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An Ancient Bucket List

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If ancient Greeks kicked anything in their death spasms, it probably wasn’t a bucket. An amphora, maybe, or a kylix, but certainly not a bucket. Hence, ancient Greeks were not familiar with the phrase “bucket list.” On the other hand, some well-to-do and restless Greek old-timers, followed by even wealthier and more travel-prone ancient Romans, felt an irresistible urge to visit “the sights.” A few then wrote books about what they’d seen. Inevitably, someone decided to make a list of the places all self-respecting tourists had to visit before they died. The entries on the list varied somewhat from author to author but their number seems to have remained fairly constant – seven. A good, lucky, prime, almost magical number. Eventually, early in the Roman imperial era, a standard lineup evolved, containing the following seven must-see wonders of the world:  The Statue of Zeus , housed in his Temple at Olympia; the  Temple of Artemis  at Ephesus; the  Mausoleum ...
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My Transliteration Dilemma

Why is the founder of the Ptolemaic dynastic called Ptolemy in English-speaking countries and Ptolemaios in the rest of the world? The answer is that he himself spelled his name Πτολεμαῖος. Unfortunately, most people (other than Greeks) are not familiar with the Greek alphabet. This was true even in the days of ancient Rome, although many educated Romans back then did read and write Greek and they all greatly admired the older, more developed Greek civilization. They translated many Greek works of literature, history, and philosophy from Greek to Latin. Unfortunately, in the process of translation, they tended to “Latinize” the Greek names they encountered. Somehow, Πτολεμαῖος became Ptolemy, Αλέξανδρος became Alexander, and the City of Μίλητος became the City Miletus. When ancient Roman manuscripts were rediscovered during the Renaissance, scholars, who tended to do their scholarly writing in Latin, naturally used the Latinized versions of Greek names they found in the ancient manu...
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