Temple of Zeus at Akragas, Agrigento, Sicily 500-460 B.C Essay

Temple of Zeus at Akragas, Agrigento, Sicily 500-460 B.C - Essay Example In Agrigento, Sicily, one of the most ancient architectural designs stands there even today, attracting thousands of people from across the globe. Historically, the town is famous for its splendid assortment of more than seven Greek temples that dates back to the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Standing on the southern part of the city of Agrigento, these temples provide a classic example of a historical study about ancient architectural designs, and how they influences modern day architecture (Wilson 7). Many historians believe that the Greek colonialists are the ones who built the city of Akragas in 580 BC. These colonialists had travelled from far, precisely from Rhodes and settled in Sicily. Life during the colonial times was not any easy, as tyranny, persecutions and slavery took the orders of the day. However, these periods happened and democracy settled in slowly and the city dwellers, about 200,000 of them in the fifth century BC, embarked on a journey of developing their city. High-quality wine, olives, and horses decorated the beautiful city, and later on the most famous and beautiful temples stood elected. However, something astonishing happened in 406 BC. The Carthaginians invaded Akragas just barely eight months after the construction of the temples, and mutilated the temples. The Carthaginians ruled the city until 340 BC when Timoleon engaged the Carthage in war and finally defeated them. However, it is important to note that the city had lost its glory and magnificent scene, a scene that stands unrecovered even up to today. The change o one empire to another has not helped in the rebuilding of the temples. However, these temples still have a historical significance to modern day historians and architectural designers (Paton 74-94). In Italy, historians agree that the Olympian Zeus Temple is the prevalent Doric temple ever built and it has some historical significance. However, it is paramount to note that due to various reasons, the construction of these temple never ended. In fact, today, the temple of Zeus lies in ruins as the people responsible for its construction did not do much to compete it. Standing in the Valle dei Templi, other famous temples surround the temple of Zeus thus giving the later a sheer significance. Nonetheless, it is imperative to note that nobody recorded the exact history this temple, and therefore it is quite unclear. This does not however imply that there are no absolute facts about the temple of Zeus. In fact, one of its significance is the commemoration of war pitting Syracuse and Carthaginians (Battle of Himera 480 BC). As earlier noted the Carthaginians had taken control of the city and imposed their rule. Some historians such as Diodorus Siculus point out that the Carthaginians are the ones who built the temple by using slaves. Here, the slaves were mainly the captured enemies parading as soldiers but were now defeated and taken into captivity where they subjected them into hard work and labo r (Wilson 48-61). The ancient literature does not say much about the temple of Zeus although many historians mention it in their writings. For example, Polybius, one of the Greek historians records in a memo that although the other temples surrounding the temple of Zeus looked complete and beautiful unlike the temple of Zeus, the later was completely odd in terms of appearance, design and dimensions. He goes on to say

Immigration and Employment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Immigration and Employment - Essay Example (Castle & Miller, 2003) First it is important that we defined both terms as used, "cultural mosaic" is mostly used to refer to multiculturalism that is used to mean many diverse culture in a place or in an area where diverse culture relates together peacefully. the concept is used to contrast the melting pot term which is used to imply the "ingredients" in the pot which are people with diverse cultures melting together to fuse and form one identity. The two ideas are very different from each other, however the Canadian concept is seen as a more positive especially when it comes to employment and immigrants working in the country. (Castle & Miller, 2003) Canada is a country which is obviously multicultural due to many immigrants that have immigrated to the country over the years. Canada is well known all over the world for being among the most liberal, democratic and welcoming countries in the whole world. It's as a vibrant mosaic of diverse culture where different people resides and work together peaceful. It is estimated that 16% of the total Canadian population of 30 million are first-generation immigrants. The Canadian government is dedicated to a guiding principle of diversity which is designed to preserve and improve the diverse cultural heritage of the Canadians, whilst attempting to attain equality in the social, cultural political and economic issues of Canada. (Castle & Miller, 2003) The "melting pot" is designed to imply homogeneous society development where people with diverse cultural backgrounds are put together to create a multi-ethnic society. as Northrop Frye a literary philosopher observes, Canadian students have been conditioned from the early stage to think of themselves as citizen of a nation with uncertain identity, with a unclear past and a dangerous future on the other hand children in America are conditioned from very early stage to believe in themselves that they are citizens of a the greatest nation in the world. (Castle & Miller, 2003) Many people who have settled in Canada and America always have some kind of reference about the two countries. While those settled in the United States talk of the similarities they share those in Canada talk about the differences. Probably this is because of the in the United States people are expected to adopt to the culture in the United States while in Canada people are the Canadian respect and value the differences. Canada has always been a mosaic country, as explained by sociology historian Castle & Miller (2003) who termed Canada as "a vertical mosaic" and the mosaic term keeps being used because immigrants are encouraged to maintain their culture when in the country. Though both countries have a history of immigrants the two countries have had different policies towards same issues. In the beginning American believed in creating a nation which favoured unity and individual rights, where unity of the nation was more important than the diversity of individuals. While in Canada the country encouraged a system which was based on ethnic particularly with the emphasis of the French culture and French language. (Castle & Miller, 2003) Effects on employment As pertaining employment of immigrants in Canada which is a central social issue