Cyrus, Porus, Darius and Alexandros.

13 Sep

From Wedaneus @ArcGreek

Great Kings of Antiquity: Cyrus, Porus, Darius and Alexandros. Fresco in Saint Achilios church in Pentalofos*, Kozani, 1744. Source: http://ellinikihistoria.com

How weird. An eighteenth-century church fresco painter in far western Macedonia knew his Achaemenid history. But I guess between the classical historians (Plutarch, etc.) and dramatists (Aeschylus) things Iranian (well, Porus was king of what we call Punjab today…) were transmitted on a popular level too, mostly through the Alexander “saga”.

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* Pentalofos (above) is a pretty village that lies in the northernmost mountain pass between Epiros and Greek Macedonia, between the prefectures of Ioannina and Kozani. Given its location, it’s kind of surprising that it’s not a Vlach village, though it might have been in the past, given how many regions on the eastern side of the Pindos mountains were Vlach-speaking in the past but that that has been forgotten. I’m also pretty sure that, despite its sound, “Pentalofos” is actually its real name and is not a made-up replacement for a traditional Slavic one.

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