taht watched en eksperienced dog pul a cart bi tuggeng on en atached peice of ribbon iin ordir to get a erward form enside teh cart learned teh task fiften times fastir tahn thsoe leaved to solve teh probelm on theit pwn. Dogs cxan allso leran bi mimickeng humen behaviors. Iin one studdy, pupies wire persented wiht a boks, adn shown taht, wehn a handlir perssed a levir, a bal owudl rol out of teh boks. Teh handlir hten alowed teh puppi to plai wiht teh bal, amking it en entrensic erward. Teh pups wire hten alowed to enteract wiht teh boks. Rougly threee-quartirs of teh pupies subsequentli touched teh levir, adn ovir half succesfully erleased teh bal, compaired to olny 6% iin a controll gropu taht doed nto watch teh humen menipulate teh levir. Anothir studdy foudn taht handeng en object beetwen eksperimenters who hten unsed teh object's name iin a senntennce succesfully teached en observeng dog each object's name, alloweng teh dog to subsequentli ertrieve teh item.

Dogs allso demonstrate sophicated social cognitoin bi associateng behavioral cues wiht abstract meanengs. One such clas of social cognitoin envolves teh understandeng taht otheres aer concious agennts. Reasearch has shown taht dogs aer capable of enterpreteng subtle social cues, adn apear to recogize wehn a humen or dog's atention is focused on tehm. To test htis, researchirs divised a task iin whcih a erward wass hiddenn undirneath one of two buckets. Teh eksperimenter hten attemted to comunicate wiht teh dog to endicate teh loction of teh erward bi useing a wide renge of signals: tappeng teh bucket, poenteng to teh bucket, noddeng to teh bucket, or simpley lookeng at teh bucket. Teh ersults showed taht domestic dogs wire bettir tahn chimpenzees, wolves, adn humen enfants at htis task, adn evenn ioung pupies wiht limited eksposure to humens performes wel.

Psycology reasearch has shown taht humens´ gaze instinctiveli moves to teh leaved iin ordir to watch right side of teh pirson's face, whcih is realted to uise of right emisphire braen fo facial ercognition, incuding humen facial emotoins. Reasearch at teh Univeristy of Lencoln (2008) shows taht dogs shaer htis enstenct wehn meeteng a humen bieng, adn olny wehn meeteng a humen bieng (i.e., nto otehr enimals or otehr dogs). As such tehy aer teh olny non-primate species known to do so.

Stanlei Coern, en ekspert on dog psycology, states taht theese ersults demonstrated teh social cognitoin of dogs cxan excede taht of evenn our closest gennetic erlatives, adn taht htis capaciti is a reccent gennetic aquisition taht distingishes teh dog form its ancester, teh wolf. Studies ahev allso envestigated whethir dogs enngaged iin partnired plai chanage theit behavour dependeng on teh atention-state of theit partnir. Thsoe studies showed taht plai signals wire olny sennt wehn teh dog wass holdeng teh atention of its partnir. If teh partnir wass distracted, teh dog instade enngaged iin atention-getteng behavour befoer sendeng a plai signal.

Coern has allso argued taht dogs demonstrate a sophicated thoery of mend bi engageng iin deceptoin, whcih he suports wiht a numbir of enecdotes, incuding one exemple wherin a dog hid a stolenn terat bi sitteng on it untill teh rightful ownir of teh terat leaved teh rom. Altho htis coudl ahev beeen accidenntal, Coern suggests taht teh theif undirstood taht teh terat's ownir owudl be unable to fidn teh terat if it wire out of veiw. Togather, teh emperical data adn enecdotal evidennce poents to dogs posessing at least a limited fourm of thoery of mend.

A studdy foudn a thrid of dogs suffired form anksiety wehn separated form otheres.

A Bordir Colie named Chasr has learned teh names fo 1,022 tois affter threee eyars of traning, so mani taht her's traeners ahev had to mark teh names of teh objects lest tehy foreget themselfs. Htis is heigher tahn Rico, anothir bordir colie who coudl rember at least 200 objects.

Behavour

Altho dogs ahev beeen teh suject of a graet dael of behaviorist psycology (e.g. Pavlov's dog), tehy do nto entir teh world wiht a pyschological "blenk slate". Rathir, dog behavour is afected bi gennetic factors as wel as enviormental factors. Domestic dogs exibit a numbir of behaviors adn perdispositions taht wire enherited form wolves. Teh Grai Wolf is a social enimal taht has evolved a sophicated meens of communciation adn social structer. Teh domestic dog has enherited smoe of theese perdispositions, but mani of teh saliennt charistics iin dog behavour ahev beeen largley shaped bi selective breedeng bi humens. Thus smoe of theese charistics, such as teh dog's highli developped social cognitoin, aer foudn olny iin primative fourms iin grei wolves.

Teh existance adn natuer of personaliti traits iin dogs ahev beeen studied (15329 dogs of 164 diferent bereds) adn five consistant adn stable "narow traits" identifed, discribed as plaifulness, curiositi/fearlesnes, chase-pronenes, sociabiliti adn aggerssiveness. A furhter heigher ordir aksis fo shiness–boldnes wass allso identifed.

Slep

Teh averege slep timne of a dog is sayed to be 10.1 housr pir dai. Liek humens, dogs ahev two maen tipes of slep: Slow-wave slep, hten Rappid eie movemennt slep slep, teh state iin whcih dreasm occour.

Dog growl

A new studdy iin Budapest, Hungari has foudn taht dogs aer able to tel how big anothir dog is jstu bi listeneng to its growl. A specif growl is unsed bi dogs to protect theit fod. Teh reasearch allso shows taht dogs do nto lie baout theit size, adn htis is teh firt timne reasearch has shown enimals cxan determene anothir’s size bi teh soudn it makse. Teh test, useing images of mani kends of dogs, showed a smal adn big dog adn palyed a growl. Teh ersult, showed taht 20 of teh 24 test dogs loked at teh image of teh appropiate-sized dog firt adn loked at it longest.

Diffirences form wolves

Fysical charistics

Compaired to equaly sized wolves, dogs teend to ahev 20% smaler skuls, 30% smaler braens, as wel as proportionateli smaler teth tahn otehr cenid species. Dogs recquire fewir calories to funtion tahn wolves. It is throught bi ceratin eksperts taht teh dog's limp ears aer a ersult of atrophi of teh jaw muscles. Teh sken of domestic dogs teends to be thickir tahn taht of wolves, wiht smoe Enuit tribes favoreng teh fromer fo uise as clotheng due to its greatir resistence to mear adn tear iin harsh wether. -->

Behavour

Dogs teend to be poorir tahn wolves at obsirvational learneng, bieng mroe ersponsive to enstrumental conditioneng. Firal dogs sohw littel of teh compleks social structer or domenance heirarchy persent iin wolf packs. Fo exemple, unlike wolves, teh dominent alpha pairs of a firal dog pack do nto fource teh otehr membirs to wait fo theit turn on a meal wehn scavengeng of a dead ungulate as teh hwole famaly is fere to joen iin. Fo dogs, otehr membirs of theit kend aer of no help iin locateng fod items, adn aer mroe liek competitors. Firal dogs aer primarially scavengirs, wiht studies showeng taht unlike theit wild cousens, tehy aer poore ungulate huntirs, haveing littel inpact on wildlife populatoins whire tehy aer simpatric. Howver, firal dogs ahev beeen erported to be efective huntirs of erptiles iin teh Galápagos Islends, adn fere rangeng pet dogs aer mroe prone to predatori behavour towrad wild enimals.

Domestic dogs cxan be monogamous. Breedeng iin firal packs cxan be, but doens nto ahev to be erstricted to a dominent alpha pair (such thigsn allso occour iin wolf packs). Male dogs aer unusual amonst cenids bi teh fact taht tehy mostli sem to plai no role iin raiseng theit pupies, adn do nto kil teh ioung of otehr females to encrease theit pwn erproductive succes. Smoe sources sai taht dogs diffir form wolves adn most otehr large cenid species bi teh fact taht tehy do nto ergurgitate fod fo theit ioung, nor teh ioung of otehr dogs iin teh smae teritory.

Howver, htis diference wass nto obsirved iin al domestic dogs. Regurgitateng of fod bi teh females fo teh ioung as wel as caer fo teh ioung bi teh males has beeen obsirved iin domestic dogs, dengos as wel as iin otehr firal or semi-firal dogs. Regurgitateng of fod bi teh females adn dierct chosing of olny one mate has beeen obsirved evenn iin thsoe semi-firal dogs of dierct domestic dog ancestri. Allso regurgitateng of fod bi males has beeen obsirved iin fere-rangeng domestic dogs.

Trainabiliti

Dogs displai much greatir tractabiliti tahn tame wolves, adn aer, iin genaral, much mroe ersponsive to coircive technikwues envolveng fear, avirsive stimuli, adn fource tahn wolves, whcih aer most ersponsive towrad positve conditioneng adn erwards. Unlike tame wolves, dogs teend to erspond mroe to voice tahn hend signals.

Mithologi

Iin mithologi, dogs offen sirve as pets or as watchdogs.

Iin Gerek mithologi, Cirbirus is a threee-headed watchdog who guards teh gates of Hades. Iin Norse mithologi, a bloodi, four-eied dog caled Garmr guards Helheim. Iin Pirsian mithologi, two four-eied dogs guard teh Chenvat Bridge. Iin Phillipine mithologi, Kimat who is teh pet of Tadaklen, god of thundir, is reponsible fo lightneng. Iin Welsh mithologi, Ennwn is guarded bi Cŵn Ennwn

Iin Juadaism adn Islam, dogs aer viewed as uncleen scavengirs. Iin Christianiti, dogs erpersent faithfulnes. Iin Asien ocuntries such as Chena, Koera, adn Japen, dogs aer viewed as kend protectors.

Teh 2004 Endian Oceen earthkwuake wass en undirsea megathrust earthkwuake taht occured at 00:58:53 UTC on Sundai, 26 Decembir 2004, wiht en epicenter of teh west caost of Sumatra, Endonesia. Teh kwuake itsself is known bi teh scienntific communty as teh Sumatra–Endamen earthkwuake. Teh resulteng tsunami is givenn vairous names, incuding teh 2004 Endian Oceen tsunami, Sourth Asien tsunami, Endonesian tsunami, adn Boksing Dai tsunami.

Teh earthkwuake wass caused bi subductoin adn triggired a serie's of devastateng tsunamis allong teh coasts of most lendmasses bordereng teh Endian Oceen, killeng ovir 230,000 peopel iin fourten ocuntries, adn enundateng coastal communites wiht waves up to high. It wass one of teh deadliest natrual disastirs iin recoreded histroy. Endonesia wass teh hardest-hitted ocuntry, folowed bi Sri Lenka, Endia, adn Thailend.

Wiht a magnitude of M 9.1–9.3, it is teh thrid largest earthkwuake evir recoreded on a seismograph. Teh earthkwuake had teh longest duratoin of faulteng evir obsirved, beetwen 8.3 adn 10 mintues. It caused teh entier plenet to vibrate as much as adn triggired otehr earthkwuakes as far awya as Alaska. Its epicenter wass beetwen Simeulue adn maenland Endonesia. Teh plight of teh afected peopel adn ocuntries prompted a worlwide humenitarien reponse. Iin al, teh worlwide communty donated mroe tahn $14 bilion (2004 US$) iin humenitarien aid.

Earthkwuake charistics

Teh earthkwuake wass initialy doccumented as moent magnitude 8.8. Iin Febrary 2005 scienntists ervised teh estimate of teh magnitude to 9.0. Altho teh Pacific Tsunami Warneng Centir has accepted theese new numbirs, teh Untied States Geological Survei has so far nto chenged its estimate of 9.1. Teh most reccent studies iin 2006 ahev obtaened a magnitude of M 9.1–9.3. Dr. Hiro Kenamori of teh Califronia Enstitute of Technolgy believes taht M 9.2 is a god representive value fo teh size of htis graet earthkwuake.

Iin a studdy of Chlieh et al., bi fitteng obtaened data wiht vairous models, teh 1-dai coseismic siesmic moent realease corrisponds to M 9.15, adn teh 40-dai postseismic siesmic moent realease wass baout 35% of teh coseismic siesmic moent realease. Iin total, teh siesmic moent realease corrisponds to baout M 9.2.

Teh hipocentre of teh maen earthkwuake wass approximatley , iin teh Endian Oceen jstu noth of Simeulue islend, of teh westirn caost of northen Sumatra, at a depth of below meen sea levle (initialy erported as ). Teh northen sectoin of teh Suenda megathrust, whcih had beeen asumed dorment, ruptuerd; teh ruptuer haveing a legnth of . Teh earthkwuake (folowed bi teh tsunami) wass feeled simultanously as far awya as Bengladesh, Endia, Malaisia, Mianmar, Thailend, Sengapore adn teh Maldives. Splai faults, or secondry "pop up faults", caused long, narow parts of teh sea flor to pop up iin secoends. Htis quicklyu elevated teh heighth adn encreased teh sped of waves, causeng teh complete distruction of teh nearbye Endonesian twon of Lhoknga.

Endonesia lies beetwen teh Pacific Reng of Fier allong teh noth-eastirn islends ajacent to adn incuding New Guenea adn teh Alpide belt allong teh sourth adn west form Sumatra, Java, Bali, Floers, adn Timor.

Graet earthkwuakes such as teh Sumatra-Endamen evennt, whcih aer invariabli asociated wiht megathrust evennts iin subductoin zones, ahev siesmic moents taht cxan account fo a signifigant fractoin of teh global earthkwuake moent accros centruy-scale timne piriods. Of al teh siesmic moent erleased bi earthkwuakes iin teh 100 eyars form 1906 thru 2005, rougly one-eighth wass due to teh Sumatra-Endamen evennt. Htis kwuake, togather wiht teh God Fridai Earthkwuake (Alaska, 1964) adn teh Graet Chileen Earthkwuake (1960), account fo allmost half of teh total moent. Teh much smaler but stil catastrophic 1906 Sen Frencisco earthkwuake is encluded iin teh diagram below fo pirspective. M dennotes teh magnitude of en earthkwuake on teh moent magnitude scale.

Sicne 1900 teh olny earthkwuakes recoreded wiht a greatir magnitude wire teh 1960 Graet Chileen Earthkwuake (magnitude 9.5) adn teh 1964 God Fridai Earthkwuake iin Prence Wiliam Soudn (9.2). Teh olny otehr recoreded earthkwuakes of magnitude 9.0 or greatir wire of Kamchattka, Rusia, on 4 Novembir 1952 (magnitude 9.0) adn Tōhoku, Japen (magnitude 9.0) on 11 March 2011. Each of theese megathrust earthkwuakes allso spawned tsunamis iin teh Pacific Oceen. Howver, teh death tol form theese wass signifantly lowir, primarially beacuse of teh lowir populaion densiti allong teh coasts near afected aeras adn teh much greatir distences to mroe populated coasts adn allso due to teh supirior enfrastructure adn warneng sistems iin Medcs (Mroe Economicalli Developped Ocuntries) such as Japen.

Otehr veyr large megathrust earthkwuakes occured iin 1868 (Piru, Nazca Plate adn Sourth Amirican Plate); 1827 (Colombia, Nazca Plate adn Sourth Amirican Plate); 1812 (Venezuala, Carribbean Plate adn Sourth Amirican Plate) adn 1700 (westirn Noth Amercia, Juen de Fuca Plate adn Noth Amirican Plate). Al of tehm aer believed to be greatir tahn magnitude 9, but no accurate measuerments wire availabe at teh timne.

Tectonic plates

Teh megathrust earthkwuake wass unusualy large iin geographical adn geological ekstent. En estimated of fault surface sliped (or ruptuerd) baout allong teh subductoin zone whire teh Endia Plate slides (or subducts) undir teh overrideng Burma Plate. Teh slip doed nto ahppen instantaneousli but tok palce iin two phases ovir a piriod of severall mintues:

* Seismographic adn accoustic data endicate taht teh firt phase envolved a ruptuer baout long adn wide, located benneath teh sea bed—teh largest ruptuer evir known to ahev beeen caused bi en earthkwuake. Teh ruptuer proceded at a sped of baout (), beggining of teh caost of Aceh adn proceding noth-westerli ovir a piriod of baout 100 secoends.

* A pause of baout anothir 100 secoends tok palce befoer teh ruptuer continiued northwards towards teh Endamen adn Nicobar Islends. Howver, teh northen ruptuer occured mroe slowli tahn iin teh sourth, at baout (), continueing noth fo anothir five mintues to a plate bondary whire teh fault tipe chenges form subductoin to strike-slip (teh two plates slide past one anothir iin oposite dierctions).

Teh Endia Plate is part of teh graet Endo-Australian Plate, whcih undirlies teh Endian Oceen adn Bai of Benngal, adn is drifteng noth-east at en averege of 6 centimeters pir eyar ( enches pir eyar). Teh Endia Plate mets teh Burma Plate (whcih is concidered a portoin of teh graet Eurasien Plate) at teh Suenda Ternch. At htis poent teh Endia Plate subducts benneath teh Burma Plate, whcih caries teh Nicobar Islends, teh Endamen Islends, adn northen Sumatra. Teh Endia Plate senks deepir adn deepir benneath teh Burma Plate untill teh encreaseng temperture adn presure drive volatiles out of teh subducteng plate. Theese volatiles rise inot teh overliing plate causeng partical melteng adn teh fourmation of magma. Teh riseng magma entrudes inot teh crust above adn eksits teh Earth's crust thru volcenoes iin teh fourm of a volcenic arc. Teh volcenic activiti taht ersults as teh Endo-Australian Plate subducts teh Eurasien Plate has creaeted teh Suenda Arc.

As wel as teh sidewais movemennt beetwen teh plates, teh sea flor is estimated to ahev risenn bi severall meters, displaceng en estimated of watir adn triggereng devastateng tsunami waves. Teh waves doed nto orginate form a poent source, as wass inaccurateli depicted iin smoe ilustrations of theit paths of travel, but rathir radiated outwards allong teh entier legnth of teh ruptuer (acteng as a lene source). Htis greatli encreased teh geographical aera ovir whcih teh waves wire obsirved, reacheng as far as Meksico, Chile, adn teh Arctic. Teh raiseng of teh sea flor signifantly erduced teh capaciti of teh Endian Oceen, produceng a permanant rise iin teh global sea levle bi en estimated .

Aftirshocks adn otehr earthkwuakes

Numirous aftirshocks wire erported of teh Endamen Islends, teh Nicobar Islends adn teh ergion of teh orginal epicenter iin teh housr adn dais taht folowed. Teh magnitude 8.7 2005 Sumatra earthkwuake, whcih origenated of teh caost of teh Sumatren islend of Nias, is nto concidered en aftirshock, dispite its proksimity to teh epicentir, adn wass most likeli triggired bi sterss chenges asociated wiht teh 2004 evennt. Htis earthkwuake wass so large taht it produced its pwn aftirshocks (smoe registereng a magnitude of as graet as 6.1) adn presentli renks as teh 7th largest earthkwuake on recrod sicne 1900. Otehr aftirshocks of up to magnitude 6.6 continiued to shake teh ergion daili fo up to threee or four months. As wel as continueing aftirshocks, teh energi erleased bi teh orginal earthkwuake continiued to amke its presense feeled wel affter teh evennt. A wek affter teh earthkwuake, its revirbirations coudl stil be measuerd, provideng valuble scienntific data baout teh Earth's interor.

Teh 2004 Endian Oceen earthkwuake came jstu threee dais affter a magnitude 8.1 earthkwuake iin en unenhabited ergion west of New Zealend's subentarctic Aucklend Islends, adn noth of Austrailia's Mackwuarie Islend. Htis is unusual, sicne earthkwuakes of magnitude 8 or mroe occour olny baout once pir eyar on averege. Smoe seismologists ahev speculated baout a conection beetwen theese two earthkwuakes, saiing taht teh fromer one might ahev beeen a catalist to teh Endian Oceen earthkwuake, as teh two earthkwuakes hapened on oposite sides of teh Endo-Australian Plate. Howver, teh U.S. Geological Survei ses no evidennce of a causal relatiopnship iin htis insident. Coincidentalli, teh earthkwuake striked allmost eksactly one eyar (to teh hour) affter a 6.6 magnitude earthkwuake kiled en estimated 30,000 peopel iin teh citi of Bam iin Iren on 26 Decembir 2003.

Smoe scienntists confrim taht teh Decembir earthkwuake had activated Leusir Mountaen, a volcanoe iin Aceh provence allong teh smae renge of peaks as Mount Taleng, hwile teh 2005 Sumatra earthkwuake had sparked activiti iin Lake Toba, en encient cratir iin Sumatra. Geologists sai taht teh iruption of Mount Taleng iin April 2005 is connected to teh Decembir earthkwuake.

Energi erleased

Teh energi erleased on teh Earth's surface olny (''M'', whcih is teh ''siesmic potenntial fo dammage'') bi teh 2004 Endian Oceen earthkwuake adn tsunami wass estimated at 1.1×10 joules, or 26 megatons of TNT. Htis energi is equilavent to ovir 1500 times taht of teh Hiroshima atomic bomb, but lessor tahn taht of Tsar Bomba, teh largest neuclear weapon evir detonated. Howver, htis is but a tini fractoin of teh total owrk done ''M'' (adn thus energi) bi htis kwuake, 4.0×10 joules (4.0×10 irgs), teh vast marjority undirground. Htis ekwuates to 4.0×10 J, ovir 360,000 times mroe tahn its ''M''. Htis is a truely enourmous figuer, equilavent to 9,600 gigatons of TNT equilavent (550 milion times taht of Hiroshima), or baout 370 eyars of energi uise iin teh Untied States at 2005 levels of 1.08×10 J.

Teh olny recoreded earthkwuakes wiht a largir ''M'' wire teh 1960 Chileen adn 1964 Alasken kwuakes, wiht 2.5×10 joules (250 ZJ) adn 7.5×10 joules (75 ZJ) respectiveli.

Teh earthkwuake genirated a siesmic oscilation of teh Earth's surface of up to , equilavent to teh efect of teh tidal fources caused bi teh Sun adn Mon. Teh shock waves of teh earthkwuake wire feeled accros teh plenet; as far awya as teh U.S. state of Okalahoma, whire virtical movemennts of wire recoreded. Bi Febrary 2005, teh earthkwuake's efects wire stil detectable as a compleks harmonic oscilation of teh Earth's surface, whcih gradualy dimenished adn mirged wiht teh encessant fere oscilation of teh Earth mroe tahn 4 months affter teh earthkwuake.

Beacuse of its enourmous energi realease adn shalow ruptuer depth, teh earthkwuake genirated ermarkable siesmic grouend motoins arround teh globe, particularily due to huge Raileigh (surface) elastic waves taht excedded iin virtical amplitude everiwhere on Earth. Teh recrod sectoin plot below displais virtical displacemennts of teh Earth's surface recoreded bi seismometirs form teh IRIS/USGS Global Seismographic Network ploted wiht erspect to timne (sicne teh earthkwuake initation) on teh horizontal aksis, adn virtical displacemennts of teh Earth on teh virtical aksis (onot teh 1 cm scale bar at teh botom fo scale). Teh seismograms aer aranged verticalli bi distence form teh epicentir iin degeres. Teh earliest, lowir amplitude, signal is taht of teh comperssional (P) wave, whcih tkaes baout 22 mintues to erach teh otehr side of teh plenet (teh entipode; iin htis case near Ecuador). Teh largest amplitude signals aer siesmic surface waves taht erach teh entipode affter baout 100 mintues. Teh surface waves cxan be claerly sen to reforce near teh entipode (wiht teh closest siesmic statoins iin Ecuador), adn to subsequentli enncircle teh plenet to erturn to teh epicenntral ergion affter baout 200 mintues. A major aftirshock (magnitude 7.1) cxan be sen at teh closest statoins starteng jstu affter teh 200 menute mark. Htis aftirshock owudl be concidered a major earthkwuake undir ordinari circumstences, but is dwarfed bi teh maenshock.

Teh shift of mas adn teh masive realease of energi veyr slightli altired teh Earth's rotatoin. Teh eksact ammount is nto iet known, but theroretical models sugest teh earthkwuake shortenned teh legnth of a dai bi 2.68 microsecoends, due to a decerase iin teh oblatenes of teh Earth. It allso caused teh Earth to minuteli "wobble" on its aksis bi up to iin teh dierction of 145° east longitude, or perhasp bi up to . Howver, beacuse of tidal efects of teh Mon, teh legnth of a dai encreases at en averege of 15 µs pir eyar, so ani rotatoinal chanage due to teh earthkwuake iwll be lost quicklyu. Similarily, teh natrual Chandlir wobble of teh Earth, whcih iin smoe cases cxan be up to , iwll eventualli ofset teh menor wobble produced bi teh earthkwuake.

Mroe spectacularli, htere wass movemennt lateraly adn verticalli allong teh fault lene. Easly speculatoin wass taht smoe of teh smaler islends sourth-west of Sumatra, whcih is on teh Burma Plate (teh sourthern ergions aer on teh Suenda Plate), might ahev moved sourth-west bi up to , but mroe accurate data erleased mroe tahn a month affter teh earthkwuake foudn teh movemennt to be baout . Sicne movemennt wass virtical as wel as latiral, smoe coastal aeras mai ahev beeen moved to below sea levle. Teh Endamen adn Nicobar Islends apear to ahev shifted sourth-west bi arround adn to ahev sunk bi .

Iin Febrary 2005, teh Roial Navi vesel HMS ''Scot'' surveied teh seabed arround teh earthkwuake zone, whcih varys iin depth beetwen . Teh survei, coenducted useing a high-ersolution, multi-beam sonar sytem, ervealed taht teh earthkwuake had made a huge inpact on teh topographi of teh seabed. thrusted ridges creaeted bi previvous geologic activiti allong teh fault had colapsed, generateng lendslides severall kilometirs wide. One such lendslide consisted of a sengle block of rock smoe 100 m high adn 2 km long (300 ft bi 1.25 mi). Teh momenntum of teh watir displaced bi tectonic uplift had allso dragged masive slabs of rock, each weigheng milions of tons, as far as accros teh seabed. En oceenic ternch severall kilometers wide wass eksposed iin teh earthkwuake zone.

Teh TOPEKS/Poseidon adn Jason 1 satelites hapened to pas ovir teh tsunami as it wass crosseng teh oceen. Theese satelites carri radars taht measuer preciseli teh heighth of teh watir surface; anomolies of teh ordir of wire measuerd. Measuerments form theese satelites mai prove envaluable fo teh understandeng of teh earthkwuake adn tsunami. Unlike data form tide guages enstalled on shoers, measuerments obtaened iin teh middle of teh oceen cxan be unsed fo computeng teh parametirs of teh source earthkwuake wihtout haveing to compennsate fo teh compleks wais iin whcih close proksimity to teh caost chenges teh size adn shape of a wave.

Tsunami charistics

Teh suddenn virtical rise of teh seabed bi severall meters druing teh earthkwuake displaced masive volumes of watir, resulteng iin a tsunami taht striked teh coasts of teh Endian Oceen. A tsunami whcih causes dammage far awya form its source is somtimes caled a teletsunami adn is much mroe likeli to be produced bi virtical motoin of teh seabed tahn bi horizontal motoin.

Teh tsunami, liek al otheres, behaved veyr differentli iin dep watir tahn iin shalow watir. Iin dep oceen watir, tsunami waves fourm olny a smal hump, bearly noticable adn harmles, whcih generaly travels at a veyr high sped of ; iin shalow watir near coastlenes, a tsunami slows down to olny tenns of kilometers pir hour, but iin doign so fourms large distructive waves. Scienntists envestigateng teh dammage iin Aceh foudn evidennce taht teh wave erached a heighth of wehn comming ashoer allong large stertches of teh coastlene, riseng to iin smoe aeras wehn travelleng enland.

Radar satelites recoreded teh hights of tsunami waves iin dep watir: at two housr affter teh earthkwuake, teh maksimum heighth wass . Theese aer teh firt such obsirvations evir made. Unforetunately theese obsirvations coudl nto be unsed to provide a warneng, sicne teh satelites wire nto builded fo taht purpose adn teh data tok housr to analize.

Accoring to Tad Murti, vice-persident of teh Tsunami Societi, teh total energi of teh tsunami waves wass equilavent to baout five megatons of TNT (20 petajoules). Htis is mroe tahn twice teh total eksplosive energi unsed druing al of World War II (incuding teh two atomic bombs), but stil a couple of ordirs of magnitude lessor tahn teh energi erleased iin teh earthkwuake itsself. Iin mani places teh waves erached as far as enland.

Beacuse teh fault afected bi teh earthkwuake wass iin a nearli noth-sourth orienntation, teh geratest strenght of teh tsunami waves wass iin en east-west dierction. Bengladesh, whcih lies at teh northen eend of teh Bai of Benngal, had veyr few casulaties dispite bieng a low-lieing ocuntry relativly near teh epicentir. It allso bennefited form teh fact taht teh earthkwuake proceded mroe slowli iin teh northen ruptuer zone, greatli reduceng teh energi of teh watir displacemennts iin taht ergion.

Coasts taht ahev a lendmass beetwen tehm adn teh tsunami's loction of orgin aer usally safe; howver, tsunami waves cxan somtimes difract arround such lendmasses. Thus, teh Endian state of Kirala wass hitted bi teh tsunami dispite bieng on teh westirn caost of Endia, adn teh westirn caost of Sri Lenka allso suffired substanial impacts. Allso distence alone wass no garantee of saftey; Somalia wass hitted hardir tahn Bengladesh dispite bieng much farthir awya.

Beacuse of teh distences envolved, teh tsunami tok anyhwere form fiften mintues to sevenn housr (fo Somalia) to erach teh vairous coastlenes. Teh northen ergions of teh Endonesian islend of Sumatra wire hitted veyr quicklyu, hwile Sri Lenka adn teh east caost of Endia wire hitted rougly 90 mintues to two housr latir. Thailend wass allso striked baout two housr latir dispite bieng closir to teh epicenter, beacuse teh tsunami traveled mroe slowli iin teh shalow Endamen Sea of its westirn caost.

Teh tsunami wass noticed as far as Struisbaai iin Sourth Africa, smoe awya, whire a high tide surged on shoer baout 16 housr affter teh earthkwuake. It tok a relativly long timne to erach htis spot at teh southirnmost poent of Africa, probablly beacuse of teh broad contenental shelf of Sourth Africa adn beacuse teh tsunami owudl ahev folowed teh Sourth Africen caost form east to west. Teh tsunami allso erached Entarctica, whire tidal gauges at Japen's Showa Base recoreded oscilations of up to a meter (), wiht disturbences lasteng a couple of dais.

Smoe of teh tsunami's energi escaped inot teh Pacific Oceen, whire it produced smal but measurable tsunamis allong teh westirn coasts of Noth adn Sourth Amercia, typicaly arround . At Menzenillo, Meksico, a cerst-to-trough tsunami wass measuerd. As wel, teh tsunami wass large enought to be detected iin Vancouvir, Brittish Columbia, Cenada. Htis puzzled mani scienntists, as teh tsunamis measuerd iin smoe parts of Sourth Amercia wire largir tahn thsoe measuerd iin smoe parts of teh Endian Oceen. It has beeen tehorized taht teh tsunamis wire focused adn diercted at long renges bi teh mid-oceen ridges whcih run allong teh margens of teh contenental plates.

Signs adn warnengs

Dispite a lag of up to severall housr beetwen teh earthkwuake adn teh inpact of teh tsunami, nearli al of teh victims wire taked completly bi suprise. Htere wire no tsunami warneng sytems iin teh Endian Oceen to detect tsunamis or to warn teh genaral populace liveng arround teh oceen. Tsunami detectoin is nto easi beacuse hwile a tsunami is iin dep watir it has littel heighth adn a network of sennsors is neded to detect it. Setteng up teh comunications enfrastructure to isue timeli warnengs is en evenn biggir probelm, particularily iin a relativly poore part of teh world.

Tsunamis aer much mroe ferquent iin teh Pacific Oceen beacuse of earthkwuakes iin teh "Reng of Fier", adn en efective tsunami warneng sytem has long beeen iin palce htere. Altho teh ekstreme westirn edge of teh Reng of Fier ekstends inot teh Endian Oceen (teh poent whire htis earthkwuake striked), no warneng sytem eksists iin taht oceen. Tsunamis htere aer relativly raer dispite earthkwuakes bieng relativly ferquent iin Endonesia. Teh lastest major tsunami wass caused bi teh Krakatoa iruption of 1883. It shoud be noted taht nto eveyr earthkwuake produces large tsunamis; on 28 March 2005, a magnitude 8.7 earthkwuake hitted rougly teh smae aera of teh Endian Oceen but doed nto ersult iin a major tsunami.

Iin teh aftirmath of teh diaster, htere is now en awarness of teh ened fo a tsunami warneng sytem fo teh Endian Oceen. Teh Untied Natoins started wokring on en Endian Oceen Tsunami Warneng Sytem adn bi 2005 had teh inital steps iin palce. Smoe ahev evenn proposed createng a unified global tsunami warneng sytem, to inlcude teh Atlentic Oceen adn Carribbean.

Teh firt warneng sign of a posible tsunami is teh earthkwuake itsself. Howver, tsunami cxan strike thousends of kilometers awya whire teh earthkwuake is olny feeled weakli or nto at al. Allso, iin teh mintues preceeding a tsunami strike, teh sea offen ercedes temporarili form teh caost. Arround teh Endian Oceen, htis raer sight reportably enduced peopel, expecially childern, to visist teh caost to envestigate adn colect strended fish on as much as 2.5 km (1.6 mi) of eksposed beach, wiht fatal ersults. Howver, nto al tsunami causes htis "dissapearing sea" efect. Iin smoe cases, htere aer no warneng signs at al: teh sea iwll suddenli swel wihtout retreateng, suprising mani peopel adn giveng tehm littel timne to fle.

One of teh few coastal aeras to evacuate ahead of teh tsunami wass on teh Endonesian islend of Simeulue, veyr close to teh epicenter. Islend folkloer ercounted en earthkwuake adn tsunami iin 1907, adn teh islandirs fleed to enland hils affter teh inital shakeng iet befoer teh tsunami striked. On Maikhao beach iin northen Phuket, Thailend, a 10-eyar-old Brittish tourist named Tilli Smeth had studied tsunami iin geographi at schol adn ercognised teh warneng signs of teh receeding oceen adn frotheng bubbles. She adn her's paernts warned otheres on teh beach, whcih wass evacuated safetly. John Chroston, a biologi teachir form Scottland, allso ercognised teh signs at Kamala Bai noth of Phuket, tkaing a busload of vacationirs adn locals to saftey on heigher grouend.

Anthropolgists had initialy ekspected teh aborigenal populaion of teh Endamen Islends to be badli afected bi teh tsunami adn evenn feaerd teh allready depopulated Onge tribe coudl ahev beeen wiped out. Of teh siks native tribes olny teh Nicobaerse, who had coverted to Christianiti adn taked up agricultuer iin palce of theit previvous huntir-gathirir lifestile, adn maenland settlirs suffired signifigant loses. Mani of teh aborigenal tribes evacuated adn suffired fewir casulaties. Oral traditoins developped form previvous earthkwuakes helped teh aborigenal tribes excape teh tsunami. Fo exemple, teh folkloer of teh Onges talks of "huge shakeng of grouend folowed bi high wal of watir". Allmost al of teh Onge peopel semed to ahev survived teh tsunami.

Death tol adn casulaties

Accoring to teh U.S. Geological Survei a total of 227,898 peopel died (se table below fo details). Measuerd iin lives lost, htis is one of teh tenn worst earthkwuakes iin recoreded histroy, as wel as teh sengle worst tsunami iin histroy. Endonesia wass teh worst afected aera, wiht most death tol estimates at arround 170,000. Howver, anothir erport bi health menister Fadilah Supari has estimated teh death total to be as high as 220,000 iin Endonesia alone, giveng a total of 280,000 casulaties.

Teh tsunami caused sirious dammage adn deaths as far as teh east caost of Africa, wiht teh fartehst recoreded death due to teh tsunami occuring at Roi Els iin Sourth Africa, awya form teh epicenter. Iin total, eigth peopel iin Sourth Africa died due to abnormalli high sea levels adn waves.

Erlief agenncies erport taht one-thrid of teh dead apear to be childern. Htis is a ersult of teh high porportion of childern iin teh populatoins of mani of teh afected ergions adn beacuse childern wire teh least able to ersist bieng ovircome bi teh surgeng watirs. Oksfam whent on to erport taht as mani as four times mroe womenn tahn menn wire kiled iin smoe ergions beacuse tehy wire waiteng on teh beach fo teh fishirmen to erturn adn lookeng affter theit childern iin teh houses.

Iin en addtion to teh large numbir of local recidents, up to 9,000 foriegn tourists (mostli Europians) enjoiing teh peak holidai travel season wire amonst teh dead or misseng, expecially peopel form teh Nordic ocuntries. Teh Europian natoin hardest hitted mai ahev beeen Sweeden, whose death tol wass 543.

States of emergenci wire declaerd iin Sri Lenka, Endonesia, adn teh Maldives. Teh Untied Natoins estimated at teh outset taht teh erlief opertion owudl be teh costliest iin humen histroy. Hten UN Secratary-Genaral Kofi Ennen stated taht erconstruction owudl probablly tkae beetwen five adn tenn eyars. Govirnments adn non-govermental orgenisations feaerd taht teh fianl death tol might double as a ersult of diseases, prompteng a masive humenitarien reponse. Iin teh eend, htis fear doed nto matirialise.

Fo purposes of establisheng timelenes of local evennts, teh timne zones of afected aeras aer: UTC+3: (Kenia, Madagascar, Somalia, Tenzenia); UTC+4: (Mauritius, Réunion, Seichelles); UTC+5: (Maldives); UTC+5:30: (Endia, Sri Lenka); UTC+6: (Bengladesh); UTC+6:30: (Cocos Islends, Mianmar); UTC+7: (Endonesia (westirn), Thailend); UTC+8: (Malaisia, Sengapore). Sicne teh earthkwuake occured at 00:58:53 UTC, add teh above ofsets to fidn teh local timne of teh earthkwuake.

''Onot: Al figuers aer approksimate adn suject to chanage. Teh firt collum lenks to mroe details on specif ocuntries.''

Encludes thsoe erported undir 'Confirmed'. If no seperate estimates aer availabe, teh numbir iin htis collum is teh smae as erported undir 'Confirmed'.

Doens nto inlcude approximatley 19,000 misseng peopel initialy declaerd bi Tamil Tigir authorites form ergions undir theit controll.

Data encludes at least 2,464 foreignirs.

Doens nto inlcude Sourth Africen citizenns who died oustide of Sourth Africa (e.g., tourists iin Thailend). Fo mroe infomation on thsoe deaths, se htis

Ocuntries afected

Teh earthkwuake adn resulteng tsunami afected mani ocuntries iin Southheast Asia adn beiond, incuding Endonesia, Sri Lenka, Endia, Thailend, teh Maldives, Somalia, Mianmar, Malaisia, Seichelles adn otheres. Mani otehr ocuntries, expecially Austrailia adn thsoe iin Europe, had large numbirs of citizenns traveleng iin teh ergion on holidai. Both Sweeden adn Germani lost ovir 500 citizenns each iin teh diaster.

Evennt iin historical contekst

Htis earthkwuake wass teh biggest iin teh Endian Oceen iin smoe 700 eyars, or sicne arround A.D. 1400. Iin 2008, a team of scienntists wokring on Phra Thong, a barriir islend allong teh hard-hitted west caost of Thailend, erported evidennce of at least threee previvous major tsunamis iin teh preceeding 2,800 eyars, teh most reccent form baout 550 to 700 eyars ago. A secoend team foudn silimar evidennce of previvous tsunamis druing teh lastest 1,200 eyars iin Aceh, a provence at teh northen tip of Sumatra. Radiocarbon dateng of bark fragmennts iin soil below teh secoend send laier led teh scienntists to estimate taht teh most reccent precedessor to teh 2004 tsunami probablly occured beetwen A.D. 1300 adn 1450.

Htis earthkwuake wass teh thrid most powerfull earthkwuake recoreded sicne 1900, adn teh confirmed death tol is jstu undir 200,000 due to teh ensueng tsunami. Teh deadliest earthkwuakes sicne 1900 wire teh Tengshen, Chena earthkwuake of 1976, iin whcih at least 255,000 wire kiled; teh earthkwuake of 1927 iin Ksining, Qenghai, Chena (200,000); teh Graet Kento earthkwuake whcih striked Tokio iin 1923 (143,000); adn teh Gensu, Chena, earthkwuake of 1920 (200,000). Teh deadliest known earthkwuake iin histroy occured iin 1556 iin Shaanksi, Chena, wiht en estimated death tol of 830,000, though figuers form htis timne piriod mai nto be erliable.

Teh 2004 tsunami is teh deadliest iin recoreded histroy. Prior to 2004, teh deadliest recoreded tsunami iin teh Pacific Oceen wass iin 1782, wehn 40,000 peopel wire kiled bi a tsunami iin teh Sourth Chena Sea. Teh tsunami creaeted bi teh 1883 iruption of Krakatoa is throught to ahev ersulted iin 36,000 deaths. Teh most deadli tsunami beetwen 1900 adn 2004 occured iin 1908 iin Messena, Itali, on teh Mediteranean Sea, whire teh earthkwuake adn tsunami kiled 70,000. Teh most deadli tsunami iin teh Atlentic Oceen ersulted form teh 1755 Lisbon earthkwuake, whcih, conbined wiht teh tol form teh actual earthkwuake adn resulteng fiers, kiled ovir 100,000.

Teh 2004 earthkwuake adn tsunami conbined ahev beeen discribed as teh deadliest natrual diaster sicne eithir teh 1976 Tengshen earthkwuake or teh 1970 Bhola ciclone, or coudl conceivabli excede both of theese. Beacuse of uncertainity ovir death tols, it might nevir be known fo suer whcih of theese natrual disastirs wass teh deadliest.

Posible humen componennt iin magnitude of dammage

Iin en oppinion peice iin teh Wal Steret Journal, published five dais affter teh tsunami, a journalist, Endrew Browne, argued taht teh humen distruction of coral erefs mai ahev palyed a role iin eksacerbating teh distruction caused bi teh tsunami. Mani ocuntries accros Asia, incuding Endonesia, Sri Lenka adn Bengladesh, ahev put fourth effords to destory teh coral surroundeng theit beaches, adn instade amke wai fo shrimp farms adn otehr economic choices. On teh Suren Islend chaen of Thailend's caost, Browne argued, peopel mai ahev beeen saved as teh tsunami rushed againnst teh coral erefs, lesseneng its inpact. Howver, htere wire mani fewir peopel on theese islends, whcih helps expalin teh lowir death tol. Mani erefs aeras arround teh Endian Oceen ahev beeen destroied useing dinamite beacuse tehy aer concidered impedimennts to shiping, en imporatnt part of teh Sourth Asien ecomony. Similarily, Browne argued taht teh ermoval of coastal mengrove teres mai ahev entensified teh efect of teh tsunami iin smoe locatoins. He argued taht theese teres, whcih lened teh caost but wire ermoved to amke wai fo coastal ersidences, might ahev lesened teh fource of teh tsunami, iin ceratin aeras. Anothir factor, Browne argued, is teh ermoval of coastal send dunes.

Humenitarien, economic adn enviormental inpact

A graet dael of humenitarien aid wass neded beacuse of widesperad dammage of teh enfrastructure, shortages of fod adn watir, adn economic dammage. Epidemics wire of speical consern due to teh high populaion densiti adn tropical climate of teh afected aeras. Teh maen consern of humenitarien adn goverment agenncies wass to provide senitation facilites adn fersh drenkeng watir to contaen teh spreaded of diseases such as cholira, diptheria, disenteri, tiphoid adn hepatitis A adn B.

Htere wass allso a graet consern taht teh death tol coudl encrease as desease adn hungir spreaded. Howver, beacuse of teh inital kwuick reponse, htis wass menimized.

Iin teh dais folowing teh tsunami, signifigant efford wass spended iin buriing bodies hurriedli fo fear of desease. Howver, teh publich health risks mai ahev beeen exagerated, adn therfore htis mai nto ahev beeen teh best wai to alocate ersources. Teh World Fod Programe provded fod aid to mroe tahn 1.3 milion peopel afected bi teh tsunami.

Natoins al ovir teh world provded ovir US$14 bilion iin aid fo damaged ergions, wiht teh govirnments of Austrailia pledgeng US$819.9 milion (incuding a US$760.6-milion aid package fo Endonesia), Germani offereng US$660 milion, Japen offereng US$500 milion, Cenada offereng US$343 milion, Norwai adn teh Netherland's offereng both US$183 milion, teh Untied States offereng US$35 milion initialy (encreased to US$350 milion), adn teh World Benk offereng US$250 milion. Allso Itali offired US$95 milion, encreased latir to US$113 milion of whcih US$42 milion wass donated bi teh populaion useing teh SMS sytem Accoring to USAID, teh US has pledged additoinal fuends iin long-tirm U.S. suppost to help teh tsunami victims erbuild theit lives. On 9 Febrary 2005, Persident Bush asked Congerss to encrease teh U.S. committment to a total of US$950 milion. Oficials estimated taht bilions of dolars owudl be neded. Bush allso asked his fathir, fromer Persident George H. W. Bush, adn fromer Persident Bil Clenton to lead a U.S. efford to provide private aid to teh tsunami victims.

Iin mid-March teh Asien Developement Benk erported taht ovir US$4 bilion iin aid promised bi govirnments wass behend schedual. Sri Lenka erported taht it had recepted no foriegn goverment aid, hwile foriegn endividuals had beeen genirous. Mani charities wire givenn considirable donatoins form teh publich. Fo exemple, iin teh UK teh publich donated rougly £330,000,000 sterleng (nearli US$600,000,000). Htis considerabli outweighed teh donatoin bi teh goverment adn came to en averege of baout £5.50 (US$10) donated bi eveyr citizenn.

Iin August 2006, fiften local aid staf wokring on post-tsunami rebuildeng wire foudn eksecuted iin nortehast Sri Lenka affter heavi fighteng, teh maen umberlla bodi fo aid agenncies iin teh ocuntry sayed. Htere had beeen erports adn rumors taht teh local aid workirs had beeen kiled.

Economic inpact

Teh levle of dammage to teh ecomony resulteng form teh tsunami depeends on teh scale u eksamine. Hwile local economies wire devastated, teh ovirall inpact to teh natoinal economies wass menor. Teh two maen occupatoins afected bi teh tsunami wire fisheng adn tourism. Teh inpact on coastal fisheng communites adn teh peopel liveng htere, smoe of teh pooerst iin teh ergion, has beeen devastateng wiht high loses of encome earnirs as wel as boats adn fisheng gear. Iin Sri Lenka artisenal fisheri, whire teh uise of fish baskets, fisheng traps, adn spears aer commongly unsed, is en imporatnt source of fish fo local markets; indutrial fisheri is teh major economic activiti, provideng dierct emploiment to baout 250,000 peopel. Iin reccent eyars teh fisheri industri has emirged as a dinamic eksport-oriennted sector, generateng substanial foriegn ekschange earnengs. Preliminari estimates endicate taht 66% of teh fisheng flet adn indutrial enfrastructure iin coastal ergions ahev beeen destroied bi teh wave surges, whcih iwll ahev advirse economic efects both at local adn natoinal levels.

Hwile teh tsunami destroied mani of teh boats vital to Sri Lenka's fisheng industri, it allso creaeted demend fo fibirglass reenforced plastic catamarens iin boatiards of Tamil Nadu. Sicne ovir 51 000 vesels wire lost to teh tsunami, teh industri bomed. Howver, teh huge demend has led to lowir qualiti iin teh proccess, adn smoe imporatnt matirials wire sacrificed to cutted prices fo thsoe who wire impovirished bi teh tsunami.

But smoe economists beleave taht dammage to teh afected natoinal economies iwll be menor beacuse loses iin teh tourism adn fisheng endustries aer a relativly smal pircentage of teh GDP. Howver, otheres cautoin taht dammage to enfrastructure is en overrideng factor. Iin smoe aeras drenkeng watir suplies adn farm fields mai ahev beeen contamenated fo eyars bi salt watir form teh oceen. Evenn though olny costal ergions wire direcly afected bi teh watirs of teh tsunami, teh endirect efects ahev spreaded to enland provences as wel. Sicne teh media covirage of teh evennt wass so exstensive, mani tourists cencelled vacatoins adn trips to taht part of teh world, evenn though theit travel destenations mai nto ahev beeen afected. Htis riple efect coudl expecially be feeled iin teh enland provences of Thailend, such as Krabi, whcih acted liek a starteng poent fo mani otehr tourist destenations iin Thailend

Both teh earthkwuake adn teh tsunami mai ahev afected shiping iin teh Malacca Straits, whcih seperate Malaisia adn teh Endonesian Islend of Sumarta bi changeing teh depth of teh seabed adn bi disturbeng navigatoinal buois adn old shipwercks. Iin one aera of teh Strait, watir depths wire previousli up to 4,000 fet, adn aer now olny 100 fet iin smoe aeras, amking shiping imposible adn dangirous. Theese problems allso made teh deliveri of erlief aid mroe challengeng. Compileng new navigatoinal charts mai tkae months or eyars. Howver, oficials hope taht piraci iin teh ergion iwll drop of as a ersult of teh tsunami.

Ocuntries iin teh ergion apealed to tourists to erturn, poenteng out taht most tourist enfrastructure is uendamaged. Howver, tourists wire reluctent to do so fo pyschological erasons. Evenn beach ersorts iin parts of Thailend whcih wire completly untouched bi teh tsunami wire hitted bi cencellations.

Enviormental inpact

Beiond teh heavi tol on humen lives, teh Endian Oceen earthkwuake has caused en enourmous enviormental inpact taht iwll afect teh ergion fo mani eyars to come. It has beeen erported taht sevire dammage has beeen enflicted on ecosistems such as mengroves, coral erefs, foersts, coastal wetlends, vegetatoin, send dunes adn rock fourmations, enimal adn plent biodiversiti adn groundwatir. Iin addtion, teh spreaded of solid adn likwuid wuzte adn indutrial chemicals, watir polution adn teh distruction of sewage colectors adn teratment plents theraten teh enivoriment evenn furhter, iin untold wais. Teh enviormental inpact iwll tkae a long timne adn signifigant ersources to ases.

Accoring to specialists, teh maen efect is bieng caused bi poisoneng of teh freshwatir suplies adn teh soil bi saltwatir enfiltration adn deposit of a salt laier ovir arable lend. It has beeen erported taht iin teh Maldives, 16 to 17 coral eref atols taht wire ovircome bi sea waves aer completly wihtout fersh watir adn coudl be rendired unenhabitable fo decades. Uncountable wels taht sirved communites wire envaded bi sea, send adn earth; adn aquifiers wire envaded thru porous rock. Salted-ovir soil becomes stirile, adn it is dificult adn costli to erstoer fo agricultuer. It allso causes teh death of plents adn imporatnt soil micro-orgenisms. Thousends of rice, mengo adn bannana plentations iin Sri Lenka wire destroied allmost entireli adn iwll tkae eyars to recovir. On teh islend's east caost, teh tsunami contamenated wels on whcih mani villagirs erlied fo drenkeng watir. Teh Colombo-based Internation Watir Managament Enstitute monitoerd teh efects of saltwatir adn concluded taht teh wels recovired to per-tsunami drenkeng watir qualiti one adn a half eyars affter teh evennt. IWMI developped protocols fo cleaneng wels contamenated bi saltwatir; theese wire subsequentli offically eendorsed bi teh World Health Orgainization as part of its serie's of Emergenci Guidelenes.

Teh Untied Natoins Enivoriment Programe (UNEP) is wokring wiht govirnments of teh ergion iin ordir to determene teh severiti of teh ecological inpact adn how to addres it. UNEP has decided to earmark a US$1,000,000 emergenci fuend adn to establish a Task Fource to erspond to erquests fo technical assisstance form ocuntries afected bi teh tsunami. Iin reponse to a erquest form teh Maldivien Goverment, teh Australian Goverment sennt ecological eksperts to help erstoer marene enviorments adn coral erefs—teh lifeblod of Maldivien tourism. Much of teh ecological ekspertise has beeen rendired form owrk wiht teh Graet Barriir Eref, iin Austrailia's northereastern watirs.

Otehr efects

Mani health profesionals adn aid workirs ahev erported widesperad pyschological trauma asociated wiht teh tsunami. Tradicional beleives iin mani of teh afected ergions state taht a realtive of teh famaly must buri teh bodi of teh dead, adn iin mani cases, no bodi remaned to be burried. Womenn iin Aceh erquierd a speical apporach form foriegn aid agenncies, adn contenue to ahev unikwue neds.

Teh hardest hitted aera, Aceh, is concidered to be a religiousli conservitive Islamic societi adn has had no tourism nor ani Westirn presense iin reccent eyars due to armed conflict beetwen teh Endonesian millitary adn Acehnese separatists. Smoe beleave taht teh tsunami wass divene punishmennt fo lai Muslims shirkeng theit daili praiers adn/or folowing a matirialistic lifestile. Otheres ahev sayed taht Alah wass angri taht htere wire Muslims killeng otehr Muslims iin en ongoeng conflict. Saudi cliric Muhamad Al-Munajid atributed it to divene ertribution againnst non-Muslim vacationirs "who unsed to sprawl al ovir teh beaches adn iin pubs overfloweng wiht wene" druing Christmas berak.

Teh widesperad devestation caused bi teh tsunami led teh maen erbel gropu GAM to declaer a cease-fier on 28 Decembir 2004 folowed bi teh Endonesian goverment, adn teh two groups ersumed long-staled peace talks, whcih ersulted iin a peace aggreement singed 15 August 2005. Teh aggreement eksplicitly cites teh tsunami as a justificatoin.

Teh exstensive internation media covirage of teh tsunami, adn teh role of mas media adn journalists iin erconstruction, wire discused bi editors of newspapirs adn broadcasted media iin tsunami-afected aeras, iin speical video-confirences setted up bi teh Asia Pacific Journalism Center.

Teh 26 Decembir 2004 Asien Tsunami leaved both teh peopel adn goverment of Endia iin a state of heightenned alirt. On 30 Decembir 2004, four dais affter teh tsunami, teh Portlend, Oergon-based compani Tirra Reasearch notified teh Endia goverment taht its sennsors endicated htere wass a possibilty of 7.9 to 8.1 magnitude tectonic shift iin teh enxt 12 housr beetwen Sumatra adn New Zealend. Iin reponse, teh Endia Home Afairs menister ennounced taht a fersh onslaught of deadli tidal waves wire likeli allong teh Endia sourthern caost adn Endamen adn Nicobar Islends, evenn as htere wass no sign of turbulennces iin teh ergion. Teh annoncement genirated penic iin teh Endian Oceen ergion adn caused thousends to fle theit homes, whcih ersulted iin jamed roads. Teh annoncement wass a false alarm adn teh Home Afairs menister withderw theit annoncement. On furhter envestigation, teh Endia goverment learned taht teh consulteng compani Tirra Reasearch wass run form teh home of a self-discribed earthkwuake forecastir who had no telephone listeng adn maentaened a webstie whire he sold copies of his detectoin sytem. Threee dais affter teh annoncement, Endian Natoinal Congerss persident Sonia Ghandi caled Sciennce & Technolgy menister Kapil Sibal to ekspress her's consern baout Sibal's 30 Decembir publich warneng bieng "hogwuzh".

Anothir ersult of teh tsunami, erspective towrad Endian cultuer, wass teh watir taht wuzhed awya centruies of send form smoe of teh ruens of a 1,200-eyar-old lost citi at Mahabalipuram on teh sourth caost of Endia. Teh site, contaeneng such noteable structuers as a half-burried grenite lion near a 7th centruy Mahablipuram temple adn a erlic depicteng en elphant, is part of waht archaeologists beleave to be en encient port citi taht wass swalowed bi teh sea hunderds of eyars ago.

Teh tsunami had a sevire humenitarien adn political inpact iin Sweeden. Teh hardest hitted ocuntry oustide Asia, 543 Sweedish tourists, mainli iin Thailend, died. Wiht no sengle insident haveing kiled mroe Sweedish peopel sicne teh batle of Poltava iin 1709, teh cabenet of Gören Pirsson wass heaviliy criticized fo lack of acton.

Idet: I jest wastud 7 ours uf mi lief tipeing upp wekepedeuh artikohs.

 

[Duncanbh3]

MY NAME IS STEVE

Don't ask me what I'm doing here, because I don't know. One day, I woke up in the middle of a forest, covered in snow, devoid of all memory and sense of identity. Why? I have no clue. It almost doesn't matter.

I spent the first couple of hours calling for help, wandering around, hoping I'd find someone nearby. After a while, I came to the reluctant conclusion that I was well and truly isolated: no sound of human voices, no hum of tires on distant roadways; nothing but the trill of far off birds and rustling branches in the wind. There might have been a cow nearby from all the mooing, but I couldn't find it.

I might not have known who I am, or why I woke up in this snowy forest, but that didn't mean I was going to sit down and let depression take me along with the wolves. I needed a plan of action, needed to find a way to survive! But first, a man needs to know himself before he can trust himself, and because my old name was lost to my departed memory, I have decided to call myself Steve.

It's a good name.

I spent some time searching the area, looking for anything that might be useful to me. Tools and weapons would be my first priority--don't ask me how I knew, but I could tell the forest would be dangerous at night, something in my blood maybe. There wasn't much, not even a single fallen branch on the ground, just smooth snow and straight pine trees. I tried to grab hold of a few rocks peeking up from the soil, but they were firmly stuck. I'd need something to pry them free, or maybe break them away. I spotted a tree nearby and went to it, running my hands over the dark brown bark. It was a good tree, strong and healthy.
So I punched it.
Pulp and bark flew as my hard fists broke chunk after chunk away from the tree. I gritted my teeth against the jarring in my arms and kept going until the whole thing broke through and crashed to the ground. Chest heaving from the exertion, I gathered the wood and sat down, examining the pieces. I broke some of the longer chunks into thick sticks, then stabbed one of them into a flat piece of wood shaped like a blade.
I grinned as I hefted the wooden axe I'd made, then swung it around experimentally. It felt good. I used the axe to fell several more trees until I had enough wood to make all the tools I needed: a shovel, sword, and pickax--the latter of which I used to break those stubborn stones from the ground. I stowed the rocks away for later use and strapped the tools to my back. I kept the sword out though, the feeling of danger in the woods tickling the back of my mind. Thus armed, I set off in search of food and shelter.
I won't bore you with the details of my struggle against starvation and wolves. Suffice it to say, it was a struggle. I fought, bled, and conquered. I stumbled over hills and down into water-filled valleys, climbing trees to see the path ahead. I slew cows and ate their flesh to stay alive. I fell off cliffs and broke bones, spending days waiting for them to heal. I briefly marveled at how quickly the wounds mended, but wasted no time in pressing on once they did. At night times, I was attacked by monsters, proving my intuition about the forest to be correct. I hid from the darkness, lighting the small mud huts I'd built along the way with torches until the sun rose once again.
I never knew why the world I'd woken up in was filled with skeletons and zombies, but it didn't really matter, I bashed their heads in with stone swords nonetheless. There were more questions to be had than answers, and I knew I would never know the half of them.
I had to survive!
Weeks later, exhausted, clothes ripped and torn, blood from numerous cuts on my legs trailing into my socks, I finally found mountains. Majestic. I climbed them each, looking for the ideal spot to build a home, far away from the oppressive trees and monster-filled shadows of the forest.
I avoided the caves beneath those mountains, fearful of skeletons and massive spiders. I knew I would have to venture inside them eventually, but not then. I finally found a flat-topped peak that overlooked the forests to the east, and ocean to the west. From its heights, I would be able to see the whole land, and defend my homestead from intruders. It was good.
That was a few months ago. I've since become used to this way of life, in this strange land. The name of Steve fits me like a glove, and I am the master of my modest stone home. I've raised cattle, planted wheat, and baked bread. I've explored those mysterious caves and returned the victor, bringing home coal for fires, iron for tools and armor, precious gold and even a priceless diamond. I am king of all I see, master of this forsaken land.
And then yesterday, my house blew up. Not all of it, but a good chunk of the western corner. You see, I was up on the roof, placing some wooden shingles that had blown loose in a rain storm, when a creeper appeared from of nowhere. I tried to pull back out of sight, but he spotted me and exploded in a fit of suicidal rage.
Now, I might not have mentioned creepers before, but not because they don't bear describing.
I call them creepers, because that's what they do. I first discovered them while exploring my first cave, and let me tell you: damn. Those things are scary as all hell. On that first instance, I'd run out of torches, and was blindly trying to feel my way forward, stone sword at the ready, when a movement caught my eye. I backed away, stumbling into the light of my torches, my head filled with thoughts of spiders and zombies, but instead... something else emerged, creeping along the stone with four stubby legs attached to a long torso. Its face stared at me with a strange sadness, mouth gaping in a profound grimace, arm stumps wiggling uselessly at its shoulders.
I stared, horrified by this hideous beast, lulled into apathy with misplaced pity.
But when the creeper neared, I caught a whiff of gunpowder, and the cave filled with an ominous hissing. I came to my senses and tried to flee as the hissing reached a crescendo. The creeper writhed and pulsed, its mouth opening in agony only a split second before it exploded in a roar of fire and flying rock. I threw myself down, covering my head with my arms as flames billowed over me.
I almost died that day, and learned to fear the creeper above all others.
And so, my house in smoking splinters after the latest creeper attack, I knew I had to repair it quickly before night fell and I became easy meat for monsters. I stowed all my valuables in a chest and armed myself with seven stone axes and iron armor, prepared to gather as much wood as possible before nightfall. I headed down to the edges of the forest and spent all day felling trees, breaking their wood into rough chunks I could carry back.
But somehow during the hours spent sweating and breaking axes, I got lost.
As the sun turned orange and dipped toward the horizon, I knew I had to get to shelter--fast. These lands bred monsters, and the sun's rapid progress worried me. With nothing but my axes and the wooden boards I'd hewn, I dug a hole in the ground and prepared to wait out the night.
But before I finished plugging up the entrance, I was spotted.

Spiders!
I put the last board in place and listened with dread in the dark as a dozen clacking mandibles drooled at the thought of my sweet blood just overhead. Their filthy mouths squealed and their clawed legs thumped all around as they did a frenzied, pre-meal dance, waiting for me to emerge. I slept uneasily in the dirt, listening to the terrible sounds above. When the morning came, they were still there. I cleared my bleary eyes and fashioned a crude sword from some stone beneath my feet and wood from my pockets, vowing to at least go down with a fight.
With a deep breath, I broke through the wooden barrier and leapt to the offense!
"My name is STEEEEEVE!" I screamed in defiance, but there were too many!
I ducked and dodged, keeping my lightly armored limbs from the six spiders' poisoned fangs as I hacked at their hairy bodies. But they pressed in.
I tried to retreat, but my foot fell into the very hole I'd hidden in overnight, and I tripped. I landed heavily in the dirt, gazing at the patch of sunlight above through my pain. Somehow, I knew this was the sky I would die under. I thought about the cows in their pens, the sheep grazing peacefully by the golden wheat ready to be harvested. They would all wait forever for me to return. My house would remain on my mountain top, an empty monument to Steve, the only human to ever walk this world. Was it all for nothing? No. I'd survived, if only for a while.
I blinked and brought myself back to the present. I smiled grimly as the spiders tried to swarm into the small hole, but their disgusting bodies were too big. I hacked at them from below, killing several. Perhaps there was a chance--
My hope was short lived, and my stomach dropped as a creeper suddenly appeared, blindly following the spiders, hoping for an easy victim. How could my luck have been so horrible? I knew what was going to happen next. Adrenaline flashed through my veins and I threw myself back as the creeper toppled into the hole, coming to land in a heap not two feet from me. I was trapped! The cold dirt and unyielding stone pressed against my back as I turned away, squeezing my eyes shut as the dreaded sound filled the small hole....

sssssssSSSSSSSS....
One day, I woke up in the middle of a forest, covered in snow....

 

[Duncanbh3]

Ok, ok u guys can wait while i copy 100 pages from my gullivers travels for my english class, or the whole epic of gilgamesh.

 

[Mamiamato24]

Ok, ok u guys can wait while i copy 100 pages from my gullivers travels for my english class, or the whole epic of gilgamesh.

There's a limit to how many characters you can have in a single post

 

[Ginger]

TOTALLY DIDNT COPY AND PASTE



Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in 1967 in London. Due to numerous line-up changes, the only original member present in the band is its namesake, drummer Mick Fleetwood. Although band founder Peter Green named the group by combining the surnames of two of his former bandmates (Fleetwood, McVie) from John Mayall'sBluesbreakers, bassist John McVie played neither on their first single nor at their first concerts, as he initially decided to stay with Mayall. The keyboardist, Christine McVie, who joined the band in 1970 while married to John McVie, appeared on all but the debut album, either as a member or as a session musician. She also supplied the artwork for the album Kiln House.

The two most successful periods for the band were during the late 1960s British blues boom, when they were led by guitarist Peter Green and achieved a UK number one with "Albatross"; and from 1975 to 1987, as a more pop oriented act, featuring Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac's second album after the incorporation of Buckingham and Nicks, 1977's Rumours, produced four U.S. Top 10 singles (including Nicks' song "Dreams"), and remained at No.1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks, as well as reaching the top spot in various countries around the world. To date the album has sold over 45 million copies worldwide, making it the fourth-highest-selling album of all time.

The band achieved more modest success in the intervening period between 1971 and 1974, with the line-up including Bob Welch, during the 1990s in between the departure and return of Nicks and Buckingham, and also during the 2000s in between the departure and return of Christine McVie. In 1998, selected members of Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. The band has sold 100 million albums worldwide.[1] In 2014, Christine McVie rejoined the band.[2]



Contents
[hide]

• 1 Formation and early years (1967–1970)
• 2 Transitional era (1970–1974)
• 3 Mainstream success (1975–1987)
• 4 Departure of Buckingham (1987–1995)
• 5 Break-up (1995–1997)
• 6 Return of Buckingham and Nicks, and Christine McVie's departure (1997–2007)
• 7 Later tours and Christine McVie's return (2008-present)
• 8 Remasters
• 9 Tours
• 10 Discography
• 11 Band personnel
  • 11.1 Members
  • 11.2 Timeline
• 12 See also
• 13 References
• 14 Bibliography
• 15 Further reading
• 16 External links

Formation and early years (1967–1970)[edit]


Peter Green, 18 March 1970
Fleetwood Mac was formed in 1967 in London when Peter Green left the British blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Green had replaced guitarist Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers, and received critical acclaim for his work on their album A Hard Road. After he had been in the Bluesbreakers for some time, Green asked if drummer Mick Fleetwood could replace Aynsley Dunbar. Green had been in two bands with Fleetwood—Peter B's Looners and the subsequent Shotgun Express (which featured a young Rod Stewart as vocalist). John Mayall agreed and Fleetwood became a member of the band.

The Bluesbreakers now consisted of Green, Fleetwood, John McVie and Mayall. Mayall gave Green free recording time as a gift, in which Fleetwood, McVie and Green recorded five songs. The fifth song was an instrumental which Green named after the rhythm section, "Fleetwood Mac".

Soon after, Green contacted Fleetwood to form a new band. The pair wanted McVie on bass guitar and even named the band 'Fleetwood Mac' as a way to entice him. However, McVie opted to keep his steady income with Mayall rather than take a risk with a new band. In the meantime Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood teamed up with slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer and bassistBob Brunning, who was in the band on the understanding that he would leave if McVie agreed to join. The Green, Fleetwood, Spencer, Brunning version of the band made its debut on 13 August 1967 at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival. Within weeks of this show, John McVie agreed to join the band as permanent bassist.

Fleetwood Mac's first album, Fleetwood Mac, was a no-frills blues album and was released on the Blue Horizon label in February 1968. In fact there were no other players on the album (except for the song "Long Grey Mare", which was recorded with Brunning on bass). The album was successful in the UK, hitting no.4, though it did not have any singles on it. The band soon released two singles "Black Magic Woman" (later a big hit for Santana) and "Need Your Love So Bad".

The band's second album, Mr. Wonderful, was released in August 1968. Like the first it was an all-blues album, but this time they made a few changes. The album was recorded live in the studio with miked amplifiers and PA system, rather than plugged into the board. This method provided the ideal environment for producing this style of music, and gave it an authentically vintage sound. They also added horns and featured a friend of the band on keyboards, Christine Perfect of Chicken Shack prior to her marriage to John McVie.

Shortly after the release of their second album Fleetwood Mac added guitarist Danny Kirwan, then just eighteen years old, to their line-up, recruited from the South London blues trio Boilerhouse, consisting of Kirwan on guitar with Trevor Stevens on bass and Dave Terrey on drums.[3] Green and Fleetwood had been to watch Boilerhouse rehearse in a basement boiler-room and Green was so impressed, he invited the band to play support slots for Fleetwood Mac. Green wanted Boilerhouse to become a professional band but Stevens and Terrey were not prepared to turn professional at the time, so Green sought to find another rhythm section by placing an ad in Melody Maker. There were over 300 applicants, but when Green and Fleetwood ran auditions at the Nag's Head in Battersea (home of the Mike Vernon Blue Horizon Club), the hard to please Green could not find anyone good enough to replace the pair, so he invited Kirwan to join Fleetwood Mac as their third guitarist.[4]

Green had been frustrated that Jeremy Spencer had little desire to contribute to Green's songs. A mature and accomplished self-taught guitarist, Kirwan's signature vibrato and unique style added a new dimension to an already complete band. With Kirwan the band released their first number one single in Europe, "Albatross". Around this time they released their second American album, English Rose, which contained half of Mr. Wonderful, new songs from Kirwan, and their third European album called The Pious Bird of Good Omen, which was a collection of singles, B-sides, and a selection of some work the band did with Eddie Boyd.

When the band went to the United States in January 1969 they recorded many songs at the soon-to-close Chess Records Studio, with some blues legends of Chicago including Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy and Otis Spann. These would prove, however, to be Fleetwood Mac's last all-blues recordings. Along with their change of style the band was also going through some label changes. Up until this point they had been on Blue Horizon. With Kirwan in the band, however, the musical possibilities were too great for them to stay on a blues-only label. The band signed with the Immediate Records label and released "Man of the World", another British and European hit single. For the B-side Spencer fronted Fleetwood Mac as "Earl Vince and the Valiants" and recorded "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite", typifying the more raucous rock 'n' roll side of the band. Immediate Records was in bad shape and the band shopped around for a new deal. Even though The Beatles wanted the band on Apple Records (Mick Fleetwood and George Harrison were brothers-in-law), the band's manager Clifford Davis decided to go with Warner Bros. Records (through Reprise Records, a Frank Sinatra-founded label), the label they have stayed with ever since.

Fleetwood Mac's first album for Reprise, released in September 1969, was the well-regarded Then Play On. Although the initial pressing of the American release of this album was the same as the British version, it was altered to contain the song "Oh Well", featured consistently in live performances from the time of its release through 1997 and then again starting in 2009. Then Play On, which was the band's first rock album, featured only the songs of Kirwan and Green. Jeremy Spencer, meanwhile, recorded a solo album (he was backed by the rest of the band) which consisted of many 1950s-style rock and roll songs.

In July 1969, Fleetwood Mac opened for Ten Years After at the Schaefer Music Festival at New York City's Wollman Rink. They re-appeared at the festival in 1970.

Fleetwood Mac were an extremely popular band in Europe at the time. However, Peter Green, the frontman of the band, was not in good health. He had taken LSD in Munich, which may have contributed to the onset of hisschizophrenia.[5] German author and filmmaker Rainer Langhans mentions in his autobiography that he and Uschi Obermaier met Peter Green in Munich, where they invited him to their "High-Fish-Commune". They were not really interested in Peter Green. They just wanted to get in contact with Mick Taylor: Langhans and Obermaier wished to organise a "Bavarian Woodstock". They wanted Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones to be the leading acts of their Bavarian open air festival. They needed Green just to get in contact with The Rolling Stones via Mick Taylor.[citation needed]

Green's last hit with Fleetwood Mac was "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown)" (first recorded at the Boston Tea Party in February 1970 and later recorded by Judas Priest). This recording was released as Green's mental stability deteriorated, and he wanted to give all of the band's money to charity. Other members of the band did not agree, and subsequently Green decided to leave the band. His last show with Fleetwood Mac was on 20 May 1970. During that show, the band went past their allotted time and the power was shut off, although Mick Fleetwood kept drumming. Some of the Boston Tea Party recordings (February 5/6/7 1970) were eventually released in the 1980s as the Live in Boston album, with a more complete remastered 3-volume compilation released by Snapper Music in the late 90s.

Transitional era (1970–1974)[edit]
Kirwan and Spencer were left with the task of having to fill up Peter's space in their live shows and on their recordings. In September 1970, Fleetwood Mac released Kiln House. Kirwan's songs moved the band in the direction of rock. Meanwhile, Spencer's contributions focused on re-creating the country-tinged "Sun Sound" of the late 1950s. Christine Perfect, who had retired from the music business after one unsuccessful solo album, contributed to Kiln House, singing backup vocals, and drawing the album cover. Since Fleetwood Mac were progressing and developing a new sound, Perfect was asked to join the band. They also released a single at that time; "Dragonfly" b/w "The Purple Dancer" in the U.K. and certain European countries. Despite good notices in the press, the single was not a success and the B-side has been reissued only once, on a Reprise German-only "Best of" album, making it one of their most obscure songs.



1973 line-up with Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Bob Weston, John McVie, and Bob Welch.
Christine Perfect, who was married to bassist John McVie, made her first appearance with the band as Christine McVie at Bristol University in May 1969 just as she was leaving Chicken Shack. She had success with the Etta James classic, "I'd Rather Go Blind", and was twice voted female artist of the year in England. Christine McVie played her first gig as an official member on 6 August 1970 in New Orleans. CBS Records, which now owned Blue Horizon (except in the US and Canada), released an album of previously unreleased material from the original Fleetwood Mac called The Original Fleetwood Mac. The album was relatively successful, and the band continued to gain popularity.

While on tour in February 1971, Jeremy Spencer said he was going out to "get a magazine", but never returned. After several days of frantic searching, the band discovered that Spencer had joined a religious group, the Children of God. Liable for the remaining shows on the tour, they convinced Peter Green to help finish the tour. He brought along his friend, Nigel Watson, who played the congas (twenty-five years later Green and Watson collaborated again to form the Peter Green Splinter Group). Green, however, would only be back with Fleetwood Mac temporarily, so the band decided to search for a new guitarist.

In the summer of 1971, the band held auditions for a guitarist in their large country home, "Benifold", which they bought prior to the Kiln House tour. A friend of the band named Judy Wong recommended her high school friend, Bob Welch, who was living in Paris at the time. The band had a few meetings with Welch and decided to hire him, without actually playing with him or listening to any of his recordings.

In September 1971, the band released Future Games. Due to Welch's arrival and Spencer's departure, the album was different from anything the band had done up to that point, and there were many new fans in America who were becoming more and more interested in the band. In Europe, CBS released Fleetwood Mac's first Greatest Hits package, which was predominantly composed of songs by Peter Green, though there was one song by Spencer and one by Kirwan.

In 1972, six months after the release of Future Games, the band released the well-received album Bare Trees. Though mostly composed by Kirwan, Bare Trees featured Welch's "Sentimental Lady", which would be a much bigger hit for him five years later when he re-recorded it for his solo album French Kiss, backed with Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie. It also featured "Spare Me a Little of Your Love", a bright Christine McVie tune that became a staple of the band's live act throughout the early to mid-1970s.

While the band were doing well in the studio, their tours were more problematic. Danny Kirwan developed an alcohol dependency and became alienated from Welch and the McVies. It was not until he smashed his Les Paul Custom guitar before a concert, refused to go on stage, and criticised the band afterwards that Fleetwood was finally convinced that he had no choice but to fire Kirwan.

The next two and a half years proved to be the most challenging for the band. In the three albums they released in this period, they constantly changed line-ups. In September 1972, the band added guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker, formerly of Savoy Brown and Idle Race.[6] Bob Weston was well known for playing slide guitar and had known the band from his touring period with Long John Baldry. Fleetwood Mac also hired Savoy Brown's road manager, John Courage. Mick, John, Christine, Welch, Weston, and Walker recorded Penguin, which was released in January 1973. After the tour, the band fired Walker because his vocal style and attitude did not fit in with the rest of the band.

The remaining five carried on and recorded Mystery to Me six months later. This album contained Welch's song "Hypnotized" which got a lot of airplay on the radio and became one of the band's most successful songs to date in the US. The band were proud of the new album and anticipated that it would be a hit. However, things were not well within the band. The McVies' marriage at this time was under a lot of stress, which was aggravated by their constant working with each other, and John McVie's considerable alcohol abuse.[citation needed] During the tour, Weston had an affair with Fleetwood's wife, Jenny Boyd Fleetwood, the sister of Pattie Boyd Harrison. Fleetwood soon fired Weston and the tour was cancelled. Due to lack of touring, the album sold less than its predecessor.

In one of the most bizarre events in rock history, the band's manager, Clifford Davis, claimed that he owned the name Fleetwood Mac and put out a "fake Mac". Nobody in the "fake Mac" was ever officially in the real band, although some of them later acted as Danny Kirwan's studio band. Fans were told that Bob Welch and John McVie had quit the group, and that Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie would be joining the band at a later date, after getting some rest. Fleetwood Mac's road manager, John Courage, worked one show before he realised that the line being used was a lie. Courage ended up hiding the real Fleetwood Mac's equipment, which helped shorten the tour by the fake band. But the lawsuit that followed put the real Fleetwood Mac out of commission for almost a year. The issue was who actually owned the name "Fleetwood Mac". While it would seem obvious that the band was named after Fleetwood and McVie, they had signed contracts that showed the band forfeited the rights to the name.[citation needed]

During this period, Welch stayed in Los Angeles and connected with entertainment attorneys. Welch quickly realised that the band was being neglected by Warner Bros., and that if they wanted to change that, they would have to change their base of operation to Los Angeles. The rest of the band agreed immediately. Rock promoter Bill Graham wrote a letter to Warner Bros. to convince them that the "real" Fleetwood Mac were in fact Fleetwood, Welch and the McVies. While this did not end the legal battle, the band was able to record as Fleetwood Mac again. Instead of getting another manager, Fleetwood Mac decided to manage themselves.[citation needed]

The fake Mac consisted of Elmer Gantry (vocals, guitar), Kirby Gregory (guitar), Paul Martinez (bass), John Wilkinson (keyboards) and Craig Collinge (drums). Gantry and Gregory went on to become members of Stretch, Gantry later joined The Alan Parsons Project and Martinez eventually became a bassist for Robert Plant's solo efforts.

After Warner Bros. made a record deal with the real Fleetwood Mac, the quartet released Heroes Are Hard to Find in September 1974. For the first time in its history, the band had only one guitarist. On the road, they added a second keyboardist. The first was Bobby Hunt, who had been in the band Head West with Bob Welch back in 1970, and the second was Doug Graves, who had been an engineer on Heroes Are Hard to Find. Neither proved to be a long-term addition to the line-up, although Graves was preparing to be a full member of the band following the US tour in late 1974. At the time he said:

I'm looking forward to adding something to this already great band; I helped engineer their album 'Heroes Are Hard to Find' and got to know each member well. It came to me as a shock when Mick asked me to join but I am enjoying playing live with the band, and hopefully will start a new studio album with the band soon.

—Doug Graves, Melody Maker 26 October 1974
However, Graves did not ultimately join full-time and Welch left soon after the tour ended (on December 2, 1974), having tired of the touring and legal struggles. Nevertheless, the tour enabled the Heroes album to reach a higher position on the American charts than any of the band's previous records.[citation needed]

Mainstream success (1975–1987)[edit]
After Welch announced that he was leaving the band, Fleetwood began searching for a possible replacement. While Fleetwood was checking out Sound City Studios in L.A., the house engineer, Keith Olsen, played him a track which he had recorded in the studio, "Frozen Love", from the album Buckingham Nicks (1973). Fleetwood liked it, and was introduced to the guitarist from the band, Lindsey Buckingham, who coincidentally was at Sound City that day recording some demos. Fleetwood soon asked him to join. Buckingham agreed, on the condition that his musical partner and girlfriend, Stephanie "Stevie" Nicks, also become part of the band; Fleetwood agreed. Buckingham and Nicks joined the band on New Year's Eve 1974 (within 4 weeks of the previous incarnation splitting).[7][8]

In 1975, the new line-up released the eponymous Fleetwood Mac. The album proved to be a breakthrough for the band and became a huge hit, reaching No.1 in the US and selling over 5 million copies. Among the hit singles from this album were Christine McVie's "Over My Head" and "Say You Love Me", and Stevie Nicks' "Rhiannon" and "Landslide" (actually a hit twenty years later on The Dance album).

"Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac)

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17 second sample from Fleetwood Mac's song "Landslide".
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But in 1976, with the success of the band also came the end of John and Christine McVie's marriage, as well as Buckingham and Nicks' long term romantic relationship. Even Fleetwood was in the midst of divorce proceedings from his wife, Jenny. The pressure put on Fleetwood Mac to release a successful follow-up album, combined with their new-found wealth, led to creative and personal tensions, fuelled by high consumption of drugs and alcohol.

The album the band members released in 1977 was Rumours, in which they laid bare the emotional turmoil experienced at that time. Critically acclaimed, it was the recipient of the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for 1977. Hit singles included Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way", Nicks's U.S. No.1 "Dreams" ( sample (help·info)), and Christine McVie's "Don't Stop" and "You Make Loving Fun". Buckingham's "Second Hand News", Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman" and "The Chain" (the only song written by all five bandmates) also received significant radio airplay. By 2003,Rumours had sold over 19 million copies in the U.S. alone (certified as a diamond album by the RIAA), and a total of 40 million copies worldwide, maintaining its status as one of the biggest-selling albums of all time.[9]

Buckingham was able to convince Fleetwood to allow his work on their next album to be more experimental and to work on tracks at home, then bring them to the band in the studio. His expanded creative role for the next album was influenced by an appreciation for New Wave music.[citation needed]

The result of this was the quirky 20-track double album, Tusk, released in 1979. It spawned three hit singles; Lindsey Buckingham's "Tusk" (U.S. #8), which featured the USC Trojan Marching Band; Christine McVie's "Think About Me" (U.S. #20); and Stevie Nicks' 6½ minute opus "Sara" (U.S. #7). The last of those three was cut to 4½ minutes for both the hit single and the first CD-release of the album, but the unedited version has since been restored on the 1988 Greatest Hits compilation and the 2004 reissue of Tusk as well as Fleetwood Mac's 2002 release of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac. Original guitarist Green also took part in the sessions of Tusk, but his playing for the Christine McVie track "Brown Eyes" is not credited on the album.[10]

Tusk remains one of Fleetwood Mac's most ambitious albums to date, although selling only four million copies worldwide. This, in comparison to the huge sales of Rumours, inclined the label to deem the project a failure, laying the blame squarely on Buckingham.[citation needed] Fleetwood, however, blames the album's relative failure on the RKO radio chain playing the album in its entirety prior to release, thus allowing mass home taping.[11] In addition, Tuskwas a double album, with a high list price of $15.98.

The band embarked on a huge 18-month tour to support and promote Tusk. They travelled extensively across the world, including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In Germany they shared the bill with reggae superstar Bob Marley. It was on this world tour that the band recorded music for the Fleetwood Mac Live album, which was released at the end of 1980.

The next album, 1982's Mirage, following 1981 solo turns by Nicks (Bella Donna) and Buckingham (Law and Order), was a return to the more conventional. Buckingham had been chided by critics, fellow bandmembers and music business managers for the lesser commercial success enjoyed by Tusk. Recorded at Château d'Hérouville in France, Mirage was an attempt to recapture the huge success of Rumours. Its hits included Christine McVie's "Hold Me" and "Love In Store" (each song being co-written by Robbie Patton and Jim Recor, respectively), Stevie Nicks's "Gypsy", and Lindsey Buckingham's "Oh Diane", which made the Top 10 in the UK. A minor hit was also scored by Buckingham's "Eyes Of The World" and "Can't Go Back".

In contrast to the Tusk Tour, the band only embarked on a short tour of 18 American cities, the Los Angeles show being recorded and released on video. They also headlined the first US Festival, for which the band was paid $500,000 ($1,221,897 today). Mirage was certified double platinum in the U.S.

Following Mirage, the band went on hiatus, which allowed members to pursue solo careers. Stevie Nicks released two more solo albums (1983's The Wild Heart and 1985's Rock a Little), Lindsey Buckingham issued Go Insane in 1984, the same year that Christine McVie made an eponymous album (yielding the Top 10 hit "Got A Hold On Me" and the Top 40 hit "Love Will Show Us How"). All three met with success and it was Nicks who became the most popular. However, also during this period, Mick Fleetwood had filed for bankruptcy, Nicks was admitted to the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction problems, and John McVie had suffered an addiction-related seizure—all attributed to the lifestyle of excess afforded to them by their worldwide success. It was rumoured that Fleetwood Mac had finally broken up; however, Buckingham commented that he was unhappy to allow Mirage to remain as the band's last effort.[12]

The Rumours line-up of Fleetwood Mac recorded one more album for the time being, Tango in the Night, in 1987. Initially, as with various other Fleetwood Mac albums, the material started off as a Buckingham solo album before becoming a group project. The album went on to become their best-selling release since Rumours, especially in the UK where it hit no. 1 three times over the following year. The album sold three million copies in the USA and contained four hits: Christine McVie's "Little Lies" and "Everywhere" (the former being co-written with McVie's new husband Eddy Quintela), Sandy Stewart and Stevie Nicks' "Seven Wonders", and Lindsey Buckingham's "Big Love". "Family Man", "Isn't It Midnight", and the title track were also released as singles, with lesser success.

Departure of Buckingham (1987–1995)[edit]


1987–1991 line-up of Fleetwood Mac
Although a ten-week tour was scheduled, Buckingham backed out at the last minute. He tried to explain to his bandmates that he felt his creativity was being stifled by his remaining in the band. A group meeting at Christine McVie's house on 7 August 1987 resulted in much rancour and recrimination, as well as an alleged (in Mick Fleetwood's autobiography) physical altercation between Buckingham and Nicks. Buckingham left the band the following day.[citation needed] Following Buckingham's departure, Fleetwood Mac added two new guitarists to the band, Billy Burnette and Rick Vito. Burnette was mainly added for his singing and songwriting skills and Vito for his lead guitar abilities.[citation needed]

Burnette is the son of Dorsey Burnette and nephew of Johnny Burnette, both of The Rock and Roll Trio. He had already worked with Mick Fleetwood in Zoo, with Christine McVie as part of her solo band, did some session work with Stevie Nicks and even backed Lindsey Buckingham on Saturday Night Live. Furthermore, Fleetwood and Christine McVie played on his Try Mealbum in 1985. Vito, a Peter Green admirer, played with many artists from Bonnie Raitt to John Mayall, and even worked with John McVie on two Mayall albums.

The 1987–88 "Shake the Cage" tour was the first outing for this line-up, and was successful enough to warrant the release of a concert video (simply titled "Tango in the Night"), filmed at San Francisco's Cow Palace arena in December 1987.

Capitalising on the success of Tango in the Night, the band continued with a Greatest Hits album in 1988. It featured singles from the 1975–88 era, and included two new compositions: "No Questions Asked" written by Nicks, and "As Long as You Follow" written by McVie and Quintela, which was released as a single in 1988 but only made No.43 in the US and No.66 in the UK. It did, however, reach No.1 on the US Adult Contemporary charts. The Greatest Hits album, which peaked at No.3 in the UK and No.14 in the US (though has since sold over 8 million copies there), was dedicated to Buckingham by the band, with whom they had now reconciled.

Following the Greatest Hits collection, Fleetwood Mac recorded Behind the Mask. With this album, the band veered away from the stylised sound that Buckingham had evolved during his tenure in the band (also evident in his solo works), and ended up with a more adult contemporary style from producer Greg Ladanyi. However, the album yielded only one Top 40 hit, McVie's "Save Me". Behind the Mask only achieved Gold album status in the US, peaking at No.18 on the Billboard album chart, though it entered the UK Albums Chart at #1. It received mixed reviews, and was seen by some music critics as a low point for the band in the absence of Lindsey Buckingham (who had actually made a guest appearance by playing on the title track). However, Rolling Stone magazine said that Vito and Burnette were "the best thing to ever happen to Fleetwood Mac" and the British Q magazine also praised the album in their review. The subsequent "Behind the Mask" tour saw the band play sold out shows at London's Wembley Stadium, and on the final show in Los Angeles, the band were joined onstage by Buckingham. The two women of the band, McVie and Nicks, had decided that the tour would be their last (McVie's father died during the tour) though both stated that they would still record with the band. However, in 1991, both Nicks and Rick Vito announced they were leaving Fleetwood Mac altogether.

In 1992, Fleetwood himself arranged a 4-disc box set spanning highlights from the band's 25 year history, titled 25 Years – The Chain (an edited 2-disc set was also available). A notable inclusion in the box set was "Silver Springs", a Stevie Nicks composition that was recorded during the Rumours sessions but was omitted from the album and used as the B-side of "Go Your Own Way" instead. Nicks had requested use of the track for her 1991 best-of compilation TimeSpace, but Fleetwood had refused her request as he had planned to include it in this collection as something of a rarity.[citation needed] The disagreement between Nicks and Fleetwood garnered press coverage, and is believed to be the main catalyst for Nicks leaving the band in 1991.[citation needed] The box set, however, also included a brand new Stevie Nicks/Rick Vito composition, "Paper Doll", which was released in the US as a single. As both members had left the band by this point, the track was presumably a leftover from the Behind the Mask sessions. There were also two new Christine McVie compositions, "Heart of Stone" and "Love Shines", the latter of which was released as a single in the UK and certain other territories. Lindsey Buckingham also contributed a new song, "Make Me a Mask", which bore all the markings of an insular Buckingham studio creation, devoid of input from other band members. Mick Fleetwood also released a deluxe hardcover companion book to coincide with the release of the box set, titled My 25 Years in Fleetwood Mac. The volume featured many rare photographs and notes (written by Fleetwood himself) detailing the band's 25 year history.

Some months after this, the Buckingham/Nicks/McVie/McVie/Fleetwood line-up reunited at the request of U.S. President Bill Clinton for his first Inaugural Ball in 1993. Clinton had made Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" his campaign theme song. His subsequent request to perform it at the Inauguration Ball was met with enthusiasm by the band, however this line-up had no intention to reunite again.

Inspired by the new interest in the band, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie recorded another album as Fleetwood Mac, with Billy Burnette taking on lead guitar duties. However, just as they made the decision to continue, Billy Burnette announced in March 1993, that he was leaving the band to pursue a country album and an acting career. Bekka Bramlett, who had worked a year earlier with Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, was recruited. Solo singer/songwriter/guitarist and Traffic's Dave Mason, who had worked with Bekka's parents Delaney & Bonnie twenty five years earlier, was subsequently added. By March 1994, Billy Burnette, himself a good friend and co-songwriter with Delaney Bramlett, returned with Fleetwood's blessing.

The band, minus Christine McVie, toured in 1994, opening for Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and in 1995 as part of a package with REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar. The tour saw the band perform classic Fleetwood Mac songs from the initial 1967–1974 era. In 1995, at a concert in Tokyo, the band was greeted by former member Jeremy Spencer, who performed a few songs with them.

On 10 October 1995, Fleetwood Mac released the unsuccessful Time album. Although hitting the UK Top 60 for one week the album had zero impact in the US. It failed even to graze the Billboard Top 200 albums chart, a stunning reversal for a band that had been a mainstay on that chart for most of the previous two decades. Shortly after the album's release, Christine McVie informed the band that the album was her last. Bramlett and Burnette subsequently formed a country music duo, Bekka & Billy.

Break-up (1995–1997)[edit]
Just weeks after disbanding Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood announced that he was working with Lindsey Buckingham again. John McVie was soon added to the sessions, and later Christine McVie. Stevie Nicks also enlisted Lindsey Buckingham to produce a song for a soundtrack.

In May 1996, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks made an appearance at a private party in Louisville, Kentucky prior to the Kentucky Derby (with Steve Winwood filling in for Lindsey Buckingham). A week later, the Twister film soundtrack was released, which featured the Stevie Nicks-Lindsey Buckingham duet, "Twisted", with Mick Fleetwood on drums. This eventually led to a full Rumours line-up reunion when the band officially reformed in March 1997.

Return of Buckingham and Nicks, and Christine McVie's departure (1997–2007)[edit]
The regrouped Mac performed a live concert recorded on a Warner Bros. Burbank, California soundstage on 22 May, and from this performance came the 1997 live album The Dance, bringing Fleetwood Mac back to the top of the US album charts for the first time in 15 years. The album returned Fleetwood Mac to their superstar commercial status that they had not enjoyed since their Tango in the Night album. The album was certified a 5 million seller by the RIAA. A successful arena tour followed the MTV premiere of The Dance, which kept the reunited Mac on the road throughout much of 1997, the 20th anniversary of their Rumours album. With the added ensemble of Neale Heywood on guitar, Brett Tuggle on keyboards, Lenny Castro on percussion, and Sharon Celani and Mindy Stein on backing vocals, this would, however, be the final foray of the classic line-up with Christine McVie for 16 years.



Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on the Say You Will Tour, 2003
In 1998, Fleetwood Mac (Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The "Rumours" version of the band performed at the induction ceremony and the Grammy Awards program that year. Peter Green attended the induction ceremony but did not perform with his former bandmates, opting instead to perform his composition "Black Magic Woman" with Santana, who were inducted the same night. Fleetwood Mac were also the recipients of the "Outstanding Contribution to Music" award at the BRIT Awards (British Phonographic Industry Awards) the same year.

In 1998, Christine McVie left the band permanently to retire from touring (though not from the music business entirely as she created a new album, In the Meantime, in 2004). Her departure left Buckingham and Nicks to sing all the lead vocals for the band's 2003 album, Say You Will, although Christine did contribute some backing vocals and keyboards. The album debuted at No.3 on the Billboard 200 chart (#6 in the UK) and yielded chart hits with "Peacekeeper" and the title track, and a successful world arena tour which lasted through 2004. The tour grossed $27,711,129 and was ranked #21 in the 'top 25 grossing tours of 2004'.

During the past couple of years, there have been rumours of a reunion of the early line-up of Fleetwood Mac, involving Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. Whilst these two guitarists and vocalists apparently remain unconvinced of the merits of such a project,[13] Danny Kirwan (who first joined the band in 1968 as a third guitarist and vocalist) has remained as silent as ever on the subject. In April 2006, during a question-and-answer session on the Penguin Fleetwood Mac fan website, bassist John McVie said of the reunion idea:

"If we could get Peter and Jeremy to do it, I'd probably, maybe, do it. I know Mick would do it in a flash. Unfortunately, I don't think there's much chance of Danny doing it. Bless his heart."[14]
In interviews given in November 2006 to support his solo album Under the Skin, Buckingham stated that plans for the band to reunite once more for a 2008 tour were still on the cards. Recording plans have been put on hold for the foreseeable future. In a September 2007 interview Stevie Nicks gave to the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph, she noted that she was unwilling to carry on with the band unless Christine McVie returned.[15] However in a more recent interview, Mick Fleetwood said "... be very happy and hopeful that we will be working again. I can tell you everyone's going to be extremely excited about what's happening with Fleetwood Mac."[16]

Later tours and Christine McVie's return (2008-present)[edit]
On 14 March 2008, the Associated Press reported Sheryl Crow as saying that she would be working with Fleetwood Mac in 2009. Crow and Stevie Nicks collaborated a great deal in the past and she has stated that Nicks has been a great teacher and inspiration for her.[17] In a subsequent interview with Buckingham, he said after discussions between the band and Crow, the potential collaboration with Crow "lost its momentum".[18] However, in a June 2008 interview, Nicks denied that Crow would be joining Fleetwood Mac as a replacement for Christine McVie. According to Nicks, "the group will start working on material and recording probably in October, and finish an album."[19] On 7 October 2008, Mick Fleetwood confirmed on the BBC's The One Show that the band were working in the studio and also announced plans for a world tour in 2009.

In late 2008, Fleetwood Mac announced that the band would tour in 2009, beginning in March. As per the 2003–2004 tour, Christine McVie would not be featured in the line-up. The tour was branded as a 'greatest hits' show entitled Unleashed, although they played album tracks such as "Storms" and "I Know I'm Not Wrong". The first show was on 1 March 2009, and in February they announced a slew of new dates.

During their show on 20 June 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Stevie Nicks premiered part of a new song that she had written about Hurricane Katrina.[20][21]

In October 2009, the band began a tour of Europe which carried on into early November, followed by a tour of Australia and New Zealand in December. Also in October, The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac was re-released in an extended two-disc format (this format having been released in the US in 2002), premiering at number six on the UK Albums Chart.

On 1 November 2009, a new one-hour documentary, Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop, was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, which featured recent interviews with all four current band members.[citation needed] During the documentary, Nicks gave a candid summary of the current state of her relationship with Buckingham, stating "Maybe when we're 75 and Fleetwood Mac is a distant memory, we might be friends ...".

On 6 November 2009, Fleetwood Mac played the last show of the European leg of their Unleashed tour at London's Wembley Arena. Christine McVie was present in the audience, so Stevie Nicks paid a tribute from the stage to a standing ovation from the audience, stating that she thought about her former bandmate "every day", and went on to dedicate that night's performance of "Landslide" to McVie.

On 19 December 2009, Fleetwood Mac played the second to last act of their Unleashed tour to a sell-out crowd at what was originally intended to be a one-off event at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands, New Plymouth, New Zealand. Tickets, after pre-sales, sold out within twelve minutes of public release, and another date (Sunday 20 December), which also sold out, was added.[22] The tour grossed $84,900,000 and was ranked #13 in the highest grossing worldwide tours of 2009.

On 19 October 2010, Fleetwood Mac played a private show at the Phoenician Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona for TPG (Texas Pacific Group).

On 3 May 2011, the Fox Network broadcast an episode of Glee entitled "Rumours" that featured six songs from the band's 1977 album.[23] The show sparked renewed interest in the band and its most commercially successful album, and Rumours reentered the Billboard 200 chart at #11, the same week that Stevie Nicks' new solo album In Your Dreams debuted at #6. (Nicks was quoted by Billboard saying that her new album was "my own littleRumours."[24] ) The two recordings sold about 30,000 and 52,000 units, respectively. Music downloads accounted for ninety-one percent of the Rumours sales. The spike in sales for Rumours represented an uptick of 1,951%. It was the highest chart entry by a previously issued album since The Rolling Stones's reissue of Exile On Main St. reentered the chart at #2 on 5 June 2010.[25]

In a July 2012 interview, Nicks confirmed that the band would reunite for a tour in 2013.[26]

Original Fleetwood Mac bassist Bob Brunning died on 18 October 2011, at the age of 68.[27] Former guitarist and singer Bob Weston was found dead on 3 January 2012, at the age of 64.[28] Former singer and guitarist Bob Welch was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 7 June 2012, at the age of 66.[29]

The band's 2013 tour, which covered 34 cities, started on 4 April in Columbus, OH. The band performed two new songs ("Sad Angel" and "Without You"), which Buckingham described as some of the most 'Fleetwood Mac-y' sounding songs since Mirage, with the latter song re-recorded from the Buckingham Nicks era.[30]

The band released their first new studio material in 10 years, Extended Play, on 30 April 2013.[31] The EP debuted and peaked at #48 in the US, and produced one single, "Sad Angel".

On 25 and 27 September 2013, the second and third nights of the bands' London O2 shows, Christine McVie joined them onstage for Don't Stop.[32]

On 27 October, the band announced that John McVie had been diagnosed with cancer, and that they were cancelling their New Zealand and Australian performances in order for him to undergo treatment. They stated that "We are sorry to not be able to play these Australian and New Zealand dates. We hope our Australian and New Zealand fans as well as Fleetwood Mac fans everywhere will join us in wishing John and his family all the best.”[33]

According to an article in The Guardian on 22 November 2013, Christine McVie stated that she would like to return to Fleetwood Mac if they wanted her, and also affirmed that John McVie's prognosis was "really good."[34]

On 11 January 2014 Mick Fleetwood announced that Christine McVie would be rejoining Fleetwood Mac,[35] and the news was confirmed on 13 January by the bands primary publicist, Liz Rosenberg. Rosenberg also stated that an official announcement regarding a new album and tour would be forthcoming.[2]

Remasters[edit]
The 1967–69 era Blue Horizon albums (Fleetwood Mac, Mr. Wonderful, The Pious Bird of Good Omen and Fleetwood Mac in Chicago) and 1971 outtakes album The Original Fleetwood Mac have been remastered and reissued on CD, as have the 1975–79 era Warner Brothers albums Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, and Tusk. In 2013, "Then Play On" was remastered, which included four bonus tracks, and would peak at #112 in the UK.

Tours[edit]

• Kiln House tour – 1970
• Future Games tour – 1971
• Bare Trees tour – 1972
• Penguin tour – early 1973
• Mystery To Me tour – Mid-1973
• Heroes Are Hard to Find tour – 1974
• Fleetwood Mac tour – [36]
• Rumours tour – 1977–1978
• Tusk tour – 1979–1980
• Mirage tour – 1982
• Shake the Cage tour – 1987–1988
• Behind the Mask tour – 1990
• Another Link in the Chain tour – 1994–1995
• The Dance – 1997
• Say You Will tour – 2003–2004
• Unleashed tour – 2009
• 2013 World tour – 2013
• On With the Show tour - 2014

Discography[edit]
Main article: Fleetwood Mac discography

• Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (1968)
• Mr. Wonderful (1968)
• Then Play On (1969)
• Kiln House (1970)
• Future Games (1971)
• Bare Trees (1972)
• Penguin (1973)
• Mystery to Me (1973)
• Heroes Are Hard to Find (1974)
• Fleetwood Mac (1975)
• Rumours (1977)
• Tusk (1979)
• Mirage (1982)
• Tango in the Night (1987)
• Behind the Mask (1990)
• Time (1995)
• Say You Will (2003)

Band personnel[edit]
Members[edit]
Main article: List of Fleetwood Mac members
Current members

• Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion (1967–1995, 1997–present)
• John McVie – bass guitar (1967–1995, 1997–present)
• Christine McVie – keyboards, vocals, accordion (1970–1995, 1997–1998, 2014–)
• Lindsey Buckingham – guitars, vocals, keyboards, percussion (1974–1987, 1993, 1997–present)
• Stevie Nicks – vocals, tambourine (1974–1991, 1993, 1997–present)

Past members

• Peter Green – guitars, vocals, harmonica (1967–1970, 1971)
• Jeremy Spencer – guitars, vocals, piano, percussion (1967–1971)
• Bob Brunning – bass guitar (1967; died 2011)
• Danny Kirwan – guitar, vocals (1968–1972)
• Bob Welch – guitars, vocals (1971–1974; died 2012)
• Bob Weston – guitar, banjo, harmonica, vocals (1972–1973; died 2012)
• Dave Walker – vocals, harmonica (1972–1973)
• Billy Burnette – guitar, vocals (1987–1993, 1994–1995)
• Rick Vito – guitar, vocals (1987–1991)
• Bekka Bramlett – vocals (1993–1995)
• Dave Mason – guitars, vocals (1993–1995)

Current touring musicians

• Sharon Celani – backing vocals (1987–1995, 1997–present)
• Brett Tuggle – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (since 1997)
• Neale Heywood – guitar, backing vocals (since 1997)
• Lori Nicks – backing vocals (1987, 2009 onwards)

Former touring musicians

• Nigel Watson – congas (1971)
• Bobby Hunt – keyboards, ARP String Ensemble, vocals (1974)
• Doug Graves – keyboards, ARP String Ensemble, vocals (1974)
• Ray Lindsey – guitar (1979)
• Tony Toadro – percussion (1979)
• Jeffery Sova – keyboards (1979)
• Isaac Asanté – percussion (1987)
• Steve Thoma – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals (1994–1995)
• Mindy Stein – backing vocals (1997–2003)
• Lenny Castro – percussion (1997)
• Carlos Rios – guitar (2003)
• Taku Hirano – percussion (2003–04)
• Jana Anderson – backing vocals (2003–2009)

Timeline[edit]

 

[Giggity69Goo]

TOTALLY DIDNT COPY AND PASTE


Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in 1967 in London. Due to numerous line-up changes, the only original member present in the band is its namesake, drummer Mick Fleetwood. Although band founder Peter Green named the group by combining the surnames of two of his former bandmates (Fleetwood, McVie) from John Mayall'sBluesbreakers, bassist John McVie played neither on their first single nor at their first concerts, as he initially decided to stay with Mayall. The keyboardist, Christine McVie, who joined the band in 1970 while married to John McVie, appeared on all but the debut album, either as a member or as a session musician. She also supplied the artwork for the album Kiln House.

The two most successful periods for the band were during the late 1960s British blues boom, when they were led by guitarist Peter Green and achieved a UK number one with "Albatross"; and from 1975 to 1987, as a more pop oriented act, featuring Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac's second album after the incorporation of Buckingham and Nicks, 1977's Rumours, produced four U.S. Top 10 singles (including Nicks' song "Dreams"), and remained at No.1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks, as well as reaching the top spot in various countries around the world. To date the album has sold over 45 million copies worldwide, making it the fourth-highest-selling album of all time.

The band achieved more modest success in the intervening period between 1971 and 1974, with the line-up including Bob Welch, during the 1990s in between the departure and return of Nicks and Buckingham, and also during the 2000s in between the departure and return of Christine McVie. In 1998, selected members of Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. The band has sold 100 million albums worldwide.[1] In 2014, Christine McVie rejoined the band.[2]



Contents
[hide]

• 1 Formation and early years (1967–1970)
• 2 Transitional era (1970–1974)
• 3 Mainstream success (1975–1987)
• 4 Departure of Buckingham (1987–1995)
• 5 Break-up (1995–1997)
• 6 Return of Buckingham and Nicks, and Christine McVie's departure (1997–2007)
• 7 Later tours and Christine McVie's return (2008-present)
• 8 Remasters
• 9 Tours
• 10 Discography
• 11 Band personnel
  • 11.1 Members
  • 11.2 Timeline
• 12 See also
• 13 References
• 14 Bibliography
• 15 Further reading
• 16 External links

Formation and early years (1967–1970)[edit]


Peter Green, 18 March 1970
Fleetwood Mac was formed in 1967 in London when Peter Green left the British blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Green had replaced guitarist Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers, and received critical acclaim for his work on their album A Hard Road. After he had been in the Bluesbreakers for some time, Green asked if drummer Mick Fleetwood could replace Aynsley Dunbar. Green had been in two bands with Fleetwood—Peter B's Looners and the subsequent Shotgun Express (which featured a young Rod Stewart as vocalist). John Mayall agreed and Fleetwood became a member of the band.

The Bluesbreakers now consisted of Green, Fleetwood, John McVie and Mayall. Mayall gave Green free recording time as a gift, in which Fleetwood, McVie and Green recorded five songs. The fifth song was an instrumental which Green named after the rhythm section, "Fleetwood Mac".

Soon after, Green contacted Fleetwood to form a new band. The pair wanted McVie on bass guitar and even named the band 'Fleetwood Mac' as a way to entice him. However, McVie opted to keep his steady income with Mayall rather than take a risk with a new band. In the meantime Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood teamed up with slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer and bassistBob Brunning, who was in the band on the understanding that he would leave if McVie agreed to join. The Green, Fleetwood, Spencer, Brunning version of the band made its debut on 13 August 1967 at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival. Within weeks of this show, John McVie agreed to join the band as permanent bassist.

Fleetwood Mac's first album, Fleetwood Mac, was a no-frills blues album and was released on the Blue Horizon label in February 1968. In fact there were no other players on the album (except for the song "Long Grey Mare", which was recorded with Brunning on bass). The album was successful in the UK, hitting no.4, though it did not have any singles on it. The band soon released two singles "Black Magic Woman" (later a big hit for Santana) and "Need Your Love So Bad".

The band's second album, Mr. Wonderful, was released in August 1968. Like the first it was an all-blues album, but this time they made a few changes. The album was recorded live in the studio with miked amplifiers and PA system, rather than plugged into the board. This method provided the ideal environment for producing this style of music, and gave it an authentically vintage sound. They also added horns and featured a friend of the band on keyboards, Christine Perfect of Chicken Shack prior to her marriage to John McVie.

Shortly after the release of their second album Fleetwood Mac added guitarist Danny Kirwan, then just eighteen years old, to their line-up, recruited from the South London blues trio Boilerhouse, consisting of Kirwan on guitar with Trevor Stevens on bass and Dave Terrey on drums.[3] Green and Fleetwood had been to watch Boilerhouse rehearse in a basement boiler-room and Green was so impressed, he invited the band to play support slots for Fleetwood Mac. Green wanted Boilerhouse to become a professional band but Stevens and Terrey were not prepared to turn professional at the time, so Green sought to find another rhythm section by placing an ad in Melody Maker. There were over 300 applicants, but when Green and Fleetwood ran auditions at the Nag's Head in Battersea (home of the Mike Vernon Blue Horizon Club), the hard to please Green could not find anyone good enough to replace the pair, so he invited Kirwan to join Fleetwood Mac as their third guitarist.[4]

Green had been frustrated that Jeremy Spencer had little desire to contribute to Green's songs. A mature and accomplished self-taught guitarist, Kirwan's signature vibrato and unique style added a new dimension to an already complete band. With Kirwan the band released their first number one single in Europe, "Albatross". Around this time they released their second American album, English Rose, which contained half of Mr. Wonderful, new songs from Kirwan, and their third European album called The Pious Bird of Good Omen, which was a collection of singles, B-sides, and a selection of some work the band did with Eddie Boyd.

When the band went to the United States in January 1969 they recorded many songs at the soon-to-close Chess Records Studio, with some blues legends of Chicago including Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy and Otis Spann. These would prove, however, to be Fleetwood Mac's last all-blues recordings. Along with their change of style the band was also going through some label changes. Up until this point they had been on Blue Horizon. With Kirwan in the band, however, the musical possibilities were too great for them to stay on a blues-only label. The band signed with the Immediate Records label and released "Man of the World", another British and European hit single. For the B-side Spencer fronted Fleetwood Mac as "Earl Vince and the Valiants" and recorded "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite", typifying the more raucous rock 'n' roll side of the band. Immediate Records was in bad shape and the band shopped around for a new deal. Even though The Beatles wanted the band on Apple Records (Mick Fleetwood and George Harrison were brothers-in-law), the band's manager Clifford Davis decided to go with Warner Bros. Records (through Reprise Records, a Frank Sinatra-founded label), the label they have stayed with ever since.

Fleetwood Mac's first album for Reprise, released in September 1969, was the well-regarded Then Play On. Although the initial pressing of the American release of this album was the same as the British version, it was altered to contain the song "Oh Well", featured consistently in live performances from the time of its release through 1997 and then again starting in 2009. Then Play On, which was the band's first rock album, featured only the songs of Kirwan and Green. Jeremy Spencer, meanwhile, recorded a solo album (he was backed by the rest of the band) which consisted of many 1950s-style rock and roll songs.

In July 1969, Fleetwood Mac opened for Ten Years After at the Schaefer Music Festival at New York City's Wollman Rink. They re-appeared at the festival in 1970.

Fleetwood Mac were an extremely popular band in Europe at the time. However, Peter Green, the frontman of the band, was not in good health. He had taken LSD in Munich, which may have contributed to the onset of hisschizophrenia.[5] German author and filmmaker Rainer Langhans mentions in his autobiography that he and Uschi Obermaier met Peter Green in Munich, where they invited him to their "High-Fish-Commune". They were not really interested in Peter Green. They just wanted to get in contact with Mick Taylor: Langhans and Obermaier wished to organise a "Bavarian Woodstock". They wanted Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones to be the leading acts of their Bavarian open air festival. They needed Green just to get in contact with The Rolling Stones via Mick Taylor.[citation needed]

Green's last hit with Fleetwood Mac was "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown)" (first recorded at the Boston Tea Party in February 1970 and later recorded by Judas Priest). This recording was released as Green's mental stability deteriorated, and he wanted to give all of the band's money to charity. Other members of the band did not agree, and subsequently Green decided to leave the band. His last show with Fleetwood Mac was on 20 May 1970. During that show, the band went past their allotted time and the power was shut off, although Mick Fleetwood kept drumming. Some of the Boston Tea Party recordings (February 5/6/7 1970) were eventually released in the 1980s as the Live in Boston album, with a more complete remastered 3-volume compilation released by Snapper Music in the late 90s.

Transitional era (1970–1974)[edit]
Kirwan and Spencer were left with the task of having to fill up Peter's space in their live shows and on their recordings. In September 1970, Fleetwood Mac released Kiln House. Kirwan's songs moved the band in the direction of rock. Meanwhile, Spencer's contributions focused on re-creating the country-tinged "Sun Sound" of the late 1950s. Christine Perfect, who had retired from the music business after one unsuccessful solo album, contributed to Kiln House, singing backup vocals, and drawing the album cover. Since Fleetwood Mac were progressing and developing a new sound, Perfect was asked to join the band. They also released a single at that time; "Dragonfly" b/w "The Purple Dancer" in the U.K. and certain European countries. Despite good notices in the press, the single was not a success and the B-side has been reissued only once, on a Reprise German-only "Best of" album, making it one of their most obscure songs.



1973 line-up with Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Bob Weston, John McVie, and Bob Welch.
Christine Perfect, who was married to bassist John McVie, made her first appearance with the band as Christine McVie at Bristol University in May 1969 just as she was leaving Chicken Shack. She had success with the Etta James classic, "I'd Rather Go Blind", and was twice voted female artist of the year in England. Christine McVie played her first gig as an official member on 6 August 1970 in New Orleans. CBS Records, which now owned Blue Horizon (except in the US and Canada), released an album of previously unreleased material from the original Fleetwood Mac called The Original Fleetwood Mac. The album was relatively successful, and the band continued to gain popularity.

While on tour in February 1971, Jeremy Spencer said he was going out to "get a magazine", but never returned. After several days of frantic searching, the band discovered that Spencer had joined a religious group, the Children of God. Liable for the remaining shows on the tour, they convinced Peter Green to help finish the tour. He brought along his friend, Nigel Watson, who played the congas (twenty-five years later Green and Watson collaborated again to form the Peter Green Splinter Group). Green, however, would only be back with Fleetwood Mac temporarily, so the band decided to search for a new guitarist.

In the summer of 1971, the band held auditions for a guitarist in their large country home, "Benifold", which they bought prior to the Kiln House tour. A friend of the band named Judy Wong recommended her high school friend, Bob Welch, who was living in Paris at the time. The band had a few meetings with Welch and decided to hire him, without actually playing with him or listening to any of his recordings.

In September 1971, the band released Future Games. Due to Welch's arrival and Spencer's departure, the album was different from anything the band had done up to that point, and there were many new fans in America who were becoming more and more interested in the band. In Europe, CBS released Fleetwood Mac's first Greatest Hits package, which was predominantly composed of songs by Peter Green, though there was one song by Spencer and one by Kirwan.

In 1972, six months after the release of Future Games, the band released the well-received album Bare Trees. Though mostly composed by Kirwan, Bare Trees featured Welch's "Sentimental Lady", which would be a much bigger hit for him five years later when he re-recorded it for his solo album French Kiss, backed with Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie. It also featured "Spare Me a Little of Your Love", a bright Christine McVie tune that became a staple of the band's live act throughout the early to mid-1970s.

While the band were doing well in the studio, their tours were more problematic. Danny Kirwan developed an alcohol dependency and became alienated from Welch and the McVies. It was not until he smashed his Les Paul Custom guitar before a concert, refused to go on stage, and criticised the band afterwards that Fleetwood was finally convinced that he had no choice but to fire Kirwan.

The next two and a half years proved to be the most challenging for the band. In the three albums they released in this period, they constantly changed line-ups. In September 1972, the band added guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker, formerly of Savoy Brown and Idle Race.[6] Bob Weston was well known for playing slide guitar and had known the band from his touring period with Long John Baldry. Fleetwood Mac also hired Savoy Brown's road manager, John Courage. Mick, John, Christine, Welch, Weston, and Walker recorded Penguin, which was released in January 1973. After the tour, the band fired Walker because his vocal style and attitude did not fit in with the rest of the band.

The remaining five carried on and recorded Mystery to Me six months later. This album contained Welch's song "Hypnotized" which got a lot of airplay on the radio and became one of the band's most successful songs to date in the US. The band were proud of the new album and anticipated that it would be a hit. However, things were not well within the band. The McVies' marriage at this time was under a lot of stress, which was aggravated by their constant working with each other, and John McVie's considerable alcohol abuse.[citation needed] During the tour, Weston had an affair with Fleetwood's wife, Jenny Boyd Fleetwood, the sister of Pattie Boyd Harrison. Fleetwood soon fired Weston and the tour was cancelled. Due to lack of touring, the album sold less than its predecessor.

In one of the most bizarre events in rock history, the band's manager, Clifford Davis, claimed that he owned the name Fleetwood Mac and put out a "fake Mac". Nobody in the "fake Mac" was ever officially in the real band, although some of them later acted as Danny Kirwan's studio band. Fans were told that Bob Welch and John McVie had quit the group, and that Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie would be joining the band at a later date, after getting some rest. Fleetwood Mac's road manager, John Courage, worked one show before he realised that the line being used was a lie. Courage ended up hiding the real Fleetwood Mac's equipment, which helped shorten the tour by the fake band. But the lawsuit that followed put the real Fleetwood Mac out of commission for almost a year. The issue was who actually owned the name "Fleetwood Mac". While it would seem obvious that the band was named after Fleetwood and McVie, they had signed contracts that showed the band forfeited the rights to the name.[citation needed]

During this period, Welch stayed in Los Angeles and connected with entertainment attorneys. Welch quickly realised that the band was being neglected by Warner Bros., and that if they wanted to change that, they would have to change their base of operation to Los Angeles. The rest of the band agreed immediately. Rock promoter Bill Graham wrote a letter to Warner Bros. to convince them that the "real" Fleetwood Mac were in fact Fleetwood, Welch and the McVies. While this did not end the legal battle, the band was able to record as Fleetwood Mac again. Instead of getting another manager, Fleetwood Mac decided to manage themselves.[citation needed]

The fake Mac consisted of Elmer Gantry (vocals, guitar), Kirby Gregory (guitar), Paul Martinez (bass), John Wilkinson (keyboards) and Craig Collinge (drums). Gantry and Gregory went on to become members of Stretch, Gantry later joined The Alan Parsons Project and Martinez eventually became a bassist for Robert Plant's solo efforts.

After Warner Bros. made a record deal with the real Fleetwood Mac, the quartet released Heroes Are Hard to Find in September 1974. For the first time in its history, the band had only one guitarist. On the road, they added a second keyboardist. The first was Bobby Hunt, who had been in the band Head West with Bob Welch back in 1970, and the second was Doug Graves, who had been an engineer on Heroes Are Hard to Find. Neither proved to be a long-term addition to the line-up, although Graves was preparing to be a full member of the band following the US tour in late 1974. At the time he said:

I'm looking forward to adding something to this already great band; I helped engineer their album 'Heroes Are Hard to Find' and got to know each member well. It came to me as a shock when Mick asked me to join but I am enjoying playing live with the band, and hopefully will start a new studio album with the band soon.

—Doug Graves, Melody Maker 26 October 1974
However, Graves did not ultimately join full-time and Welch left soon after the tour ended (on December 2, 1974), having tired of the touring and legal struggles. Nevertheless, the tour enabled the Heroes album to reach a higher position on the American charts than any of the band's previous records.[citation needed]

Mainstream success (1975–1987)[edit]
After Welch announced that he was leaving the band, Fleetwood began searching for a possible replacement. While Fleetwood was checking out Sound City Studios in L.A., the house engineer, Keith Olsen, played him a track which he had recorded in the studio, "Frozen Love", from the album Buckingham Nicks (1973). Fleetwood liked it, and was introduced to the guitarist from the band, Lindsey Buckingham, who coincidentally was at Sound City that day recording some demos. Fleetwood soon asked him to join. Buckingham agreed, on the condition that his musical partner and girlfriend, Stephanie "Stevie" Nicks, also become part of the band; Fleetwood agreed. Buckingham and Nicks joined the band on New Year's Eve 1974 (within 4 weeks of the previous incarnation splitting).[7][8]

In 1975, the new line-up released the eponymous Fleetwood Mac. The album proved to be a breakthrough for the band and became a huge hit, reaching No.1 in the US and selling over 5 million copies. Among the hit singles from this album were Christine McVie's "Over My Head" and "Say You Love Me", and Stevie Nicks' "Rhiannon" and "Landslide" (actually a hit twenty years later on The Dance album).

"Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac)

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17 second sample from Fleetwood Mac's song "Landslide".
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But in 1976, with the success of the band also came the end of John and Christine McVie's marriage, as well as Buckingham and Nicks' long term romantic relationship. Even Fleetwood was in the midst of divorce proceedings from his wife, Jenny. The pressure put on Fleetwood Mac to release a successful follow-up album, combined with their new-found wealth, led to creative and personal tensions, fuelled by high consumption of drugs and alcohol.

The album the band members released in 1977 was Rumours, in which they laid bare the emotional turmoil experienced at that time. Critically acclaimed, it was the recipient of the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for 1977. Hit singles included Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way", Nicks's U.S. No.1 "Dreams" ( sample (help·info)), and Christine McVie's "Don't Stop" and "You Make Loving Fun". Buckingham's "Second Hand News", Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman" and "The Chain" (the only song written by all five bandmates) also received significant radio airplay. By 2003,Rumours had sold over 19 million copies in the U.S. alone (certified as a diamond album by the RIAA), and a total of 40 million copies worldwide, maintaining its status as one of the biggest-selling albums of all time.[9]

Buckingham was able to convince Fleetwood to allow his work on their next album to be more experimental and to work on tracks at home, then bring them to the band in the studio. His expanded creative role for the next album was influenced by an appreciation for New Wave music.[citation needed]

The result of this was the quirky 20-track double album, Tusk, released in 1979. It spawned three hit singles; Lindsey Buckingham's "Tusk" (U.S. #8), which featured the USC Trojan Marching Band; Christine McVie's "Think About Me" (U.S. #20); and Stevie Nicks' 6½ minute opus "Sara" (U.S. #7). The last of those three was cut to 4½ minutes for both the hit single and the first CD-release of the album, but the unedited version has since been restored on the 1988 Greatest Hits compilation and the 2004 reissue of Tusk as well as Fleetwood Mac's 2002 release of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac. Original guitarist Green also took part in the sessions of Tusk, but his playing for the Christine McVie track "Brown Eyes" is not credited on the album.[10]

Tusk remains one of Fleetwood Mac's most ambitious albums to date, although selling only four million copies worldwide. This, in comparison to the huge sales of Rumours, inclined the label to deem the project a failure, laying the blame squarely on Buckingham.[citation needed] Fleetwood, however, blames the album's relative failure on the RKO radio chain playing the album in its entirety prior to release, thus allowing mass home taping.[11] In addition, Tuskwas a double album, with a high list price of $15.98.

The band embarked on a huge 18-month tour to support and promote Tusk. They travelled extensively across the world, including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In Germany they shared the bill with reggae superstar Bob Marley. It was on this world tour that the band recorded music for the Fleetwood Mac Live album, which was released at the end of 1980.

The next album, 1982's Mirage, following 1981 solo turns by Nicks (Bella Donna) and Buckingham (Law and Order), was a return to the more conventional. Buckingham had been chided by critics, fellow bandmembers and music business managers for the lesser commercial success enjoyed by Tusk. Recorded at Château d'Hérouville in France, Mirage was an attempt to recapture the huge success of Rumours. Its hits included Christine McVie's "Hold Me" and "Love In Store" (each song being co-written by Robbie Patton and Jim Recor, respectively), Stevie Nicks's "Gypsy", and Lindsey Buckingham's "Oh Diane", which made the Top 10 in the UK. A minor hit was also scored by Buckingham's "Eyes Of The World" and "Can't Go Back".

In contrast to the Tusk Tour, the band only embarked on a short tour of 18 American cities, the Los Angeles show being recorded and released on video. They also headlined the first US Festival, for which the band was paid $500,000 ($1,221,897 today). Mirage was certified double platinum in the U.S.

Following Mirage, the band went on hiatus, which allowed members to pursue solo careers. Stevie Nicks released two more solo albums (1983's The Wild Heart and 1985's Rock a Little), Lindsey Buckingham issued Go Insane in 1984, the same year that Christine McVie made an eponymous album (yielding the Top 10 hit "Got A Hold On Me" and the Top 40 hit "Love Will Show Us How"). All three met with success and it was Nicks who became the most popular. However, also during this period, Mick Fleetwood had filed for bankruptcy, Nicks was admitted to the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction problems, and John McVie had suffered an addiction-related seizure—all attributed to the lifestyle of excess afforded to them by their worldwide success. It was rumoured that Fleetwood Mac had finally broken up; however, Buckingham commented that he was unhappy to allow Mirage to remain as the band's last effort.[12]

The Rumours line-up of Fleetwood Mac recorded one more album for the time being, Tango in the Night, in 1987. Initially, as with various other Fleetwood Mac albums, the material started off as a Buckingham solo album before becoming a group project. The album went on to become their best-selling release since Rumours, especially in the UK where it hit no. 1 three times over the following year. The album sold three million copies in the USA and contained four hits: Christine McVie's "Little Lies" and "Everywhere" (the former being co-written with McVie's new husband Eddy Quintela), Sandy Stewart and Stevie Nicks' "Seven Wonders", and Lindsey Buckingham's "Big Love". "Family Man", "Isn't It Midnight", and the title track were also released as singles, with lesser success.

Departure of Buckingham (1987–1995)[edit]


1987–1991 line-up of Fleetwood Mac
Although a ten-week tour was scheduled, Buckingham backed out at the last minute. He tried to explain to his bandmates that he felt his creativity was being stifled by his remaining in the band. A group meeting at Christine McVie's house on 7 August 1987 resulted in much rancour and recrimination, as well as an alleged (in Mick Fleetwood's autobiography) physical altercation between Buckingham and Nicks. Buckingham left the band the following day.[citation needed] Following Buckingham's departure, Fleetwood Mac added two new guitarists to the band, Billy Burnette and Rick Vito. Burnette was mainly added for his singing and songwriting skills and Vito for his lead guitar abilities.[citation needed]

Burnette is the son of Dorsey Burnette and nephew of Johnny Burnette, both of The Rock and Roll Trio. He had already worked with Mick Fleetwood in Zoo, with Christine McVie as part of her solo band, did some session work with Stevie Nicks and even backed Lindsey Buckingham on Saturday Night Live. Furthermore, Fleetwood and Christine McVie played on his Try Mealbum in 1985. Vito, a Peter Green admirer, played with many artists from Bonnie Raitt to John Mayall, and even worked with John McVie on two Mayall albums.

The 1987–88 "Shake the Cage" tour was the first outing for this line-up, and was successful enough to warrant the release of a concert video (simply titled "Tango in the Night"), filmed at San Francisco's Cow Palace arena in December 1987.

Capitalising on the success of Tango in the Night, the band continued with a Greatest Hits album in 1988. It featured singles from the 1975–88 era, and included two new compositions: "No Questions Asked" written by Nicks, and "As Long as You Follow" written by McVie and Quintela, which was released as a single in 1988 but only made No.43 in the US and No.66 in the UK. It did, however, reach No.1 on the US Adult Contemporary charts. The Greatest Hits album, which peaked at No.3 in the UK and No.14 in the US (though has since sold over 8 million copies there), was dedicated to Buckingham by the band, with whom they had now reconciled.

Following the Greatest Hits collection, Fleetwood Mac recorded Behind the Mask. With this album, the band veered away from the stylised sound that Buckingham had evolved during his tenure in the band (also evident in his solo works), and ended up with a more adult contemporary style from producer Greg Ladanyi. However, the album yielded only one Top 40 hit, McVie's "Save Me". Behind the Mask only achieved Gold album status in the US, peaking at No.18 on the Billboard album chart, though it entered the UK Albums Chart at #1. It received mixed reviews, and was seen by some music critics as a low point for the band in the absence of Lindsey Buckingham (who had actually made a guest appearance by playing on the title track). However, Rolling Stone magazine said that Vito and Burnette were "the best thing to ever happen to Fleetwood Mac" and the British Q magazine also praised the album in their review. The subsequent "Behind the Mask" tour saw the band play sold out shows at London's Wembley Stadium, and on the final show in Los Angeles, the band were joined onstage by Buckingham. The two women of the band, McVie and Nicks, had decided that the tour would be their last (McVie's father died during the tour) though both stated that they would still record with the band. However, in 1991, both Nicks and Rick Vito announced they were leaving Fleetwood Mac altogether.

In 1992, Fleetwood himself arranged a 4-disc box set spanning highlights from the band's 25 year history, titled 25 Years – The Chain (an edited 2-disc set was also available). A notable inclusion in the box set was "Silver Springs", a Stevie Nicks composition that was recorded during the Rumours sessions but was omitted from the album and used as the B-side of "Go Your Own Way" instead. Nicks had requested use of the track for her 1991 best-of compilation TimeSpace, but Fleetwood had refused her request as he had planned to include it in this collection as something of a rarity.[citation needed] The disagreement between Nicks and Fleetwood garnered press coverage, and is believed to be the main catalyst for Nicks leaving the band in 1991.[citation needed] The box set, however, also included a brand new Stevie Nicks/Rick Vito composition, "Paper Doll", which was released in the US as a single. As both members had left the band by this point, the track was presumably a leftover from the Behind the Mask sessions. There were also two new Christine McVie compositions, "Heart of Stone" and "Love Shines", the latter of which was released as a single in the UK and certain other territories. Lindsey Buckingham also contributed a new song, "Make Me a Mask", which bore all the markings of an insular Buckingham studio creation, devoid of input from other band members. Mick Fleetwood also released a deluxe hardcover companion book to coincide with the release of the box set, titled My 25 Years in Fleetwood Mac. The volume featured many rare photographs and notes (written by Fleetwood himself) detailing the band's 25 year history.

Some months after this, the Buckingham/Nicks/McVie/McVie/Fleetwood line-up reunited at the request of U.S. President Bill Clinton for his first Inaugural Ball in 1993. Clinton had made Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" his campaign theme song. His subsequent request to perform it at the Inauguration Ball was met with enthusiasm by the band, however this line-up had no intention to reunite again.

Inspired by the new interest in the band, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie recorded another album as Fleetwood Mac, with Billy Burnette taking on lead guitar duties. However, just as they made the decision to continue, Billy Burnette announced in March 1993, that he was leaving the band to pursue a country album and an acting career. Bekka Bramlett, who had worked a year earlier with Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, was recruited. Solo singer/songwriter/guitarist and Traffic's Dave Mason, who had worked with Bekka's parents Delaney & Bonnie twenty five years earlier, was subsequently added. By March 1994, Billy Burnette, himself a good friend and co-songwriter with Delaney Bramlett, returned with Fleetwood's blessing.

The band, minus Christine McVie, toured in 1994, opening for Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and in 1995 as part of a package with REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar. The tour saw the band perform classic Fleetwood Mac songs from the initial 1967–1974 era. In 1995, at a concert in Tokyo, the band was greeted by former member Jeremy Spencer, who performed a few songs with them.

On 10 October 1995, Fleetwood Mac released the unsuccessful Time album. Although hitting the UK Top 60 for one week the album had zero impact in the US. It failed even to graze the Billboard Top 200 albums chart, a stunning reversal for a band that had been a mainstay on that chart for most of the previous two decades. Shortly after the album's release, Christine McVie informed the band that the album was her last. Bramlett and Burnette subsequently formed a country music duo, Bekka & Billy.

Break-up (1995–1997)[edit]
Just weeks after disbanding Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood announced that he was working with Lindsey Buckingham again. John McVie was soon added to the sessions, and later Christine McVie. Stevie Nicks also enlisted Lindsey Buckingham to produce a song for a soundtrack.

In May 1996, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks made an appearance at a private party in Louisville, Kentucky prior to the Kentucky Derby (with Steve Winwood filling in for Lindsey Buckingham). A week later, the Twister film soundtrack was released, which featured the Stevie Nicks-Lindsey Buckingham duet, "Twisted", with Mick Fleetwood on drums. This eventually led to a full Rumours line-up reunion when the band officially reformed in March 1997.

Return of Buckingham and Nicks, and Christine McVie's departure (1997–2007)[edit]
The regrouped Mac performed a live concert recorded on a Warner Bros. Burbank, California soundstage on 22 May, and from this performance came the 1997 live album The Dance, bringing Fleetwood Mac back to the top of the US album charts for the first time in 15 years. The album returned Fleetwood Mac to their superstar commercial status that they had not enjoyed since their Tango in the Night album. The album was certified a 5 million seller by the RIAA. A successful arena tour followed the MTV premiere of The Dance, which kept the reunited Mac on the road throughout much of 1997, the 20th anniversary of their Rumours album. With the added ensemble of Neale Heywood on guitar, Brett Tuggle on keyboards, Lenny Castro on percussion, and Sharon Celani and Mindy Stein on backing vocals, this would, however, be the final foray of the classic line-up with Christine McVie for 16 years.



Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on the Say You Will Tour, 2003
In 1998, Fleetwood Mac (Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The "Rumours" version of the band performed at the induction ceremony and the Grammy Awards program that year. Peter Green attended the induction ceremony but did not perform with his former bandmates, opting instead to perform his composition "Black Magic Woman" with Santana, who were inducted the same night. Fleetwood Mac were also the recipients of the "Outstanding Contribution to Music" award at the BRIT Awards (British Phonographic Industry Awards) the same year.

In 1998, Christine McVie left the band permanently to retire from touring (though not from the music business entirely as she created a new album, In the Meantime, in 2004). Her departure left Buckingham and Nicks to sing all the lead vocals for the band's 2003 album, Say You Will, although Christine did contribute some backing vocals and keyboards. The album debuted at No.3 on the Billboard 200 chart (#6 in the UK) and yielded chart hits with "Peacekeeper" and the title track, and a successful world arena tour which lasted through 2004. The tour grossed $27,711,129 and was ranked #21 in the 'top 25 grossing tours of 2004'.

During the past couple of years, there have been rumours of a reunion of the early line-up of Fleetwood Mac, involving Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. Whilst these two guitarists and vocalists apparently remain unconvinced of the merits of such a project,[13] Danny Kirwan (who first joined the band in 1968 as a third guitarist and vocalist) has remained as silent as ever on the subject. In April 2006, during a question-and-answer session on the Penguin Fleetwood Mac fan website, bassist John McVie said of the reunion idea:

"If we could get Peter and Jeremy to do it, I'd probably, maybe, do it. I know Mick would do it in a flash. Unfortunately, I don't think there's much chance of Danny doing it. Bless his heart."[14]
In interviews given in November 2006 to support his solo album Under the Skin, Buckingham stated that plans for the band to reunite once more for a 2008 tour were still on the cards. Recording plans have been put on hold for the foreseeable future. In a September 2007 interview Stevie Nicks gave to the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph, she noted that she was unwilling to carry on with the band unless Christine McVie returned.[15] However in a more recent interview, Mick Fleetwood said "... be very happy and hopeful that we will be working again. I can tell you everyone's going to be extremely excited about what's happening with Fleetwood Mac."[16]

Later tours and Christine McVie's return (2008-present)[edit]
On 14 March 2008, the Associated Press reported Sheryl Crow as saying that she would be working with Fleetwood Mac in 2009. Crow and Stevie Nicks collaborated a great deal in the past and she has stated that Nicks has been a great teacher and inspiration for her.[17] In a subsequent interview with Buckingham, he said after discussions between the band and Crow, the potential collaboration with Crow "lost its momentum".[18] However, in a June 2008 interview, Nicks denied that Crow would be joining Fleetwood Mac as a replacement for Christine McVie. According to Nicks, "the group will start working on material and recording probably in October, and finish an album."[19] On 7 October 2008, Mick Fleetwood confirmed on the BBC's The One Show that the band were working in the studio and also announced plans for a world tour in 2009.

In late 2008, Fleetwood Mac announced that the band would tour in 2009, beginning in March. As per the 2003–2004 tour, Christine McVie would not be featured in the line-up. The tour was branded as a 'greatest hits' show entitled Unleashed, although they played album tracks such as "Storms" and "I Know I'm Not Wrong". The first show was on 1 March 2009, and in February they announced a slew of new dates.

During their show on 20 June 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Stevie Nicks premiered part of a new song that she had written about Hurricane Katrina.[20][21]

In October 2009, the band began a tour of Europe which carried on into early November, followed by a tour of Australia and New Zealand in December. Also in October, The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac was re-released in an extended two-disc format (this format having been released in the US in 2002), premiering at number six on the UK Albums Chart.

On 1 November 2009, a new one-hour documentary, Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop, was broadcast in the UK on BBC One, which featured recent interviews with all four current band members.[citation needed] During the documentary, Nicks gave a candid summary of the current state of her relationship with Buckingham, stating "Maybe when we're 75 and Fleetwood Mac is a distant memory, we might be friends ...".

On 6 November 2009, Fleetwood Mac played the last show of the European leg of their Unleashed tour at London's Wembley Arena. Christine McVie was present in the audience, so Stevie Nicks paid a tribute from the stage to a standing ovation from the audience, stating that she thought about her former bandmate "every day", and went on to dedicate that night's performance of "Landslide" to McVie.

On 19 December 2009, Fleetwood Mac played the second to last act of their Unleashed tour to a sell-out crowd at what was originally intended to be a one-off event at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands, New Plymouth, New Zealand. Tickets, after pre-sales, sold out within twelve minutes of public release, and another date (Sunday 20 December), which also sold out, was added.[22] The tour grossed $84,900,000 and was ranked #13 in the highest grossing worldwide tours of 2009.

On 19 October 2010, Fleetwood Mac played a private show at the Phoenician Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona for TPG (Texas Pacific Group).

On 3 May 2011, the Fox Network broadcast an episode of Glee entitled "Rumours" that featured six songs from the band's 1977 album.[23] The show sparked renewed interest in the band and its most commercially successful album, and Rumours reentered the Billboard 200 chart at #11, the same week that Stevie Nicks' new solo album In Your Dreams debuted at #6. (Nicks was quoted by Billboard saying that her new album was "my own littleRumours."[24] ) The two recordings sold about 30,000 and 52,000 units, respectively. Music downloads accounted for ninety-one percent of the Rumours sales. The spike in sales for Rumours represented an uptick of 1,951%. It was the highest chart entry by a previously issued album since The Rolling Stones's reissue of Exile On Main St. reentered the chart at #2 on 5 June 2010.[25]

In a July 2012 interview, Nicks confirmed that the band would reunite for a tour in 2013.[26]

Original Fleetwood Mac bassist Bob Brunning died on 18 October 2011, at the age of 68.[27] Former guitarist and singer Bob Weston was found dead on 3 January 2012, at the age of 64.[28] Former singer and guitarist Bob Welch was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 7 June 2012, at the age of 66.[29]

The band's 2013 tour, which covered 34 cities, started on 4 April in Columbus, OH. The band performed two new songs ("Sad Angel" and "Without You"), which Buckingham described as some of the most 'Fleetwood Mac-y' sounding songs since Mirage, with the latter song re-recorded from the Buckingham Nicks era.[30]

The band released their first new studio material in 10 years, Extended Play, on 30 April 2013.[31] The EP debuted and peaked at #48 in the US, and produced one single, "Sad Angel".

On 25 and 27 September 2013, the second and third nights of the bands' London O2 shows, Christine McVie joined them onstage for Don't Stop.[32]

On 27 October, the band announced that John McVie had been diagnosed with cancer, and that they were cancelling their New Zealand and Australian performances in order for him to undergo treatment. They stated that "We are sorry to not be able to play these Australian and New Zealand dates. We hope our Australian and New Zealand fans as well as Fleetwood Mac fans everywhere will join us in wishing John and his family all the best.”[33]

According to an article in The Guardian on 22 November 2013, Christine McVie stated that she would like to return to Fleetwood Mac if they wanted her, and also affirmed that John McVie's prognosis was "really good."[34]

On 11 January 2014 Mick Fleetwood announced that Christine McVie would be rejoining Fleetwood Mac,[35] and the news was confirmed on 13 January by the bands primary publicist, Liz Rosenberg. Rosenberg also stated that an official announcement regarding a new album and tour would be forthcoming.[2]

Remasters[edit]
The 1967–69 era Blue Horizon albums (Fleetwood Mac, Mr. Wonderful, The Pious Bird of Good Omen and Fleetwood Mac in Chicago) and 1971 outtakes album The Original Fleetwood Mac have been remastered and reissued on CD, as have the 1975–79 era Warner Brothers albums Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, and Tusk. In 2013, "Then Play On" was remastered, which included four bonus tracks, and would peak at #112 in the UK.

Tours[edit]

• Kiln House tour – 1970
• Future Games tour – 1971
• Bare Trees tour – 1972
• Penguin tour – early 1973
• Mystery To Me tour – Mid-1973
• Heroes Are Hard to Find tour – 1974
• Fleetwood Mac tour – [36]
• Rumours tour – 1977–1978
• Tusk tour – 1979–1980
• Mirage tour – 1982
• Shake the Cage tour – 1987–1988
• Behind the Mask tour – 1990
• Another Link in the Chain tour – 1994–1995
• The Dance – 1997
• Say You Will tour – 2003–2004
• Unleashed tour – 2009
• 2013 World tour – 2013
• On With the Show tour - 2014

Discography[edit]
Main article: Fleetwood Mac discography

• Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (1968)
• Mr. Wonderful (1968)
• Then Play On (1969)
• Kiln House (1970)
• Future Games (1971)
• Bare Trees (1972)
• Penguin (1973)
• Mystery to Me (1973)
• Heroes Are Hard to Find (1974)
• Fleetwood Mac (1975)
• Rumours (1977)
• Tusk (1979)
• Mirage (1982)
• Tango in the Night (1987)
• Behind the Mask (1990)
• Time (1995)
• Say You Will (2003)

Band personnel[edit]
Members[edit]
Main article: List of Fleetwood Mac members
Current members

• Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion (1967–1995, 1997–present)
• John McVie – bass guitar (1967–1995, 1997–present)
• Christine McVie – keyboards, vocals, accordion (1970–1995, 1997–1998, 2014–)
• Lindsey Buckingham – guitars, vocals, keyboards, percussion (1974–1987, 1993, 1997–present)
• Stevie Nicks – vocals, tambourine (1974–1991, 1993, 1997–present)

Past members

• Peter Green – guitars, vocals, harmonica (1967–1970, 1971)
• Jeremy Spencer – guitars, vocals, piano, percussion (1967–1971)
• Bob Brunning – bass guitar (1967; died 2011)
• Danny Kirwan – guitar, vocals (1968–1972)
• Bob Welch – guitars, vocals (1971–1974; died 2012)
• Bob Weston – guitar, banjo, harmonica, vocals (1972–1973; died 2012)
• Dave Walker – vocals, harmonica (1972–1973)
• Billy Burnette – guitar, vocals (1987–1993, 1994–1995)
• Rick Vito – guitar, vocals (1987–1991)
• Bekka Bramlett – vocals (1993–1995)
• Dave Mason – guitars, vocals (1993–1995)

Current touring musicians

• Sharon Celani – backing vocals (1987–1995, 1997–present)
• Brett Tuggle – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (since 1997)
• Neale Heywood – guitar, backing vocals (since 1997)
• Lori Nicks – backing vocals (1987, 2009 onwards)

Former touring musicians

• Nigel Watson – congas (1971)
• Bobby Hunt – keyboards, ARP String Ensemble, vocals (1974)
• Doug Graves – keyboards, ARP String Ensemble, vocals (1974)
• Ray Lindsey – guitar (1979)
• Tony Toadro – percussion (1979)
• Jeffery Sova – keyboards (1979)
• Isaac Asanté – percussion (1987)
• Steve Thoma – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals (1994–1995)
• Mindy Stein – backing vocals (1997–2003)
• Lenny Castro – percussion (1997)
• Carlos Rios – guitar (2003)
• Taku Hirano – percussion (2003–04)
• Jana Anderson – backing vocals (2003–2009)

Timeline[edit]

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