IN THE KNOW 先知为快

　　Abbot（男修道院长）: The male superior of a monastery or abbey.

　　Byzantine Empire（拜占庭帝国）: Eastern part of the Roman Empire, which split in A.D. 285. The empire's capital was located in Byzantium, which is now Istanbul, Turkey. It fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

　　Democracy（民主）: A system of government in which people have a direct and/or indirect say in political activities. In some cases, people vote for representatives who determine policies and laws. Democracy was born in Athens.

　　Greek Orthodox Church（希腊东正教）: Self-governing branch of Eastern Orthodoxy. The Eastern Orthodox Church considers the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, Turkey, as its spiritual leader. Unlike Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians do not regard the pope in Rome as the leader of the churches.

　　League of Nations（国际联盟）: A world organization formed to promote world peace. It was established in 1920 and lasted until 1946.

　　Mount Athos（阿索斯山）: A self-governing religious community, made up entirely of monks, located on the southern tip of the Greek peninsula of Athos.

　　Oracle［(宗)传神谕者；神示所］: The word "oracle" comes from the Latin word orare, "to pray." In ancient times, many believed certain people could communicate with the gods and learn the future. The term oracle refers both to these special persons and to the place, such as Delphi, where they communicated with the gods.

　　Phoenicians（腓尼基人）: A group of people who lived along the shores of the eastern Mediterranean Sea in ancient times. They were great sailors and traders and introduced their alphabet to the Greeks.

　　Refugee（难民）: One who flees his or her country to escape danger or persecution.

　　Saint Paul（圣徒保罗）: A follower of Christianity who spread the religion into Greece and is believed to have written much of the New Testament.