Mah Jongg Tile Set Description Tile Set Name: HELLENES.TIL Subject: Items familiar to the people of ancient Greece (Hellenes) Created by: David Daniel Anderson (w/ creative input from my sister Cheryl) Creation time: tiles- about 15 hours, text- about 6 hours Completion date: June 13, 1993 Description: ------------ This set was just going to be Greek letters, but since there are only 24 letters and at least 36 different designs are needed, I included various items familiar to Hellenes--which is what the ancient Greeks called themselves. I tried to duplicate the original suits and dragons format, but the 24 letter alphabet forced me to arrange the tiles as follows: Tiles 1, 11, 21: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian column styles. Only the top is drawn. Representing their magnificent architecture. Tiles 2-9, 12-19, 22-29, (Dots, Bamboo, Characters): The Greek alphabet, in order, with the two forms (analogous to our upper/ lower case?) on top and the name of each letter on the bottom. Tiles 10, 20, 30, (Dragons): Circumference of a circle, Area of a circle, and Volume of a sphere, respectively. Chosen because of the Hellenic contribution to geometry and the fact that the Greek letter Pi is used. Tiles 31-34, (Winds): Four primary Hellenic disciplines with well-known figures and a famous work by each person; detailed below: 31: Philosophy, Plato, Republic: Plato, 4th century B.C. philosopher, author of "Republic". 32: Science, Euclid, Elements: Euclid, 3rd century B.C. mathematician, compilator of "Elements", a geometry text, the principles and approach of which was used almost unchanged for the next 2000 years. 33: Art, Phidias, Athena: Phidias, 5th century B.C. sculptor, creator of the statues of Athena at the Athenian Acropolis and Achaea. 34: Literature, Homer, Iliad: Homer, 9th century B.C. epic poet, known traditionally as the author of "Iliad" and "Odyssey", in which he revealed much of what is known of the nature of the Greek gods and goddesses. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The wild cards suits are Greek goddesses (35-38, Seasons) and gods (39-42, Flowers). Of course, I had to leave out many prominent characters, but the careful observer will note my strategy: Cronus and Rhea's three sons, and their wives, are the first three in each set, while the beloved twin children of Zeus and Leto are the last tile in each set. In the explanation, a capitalized name means that individual has a separate explanation. A (1) means the information is from "Encyclopedia Britannica" and a (2) means it is from "The New York Public Library Desk Reference". 35: Hera- Heaven, Olympus: Daughter of Cronus and Rhea, sister-wife of ZEUS, sister of POSEIDON and HADES. She is the ruler of the heavens and the Olympian gods, along with ZEUS. She is jealous of ZEUS's affection for the heroines, including Alcmene, Leto and Semele (1). Additionally, she is the "goddess of marriage and of the life of women... the protectress of women in childbed" (1). 36: Demeter- Earth, Harvest: Daughter of Cronus and Rhea, wife of POSEIDON, mother of PERSEPHONE. She is the goddess of earth and agriculture, usually seen as a fertile and somewhat promiscuous mother goddess. 37: Persephone- Goddess of the Netherworld: Daughter of ZEUS and DEMETER, wife of HADES. Stolen by HADES, taken to the underworld. She is the symbol of the seasons, since through ZEUS's intervention, she spends only one-third of the year below. Surprisingly, Homer does not mention her relationship to DEMETER. 38: Artemis- Hunt, Moon: Daughter of ZEUS and Leto. Artemis and APOLLO are twins. She is "...the most popular of all goddesses with the ordinary wor- shiper" (1). She is the "the goddess of wild nature" and stands for "the sacred inviolability of what [is] private to womankind" (1). She is as- sociated with chastity, "the hunt, moon, and nature" (2). 39: Zeus- Heaven, Olympus: Son of Cronus and Rhea, brother of POSEIDON and HADES, husband of HERA. He overthrew Cronus to become ruler of the heavens. He is the sky and weather god, wielding thunder and lighting (2). He is the one indigenous Hellenistic god (1), and Homer refers to him as the natural ruler/ father of gods and men. He is the chief god of Olympus. 40: Poseidon- Waters, Horses: Son of Cronus and Rhea, brother of ZEUS and HADES. His name can be interpreted to mean "'husband of the Earth'", and in one sense, by being the husband of DEMETER, he is. He received the sea when the world was divided between the three sons of Cronus. He can shake the world (earthquakes), and with his trident he can raise storms. 41: Hades [also A‹des]- God of the Netherworld: Son of Cronus and Rhea, brother of ZEUS and POSEIDON. Husband of PERSEPHONE. HADES received the infernal regions when lots were cast for the three kingdoms of the world. He rules over the dead, but is generally not a judge. Furthermore, he leaves torture to the Furies. 42: Apollo- Song, Sun: Son of ZEUS and Leto. Apollo and ARTEMIS are twins. He is "...a god of manifold function and meaning, [who] occupied together with ZEUS and Athena the loftiest place in the Greek pantheon" (1). He is the god of death; the god who gives help and turns away evil; "the god of beauty, youth, poetry, music, prophecy, and archery" (2). Although Helios is the god who drove the chariot with the sun daily across the sky from east to west, "from the 5th century B.C. Apollo ...was more and more interpreted by thinkers as a sun-god" (1). ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ David Daniel Anderson 241 N Madison St St Croix Falls, WI 54024-9135 (715) 483-9138