and slavish devotion of millions of female human beings worldwide —Robert Christgau December Presley s rise to national attention in transformed the field of popular music and had a huge effect on the broader scope of popular culture As the catalyst for the cultural revolution that was rock and roll he was central not only to defining it as a musical genre but in making it a touchstone of youth culture and rebellious attitude With its racially mixed origins—repeatedly affirmed by Presley—rock and roll s occupation of a central position in mainstream American culture facilitated a new acceptance and appreciation of black culture In this regard Little Richard said of Presley He was an integrator Elvis was a blessing They wouldn t let black music through He opened the door for black music Al Green agreed He broke the ice for all of us President Jimmy Carter remarked on his legacy in His music and his personality fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues permanently changed the face of American popular culture His following was immense and he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality rebelliousness and good humor of his country Presley also heralded the vastly expanded reach of celebrity in the era of mass communication at the age of within a year of his first appearance on American network television he was one of the most famous people in the world Stamp depicting Presley issued by the German post office in

Presley s star on the Hollywood Walk of FamePresley s name image and voice are instantly recognizable around the globe He has inspired a legion of impersonators In polls and surveys he is recognized as one of the most important popular music artists and influential Americans f Elvis Presley is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century said composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein He introduced the beat to everything and he changed everything—music language clothes It s a whole new social revolution—the sixties came from it Bob Dylan described the sensation of first hearing Presley as like busting out of jail On the th anniversary of Presley s death The New York Times observed All the talentless impersonators and appalling black velvet paintings on display can make him seem little more than a perverse and distant memory But before Elvis was camp he was its opposite a genuine cultural force Elvis s breakthroughs are underappreciated because in this rock and roll age his hard rocking music and sultry style have triumphed so completely Not only Presley s achievements but his failings as well are seen by some cultural observers as adding to the power of his legacy as in this description by Greil Marcus Elvis Presley is a supreme figure in American life one whose presence no matter how banal or predictable brooks no real comparisons The cultural range of his music has expanded to the point where it includes not only the hits of the day but also patriotic recitals pure country gospel and really dirty blues Elvis has emerged as a great artist a great rocker a great purveyor of schlock a great heart throb a great bore a great symbol of potency a great ham a great nice person and yes a great American DiscographyMain articles Elvis Presley albums discography and Elvis Presley singles discography See also List of songs recorded by Elvis Presley List of Elvis Presley hit singles and List of Elvis Presley hit albums A vast number of recordings have been issued under Presley s name The total number of his original master recordings has been variously calculated as and His career began and he was most successful during an era when singles were the primary commercial medium for pop music In the case of his albums the distinction between official studio records and other forms is often blurred For most of the s his recording career focused on soundtrack albums In the s his most heavily promoted and best selling LP releases tended to be concert albums This summary discography lists only the albums and singles that reached the top of one or more of the following charts the main U S Billboard pop chart the Billboard country chart the genre chart with which he was most identified there was no country album chart before and the official British pop chart The year given in the table below is the year the record first reached number one rather than its original year of release For instance Elvis Greatest released in a compilation on the budget Arcade label was the fourth highest selling album of the year in the United Kingdom at the time the main British chart did not rank such compilations relegating them to a chart for midpriced and TV advertised albums which Elvis Greatest topped for weeks The policy was altered in allowing the album to hit number one on the main chart in following Presley s death Before late rather than unified pop and country singles charts Billboard had as many as four charts for each separately ranking records according to sales jukebox play jockey spins i e airplay and in the case of pop a general Top Billboard now regards the sales charts as definitive for the period Widely cited chart statistician Joel Whitburn accords historical releases the highest ranking they achieved among the separate charts Presley discographer Ernst Jorgensen refers only to the Top chart for pop hits All of the – songs listed here as number one US pop hits reached the top of both the sales and with three exceptions the Top charts I Want You I Need You I Love You three Hound Dog two behind its flip side Don t Be Cruel and Hard Headed Woman two Several Presley singles reached number one in the United Kingdom as double A sides in the United States the respective sides of those singles were ranked separately by Billboard g In the United States Presley also had five or six number one R B singles and seven number one adult contemporary singles h in his Blue Christmas topped the Christmas singles chart during a period when Billboard did not rank holiday singles in its primary pop chart He also had number one hits in many countries beside the United States and United Kingdom Number one albumsYear Album Type Chart positions US US Country UK Elvis Presley studio comp n a Elvis studio n a Loving You sound studio n a Elvis Christmas Album studio n a Elvis Is Back studio n a G I Blues soundtrack n a Something for Everybody studio n a Blue Hawaii soundtrack n a Pot Luck studio n a Roustabout soundtrack — From Elvis in Memphis studio Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite live Elvis A Legendary Performer Volume compilation Promised Land studio From Elvis Presley Boulevard Memphis Tennessee studio Elvis Greatest compilation — — Moody Blue studio live Elvis in Concert live ELV S No Hits compilation Elvis the King compilation — — Number one singlesYear Single Chart positions US US Country UK I Forgot to Remember to Forget reissue — — Heartbreak Hotel I Want You I Need You I Love You Don t Be Cruel Hound Dog Love Me Tender Too Much All Shook Up Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear Jailhouse Rock Don t Hard Headed Woman One Night I Got Stung — A Fool Such as I I Need Your Love Tonight — A Big Hunk o Love — Stuck on You It s Now or Never — Are You Lonesome Tonight Wooden Heart — — Surrender — Marie s the Name His Latest Flame Little Sister — Can t Help Falling in Love Rock A Hula Baby — Good Luck Charm — She s Not You — Return to Sender — You re The Devil in Disguise — Crying in the Chapel — Suspicious Minds — The Wonder of You Moody Blue Way Down Guitar Man remix A Little Less Conversation JXL remix — Jailhouse Rock reissue — — One Night I Got Stung reissue — — It s Now or Never reissue — — FilmographyMain article Elvis Presley filmography Love Me Tender Loving You Jailhouse Rock King Creole G I Blues Flaming Star Wild in the Country Blue Hawaii Follow That Dream Kid Galahad Girls Girls Girls It Happened at the World s Fair Fun in Acapulco Kissin Cousins Viva Las Vegas The Memphis Mafia was the nickname given by rock n roll icon Elvis Presley for a group of friends associates employees and yes men whose main functions were to accompany protect and serve Elvis from the beginning of his career in until his death in Several members filled practical roles in the singer s life For instance they were employed to work for him as bodyguards or on tour logistics and scheduling In these cases Elvis paid salaries but most lived off fringe benefits such as gifts cars houses and bonuses Over the years the number of members grew and changed but for the most part there was a core group who spent a lot of time with the singer Contents Early members Origin of the nickname The acronym TCB Opinions by different people Party life Bodyguards road managers and other employees Unhealthy influence over the singer Parasitic presence Substitute parents Playing dangerous games Handling of girls Books by former Memphis Mafia members List of books Notes External links Early members edit Joe Esposito Elvis preferred men around him who were loyal trustworthy and deferential Thus family members and friends of his youth were very important to him For the first time in his life he had a group of male friends to pal around with and he relished being the leader of the pack The group began with Elvis first cousins Junior and Gene Smith Gladys Presley s sister Levalle s children who accompanied Elvis everywhere along with Elvis high school friend Red West and rockabilly singer Cliff Gleaves At that time Judy Spreckels seems to have been the only woman She describes herself as having been like a sister to Elvis a companion confidante and keeper of secrets in the exciting days of his early career Elvis was surrounded by the first wave of what would become known as the Memphis Mafia She says that she was with him and the guys all the time They drove bumper cars in Las Vegas Valley rode horses in California and hung out at Graceland There wasn t a crowd then just a few guys and she emphasizes that she had nothing to do with being a yes man for him and obviously he trusted me Among the first to live travel and play with Elvis were Sonny West Billy Smith who was with Elvis from the start to the end and the only original member still with Elvis after Charlie Hodge Lamar Fike and Joe Esposito Over the years they were joined on the payroll by the Stanley brothers – Ricky Billy and David Jerry Schilling Larry Geller Marty Lacker Dave Hebler and numerous others Origin of the nickname edit Around the media dubbed these people the Memphis Mafia This first referred to their image as they usually cruised the city in black mohair suits and dark sunglasses According to one account a crowd of people in front of the Riviera Hotel watched as two big black limousines arrived Elvis and his friends got out of the two cars and someone in the crowd yelled Who are they the Mafia and a newspaper reporter picked up the story The Memphis Mafia members themselves say on their website that Elvis liked the name and it stuck However Presley s former wife Priscilla wrote that Presley didn t like the name because of a frightening Mafia connotation which the general public was then unaware of and that members of organized crime had attempted to take over Presley s career something reported as having happened earlier to Frank Sinatra The acronym TCB edit Presley and his friends and employees also adopted the acronym TCB which meant Taking Care of Business Presley had the tail of his private jet painted with the initials TCB and a lightning bolt and gave away TCB TLC on gold chain necklaces as gifts Opinions by different people edit William Otterburn Hall describes the men as close around the star like a football scrum after a loose ball He relates that they were a friendly bunch who when Elvis began to sing just for fun during his interview followed suit singing clowning all on their feet But there was more According to Patrick Humphries they acted as Elvis bodyguards babysitters drug procurers girl getters mates and car buyers The author also mentions other functions of the guys various members of the Memphis Mafia had played vital roles in keeping Elvis numerous dirty secrets out of the public eye A couple of them had been arrested with false prescriptions attempting to collect drugs for Elvis quite a few had taken physical hits in the service of protecting Elvis and none were paid more than a week For that they were often shouted at abused and belittled by the King when he felt like it Buzz Cason saw these combination bodyguards hangers on good ol Southern boys constantly coming in and out of the various rooms making phone calls and promptly responding to any need that Elvis might have Greenwood calls the men Elvis collected as buddies men who lacked any real ambition or abilities The one trait they did share was a willingness to do Elvis s bidding and contentment to take whatever handouts Elvis was offering Typically he doled out the presents regularly and basked in his sense of largesse But for as well as he treated his army buddies Elvis showed flashes of unaccountable meanness bordering on cruelty with a lot of people In similar terms Jerry Eden states that it really made him sick to see Elvis two faced cousins members of the so called Memphis Mafia who hung around him for the money clothes cars and leftover girls He adds that these leeches were mostly his second and third cousins from Mississippi With the exception of a couple of the guys like Charlie Hodge and Red West most of his friends were simply ignorant hillbillies out to get everything they could from him They had a real sweet thing going that s for sure They called themselves bodyguards but in reality they were only flunkies falling over each other to kiss El s ass Larry Geller is often regarded in the poor light due to his spiritual influences on Presley when he had just been employed as a hair dresser However according to Memphis Mafia member Marty Lacker Most of the guys had responsibilities and they were far from leeches hangers on or whatever else they were called They all had jobs to do so that Elvis could do his and as far as being there for the money that s laughable because there really wasn t much in that area to be there for Marty went on to say Most of us were not there for the money we were there because we all cared about Elvis and each other like brothers Additionally according to Elvis Presley Expert and Historian Jeff Schrembs of www ElvisCollector info the Members of the Memphis Mafia had specific jobs Joe Espositio handled money and cross referenced the extensive travel arrangements Charlie Hodge harmonized with Elvis and specked out each stage before the concert Lamar Fike handled Elvis stage lighting Red and Sonny West were Elvis bodyguards although Red West also had a talent for writing songs including some recorded by Elvis such as If Everyday Was Like Christmas and then Separate Ways Marty Lacker was a brutally honest sounding board Jerry Schilling gave advice about what other groups were using for audio equipment etc and Elvis Cousin Billy Smith was a man of all trades Party life edit Peter Guralnick writes that Elvis spent all day and night with the members from the Memphis Mafia For Elvis and the guys Hollywood was just an open invitation to party all night long Sometimes they would hang out with Sammy Davis Jr or check out Bobby Darin at the Cloister Nick Adams and his gang came by the suite all the time not to mention the eccentric actor Billy Murphy longtime friend of John Wayne and Robert Mitchum Guralnick adds The Colonel joked that they looked like a bunch of old men but the Memphis Mafia had become almost as well known around town as Frank Sinatra s Rat Pack and that Elvis and his guys were all living on speed and tranqs For Joe Esposito it was a party like you wouldn t believe Go to a different show every night then pick up a bunch of women afterwards go party the next night Go to the lounges see Fats Domino Della Reese Jackie Wilson the Four Aces the Dominoes – all the old acts We d stay there and never sleep we were all taking pills just so we could keep up with each other Bodyguards road managers and other employees edit When Presley emerged as a major celebrity in he was constantly besieged by adoring fans and the press making a normal lifestyle impossible However Presley s enormous wealth allowed him an ability to separate himself from the general public especially in his home city of Memphis For example he would rent an entire movie theater to watch a film Among Memphis natives he was most known for renting out the entire Memphis amusement park Libertyland in order to ride his favorite roller coaster the Zippin Pippin Professional handlers and celebrity security experts had not yet evolved Presley faced repeated threats of physical violence from outraged moral extremists and death threats from fanatics as would later happen when he performed in Las Vegas These threats were kept out of the press for fear of triggering even more For both his security needs and touring support Presley hired people chosen from among those he could trust and depend on to manage his public appearances This entourage included first cousins and several of Presley s friends from his boyhood in a poor Memphis housing project plus junior and senior high school friends and early employees from Memphis such as Alan Fortas nephew of U S Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas Many people were employed with the group through the years but some of the more prominent members were Joe Esposito Lamar Fike Alan Fortas Marty Lacker Billy Smith Richard Davis Red West Sonny West Dave Hebler Al Strada Dr Nick Rick David and Billy Stanley Elvis s step brothers Larry Geller Charlie Hodge Jerry Schilling and Gene Smith Each man had specific duties Joe Esposito officiated as Chief Road Manager and Chief Personal Aide for almost years Marty Lacker served as Elvis Chief Personal Aide for of those years Esposito claims citation needed Esposito and Lacker served as Presley s Co Best Men at his wedding Sonny West was responsible for security at Presley concerts Red West was one of Presley s earliest friends from their school days his first bodyguard which he would remain until the last year of Presley s life and in had acted as a driver for Elvis Scotty Moore and Bill Black when they first toured the American South performing as the Blue Moon Boys Priscilla Presley said these employees were paid an average of per week during the s which rose to per week in the s Each Christmas all Presley employees received bonus checks Some members of this inner circle became close friends who served as replacements for a lack of normal everyday friendships Presley s fame would not allow Marty Lacker and Elvis cousin Billy Smith were probably the closest true friends of Elvis according to some in the group Known for his generosity attributed by Presley himself to an impoverished childhood he bought some of these employees homes as wedding gifts and frequently bought new Cadillac automobiles for employees relatives and friends Unhealthy influence over the singer edit Parasitic presence edit Elvis s father Vernon increasingly distrusted and disliked many members of the Memphis Mafia as Elvis financial condition deteriorated in and rapidly deteriorated in part as a result of his divorce from Priscilla Presley which was finalized on October Throughout the years several members of the Memphis Mafia had left Elvis employment either due to fallouts with Vernon Presley or for personal reasons only to return at later dates This includes Marty Lacker Jerry Schilling and Lamar Fike The most publicized fallout came when Vernon Presley fired Elvis longtime friends Red West and Sonny West on July Vernon Presley gave the reasons for their firing to be Elvis expenses were increasing at an alarming rate and that there were complaints and threats of lawsuits about the manner in which Red West and Sonny West had interacted with fans After being in Elvis employment for two decades both Red West and Sonny West were only paid a few weeks severance pay and their requests to speak directly to Elvis about their employment termination and the nominal severance pay were not granted Red West Sonny West and Elvis himself felt betrayed and all parties were upset with one another in the manner in which they were fired When Colonel Parker informed Elvis that Red West and Sonny West were writing a tell all book about Elvis which included the disclosure of Elvis addiction to prescribed pain medications Elvis was furious as well as hurt Elvis and the Colonel discussed offering Red West and Sonny West a monetary settlement in return for a written agreement that the book would not be published and their experiences with Elvis on stage and off would remain confidential An agreement was not reached and when Elvis received a copy of the book entitled Elvis What Happened which was first published on July he worried that his reputation would be adversely affected and most of all that his beloved daughter Lisa Marie Presley would be adversely affected as well The publication of this book bothered Elvis on a personal and professional level for the remainder of his two weeks of life In numerous press conferences concerning the book Elvis What Happened both Red West and Sonny West stated that they wrote the book in part in order to make Elvis realize that his dependence on prescription medications was literally killing him They stated that they hoped that this book would shock Elvis into seeking medical care away from the physicians who were complicit in prescribing Elvis large amounts of prescription medications and fully resting and becoming clean off of these prescribed drugs Surrounded by the parasitic presence of the so called Memphis Mafia it was no wonder says John Harris that as the singer slid into addiction and torpor no one raised the alarm to them Elvis was the bank and it had to remain open Jerry Eden says that the guys didn t like Priscilla Beaulieu When Priscilla came on the scene she made them move out of Graceland keeping just a couple of them in the house to act as bodyguards Substitute parents edit Elvis Presley reportedly spent days and nights with his friends and employees from the Memphis Mafia They were a big family and Elvis lived in a milieu of a protective brotherhood Gerald Marzorati says that Elvis couldn t go anywhere else without a phalanx of boyhood friends Even the girls he dated deplored Whenever you were with Elvis for the most part you were with his entourage Those guys were always around According to the singer s cousin Billy Smith Elvis got into bed with Smith and his wife Jo many times at Graceland when we would spend the night there in Lisa s room or on tour in the hotel and at the trailer on the property at Graceland we were all three there talking for hours about everything in the world Sometimes he would have a bad dream and come looking for me to talk to and he would actually fall asleep in our bed with us That happened a lot of times and we thought nothing of it Playing dangerous games edit When they rented the Rainbow Rollerdrome in Memphis Elvis and the Memphis Mafia usually played a game called War of which Elvis was the proud inventor There were two teams and the object of the game was to knock over as many members of the opposing team as possible by any means Another game was called the Whip game Elvis s idea of an exciting game was that it should be as dangerous as possible such as the game that involved fireworks Some of the Memphis Mafia would buy up to worth of fireworks in today s money including skyrockets baby giants firecrackers and chasers which moved rapidly and unpredictably until they exploded Since the emphasis was on large and potentially lethal fireworks everyone had to wear air force jump suits plus gloves helmets and goggles When they were all dressed up they divided themselves into Blue and Red teams and started hurling fireworks at the other team Elvis was left with a big scar on his neck from one firework and one of his friends nearly lost an eye Handling of girls edit Byron Raphael an assistant to Presley s manager Colonel Tom Parker worked for Elvis in and procured several girls to climb into bed with the star including some well known movie stars This was also one of the tasks of the men from the Memphis Mafia as many girls wanted to get in close touch with the star In her memoir model and actress Peggy Lipton writes that she felt trapped in Presley s bed as the star was impotent with her and she couldn t just amble out into the next room to get a breath because all his guys were in the front of the suite gearing up for show time I could hear their piercing laughter and loud voices against the background of the blaring TV Buzz Cason even saw a fascinating guest bedroom with two way mirrors where the highly mischievous Memphis Mafia clowns could eavesdrop on visitors who might slip away there for a little romantic action According to Raphael s eye witness account actress Natalie Wood was upset when Presley refused to have sexual intercourse with her Byron Raphael and Alanna Nash add in their article that tongues wagged that Elvis and his best friend Nick Adams were getting it on But Elvis was frightened of homosexuals the Colonel had told him to be on the lookout for them in Hollywood Books by former Memphis Mafia members edit Since the late s some former members of the Memphis Mafia have written books on Elvis The first exposé book Elvis What Happened appeared in shortly before Elvis s death This so called Bodyguard book came from the West cousins and Dave Hebler They wrote about Presley s years of prescription drug abuse which eventually led to his death Elvis s youngest stepbrother says the singer was devastated by the book Here were his close friends who had written serious stuff that would affect his life He felt betrayed Red was honest with Elvis about his medication problems and I think this was one of the reasons he was fired For the guys they were fired but not by Elvis That must have hurt Elvis had even offered the publishers money not to go ahead with it For Vernon the book was proof of his long held distrust and dislike not just of those three but of the whole of the Memphis Mafia In Sonny West released Elvis Still Takin Care of Business which was a softer look at his relationship with the King List of books edit Elvis What Happened by author Steve Dunleavy with input from Red West Sonny West Dave Hebler Bantam Books ISBN Elvis Portrait of a Friend by Marty Lacker Patsy Lacker and Leslie S Smith ISBN Me n Elvis by Charlie Hodge Castle Books ISBN Elvis From Memphis To Hollywood by Alan Fortas Popular Culture Ink ISBN X Good Rockin Tonight Twenty Years On The Road And On The Town With Elvis by Diamond Joe Esposito Simon Schuster ISBN Elvis Man Friday by Gene Smith ISBN Elvis Aaron Presley Revelations from the Memphis Mafia by Alanna Nash Billy Smith Contributor Marty Lacker Contributor Lamar Fike Contributor – HarperCollins ISBN including gossip describing Elvis decline during the latter part of his life as viewed by Billy Smith Marty Lacker and Lamar Fike along with other events Elvis Still Taking Care of Business by Sonny West with Marshall Terrill Triumph Books ISBN Me and a Guy Named Elvis My Lifelong Friendship with Elvis Presley by Jerry Schilling Chuck Crisafulli August Gotham Books ISBN Remember Elvis Produced by Diamond Joe Esposito and Daniel Lombardy TCBJOE Publishing ISBN Roustabout Girl Happy Tickle Me Harum Scarum Frankie and Johnny Paradise Hawaiian Style Spinout Easy Come Easy Go Sycophant From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation search Sycophant was a term used in legal system of Classic Athens but in modern English it refers to someone practicing sycophancy i e obedient flattery The word sycophant has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens Having no police force and only a limited number of officially appointed public prosecutors most legal cases of the time were brought by private litigants By the fifth century BC however this practice had given rise to abuse by litigants who brought unjustified prosecutions Such a litigant was called a sycophant The word retains the meaning of an informer in Modern Greek and French but in modern English the meaning of the word has shifted to that of an insincere flatterer see sycophancy Contents The city of Athens during the classical period of Ancient Greece – BC was the major urban center of the notable polis city state of the same name located in Attica Greece leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League Athenian democracy was established in BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Isagoras This system remained remarkably stable and with a few brief interruptions remained in place for years until BC aftermath of Lamian War The peak of Athenian hegemony was achieved in the s to s BC known as the Age of Pericles In the classical period Athens was a center for the arts learning and philosophy home of Plato s Akademia and Aristotle s Lyceum Athens was also the birthplace of Socrates Pericles Sophocles and many other prominent philosophers writers and politicians of the ancient world It is widely referred to as the cradle of Western Civilization and the birthplace of democracy largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the th and th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent Contents History Rise to power – BC Athenian hegemony – BC Peloponnesian War – BC Corinthian War and the Second Athenian League – BC Athens under Macedon – BC Geography Overview The Long Walls The Acropolis Upper city Lower city Gates Districts Hills Streets Public buildings Suburbs Culture See also References History edit Main article History of Athens Rise to power – BC edit Main articles Ionian Revolt Persian Wars and First Peloponnesian War Hippias of the Peisistratid family established a dictatorship in BC which proved very unpopular although it established stability and prosperity and was eventually overthrown with the help of an army from Sparta in BC The radical politician of aristocratic background the Alcmaeonid family Cleisthenes then took charge and established democracy in Athens The reforms of Cleisthenes replaced the traditional four Ionic tribes phyle with ten new ones named after legendary heroes of Greece and having no class basis which acted as electorates Each tribe was in turn divided into three trittyes one from the coast one from the city and one from the inland divisions while each trittys had one or more demes see deme —depending on their population—which became the basis of local government The tribes each selected fifty members by lot for the Boule the council which governed Athens on a day to day basis The public opinion of voters could be influenced by the political satires written by the comic poets and performed in the city theaters The Assembly or Ecclesia was open to all full citizens and was both a legislature and a supreme court except in murder cases and religious matters which became the only remaining functions of the Areopagus Most offices were filled by lot although the ten strategoi generals were elected Early Athenian coin th century BC British Museum Prior to the rise of Athens Sparta a city state with a militaristic culture considered itself the leader of the Greeks and enforced a hegemony In BC Athens sent troops to aid the Ionian Greeks of Asia Minor who were rebelling against the Persian Empire see Ionian Revolt This provoked two Persian invasions of Greece both of which were repelled under the leadership of the soldier statesmen Miltiades and Themistocles see Persian Wars In the Athenians led by Miltiades prevented the first invasion of the Persians guided by king Darius I at the Battle of Marathon In the Persians returned under a new ruler Xerxes I The Hellenic League led by the Spartan King Leonidas led men to hold the narrow passageway of Thermopylae against the army of Xerxes during which time Leonidas and other Spartan elites were killed Simultaneously the Athenians led an indecisive naval battle off Artemisium However this delaying action was not enough to discourage the Persian advance which soon marched through Boeotia setting up Thebes as their base of operations and entered southern Greece This forced the Athenians to evacuate Athens which was taken by the Persians and seek the protection of their fleet Subsequently the Athenians and their allies led by Themistocles defeated the Persian navy at sea in the Battle of Salamis It is interesting to note that Xerxes had built himself a throne on the coast in order to see the Greeks defeated Instead the Persians were routed Sparta s hegemony was passing to Athens and it was Athens that took the war to Asia Minor These victories enabled it to bring most of the Aegean and many other parts of Greece together in the Delian League an Athenian dominated alliance Athenian hegemony – BC edit Main article Age of Pericles Pericles—an Athenian general politician and orator—distinguished himself above the other personalities of the era men who excelled in politics philosophy architecture sculpture history and literature He fostered arts and literature and gave to Athens a splendor which would never return throughout its history He executed a large number of public works projects and improved the life of the citizens Hence he gave his name to the Athenian Golden Age Silver mined in Laurium in southeastern Attica contributed greatly to the prosperity of this Golden Age of Athens During the time of the ascendancy of Ephialtes as leader of the democratic faction Pericles was his deputy When Ephialtes was assassinated by personal enemies Pericles stepped in and was elected general or strategos in BC a post he held continuously until his death in BC always by election of the Athenian Assembly Peloponnesian War – BC edit Main article Peloponnesian War Further information Athenian coup of BC The modern National Academy in Athens with Apollo and Athena on their columns and Socrates and Plato seated in front Resentment by other cities at the hegemony of Athens led to the Peloponnesian War in which pitted Athens and her increasingly rebellious sea empire against a coalition of land based states led by Sparta The conflict marked the end of Athenian command of the sea The war between Athens and the city state Sparta ended with an Athenian defeat after Sparta started its own navy Athenian democracy was briefly overthrown by the coup of brought about because of its poor handling of the war but it was quickly restored The war ended with the complete defeat of Athens in Since the defeat was largely blamed on democratic politicians such as Cleon and Cleophon there was a brief reaction against democracy aided by the Spartan army the rule of the Thirty Tyrants In democracy was restored by Thrasybulus and an amnesty declared Corinthian War and the Second Athenian League – BC edit Sparta s former allies soon turned against her due to her imperialist policies and Athens s former enemies Thebes and Corinth became her allies Argos Thebes and Corinth allied with Athens fought against Sparta in the decisive Corinthian War of BC– BC Opposition to Sparta enabled Athens to establish a Second Athenian League Finally Thebes defeated Sparta in in the Battle of Leuctra However other Greek cities including Athens turned against Thebes and its dominance was brought to an end at the Battle of Mantinea BC with the death of its leader the military genius Epaminondas Athens under Macedon – BC edit Further information Alexander the Great Antipatrid dynasty and Antigonid dynasty By mid century however the northern kingdom of Macedon was becoming dominant in Athenian affairs despite the warnings of the last great statesman of independent Athens Demosthenes In BC the armies of Philip II defeated Athens at the Battle of Chaeronea effectively limiting Athenian independence Athens and other states became part of the League of Corinth Further the conquests of his son Alexander the Great widened Greek horizons and made the traditional Greek city state obsolete Antipater dissolved the Athenian government and established a plutocratic system in BC see Lamian War and Demetrius Phalereus Athens remained a wealthy city with a brilliant cultural life but ceased to be an independent power In the nd century BC following the Battle of Corinth BC Greece was absorbed into the Roman Republic as part of the Achaea Province concluding years of Macedonian supremacy Geography edit Overview edit Map of ancient Athens showing the Acropolis in middle the Agora to the northwest and the city walls Athens was in Attica about stadia from the sea on the southwest slope of Mount Lycabettus between the small rivers Cephissus to the west Ilissos to the south and the Eridanos to the north the latter of which flowed through the town The walled city measured about km mi in diameter although at its peak the city had suburbs extending well beyond these walls The Acropolis was just south of the centre of this walled area The city was burnt by Xerxes in BC but was soon rebuilt under the administration of Themistocles and was adorned with public buildings by Cimon and especially by Pericles in whose time BC it reached its greatest splendour Its beauty was chiefly due to its public buildings for the private houses were mostly insignificant and its streets badly laid out Towards the end of the Peloponnesian War it contained more than houses which at a rate of inhabitants to a house would give a population of though some writers make the inhabitants as many as Athens consisted of two distinct parts The City properly so called divided into The Upper City or Acropolis and The Lower City surrounded with walls by Themistocles The port city of Piraeus also surrounded with walls by Themistocles and


abby-lane abby-rode abigail-clayton ada-tauler addie-juniper addison-cain adele-wiesenthal adeline-lange adeline-pollicina adriana-amante adrianna-laurenti adrianna-russo agnes agnes-ardant agnes-zalontai aimee-addison aisha-sun aja aleena-ferari alessandra-schiavo aletta-ocean alexandra-nice alexandria-cass alexa-parks alex-dane alex-foxe alexia-knight alexis-devell alexis-firestone alexis-greco alexis-payne alexis-x alex-storm alex-white aliana-love alice-springs alicia-alighatti alicia-monet alicia-rio alicyn-sterling alighiera-olena ali-moore aline-santos alissa-ashley allysin-chaynes alysin-embers alyssa-love alyssa-reece amanda-addams amanda-blake amanda-blue amanda-jane-adams amanda-rae amanda-stone amanda-tyler amber-hunt amberlina-lynn amber-lynn amber-michaels amber-peach amber-wild amber-woods ambrosia-fox amia-miley ami-rodgers amy-allison amy-brooke amy-rose amy-starz anastasia-christ anastasia-sands andrea-adams andrea-brittian andrea-lange andrea-true andy angel angela-baron angela-summers angel-barrett angel-cash angel-cruz angel-cummings angel-ducharme angelica-sin angelika-reschner angelina-brasini angelina-korrs angelina-valentine angel-kelly angel-long angel-west angie-knight anita-andic anita-blond anita-cannibal anita-dark anna-belle anna-malle anna-nikova anna-pierce anna-ventura anna-veruska anne-bie-warburg anne-libert anne-magle anne-sand annette-haven annie-sprinkle ann-kiray ann-marie-michelle antonia-dorian april-flowers april-may april-west arcadia-lake ariana-bali ariana-jollee arlana-blue ashley-anne ashley-brooks ashley-coda ashley-fires ashley-lauren ashley-long ashley-marie ashley-nicole ashley-perk ashley-renee ashley-robbins ashley-welles ashley-wells ashley-winger ashlyn-gere astrid-bone athena-star aubrey-nichols aurora aurora-snow autumn-bliss autumn-rayne ava-devine ava-lauren avalon ava-marteens avy-lee-roth bailey-monroe bambi-allen barbara-bourbon barbara-boutet barbara-dare barbara-doll barbara-moose barbarella barbie-angel barbie-doll barett-moore bea-fiedler beata beatrice-poggi beatrice-valle becky-savage becky-sunshine belinda-butterfield bella-donna bethany-sweet beverly-bliss beverly-glen biggi-stenzhorn bionca black-widow blond-cat blondi blue-angel bobbi-bliss bobbi-dean bobbie-burns bonnie-holiday brandee brandi-edwards brandy-alexandre brandy-dean brandy-lee brandy-smile brandy-wine bree-anthony breezy-lane brenda-basse briana-blair bridgette-belle bridgette-monet bridgette-monroe bridget-waters brigitte-lahaie brigitte-monnin brigitte-verbecq brittany brittany-stryker britt-corvin britt-morgan bronze brooke-bennett brooke-fields brooke-haven brooke-west brook-van-buuren buffy-davis bunnie-blake bunny-bleu bunny-hatton busty-belle cali-caramel calisyn-heart cameo cameron-love camila-sampaio camilla-rhodes camille-morgan camrie-foxxx candace-daley candi candida-royalle candie-evens candi-summers candy-apples candy-barr candy-hill candy-samples candy-stanton cara-lott caressa-savage carmel-nougat carmen-blonde carmen-de-la-torre carmen-moore carmen-rose carol-connors carol-cross carol-cummings carole-dubois carole-gire carole-pierac carol-titian carolyn-connoly carolyn-monroe carrie-cruise cassandra-leigh cassidy cassie-courtland cataline-bullock catherine-count catherine-crystal catherine-ringer catherine-tailleferre cathy-delorme cathy-menard cathy-stewart celeste-fox celine-gallone chanel-preston chanel-price chantal-virapin chanta-rose chantelle-stevens charisma charisma-cole charlie-latour charlie-waters charlotte-de-castille charmane-star chasey-lain chayse-manhattan chaz-vincent chelsea-sinclaire chennin-blanc cheri-janvier cheri-taylor cherry-hill chessie-moore cheyenne-hunter cheyenne-silver china-lee china-leigh china-moon chloe-cruize chloe-dior chloe-kez chloe-stevens chris-collins chris-jordan chris-petersen chrissie-beauchamp christa-abel christa-ludwig christie-ford christi-lake christina-berg christina-blond christina-evol christina-skye christine-black christine-chavert christine-neona christine-rigoler christy-canyon cicciolina cindi-stephens cindy-carver cindy-crawford cindy-more cindy-shepard cindy-wong cinthya-marinho clair-dia claire-robbins claude-janna claudia-jackson claudia-jamsson claudia-mehringer claudia-nero claudia-van-statt claudia-zante claudine-beccarie clea-carson cleo-nichole cleo-patra cody-lane cody-love cody-nicole coffee-brown colleen-brennan connie-bennett connie-peterson constance-money copper-penny coreena corey-everson corinne-lemoine corneliah cory-everson cory-wolf courtney courtney-cummz courtney-james cris-cassidy crissy-moran cris-taliana crystal-breeze crystal-dawn crystal-holland crystal-knight crystal-lake crystal-lovin crystal-sync csilla-kalnay cuban-bee cynara-fox cyndee-summers cynthia-black cynthia-brooks cynthia-hammers cynthia-lavigne dagmar-lost daisy-layne dallas-miko dana-dylan dana-lynn danica-rhea daniela-nanou daniela-schiffer daniele-troeger daniella daniella-schiffer danielle danielle-foxxx danielle-rodgers danny-ricci danyel-cheeks daphne daphne-rosen darby-lloyd-rains darla-crane darla-delovely davia-ardell dayton-rain debbie-northrup debbie-revenge debbie-van-gils debi-diamond debi-jointed debra-lynn deidra-hopkins deidre-holland delania-raffino delia-moore delphine-thail delta-force delta-white demi-moor denice-klarskov denise-derringer denise-dior denise-sloan desiree-cousteau desiree-foxx desiree-lane desiree-west deva-station devin-devasquez devinn-lane devon-shire dia diana-holt diana-kisabonyi diana-siefert diana-stevenson diane-dubois diane-richards diane-sloan diane-suresne dido-angel dillan-lauren dina-deville dina-jewel dina-pearl ditty-blue diva divinity-love djiana dolly-darkley dominique dominique-dewitt dominique-saint-claire donna-hart donna-marie dorle-buchner dorothy-lemay dorothy-onan drea drimla dru-berrymore dusty-rose dyanna-lauren ebony-ayes edina-blond edita-ungerova edwige-faillel eileen-wells elaine-southern elena-berkova elena-maria-ricci eleonore-melzer elisabeth-bure elis-black elise elise-di-medici elle-devyne elle-rio elodie-delage elsa-maroussia elza-brown emili-doll emily-evermoore emily-george emily-jewel emmanuelle-pareze envy-mi erica-boyer erica-eaton erica-havens erica-idol erica-lauren erika-bella erika-cool erika-heaven erika-lockett esme-monroe eva-allen eva-angel eva-dionisio eva-gross eva-kleber eva-lux eva-uettori eve-laurence evelyne-lang evie-delatosso fabiana-venturi faith-stevens fallon fanny-garreau fanny-steel faye-runaway flame flick-shagwell flore-soller flower france-lomay france-quenie francoise frankie-leigh gabriella gabriella-mirelba gabriella-vincze gail-force gail-palmer gail-sterling georgette-saunders georgia-peach georgina-spelvin gia-givanna gianna-lynn gili-sky gina-carrera gina-gianetti gina-janssen gina-lee gina-martell gina-valentino ginger-jay ginger-lee ginger-lynn ginny-noack giovanna gisela-schwarz giselle-monet gladys-laroche gloria-leonard gloria-todd golden-jade greta-carlson greta-milos guia-lauri-filzi gwenda-farnel hare-krane harley-raine hayley-jade hazel-young heather-deeley heather-ellis heather-hart heather-lere heather-lyn heather-manfield heather-thomas heather-torrance heather-wayne heather-young helen-madigan helen-thomas helga-sven helga-wild hillary-summers holly-hollywood holly-joy holly-page holly-ryder honey-winter hottie-hollie hyapatia-lee ida-fabry ildiko-smits illana-moor ines-ridere ingrid-choray isabella-dior isabella-soprano isabelle-allay isabelle-brell isabelle-marchall isobel-wren iveta ivette-blanche jackie-right jacqueline-lorians jacy-allen jada-stevens jade-east jade-hsu jade-marcela jade-summers jade-wong jahn-gold jamie-brooks jamie-james jamie-summers jana-irrova jana-mrazkova jane-baker jane-darling jane-iwanoff jane-lindsay jane-lixx janet-jacme janey-robbins jasmine-delatori jayden-simone jaylyn-rose jayna-woods jazella-moore jazmin-luna-gold jean-afrique jeanette-littledove jeanie-marie-sullivan jean-jennings jeanna-fine jeannie-pepper jenna-jameson jenna-jane jenna-presley jenna-wells jennifer-haussmann jennifer-janes jennifer-jordan jennifer-morante jennifer-noxt jennifer-stewart jennifer-welles jennifer-west jenny jenny-feeling jenny-fields jenny-wings jersey-jaxin jesie-st-james jesse-capelli jessica-bangkok jessica-bogart jessica-darlin jessica-fiorentino jessica-gabriel jessica-laine jessica-may jessica-road jessica-wylde jessi-foster jill-ferari jill-kelly joana-redgrave joan-devlon joanna-storm joanna-sweet jody-maxwell joelle-lequement joelle-petinot johnni-black jordana-james jordan-green jordan-nevaeh jordan-star josephine-carrington joslyn-james julia-chanel julia-dal-fuoco juliana-grandi julia-paes julia-parton julia-perrin julia-swen julia-thomas julie-meadows julie-rage julie-simone juliet-anderson juliet-graham juliette-carelton kacey-jordan kagney-linn-karter kaitlyn-ashley kalena-rios kami-andrews kamila-smith kandee-licks kandi-barbour kapri-styles kara-nox karen-summer kari-foxx karine-gambier karin-schubert karli-sweet karmen-kennedy karol-castro kascha kassi-nova kat kate-frost kate-jones kathia-nobili kathleen-gentry kathleen-white kathy-divan kathy-harcourt kathy-heart kathy-kash katie-cummings katja-love kat-langer katrina-isis katrina-kraven katy-borman katy-caro kaycee-dean kayla-kupcakes kay-parker k-c-valentine keama-kim keira-moon keisha keli-richards kelli-tyler kelly-adams kelly-blue kelly-broox kelly-hearn kelly-kay kelly-kline kelly-nichols kelly-royce kelly-skyline kendra-kay kenzi-marie keri-windsor ketthy-divan kianna-dior kiley-heart kim-alexis kimber-blake kimberly-carson kimberly-kane kimberly-kyle kim-de-place kim-holland kimi-gee kimkim-de kim-kitaine kimmie-lee kimmy-nipples kina-kara kira-eggers kira-red kirsty-waay kitty-langdon kitty-lynxxx kitty-marie kitty-shayne kitty-yung kora-cummings kris-lara krista-lane krista-maze kristara-barrington kristarah-knight kristi-klenot kristina-blonde kristina-king kristina-klevits kristina-soderszk kristine-heller kristin-steen krisztina-ventura krystal-de-boor krystal-steal kylee-karr kylee-nash kylie-brooks kylie-channel kylie-haze kylie-wylde kym-wilde kyoto-sun lachelle-marie lacy-rose lady-amanda-wyldefyre lady-stephanie laetitia-bisset lana-burner lana-cox lana-wood lara-amour lara-roxx lara-stevens lataya-roxx latoya laura-clair laura-lazare laura-lion laura-may laura-orsolya laura-paouck laura-zanzibar lauren-black laurence-boutin lauren-montgomery laurien-dominique laurien-wilde laurie-smith lauryl-canyon lauryn-may leah-wilde lea-magic lea-martini leanna-foxxx lee-caroll leigh-livingston leilani lenora-bruce leslie-winston lesllie-bovee letizia-bruni lexi-lane lexi-matthews lezley-zen lia-fire liliane-gray liliane-lemieuvre lili-marlene lily-gilder lily-labeau lily-rodgers lily-valentine linda-shaw linda-vale linda-wong linnea-quigley lisa-bright lisa-de-leeuw lisa-k-loring lisa-lake lisa-melendez lisa-sue-corey lise-pinson little-oral-annie liza-dwyer liza-harper lizzy-borden logan-labrent lois-ayres lola-cait long-jean-silver loni-bunny loni-sanders loona-luxx lorelei-lee lorelei-rand lorena-sanchez lori-alexia lori-blue lorrie-lovett luci-diamond lucie-doll lucie-theodorova lucy-van-dam lydia-baum lynn-franciss lynn-lemay lynn-ray lynn-stevens lynx-canon lysa-thatcher madelina-ray madison-parker magdalena-lynn maggie-randall mai-lin mandi-wine mandy-bright mandy-malone mandy-may mandy-mistery mandy-starr marcia-minor maren margit-ojetz margitta-hofer margo-stevens margot-mahler mariah-cherry marianne-aubert maria-tortuga marie-anne marie-christine-chireix marie-christine-veroda marie-claude-moreau marie-dominique-cabannes marie-france-morel marie-luise-lusewitz marie-sharp marilyn-chambers marilyne-leroy marilyn-gee marilyn-jess marilyn-martyn marilyn-star marina-hedman marion-webb marita-ekberg marita-kemper marlena marlene-willoughby marry-queen martine-grimaud martine-schultz maryanne-fisher mary-hubay mary-ramunno mary-stuart mascha-mouton maud-kennedy mauvais-denoir maxine-tyler maya-black maya-france megan-leigh megan-martinez megan-reece mei-ling melanie-hotlips melanie-scott melba-cruz melinda-russell melissa-bonsardo melissa-del-prado melissa-golden melissa-martinez melissa-melendez melissa-monet mercedes-dragon mercedes-lynn merle-michaels mesha-lynn mia-beck mia-lina mia-smiles michele-raven michelle-aston michelle-ferrari michelle-greco michelle-maren michelle-maylene michelle-monroe micki-lynn mika-barthel mika-tan mikki-taylor mimi-morgan mindy-rae ming-toy miranda-stevens miss-bunny miss-meadow miss-pomodoro missy missy-graham missy-stone missy-vega misti-jane mistress-candice misty-anderson misty-dawn misty-rain misty-regan mona-lisa mona-page moni monica-baal monica-swinn monika-peta monika-sandmayr monika-unco monique-bruno monique-cardin monique-charell monique-demoan monique-gabrielle monique-la-belle morgan-fairlane morrigan-hel moxxie-maddron mulani-rivera mysti-may nadege-arnaud nadia-styles nadine-bronx nadine-proutnal nadine-roussial nadi-phuket nanci-suiter nancy-hoffman nancy-vee natacha-delyro natalia-wood natalli-diangelo natascha-throat natasha-skyler naudia-nyce nessa-devil nessy-grant nesty nicki-hunter nicky-reed nicole-berg nicole-bernard nicole-black nicole-grey nicole-london nicole-parks nicole-scott nicole-taylor nicolette-fauludi nicole-west nika-blond nika-mamic niki-cole nikita-love nikita-rush nikki-charm nikki-grand nikki-king nikki-knight nikki-randall nikki-rhodes nikki-santana nikki-steele nikki-wilde niko nina-cherry nina-deponca nina-hartley nina-preta oana-efria obaya-roberts olesja-derevko olga-cabaeva olga-conti olga-pechova olga-petrova olivia-alize olivia-del-rio olivia-flores olivia-la-roche olivia-outre ophelia-tozzi orchidea-keresztes orsolya-blonde paige-turner paisley-hunter pamela-bocchi pamela-jennings pamela-mann pamela-stanford pamela-stealt pandora paola-albini pascale-vital pat-manning pat-rhea patricia-dale patricia-diamond patricia-kennedy patricia-rhomberg patrizia-predan patti-cakes patti-petite paula-brasile paula-harlow paula-morton paula-price paula-winters pauline-teutscher penelope-pumpkins penelope-valentin petra-hermanova petra-lamas peyton-lafferty phaedra-grant pia-snow piper-fawn pipi-anderson porsche-lynn porsha-carrera precious-silver priscillia-lenn purple-passion queeny-love rachel-ashley rachel-love rachel-luv rachel-roxxx rachel-ryan rachel-ryder racquel-darrian rane-revere raven reagan-maddux rebecca-bardoux regan-anthony regine-bardot regula-mertens reina-leone reka-gabor renae-cruz renee-foxx renee-lovins renee-morgan renee-perez renee-summers renee-tiffany rhonda-jo-petty rikki-blake riley-ray rio-mariah rita-ricardo roberta-gemma roberta-pedon robin-byrd robin-cannes robin-everett robin-sane rochell-starr rosa-lee-kimball rosemarie roxanne-blaze roxanne-hall roxanne-rollan ruby-richards sabina-k sabre sabrina-chimaera sabrina-dawn sabrina-jade sabrina-johnson sabrina-love-cox sabrina-mastrolorenzi sabrina-rose sabrina-scott sabrina-summers sacha-davril sahara sahara-sands sai-tai-tiger samantha-fox samantha-ryan samantha-sterlyng samantha-strong samueline-de-la-rosa sandra-cardinale sandra-de-marco sandra-kalermen sandra-russo sandy-lee sandy-pinney sandy-reed sandy-samuel sandy-style sandy-summers sara-brandy-canyon sara-faye sarah-bernard sarah-cabrera sarah-hevyn sarah-mills sarah-shine sara-sloane sasha sasha-hollander sasha-ligaya sasha-rose satine-phoenix satin-summer savannah-stern savanna-jane scarlet-scarleau scarlet-windsor seka selena serena serena-south severine-amoux shana-evans shanna-mccullough shannon-kelly shannon-rush shantell-day sharon-da-vale sharon-kane sharon-mitchell shaun-michelle shawna-sexton shawnee-cates shay-hendrix shayne-ryder sheena-horne sheer-delight shelby-star shelby-stevens shelly-berlin shelly-lyons sheri-st-clair sheyla-cats shonna-lynn shyla-foxxx shy-love sierra-sinn sierra-skye sigrun-theil silver-starr silvia-bella silvia-saint silvie-de-lux silvy-taylor simone-west sindee-coxx sindy-lange sindy-shy siobhan-hunter skylar-knight skylar-price skyler-dupree smokie-flame smoking-mary-jane solange-shannon sonya-summers sophia-santi sophie-call sophie-duflot sophie-evans sophie-guers stacey-donovan stacy-lords stacy-moran stacy-nichols stacy-silver stacy-thorn starla-fox starr-wood stefania-bruni stella-virgin stephanie-duvalle stephanie-rage stephanie-renee stevie-taylor summer-knight summer-rose sunny-day sunset-thomas sunshine-seiber susan-hart susanne-brend susan-nero susi-hotkiss suzanne-mcbain suzan-nielsen suzie-bartlett suzie-carina suzi-sparks sweet-nice sweety-pie sybille-rossani sylvia-benedict sylvia-bourdon sylvia-brand sylvia-engelmann syreeta-taylor syren-de-mer syvette szabina-black szilvia-lauren tai-ellis taija-rae taisa-banx talia-james tamara-lee tamara-longley tamara-n-joy tamara-west tami-white tammy tammy-lee tammy-reynolds tania-lorenzo tantala-ray tanya-danielle tanya-fox tanya-foxx tanya-lawson tanya-valis tara-aire tasha-voux tatjana-belousova tatjana-skomorokhova tawnee-lee tawny-pearl tayla-rox taylor-wane teddi-austin teddi-barrett tera-bond tera-heart tera-joy teresa-may teresa-orlowski teri-diver teri-weigel terri-dolan terri-hall tess-ferre tess-newheart thais-vieira tia-cherry tianna tiara tiffany-blake tiffany-clark tiffany-duponte tiffany-rayne tiffany-rousso tiffany-storm tiffany-towers tiffany-tyler tiger-lily tigr timea-vagvoelgyi tina-blair tina-burner tina-evil tina-gabriel tina-loren tina-marie tina-russell tish-ambrose tommi-rose tonisha-mills topsy-curvey tori-secrets tori-sinclair tori-welles tracey-adams traci-lords traci-topps traci-winn tracy-duzit tracy-love tracy-williams tricia-devereaux tricia-yen trinity-loren trisha-rey trista-post trixie-tyler ultramax ursula-gaussmann ursula-moore uschi-karnat valentina valerie-leveau valery-hilton vanessa-chase vanessa-del-rio vanessa-michaels vanessa-ozdanic vanilla-deville velvet-summers veri-knotty veronica-dol veronica-hart veronica-hill veronica-rayne veronica-sage veronika-vanoza via-paxton vicky-lindsay vicky-vicci victoria-evans victoria-gold victoria-knight victoria-luna victoria-paris victoria-slick victoria-zdrok viper virginie-caprice vivian-valentine vivien-martines wendi-white wendy-divine whitney-banks whitney-fears whitney-wonders wonder-tracey wow-nikki xanthia-berstein yasmine-fitzgerald yelena-shieffer yvonne-green zara-whites zsanett-egerhazi zuzie-boobies

connected to the city with the Long Walls built under Conon and Pericles The Long Walls edit Map of the environs of Athens showing Piraeus Phalerum and the Long WallsThe Long Walls consisted of two walls leading to Piraeus stadia long miles km running parallel to each other with a narrow passage between them In addition there was a wall to Phalerum on the east stadia long miles km There were therefore three long walls in all but the name Long Walls seems to have been confined to the two leading to the Piraeus while the one leading to Phalerum was called the Phalerian Wall The entire circuit of the walls was stadia nearly miles km of which stadia miles km belonged to the city stadia miles km to the long walls and stadia miles km to Piraeus Munichia and Phalerum The Acropolis Upper city edit The Acropolis also called Cecropia from its reputed founder Cecrops was a steep rock in the middle of the city about meters high meters long and meters wide its sides were naturally scarped on all sides except the west end It was originally surrounded by an ancient Cyclopean wall said to have been built by the Pelasgians At the time of the Peloponnesian war only the north part of this wall remained and this portion was still called the Pelasgic Wall while the south part which had been rebuilt by Cimon was called the Cimonian Wall On the west end of the Acropolis where access is alone practicable were the magnificent Propylaea the Entrances built by Pericles before the right wing of which was the small Temple of Athena Nike The summit of the Acropolis was covered with temples statues of bronze and marble and various other works of art Of the temples the grandest was the Parthenon sacred to the Virgin goddess Athena and north of the Parthenon was the magnificent Erechtheion containing three separate temples one to Athena Polias or the Protectress of the State the Erechtheion proper or sanctuary of Erechtheus and the Pandroseion or sanctuary of Pandrosos the daughter of Cecrops Between the Parthenon and Erechtheion was the colossal Statue of Athena Promachos or the Fighter in the Front whose helmet and spear was the first object on the Acropolis visible from the sea The Acropolis imagined in an painting by Leo von KlenzeLower city edit The lower city was built in the plain around the Acropolis but this plain also contained several hills especially in the southwest part On the west side the walls embraced the Hill of the Nymphs and the Pnyx and to the southeast they ran along beside the Ilissos Gates edit There were many gates among the more important there were On the West side Dipylon the most frequented gate of the city leading from the inner Kerameikos to the outer Kerameikos and to the Academy The Sacred Gate where the sacred road to Eleusis began The Knight s Gate probably between the Hill of the Nymphs and the Pnyx The Piraean Gate between the Pnyx and the Mouseion leading to the carriage road between the Long Walls to the Piraeus The Melitian Gate so called because it led to the deme Melite within the city On the South side The Gate of the Dead in the neighbourhood of the Mouseion The Itonian Gate near the Ilissos where the road to Phalerum began On the East side The Gate of Diochares leading to the Lyceum The Diomean Gate leading to Cynosarges and the deme Diomea On the North side The Acharnian Gate leading to the deme Acharnai Districts edit The Inner Kerameikos or Potter s Quarter in the west of the city extending north as far as the Dipylon gate by which it was separated from the outer Kerameikos the Kerameikos contained the Agora or market place the only one in the city lying northwest of the Acropolis and north of the Areopagus The deme Melite in the west of the city south of the inner Kerameikos The deme Skambonidai in the northern part of the city east of the inner Kerameikos The Kollytos in the southern part of the city south and southwest of the Acropolis Koele a district in the southwest of the city Limnai a district east of Milete and Kollytos between the Acropolis and the Ilissos Diomea a district in the east of the city near the gate of the same name and the Cynosarges Agrai a district south of Diomea Hills edit The Areopagus the Hill of Ares west of the Acropolis which gave its name to the celebrated council that held its sittings there was accessible on the south side by a flight of steps cut out of the rock The Hill of the Nymphs northwest of the Areopagus The Pnyx a semicircular hill southwest of the Areopagus where the ekklesia assemblies of the people were held in earlier times for afterwards the people usually met in the Theatre of Dionysus The Mouseion the Hill of the Muses south of the Pnyx and the Areopagus Streets edit Among the more important streets there were The Piraean Street which led from the Piraean gate to the Agora The Panathenaic Way which led from the Dipylon gate to the Acropolis via the Agora along which a solemn procession was made during the Panathenaic Festival The Street of the Tripods on the east side of the Acropolis Public buildings edit The Temple of Hephaestus in modern day AthensTemples Of these the most important was the Olympieion or Temple of Olympian Zeus southeast of the Acropolis near the Ilissos and the fountain Callirrhoë which was long unfinished and was first completed by Hadrian The Temple of Hephaestus located to the west of the Agora The Temple of Ares to the north of the Agora Metroon or temple of the mother of the gods on the west side of the Agora Besides these there was a vast number of other temples in all parts of the city The Bouleuterion Senate House at the west side of the Agora The Tholos a round building close to the Bouleuterion built c BC by Cimon which served as the Prytaneion in which the Prytaneis took their meals and offered their sacrifices Stoae or Colonnades supported by pillars and used as places of resort in the heat of the day of which there were several in Athens In the Agora there were the Stoa Basileios the court of the King Archon on the west side of the Agora the Stoa Eleutherios or Colonnade of Zeus Eleutherios on the west side of the Agora the Stoa Poikile so called because it was adorned with fresco painting of the Battle of Marathon by Polygnotus on the north side of the Agora Artist s impression of the Theatre of DionysusTheatres The Theatre of Dionysus on the southeast slope of the Acropolis was the great theatre of the state Besides this there were Odeons for contests in vocal and instrumental music an ancient one near the fountain Callirrhoë and a second built by Pericles close to the theatre of Dionysius on the southeast slope of the Acropolis The large odeon surviving today the Odeon of Herodes Atticus was built in Roman times Panathenaic Stadium south of the Ilissos in the district Agrai where the athletic portion of the Panathenaic Games were held The Argyrocopeum mint appears to have been in or adjoining the chapel heroon of a hero named Stephanephorus Suburbs edit The Outer Kerameikos northwest of the city was the finest suburb of Athens here were buried the Athenians who had fallen in war and at the further end of it was the Academy stadia from the city Cynosarges east of the city across the Ilissos reached from the Diomea gate a gymnasium sacred to Heracles where the Cynic Antisthenes taught Lyceum east of the city a gymnasium sacred to Apollo Lyceus where Aristotle taught Culture edit Main articles Age of Pericles Ancient Greek philosophy Athenian festivals and Greek theatre The Karyatides statues of the Erechtheion on its Acropolis The period from the end of the Persian Wars to the Macedonian conquest marked the zenith of Athens as a center of literature philosophy see Greek philosophy and the arts see Greek theatre Some of the most important figures of Western cultural and intellectual history lived in Athens during this period the dramatists Aeschylus Aristophanes Euripides and Sophocles the philosophers Aristotle Plato and Socrates the historians Herodotus Thucydides and Xenophon the poet Simonides and the sculptor Phidias The leading statesman of this period was Pericles who used the tribute paid by the members of the Delian League to build the Parthenon and other great monuments of classical Athens The city became in Pericles s words an education for Hellas usually quoted as the school of Hellas Greece See also edit Archon of Athens Delian league Attica Holland is a region and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands The name Holland is also frequently used to informally refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands This usage is commonly accepted in other countries but in the Netherlands and particularly in other regions of the country it could be found undesirable or even insulting From the th to the th century Holland proper was a unified political region within the Holy Roman Empire as a county ruled by the Counts of Holland By the th century Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power dominating the other provinces of the newly independent Dutch Republic The area of the former County of Holland roughly coincides with the two current Dutch provinces of North Holland and South Holland which together include the Netherlands three largest cities the capital city of Amsterdam Rotterdam home of Europe s largest port and the seat of government of The Hague Contents Etymology and terminology History County of Holland Dutch Republic Under French rule Kingdom of the Netherlands Geography Reclamation of the land Culture Language New Holland References Etymology and terminology edit The name Holland first appeared in sources in for the region around Haarlem and by was being used as the name of the entire county By this time the inhabitants of Holland were referring to themselves as Hollanders Holland is derived from the Middle Dutch term holtland wooded land This spelling variation remained in use until around the th century at which time the name stabilised as Holland alternative spellings at the time were Hollant and Hollandt A popular folk etymology holds that Holland is derived from hol land hollow land and was inspired by the low lying geography of Holland The proper name of the area in both Dutch and English is Holland Holland is a part of the Netherlands Holland is informally used in English and other languages including sometimes the Dutch language itself to mean the whole of the modern country of the Netherlands This example of pars pro toto or synecdoche is similar to the tendency to refer to the United Kingdom as England The people of Holland are referred to as Hollanders in both Dutch and English Today this refers specifically to people from the current provinces of North Holland and South Holland Strictly speaking the term Hollanders does not refer to people from the other provinces in the Netherlands but colloquially Hollanders is sometimes used in this wider sense In Dutch the Dutch word Hollands is the adjectival form for Holland The Dutch word Hollands is also colloquially and occasionally used by some Dutch people in the sense of Nederlands Dutch but then often with the intention of contrasting with other types of Dutch people or language for example Limburgish the Belgian form of the Dutch language Flemish or even any southern variety of Dutch within the Netherlands itself In English Dutch refers to the Netherlands as a whole but there is no commonly used adjective for Holland The word Hollandish is no longer in common use Hollandic is the name linguists give to the dialect spoken in Holland and is occasionally also used by historians and when referring to pre Napoleonic Holland History edit Initially Holland was a remote corner of the Holy Roman Empire Gradually its regional importance increased until it began to have a decisive and ultimately dominant influence on the History of the Netherlands County of Holland edit Further information County of Holland Coat of arms of the County of HollandUntil the th century the inhabitants of the area that became Holland were Frisians The area was part of Frisia At the end of the th century Holland became a separate county in the Holy Roman Empire The first Count of Holland known about with certainty was Dirk I who ruled from to He was succeeded by a long line of counts in the House of Holland who were in fact known as counts of Frisia until When John I count of Holland died childless in the county was inherited by John II of Avesnes count of Hainaut By the time of William V House of Wittelsbach – the count of Holland was also the count of Hainaut and Zealand At the time a part of Frisia West Friesland was conquered as a result most provincial institutions including the States of Holland and West Frisia would for centuries refer to Holland and West Frisia as a unit The Hook and Cod wars started around this time and ended when the countess of Holland Jacoba or Jacqueline was forced to give up Holland to the Burgundian Philip III known as Philip the Good in In Holland became part of the Burgundian Netherlands and since of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces In the th century the county became the most densely urbanised region in Europe with the majority of the population living in cities Within the Burgundian Netherlands Holland was the dominant province in the north the political influence of Holland largely determined the extent of Burgundian dominion in that area The last count of Holland was Philip III better known as Philip II king of Spain He was deposed in by the Act of Abjuration although the kings of Spain continued to carry the titular appellation of Count of Holland until the Peace of Münster signed in Dutch Republic edit A map of Holland from In the Dutch Rebellion against the Habsburgs during the Eighty Years War the naval forces of the rebels the Watergeuzen established their first permanent base in in the town of Brill In this way Holland now a sovereign state in a larger Dutch confederation became the centre of the rebellion It became the cultural political and economic centre of the United Provinces Dutch Verenigde Provinciën in the th century the Dutch Golden Age the wealthiest nation in the world After the King of Spain was deposed as the count of Holland the executive and legislative power rested with the States of Holland which was led by a political figure who held the office of Grand Pensionary The largest cities in the Dutch Republic were in the province of Holland such as Amsterdam Rotterdam Leiden Alkmaar The Hague Delft Dordrecht and Haarlem From the great ports of Holland Hollandic merchants sailed to and from destinations all over Europe and merchants from all over Europe gathered to trade in the warehouses of Amsterdam and other trading cities of Holland Many Europeans thought of the United Provinces first as Holland rather than as the Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands A strong impression of Holland was planted in the minds of other Europeans which then was projected back onto the Republic as a whole Within the provinces themselves a gradual slow process of cultural expansion took place leading to a Hollandification of the other provinces and a more uniform culture for the whole of the Republic The dialect of urban Holland became the standard language Under French rule edit Further information Kingdom of Holland Departments of French Empire North The formation of the Batavian Republic inspired by the French revolution led to a more centralised government Holland became a province of a unitary state Its independence was further reduced by an administrative reform in in which its territory was divided into several departments called Amstel Delf Texel and part of Schelde en Maas From to Napoleon styled his vassal state governed by his brother Louis Napoleon and shortly by the son of Louis Napoleon Louis Bonaparte as the Kingdom of Holland This kingdom encompassed much of what would become the modern Netherlands The name reflects how natural at the time it had become to equate Holland with the non Belgian Netherlands as a whole During the period the Low Countries were annexed by the French Empire and actually incorporated into France from to Holland was divided into départements Zuyderzée and Bouches de la Meuse From to Charles François Lebrun duc de Plaisance served as governor general He was assisted by Antoine de Celles Goswin de Stassart and François Jean Baptiste d Alphonse Kingdom of the Netherlands edit After Holland was restored as a province of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands Holland was divided into the present provinces North Holland and South Holland in after the Belgian Revolution of This reflected a historical division of Holland along the IJ into a Southern Quarter Zuiderkwartier and a Northern Quarter Noorderkwartier citation needed but the actual division is different from the old division From a strong process of nation formation took place the Netherlands being culturally unified and economically integrated by a modernisation process with the cities of Holland as its centre Geography edit Further information Geography of the Netherlands North Holland South HollandHolland is situated in the west of the Netherlands A maritime region Holland lies on the North Sea at the mouths of the Rhine and the

Meuse Maas It has numerous rivers and lakes and an extensive inland canal and waterway system To the south is Zealand The region is bordered on the east by the IJsselmeer and four different provinces of the Netherlands Holland is protected from the sea by a long line of coastal dunes Most of the land area behind the dunes consists of polder landscape lying well below sea level At present the lowest point in Holland is a polder near Rotterdam which is about seven meters below sea level Continuous drainage is necessary to keep Holland from flooding In earlier centuries windmills were used for this task The landscape was and in places still is dotted with windmills which have become a symbol of Holland Holland is square kilometres land and water included making it roughly of the area of the Netherlands Looking at land alone it is square kilometres in size The combined population is million The main cities in Holland are Amsterdam Rotterdam and The Hague Amsterdam is formally the capital of the Netherlands and its largest city The Port of Rotterdam is Europe s largest and most important harbour and port The Hague is the seat of government of the Netherlands These cities combined with Utrecht and other smaller municipalities effectively form a single metroplex—a conurbation called Randstad The Randstad area is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe but still relatively free of urban sprawl There are strict zoning laws Population pressures are enormous property values are high and new housing is constantly under development on the edges of the built up areas Surprisingly much of the province still has a rural character The remaining agricultural land and natural areas are highly valued and protected Most of the arable land is used for intensive agriculture including horticulture and greenhouse agri businesses Reclamation of the land edit Benthuizen polder as seen from a dike The land that is now Holland had never been stable Over the millennia the geography of the region had been dynamic The western coastline shifted up to thirty kilometres to the east and storm surges regularly broke through the row of coastal dunes The Frisian Isles originally joined to the mainland became detached islands in the north The main rivers the Rhine and the Meuse Maas flooded regularly and changed course repeatedly and dramatically The people of Holland found themselves living in an unstable watery environment Behind the dunes on the coast of the Netherlands a high peat plateau had grown forming a natural protection against the sea Much of the area was marsh and bog By the tenth century the inhabitants set about cultivating this land by draining it However the drainage resulted in extreme soil shrinkage lowering the surface of the land by up to fifteen metres To the south of Holland in Zeeland and to the north in Frisia this development led to catastrophic storm floods literally washing away entire regions as the peat layer disintegrated or became detached and was carried away by the flood water From the Frisian side the sea even flooded the area to the east gradually hollowing Holland out from behind and forming the Zuiderzee the present IJsselmeer This inland sea threatened to link up with the drowned lands of Zealand in the south reducing Holland to a series of narrow dune barrier islands in front of a lagoon Only drastic administrative intervention saved the county from utter destruction The counts and large monasteries took the lead in these efforts building the first heavy emergency dikes to bolster critical points Later special autonomous administrative bodies were formed the waterschappen water control boards which had the legal power to enforce their regulations and decisions on water management As the centuries went by they eventually constructed an extensive dike system that covered the coastline and the polders thus protecting the land from further incursions by the sea However the Hollanders did not The Netherlands i n ð rl ndz Dutch Nederland ne d r l nt listen is the main constituent country Dutch land of the Kingdom of the Netherlands It is a small densely populated country located in Western Europe with three island territories in the Caribbean nb The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east Belgium to the south and the North Sea to the northwest sharing maritime borders with Belgium the United Kingdom and Germany The largest and most important cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam The Hague and Rotterdam Amsterdam is the country s capital while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of government and parliament The port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe – as large as the next three largest combined and was the world s largest port between and The Netherlands name literally means Lower Countries influenced by its low land and flat geography with only about of its land exceeding one metre above sea level Most of the areas below sea level are man made Since the late th century large areas polders have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes amounting to nearly of the country s current land mass With a population density of people per km² – if water is excluded – the Netherlands is a very densely populated country for its size Only Bangladesh South Korea and Taiwan have both a larger population and a higher population density Nevertheless the Netherlands is the world s second largest exporter of food and agricultural products after the United States This is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate The Netherlands was the third country in the world to have an elected parliament and since it has been governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy organised as a unitary state The Netherlands has a long history of social tolerance and is generally regarded as a liberal country having legalised abortion prostitution and euthanasia while maintaining a progressive drugs policy In it became the world s first country to legalise same sex marriage The Netherlands is a founding member of the EU Eurozone G NATO OECD and WTO and a part of the trilateral Benelux Union The country is host to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and five international courts the Permanent Court of Arbitration the International Court of Justice the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon The first four are situated in The Hague as is the EU s criminal intelligence agency Europol and judicial co operation agency Eurojust This has led to the city being dubbed the world s legal capital The Netherlands is also a part of the Schengen Area The Netherlands has a market based mixed economy ranking th of countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom It had the thirteenth highest per capita income in the world in according to the International Monetary Fund In the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the fourth happiest country in the world reflecting its high quality of life Contents Etymology History Prehistory before BC Germanic groups and Romans BC – AD Early Middle Ages – High Middle Ages – Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands – Dutch Republic – Batavian Republic and kingdom – World wars and beyond –present Geography Floods Delta works Climate Nature Caribbean islands Politics Political culture Political parties Administrative divisions Foreign relations Military Economy Agriculture Transport Demographics Language Religion Education Healthcare Culture Art philosophy and literature Dutch value system and etiquette Music Film and television Sports Cuisine Colonial heritage See also Notes References Further reading External links Etymology edit See also Netherlands toponymy The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to by the much older designation Holland meaning holt land or wood land though in a strict sense this refers only to North and South Holland two of the nation s twelve provinces formerly a single province and earlier the County of Holland This originally Frankish county emerged from the dissolved Frisian Kingdom and was economically and politically the most important county in the region Because of this importance Holland served as a metonym for the entire country Referring to the Netherlands as Holland is an example of pars pro toto and is considered either incorrect or informal depending on the context but is more acceptable when referring to the national football team Place names with Neder or lage Nieder Nether or low and Nedre are in use in various places in countries where a Germanic language is spoken and has in French and Latin its respective counterparts in Bas or Inferior They are sometimes used in relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper Boven Oben Superior or Haut In the case of the Low Countries the geographical location of the lower region has been more or less downstream and near the sea the geographical location of the upper region changed over time tremendously The Romans made a distinction between the Roman provinces of downstream Germania Inferior nowadays part of Belgium and the Netherlands and upstream Germania Superior nowadays part of Germany The designation Low to refer to the region returns again in the th century Duchy of Lower Lorraine that covered much of the Low Countries But this time the corresponding Upper region is Upper Lorraine in nowadays Northern France The Dukes of Burgundy who ruled the low Countries in the th century used the term les pays de par deçà ~ the lands over here for the Low Countries as opposed to les pays de par delà ~ the lands over there for their original homeland Burgundy in present day east central France Under Habsburg rule Les pays de par deçà developed in pays d embas lands down here a deixic expression in relation to other Habsburg possessions in Europe This was translated as Neder landen in contemporary Dutch official documents verification needed However Niderlant was also the region between the Meuse and the lower Rhine in the late Middle Ages The area known as Oberland High country was in this deixic context considered to begin approximately at the nearby higher located Cologne From the mid sixteenth century on the Low Countries or the Netherlands was – besides Flanders – probably the most commonly used name The Eighty Years War – divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces Belgica Foederata in Latin the Federated Netherlands and the Southern Netherlands Belgica Regia the Royal Netherlands The Low Countries today is a designation that includes the countries the Netherlands Belgium and Luxembourg It is used synonymous with the more neutral and geopolitical term Benelux History edit Main article History of the Netherlands Prehistory before BC edit The Netherlands in BC The Netherlands in BC An oak figurine found in Willemstad North Brabant BC The prehistory of the area that is now the Netherlands was largely shaped by the sea and the rivers that constantly shifted the low lying geography The oldest human Neanderthal traces in the Netherlands were found in higher soils near Maastricht from years ago After the end of the Ice Age various Paleolithic groups inhabited the area and around BC Mesolithic tribes resided in Friesland and Drenthe where the oldest canoe in the world was recovered Autochthonous hunter gatherers from the Swifterbant culture are attested from around BC onwards They are strongly linked to rivers and open water and were related to the southern Scandinavian Ertebølle culture – BC To the west the same tribes might have built hunting camps to hunt winter game People made the switch to animal husbandry sometime between BC and BC Agricultural transformation took place very gradually between BC and BC The farming Funnelbeaker culture extended from Denmark through northern Germany into the northern Netherlands and erected the dolmens large stone grave monuments found in Drenthe built between BC and BC To the southwest the Vlaardingen culture around BC an apparently more primitive culture of hunter gatherers survived well into the Neolithic period Around BC there was a quick and smooth transition from the Funnelbeaker farming culture to the pan European Corded Ware pastoralist culture The Bell Beaker culture also present in the Netherlands apparently rose out of the Corded Ware culture Copper finds show that there was trade with other areas in Europe as natural copper is not found in Dutch soil The Bronze age probably started somewhere around BC and lasted until around BC The many finds in Drenthe of rare and valuable objects suggest that it was a trading centre in the Bronze Age The Bell Beaker cultures – BC locally developed into the Bronze Age Barbed Wire Beaker culture – BC In the second millennium BC the region was the boundary between the Atlantic and Nordic horizons roughly divided by the course of the Rhine In the north the Elp culture c BC to BC was a Bronze Age archaeological culture having earthenware pottery of low quality as a marker The initial phase was characterised by tumuli – BC that were strongly tied to contemporary tumuli in northern Germany and Scandinavia and were apparently related to the Tumulus culture – BC in central Europe This phase was followed by a subsequent change featuring Urnfield cremation burial customs – BC The southern region became dominated by the Hilversum culture – BC which apparently inherited cultural ties with Britain of the previous Barbed Wire Beaker culture The Iron Age brought a measure of prosperity Iron ore was available throughout the country including bog iron extracted from the ore in peat bogs in the north the natural iron bearing balls found in the Veluwe and the red iron ore near the rivers in Brabant Smiths travelled from small settlement to settlement with bronze and iron fabricating tools on demand including axes knives pins arrowheads and swords Some evidence even suggests the making of Damascus steel swords using an advanced method of forging that combined the flexibility of iron with the strength of steel The King s grave of Oss dating from around BC was found in a burial mound the largest of its kind in western Europe and containing an iron sword with an inlay of gold and coral Germanic groups and Romans BC – AD edit Main articles Celts Germanic peoples and Romans in the Netherlands Germanic dialects around AD Diachronic distribution of Celtic peoples from BC yellow showing expansion into the southern Low Countries light green BC The deteriorating climate in Scandinavia around BC that further deteriorated around BC might have triggered migration of Germanic tribes from the North By the time this migration was complete around BC a few general cultural and linguistic groups had emerged The North Sea Germanic Ingvaeones or Istvaeones inhabited the northern part of the Low Countries They would later develop into the Frisii and the early Saxons A second grouping the Weser Rhine Germanic extended along the middle Rhine and Weser and inhabited the Low Countries south of the great rivers This group consisted of tribes that would eventually develop into the Salian Franks Also the Celtic La Tène culture c BC up to the Roman conquest had expanded over a wide range including the southern area of the Low Countries Some scholars have speculated that even a third ethnic identity and language neither Germanic nor Celtic survived in the Netherlands until the Roman period the Iron Age Nordwestblock culture that eventually was being absorbed by the Celts to the south and the Germanic peoples from the east Rhine Frontier of around AD During the Gallic Wars the area south of the Oude Rijn and west of the Rhine was conquered by Roman forces under Julius Caesar from BC to BC Caesar describes two main tribes living in what is now the southern Netherlands the Menapii and the Eburones The Rhine became fixed as Rome s northern frontier around AD Notable towns would arise along the Limes Germanicus Nijmegen and Voorburg At first part of Gallia Belgica the area south of the Limes became part of the Roman province of Germania Inferior The area to the north of the Rhine inhabited by the Frisii remained outside Roman rule but not its presence and control while the border tribes Batavi and Cananefates served in the Roman cavalry The Batavi rose against the Romans in the Batavian rebellion of AD but were eventually defeated The Batavi later merged with other tribes into the confederation of the Salian Franks whose identity emerged at the first half of the third century Salian Franks appear in Roman texts as both allies and enemies The Salian Franks were forced by the confederation of the Saxons from the east to move over the Rhine into Roman territory in the fourth century From their new base in West Flanders and the Southwest Netherlands they were raiding the English Channel Roman forces pacified the region but did not expel the Franks who continued to be feared at least until the time of Julian the Apostate when Salian Franks were allowed to settle as foederati in Toxandria After deteriorating climate conditions and the Romans withdrawal the Frisii disappeared from the northern Netherlands probably forced to resettle within Roman territory as laeti in c Coastal lands remained largely unpopulated for the next two centuries Early Middle Ages – edit Main articles Frankish Kingdom and Frisian Kingdom Franks Frisians and Saxons c AD After Roman government in the area collapsed the Franks expanded their territories in numerous kingdoms By the s Clovis I had conquered and united all these territories in the southern Netherlands in one Frankish kingdom and from there continued his conquests into Gaul During this expansion Franks migrating to the south eventually adopted the Vulgar Latin of the local population A widening cultural divide grew with the Franks remaining in their original homeland in the north i e southern Netherlands and Flanders who kept on speaking Old Frankish which by the Ninth century had evolved into Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch A Dutch French language boundary came into existence Frankish expansion to AD To the north of the Franks climatic conditions on the coast improved and during the Migration Period the abandoned land was resettled again mostly by Saxons but also by the closely related Angles Jutes and ancient Frisii Many moved on to England and came to be known as Anglo Saxons but those who stayed would be referred to as Frisians and their language as Frisian named after the land that was once inhabited by Frisii Frisian was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast and it is still the closest to English related living language on continental Europe By the Seventh century a Frisian Kingdom – under King Aldegisel and King Redbad emerged with Utrecht as its centre of power while Dorestad was a flourishing trading place Between and around the cities were often fought over between the Frisians and the Franks In at the Battle of the Boarn the Frisians were defeated after a series of wars With the approval of the Franks the Anglo Saxon missionary Willibrord converted the Frisian people to Christianity He established the Archdiocese of Utrecht and became bishop of the Frisians However his successor Boniface was murdered by the Frisians in Dokkum in Geography of the Netherlands c AD Rorik of Dorestad Viking ruler of Friesland romantic depiction The Frankish Carolingian empire modeled itself after the Roman Empire and controlled much of Western Europe However as of it was divided into three parts—East Middle and West Francia Most of present day Netherlands became part of Middle Francia which was a weak kingdom and subject of numerous partitions and annexation attempts by its stronger neighbours It comprises territories from Frisia in the north to the Kingdom of Italy in the south When the middle kingdom was partitioned the lands north of the Alps passed to Lothair II and consecutively were named Lotharingia After he died in Lotharingia was partitioned into Upper and Lower Lotharingia the latter part comprising the Low Countries that technically became part of East Francia in although it was effectively under the control of Vikings who raided the largely defenceless Frisian and Frankish towns lying on the Frisian coast and along the rivers Around Lothair I acknowledged the Viking Rorik of Dorestad as ruler of most of Frisia Around another Viking raided the Frisian lands Godfrid Duke of Frisia The Viking raids made the sway of French and German lords in the area weak Resistance to the Vikings if any came from local nobles who gained in stature as a result and that lay the basis for the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia into semi independent states One of these local nobles was Gerolf of Holland who assumed lordship in Frisia after he helped to assassinate Godfrid and Viking rule came to an end High Middle Ages – edit Main article History of urban centers in the Low Countries The Holy Roman Empire the successor state of East Francia ruled much of the Low Countries in the th and th century but was not able to maintain political unity Powerful local nobles turned their cities counties and duchies into private kingdoms that felt little sense of obligation to the emperor Holland Hainaut Flanders Gelre Brabant and the Utrecht were in a state of almost continual war or paradoxically formed personal unions The language and culture of most of the people who lived in the County of Holland were originally Frisian As Frankish settlement progressed from Flanders and Brabant the area quickly became Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch The rest of Frisia in the north now Friesland and Groningen continued to maintain its independence and had its own institutions collectively called the Frisian freedom and resented the imposition of the feudal system Around AD due to several agricultural developments the economy started to develop at a fast pace and the higher productivity allowed workers to farm more land or to become tradesmen Towns grew around monasteries and castles and a mercantile middle class began to develop in these urban areas especially in Flanders and later also Brabant Wealthy cities started to buy certain privileges for themselves from the sovereign In practice this meant that Brugge and Antwerp became quasi independent republics in their own right and would later develop into some of the most important cities and ports in Europe Around AD farmers from Flanders and Utrecht began draining and cultivating uninhabited swampy land in the western Netherlands and made the emergence of the County of Holland as center of power possible The title of Count of Holland were fought over in the Hook and Cod Wars Dutch Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten between and The Cod faction consisted of the more progressive cities while the Hook faction consisted of the conservative noblemen These noblemen invited the Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy – who was also Count of Flanders – to conquer Holland Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands – edit Main articles Burgundian Netherlands and Habsburg Netherlands The Low Countries in the late th century The Four Days Battle – June during the Second Anglo–Dutch War Most of the Imperial and French fiefs in what is now the Netherlands and Belgium were united in a personal union by Philip the Good duke of Burgundy in The House of Valois Burgundy and their Habsburg heirs would rule the Low Countries in the period from to Before the Burgundian union the Dutch identified themselves by the town they lived in or their local duchy or county The Burgundian period is when the road to nationhood began The new rulers defended Dutch trading interests that developed rapidly The fleets of the County of Holland defeated the fleets of the Hanseatic League several times Amsterdam grew and in the th century became the primary trading port in Europe for grain from the Baltic region Amsterdam distributed grain to the major cities of Belgium Northern France and England This trade was vital because Holland could no longer produce enough grain to feed itself Land drainage had caused the peat of the former wetlands to reduce to a level that was too low for drainage to be maintained William I Prince of Orange William the Silent leader of the Dutch Revolt Under Habsburg Charles V ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Spain all fiefs in the current Netherlands region were united into the Seventeen Provinces which also included most of present day Belgium Luxembourg and some adjacent land in what is now France and Germany In the Eighty Years War between the Provinces and their Spanish ruler began In the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces forged the Union of Utrecht in which they committed to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands In the northern provinces adopted the Act of Abjuration the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II of Spain as reigning monarch in the northern provinces The Protestant Queen Elizabeth I of England sympathised with the Dutch struggle against the Spanish and sent an army of soldiers to aid the Dutch in their war with the Catholic Spanish The English army under command of Robert Dudley st Earl of Leicester was of no real benefit to the Dutch rebellion Philip II the son of Charles V was not prepared to let them go easily and war continued until when Spain under King Philip IV finally recognised the independence of the seven north western provinces in the Peace of Münster Parts of the southern provinces became de facto colonies of the new republican mercantile empire Dutch Republic – edit Main articles Dutch Republic and Evolution of the Dutch Empire After declaring their independence the provinces of Holland Zeeland Groningen Friesland Utrecht Overijssel and Gelderland formed a confederation All these duchies lordships and counties were autonomous and had their own government the States Provincial The States General the confederal government were seated in The Hague and consisted of representatives from each of the seven provinces The sparsely populated region of Drenthe was part of the republic too although it was not considered one of the provinces Moreover the Republic had come to occupy during the Eighty Years War a number of so called Generality Lands in Flanders Brabant and Limburg Their population was mainly Roman Catholic and these areas did not have a governmental structure of their own and were used as a buffer zone between the Republic and the Spanish controlled Southern Netherlands citation needed Winter landscape with skaters c Amsterdam s Dam Square in In the Dutch Golden Age spanning much of the th century the Dutch Empire grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers Science military and art especially painting were among the most acclaimed in the world By the Dutch owned merchant ships The Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company established colonies and trading posts all over the world The Dutch settlement in North America began with the founding of New Amsterdam on the southern part of Manhattan in In South Africa the Dutch settled the Cape Colony in Dutch colonies in South America were established along the many rivers in the fertile Guyana plains among them Colony of Surinam now Suriname In Asia the Dutch established the Dutch East Indies now Indonesia and the only western trading post in Japan Dejima Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world In early modern Europe it had the wealthiest trading city Amsterdam and the first full time stock exchange The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as phenomena such as the boom bust cycle the world s first asset inflation bubble the tulip mania of – and the world s first bear raider Isaac le Maire who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount The republic went into a state of general decline in the later th century with economic competition from England and long standing rivalries between the two main factions in Dutch society the republican Staatsgezinden