Sunday, February 04, 2007

Jeopardy

The evening star, especially Venus.
Archaic Evening.
(sometimes initial capital letter) Ecclesiastical.
a. a religious service in the late afternoon or the evening.
b. the sixth of the seven canonical hours, or the service for it, occurring in the late afternoon or the evening.
c. Roman Catholic Church. a part of the office to be said in the evening by those in major orders, frequently made a public ceremony in the afternoons or evenings of Sundays.

According to the novel by Ian Fleming, she was so named by her parents because she was born on a stormy evening.
it is also an ancient name for the planet Venus, suggesting that the character is the embodiment of love.
Also a pun on West Berlin. Like her namesake, the city of Berlin, her loyalties are split down the middle.

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In Homer's Iliad he is described as of great stature and colossal frame, the tallest and strongest of all the Achaeans, second only to his cousin Achilles in skill-at-arms, and the 'bulwark of the Achaeans'. He was trained by the centaur Chiron (who had also trained his father, Telamon, and Achilles' father Peleus), at the same time as Achilles. Aside from Achilles, he is the most valuable warrior in Agamemnon's army, though he is not as intelligent as Nestor, Idomeneus, or, of course, Odysseus. He commands his army wielding a great axe and a huge shield made of seven ox-hides with a layer of bronze. He is not wounded in any of the battles described in the Iliad, and he is the only principal character on either side who does not receive personal assistance from any of the gods who take part in the battles. 'As such, he embodies the virtues of hard work and perseverance.'

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In this battle of 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. A small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I could pass. After three days of battle a local resident named Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks, revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespian volunteers. Though they knew it meant their own deaths, they held their position and secured the retreat of the other Greek forces. The Persians succeeded in taking the pass but sustained heavy losses, extremely disproportionate to those of the Greeks. The fierce resistance of the Spartan-led army offered Athens the invaluable time to prepare for a naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war[1]. Subsequent Greek victory in the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian navy destroyed. Xerxes was forced to flee to Asia and left his army in Greece under Mardonius, who was to meet the Greeks in battle for one last time. The Spartans and other Greek allies assembled at full strength and decisively defeated the Persians in the Battle of Plataea, putting thus an end to the Greco-Persian War, along with Persian expansion into Europe.

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Founded in 1492 by. . . um. . . demons this government bureau's purpose is to hunt down aliens

3 comments:

  1. OK, I'll go and make a fool of myself.
    2)Ajax?
    3)*lame*Battle of Thermopylae? I know there is such a battle, but not sure if it's this one. There's a movie in making about it, called "300"

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  2. Right and right. Want to try for another?

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  3. Well, I don't have any idea for 1 and 4 (and googling == cheating). I'll try more if you have more.

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