ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
South Ossetia (, ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, or the Tskhinvali Region, is a "de facto", disputed territory recognized as part of Georgia in the Caucasus region. South Ossetia was a Soviet oblast (region) with some self-rule and controlled big parts of the region. When it declared its independence in 1990, Georgia tried to take back the region by force and it led to the 1991-1992 South Ossetia War. Georgia tried to retake South Ossetia again in 2004 and in 2008. In 2008, Ossetia's fighters were backed by Russian troops and they gained full control of the region, but its separation from Georgia has only been recognized by three other countries (Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela) and Abkhazia (a similar place), and it is de jure (officially) a part of the Georgian region (mkhare) of Shida Kartli. Internationally regarded as a Russian occupied territory of Georgia, Georgia itself refuses to recognize rebel South Ossetia as an independent state; the government calls it by the medieval name of Samachablo or, more recently, Tskhinvali region (after the republic's capital). South Ossetia is a geographical state that borders North Ossetia-Alania to the north which is not an independent entity due to it being part of Russia. South Ossetia relies heavily on Russian aid. Sometimes, South Ossetia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Abkhazia are named collectively as post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zones. Geography. South Ossetia is situated at central Caucasus, a border between Asia and Europe. It occupies a part of Greater Caucasus range and the foothills of Kartalin Valley. South Ossetia is a very mountainous region.
A soprano is a female singer with a high voice. Young boys who sing, and also girls, are usually called trebles. The word “soprano” can also refer to the top line of choir music. This would be sung by sopranos or trebles. Soprano is also used as a name for high pitched instruments, such as a soprano saxophone. In opera there are different kinds of soprano voices:
The word alto can mean: someone who sings lower than a soprano. Usually females with lower voices are called contraltos. A male alto is a man who sings in a special way called falsetto. In England male altos sing in church and cathedral choirs. In some countries like Germany it is tradition to have boy altos in cathedral choirs. These will probably be boys whose voices will soon be breaking and are starting to get lower. One of the most famous contraltos was Kathleen Ferrier. There are not so many female singers who call themselves contraltos these days. It has become more fashionable to be a mezzo-soprano. It is partly because it has become fashionable to use men for the alto parts in music by Bach and other Baroque composers, like it would have been performed in those days. Operatic roles which need a contralto include Lucretia in Britten's "Rape of Lucretia" and Erda in Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen. The word "alto" can also mean: the second line down in 4 part choir music. In old music the alto line was written in a special clef called the “alto clef”, which is the same as the “viola clef” (a C clef in which the middle line is middle C).
A tenor is a man with a high singing voice. When writing four-part choir music the tenor line will be the third line down, between alto and bass. It is usually written in the treble clef, but will sound an octave lower than written. Sometimes, it is written in the "C-clef", which is also called a tenor clef. In opera the role of the young male is usually sung by a tenor. Depending on characteristics such as: volume, color and style, the tenor voice is classified in following groups: A “Heldentenor” (German for “hero tenor”) is someone with a big tenor voice. This is suitable for heroic parts like the heroes in most of Wagner's operas. Lauritz Melchior, Max Lorenz and Jonas Kaufmann are famous heroic tenors. The Mozart tenor with characteristics including all of the previous mentioned must be able to perform within the strict borders which are laid out by the Mozart style. Anton Dermota, Fritz Wunderlich and Francisco Araiza are the three leading people as Mozart tenor. In barbershop singing, the tenor part is a harmony part sung predominantly higher than the melody.
"This article is about the musical term. For other uses, see Bass." Bass is a low or deep tone (low end frequency) in music. Low or deep tones are also called "low-pitched" tones, because the pitch is low. It is usually made by a bass guitar or an acoustic bass (a double bass). It can also be a deep, rumbling electronic sound made by a synthesizer, a deep singing voice, a baritone sax, or a deep bass drum. Bass gives the well-rounded depth to music. Bass almost always is used with treble sounds made by instruments such as a guitar, piano, a high singing voice, trumpet, or harmonica.
A baritone is a man with a voice range between that of a tenor (high male voice) and bass (low male voice), typically ranging from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C. It is the most common male voice type. Famous baritone roles in opera include: Papageno in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and Figaro in Rossini's "The Barber of Seville". Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is often thought of as the greatest baritone of the later 20th century. He was famous as a Lieder singer as well as on the concert stage and in opera. Some musical instruments are also called "baritone" because they create similar frequencies to a baritone singer.
Sappho was an Ancient Greek lyrical poet. She was probably born around 630 BC on the island of Lesbos. In the ancient world, Sappho's poetry was highly thought of. Today, most of it has been lost. Sappho presumably wrote about 10,000 lines of poetry, but only around 650 lines survive today. Little is known for certain about Sappho's life. Sappho's poetry centres on passion and love for both men and women. The narrators of her poems often speak of infatuations and love for various women. Descriptions of physical acts between women are few and open to debate. Whether these poems are meant to be autobiographical is not known, although elements of other parts of Sappho's life do make appearances in her work. It would be like her style to have these intimate encounters expressed poetically. Life. Little is known for certain about Sappho's life. What is known comes from three sources: Sappho's surviving poetry, other ancient writings about her, and evidence about archaic Greece in general. She was born on the Greek island of Lesbos around 630 BC, in either Eresos or Mytilene. Her parents' names are not known for certain, though her mother is often called Kleïs. Ancient tradition gave at least eight possible names for her father. One ancient story, which might be based on a now-lost poem by Sappho, says that her father died when Sappho was still a child. Sappho was said to have three brothers, called Charaxos, Larichos, and Eurygios. The "Brothers poem", discovered in 2014, talks about Charaxos and Larichos. Sappho might have had a daughter called Kleïs (the same as her mother). Two of Sappho's poems talk about her. Not all historians agree that the Kleïs in Sappho's poems was Sappho's daughter. Some have suggested that she was Sappho's lover instead. But ancient sources call Kleïs Sappho's daughter, and some modern historians have argued that she must have
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in the "Harry Potter" series by J.K. Rowling. The book was released on 21 June 2003. It is about Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lord Voldemort has come back. Except for Albus Dumbledore, most people do not believe him. A movie based on the book was released in 2007. Plot. Harry Potter, James and Lily Potter's only son, tries to make everyone else realise that Lord Voldemort has come back. Dumbledore, the Order, and Harry's friends are the only people that believe that he has returned. At the end of the book, Harry, Ron Weasley, Arthur and Molly Weasley's youngest son, Hermione Granger, and some of their friends go to the Ministry of Magic (the headquarters of the people who lead the magical world) because Harry thinks his godfather Sirius Black is in danger. It turns out it was a trick using mind magic, and his godfather, is murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange. They are attacked by some of their enemies. At the end, Voldemort comes, but Dumbledore saves Harry from him, and all the other wizards see Voldemort and know Harry is telling the truth. Harry is then returned to Hogwarts where Dumbledore tells him everything that he needs to know about the prophecy and why Voldemort tried to murder him when he was a child.
The Pleiades (also known as M45 or the Seven Sisters) are a group of stars in the night sky. You can see them in the constellation Taurus, the bull. Charles Messier gave it the name M45. They are named after the Pleiades in Greek mythology. The brightest star in the Pleiades is the giant star Alcyone. This an open star cluster of middle-aged hot B-type stars in the constellation of Taurus. It is one of the nearest star clusters to Earth, and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. The cluster is dominated by hot blue and extremely luminous stars that have formed within the last 100 million years.
Nicomachus (c. 60-c. 120, born in Gerasa, Roman Syria, now Jerash, Jordan). He was one of the most important mathematicians of the ancient world. He was strongly influenced by Aristotle and is best known for his works "Introduction to Arithmetic" (Arithmetike eisagoge) and "The Manual of Harmonics" in Greek. He was a Pythagorean. In "Introduction to Arithmetic", Nicomachus writes extensively on number, especially on the significance of prime numbers and perfect numbers and argues that arithmetic is the starting point that makes it possible to do the other mathematical sciences: geometry, music, and astronomy.
Deimos (or Mars II) is the smaller moon of Mars. Its name comes from the Greek word for terror. Its orbital period is 30.3 hours, which is 1.263 days. Deimos is only 15 kilometers in diameter. It is covered with craters, as Earth's moon and other bodies without an atmosphere are. Discovery and naming. Deimos was discovered by Asaph Hall at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. on 12 August 1877. It is named after the god Deimos in Greek mythology, who was one of Mars' sons, and means Panic. Physical characteristics. Deimos is not spherical with triaxial dimensions of 15 × 12.2 × 11 km. Deimos is made up of rock rich in carbonaceous material. It is has lots of craters. Escape velocity from Deimos is 5.6 m/s. The apparent magnitude of Deimos is 12.45. Exploration. The Soviet Phobos program sent two probes to Phobos. In case "Phobos 1" succeeded, "Phobos 2" could have been sent to Deimos. Both probes launched successfully in July 1988. In 1997 and 1998, the proposed "Aladdin" mission was selected. The plan was to visit both Phobos and Deimos, and launch projectiles at the satellites. The probe would collect the dust kicked into space as it made a slow flyby. These samples would be returned to Earth for study three years later. Also, the sample-return mission called "Gulliver" to Deimos, in bringing 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of material from Deimos to Earth. Another concept of sample-return mission from Phobos and Deimos is "OSIRIS-REx 2", which would use heritage from the first "OSIRIS-REx". In March 2014, a mission was proposed to place an orbiter on Mars orbit by 2021 and study Phobos and Deimos. It is called "Phobos And Deimos &amp; Mars Environment" (PADME).
Phobos (or Mars I) is one of Mars' moons. The other is Deimos. Phobos is the larger of the two moons, and is only 27 kilometers in diameter. This is about as far as a car can travel on the highway in 15 minutes. It is covered with craters, as Earth's moon is. It is named after the god Phobos in Greek mythology. Its name means "fear". Phobos is trapped in tidal drag, with its orbit lowering roughly 1.8 meters per century. In about 50 million years, Phobos will reach the Roche limit, where it is likely to be torn apart. Some fragments will fall on Mars and some will form a planetary ring or rings around Mars. The other moon, Deimos, is the smaller of the two. Spacecraft. The Soviet Union sent at least two space craft to this moon, Phobos 1 and Phobos 2. Both failed or lost contact with Earth, but Phobos 2 managed to take some pictures of the moon in 1989 before dying. Features. There is one large crater on Phobos called Stickney. It is formula_1 the size of the moon itself.
Charon is a moon of the dwarf planet Pluto. It is half as wide as Pluto and is much like the dwarf planet itself. It was discovered many years after Pluto. They are sometimes considered a binary system, as Charon does not orbit Pluto, and Pluto does not orbit Charon. They orbit a barycentre in space. Naming. The moon is named after Charon in Greek mythology, a boatman who would carry the souls of dead people across the river Acheron to the underworld. Discovery. Charon was found by astronomer James Christy on June 22, 1978, when he was looking at highly blown up picture of Pluto on a photographic plate that taken a couple of months before. Christy noticed that a slight bulge was able to be seen every now and then. This finding was made public on July 7, 1978. Later, the bulge was confirmed on plates dating back to April 29, 1965. Later observations of Pluto were able to figure out that the bulge was due to a smaller body. The orbit of the bulge fit in with Pluto's rotation period, which was already known from Pluto's light curve.  Any final doubts were erased when Pluto and Charon entered a five-year period of mutual eclipses between 1985 and 1990. This happens when the Pluto-Charon orbital plane is edge-on as seen from Earth, which only happens at twice in Pluto's 248-year orbital period. It was very lucky that one of these intervals happened to occur so soon after Charon's discovery. Pictures. Pictures showing Pluto and Charon as separate disks were taken for the first time by the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s. Later, after a new technology called adaptive optics was discovered, it was possible to see Pluto and Charon as separate disks using ground-based telescopes.
In mythology, Charon was the ferryman of Hades. He was the son of Erebos and Nyx.  Charon took the newly dead people across the river Acheron or Styx to the Greek underworld, if they paid him three obolus (a Greek silver coin). Because of this, people in Ancient Greece were always buried with a coin under their tongue and one on each eye to pay Charon. Those who could not pay him had to wander the banks of the Acheron until they found a pauper's entrance to Hades. The largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto is named Charon after this mythological person.
Chaos was the nothingness at the beginning of the world, described in the creation myths of Classical mythology. It was the state the universe (or cosmos) was in before it was created. Because early Christians did not understand how to use the word "chaos" properly, the word's meaning changed to "disorder" or random and not normal. It is the opposite of order. Chaos is often identified as a god, who filled the gap between Heaven and Earth. Born out of chaos were the first beings:
Eros is the god of love, lust, and sex in Greek mythology. According to Hesiod's "Theogony", Eros came from the Chaos. Later it was said that he was the son of Ares and Aphrodite. His lover is Psyche. Eros has a bow and golden arrows with whom he can shoot at people so they will fall in love, but he has also leaden arrows which make people hate others. There is a famous statue which many people think is to Eros, but is actually to Anteros in London in Piccadilly Circus. From the name Eros we get the word erotic, meaning: to do with sexual love (passionate and physical). There is also a noun: eroticism. Eros is the son of Aphrodite.  Eros' main myth is: "the myth of Eros and Psyche" in which Eros and Psyche fall in love after psyche is put through tasks by Aphrodite.
A wheelwright is someone who builds or repairs wheels. In the olden days there were lots of carts. The wheels were made of wood. It was a difficult job to make them, so the cartwright made the cart and the wheelwright did the specialized job of making the wheels. In ancient times some wheels were made of bone in order to look beautiful. The word wheelwright is not often used for people who make wheels today. Wheels are made in factories and lots of people on the production line each have their bit to do.
Rotterdam is the second-largest municipality in the Netherlands. There are about 653,000 people (2021) living in Rotterdam. It has the biggest port in Europe. The city is on several rivers, most notably the Maas. Rotterdam, like all of the Netherlands, has an oceanic climate ("Cfb" in the Koeppen climate classification). It hosts also a university: the Erasmus University Rotterdam. On 18 March 2010, Rozenburg became a part of the municipality of Rotterdam. Sea level. Rotterdam is built mostly behind dikes because large parts of the Rotterdam are below sea level. The Prins Alexander Polder in the northeast of Rotterdam extends 6 metres (20 ft) below sea level. The lowest point in the Netherlands (6.76 metres (22.2 ft) below NAP) is just to the east of Rotterdam. This kind of engineering may be needed in many countries as sea level rises. History. A dam was built in 1260 across the river Rotte where the Hoogstraat is now. The name "Rotterdam" comes from this dam. The settlement was a regular fishing village at first, but became a thriving trading port pretty soon. The city got city rights in 1340 and city walls in 1360. Rotterdam became an important city in Holland in the middle of the 15th century, when it won little wars against Delft and Gouda. From 1449 until 1525 a Gothic church ("Laurenskerk") was built. The city then hold about 10,000 people. The city revolted against Spanish occupation in 1573, becoming one of the main city's of the Eighty Years' War. The port of Rotterdam grew a lot in the late 16th century and early 17th century. In the end of the 17th century, the city hold almost 50,000 people. But the city had not built outside of the city walls. The city became very crowded. The port of Rotterdam became bigger and bigger in the 19th century, when several new canals were dug. These were: "Nieuwe Waterweg" (
An altar is a place, often a table, where a religious event happens. Altars are used in Christianity and in other religions. In some old religions, the event was a sacrifice, which means a holy work. Usually the priest would use this item.
Sir Donald George Bradman (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001) was an Australian cricketer. Often called "The Don", he was a batsman. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He scored 6,996 runs in his Test match career, at an average of 99.94 runs. If he had scored four runs in his last Test match, he would have scored an average of 100 runs. However, he scored no runs (a duck) in his last innings from just two balls. This is the highest average in Test cricket, the second-highest average being 61.87. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has been cited as the greatest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport. Bradman also gained a degree in mathematics from the University of Victoria achieving the highest mark in his year. Bradman command over the game showed as a batsman, as a captain, as a selector, as a writer and as an administrator. Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson said that bowling to Bradman was one of his "greatest moments". This happened in 1977–78 in Adelaide during India's tour to Australia. Thompson said: "Sir Don was batting in a suit, no pads, no gloves, just a bat. He must've been around 70 and hadn't batted [much] for almost 30 years and he was still so good. It was turf wicket, and I bowled within myself, but there were a couple of young blokes who were bowling at full speed and he was carting them all over the place. Along with meeting George Best, bowling to Bradman is the greatest moment of my life." Cricket playing days. Bodyline Series. Before the first match of the tour, England had not told Australia what they were going to do, but when England named 5 fast bowlers (including Harold Larwood and Bill Voce). It was not usual to have so many fast bowlers in one team, so Bradman knew that England were about to try something new. The new way of bowling was first tried in a warm-up match which
Daphne (, meaning "laurel") was a dryad in Greek mythology, daughter of the river god Peneus. According to Greek mythology, the god Apollo insulted Eros, otherwise known as Cupid, the god of love. Becoming angry, Eros shot a golden arrow at Apollo, causing him to fall in love with the nymph Daphne the virgin. Eros then shot Daphne with a leaden arrow so she could never love Apollo back. So Apollo followed her while she ran away, until she came to the river of her father, Peneus. Apollo became jealous and puts it into the girl's mind to stop to bathe in the river Ladon; there, as all strip naked, the ruse is revealed, as in the myth of Callisto. There she wanted help from her father who turned her into a laurel tree so she would be safe from Apollo. Apollo then became sad. Some versions say that when Daphne saw Apollo sad, taking pity she made him a laurel wreath (a circle made of laurel that is worn like a crown) from her leaves. Other accounts state that Apollo made the laurel himself, taking from the tree. The laurel tree became sacred of Apollo and is used by emperors within the culture. After the crown was used for all the winners at his games and great heroes in the years to come would be crowned with laurel leaves. He also vowed that she, like him, would have eternal youth where her leaves would never turn brown or fall but would always stay lush and green. Some even say that he created this laurel wreath to remind him of the prize he can never win still Apollo loved that laurel with all his heart.  See Ovid. "Metamorphoses". Book I: 452-567.
Middle English or ME is an older type of the English language that was spoken after the Norman invasion in 1066 until the 1500s. It came from Old English after William the Conqueror came to England with his French nobles and stopped English from being taught in schools for a few hundred years. Over this time, English borrowed several Old French words and became part of the Anglo-Norman language. This period of the development was from the High Middle Ages to the Late Middle Ages. In the 1470s, the "Chancery Standard," a type of English spoken in London, started to become more common. This was partly because William Caxton brought the printing press to England in the 1470s. The type of English that people spoke in England between then and 1650 is called Early Modern English. There were many different dialects of Middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in Middle English.
Patroclus (Ancient Greek: Πάτροκλος, Pátroklos - "glory of the father") was a central figure in Homer's "Iliad". He was the son of Menoetius, and is most famous as being the lover of Achilles. During the Trojan War, Achilles refuses to fight after a quarrel with Agamemnon, leader of the Greek forces, over a woman, Briseis. Patroclus, with Achilles' permission, then dons Achilles' armor and leads the Myrmidons into battle. The Greeks, thinking him to be Achilles, are roused into a frenzy as they begin to beat the Trojans back. He managed to kill Sarpedon when he charged into battle. However, the ruse is discovered as Patroclus is soon killed by the Trojan prince Hector. The death of Patroclus is a key event in the "Iliad", as it serves as the catalyst of Achilles' legendary rage.