Greek-cross

(adjective)

The dominant architectural form of middle- and late-period Byzantine churches, featuring a square center with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome.

Related Terms

Examples of Greek-cross in the following topics:

  • Visual Processing

    • Some visual information projects directly back into the brain, while other information crosses to the opposite side of the brain.
    • This crossing of optical pathways produces the distinctive optic chiasma (Greek, for "crossing") found at the base of the brain and allows us to coordinate information from both eyes.

  • Scientific Advancements in the Classical Period

    • Hellenistic science differed from Greek science in at least two ways.
    • First, it benefited from the cross-fertilization of Greek ideas with those that had developed in the larger Hellenistic world.
    • Ancient Greek mathematicians also came close to establishing integral calculus.
    • It dates from about 80 BCE and was discovered in an ancient shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera.
    • The ancient Greeks also made important discoveries in the medical field.

  • Hellenization and the Spread of Greek Culture

    • Alexander instituted a number of policies that contributed to the Hellenization of his empire, including the mixing of Greek and Asian cultural customs.
    • These cities were presumably intended to be administrative headquarters in the regions, and to have been settled by Greeks; many were settled by veterans of Alexander's campaigns.Undoubtedly, this re-setttling would have resulted in the spread of Greek influence across the empire; however, the primary purpose could have been to control his new subjects, rather than specifically to spread Greek culture.Ancient Greek historian Arrian explicitly says that a city founded in Bactria was "meant to civilize the natives;" however, this comment could be interpreted in either way (with civilize as a euphemism for "control").Certainly, the cities would have been garrison points, and thus allowed control of the surrounding areas.
    • Thus, though Alexander's policies did undoubtedly result in the spread of Greek culture, they probably were meant to be pragmatic attempts by Alexander to control his extensive new territories, in part by presenting himself as the heir to both Greek and Asian legacies, rather than an outsider.
    • After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, the empire was split under his generals.Most of Alexander's cultural changes were rejected by the Diadochi, including the cross-cultural marriages they entered into.However, the influx of Greek colonists into the new realms continued to spread Greek culture into Asia.The founding of new cities continued to be a major part of the Diadochi's struggle for control of any particular region, and these continued to be centres of cultural diffusion.The spread of Greek culture under the Successors seems mostly to have occurred with the spreading of Greeks themselves, rather than as an active policy.
    • Explain how Alexander's Hellenization policies simultaneously aided in the ruling of his empire and spread Greek culture

  • The Persian Wars

    • Greeks of the classical period believed, and historians generally agree, that in the aftermath of the fall of Mycenaean civilization, many Greek tribes emigrated and settled in Asia Minor.
    • According to Herodotus, he received the ambiguous answer that “if Croesus was to cross the Halys [River] he would destroy a great empire”.
    • In 499 BCE, Greeks in the region rose up against Persian rule in the Ionian Revolt.
    • The Greek fleet, meanwhile, dashed to block Cape Artemision.
    • A year later, the Greeks, under the Spartan Pausanias, defeated the Persian army at Plataea, and the allied Greek navy won a decisive victory at the Battle of Mycale, destroying the Persian fleet, crippling Xerxe’s sea power, and marking the ascendency of the Greek fleet. 

  • Republican Wars and Conquest

    • When a diplomatic dispute between Rome and a Greek colony erupted into a naval confrontation, the Greek colony appealed for military aid to Pyrrhus, ruler of the northwestern Greek kingdom of Epirus.Motivated by a personal desire for military accomplishment, Pyrrhus landed a Greek army of approximately 25,000 men on Italian soil in 280 BCE.
    • Rome quickly moved into southern Italia, subjugating and dividing the Greek colonies.
    • Hannibal then crossed the Italian Alps to invade Italy.
    • Hannibal's successes in Italy began immediately, but his brother, Hasdrubal, was defeated after he crossed the Alps on the Metaurus River.
    • Depiction of Hannibal and his army crossing the Alps during the Second Punic War.

  • Summation Notation

    • The Greek letter Σ indicates summation.
    • Some formulas involve the sum of cross products.
    • The cross products (XY) are shown in the third column.
    • The sum of the cross products is 3 + 4 + 21 = 28.

  • Defeat of Persia by Alexander the Great

    • The Persians and the Greeks had been warring for hundreds of years before Alexander the Great moved to conquer Persia.
    • After 449 BCE, the Persians were repeatedly defeated in battle and plagued by internal rebellions that hindered their ability to fight the Greeks.
    • They ensured that the Greeks remained distracted by internal conflicts, and were unable to turn their attentions to Persia.
    • Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) was a king of the Greek kingdom of Macedon.
    • After Alexander's army crossed the Hellespont in 334 BCE, he proceeded to defeat the Persian armies at Granicus (334 BCE), Issus (333 BCE), and finally at Gaugamela (331 BCE).

  • Icons and Iconoclasm

    • Iconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking," is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually for religious or political motives.
    • Social and class-based arguments have been put forward, such as that iconoclasm created political and economic divisions in Byzantine society; that it was generally supported by the Eastern, poorer, non-Greek peoples of the Empire who had to constantly deal with Arab raids.
    • On the other hand, the wealthier Greeks of Constantinople and also the peoples of the Balkan and Italian provinces strongly opposed Iconoclasm.
    • This simple cross is an example of Iconoclast art from the 8th century.

  • Sculpture of the Cyclades

    • Cycladic art during the Greek Bronze Age is noted for its abstract, geometric designs of male and female figures.
    • The Cyclades is a group of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea encircling the island of Delos .
    • The islands were known for their white marble mined during the Greek Bronze Age and throughout Classical history.
    • The islands were later occupied by the Minoans, Mycenaeans, and later the Greeks.
    • Each carved statuette is of a nude woman with her arms crossed over her abdomen .

  • Temple Architecture and the Greek Orders