600?-700? Syrian Architect and Inventor Callinicus (also spelled Kallinikos) was born in the Syrian city of Heliopolis sometime in the seventh century. Little is known regarding his life, and if it were not for one significant invention, he would have...

Because wood was a primary building material for structures and boats in the ancient world, incendiary devices were often used in warfare. Perhaps the most famous of all these devices was Greek fire. It was first invented by Callinicus (c. 620-?), an...

For the 2007 series of fires, see 2007 Greek forest...

DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON, the sage for all seasons, reviewing a hopeful arriviste's manuscript on one occasion, described it as both good and original. However, the piquant lexicographer added, what is good is not original; and what is original is most certainly not good....

Clutching his umbrella, violinist Leonidas Kavakos squints anxiously against the sun into the cloudless skies of Manhattan. "I've been carrying this thing around like an idiot all day," he says, "and I am happy to appear an idiot for the rest of the week."...

Wildfires burned homes Thursday and forced the evacuations of villages, a convent and a children's camp in southern Greece, as a heat wave swept across southeastern Europe.Greece's Fire Service reported 115 fires in a 24-hour period as temperatures reached 102 degrees in some spots.Residents of...

Firefighters backed by aircraft dropped water and foam on the birthplace of the ancient Olympics Sunday to stop wildfires from burning the 2,800-year-old ruins, one of the most revered sites of antiquity.But the fires burning for three straight days obliterated vast swathes of the country...