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Sigma Publications

Sigma Publications publish books on ancient Greek mythology and Greek folk traditions in English, German, French and Russian.
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Sigma Publications was founded in the 1970s by the brothers Menelaos and Yannis Stephanides with the launching of their 18-volume Greek mythology series for children, published in both Greek and English. Today's Sigma Publications, under Dimitris M. Stephanides, continues to issue books based on ancient Greek mythology and Greek folk traditions and are aimed chiefly at readers who love and visit G

reece and want to learn more about its civilization. Our books are a product of our love of literature and knowledge and for that reason we try to keep their prices as affordable as possible. They are produced entirely in Greece and not in distant countries where labour costs are lower. This both reinforces the local economy and avoids the environmental pollution caused by frequent bulk shipping of goods. All our books are designed to withstand frequent reading. Their pages are bound in with stitching, not simply glued and thus will not come loose with time as the pages of cheap pocket editions so often do. The quality of their manufacture ensures that they will remain on your bookshelves for many years to come.

02/11/2024

A section of a Late Classical-period house (mid-4th century BC) featuring a pebble floor with a central depiction of two satyrs was discovered during the installation of a new water pipeline in , .

According to the Ministry of Culture, the building is located in the heart of the ancient city, near the Temple of Apollo Daphniforos and other notable sites.

The mosaic shows two : one playing a double flute and the other, an older bearded figure, possibly dancing. The mosaic’s detailed use of colored pebbles adds realism to the depiction.

The room, initially used for festivities, was later repurposed as a cemetery in the early Christian era, according to the Culture Ministry. To protect the mosaic, the local Monument Council has recommended temporarily covering it and rerouting the pipeline.

Source: https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1245521/pebble-mosaic-floor-with-satyrs-uncovered-in-eretria/

30/10/2024

„Griechischen Mythologie“: https://sigmapublications.com/mth_en_ge0.html

Bei dieser 8bändigen „ “ handelt es sich um das Lebenswerk der Gebrüder Stefanides, das sie nach 25jährigem Schaffen 1997 zum Abschluss brachten. Seither wird die Reihe bei jeder Neuauflage bezüglich Erscheinungsbild und Inhalt verbessert.

Das Werk stützt sich auf das antike griechische Schrifttum ( , , , , , , u.a.) aber auch auf die neuere Forschung (Decharme, Richepin, Graves, Kereny, Rose, Hamilton, Koun) und lässt spätere römische Veränderungen unberücksichtigt. In diesen Veränderungen wird zum Beispiel ein , das Symbol der Verbindung von Geisteskraft und Körperkraft, zum Helden Hercules, der seine Kräfte in nutzlosen Abenteuern verschwendet.

Die Bücher erzählen uns die gesamte griechische Mythologie in moderner, lebendiger Sprache, sie sind mit bildhaften Details angereichert, die das Interesse des Lesers wecken, unabhängig davon, welcher Altersgruppe er angehört.

Ziel des Autors ist es, die Liebe zur Mythologie und zum Lesen überhaupt zu erwecken, deshalb zeigt er die Poesie und die Schönheit der alten griechischen . Er stellt die Mythologie in ihr natürliches Umfeld und präsentiert die Mythen in logischer, zeitlicher Abfolge. Die Beschreibungen und die Illustrationen „duften“ nach Griechenland und nach Meer, bekannte Namen und Bezeichnungen erlangen ihre tatsächliche Bedeutung und historische Fakten tauchen teils vage, teils überzeugend aus dem Gespinst der Erzählung auf.

So ist es nicht verwunderlich, dass die „Griechische Mythologie“ von Lehrern oft im Unterricht verwendet wird und dass sie von Tausenden Lesern jeder Altersgruppe in der ganzen Welt gelesen und geliebt wird.
Die Bücher der Reihe wurden in viele Sprachen übersetzt. 1989 wurde der Band „Die Argonauten“ mit dem europäischen Pier-Paolo-Vergerio-Preis ausgezeichnet.

27/10/2024

A new illumination of the ancient Temple of on Cape was inaugurated in September.

A total of 38 new LED lighting fixtures were placed north and south of the temple, but also along the perimeter of the sanctuary and the inner face of the wall that defines it. The 5th century BC temple was illuminated in 2004 for the Athens Olympic Games but the lighting had become outdated and suffered the ravages of time.

23/10/2024

📚📖 Mythologie Grecque des Frères Stéphanidès en français! - https://sigmapublications.com/mth_en_fr0.html

Cette série de livres est une réédition particulière de la Grecque des frères Stéphanidès qui a connu un succès mondial. Le lecteur pourra, à travers elle, se délecter de toute la magie de la Mythologie Grecque, faire un voyage de rêve en pénétrant jusqu’aux confins d’une époque qui remonte à plus de 3.000 ans, et encore, stimulé par la philosophie réaliste de l’auteur parcourant le texte, philosopher lui-même.

19/10/2024

A visitor’s guide to exploring the at , by Duncan Howitt-Marshall: https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1245521/pebble-mosaic-floor-with-satyrs-uncovered-in-eretria/

"Nestled in the historic heart of Athens, the Roman Agora is an often-overlooked gem, where ancient cultures and architecture meet in a lively urban setting".

16/10/2024

"Oedipus - The Tragedies": http://sigmapublications.com/mth_en_en8.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9604250744/

The whole tragic story of , seen through the prism of the four great classical tragedies (chiefly by ), each taking up where the previous one leaves off: King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus, The Seven Against and . These are followed by the war of the Epigoni. This last volume in the series closes with one final myth, that of the , after which the curtain falls suddenly and unexpectedly on Greek mythology.

13/10/2024

An exhibition at the Archaeological Museum of commemorates 150 years of research by the French School of Athens on the sacred island of , which began systematically in 1873. The exhibition showcases photos and rare archival materials, capturing the life of the archaeologists and workers who inhabited the site for long or short periods of time. The excavation on Delos and the transformation of the island into an archaeological site open to the public led to the organization of regular connections between Mykonos and Delos. This was certainly not the case when the fieldwork began.

The exhibition, titled “Delos – Rhenia – Mykonos: Images from 150 years of Archaeological Research,” will run until December.

Photo: Archive of Ecole Francaise D’Athenes

Source: https://www.ekathimerini.com/multimedia/images/1245360/photo-exhibition-revisits-first-excavations-on-delos/

11/10/2024

"The Odyssey": http://sigmapublications.com/mth_en_en7.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9604250620/

An extensive summary of the Homeric poem which focuses on its poetic highlights, the most gripping episodes in ' ten-year voyage home, and the age-old wisdom of this ancient masterpiece which has enthralled readers young and old for the past three thousand years with its message that "there is nothing sweeter in the world than one's homeland and one's loved ones".

29/08/2024

A so-called “dialogue” between two of the most remarkable works of ancient art in the world, i.e. the golden masks of and of Mycenian king . Striking similarities between the two findings from and Sanxingdui, two archeological sites with over 8,000 kilometers between them, have repeatedly generated the attention of archaeologists and art historians, as one cannot help noticing the common features they display.

More: https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1244617/two-ancient-golden-masks-engage-in-dialogue/

20/08/2024

"Jason and the Argonauts": http://sigmapublications.com/mth_en_en5.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9604250663/

, heir to the kingdom of , has been pushed aside by the usurper . To win the throne, he agrees to voyage across unknown seas to and carry off the , which brings men wealth and happiness...

"Jason and the ” is the first surviving account of a voyage by fearless seafarers, and it differs from other stories of its kind in that it comes to us from a time before recorded history. We are fortunate that this is so, for thus we hear it from the mouths of poets and story-tellers who were expert in their art. With their soaring imagination, they have wrought a tale which has held readers down the centuries with the same breathless delight which surely captivated those who first heard it from some minstrel’s lips, almost three thousand years ago.

12/08/2024

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou officiated at the inauguration of the renovated Archaeological Museum of , one of the country’s most important archaeological sites.

The Culture Ministry project, bankrolled through the EU Recovery Fund, includes the restoration of three splendid monuments at the site, the location of the most sacred sanctuary in ancient Greece, by 2027.

In a speech, Sakellaropoulou highlighted the important work of the French School at Athens on the excavation of the sanctuary, which is also the subject of an ongoing exhibition.

Source: https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1244406/delos-museum-gets-revamp/

07/08/2024

Plan to or want to learn more about the gods and myths of Classical Greece?

Our series has you covered, with 8 pocketbooks guiding through the best and most famous of the stories: http://www.sigmapublications.com/mth_en_en0.html

Also available in:
➤ French: https://www.sigmapublications.com/mth_en_fr0.html
➤ German: https://www.sigmapublications.com/mth_en_ge0.html
➤ Russian: https://www.sigmapublications.com/mth_en_ru0.html

01/08/2024

seabed yielding more gifts. Archaeologists excited by discovery of another near famed sunken ship of antiquity.

Chief among the new breakthroughs made was the ability to precisely record the location of the remains of the wreck that was carrying the Antikythera mechanism and the famous statues. This will allow the experts to calculate the ship’s size more accurately, but also the exact location of the cargo hold carrying these precious artifacts.

Sure, the sponge divers from Symi who first spotted remains of the wreck retrieved statues, and French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau also collected finds from the site in 1976, but they were retrieving objects from what was, effectively, a terraced seafloor, without knowing where the actual Roman-era wreck lay.

The latest studies will give us more insight into why the ship went down, where it was headed and, possibly, information on its crew and passengers, of whom we have skeletal remains, including teeth.

This year’s discoveries yielded even more exciting information, however. While archaeologists had identified a deposit of pottery of the same kind as that found in the ship some 200 meters from the wreck, they could not tell whether it was from a second ship or had been swept there by currents. This year’s expedition confirmed the existence of another vessel, which backs the theory that the first wreck was one of a pair of ships plying a specific route.

Apart from the weather, technology was also important to the success of this year’s expedition, which was designed and updated on the basis of information from the database and the geographic information system (GIS) created in previous years.

More: https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1243027/antikythera-seabed-yielding-more-gifts/

22/07/2024

"Theseus - Perseus": http://sigmapublications.com/mth_en_en4.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9604250752/

A volume filled with heroes: , who saved Athens from the ; , who slew the ; , who tamed the winged horse ; the just; , who wrestled with a goddess and won her for his own, and and A , who won eternal fame in the hunting of the Calydonian boar.

17/07/2024

An exhibition of more than 1,100 artefacts, from statues and table games to children’s toys, found in an ancient Athens neighborhood during excavations in the area of its modern Acropolis Museum - Μουσείο Ακρόπολης has opened to the public.

The objects, unearthed from the foothill of the Acropolis hill that hosts the Parthenon temple, have been restored and are part of a site called “the museum under the museum,” which is now accessible to visitors.

More: https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1242454/ancient-life-artefacts-exhibition-opens-at-acropolis-museum/

10/07/2024

"Heracles": http://sigmapublications.com/mth_en_en3.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9604250655/

The whole fabulous story of this great hero who was sent to earth by to unite the warring Greeks. A life filled with superhuman feats and harsh blows foreseen and bravely faced. A life which won him love and admiration surpassing even the gods and earned him immortality.

The of this book is not simply the hero whose twelve labours gained him an undying place in western consciousness, but a defender of the poor and oppressed, an overthrower of tyrants who won the love and respect of his own and succeeding generations.

05/07/2024

As part of its “Unseen Museum” program for showcasing some of the pieces kept in its massive storage spaces, the National Archaeological Museum of Athens is presenting the “The last Aphrodites,” a small exhibition set that includes two ivory carvings and two fragments of Coptic textiles from Egypt of late antiquity.

All four artefacts, dating to the 4th century AD, illustrate Aphrodites, Nereids or other mythological figures.

The two carvings were destined to decorate bridal jewellery boxes, chests or other precious vessels. The textiles in display, are dated to the period in which Coptic weaving flourished, from the 5th to the 7th cent. A.D. They were sewn on luxurious tunics, draperies or cushions of the early Christians of Egypt.

The “Last Aphrodites” are exhibited in the “Hall of the Altar (Hall no 34) to Monday 19 August 2024.

15/06/2024

"Gods and Men": http://sigmapublications.com/mth_en_en2.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9604250760/

“The crags of stand silent and bare, scoured by the icy winds. The halls of the gods are as if they had never been.” This sequel to 'The Gods of Olympus' takes the reader from the birth of mankind to the passing of the ancient religion of the Greeks. Names and events which have become a part of the western world’s identity are brought to vivid life in these pages: how brought the gift of fire to men; the tale of ’s box; the story behind 'the touch'; the boy on the dolphin; the origin of 'tantalize'; the sad end of Icarus, who literally burnt his wings; how the Peloponnese came by its name and Europa gave hers to a continent. Here are love’s labours lost in the tragic myth of and his , and love lent wings in the story which has given us our 'halcyon days'. The gods of the Greeks may have vanished in the mists of time, yet their legacy lives on undimmed.

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42, Tebon Street
Athens
17343

Telephone

+302103607667

Website

http://www.sigmapublications.com/

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