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Menander I

Menander I Soter (Μένανδρος Σωτήρ, lit. 'Menander the Saviour'; Milinda; sometimes called Menander the Great ) was a Greco-Bactrian and later Indo-Greek King (reigned c. 165/155 –130 BC) who administered a large territory in the Northwestern regions of the Indian Subcontinent and Central Asia. Menander is noted for having become a patron and convert to Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings.

Menander might have initially been a king of Bactria. After conquering the Punjab, as far as Taxila, he established an empire which stretched from the Kabul River in the west to the Indus River in the east, and from the Swat River valley in the north to Arachosia (the Helmand Province).

According to Numismatist Joe Cribb and archaeologist Rachel Mairs, the accounts of Menander’s kingdom stretching as far as Sialkot, is hard to believe, as there is no numismatic evidence of him east of Taxila, even more hard is to believe is stretching even further east as thought earlier by historians based upon Indian references, which most likely are referring to Kushans.

Large numbers of Menander’s coins have been unearthed, attesting to both the flourishing commerce and longevity of his realm. Menander was also a patron of Buddhism, and his conversations with the Buddhist sage Nagasena are recorded in the important Buddhist work, the Milinda Panha ("The Questions of King Milinda"; panha meaning "question" in Pali). After his death in 130 BC, he was succeeded by his wife Agathocleia, perhaps the daughter of Agathocles, who ruled as regent for his son Strato I. Buddhist tradition relates that he handed over his kingdom to his son and retired from the world, but Plutarch says that he died in camp while on a military campaign, and that his remains were divided equally between the cities to be enshrined in monuments, probably stupas, across his realm.

Reign
Menander Alexandria-Kapisa.jpg style (Alexandria-Kapisa mint).

Obv: Menander throwing a spear.

Rev: Athena with thunderbolt. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ (BASILEOS SOTEROS MENANDROU), "Of King Menander, the Saviour".]] Menander was born into a Greek family in a village called Kalasi adjacent to Alexandria of the Caucasus (present day Bagram, Afghanistan), although another source says he was born near Sagala (modern Sialkot in the Punjab, Pakistan). His territories covered Bactria (modern-day Balkh Province) and extended to India (modern-day regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Greater Punjab.

His capital is supposed to have been Sagala, a prosperous city in northern Punjab (believed to be modern Sialkot, Pakistan).

"The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Ariana, but also of India, as Apollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander-- by Menander in particular (at least if he actually crossed the Hypanis towards the east and advanced as far as the Imaüs), for some were subdued by him personally and others by Demetrius, the son of Euthydemus the king of the Bactrians; and they took possession, not only of Patalena, but also, on the rest of the coast, of what is called the kingdom of Saraostus and Sigerdis. In short, Apollodorus says that Bactriana is the ornament of Ariana as a whole; and, more than that, they extended their empire even as far as the Seres and the Phryni."

- Strabo

Accounts describe Indo-Greek campaigns to Mathura, Panchala, Saketa, and potentially Pataliputra. The sage Patanjali around 150 BC, describes Menander campaigning as far as Mathura. The Hathigumpha inscription inscribed by Kharavela the King of Kalinga also places the Yavanas, or Indo-Greeks, in Mathura. Kharavela states to have forced the demoralized Yavana army to retreat back to Mathura: ""Then in the eighth year, (Kharavela) with a large army having sacked Goradhagiri causes pressure on Rajagaha (Rajagriha). On account of the loud report of this act of valour, the Yavana (Greek) King [ta] retreated to Mathura having extricated his demoralized army.""

- Hathigumpha inscription, lines 7-8, probably in the 1st century BCE-1st century CE. The original text is in Brahmi script.

Menander may have campaigned as far as the Shunga capital Pataliputra resulting in a conflict. The religious scripture Yuga Purana, which describes events in the form of a prophecy, states: "After having conquered Saketa, the country of the Panchala and the Mathuras, the Yavanas (Greeks), wicked and valiant, will reach Kusumadhvaja. The thick mud-fortifications at Pataliputra being reached, all the provinces will be in disorder, without a doubt. Ultimately, a great battle will follow, with tree-like engines (siege engines)."

- Gargi-Samhita, Yuga Purana, ch. 5

Strabo also suggests that Indo-Greek conquests went up to the Shunga capital Pataliputra in northeastern India (today Patna): "Those who came after Alexander went to the Ganges and Pataliputra"

- Strabo, 15.698

The events and results of these campaigns are unknown. Surviving epigraphical inscriptions during this time such as the Hathigumpha inscription states that Kharavela sacked Pataliputra. Furthermore, numismatics from the Mitra dynasty are concurrently placed in Mathura during the time of Menander. Their relationship is unclear, but the Mithra may potentially be vassals.

In the West, Menander seems to have repelled the invasion of the dynasty of Greco-Bactrian usurper Eucratides, and pushed them back as far as the Paropamisadae, thereby consolidating the rule of the Indo-Greek kings in the northwestern part of the Indian Subcontinent.

The Milinda Panha gives some glimpses of his military methods:

"– Has it ever happened to you, O king, that rival kings rose up against you as enemies and opponents? – Yes, certainly. – Then you set to work, I suppose, to have moats dug, and ramparts thrown up, and watch towers erected, and strongholds built, and stores of food collected? – Not at all. All that had been prepared beforehand. – Or you had yourself trained in the management of war elephants, and in horsemanship, and in the use of the war chariot, and in archery and fencing? – Not at all. I had learnt all that before. – But why? – With the object of warding off future danger."

- Milinda Panha, Book III, ch. 7

Generous findings of coins testify to the prosperity and extent of his empire: (with finds as far as Britain) the finds of his coins are the most numerous and the most widespread of all the Indo-Greek kings. Precise dates of his reign, as well as his origin, remain elusive, however. Guesses among historians have been that Menander was either a nephew or a former general of the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I, but the two kings are now thought to be separated by at least thirty years. Menander's predecessor in Punjab seems to have been the king Apollodotus I.

Menander's empire survived him in a fragmented manner until the last Greek king Strato II disappeared around 10 AD.

The 1st-2nd century AD Periplus of the Erythraean Sea further testifies to the reign of Menander and the influence of the Indo-Greeks in India: "To the present day ancient drachmae are current in Barygaza, coming from this country, bearing inscriptions in Greek letters, and the devices of those who reigned after Alexander, Apollodorus [sic] and Menander."

- Periplus, ch. 47.

The Milinda Panha
According to tradition, Menander embraced the Buddhist faith, as described in the Milinda Panha, a classical Pali Buddhist text on the discussions between Milinda and the Buddhist sage Nāgasena. He is described as constantly accompanied by an elite guard of 500 Greek ("Yavana") soldiers, and two of his counsellors are named Demetrius and Antiochus.

In the Milinda Panha, Menander is introduced as "King of the city of Euthymedia in India, Milinda by name, learned, eloquent, wise, and able; and a faithful observer, and that at the right time, of all the various acts of devotion and ceremony enjoined by his own sacred hymns concerning things past, present, and to come. Many were the arts and sciences he knew--holy tradition and secular law; the Sânkhya, Yoga, Nyâya, and Vaisheshika systems of philosophy; arithmetic; music; medicine; the four Vedas, the Purânas, and the Itihâsas; astronomy, magic, causation, and magic spells; the art of war; poetry; conveyancing in a word, the whole nineteen. As a disputant he was hard to equal, harder still to overcome; the acknowledged superior of all the founders of the various schools of thought. And as in wisdom so in strength of body, swiftness, and valour there was found none equal to Milinda in all India. He was rich too, mighty in wealth and prosperity, and the number of his armed hosts knew no end."

- The Questions of King Milinda, Translation by T. W. Rhys Davids, 1890

Buddhist tradition relates that, following his discussions with Nāgasena, Menander adopted the Buddhist faith:

"May the venerable Nâgasena accept me as a supporter of the faith, as a true convert from to-day onwards as long as life shall last!"

- The Questions of King Milinda, Translation by T. W. Rhys Davids, 1890

He then handed over his kingdom to his son and retired from the world:

"And afterwards, taking delight in the wisdom of the Elder, he handed over his kingdom to his son, and abandoning the household life for the houseless state, grew great in insight, and himself attained to Arahatship!"

- The Questions of King Milinda, Translation by T. W. Rhys Davids, 1890

There is however little besides this testament to indicate that Menander in fact abdicated his throne in favour of his son. Based on numismatic evidence, William Tarn believed that he in fact died, leaving his wife Agathocleia to rule as a regent, until his son Strato could rule properly in his stead. Despite the success of his reign, it is clear that after his death, his "loosely hung" empire splintered into a variety of Indo-Greek successor kingdoms, of various sizes and stability.

His legacy as a Buddhist arhat reached the Greco-Roman world and Plutarch writes:

"But when one Menander, who had reigned graciously over the Bactrians, died afterwards in the camp, the cities indeed by common consent celebrated his funerals; but coming to a contest about his relics, they were difficultly at last brought to this agreement, that his ashes being distributed, everyone should carry away an equal share, and they should all erect monuments to him.""

- Moralia 28.6

The above seems to corroborate the claim: "It is unlikely that Menander’s support of Buddhism was a pious reconstruction of a Buddhist legend, for his deification by later traditions resonates with Macedonian religious trends that granted divine honours to monarchs and members of their family and worshipped them, like Alexander, as gods. It is no coincidence that similar motifs highlight the Buddha’s deification and his funereal rituals are commensurate with those of Macedonian kings and universal monarchs. The evidence is in favour of the conversion of King Menander to Buddhism, which is neither an isolated historical incident nor an invention of later traditions.""

Other Indian accounts

 * A 2nd century BC relief from a Buddhist stupa in Bharhut, in eastern Madhya Pradesh (today at the Indian Museum in Calcutta), the Bharhut Yavana, represents a foreign soldier with the curly hair of a Greek and the royal headband with flowing ends of a Greek king, and maybe a depiction of Menander. In his right hand, he holds a branch of ivy, a symbol of Dionysos. Also, parts of his dress, with rows of geometrical folds, are characteristically Hellenistic in style. On his sword appears the Buddhist symbol of the three jewels, or Triratana.
 * A Buddhist reliquary found in Bajaur, the Shinkot casket, bears a dedicatory inscription referring to "the 14th day of the month of Kārttika" of a certain year in the reign of "Mahārāja Minadra" ("Great King Menander"):

 * According to an ancient Sri Lankan source, the Mahavamsa, Greek monks seem to have been active proselytizers of Buddhism during the time of Menander: the Yona (Greek) Mahadhammarakkhita (Mahadharmaraksita) is said to have come from "Alasandra" (thought to be Alexandria of the Caucasus, the city founded by Alexander the Great, near today’s Kabul) with 30,000 monks for the foundation ceremony of the Maha Thupa ("Great stupa") at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, during the 2nd century BC:

"From Alasanda the city of the Yonas came the Thera ("Elder") Yona Mahadhammarakkhita with thirty thousand bhikkhus."

- Mahavamsa, 29

Buddhist constructions
A coin of Menander I was found in the second oldest stratum (GSt 2) of the Butkara stupa suggesting a period of additional constructions during the reign of Menander. It is thought that Menander was the builder of the second oldest layer of the Butkara stupa, following its initial construction during the Maurya empire.

These elements tend to indicate the importance of Buddhism within Greek communities in northwestern India, and the prominent role Greek Buddhist monks played in them, probably under the sponsorship of Menander.

Coinage
Menander has left behind an immense corpus of silver and bronze coins, more so than any other Indo-Greek king. During his reign, the fusion between Indian and Greek coin standards reached its apogee. The coins feature the legend (ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ / Kharoshthi: MAHARAJA TRATARASA MENADRASA).
 * According to Bopearachchi, his silver coinage begins with a rare series of drachma depicting on the obverse Athena and on the reverse her attribute the owl. The weight and monograms of this series match those of earlier king Antimachus II, indicating that Menander succeeded Antimachus II.
 * On the next series, Menander introduces his own portrait, a hitherto unknown custom among Indian rulers. The reverse features his dynastical trademark: the so-called Athena Alkidemos throwing a thunderbolt, an emblem used by many of Menander's successors and also the emblem of the Antigonid kings of Macedonia.
 * In a further development, Menander changed the legends from circular orientation to the arrangement seen on coin 4 to the right. This modification ensured that the coins could be read without being rotated, and was used without exception by all later Indo-Greek kings.

These alterations were possibly an adaption on Menander's part to the Indian coins of the Bactrian Eucratides I, who had conquered the westernmost parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, and are interpreted by Bopearachchi as an indication that Menander recaptured these western territories after the death of Eucratides. Menander was the first Indo-Greek ruler to introduce the representation of Athena Alkidemos ("Athena, saviour of the people") on his coins, probably in reference to a similar statue of Athena Alkidemos in Pella, capital of Macedon. This type was subsequently used by most of the later Indo-Greek kings.
 * Menander also struck very rare Attic standard coinage with monolingual inscriptions (coin 5), which were probably intended for use in Bactria (where they have been found), perhaps thought to demonstrate his victories against the Bactrian kings, as well as Menander's own claim to the kingdom.
 * There exist bronze coins of Menander featuring a manifold variation of Olympic, Indian, and other symbols. It seems as though Menander introduced a new weight standard for bronzes.

Menander the Just

A king named Menander with the epithet Dikaios, "the Just", ruled in Punjab after 100 BC. Earlier scholars, such as A. Cunningham and W. W. Tarn, believed there was only one Menander, and assumed that the king had changed his epithet and/or was expelled from his western dominions. A number of coincidences led them to this assumption:
 * The portraits are relatively similar, and Menander II usually looks older than Menander I.
 * The coins of Menander II feature several Buddhist symbols, which were interpreted as proof of the conversion mentioned in the Milinda Panha.
 * The epithet Dikaios of Menander II was translated into Kharosthi as Dharmikasa on the reverse of his coins, which means "Follower of the Dharma" and was interpreted likewise.

However, modern numismatists such as Bopearachchi and R.C. Senior have shown, by differences in coin findings, style, and monograms, that there were two distinct rulers. The second Menander could have been a descendant of the first, and his Buddhist symbols may have been a means of alluding to his ancestor's conversion. However, Menander I struck a rare bronze series with a Buddhist wheel (coin 3).

Menander's death
Plutarch reports that Menander died in camp while on campaign, thereby differing with the version of the Milindapanha. Plutarch gives Menander as an example of benevolent rule, contrasting him with disliked tyrants such as Dionysius, and goes on to explain that his subject towns fought over the honour of his burial, ultimately sharing his ashes among them and placing them in "monuments" (possibly stupas), in a manner reminiscent of the funerals of the Buddha.

"But when one Menander, who had reigned graciously over the Bactrians, died afterwards in the camp, the cities indeed by common consent celebrated his funerals; but coming to a contest about his relics, they were difficultly at last brought to this agreement, that his ashes being distributed, everyone should carry away an equal share, and they should all erect monuments to him."

- Plutarch

Despite his many successes, Menander's last years may have been fraught with another civil war, this time against Zoilos I who reigned in Gandhara. This is indicated by the fact that Menander probably overstruck a coin of Zoilos.

The Milinda Panha might give some support to the idea that Menander's position was precarious, since it describes him as being somewhat cornered by numerous enemies into a circumscribed territory:

"After their long discussion Nagasaka asked himself "though king Milinda is pleased, he gives no signs of being pleased". Menander says in reply: "As a lion, the king of beasts, when put in a cage, though it were of gold, is still facing outside, even so, do I live as the master in the house but remain facing outside. But if I were to go forth from home into homelessness I would not live long, so many are my enemies"."

- Quoted in Bopearachchi

Theories of Menander's successors
Menander was the last Indo-Greek king mentioned by ancient historians, and developments after his death are therefore difficult to trace.

a) The traditional view, supported by W.W. Tarn and Bopearachchi, is that Menander was succeeded by his queen Agathoclea, who acted as regent to their infant son Strato I until he became an adult and took over the crown. Strato I used the same reverse as Menander I, Athena hurling a thunderbolt, and also the title Soter.

According to this scenario, Agathoclea and Strato I only managed to maintain themselves in the eastern parts of the kingdom, Punjab, and at times Gandhara. Paropamisadae and Pushkalavati were taken over by Zoilos I, perhaps because some of Agathokleia's subjects may have been reluctant to accept an infant king with a queen regent.

b) On the other hand, R.C. Senior and other numismatics such as David Bivar have suggested that Strato I ruled several decades after Menander: they point out that Strato's and Agathoclea's monograms are usually different from Menander's, and overstrikes and hoard findings also associate them with later kings.

In this scenario, Menander was briefly succeeded by his son Thrason, of whom a single coin is known. After Thrason was murdered, competing kings such as Zoilos I or Lysias may have taken over Menander's kingdom. Menander's dynasty was thus dethroned and did not return to power until later, though his relative Nicias may have ruled a small principality in the Kabul valley.

Buddhism
After the reign of Menander I, Strato I and several subsequent Indo-Greek rulers, such as Amyntas, Nicias, Peucolaus, Hermaeus, and Hippostratus, depicted themselves or their Greek deities forming with the right hand a symbolic gesture identical to the Buddhist vitarka mudra (thumb and index joined together, with other fingers extended), which in Buddhism signifies the transmission of the Buddha's teaching. At the same time, right after the death of Menander, several Indo-Greek rulers also started to adopt on their coins the Pali title of "Dharmikasa", meaning "follower of the Dharma" (the title of the great Indian Buddhist king Ashoka was Dharmaraja "King of the Dharma"). This usage was adopted by Strato I, Zoilos I, Heliocles II, Theophilus, Peucolaus and Archebius. Altogether, the conversion of Menander to Buddhism suggested by the Milinda Panha seems to have triggered the use of Buddhist symbolism in one form or another on the coinage of close to half of the kings who succeeded him. Especially, all the kings after Menander who are recorded to have ruled in Gandhara (apart from the little-known Demetrius III) display Buddhist symbolism in one form or another.

Both because of his conversion and because of his unequaled territorial expansion, Menander may have contributed to the expansion of Buddhism in Central Asia. Although the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and Northern Asia is usually associated with the Kushans, a century or two later, there is a possibility that it may have been introduced in those areas from Gandhara "even earlier, during the time of Demetrius and Menander" (Puri, "Buddhism in Central Asia").

A frieze in Sanchi executed during or soon after the reign of Menander depicts Buddhist devotees in Greek attire. The men are depicted with short curly hair, often held together with a headband of the type commonly seen on Greek coins. The clothing too is Greek, complete with tunics, capes and sandals. The musical instruments are also quite characteristic, such as the double flute called aulos. Also visible are Carnyx-like horns. They are all celebrating at the entrance of the stupa. These men would probably be nearby Indo-Greeks from northwest India visiting the Stupa.

Representation of the Buddha
The anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha is absent from Indo-Greek coinage, suggesting that the Indo-Greek kings may have respected the Indian an-iconic rule for depictions of the Buddha, limiting themselves to symbolic representation only. Consistently with this perspective, the actual depiction of the Buddha would be a later phenomenon, usually dated to the 1st century, emerging from the sponsorship of the syncretic Kushan Empire and executed by Greek, and, later, Indian and possibly Roman artists. Datation of Greco-Buddhist statues is generally uncertain, but they are at least firmly established from the 1st century.

Another possibility is that just as the Indo-Greeks routinely represented philosophers in statues (but certainly not on coins) in Antiquity, the Indo-Greek may have initiated anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha in statuary only, possibly as soon as the 2nd-1st century BC, as advocated by Foucher and suggested by Chinese murals depicting Emperor Wu of Han worshipping Buddha statues brought from Central Asia in 120 BC (See picture). An Indo-Chinese tradition also explains that Nagasena, also known as Menander's Buddhist teacher, created in 43 BC in the city of Pataliputra a statue of the Buddha, the Emerald Buddha, which was later brought to Thailand.

Stylistically, Indo-Greek coins generally display a very high level of Hellenistic artistic realism, which declined drastically around 50 BC with the invasions of the Indo-Scythians, Yuezhi and Indo-Parthians. The first known statues of the Buddha are also very realistic and Hellenistic in style and are more consistent with the pre-50 BC artistic level seen on coins.

This would tend to suggest that the first statues were created between 130 BC (death of Menander) and 50 BC, precisely at the time when Buddhist symbolism appeared on Indo-Greek coinage. From that time, Menander and his successors may have been the key propagators of Buddhist ideas and representations: "the spread of Gandhari Buddhism may have been stimulated by Menander's royal patronage, as may have the development and spread of Gandharan sculpture, which seems to have accompanied it" (Mcevilley, "The Shape of Ancient Thought", p. 378).

Education
The Milind College in the city of Aurangabad, India, is named after King Menander I using the Pali translation of his name, Milind. The college was founded in part by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, an Indian leader of the Dalit Buddhist movement and writer to the constitution of the Republic of India.

Geography
In Classical Antiquity, from at least the 1st century, the "Menander Mons", or "Mountains of Menander", came to designate the mountain chain at the extreme east of the Indian subcontinent, today's Naga Hills and Arakan, as indicated in the Ptolemy world map of the 1st century geographer Ptolemy.

title: Menander I


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Thai lunar calendar

The Thai lunar calendar (ปฏิทินจันทรคติ,, , literally, Specific days according to lunar norms), or Tai calendar, is a lunisolar Buddhist calendar. It is used for calculating lunar-regulated holy days. Based on the SuriyaYatra, with likely influence from the traditional Hindu Surya Siddhanta, it has its own unique structure that does not require the Surya Siddhanta to calculate. Lunisolar calendars combine lunar and solar calendars for a nominal year of 12 months. An extra day or an extra 30-day month is intercalated at irregular intervals.

Legal versus religious calendar
The Thai solar calendar (ปฏิทินสุริยคติ,, ), Thailand's version of the Gregorian calendar, replaced the patithin chanthrakhati in AD 1888 / 2431 BE for legal and commercial purposes. In both calendars, the four principal lunar phases determine Buddhist Sabbaths (Uposatha), obligatory holy days for observant Buddhists. Significant days also include feast days.

Note that the Thai and the Chinese lunar calendars do not directly correspond. Thai Chinese likewise observe their Sabbaths and traditional Chinese holidays according to solar terms, two of which correspond to one lunar phase. These also move with respect to the solar calendar, and so it is common for Thai calendars to incorporate both Thai and Chinese lunar calendar-based events.

Mundane astrology also figures prominently in Thai culture, so modern Thai birth certificates include lunar calendar dates and the appropriate Thai Zodiacal animal year-name for Thai Hora (โหราศาสตร์, ). The Thai Zodiac is similar to the Chinese, though the Dragon is replaced by the Naga (งูใหญ่), and in Northern Thailand the Pig is occasionally replaced with an Elephant.

Years
To keep the years in sync with the seasons, Thai lunar years may add a day to the 7th month or repeat the 8th month. Therefore, years may have one of three lengths – 354, 355 or 384 days – yet retain a nominal length of twelve months.

 * The 354-day-long years consist of 12 "normal months", and such a year is called a "normal-month year" ((ปี) ปกติมาส,, ).
 * The 355-day-long years add an extra day to the normally 29-day-long 7th month; such a year is called an "extra-day year" ((ปี) อธิกวาร,, ).

 * The 384-day-long years repeat the 30-day-long 8th month, thus keeping the month count at 12. Nevertheless, a year of 384 days is called an "extra-month year" ((ปี) อธิกมาส,, ).

New year
The Thai lunar calendar does not mark the beginning of a new year when it starts a new 1-to-12 count, which occurs most frequently in December.

The Thai solar calendar determines a person's legal age and the dates of secular holidays, including the civil new year and the three days of the traditional Thai New Year, which begin the next Twelve-year animal cycle. Should the holidays fall on a weekend, it also accommodates these as well as some of the principal lunar festivals with a compensatory day off (วันชดเชย, ).

Twelve-year animal cycle
13 April of the solar calendar occasions the beginning of the traditional Thai New Year (Songkran) and is the day that a year assumes the name of the next animal in the twelve-year animal cycle; Thai Chinese communities may observe the name-change earlier in accordance with the Chinese New Year.

The Thai names of the months were borrowed from Khmer, which were in turn borrowed from an unknown Vietic language.

Months
In the modern Thai calendar, months (เดือน,, , meaning "month" or "Lunation") are defined by lunar cycles. Successive months (or lunations) are numbered from 1 to 12 within the Thai year. As in other Buddhist calendars, these months have names that derive from Sanskrit, but for the most part are only known by Thai astrologers.

Two successive lunations take slightly more than 59 days. The Thai lunar calendar approximates this interval with "normal-month" pairs (ปกติมาส, ) that are alternately 29 and 30 days long. 29-day "hollow months" (เดือนขาด,, ) are odd-numbered (เดือนคี่, , ); 30-day "full months" (เดือนถ้วน, , ) are even-numbered (เดือนคู่, , ).

To keep the beginning of the month in sync with the new moon, from time to time either the normally "hollow" Month 7 takes an extra day, or an extra "full" Month 8 follows a normal "full" Month 8.

Months 1 and 2 are named in archaic alternate numbers, with the remainder being named in modern numbers.

Months 1 – 6
Month 1, "duean ai" (เดือนอ้าย, ), begins the cycle of counting the months anew, most frequently in December, but does not signify the beginning of a new year. Ai, an archaic word in Thai but not in other dialects, means first. An odd-numbered hollow month, it is 29 days long.

Month 2, "duean yi", (เดือนยี่,, from archaic ญี่ meaning 2) is an even-numbered full month.

Months 3–6, "duean 3–6", use the modern reading of Thai numerals, as do all remaining months. Months 3–6, alternate between 29-day hollow months and 30-day full months.

Month 7 and athikawan
Month 7, "duean 7", a hollow month is normally 29 days long in years of 354 days, but adds an extra day (อธิกวาร ) when required for 355-day-long years (ปีอธิกวาร, ).

Month 8
The eighth month, "duean 8", is a 30-day full month.

Month 8/8 "athikamat"
Athikamat (อธิกมาส, )) is the extra month needed for a 384-day-long pi athikamat (extra-month year; ปีอธิกมาส, ). Month 8 repeats as เดือน ๘/๘ or Month 8/8, variously read as "duean paet thab paet" (เดือนแปดทับแปด) or "duean paet lang" (เดือนแปดหลัง)

Months 9 – 12
Months 9–12, "duean 9–12", complete the lunar cycle.

Month divisions
Months divide into two periods designated by whether they are waxing or waning:
 * Waxing : khang khuen (ข้างขึ้น), the period from new moon to full moon, is always 15 days long.
 * Waning : khang raem (ข้างแรม), the period from full moon to new moon, which is 14 days long in hollow months, except when Month 7 adds an extra day, and 15 days long in full months.

Weeks
A week is called Sapda/Sappada (สัปดาห์, ). The term is defined by the Royal Institute Dictionary (RID) as a 7-day period beginning on Sunday and ending Saturday. When referring to lunations, however, it is the 7-, 8- or (rarely) 9-day interval between quartile lunar phases; that is, from one wan phra (วันพระ) to the next.

Days
While solar-calendar weekdays have names, lunar-calendar days number sequentially from 1 to 14 or 15 in two segments depending on whether the moon is waxing or waning. For example, "raem 15 kham duean 12 แรม ๑๕ ค่ำ เดือน ๑๒" means "Waning of the 15th Night of the 12th Lunar Month".

Kham ค่ำ , evening, is considered to be the evening of the common day that begins and ends at midnight, rather than of a day that begins and ends at dusk. Past practice may have been different.

Named lunar days

 * Wan Phra วันพระ, Buddhist holy days
 * Wan Thamma Sawana วันธรรมสวนะ Buddhist Sabbath regularly fall on:
 * Khuen 8 ขึ้น ๘ first-quarter moon
 * Khuen 15 ขึ้น ๑๕ full moon; also called wan phen วันเพ็ญ day  [of] full [moon]. However, Wan Deuan Phen วันเดือนเพ็ญ, the actual day of the full moon and khuen 15 kham do not always fall on the same day.
 * Raem 8 แรม ๘ third-quarter moon
 * Raem 14 (15) แรม ๑๔ (๑๕)  the last day of the lunar month; also called wan dap วันดับ day [moon is] quenched, [or goes] out.
 * Wan wai phra chan วันไหว้พระจันทร์, called "Day [of] Respect [for] the Holy Moon", is the actual day the Harvest moon becomes full. It occurs on khuen 14 (15) kham duean 10 ขึ้น ๑๔ (๑๕) ค่ำ เดือน ๑๐ (Waxing 14 (15) Evening, Month 10.)

Holidays regulated by the moon
Buddhist Sabbaths, colloquially called วันพระ, are the New, First-quarter, Full, and Third-quarter Moon-days. These are not normally days off (วันหยุด), except for butcher, barber, and beautician shops that observe the Eight Precepts. Annual holidays and seasonal festivals collectively are called วันนักขัตฤกษ์.

Festivals or fairs are called เทศกาล; these may be further styled as ประเพณี "traditional" and as  พิธี, "rite" or "ceremony". The table shows the principal ones governed by the moon in yellow.

Work holidays prescribed by the government are called วันหยุดราชการ; those regulated by the moon are red.

Weekends are normally days off; if a holiday normally observed by a day off falls on a weekend, the following Monday is a compensatory day off วันชดเชย.

Notes:
 * † The Chinese New Year uses different methods of determining intercalary months, so this festival sometimes occurs a month earlier or later.
 * ‡ Month 8/8 in years with the extra month.

Thai year vocabulary
Thai orthography spells most native words phonetically, though there is no definitive system for transcription into Roman letters. Here, native Thai words are immediately followed by a vocabulary entry in this pattern:
 * Phonetic Thai (Thai phonetic respelling, if different) [Comment] definition; variant definitions.

Example:
 * Thai ไทย (ไท)  [Archaic] free, frank; Thai race, language, alphabet ; citizen of Thailand.

Sanskrit loan words follow different rules [the way English grammatical rules vary for words of Greek and Latin origin ('ph-' in 'phonetic' being pronounced /f/, for example.)] Entered below in order of first appearance, these vocabulary entries are in this pattern: Literally means "well done", "polished","cultured" or "perfected" in a modern usage (which implies the language of cultured persons); Sanskrit alphabet, language, writing; [presumed] compound of
 * Sanskrit สันสกฤต (สันสะกฺริด /san-sa-krit/)  :
 * san สัน (-/son/) derived from the prefix "saṃ" meaning "together, with, completely"
 * skrit สกฤต (สะกฺริต /sa-krit/) derived from the root "kr" meaning "do or make".
 * Chanthrakhati จันทรคติ (จันทฺระคะติ) : "Lunar norms", Lunar Calendar; compound of
 * Chanthra- จันทร- (จันทฺระ) : Chan จันทร์ (จัน) moon, lunar +
 * Kati คติ (คะติ) : ways, principles, norms
 * Patithin ปฏิทิน (ปะติทิน) : Calendar; compound of
 * Pati- ปฏิ- (ปะติ-) : anti-, re-, for, specific +
 * -thin (-ทิน) : [from Sanskrit dina] : day.
 * patithin means for days, specific days or fixed days
 * Patitin Chanthakhati ปฏิทินจันทรคติ (ปะติทินจันทระคะติ) :  "Specific days according to lunar norms", Lunar Calendar
 * Suriyakhati สุริยคติ (สุริยะคะติ) : Solar norms, Solar Calendar; compound of
 * Suriya สุริย or สุริยะ : Athit อาทิตย์, the sun, Sol +
 * Khati คติ (คะติ) : ways, principles, norms
 * Prokkatimat ปรกติมาส (ปฺรกกะติมาด) : normal month; compound of
 * Prokkati ปรกติ (ปฺรกกะติ) : pakati ปกติ (ปะกะติ) ordinary, usual, normal +
 * Mat มาส (มาด) : duean (เดือน) month.
 * Athikamat อธิกมาส (อะทิกะมาด) : month added in leap-month lunar years
 * Athikawan อธิกวาร (อะทิกะวาน) : day added in leap-day lunar years; compound of
 * Athika (Sanskrit: adhika) : additional +
 * -wan วาร (Sanskrit: vāra) : wan วัน day.
 * Athikasurathin อธิกสุรทิน (อะทิกะสุระทิน) : day added to February in a solar leap year.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Thai lunar calendar


text:
Talk:Lapis lazuli

Source of contribution requested
Additional text by Arpingstone is similar to http://www.palagems.com/lapis_lazuli_bancroft.htm (see bottom of article, Palagems.com Lapis Lazuli Buying Guide, By Richard W. Hughes). It's not identical, but presumably derived from the same source. This source should be named in the article and should also be checked for copyright problems.

-( —Preceding undated comment added 21:42, 8 February 2003

 * Hi to the writer of the above. Yes, this was obviously one of my sources and I now regret not changing the wording more, I will do so if an Admin asks me to. However I used only a tiny fraction of the text on that site so I think it's OK. On the question of references, I used 14 sources for the article (6 gem books I own and 8 web sites) so the reference list would be very long!

 * I think that each article in Wikipedia should be self contained and therefore not need references so I made the article quite long to include all the facts about lapis. To get more the reader can simply type Lapis Lazuli into Google, I think any web user would know to do that. I am not therefore much in favour of references (which can go out of date) whereas Google (obviously) will always be up to date.

 * Thanks for your comments, I appreciate your concern but I think all is well.

 * (By the way, it wasn't additional text, the whole thing is my work) Arpingstone 13:49 Feb 9, 2003 (UTC)

 * My understanding of copyright is that this is the wrong way to go about things. If you take some text and change it, what you have is a "derived work" and the copyright of the original author still holds.  However facts can not be copyrighted, so it's perfectly OK to make a list of facts from an article and then write something new based on these facts (to me this is bizarre and the world would be better off if copyright was abolished, but that's irrelevant from a legal point of view).

 * I think it's important that the references are included, since a) a reader can decide whether the information is likely to be correct, based on where it comes from b) the reader can go and find further information or check the accuracy of the article c) it helps avoid accusation of plagiarism, since you're admitting the source of the information already (e.g., see the article I just about Elizabeth Fry whos picture I'd found on a five pound note but was unknown to me).

 * I think it's unlikely that you'd need to cite all of the 14 sources you mention: most likely you'd only need to take information from a few and the rest would be duplicates. But if necessary, it'd be fine to list all 14 sources. -( 14:53 Feb 9, 2003 (UTC)

"...one of the oldest of all gems..."
What exactly is meant by "...one of the oldest of all gems...?" Such a phrase makes it sound like it is one of the oldest gems to form in the history of the earth. Is that what the phrase is meant to mean? Or is it meant to mean that it is one of the oldest used by man? Kingturtle 09:04, 28 Sep 2003 (UTC) : Should be rephrased " ... oldest known gem ... ". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Anw k1 (talk • contribs) 05:43, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

Grammar usage query
Is the term 'cast' as used in the description paragraph: these are often a very dark blue with a noticeable grey cast a specialist useage, and if so should it be explained here? Although I guessed it's likely meaning, I needed to look it up to confirm (='tinge' or 'shade'?). I suppose it's a question of expected reader literacy, but personally I wouldn't expect most readers to be confident of what is meant in this context. But I could well be wrong - anyone agree?

PS re. q from Kingturtle above, I did understand the phrase to mean one of the oldest used by man, but I agree perhaps this could be clearer. Garrog 11:11, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Chemical formula
If I find the chemical formula of lapis lazuli in a book and I put it in the article, would I have to cite the source? Because I found it in a book somewhere. Evan Robidoux 10:49, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes please. Verifiability is crucial to the development of wikipedias reputation as an accurate source of information.SauliH 01:00, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Menotti
With the passing of the Composer Gian Carlo Menotti this week (2.1.2007) it might be appropos to include a reference to Lapis Lazuli in his Television Opera Amahl and the Night Visitors one of the Kings, Casper, I believe, sings about one of the drawers of the box he carries with him to ward off disease, evil and danger and includes a reference to " One Lapis Lazuli against quaterne(sp?) fever"Wenshott 22:34, 3 February 2007 (UTC)Wenshott 2.3.2007 3:33 pm MST

Indian name for Lapis Lazuli
What's name for Lapis Lazuli in any Indian language ? Is it panna normally speken together with Diamond as Heera - Panna ? WIN 07:10, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Scale?
Can we have a picture with a pencil or some other thing used to denote the scale? Thanks.--0rrAvenger 01:03, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Cleanup of references and external links
I have moved some links from the References section to External links, as they were not used as references. Additionally, I have removed the following links:
 * Peter Bancroft, Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan in Gem and Crystal Treasures (1984) Western Enterprises/Mineralogical Record, Fallbrook, CA - Palagems information page
 * Emporia.edu What is it?

The first link was to a site that primarily sells products, and is therefore inappropriate. The second link was to an undergraduate student's presentation which is of questionable value when industry sources are available for citation. Maralia 17:04, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Pronunciation
Can someone who knows how the phrase "lapis lazuli" is pronounced please provide a pronunciation guide? I.e. is it LAY-pis LA-zoo-lee? LA-pis la-ZOO-lie? Something that's a mixture of the two? I can translate it into IPA for the article if someone can provide a layman's pronunciation here. Chaoticfluffy (talk) 20:35, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
 * The New Penguin English Dictionary also gives 'lapis 'lazyoolie /lee - so it differs from the pronunciation given. I'll add it:) Malick78 (talk) 14:09, 8 February 2009 (UTC)
 * LA-pis LAZoo-lie (as in untruth) is mostly what I hear at gem shows & such (SW-US). --Pete Tillman (talk) 03:33, 10 March 2011 (UTC)

Popular Culture
Maybe a Popular Culture section should be added for things that reference the stone in a large way such as Minecraft and how it uses the gem as a dye for wool. 98.240.134.219 (talk) 00:43, 10 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Maybe not ... there is already a section for uses and we don't need a trivia list. Vsmith (talk) 01:39, 10 March 2011 (UTC)
 * We wouldn't necessarily need a list, because I've seen plenty of "Popular Culture" sections written in a nice essay-type form. Beyond that, however, we would need sources AND more instances of lapis lazuli in popular culture. Venku Tur'Mukan (talk) 03:39, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I would wager, in many countries, that lapis lazuli is better known because of Minecraft than for any other reason (guilty as charged). I agree that it may be worth mentioning. Rip-Saw  (talk) 00:08, 25 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Especially now that lapis is used as more than a dye, since it's required for enchanting. 70.15.250.19 (talk) 17:56, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Don't forget stained clay! 99.245.142.228 (talk) 21:04, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Also Steven Universe. Benjamin (talk) 21:58, 11 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I think it would be worthwhile to start a talkpage list of appearances in pop culture, so far we have Minecraft and Steven Universe. Regicide1 (talk) 14:31, 18 September 2020 (UTC)

FORMATION/ What Creates It In Nature? (Article Needs A Section On This)
The article needs the following information-- "How is it formed/created in nature?"

205.169.70.175 (talk) 23:36, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

 * (10 years later) The article still needs the following information-- "How is it formed/created in nature?" And why does it occur in large quantities mainly in Afghanistan and only a few other places in the world? This is basic information that should have been included since the original version of this article, but was ignored/neglected for a full decade now. 173.88.246.138 (talk) 21:49, 8 May 2021 (UTC)

Afghanistan?
The first half of the article seems to suggest that LL was (pre)historically won in and traded from Afghanistan, and "even" goes as far as to suggest that LL sourced in Afghanistan was traded all the way from there to Mauritania (West Africa). The second half of the article suggests that LL is being produced all over the world, and not just Afghanistan. This casts doubt on the earlier claim that all Ancient LL is Afghan.--JeR (talk) 09:10, 29 July 2011 (UTC)

Because all of Lapis originates from Afghanistan and was traded to different empires and civilizations. I am not aware of Lapis Lazuli being traded all the way to west Africa? Akmal94 (talk) 23:18, 29 May 2018 (UTC)

Terms
This article says that the Egyptians obtained lapis lazuli via trade with “Aryans.” “Aryans“ is a racially-charged term, as it tends to be treated as a synonym for ”Caucasians.”

The term “Indo-European” is the generally preferred substitute for “Aryans,” as it is more widely (and correctly) understood as referring to a language family rather than to race.

I don’t know how to correct this section, however, since in order to do so I would need to know the specific nation or ethnic group who provided the lapis to the Egyptians. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Valerie voigt (talk • contribs) 20:54, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

 * Aryan is not a race nor a synonym to Caucasian. It’s another word for the more widely accepted “Iranian peoples” or iranic. They were a branch of the Indo-European people. 99.247.39.205 (talk) 02:22, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Lapis lazuli


text:
Albrecht Ritschl

Albrecht Benjamin Ritschl (25 March 1822 – 20 March 1889) was a German Protestant theologian.

Starting in 1852, Ritschl lectured on systematic theology. According to this system, faith was understood to be irreducible to other experiences, beyond the scope of reason. Faith, he said, came not from facts but from value judgments. Jesus' divinity, he argued, was best understood as expressing "revelational-value" of Christ for the community that trusts him as God. He held the Christ's message to be committed to a community.

Biography
Ritschl was born in Berlin. His father, Georg Karl Benjamin Ritschl (1783–1858), became in 1810 a pastor at the church of St Mary in Berlin, and from 1827 to 1854 was general superintendent and evangelical bishop of Pomerania. Albrecht Ritschl studied at Bonn, Halle, Heidelberg and Tübingen. At Halle he came under Hegelian influences through the teaching of Julius Schaller and Johann Erdmann. In 1845 he became a follower of the Tübingen school, and in his work Das Evangelium Marcions und das kanonische Evangelium des Lukas, published in 1846 and in which he argued that the Gospel of Luke was based on the apocryphal Gospel of Marcion, he appears as a disciple of the Hegelian New Testament scholar Ferdinand Baur. This did not last long with him, however, for the second edition (1857) of his most important work, on the origin of the Old Catholic Church (Die Entstehung der alt-kathol. Kirche), shows considerable divergence from the first edition (1850), and reveals an entire emancipation from Baur's method.

Ritschl was professor of theology at Bonn (extraordinarius 1852; ordinarius 1859) and Göttingen (1864; Consistorialrath also in 1874), his addresses on religion delivered at the latter university showing the impression made upon his mind by his enthusiastic studies of Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Schleiermacher. Finally, in 1864, Ritschl came the influence of Hermann Lotze. He wrote a large work on the Christian doctrine of justification and atonement, Die Christliche Lehre von der Rechtfertigung und Versöhnung, published during the years 1870–1874, and in 1882–1886 a history of pietism (Die Geschichte des Pietismus). His system of theology is contained in the former. He died at Göttingen in 1889. His son, Otto Ritschl, was also a theologian.

Theology
Ritschl claimed to carry on the work of Luther and Schleiermacher, especially in ridding faith of the tyranny of scholastic philosophy. His system shows the influence of Kant's destructive criticism of the claims of Pure Reason, recognition of the value of morally conditioned knowledge, and doctrine of the kingdom of ends; of Schleiermacher's historical treatment of Christianity, regulative use of the idea of religious fellowship, emphasis on the importance of religious feeling; and of Lotze's theory of knowledge and treatment of personality. He attempted to demonstrate that Kant's epistemology was compatible with Lutheranism. Ritschl's work made a profound impression on German thought and gave a new confidence to German theology, while at the same time it provoked a storm of hostile criticism. In spite of this resistance the Ritschlian "school" grew with remarkable rapidity, with followers dominating German theological faculties in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This is perhaps mainly due to the bold religious positivism with which he assumes that spiritual experience is real and that faith has not only a legitimate but even a paramount claim to provide the highest interpretation of the world. The life of trust in God is a fact, not so much to be explained as to explain everything else. Ritschl's standpoint is not that of the individual subject. The objective ground on which he bases his system is the religious experience of the Christian community. The "immediate object of theological knowledge is the faith of the community," and from this positive religious datum theology constructs a "total view of the world and human life." Thus the essence of Ritschl's work is systematic theology. Nor does he painfully work up to his master-category, for it is given in the knowledge of Jesus revealed to the community. That God is love and that the purpose of his love is the moral organization of humanity in the "Kingdom of God" – this idea, with its immense range of application – is applied in Ritschl's initial datum.

From this vantage-ground Ritschl criticizes the use of Aristotelianism and speculative philosophy in scholastic and Protestant theology. He holds that such philosophy is too shallow for theology. Hegelianism attempts to squeeze all life into the categories of logic: Aristotelianism deals with "things in general" and ignores the radical distinction between nature and spirit. Neither Hegelianism nor Aristotelianism is "vital" enough to sound the depths of religious life. Neither conceives God "as correlative to human trust" (cf. Theologie und Metaphysik). But Ritschl's recoil carries him so far that he is left alone with merely "practical" experience. "Faith" knows God in his active relation to the kingdom," but not at all as "self-existent".

His limitation of theological knowledge to the bounds of human need might, if logically pressed, run perilously near phenomenalism; and his epistemology ("we only know things in their activities") does not cover this weakness. In seeking ultimate reality in the circle of "active conscious sensation", he rules out all "metaphysic". Indeed, much that is part of normal Christian faith – e.g. the Eternity of the Son – is passed over as beyond the range of his method. Ritschl's theory of "value-judgments" (Werthurtheile) illustrates this form of agnosticism. Religious judgments of value determine objects according to their bearing on our moral and spiritual welfare. They imply a lively sense of radical human need. This sort of knowledge stands quite apart from that produced by "theoretic" and "disinterested" judgments. The former moves in a world of "values", and judges things as they are related to our "fundamental self-feeling." The latter moves in a world of cause and effect. (N.B. Ritschl appears to confine Metaphysic to the category of Causality.)

The theory as formulated has such grave ambiguities, that his theology, which, as we have seen, is wholly based on uncompromising religious realism, has actually been charged with individualistic subjectivism. If Ritschl had clearly shown that judgments of value enfold and transform other types of knowledge, just as the "spiritual man" includes and transfigures but does not annihilate the "natural man", then within the compass of this spiritually conditioned knowledge all other knowledge would be seen to have a function and a home. The theory of value-judgments is part too of his ultra-practical tendency: both "metaphysic" and "mysticism" are ruthlessly condemned. Faith-knowledge appears to be wrenched from its bearings and suspended in mid-ocean. Perhaps if he had lived to see the progress of will-psychology he might have welcomed the hope of a more spiritual philosophy.

Illustrative examples
A few instances will illustrate Ritschl's positive systematic theology. The conception of God as Father is given to the community in Revelation. He must be regarded in His active relationship to the "kingdom", as spiritual personality revealed in spiritual purposiveness. His "Love" is His will as directed towards the realization of His purpose in the kingdom. His "Righteousness" is His fidelity to this purpose. With God as First Cause or "Moral Legislator" theology has no concern; nor is it interested in the speculative problems indicated by the traditional doctrine of the Trinity. Natural theology has no value save where it leans on faith. Again, Christ has for the religious life of the community the unique value of Founder and Redeemer. He is the perfect Revelation of God and the Exemplar of true religion. His work in founding the kingdom was a personal vocation, the spirit of which He communicates to believers, "thus, as exalted king", sustaining the life of His Kingdom. His Resurrection is a necessary part of Christian belief (G Ecke, pp. 198–99). "Divinity" is a predicate applied by faith to Jesus in His founding and redeeming activity. We note here that though Ritschl gives Jesus a unique and unapproachable position in His active relation to the kingdom, he declines to rise above this relative teaching. The "Two Nature" problem and the eternal relation of the Son to the Father have no bearing on experience, and therefore stand outside the range of theology.

Once more, in the doctrine of sin and redemption, the governing idea is God's fatherly purpose for His family. Sin is the contradiction of that purpose, and guilt is alienation from the family. Redemption, justification, regeneration, adoption, forgiveness, reconciliation all mean the same thing-the restoration of the broken family relationship. All depends on the Mediation of Christ, who maintained the filial relationship even to His death, and communicates it to the brotherhood of believers. Everything is defined by the idea of the family. The whole apparatus of "forensic" ideas (law, punishment, satisfaction, etc.) is summarily rejected as foreign to God's purpose of love, Ritschl is so faithful to the standpoint of the religious community, that he has nothing definite to say on many important questions, such as the relation of God to non-Christians. His school, in which Wilhelm Herrmann, Julius Kaftan and Adolf Harnack are the chief names, diverges from his teaching in many directions; e.g. Kaftan appreciates the mystical side of religion, Harnack's criticism is very different from Ritschl's exegesis. They are united on the value of faith knowledge as opposed to "metaphysic".

title: Albrecht Ritschl


text:
Thai solar calendar

The Thai solar calendar (ปฏิทินสุริยคติไทย,, "solar calendar") was adopted by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1888 CE as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar, replacing the Thai lunar calendar as the legal Thai calendar (though the latter is still also used, especially for traditional and religious events). Years are now counted in the Buddhist Era (B.E.):, พ.ศ. (lit. 'era of the Shaka Buddha') which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar.

Years
The Siamese generally used two calendars, a sacred and a popular (vulgar in the classical sense). The vulgar or minor era (จุลศักราช, chula sakarat) was thought to have been instituted when the worship of Gautama was first introduced, and corresponds to the traditional Burmese calendar (abbreviated ME or BE, the latter not to be confused with the abbreviation for the Buddhist Era, which is the sacred era.)

Rattanakosin Era
King Chulalongkorn decreed a change in vulgar reckoning to the Rattanakosin Era (รัตนโกสินทรศก, Rattanakosin Sok abbreviated ร.ศ. and R.S.) in 1889 CE. The epoch (reference date) for Year 1 was 6 April 1782 with the accession of Rama I, the foundation of the Chakri dynasty, and the founding of Bangkok (Rattanakosin) as capital. To convert years in R.S. to the Common Era, add 1781 for dates from 6 April to December, and 1782 for dates from January to 5 April.

Buddhist Era
In Thailand the sacred, or Buddhist Era, is reckoned to have an epochal year 0 from 11 March 543 BC, believed to be the date of the death of Gautama Buddha. King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) changed year counting to this Buddhist Era (abbreviated BE) and moved the start of the year back to 1 April in 2455 BE, 1912 CE. As there is no longer any reference to a vulgar or popular era, the Common Era may be presumed to have taken the place of the former.

New year
New Year, the time at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count is incremented, originally coincided with the date calculated for Songkran, when the Sun transits the constellation of Aries, the first astrological sign in the Zodiac as reckoned by sidereal astrology: thus the year commenced on 11 April 1822. As previously noted, Rama VI moved the start of the year back to 1 April in 2455 BE, 1912 CE, so that 130 R.S. only lasted for 356 days from 11 April 1911 to 31 March 1912.

On 6 September 1940, Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram decreed 1 January 1941 as the start of the year 2484 BE, so year 2483 BE had only nine months running from 1 April to 31 December 1940. To convert dates from 1 January to 31 March prior to that year, the number to add or subtract is 542; otherwise, it is 543. Example:

Today, both the Common Era New Year's Day (1 January) and the traditional Thai New Year (สงกรานต์, Songkran) celebrations (13–15 April) are public holidays in Thailand. In the traditional Thai calendar, the change to the next Chinese zodiacal animal occurs at Songkran (now fixed at 13 April.) For Thai Chinese communities in Thailand, however, the Chinese calendar determines the day that a Chinese New Year begins, and assumes the name of the next animal in the twelve-year animal cycle.

Names of the months derive from Hindu astrology names for the signs of the zodiac. Thirty-day-month names end in -ayon (-ายน), from Sanskrit root āyana : the arrival of; 31-day-month names end in -akhom (-าคม), from Sanskrit āgama (cognate to English "come") that also means the arrival of.

February's name ends in -phan (-พันธ์), from Sanskrit bandha : "fettered" or "bound". The day added to February in a solar leap year is Athikasuratin (อธิกสุรทิน, respelled to aid pronunciation (อะทิกะสุระทิน) from Sanskrit adhika : additional; sura : move).

Problems
Using Buddhist era could easily cause confusion between itself and Anno Domini in the historical context. For example, Anno Domini 2024, and Buddhist year 2024 (which corresponds to AD ). Two-digit year numbering could cause even more confusion.

Another problem is the counting of the Buddhist era, which has changed several times in the past, including the inclusion of year 0, and the change of New Year's Day from April to January in 1941, has caused confusion in historical context as well. For example, many Thai people regard the establishment of the Ayutthaya Kingdom to be in 1350, which is direct conversion from Buddhist era 1893, while the actual date is 1351.

In computer programming, using the Buddhist era has sometimes caused the computer programs to void the license immediately, as the input values of the Buddhist era would exceed the expiration date for the program. Some users report that dates appear in future dates, due to the input data being the Buddhist era, while the computer is designed to accept Anno Domini.

title: Thai solar calendar


text:
The Krypton Factor

The Krypton Factor is a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995 and hosted by Gordon Burns.

Contestants across the United Kingdom and Ireland competed in rounds that tested their physical stamina and mental attributes. The show's title refers to Superman's home planet, Krypton, the title perceiving that the contestants had strong superhuman "powers" for participating in the challenges they were set. From 1986 onwards, the contestants all had their corresponding colours: red, green, yellow, or blue. The points contestants earned through the game were not referred to as their score but as their "Krypton Factor", e.g. "The winner, with a Krypton Factor of 46, is the technical specialist from Birmingham, Caroline White". The 1987 series won the prestigious Premios Ondas – Spanish Television Award for Entertainment.

The show was revived for two series aired in 2009 and 2010, presented by Ben Shephard.

Original series
The show's first series was shown on Wednesdays, presented by Gordon Burns and ran for eleven weeks, consisting of eight heats, two semi-finals and the final. It was then on Fridays for two years before arriving on Mondays in 1980, where it would be a staple of Monday evening schedules until its 18th and final series in 1995. In the first few series, there were no groups and eight heats, the winner of each advancing to a semi-final. The top two of each semi-final qualified for the Grand Final.

From 1981 to 1985, each series had twelve heats, from which each winner, along with the top four runners-up, progressed to the four semi-finals, the winners of which competed in the Grand Final. In 1986 and 1987, the series was divided into four groups (A, B, C, and D). Each group consisted of three heats, with the winner of each heat and the highest-scoring runner-up of the heats within a group making it to the group final. The winner of each group final would qualify for the grand final. From 1988 to 1995, the series had 13 episodes and only three groups (A, B, and C). The highest-scoring runner-up from the group finals would then go to the Grand Final.

In 2009 and 2010, each series had seven heats and the winners of which, in addition to the highest runner-up of the heats, would qualify for the two semi-finals, the winners of which, in addition to the top two overall runners-up, advanced to the Grand Final. The overall winner of the Grand Final would receive a bronze trophy and would traditionally be titled Superperson of the Year. Unusually and possibly uniquely for the time, until 1993, the series had no advert break in the middle even though it was on ITV in a primetime 7.00 pm slot. This explains why some of the elements (most notably, the time for the quiz) were shortened in later series.

In the 1991 series, for two weeks in a row, contestants Tony Hetherington and Paul Evans won all of the first five rounds in their heats, scoring 50 points; in addition, Hetherington set a record of 62 points. They later met in the same Group Final, where Evans won, and Hetherington qualified as the Scoring Runner-up and went on to win the Grand Final.

1995, the show was heavily revamped, including the addition of co-host Penny Smith. In that series, the intelligence round was dropped, the first round being physical ability, with the rules in each round changing dramatically, except for general knowledge. The show's second half was a "super round", which included a 3D maze, code cracking and a race up Mount Krypton, with accumulated points being exchanged for equipment to assist the contestants with the challenge. While some viewers liked the changes, others felt that scrapping the Intelligence round was a sign of dumbing down and that dramatically changing the format was a mistake.

Revival
Since its cancellation in 1995, there have been persistent rumours of a revival on the BBC. In April 2005, it was widely reported that the BBC would advance with a revival. However, the source of this story turned out to be a misinterpretation of comments by Wayne Garvie, head of BBC's Entertainment Group (and previously the last producer on The Krypton Factor), naming it as the next "TV gem" that "should" (rather than would) be revived.

On 24 September 2008, Broadcast reported that ITV was expected to commission a new series within weeks. As part of their wider Business Brains campaign, The Sage Group funded the show's return, and in November, it was confirmed that Ben Shephard would host it. The first episode was shown on Thursday, 1 January 2009, at 7.30 pm and ran for ten consecutive weeks. The new series is based on the original five-round format of the show, with every round being "brought bang up-to-date" and featuring "state-of-the-art" technology. However, The Guardian described the rounds as having "irritating bleeping noises and confusing graphics". The series was recorded at Granada Studios in Manchester from 7–10 December 2008. It was filmed in London for the 2010 series, which used a four-round format, as the Intelligence round was dropped again.

Critical reception to the revival was poor, with UKGameshows stating, "It's hard to think of anything they've done differently this time where the change is an improvement" The Guardian ultimately describes it as "like getting back together with an ex (drunkenly, on New Year's Eve). And then sobering up quickly and realising why you split up in the first place." The launch episode of the revival was watched by only half as many viewers as a repeat of Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death.

Rounds
The rounds were usually in the same order as below during the original series, except for the 1995 series. However, there were only five rounds in the earlier series, as Response had yet to be introduced; this round was also dropped for the 2009 revival.

In all rounds except the final round, 10 points were awarded to the winner, then 6 (8 in early series), 4 and 2 to the remaining contestants. In the event of a tie, all tied players would receive the score for the higher place – in an extreme case, if three contestants tied with the highest score, they would all receive 10 points, with just 2 points for the unlucky fourth contestant. In the Mental Agility and Observation rounds, the contestant who answered faster would sometimes be awarded the higher place; in other cases, a tiebreaker question was used. On rare occasions, an observation round would have the players answer a five-part question, such as "Name the five continuity errors in the film clip," players would receive 2 points for each correct answer.

From 1986 to 1991, each round was introduced by the distinctive K logo, which would morph into a symbol for the round. A similar version of this was used in the 2009 revival.

Personality (1977)
This round only occurred in the first series, where it was third. In it, the contestants were sequestered, where they had to write a 30-second script on a subject given to them, like a destination brochure, a letter of complaint, etc., which they had one chance to perform. The performances were filmed, and a focus group in twenty cities and towns across Great Britain voted on the best effort.

Mental agility (1978–1995, 2009–2010)
First played in the second series, this often took the form of a memory test (though other versions would require mental computation of time and date differences or to add up a sequence of numbers and return the number which, when added to that sum, gave a pre-determined answer). The contestants frequently had to memorise a sequence and then answer progressively more complicated questions. For instance, if the sequence to be memorised was a series of coloured blocks, the questions might start as "What is the colour of the third block from the left?" and progress to "What is the colour of the block two to the left of the block to the right of the green block?". Other forms of memory tests might require contestants to remember a phrase or proverb and answer a series of questions about it (e.g. "What was the fifth letter of the fourth word?" or "Spell the last word backwards").

Initially, the round consisted of a "knock-out" format, where contestants were asked increasingly difficult questions and eliminated for wrong answers. If two or more players were eliminated on the same turn, ties were broken based on who had answered most of their questions correctly. Later, the contestants were shown 9 images along with a statement read to them by Charles Foster, and the contestants had to pick which 4 images were correct; they scored 2 points for each correctly identified image, with a maximum of 10 points for all four. In the semi-finals and final, this would change to showing two sequences in turn and asking each player a 3-point question about each sequence. A third sequence was then shown to all players at once, and one toss-up question, worth four points, was open to all players on the buzzer. If a player jumped in with the incorrect answer, that player was not penalized, and any other player could jump in. Then, until 1987, the Mental Agility round alternated between the knock-out format (without tiebreaks) and a 45 or 50-second "speed test" where each player had to come up with as many correct answers as possible before time expired and could pass on any of them. Only if they answered incorrectly would they be informed of it, possibly to discourage guesswork.

From 1988 onwards, the Mental Agility round consisted entirely of 40-second speed tests, and from 1991 to 1993, ties were broken by the time each player took to achieve their score. In the 1995 series, a set of four images (such as numbers, letters, or dates) were shown to the players, who were all read a statement about one or two of the images, and the contestants had to touch the correct image(s) on their screen. The monitors were placed on a rotating turntable to increase the difficulty of being the first to answer. This round lasted two minutes, with the images changing every eight questions. Only the first player to provide a correct answer would score for that answer, with answering time used to break ties.

This round was conducted initially with all contestants wearing headphones to prevent the other participants from hearing their competitors' answers. However, in the 1991 series, each contestant came on individually to perform their test in front of the audience before sitting down in their respective places behind them; no headphones were worn. By the end of the round, all 4 contestants would be seated. In the 2009 revival, the Mental Agility round followed the 1988 format, only using the tiebreaker rules when there was a tie for first place. Contestants individually completed this round in an isolation booth referred to as "The Kube", and their heart rates were also measured while they took the test. Each contestant's time was increased from 40 to 45 seconds for the 2010 version, and the tiebreak rule from 1991 returned.

Response (1986–1995)
New producer Geoff Moore introduced the Response round for the 1986 and 1987 series. In 1987, the Response round in the initial heats was a combination of a race between the contestants using double-odometer bicycles and a video wall which would display random numbers of coloured blocks; the contestants were required to press one of four coloured buttons corresponding to the highest number of blocks of any one colour being displayed. This alternated with a test in which the contestants had to walk a balance beam to the first challenge - placing coloured wooden blocks into frames on either side of them, swinging from side to side (this was known as the Fleischmann Flexibility Tests). They then had to run across a balance beam linked to the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test, where they had to take a shape and place it into a corresponding space. After a final balance beam, they jump onto their respective mat to finish the race. The 1986 series consisted of the contestants competing in twos to perform first the Minnesota Manual Dexterity test (moving differently coloured cylinders from one side to the other), then running over to perform the Fleischmann Flexibility Test and then the final test, which involved hitting the relevant button whenever a colour flashed up on the screen (only one colour at a time in this case).

The Group and Grand Finals in the 1986 and 1987 series consisted of each player taking turns on a flight simulator and being marked by an actual flight instructor. From 1988 onwards, the Response round consisted entirely of flight simulator tests. In 1988, the contestants had to land a BAe 146 in the heats, a Harrier jump jet in the Group Finals and a Sea King on an aircraft carrier in the Grand Final (recorded at Culdrose Navy base in Helston, Cornwall). In 1989, the heats used three different simulators. The first heat in each group required the contestants to land Concorde, the second required the contestants to land a Red Arrow, and the third required them to land a Boeing 737. The group finals required the contestants to land the Sea King on an aircraft carrier. The Grand Final of the 1989 series saw the contestants use a Space Shuttle simulator in California.

In 1990, the contestants landed Concorde in the heats, the Sea King on an aircraft carrier in the group final, and in the Grand Final, the contestants were in the Sea King again, but this time they used the simulator in a rescue mission. They started from an oil rig (carrying an injured passenger) and had to take off from the oil rig and land on the aircraft carrier. From 1991 to 1993, the heats and group finals were the same; Boeing 737 was in the heats, and the Sea King was in the group finals. The 1991 Grand Final involved the contestants using a Nimrod simulator in a refuelling mission involving a Hercules aircraft. The 1992 and 1993 grand finals required the contestants to land a real plane. In 1995, all tests involved the Red Arrows flight simulator, and the simulator scored each player automatically, with losses based on their overall flight time before either crashing or losing contact with the lead plane for too long. The 2009 revival of the show did not include this round.

Observation (1977–1995, 2009–2010)
This round often involved watching a specially made clip being broadcast then, with an edited-together clip from a feature film or a television programme that was out in that particular year. In the earliest series, contestants were each asked three two-point questions (the first was an either-or question, the second was visual, and the third pertained to dialogue) on the clip in turn, followed by an identity parade where they were shown nine similar-looking actors, one of whom appeared in the clip. Each player who identified the correct actor earned four points. This was later changed so that each contestant was asked two two-point questions in turn, followed by four one-point toss-up questions open to all players with no penalty for a wrong answer, and the identity parade was worth two points.

From 1986 to 1988, contestants were shown a clip twice and asked to spot five differences between two similar clips (six differences in 1988), and in 1986 and 1987, each player earned two points for each correctly identified difference. Many of the sequences recorded for the 1988 series were written by and featured Andrew O'Connor. From the 1989 and 1990 series, contestants were invited to spot six deliberate continuity errors (five in the 1990 series) contained in one clip. In some of his earliest television appearances, Steve Coogan starred in many of the sequences featured in the 1989 series. From 1991 to 1993, contestants answered six multiple-choice questions (five in the 1993 series) relating to the clip (e.g. "What did he say when he entered the room?" or "What was on the table?"), and the time used to provide the correct answers was used to break ties.

Sometimes, original serials specially produced for the show were used, such as 1990's Sam Smith: Private Detective (starring Gwyneth Strong), which saw the female detective investigating rather silly cases (which often featured her young chubby nephew, Wallace). Some guests in then Sam Smith stories included Derek Griffiths, Matthew Kelly and Keith Chegwin, who all appeared in the series' final instalment. The 1991 series featured the saga Where is Don Day? Starring Tony Robinson and Michelle Collins, it is about a bank manager whose dull life is suddenly changed when he accidentally becomes involved in a robbery from his bank. 1992 saw Dead Ringer, starring Tony Slattery, a thriller about a man suffering from amnesia trying to discover who he is whilst being hunted down by a hitman named Preston, played by Roger Lloyd-Pack. In 1993, the round featured Roy Barraclough and Annabel Giles in a collection of investigative police stories, with Barraclough playing a retired police detective.

In 1995, short computer-animated segments commissioned from Bournemouth University's Department of Media Production were used for the test, and only five questions were asked. As with the Mental Agility round, answers were provided via touch screen monitors and placed on a rotating turntable, with Penny walking around the turntable and asking the questions.

In the 2009 revival, each contestant was asked one individual question, and then four further questions were asked on the buzzer. If a player answers incorrectly, one more player can buzz in, but there are no penalties for a wrong answer. Contestants are ranked on how many correct answers, and if two or more players are tied, they each receive the same number of points. The exception is when there is a tie for the most correct answers. In this case, an extra question is asked to break the tie. In the 2010 version, each player is asked two questions in turn, and the contestants are awarded two points for a correct answer; however, like General Knowledge, one point is deducted for a wrong answer, and the next player jumps in and has a chance to steal. The point totals for this round are then used to rank each player.

Physical ability (1977–1995, 2009–2010)
In the original series, this pre-recorded segment involved the contestants racing to complete an army assault course at Holcombe Moor in Bury. This round typically included 20 obstacles, including vertical and flat cargo nets, rope swings, water jumps, Burma rope bridges, and a slide into the water. Gordon Burns stated in some episodes that the contestants trained for the assault course in the physical ability round for up to five weeks in advance. In the first series, the assault course was done as an athletics track type, with all of the contestants starting at the same time from different starting points, handicapped by age and sex. The second series featured the more recognised assault course but didn't feature the aerial slide until the early 1980s; instead, the contestants would jump from a high platform onto a mat below to end their run of the course.

In this round, female contestants were allowed a head start over their male competitors, and in the early series, contestants were given staggered starts to the assault course; following practice sessions with army personnel, the contestant of the weakest physical ability would set off first. The physical ability criteria were established from a simple formula derived from the age and gender of the contestant. In 1980, this typically meant two seconds per year of age difference and a 40-second advantage for female competitors. In the 1980 semi-final, the youngest competitor, Ted Stockton (a taxi driver, aged 25), started 56 seconds after the only female semi-finalist, who was 33. The age-based calculation was abolished in 1988. In 1995, the Physical Ability round was moved to the start of the show as the first round, and all contestants started simultaneously and were ranked according to how far ahead each had come of an individual "par time" based on age and sex.

The 1990 series saw many of the metal obstacles on the course replaced by wooden substitutes, including a wooden S-bend frame contestants had to descend. In the first episode of the 1978 series, one female contestant (Diane Lindsay) injured her arm while practising for the long drop at the end of the course, but later ran and completed the course and was found to have broken her arm in the practice run. Another female contestant (Judith Stafford) in 1989 broke her ankle after landing badly on one of the obstacles (near the end of the course) but managed to complete the rest of the course and finish in third place. Another female contestant (this time in 1987), Sue Dandy, completed the course despite having torn ligaments in her leg while coming out of a narrow, upward-sloping tunnel. (In 1982, a male contestant cut his forehead on this obstacle.) A male contestant (Paul Evans) in 1991 who fell from the top of the A-frame net managed to not only complete the course but win the round despite suffering from shock due to his fall. Another male contestant (Jackie Harte), this time in 1992, broke the safety rules when he went down the aerial slide without placing his feet in the water. Another male contestant (Jon Johnson), this time in 1993, fell off the Burma rope bridge towards the end of the course, but luckily, he landed in the net below and was able to finish in second place. For at least some series (around 1986–88), the fastest man and fastest woman on the assault course received a special trophy. Winners include Barbara Murray and Stuart Worthington (1986), Marian Chanter and Ted Daszkiewicz (1987), and Elizabeth Hayward and Alan Robbie (1988).

The 2009 revival used a new assault course, which only had room for two contestants at a time. The time it took each contestant to complete the course was recorded and revealed when the central part of the show was recorded. Female contestants had 45 seconds deducted from their time. The assault course was again changed for the 2010 version, with all four contestants competing simultaneously.

Intelligence (1977–1993, 2009)
A two or three-dimensional puzzle where shapes had to be put together to fill a rectangular grid or make a bigger shape was the basis for this round. Dr Gerry Wickham of the University of Manchester's School of Mathematics devised most of these. As the contestants performed the task, presenter Gordon Burns provided commentary to viewers at home on the contestants' progress and advice on how to solve the puzzle. The contestants need to see beforehand what the completed puzzle should look like. In the first series, this round was first, and tests varied, often taking the form of what would later be Mental Agility tests.

Suppose a contestant is injured and unable to participate physically in this round (as happened to Diane Lindsay in the first episode of the 1978 series). In that case, an assistant may be brought in to complete the task under the contestant's instructions. Still, the assistant may refrain from speaking back or interfering with the task.

It is reputed that some of the intelligence tests featured took contestants hours to solve, with edited highlights of their performance in the round shown on the programme. At least one contestant was moved to tears by the difficulty of the puzzles. In 1990, Gordon Burns told contestants that over the years, some of the tests had taken 15 or 20 minutes to complete, but that in one programme in the 1980 series, when the competitors' tables had been placed too close together for this round, two competitors accidentally picked up pieces from each other's table, making it impossible to complete the puzzle. Nearly an hour had passed as they vainly attempted to finish before the problem was realised. This round was eliminated from the 1995 series.

In the early series, as well as the 2009 revival, a time limit was placed for completion, and after the time ran out, the contestants who still needed to finish were ranked according to the progress they had made on the puzzle. This round was removed (again) in the 2010 series.

General knowledge (1977–1995, 2009–2010)
A quick-fire question round with a varied time limit (which depended on the year), and only one player could answer each question. For most of the run, this final round was conducted in darkness using a side shot of the four contestants lit in profile – when a contestant buzzed in, the remaining three players' spotlights would go out. A feature of this round was that, as each question was answered, the next question contained either the answer to the last question, a word from the last answer, or a word that sounded like it. Initially, players were asked as many toss-up questions as time allowed, with two points added for a correct answer and two points deducted for an incorrect response or none at all (+/- 1 in the first series).

Later, the round was in two stages: the first stage had the contestants answering three general knowledge questions, each from the same set of categories with 2 points for each correct answer, then it was on to stage 2, which was the quick-fire stage, which lasted 90 seconds, with each question worth +/- 1. Starting in 1986, the round consisted solely of a quick-fire round. Until 1987, the round lasted 100 seconds, each question worth +/- 1. In 1988, the values changed to +/- 2 points, and the time was reduced to 90 seconds (100 in 1989 and 75 in 1993 and 1995). In 2009, the round lasted 70 seconds, and a correct answer was worth two points, while an incorrect answer cost one point. In the 2010 series, time was increased from 70 seconds to 90 seconds. The player with the highest Krypton Factor won the game, and in the event of a tie, the tied players were asked further questions until the tie was broken.

Super Round (1995)
In 1995, the game was decided by a "Super Round," a race encompassing all previous rounds' abilities. At the start of the round, players were shown five coloured circles, each with a letter or number, and the players had to memorize the sequence before making a parachute jump down 50 feet to the floor. They then entered the Kryptic Rings, a three-dimensional maze of interlocking rings with numbered and lettered junctions. Following and correctly interpreting the sequence (following the circles clockwise, starting with the circle of their colour) would lead each player to their correct exit. Each exit was marked with a letter, which they would memorize on their way to the next part of the race, the Laser Matrix, preceded by a computer where each player had to log in by hitting the letter critically matching their exit. Each player then had to type in four words with a common thread. However, each key corresponds to a different letter according to a code (such as each key giving the preceding letter).

After cracking the code and typing in the four words, each player had to cross a corridor of shifting laser beams, where breaking each beam resulted in a seven-second penalty. Once out, the players entered the Response Revolve, a rotating cylinder where each had to collect six batons of their colour from their holds; however, each baton could only be removed when a light by the baton flashed, and all lights flashed according to a sequence. Once all six batons were out and placed in the player's pedestal, each player had to run to the Krypton Mountain, where they first had to build a four-piece ladder, which they ascended before making a vertical climb up the Krypton Mountain, completing the race by grabbing a letter K of their colour at the top of the Krypton Mountain.

The players started at the same time and place and used their points from the first five rounds to buy advantages, such as directional arrows in the Rings, completed words at the computer (in Heat 2 of Group C, an easier path through the Laser Matrix), batons already removed from the Response Revolve, or ladder pieces already built. The value of each advantage varied with the heats, group finals, and finals. The player who won the Super Round won the game, and completion time was used to determine who held the wild card spot.

The Super Round was also notable for a few incidents regarding cheating; in Group B, two contestants (both wearing yellow) were disqualified for unknowingly breaking the rules of the Super Round. Heat 1 contestant Simon Evans was disqualified as he had prematurely proceeded from the Laser Matrix computer having mistakenly thought he completed all four words when he hadn't (he produced a "j" instead of an "h" in the third word; Penny told him about his disqualification at the top of the Krypton Mountain) and in Heat 2 the following week, contestant Alison Riley was disqualified as she had forcibly pulled out batons from the Response Revolve when their adjacent lights weren't flashing and unlike Evans, she was edited out of the remainder of the round after she had begun her ascent on the ladder and a replay was shown of her illegal move. As a result of their actions, Simon Evans and Alison Riley were the only contestants in Krypton Factor history to be disqualified.

Young Krypton
A spin-off series, Young Krypton, was produced for children and was presented by Ross King. The series was based on a similar structure to the adult version but with simpler intelligence tasks and a shorter obstacle course (located at The American Adventure Theme Park near Nottingham, owned by the Granada Group at the time) in place of the Physical Ability round.

The 1988 series, which had only five rounds (Mental Agility, Response, Observation, Physical Ability and General Knowledge, with Intelligence in place of Response in the Group and Grand Finals), followed the tournament format of the regular series, while the 1989 series, which only ran 8 episodes, consisted of five heats, two semi-finals, and the Grand Final. The five heat winners plus the three highest runners-up advanced to the semis, the winners of which qualified for the Grand Final, along with the top two runners-up from both matches.

At the end of both series, Gordon Burns appeared to present the trophy to the winner. Also, in the 1988 Grand Final, Ross King presented a special trophy to Phillip Westwick, who completed the adventure course in the fastest time.

Special episodes
The Krypton Factor had several Champion of Champions episodes; the first edition aired on 22 December 1980, featuring the winners of the first four series, which was won by Philip Bradley (1980) and Ian Botham presented the trophy. This was followed by another Champion of Champions edition of the show on 22 July 1985, featuring the winners from the previous four years: John McAllister (1981), John Webley (1982), Chris Topham (1983) and Paul Smith (1984), with McAllister winning the game and trophy. The next Champion of Champions episode aired on 27 March 1989, featuring four-star contestants: Marian Chanter and Alison Heath (1987), David Lee (1988) and Andrew Gillam (1985). Alison Heath won this match.

On 28 March 1988, an International special was broadcast in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand as part of Australia's bi-centennial celebrations. Made in the UK and presented by Gordon Burns, the episode featured Marian Chanter and Alison Heath, winner and runner-up respectively of the UK Krypton Factor Grand Final 1987 and John Cargill and Christopher Connolly, winner and runner-up respectively of the Australia & New Zealand Krypton Factor 1987 final. Alison Heath won the International title, and Fatima Whitbread presented the trophy.

Theme tune
Four theme tunes for the programme were used during the original series of The Krypton Factor. The first two theme tunes (the first from 1977 to 1982 and the second from 1983 to 1985) were written by Mike Moran. Art of Noise performed The theme tune between 1986 and 1993, perhaps the programme's best-known theme. It was written by band members Anne Dudley and J. J. Jeczalik. The exact version of this theme tune varied in some episodes/series. For example, the drum beats in the music in some episodes/series were more emphasised, as was the synthesizer melody, but generally, it remained the same. Mistakenly referred to as "Beat Box", the track which appeared on their debut album Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? it is, in fact, an original composition and was reworked as "Crusoe" in 1987. A version of the Art of Noise theme, first heard in 1986, was released on the compilation album Influence in 2010. For the 1995 series, the theme tune was a reworked version of the 1986–93 theme tune but was performed by Dudley.

The music used during the scoring at the end of the Response round in 1988 was "Forgotten Town" by The Christians. In the 1989 series, "Left to My Own Devices" by the Pet Shop Boys was used.

Generally, during the opening title sequence, the contestants were introduced by former Granada Television continuity announcer Charles Foster.

The music to the 2009 revival was created by Paul Farrer. In their review, UKGameshows asked "can anyone actually remember the new theme "tune"?".

Merchandise and commercial representations
The Krypton Factor had a number of clothing merchandise, including a pair of black trainers bearing the Krypton K on the sides and the tongue. A Krypton Factor sports bag, mug and teatowel were also produced. Although not mentioned on the air, all the contestants were given a Sports bag and some clothing with the Krypton Factor logo as gifts for appearing on the programme.

A computer game version of The Krypton Factor was published by TV Games and released in 1987 for the home computers of the era. A Krypton Factor Quizbook was published in 1989.

ITV released The Krypton Factor interactive DVD board game via their website in 2010, and then again in 2011. The DVD game is hosted by Ben Shephard.

Adrenalin in North Yorkshire markets itself as the home of the obstacle course from the TV series, which offers paying public a chance to take on the Assault course.

Demon Wheelers have developed a team-building event based around the rounds from The Krypton Factor TV series and incorporating an inflatable assault course.

There have also been several Krypton Factor tie-in books published.

Other versions
The Krypton Factor was later exported to the United States. Two short-lived United States versions of The Krypton Factor aired. In 1981, Dick Clark hosted a 5-week summer series on ABC. In 1990, Willie Aames hosted a syndicated version for children. In 2000, a version hosted by Pat O'Brien and produced by Fox TV was never shown to the public. In 2015, another version in production for Syfy was also never shown to the public.

The New Zealand version of The Krypton Factor ran from 1987 to 1991 on TVNZ and TV2 and was hosted by veteran presenter Dougal Stevenson. There was no Response round in the New Zealand version, and the video clips used for the Observation test were taken from the United Kingdom version. The Physical Ability test was done at Burnham Military Camp, just south of Christchurch. The first season in 1987 consisted of a challenge between Australian and New Zealand contestants, with all of the series hosted in New Zealand and aired on ABC in Australia during that time. The winners of the 1987 series competed against the winners of the 1987 series in the United Kingdom. Reruns of The Krypton Factor were screened on TVNZ 6.

A German version of the show called Krypton Faktor, presented by Jörg Draeger aired in 1991, with 13 episodes shown on Sat.1 before the show was cancelled.

In popular culture
The series was parodied in darkly comic form on BBC1's The Armstrong and Miller Show as "The Critical Factor". Here, the contestant coming last in each event is brutally killed in the background by two figures dressed in black. Plus, the three male contestants are all 'consultant civil engineers', a reference to the number of contestants in the actual show that came from 'white collar' middle-class backgrounds, with the winner, Susan Small, referred to as a 'housewife'.

A 1990 sketch in series 2 of A Bit of Fry and Laurie depicts a scene in which a representative of an unnamed organisation (Stephen Fry) holds a clandestine meeting in an underground car park with a gruff, vaguely criminal type with an extensive record of adventures (Hugh Laurie). The "impossible" task that the organisation wants this man to attempt to watch an entire episode of The Krypton Factor, a feat which, according to the organisation's representative, has never been done before.

Even after the axing of the 2009 revival (due to lack of funding), there were plenty of references to The Krypton Factor, especially as one of the prizes on The All-New Blockbusters (hosted by Simon Mayo). Ironically, in the same year, the "1" and the "2" in the logo for the London 2012 Olympics had accidentally referred to the show, as fans pointed out its similarities to the very first Krypton Factor "K" from the early 1980s.

A deleted scene from the ITV variety series It'll Be Alright on the Night made it to many compilations; it showed Ben Shephard biting his tongue after he accidentally said "two points for second" instead of fourth. It was subsequently referenced on the game show Tipping Point (which Shephard also presented) as a question.

The series was also referenced in the ITV documentary Come On Down: The Game Show Story, with current Krypton Factor presenter Ben Shephard and former presenter Gordon Burns both hinting that it was a mistake on ITV's part to end the programme.

United Kingdom Superperson of the Year
This is a complete list of all winners (include one female and 19 male contestants) from 20 series of the show:

title: The Krypton Factor


text:
Talk:Île-de-France (disambiguation)

Untitled
I need more info... does anyone know some more sites for the l'ile de france or possibly the région parisienne.

"Island of France" listed at Redirects for discussion
A discussion is taking place to address the redirect Island of France. The discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2020 July 17 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Soumya-8974 talk contribs subpages 06:15, 17 July 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Île-de-France (disambiguation)


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Emilia Hazelip

Emilia Hazelip (born Emilia Espinosa, Barcelona, Spain, 18 July 1937 - Carcassonne, France, 2 February 2003) was a Catalan organic gardener, former Merry Prankster, and pioneer of the concept of synergistic gardening. Her farming methods were inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka after reading his book; The One-Straw Revolution in 1978 after it was first translated into English.

title: Emilia Hazelip