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.
James VI and I
James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He was the first monarch to be called the king of Great Britain. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 until his death and he ruled in England and Scotland from 24 March 1603 until his death.
His reign was important because it was the first time England and Scotland had the same monarch. He was the first monarch of England from the House of Stuart. The previous English monarch had been Elizabeth I. She had died without any children, so the English agreed to have a Scottish monarch because James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, thus the closest relative Elizabeth had. By being king of both, he created a personal union.
James fought often with the Parliament of England. In addition, he did not use the kingdom’s money well. While James was ruling, the Scottish and English governments were quite stable. After James died, his son Charles tried to rule in the same way as James, but caused the English Civil War. At the end of the war in 1649, Charles was executed.
James was very well educated and good at learning. He helped people in England and in Scotland to study things such as science, literature, and art. James wrote "Daemonologie" in 1597, "The True Law of Free Monarchies" in 1598, "Basilikon Doron" in 1599, and "A Counterblaste to Tobacco" in 1604. He sponsored the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.
James was a target of the Gunpowder Plot. A group of Catholics planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament on 5 November 1605 during a ceremony while James was in the building. The plot was stopped when a member of the group, Guy Fawkes, was found in a basement with barrels of gunpowder. The event is remembered every year on 5 November, also known as Bonfire Night,where many people decide to celebrate and light bonfires and fireworks.
James believed in witchcraft. When he read "The Discoverie of Witchcraft", he ordered all copies of the book to be burnt. The king had an importance with the first English settlers.
The first permanent English established settlement in North America was made under the charter granted by James to Sir Thomas Gates and other in 1606.
Hesiod
Hesiod ("Hesiodos", ) was an Ancient Greek poet. He is probably the second Greek poet whose work has survived; like Homer, his dates are not known for certain. As with Homer, there are numerous legends, none of which are supported by hard evidence. He may have lived around 700 BC in Askra in Boeotia, as a farmer. Today his writings are one of the main sources for Greek mythology, and everyday life in Ancient Greece, such as farming techniques, astronomy and ancient time-keeping. The complete surviving works were published in 1493, and by Aldus Manutius in 1495.
Fu Xiancai
Fu Xiancai is a Chinese farmer and civil rights activist. He started to be political in 1994, after his village was in danger, because the Three Gorges Dam was built. In 1997 he had to leave his home, after it was flooded by the water of the dam. Since that time he tries to get together with other people fair damages from the Peoples Republic of China. On 19 May 2006 he had an interview with the German television station ARD. After this one he was arrested by police and hit so he cannot move since that time and is crippled. He did not get any medical help, because he cannot pay it. The German government protested against this situation. In June 2006, the German embassy paid for the life-saving medical treatment. The Chinese government said they did not hit him, so he must have hit himself.
Phoebus
Phoebus (means "shining-one") was originally a name of the Greek god Helios. But later, it also became a name of Apollo, because in later times, both gods were merged (became one).
Overture
An overture is a piece of music for the orchestra to play at the beginning of an opera or ballet. The word comes from the French word for "opening" because it "opens" the show.
Overtures usually have tunes which are going to be heard during the opera or ballet. In this way it prepares the audience for what is to come.
Many overtures in the 18th century were simply background music to get the audience's attention (people used to chatter during performances). Some composers like Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) used the same overture again and again for his next operas, or just changed bits of it.
Composers like Christoph Willibald Gluck and later Richard Wagner (1813-1883) were very careful to make the overture a dramatic beginning which prepared the audience for the story. Wagner often called his overtures "Vorspiel" (Prelude).
Not all composers wrote overtures to their operas. Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) often go straight into the first act or they just have a very short prelude.
In the 19th century many Romantic composers wrote concert overtures. These pieces did not belong to any opera or ballet, they were just written to be heard at concerts. They often had a descriptive title because they told some sort of story, e.g. Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote an overture "Fingal's Cave" which describes the sea coming into the cave in the Inner Hebrides islands. Sometimes these descriptive pieces were much longer than an overture (which is usually just a few minutes), so they were called tone poems.
Overtures are usually played in sonata form.
Luthier
A luthier is a person who repairs guitars, violins, violas, cellos, double basses, and other wooden stringed instruments. These instruments need regular adjustments and minor repairs, especially straightening the bridge. As well, sometimes instruments are damaged in accidents, and a luthier has to use wood glue, broken pieces, and clamps to repair the instrument. Luthiers also have the ability to create wooden stringed instruments, mostly classic string family instruments.
The French word lutherie is referred to the art to build wooden instruments. The word luthier comes from the French word luth, luth comes from the Arabian word al-`ūd (العود), this last word means lute, although its generic meaning is the wood. The German word for luthier is luther, that word has became also in a name (Martin Luther King) and in a last name (Martin Luther)
Moss, Norway
Moss is a coastal town in the Norwegian county of Østfold. It served an important role in the declaration of independence from the union with Sweden. The city used to have a lot of heavy industries, like shipyards and paper mills. Today it has mostly service sector businesses (shops, banks etc.)
The city is also the centre of Moss Municipality which is 63 km² (square kilometers) large and has 28,000 people as of 2006.
Dorset
Dorset is a county in south England which is by the sea. The biggest towns in it are Bournemouth and Poole. There are other smaller towns, some by the sea, like Weymouth, Swanage, West Bay, the Isle of Portland, Dorchester, Wareham, Lyme Regis, Blandford and Wool.
Dorset is next to Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire.
There is a lot of countryside in Dorset, so there are quite a few farmers. Other people work in offices, shops or the holiday business. There are not many factories or industry in Dorset.